The Heart

 

The Heart

 

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life”

Proverbs 4:23

 

Is the heart the center of human life?  Why do you think that truth has been lost? 

The heart is the creative powerhouse within you.  It is the connecting point between you and others – between you and God.  It is also the creative powerhouse within you.

 

The glory of God is man fully alive.

-Saint Irenaeus

 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

-Jesus of Nazareth (John 10:10)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus married those two statements?

 

Jesus said them in the same breath.  God meant life in the full for each of His kids, but it has to be fought for.  There is a thief.  He comes to steal and kill and destroy.  We are at War.  The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death.  You and I will live all our days amid a great battle, involving all the force of heaven and hell, and played out here on earth.  You see, we were made in the image of God.  We were fearfully and wonderfully made, fashioned like our Lord and Savior.  We were fully alive.  Gen. 1:27

 

The birth of Jesus Christ was an act of war, an invasion.

What scripture can you turn to that will confirm that Jesus Christ came as a warrior? Matt. 10:34

What scripture can you turn to that will show the attacks by Satan? Matt. 2:13, Eph. 4:8-9, Rev. 1:18

 

You and I must fight for our lives

What happens if we do not understand the war issue?

·      We will misinterpret 90 percent of what is happening around us and to us.

·      It will be hard to believe that God has good intentions for an abundant life.

·      We will begin to blame ourselves for just blowing it.

·      Worse, we will begin to accept some really awful things about God.

There is a war going on for your heart.

 

Jesus talks about the Eyes of the Heart

 

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.

-The apostle Paul (Eph. 1:18)

The question is, do you really want to see?

 

In (2 Cor. 4:16-18), we have the answer to how we can really see.

This question must be asked: Are you losing heart, or have you already lost heart?

 

Is Paul telling us that there is a way of looking at life, and that those who discover it can live from the heart no matter what?  But how?  Only by Eph. 1:18,  ^“for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light  (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),  and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”

 

 

Moses Returns to Egypt

 

 

 

Exodus 4:18-31

 

August 12, 2024

 

Moses Returns to Egypt

Moses went back to Jethro, his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go back to my brothers in Egypt to see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”  And the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”  So, Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

 

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,  and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”

 

 At a lodging place on the way, the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.  Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!”  So, he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.

 

 The Lord said to Aaron, “Go into the wilderness to meet Moses.” So, he went and met him at the mountain of God and kissed him.  And Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which he had sent him to speak and all the signs that he had commanded him to do.  Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel.  Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people.  And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

 

When you come across verses like 24-26, and you, like me, ask why would God desire to kill the man He told to go back and lead his people out of bondage.  As you read this, another question comes to mind: what does Moses’ wives’ action have to do with removing God's anger?  And would it not be nice if God had answered these questions for us?

 

First, what had God chosen Moses to do, and we say free his people, that was not the man's job; he was to lead them back to God.  For 400 years, they had been in Egypt, learning the customs of Egypt and being influenced by the culture and its little gods.  He was to be the Lawgiver for Israel, but at this point, he was the Lawbreaker.

 

There is much we do not know, why he did not circumcise his sons according to the command in Leviticus 12:3, “And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”  Many have guessed that I will not do so in that the Scripture does not tell us the reason.  But the one who leads must be above reproach.  A man whom I invited to teach youth in my home was a man who had a degree from Dallas Theology and was not serving as a pastor at that time, but had built a large part of my house.  Why am I telling you this, in that I do not recall anything he taught, but this statement: “You would be wise to never open this book (the Bible) if you are not going to do what it tells you, for you will be held accountable for every word you read.”  Moses had been taught by his mother as a small child the ways of God.  He would have known this covenant between Abraham and God.  It is found in Genesis 17:9-11, “And God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations.  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.”

 

Application, from this to you and me, in that we have not been called to lead a people out of bondage, not true, that is our call, to as you go make disciples.  Matthew 28:19-20,  ^“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  A word to those who are called to teach and preach, James 3:1, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

  

A few items, about the God we serve, we like the people of Israel, were chosen, for God to show His power, and it requires us to be obedient.  God used a staff to show Pharaoh amazing powers. Moses was just the tool; yes, it was an ordinary shepherd's staff that Moses carried, which God transformed into a powerful instrument.   We also see God not being pleased with Moses, and his wife saving his life by circumcising his son. 

 

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

Moses Given Powerful Signs

 Exodus 4:1-17

 

August 10, 2024

 

Moses Given Powerful Signs

Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you.’”  The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”  And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it.  But the Lord said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—  “that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”  Again, the Lord said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. ⁷ Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So, he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh.  “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign.  If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

But Moses said to the Lord, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”  Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”  But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”  Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.  You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do.  He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.  And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

 

Do you identify with Moses, when he asked God a what-if?  Is it possible that you and I, the Church, can be defined as “What If” people?  The Lord may not tell you to throw down your staff, but if he did, you and I would be just like Moses and become distance runners.  Now our calling is probably not to lead a nation out of captivity, but to share with someone we work with, a relative, or a friend, how God has rescued you from the control of sin and set your feet on sound ground.

 

But it is the “What If” that keeps us from trusting God and allowing the Spirit to give us the words we need to share the victory we have in Christ.  What if they tell me I’m a bible thumper? What if they make fun of me? What if they defriend me on social media?  Yes, the enemy of our souls will give us many “What if”, but God will do it all for you if you trust Him.

 

Yes, you and I have a lot in common with Moses at this stage of his life, looking for a reason big enough for God to overcome our lack of skill to do what He has led us to do.  This was His answer to Moses and to us: “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.”  Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.”

 

Often, we hear “What if people say, as did Moses, send someone else, and like Moses, it is our brother in Christ that God has already told to go and encourage us.  How I wonder if God’s anger is kindled, and you miss the blessing of being His instrument.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

Moses' Conversation with God

  

 

Exodus 3:13-22

 

August 9, 2024

 

Moses' Conversation with God

 

Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.  Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,  and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’  And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’  But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.  So, I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that, he will let you go.  And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty,  but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So, you shall plunder the Egyptians.”

 

Our God who is one yet three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has said my name, how I will be known by earth people is: “’ The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

 

Go, was not a request, this was the order;  Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt,  and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’  

 

 You may be wondering if God told you to go, and the answer is yes.  Do you recall in Luke 9:59-60 where Jesus told a man to follow him, and he wanted first to bury his dad?  Do not get hung up on his dad. When Jesus says to do anything and it does not become our priority, then we are not open to Jesus’ authority.  This is what Jesus said to the man: “And Jesus said to him, 'Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

 

Our marching orders are as you go, make disciples. How are you doing?  Mark 16:15, “And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”

 

Do you recall the man whom Jesus sent the demons into the herd of pigs, and he wanted to go with Jesus, I would have also.  But Jesus did something greater for me; He redeemed me from a life of sin and sent His Holy Spirit to live in me.  These are Jesus' words to that man, “The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 'Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.”

 

We, as followers of Christ, have been given orders we are to go and tell what Jesus has done for us.  But, like the man with the excuse first, let me bury my dad, we allow our desire to fit in with our family, friends, and people we work with to keep us from obeying the Lord. How can we then hope to seek His face?

 

God made it clear that their word would not have any effect on the King of Egypt, but His hand of power and might would.  They would leave Egypt with gold and silver, clothing, yes, they would go, but you must recall, they still had a Red Sea encounter, and so will we.  Jesus has made that clear, John 16:33, I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

He told Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let My people Go

  

 

 

 

 

Exodus 3:7-12

 

August 8, 2024

 

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,  and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.  Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”  But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”  He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

 

As a Seeker of Truth, one is always looking for an application, how does this apply to my daily walk with the Lord?  First, one must see God’s plan for Moses before he was put in a basket in the Nile River was to encounter Him in a burning bush that was burning but not consumed.  And remember that God also has a good plan for your life.  Secondly, never look for a fix outside of Christ; He is very aware of your suffering.  And God has a plan to get you out of Egypt.

Now we like things to happen quickly, but stop and give thought. Moses is now forty, he is not doing all that bad, has a wife and at least one son to carry on his name, and is working for a man who is well respected in the community.  And God tells him, I want you to set free my people.  What were Moses's first thoughts, Why me, That is where most of us are when God tells us to go.

 

If I had been Moses, these thoughts would have come into my mind for years. I have been a shepherd, and the Egyptian has disdain for such people.  And Lord, you know they want to kill me for trying to help my people, so fear of the future would play into the many reasons, I should not be the one to go to Pharaoh.  But the past is not important when God said go, and I will be with you.  And not only that, but when the mission is accomplished, you will worship God on this Mountain.

 So, my brother or sister in Christ, when you get to the well seeking water, you are tired, feeling all along, and you see injustice and help a young girl trying to water their dad’s sheep, stand for good, and watch God show up in your circumstance.

 From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

And Moses hid his face,

                                                                       Exodus 3:1-6

 

August 7, 2024

 

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.  And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”  When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”  And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

If you were asked if you were a seeker of Truth, how would you answer that question?  I believe most who go by the title of Christian would say yes with all my heart.  But maybe we should examine what the Scripture tells us about the heart; Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”  Many who go by the title of Christian will quote 2 Chronicles 7:14,  ^“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  How many who do so believe that just the people of the USA would turn to God, but they are not His people, they are not called by His name, nor are a large number who go by the name Christian.

But those who are called by His name, the Church, would humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways, 
We would seek His presence, not His hand.  We would repent and hunger and thirst for Him.

Moses hid his face when God made clear to whom Moses was speaking, in fear, and I believe that a great need of today’s Church.  A lack of fear for the God of Abraham,  the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

In Psalm 105:4, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!” That is a strong word for the Church.

From The Back Porch,

Bob Rice

 

 

 

Moses Flees to Midian

  

Exodus 2: 11-22

 

August 6, 2024

 

Moses Flees to Midian

One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.  He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.  When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?”  He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing is known.”  When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by a well.

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.  The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock.  When they came home to their father, Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?”  They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.”  He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”  And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.  She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

 

In no way can anyone justify Moses's actions of killing this man.  But this thought came to my small mind: the death of one man brought life to all men.  Jesus, death gave life to all who will receive the gift of salvation.  

Moses ' heart was to protect his people, but his actions were not directed by God’s Spirit but by his flesh.  But God, I love those two words, yes, but God used this act to get Moses to a burning bush.  Now, when he helped Reuel's daughters, it was Moses who dressed like an Egyptian, in his dress and actions, but his heart was that of a man in search of God.  His kindness to the daughters of Reuel not only gave Moses a place to stay but also a wife and son.  Now I want you to give thought to this, God used the killing of an Egyptian to get Moses to a testing ground, to become a shepherd, a low place in the eyes of the Egyptian who had raised him.  God had a different flock in mind for Moses, one that would require Moses to walk closely with the Lord.  It is going to take a long time before he is ready to return to Egypt.

 

What is the application to this writer, to keep my eyes on Jesus and seek Him?  In this evil culture we live in, you will be called names, weird, and many that are worse, but look to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.

Note: Never forget the high price that God paid for you to have life in its full.

 

From our Back Porch, 

 

Bob Rice