Wednesday, July 10

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Psalm 34:1-8

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
    his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the Lord;
    let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the Lord with me;
    let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
    he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;
    their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
    he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
    and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
    blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

These words were written by King David.  David writes this Psalm under duress.  Saul has become completely jealous of David and the popularity that he has gained in the kingdom and has already made attempts to kill David.  David has no option but to flee and it is in the midst of all of this that David writes these words...” The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”

It is very easy to live completely consumed by fear and if we are honest, there is a lot to be afraid of.  Watching the news for 30 minutes in the evening seems to breed fear.  There are reports of violence all around us, unrest in unstable nations, economic concerns, environmental issues and it goes on and on.  Everyday it feels like I hear about how the air we breath and the food that we eat is killing us.  It’s overwhelming.  If you have children, the fear has a tendency to increase exponentially.  Will we be able to protect them, to provide for them, etc?  We can find ourselves living in a culture dominated by fear and it can become crippling to our faith and to our lives.

Psalm 34 and the presence of the Angel of the Lord speaks directly into this culture of fear.  David has every right to be afraid.  The most powerful man in the Kingdom of Israel has decided that he wants David dead and there is very little that David can do to convince him otherwise.  But this would not be the fear that would define David.  David describes the Angel of the Lord as “encamping around those who fear him”.  David’s concern was rightly placed.  Even in an effort to preserve his own life, David’s primary concern was to honor God above all. He understood what it meant to “fear the Lord” above all else.  The result of this for David is clear....deliverance.  David was delivered from his fear and would ultimately be delivered from his enemy.  This of course is not a promise that we will be delivered from experiences of pain and sorrow, we know too well that this is not the case, but rather the we will not be left alone in our fear.  The fear of the Lord for David produced a fuller perspective of his circumstances. He was able to see more that the threats that were surrounding him.  He was able to see how the Angel of the Lord was protecting and providing for Him in the midst of the threats and as a result, he exclaims “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.”

Jesus is the sufficient one.  He know our fears and meets us in the midst of them.  He redirects out attention back to matters of first priority so that we like David can experience our deliverance in Him.  Then we too will say, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Sterling Moore

Tuesday, July 9

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This week, during 10 Minutes with God, we are looking at the the sufficiency of Christ through various passages in the Old Testament where there is an interaction with The Angel of the Lord.

As we begin this morning, let me start with a question.  For you personally, where are you in need of experiencing the sufficiency of Christ right now?  Do you have a relational need, a physical need, an emotional need, a need for healing, a need for grace or a simply a need to know that He is real, who He says he is?  Let me encourage you to present this need openly and honestly before God today.

Today we are going to focus on the interaction between Elijah and the Angel of the Lord.  Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal in an epic showdown (I Kings 18).  The people where proclaiming that Yahweh is God with shouts of praise.  If you were a prophet, this is exactly what you had hoped and prayed for.  The false gods had been revealed for what they were and God was being exalted.  Things could not have gone better.  Things changed quickly.  Almost immediately, Elijah finds himself fleeing for his life from King Ahab and Jezebel and the elation that he experienced in the great victory gave way to crippling depression.  It is in this moment that the Angel of the Lord shows up.

I Kings 19: 3-9

3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

I have always loved this portion of the Elijah story.  For one thing, it humanizes this man of incredible faith.  He had just experienced an incredible victory through God and yet founded himself overwhelmed and exhausted, even to the point of depression.  I think sometimes we need to be reminded that the men and women that we read about on the pages of the Bible were human like us and as such were susceptible to the same fluctuations of emotional and spiritual highs and lows that we experience.  I find it comforting.

However, what I find more comforting is the way the the Angel of the Lord (Jesus) tends to Elijah.  He provides him rest and makes him food.  This passage always reminds me that God is in the details.  Jesus knew Elijah and exactly what he needed, even to the point of a nap and a snack.  I think that we can experience the love of God in a lot of incredible ways, really bigs ways.  We see it in His creation or in an answered prayer and we stop in amazement at how much God loves us.  I think that Elijah experienced it in a loaf of bread.  It was in the details.  Jesus meets the need of his servant because only He knows what he needed.  It’s personal and individual, specifically for Elijah and Jesus does the same for us.  He know us and what we need.  Often times the greatest opportunities we have to experience the love of Jesus come through the small things that remind us that He knows us entirely and cares enough to meet those needs.  This was Elijah’s experience and if we pay attention, it can be ours as well.

Only a God of infinite knowledge would know our specific needs, only a God infinite resources would be able to meet those needs and only a God of infinite love would care to do it.  This is our all-sufficient Jesus.

Sterling Moore

Monday, July 8

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As we have worked out way through the various “Go” passages during this summer series, I have noticed that several the the commands to go have resulted from an interaction with The Angel of the Lord, including this week with Gideon.  Pastor Jeff reminded us that a reference to The Angel of the Lord is referring to the presence of Jesus prior to the incarnation.  Throughout the Old Testament, specifically in very critical moments, it is Jesus that meets personally with Abraham, Moses, Joshua and now Gideon.  This week, during 10 Minutes with God, I want to continue to explore the theme of the Sufficiency of Christ through various passages in the Old Testament where there is an interaction with The Angel of the Lord.

Begin this morning, by reading the interaction between Abraham and the Angel of the Lord at the very moment when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Genesis 22: 9-12

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Abraham finds himself in his darkest moment.  God has asked from Abraham the one thing that he desires to hold onto the most, his own son.  Now Abraham has laid Isaac on the alter in obedience to God and in that moment, The Angel of the Lord intervenes and stops Abraham.  I have often thought about this moment for Abraham and the type of faith that he must have possessed in order to be willing to lose that which was of most importance to him (which if of course why God asked for this sacrifice from Abraham to begin with).  I have not however consider the presence of Christ in this passage and the implications of that presence in my own faith.

In my own experience, it is in the moments when my faith is facing the greatest challenge that I can easily become convinced that I am on my own.  God seems distant and removed and I feel as though I have been left to navigate the moments that I need Him the most, on my own.  I imagine that Abraham must have been feeling this way only exponentially more and yet it is at this very point where the presence of Christ is revealed.  Jesus intercedes on behalf of Abraham, stops the sacrifice, affirms his demonstration of faith and provides the substitutionary sacrifice.  This is the very thing that Jesus has been doing for us since his own sacrifice on the cross and continues to do each and every day.  He meets us in our worst moment, that place where our faith is most vulnerable or at greatest risk and intercedes on our behalf.  Just the very presence of Jesus as the Angel of the Lord in the passage speaks volumes regarding the sufficiency of Christ.  Jesus is the present one, the one who never leaves us, who sees us at our weakest and sustains us.  Generally, in the midst of these moments, I am completely unaware of His presence.  Often times, it is not until much later that I am able to look back and perceive his presence, to know that I was never really alone and to thank Him for being the one who was sufficient when I was not.

Jesus was sufficient for Abraham in his worst moment.  He is sufficient for us in ours as well.

Pastor Sterling Moore

Friday, July 5

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When one faces “life’s floods” we discovered this weekend that one way to keep God out in front is to remember how He was worked in the past.  Reflect on what David remembered about God’s work in his life by reviewing Psalm 103…

¹ Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

⁷ He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—

Using the timeline below, take a few moments to look back on your life and jot down experiences and periods of time where you sensed that God was working.  Examples of this could be how He met you in the midst of a crisis, provided for you in a time of need, grew you in character (humility, patience, compassion), convicted you of sin, gave you His eyes for what breaks His Heart, or gave you a new appreciation for his grace and forgiveness or a greater understanding of what it means to serve Him and the least of these.  In order to help jog your memory, try to complete this statement:  I remember when God…

Started My

Relationship                             Today

With God

●------|---------|------------|-------------|--------->

As you reflect on what you wrote, is there anything you especially want to thank God for?  Do that NOW!

Any lesson you learned, but forgot and want to re-integrate back into your life?

Write IT down and make the CHANGE!

Bruce McEvoy

Pastor of Family and Serving

Thursday, July 4

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It has been said -- You can't test courage cautiously.  I would agree that as we have looked at Joshua 3 throughout the week it is aligned with this sentiment!  God rarely “tests” us a “little.”  Think about that.  Are the stories of God’s people on our old school flannel graphs or those simplified in our Children’s Bibles, petty stories of achievement?  Or grand stories of impact?

Let me remind you of some of the EPIC stories of COURAGE without CAUTION:

Noah…and the ARK.

David…kills Goliath.

Samson…kills hundreds with a jawbone.

Daniel…in the Lions Den.

Esther…approaches the King to save her people.

Nehemiah…re-builds the walls of Jerusalem.

Gideon…wins with only 300.

Jesus (and disciples)…feeds 5000.  

Stephen…stoned for his faith conviction.

It took courage for Peter to step out of the boat just like it took courage for the priests to step out into the Jordan at flood stage.  As pastor of Serving I have the special opportunity to know the courageous stories of our FBCGers who have stepped out in faith to GO.  To go well beyond their comfort zones to places like Ecuador, Nigeria, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Indonesia and to happy pagan students in our high schools (Young Life staff) and colleges/universities (Cru).  It is amazing how often God speaks clearly, even when it might feel crazy.  But none of our FBCGers serving throughout the country or world are crazy.  They are obedient to God. 

Today would you finish your Ten Minutes with God and pray…

King Jesus, I am Yours!  I’m completely yours.  Yet if I am honest, I am not sure I know how to listen well to your voice.  Please speak loudly and clearly on where you are specifically calling me to go or step into your service and for your purpose.  Help me to take a baby step or even a giant leap.  I want to serve you with my heart, soul, strength, and mind.  ~Amen

Bruce McEvoy

Pastor of Family and Serving

Wednesday, July 3

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Joshua 1:1-11

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

¹⁰ So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ¹¹ “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

Be strong and very courageous.  Again, I love this!  Moses is dead and Joshua is simply told to be strong and courageous.  He doesn’t get a burning bush, a spirit filled staff, or a side kick to do his speaking.  Take a look at the rest of verse seven!  Joshua is admonished to be OBEDIENT!  No trick plays and no special treatment.  In other words or perhaps if one could reflect on his true “human-ness” he’s stuck in that classic chorus:  TRUST and Obey there is no other way!  Read the additional stanzas of this great Hymn as part of your worship this morning or those who can sing and know the tune…let it go!

1. When we walk with the Lord in the light of his word, 

what a glory he sheds on our way! 

While we do his good will, he abides with us still, 

and with all who will trust and obey. 

Refrain: Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

2. Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, 

but our toil he doth richly repay; 

not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, 

but is blest if we trust and obey. 

3. But we never can prove the delights of his love 

until all on the altar we lay; 

for the favor he shows, for the joy he bestows, 

are for them who will trust and obey. 

4. Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at his feet, 

or we'll walk by his side in the way; 

what he says we will do, where he sends we will go; 

never fear, only trust and obey. 

Bruce McEvoy

Pastor of Family and Serving

Tuesday, July 2

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Let’s jump back just three chapters to Deuteronomy and reflect a bit on the timing of the story in Joshua 3.  Moses is dead!  The Israelites have recently mourned the loss of the leader that ultimately led them through the Exodus and subsequently 40 years of wandering.  The Nation of Israel is now on the precipice of inheriting the land that has been promised them by their sovereign God.  Read the words of Deuteronomy 34

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, ² all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, ³ the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴ Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

⁵ And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. ⁶ He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. ⁷ Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. ⁸ The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.

⁹Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.

¹⁰ Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹ who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. ¹² For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

God “promised” (verse 4) the promised land to the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Moses did so much right, but because of his sin he only gets to see the land.  He never crosses over.  From my human understanding it seems so unfair.  However, like I Kings 13 (take a look at that chapter too) obedience regardless of the cost has consequences.  Thus the “legend” never gets to set foot in the land flowing with milk and honey.

Despite being 120 years old, Moses’ eyes were not weak nor his strength gone…yet God is ready for the Israelites to enter the Promised Land and Moses did not make the “cut”.  Our hero is celebrated and mourned for an entire month before preparations for a new leader is put into place.  

Think on that for a moment.  This is bigger than an injury to Lebron James or the retirement of a 30 year CEO, or even an assassination of a President.  Moses has been the Israelite Legend since he returned to Egypt with a stick that produced some awesome feats…from plagues, to water parting, to springs of water…well that was a mistake!  Their mourning would have also included ANXIETY.  

Remember that our anxiety typically rests in our lack of trust in Our God who has repeatedly shown Himself to be faithful in every situation…past, present, and future too.

Bruce McEvoy

Pastor of Family and Serving