Exodus 7:14-24 (NRSV)
God turns the Nile into blood
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the river bank to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake. Say to him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you to say, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness." But until now you have not listened.' Thus says the Lord, "By this you shall know that I am the Lord." See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile.'" The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt - over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water - so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and of his officials he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the river, and all the water in the river was turned into blood, and the fish in the river died. The river stank so that the Egyptians could not drink its water, and there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them; as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not take even this to heart. And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river.
DEVOTION
Today’s devotional is a sad commentary regarding what happens when we willfully disobey God. God sent Moses to Pharaoh with a simple request, “Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness.”
Instead of obeying the Word of God, Pharaoh’s hard heart was disobedient. God responded to Pharaoh’s disobedience with a sign of power that should have shaken him down to his toes!
God used an obedient Moses to turn the water of the Nile to blood, killing all of the fish, and obliterating the drinking water for all of the people of Egypt.
Wow! This scripture reminds me that God does not take kindly to lawlessness, willful disobedience, and sin.
When we turn from God and go our own way believing we have a right to do anything we want to do, this lawless spirit bring about dire consequences for ourselves and for those people around us.
When we willfully sin and disobey God, it pollutes the very atmosphere around us. It dries up our potential and our possibilities. It cuts off the very source of our life, raising a terrible stench that follows us everywhere we go.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to do anything that pollutes the waters of my life, kills my hopes and dreams, and cuts off the source of my life and those around me.
Instead, I want to “walk wet.*” I want to revel in the waters of my baptism. I want to be continually washed by the cleansing waters of God’s love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. I want to daily immerse myself in the life giving waters of Jesus’ love and blood, confessing my sin and receiving God’s forgiveness.
As one who has been under the baptismal waters, I am a Child of God and a member of The Christian Church.
As such I have pledged my love and fidelity to Jesus, desirous of living a holy and righteous life following the commandments of God.
Does this mean that I never sin? Of course not! The Bible says, “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).”
But, as a Christian I don’t wallow--or take pleasure in--my sin. As soon as Spirit brings my sinfulness to my mind, or remembrance, I confess my sin knowing that God who is faithful and just will forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9)!
Hallelujah! I am so glad that God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!
Like Pharaoh, each of us is given a choice. God does not force us to do anything. The little old ladies in the church where I grew up used to say, “God is a gentleman. He does not kick down doors. Rather, He stands at the door and knocks…”
Wow! God stood at the door of Pharaoh’s heart and knocked and received no answer for God’s trouble.
Now, God stands at the door of your heart and knocks. Will you answer, or will you continue to ignore God’s summons to leave behind your stinky and polluted life of willful disobedience?
Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish (John 10:27-28).”
Isn’t it grand that God loves us so much that God won’t give up on us no matter how terrible our disobedience and no matter how much we’ve messed up?
You may be saying to yourself, “God can never forgive me. I’ve messed up too much. I’ve hurt too many people. I’m just too screwed up.”
You are wrong my dear sweet friend.
The truth is that we can’t out sin, out fox, or out run the love of God that has been revealed to us in Christ Jesus. God will just keep on coming back, again and again and again, romancing our hearts and unconditionally loving us with great passion.
Don’t you hear God knocking, calling, beckoning, and loving you home? Won’t you answer?
Listen dear friends, today you can exchange your stinky, polluted, poisonous existence for a life-giving, life-affirming, and sweet eternal life in relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
You've tried everything else to no avail. Will you let go and let God have His way?
If so, please pray with me:
God, I know my life stinks and I know it is because of my willful disobedience and sin. I am not proud of myself. Today, I put all of my hope in Jesus. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I open the door of my heart believing that your great love for me allowed Jesus to go to the cross, be resurrected on the third day, make provision for my sin, and gift me with eternal life. I am filled with this GOOD NEWS! Please help me to share it with others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
If you just prayed this prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! I would be so honored if you would let me know about your decision by clicking “Yes” in the poll located at the top/right of today’s devotional! I am so happy for you! Happy Spiritual Re-Birth-Day!
Next steps: In response to what God did for you just now, let me suggest that you consider telling another Christian so that they can celebrate with you! Ask them to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand so that you can learn more about your new-found faith! Ask them to help you find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make loving friends who will walk with you on your new journey! You are already saved; now let God mature you by faith! Congratulations!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
*the idea of “walking wet” is from Rev. Darius Larsen, ELCA
Congratulations to all of those people who have recently put all of their hope in Jesus! Welcome to the Christian family! We love you and we are praying for you even now in Jesus’ Name!
If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html
If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html
Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/
You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda
Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews
You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.
EACH ONE--REACH ONE! To share GOOD NEWS with a friend please click the "Share With Friends" button to the right!
Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.
From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment