Jethro, Moses and the Burning, Not Burned Up, Bush

Moses was called by God from a burning bush that burned but was not consumed. God is the only one who can burn and not be consumed. In the lesson I read today from Dr. Swindoll I learned that without the advice of his father-in-law, Jethro, Moses would have been consumed. The story is in Exodus 18.

After Jethro had heard about Moses' experiences in Egypt, he came to find Moses. He was excited about Moses' work and did not begin with criticism but with excitement and praise. After a good party he watched Moses at work and ask him two questions: What are you doing and Why are you doing it alone? For this is what he noticed "¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone."

The Hebrew word used for wear yourselves out is one used to mean wither. The first thing that happens to us when we do too much is that we loose our distinction. When we try to add additional elements to our work we weaken what we are best at doing, the gift God gave us to do. This idea is powerful and has made me stop and take a close look at my life. What are the essential elements in my life? What is it that God has gifted me to do?

Another thing about withering away is that you see it in someone's face. You see people fade away. Withering is a gradual thing. Gradually your eyes become dim and you look becomes grim. No one is attracted to an always grim looking individual. I think that I have learned that you can only hide withering away for awhile. So for a teacher you can't build relationships with students if you look is dim and there is no brightness in your eyes. If you are always tired then that look is seen by students as anger and critical judgment. They see you as putting them down and you no longer can be the encourager that you must be as a teacher.

It is the wise man that can see withering away in himself, but it is the even wiser man who asksto his friends and family if they see withering. Moses didn't see it in himself. It was Jethro who saw it. No one is so great or so gifted that he or she can't learning from someone who has their good at heart.

Here is the counsel that Jethro gave to Moses and God gives to us. (And God has given to me through Dr. Swindoll with the Beautiful Music playing on my iPod)

• Separate the essential from the additional - every job has these two elements. The essential are the things that God has called you and gifted you to do. But there are things that are additional. They are good things, things that have to be done. The danger is in adding so many of these that we reach the breaking point. "Our real problems tend to occur not in our essential area, but in those additional areas that we take on and attempt to maintain.
• Restrain yourself more, involve yourself less. " The body needs so much work, so much rest, so much relief, and can handle only so much strain. Disregard that, and something snaps."
• Efficiency increases as we relinquish. Doing more does not guarantee effectiveness.
• When a Jethro shows up in your life, listen to what he has to say. It is hard to say no when you love everything, but if you don't listen to the Jethros in your life you will pay a terrible price.

My God and Loving Father,
Thank you for this wonderful lesson. Thank you for sending a Jethro in my life. Thank you for giving me this sabbatical. Let me keep the lessons I have learned here and always keep times of sabbatical in work. While they won't be a whole semester, teach me to take daily ones. Teach me what is essential in my life and my work. Teach me how to say no to the additional. Keep my from fading away. Restore the light in my eyes. Help me to see when other people are fading and be a Jethro.

Beautiful Music - Twice in the Same Day

Wow! - what a wonderful Lord we have. Twice in the same day he has spoken to me.

Right after I finished my last post, I hurriedly got ready to go to chapel at my school. The Tennessee Baptist Choral was going to be the chapel service. This has been on my calendar for a long time so I have been looking forward to it.

These are things that I learned during the worship.

• We are never alone! The service began with the men quietly singing we are not alone as they entered the sanctuary. We were surrounded by these words. It is like God to wrap us in his presence just like the choir wrapped us in sound. We need to hear those words right now during these very difficult days.
  
• The men in the choir have all given their lives to serve our God. There were old ones - I saw my very first children's choir leader - and young ones - students that have just recently graduated - and ones in the middle like my current minister of music. It was wonderful to see all these faithful ones. I want to be like that, a faithful one who serves my God all my life.
  
• They sang a song that reminded me of the old Baptist tradition of revivals. We don't have them too much any more and some times for some very good reasons. They were not always perfect, but it made be think about my childhood. I thank my wonderful parents for making church a part of my life from my earliest memory. They never made me go to church, we just went, all of us, all the time. It was great fun. I always loved it. You see they didn't go because they had to either, they went because they wanted to. And they gave that to me. They gave me a discipline of being in the Lord's house on a regular basis. So now I go and I love it and it is not ever something that I think about doing. I go and I meet my Lord there and he gives me wonderful gifts. I pray that I have given my children the same thing and they will give the same thing to their children - when they have them. Thank you Lord for parents who taught me about you through everything they did and not just what they said.
• Thank you for the pure joy that I saw in the faces of the choir and in Mary McDonald, the accompanist. It was just fun. There is only one way that we can have that kind of joy - it is your gift. Thank you for the pure joy that you gave me to today.
• Thank you for the reminder that, as my friend Stan says, "In the end it is simple - God wins." Thank you for the hope that one day you will call us home, that You will reign in victory forever.

Amen

Beautiful Music and Another Word from the Lord

I really believe that this music by the Radio Bible Class must have been really prayed over before it while it was being written, created, performed, recorded, and released. I think I must always listen to it while I have my daily quiet time.

I am reading about Moses and the Red Sea. Here are some things God showed me through his Word and through his servant, Dr. Swindoll.

The Hebrews lifestyle at the time was Egyptian to the core. They had never known what it was like to live in the land where they were going.

The Hebrews weren't accidentally at the Red Sea. They had been led there by God with a huge cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They were following Moses, a man who had learned obedience and knew what the Lord wanted him to do. They were sure they were in the right place. It wasn't a wrong turn, God took them there. He knew they needed the Red Sea to learn something.

When I think back over my latest Red Sea experience, I see the same thing. I was sure that I was supposed to do what I was doing. I was very sure that the Lord was leading me there. He also sent me a Moses, a friend who was also sure that she was following what the Lord wanted her to do. She was listening very closely to him. This is why when I came to the Red Sea I was very surprised. The whole journey God had protected us. So when I came to the Red Sea I did the very things the Hebrews did I cried to God and asked why. so many whys. Why did I have to come to this place? Why couldn't I have just stayed where I was? Why did I have to fail? Why did I have to be betrayed?

You know the Lord never really told the Hebrews why. He only said, "Don't fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today: for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent." Exodus 14. So the Lord told them to do 4 things that he also tells us:

1. Fear not
2. Stand Still
3. Watch him work
   
4. Keep quiet
   

I asked why for a long time. Now I have come to the point where the why doesn't matter. Or maybe I know why, there have been many things that I have learned at the Red Sea. They are the lessons that that Dr. Swindoll describes:

1. It takes tight places to break lifetime habits. For me the lifetime habits was to do it myself, to depend only on my own strength.
   
2. When hemmed in on all sides the only place to look is up.
3. If the Lord is to get the glory, He must do the fighting. "Had we been in charge of the Red Sea project, we would have handled it differently. Our group of engineers would have pushed back that water a week in advance. We would have installed great, massive fans to dry out the land. We would have erected huge neon signs. somebody would have brought in concessions stands to handle the hot dogs and drinks. You see, when people do it, the project takes on all the trademarks of market-driven hot-shots. The supernatural is eclipsed by human ingenuity." page 225 of Moses
4. Red Seas open and close at the Lord's command and not until.
   

"Coming to the Red Sea is just as much a part of His plan as crossing it. It may well be that the Lord is breaking a habit born in Egypt, a habit that has no business living in Canaan. Those habits are tough to break. The tears flow as God works in His tim. But in the burning of those teas, God becomes very significant and real. And we realize, at last, that a predicament in God's hands is only a highway to the Promised Land" page 227.

Thank you Lord for these wonderful words and for my dear friend who was and is my Moses.

Lunch with YouTube

OK, So I am eating my lunch and checking on the news on CNN and I come across this wonderful video on YouTube. It is from Britain's Got Talent. You just need to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Memory Verses So Far

Here is my new memory verse for 4/15 and the others I am working on.

Psalm 16:11 (Peter also quotes this verse in Acts 2: 28) -TNIV
You make known to me the path of life; You fill me with joy in your presence, With eternal pleasures at your right hand.

2 Peter 1: 5-8 - TNIV
For this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to your goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you posses these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2: 24 - TNIV
And the Lord's servant should not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

1 Corinthians 10:31 - TNIV
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Ephesians 5: 19-20 - NIV
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving things to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 4: 7-8 - TNIV
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hand, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Isaiah 43: 18-19 - TNIV
Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Philippians 3: 12-14 - TNIV
Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Beautiful Music and Failure

While I was at home at Mom's she gave me a set of her CDs called Classical Praise. They came from the Our Daily Bread organization. They are as beautiful as the other ones she gave me. It seems that when I listen to these during my devotion time, the Lord speaks to me in a very strong way. Today was just like that I learned so much.

First I read about Saul's failure in 1 Samuel 15. He failed to do the mission God appointed for him. He did part of it - but he failed to complete it because he was afraid of not pleasing men - vs. 24 "I violated the Lord's command and your (Samuel) instructions. I was afraid of the men and so I gave into them." He allowed them to keep some livestock and then thought he would make it OK by offering it as sacrifice. This failure destroyed his relationship with Samuel and Samuel mourned for him the rest of his life. This is what Samuel told him vs. 22-23 " Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination."

Saul failed but God didn't. These words from Charles Swindoll about this passage struck me and I think they will serve as a way to understand what I am to do next in my life.

• When a man or woman of God fails, nothing of God fails.
• When a man or woman of God changes, nothing of God changes.
• When our lives are altered by unexpected events, nothing of God is altered.
• God knows exactly what he is doing and nothing can restrain his bringing it to pass.
• We want God to show us his plan and once we know it we will gladly obey, but that is not faith. Faith is counting on God when we do not know the plan.

Now I just need to let these words sink in, for they are profound and just what I needed to hear on this day.

I am also reminded of this old hymn that was on my new Ken Medema album - Lead Kindly Light. Here are the words -

Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
lead thou me on;
the night is dark, and I am far from home;
lead thou me on;
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
the distant scene: one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose, and see my path; but now
lead thou me on.
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still
will lead me on,
o'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
the night is gone,
and with the morn those angel faces smile,
which I have loved long since, and lost a while.

Lead kindly light

Easter

Today is Easter. Today's sermon made me think again about the women who had the courage to go to the tomb at dawn. We can live in hope today because of the resurrection of Christ.

We got to see our daughter this weekend. She came up from school to my parent's house so we had a wonderful time with our family. I made the children Easter baskets. My daughter will have to deliver my son's since we didn't get to see him.

There are no words to express how wonderful today is, a risen Lord who loves me. I am truly surrounded by love.

In the kitchen at Mom and Dad's.

Special Time of Worship

Tonight I got to go to worship with my favorite worship leader, Travis Cottrell. He was at Sevier Heights Baptist Church, only about an hour from where I live. I met my sister there, she lives an hour away in the opposite direction, and we had a wonderful time together. I grew up in a traditional church and I attend a church that is also pretty traditional. I love my church and we now have started a contemporary worship service. I sing in the choir so I go to both services and enjoy them both. I didn't use to understand why anyone would like "praise and worship" music and reading the words from a large screen without a hymnal; and with a lot of people in a big auditorium. However I have come to love the freedom of this kind of worship. It is so wonderful to have your hands free and looking up. I love watching people who you can tell are so focused on God. I have come to love it so much that I even go to churches where I don't know anyone, like tonight. I think it may be a little like heaven. We will be completely comfortable worshipping with people we don't know, simply because we know they love the Lord. Tonight I loved watching the choir as they sang. I loved watching the gray-haired couple suddenly stand to their feet when we sang the Hallelujah line of "Man of Sorrows" and hold their hands up in worship. I loved watching the young teenage girls in front of me sing with such joy. I pray that they will always stay so close to you. I loved watching the middle school age boy go to the front with his father during the invitation. I don't know any of those people, but God used them to minister to me. I love the way that Travis leads us to worship, he welcomes you to sing with him. It isn't a concert, although he is an amazing pianist and singer. He just invites you to praise God. He makes old hymns have new meaning.

Travis said something tonight that made me think about why I have come to enjoy worship in this way. He asked us if our senses had become dull. If, after being hurt, we begin to protect little pieces of our heart until gradually we had kept our heart so protected that our senses were dull. If we were keeping little pieces of our heart away from God. I think that is what I have done over these last very difficult years. Worship like this, for some reason, helps me open the doors to the wall of protection that I have built. I am coming to understand what it means to have a sacrifice of praise.

Happy Birthday to My Son

Twenty four years ago today I became a mother for the first time. My son was born at 2:49 pm on April 3, 1985. Being a parent has been the greatest blessing of my life. I am very proud of my extremely talented and good son. I have enjoyed so much watching him grow up. I remember such good times, the way he would draw and create things. The birthday that he wanted lumber to build a tree house. He is still building things, the deck he is building now is almost finished.

Dear Lord,
This is a prayer of thanksgiving for my son. Watch over him and guide his steps. Show him the plan you have for him. Fill his life with love.

Siesta Memory Challenge - April 1

Here is my new verse for the first of April, along with my others. I chose this verse because I am reading "Hidden in Plain Sight" by Mark Buchanan about how to have a strong Christian life. It is based on these verse from 2 Peter.

2 Peter 1: 5-8 TNIV
For this very reason make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection; love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from becoming ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2: 24 TNIV
And the Lord's servants must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

1 Corinthians 10:31 TNIV
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Ephesians 5: 19-20 TNIV
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

James 4: 7-8 TNIV
Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.

Isaiah 43:18-19 TNIV
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up, do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

Philippians 3:12-14 TNIV
Not that I have already obtained all this or have arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.