Give Ear

Exodus 15:26 And He said, “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.”

Here we read of something God is asking us to give to Him.

He asks that we “give heed” to his voice.

He asks that we “give ear” to his commandments.

And with those two requests, he says he will be their healer if they give those two things to him.

Giving heed and giving ear means listening and obeying.  And in order to listen and obey, we have to read and hear God’s word daily, so that we know what it is he’s saying to us.

God is a giver, and he requires that we give to him.  And then he gives some more when we do.

What a Giver he is!

Traveling

Exodus 13:21 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

This was a group of people who had been led out of slavery into the wilderness, headed toward the promised land.  They needed guidance and provision, and God gave.

He led them during the day with a cloud above them, and during the night with a pillar of fire in the sky, so that they might make progress in both – the day and the night.

Isn’t that cool?  God didn’t say, “I lead you during the day, but during the night you can’t move because the darkness will cover you.” Instead he gave them light to move ahead – EVEN in the darkness.

That’s a lesson for us all.

Just because it seems dark and we don’t know what to do next doesn’t mean that God has left us.  He said he will give us direction in both times – light and dark.

I love that he never leaves us alone in the dark.

He gives us light.

Impossible?

Look at the giving God we serve and what he gives in Genesis 26:4

I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

This was a promise God gave to Abraham – an amazing, seemingly impossible, promise – to grant him offspring as numerous as the stars in the heavens - say what?

It doesn’t matter to God whether or not we can comprehend what he says, it only matters that we believe.  Our God is a God of impossibility and amazement.  He speaks.  He gives. 

And all we have to do is listen. We believe. We obey.

And then we stand amazed, or fall on our face, when the promises are fulfilled, and the impossible happens.

God wants to multiply us and make us fruitful – that was his plan from the beginning.

And just because we might be in a season of winter right now, with only brown branches and nothing green in sight, that doesn’t mean spring is not on the way.

God the Giver

Did you know that the word Give and God are synonymous? God is a giver.  And giving is God.  So in order to learn how to give, we just simply look at what he did and what he gave, and we learn.

In Genesis 1, look at just these two verses and see what kind of God, the Creator, is:

The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.

Every moving thing that is alive shall be food for you; I give all to you, as I gave the green plant.

God created the birds and the fish and the animals and everything alive we see on the earth, and he gave it to us.  He freely shared all that he created, and he entrusted it all to us.

Of course, we know that mankind blew that trust.  But God, in his mercy (which always goes with giving), already had a plan to give his only son.

That’s the beginning of giving.  He created and gave, holding nothing back.

Complete

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

God was done.  He wasn’t tired. His work was complete, and that’s why he rested.

God doesn’t get tired.

God completes what he starts.

He blesses that which he creates.

God, in all of his wonder and power, created everything and set it into place, giving it purpose and fruitfulness.  Now he’s done, and he rests.

We too can rest with him, when we realize all that he’s doing in our lives, through us, as his creative hands continue to shape each day that we give him.

Don’t worry today.  

He is with you.  

e will complete what he has started.  

It will be good. 

And you can sit beside him and rest, as you observe his goodness in the land of the living.

Like Him

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the ^[al]sky and over every living thing that^[am]moves on the earth.”

More from Genesis on creation!

God made us – in HIS IMAGE!  That means we are his children.  He also gave us rule over his creation.  That means he entrusts us with all that is his!  He blessed us and told us to be fruitful and multiply.  That means his power resides in us to grow and prosper!

From the very beginning, God wanted to be in us, live through us, and create with us on this beautiful earth, as we fellowship with him and eat at his table and never go hungry or thirsty.

That was his purpose.  It still is.  And he still fulfills it, even though we’ve made a mess of things, when we believe and love him with all our heart.

What a good God we have – and he’s our Father.

Be Fruitful

On the fifth day, God said this in Genesis 1:

 Then God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.” God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

God created all of the cool animals we see at the zoo, on TV from around the world, and in picture books.  What a creative God we serve!  My favorite animal to watch is the monkey, the way he swings and looks as at me as if he has something to say.  Another favorite is the dog, of course, man’s best friend.  What personality and color each animal has!

God’s command to them was to be fruitful and multiply – and so it was.  God causes things to increase and grow.  He’s unendingly creative and wise.

When you observe animals in creation, realize that God made them all, and gave them the ability to be fruitful and fill the earth.

His purpose for us is increase, fruitfulness, and he’s able to bring that to pass if we respond to his creative power within us to live for Him and love Him daily, as we move on this place called earth.

The Lights

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.  God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.  There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

On the fourth day God set the seasons by placing the sun, the moon and stars into their places to shine on creation.  It says he made them to “govern.”  They control our 24 hours, our weeks and months, and our years.  We rise and we sleep with the rise of the sun and the moon.  We plant according to seasons.  We respond to God’s governing power whether we know it or not.

It brings awesome comfort to see the sun rise out your window and spot the moon in the dark sky, doesn’t it?  Somehow we know all is right with the world when those two friends appear faithfully every day.

God is more faithful than that which he created.  

He governs our lives if we let him, in a way that will startle us when we start to see his faithfulness, his light, and his goodness shine through – even when the clouds appear to cover the light from time to time…

Let it Be

Genesis 1 cont’d:

Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them”; and it was so.  The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

The darkness and light have their separation, and waters have been put into place, and now on the third day God creates vegetation that bear fruit.  Seeds are planted and beautiful color and provision is produced.

Did you know that from God’s hand is all that we need?  We don’t need to look elsewhere for anything to give us identity, to give us purpose, or to satisfy our hunger and thirst.  All that we need he has provided in his Word, if we just read it and believe.

He’s a good God and everything he does is good, even what he does in our lives – from the sorrows to the elation – because it’s all working together for good in the end.

Come take a seat at his table and enjoy what he’s prepared for you today, from his garden.

The Waters

Genesis 1 cont’d:

Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.”  God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the ^[expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

The second day God put waters in their place and gave them boundaries.  We can observe this when we sit on the beach and look at the ocean, or when we fish by a lake, or picnic by a river.  We can observe it when it rains, and the waters above the sky fall down to the earth.

God also sets our lives in order and in place, so we don’t have to worry about our place or our position.  When we surrender our lives to Him, the Creator of the Universe, the One who speaks and waters respond, is able to speak to our chaotic lives and give us order, as well.

Today, observe the skies and the waters beneath the skies and rest in the order of a perfect God in an imperfect world.

The Beginning

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

I recently did a study on creation and how we can be strengthened in our faith when we pray, just by looking at God’s initial voice in the bible – when he spoke and creation occurred.

On the first day he spoke light into the darkness, and the darkness separated from it.  I love that.  He also speaks light into our darkness when we receive Him into our hearts, dispelling all fear from things that lurk and scare us in the dark.

We too are formless and voice until his voice speaks hope into our lives and gives us purpose.

In the beginning God created and he’s still hovering over us today to complete the work he started in us when we first believed.

Bared Arm

Isaiah 52:10 The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.

I’m not sure what this verse means exactly by the Lord baring his arm, but the picture here that comes to mind is muscle flexing, right?   

Just imagine the Lord pulling up his sleeve and showing who’s the boss – the guy with the muscle that can win any game of arm wrestling with anyone who dares challenge him.

This arm is seen by the entire world – to the ends of the earth – and no one dares even try – because the salvation of the Lord is visible now. His strong arm has sent salvation to those who believe and he's won.  Finished.  Game over.

We have nothing to fear, those of us who are covered and carried by the Strong Man, our God.

And when fear does dare raise its ugly face?  Just stand next to Him and watch him bare his arm and see fear run and disappear like a vapor...

Salvation

Isaiah 45:8 Drip down, O heavens, from above, And let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it. I, the Lord, have created it.

Dripping like sweet honey on our heads. 

Pouring down like a steady rain to cover us entirely. 

Fruit springing from the earth, so much that the ground is parting everywhere to make room for the produce.

The righteousness that falls, sinking into the ground like seed that buries itself and grows because the ground is so fertile, the rain is so perfectly steady, that there is no delay between planting of seed and blossoms and fruit.

That’s what salvation does when planted in the hearts of those who believe.

Do you?

Beautification

Psalm 149:4 For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the afflicted ones with salvation.

Job, at one point of his pain, thought God took pleasure in afflicting him with disease and loss.  However, just the opposite was true.

God loves his people and we delight him, he loves  hanging with us, and he loves us enough to transform us into his image.

In fact, when we are afflicted, worn down, weary, and about to give up, he beautifies us with his grace, mercy and deliverance.

And after the affliction, we are changed on the inside which then affects our outside, and others will see and glorify Him.

Pleasure and beautiful – It’s what he enjoys and what he does.

Covered

Psalm 140:7 “O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

What a picture.  

Imagine yourself in a battle of some sort – with swords, guns, arrows – whatever you want to imagine.  Now imagine that your head is exposed, with no helmet, no protection whatsoever.  You don’t have a chance, do you?  If your head gets shot, down you go, for good.

This verse says the Lord – our strength – covers our head in the day of battle.  We don’t necessarily get hit with swords, bullets or arrows – but we get all sorts of things that come against our minds like doubt, worry, and fear.  We’re in THAT kind of battle, one to win us over to lies about the goodness of HIM.

And when we lean into his strength, realize to whom we belong, we experience a covering that deflects that which comes against us – and we live.

Is your head covered?  All you need is his helmet of salvation.  Go ahead.  Put it on.

Three S's

Psalm 118:14 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.

I like these three S’s.

What is your strength?  Your intellect? Your finances?  Your talents?  Those will all fail at one time or another.

What do you sing about?  What’s popular?  What’s on your mind at the moment?  Or that which is truth in lyric and tune?

What is your salvation?  Hopefully the only answer here is Jesus.

Our strength will fail, and our song will wane depending on how we feel, at times.  But when He is our salvation and we really know it, strength and singing will always be present and never die...because our souls will soar.

The Lord. Our strength and song.

That’s his name.

Day to Day

Psalm 96:2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

I love this.

I have noticed that my daughter’s kids go around singing songs they’ve heard her play, songs on the radio, or tunes from the TV.  Kids soak up what they hear, and they love to repeat the tunes and learn the words.

Imagine what our kids would grow up singing and believing if they heard nothing but spontaneous lyrics coming out of our mouths that bless his name!?

Sing of his goodness, make up tunes about his provision, hum happy tunes of praise to his name, make melodies and lyrics that proclaim the character of God.

And see if your whole house isn’t full of his joy and provision, and your children aren’t filled with his goodness, as well!

What comes out of our mouths indicates what’s in our hearts.  So if HE is in there, sing it out loud of what he’s done for you and yours.

And sing it over and over again, until those who hear it come and join you in faith and praise.

The Unending Sum

Psalm 71:15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness And of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them.

Isn’t this a cool verse?

What comes out of our mouths in the course of a day?  Griping about our government?  Complaining about our homes?  Cursing those who drive ahead of us in traffic?  Gossip about our husbands to our co-workers?

If we just trained ourselves to think about what comes out of our mouths to be that which glorifies Him – like gratefulness, kindness toward others, faith in his goodness – we’d experience the joy of salvation all day.

And at the end of the night we’d total up his goodness and kind deeds towards us, only that total would never come, because there’s too much to count.

Count your blessings.

Name them one by one.

See what God has done.

The Burden Bearer

Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation. 

Think about a daily burden bearer.  He shows up at your house when you awake and he asks, “What’s loading you down today?” You talk about your finances, your health, your kids, etc. and how you’re heavy with worry and doubt.  He opens his big bag and asks you to dump those worries inside and let him ride off into the sunset, carrying them for you today, while he works on each concern of your heart.  Would you give them to this kind person?

The Lord is our daily burden bearer.  Seriously, if we are heavy footed, he wants to lighten our load so that we can sprint.  He says his burdens are easy and his burdens are light, so if we are heavy – those are burdens we are not meant to carry!

God is our salvation.  We’ve been reading it over and over and over again.   And he is to be blessed by our praise and with our trust.

Cast your cares on him.

He cares for you.

He loves you.

Waiting...

Psalm 62: 1,2 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Have you ever had to wait a long time in silence for anything?  It’s unnerving isn’t it? Especially if there is nothing to read, watch, or no one to talk with.  Now that we all have electronics, there is never a time when we are not connected with someone somewhere. 

But there are times when it’s good to wait in silence.

In silence we hear no noise, we are not distracted by questions and conversations, and we are acutely aware of His presence when he speaks.

He speaks to us and reminds us that he is our Savior, our rock, and our stronghold.

And all of that reminding reveals that we cannot be shaken or torn or destroyed, because we belong to Him.

Wait in the silence and listen for his voice, and see if you don’t feel want to linger there a while longer while just you and He converse, sing together, and enjoy each other’s company.

Three Things

Psalm 40:16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; Let those who love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”

We who seek the Lord are told to do three things here:

Rejoice

Be glad

Magnify him

Rejoicing is really something we cannot do unless we are glad, so we must speak to our souls when we are downcast and tell our souls to rejoice – even if we feel like pouting.

Magnifying him is something we do with our mouths, ascribing to him all of the beauty of his name – he is holy, he is just, he is loving, he kind, he is good – you get the picture.

I think one of the best antidotes for depression is true gladness of heart that leads to rejoicing that ends in magnifying who God is.  It lifts even the soul in the pit out of the darkness into the light.

But...He Is

Psalm 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble.

There is no other name on this earth that can sustain us like Jesus.  No president, no spouse, no boss, no child, no one can be with us like He can right in the middle of trouble. 

When trouble comes, we feel weak and helpless.  When a child is ill, we can do nothing but lean on the knowledge of medicine and hope.  When a job is lost, we can do nothing but our best to try and find a new one.  And when the future looks bleak, we can only prepare so much, and then hope for the best.  All of that requires a lot of effort on our part and on the part of others, and even our best efforts often fail.

The Lord never fails.  He  may be slow to answer, silent at times, or say no to our requests, but it’s only because he sees the outcome, what we deeply need, and our awesome future of abundance ahead.

We can trust him like we trust no other.  He is our Savior and our hope that does not disappoint.

The Lord Is

Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?

What do you fear and dread?  

I think if we listen to the news very much, we dread the future.  Maybe we fear death, loss of a job, or illness.  Fear is a monster that appears like a shadow on our walls and it looks bigger than life.

However, the Lord is our light and salvation.  He’s also our defense against all things fearful and dreadful.

It’s really our choice and it takes training our minds to think the truth.

We can dwell on the things that scare us, or we can live in the truth that sustains us.

I want to daily choose Him, my defender, when I am weak.