Skip to main content

Check it out

“Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up. When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush…” (Exodus 3:1-4).

God’s people had been slaves in Egypt for more than 400 years. He had heard their cries and had decided to do something (Exodus 3:7-10). In fact, he had a plan. Moses was going to lead them to their new home.

While you probably know those details, let me share one fact that I had not seen until last week. The word says that Moses saw the burning bush and said to himself, “I will go over and see this strange sight” and that is when God calls him.

Now, what happens if Moses sees the burning bush and says, “Huh!” and then looks at his sundial and decides it is time to go home for supper? What if he does not go over there? The scripture seems to indicate that had he not investigated that strange sight, he would have missed out on God’s plan for him. He only hears the voice of God after he goes over to see the burning bush, not before.

So, that makes me wonder: What is God calling you and me to investigate? What is being placed in front of us that is making us say, “Hmm – I wonder what that is about”? Even more importantly: Are responding to those things?

Moses becomes “Moses” not because he planned it, but because he decided to look and listen.

Maybe we would find unimaginable opportunities from God if we did the same thing.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Article: Grace Changes Everything

               A young man broke into a business and did $5000 damage. As part of his Restorative Justice sentence, he was required to meet with my friend Garth.   Garth believes in making apologies and restitution.   It took several months, but Garth finally convinced the young man that these were necessary steps, so he tried to arrange a meeting with the business owner.                The business owner wanted nothing to do with this situation.   He was angry and wanted a more severe form of justice.   Eventually, however, he agreed to meet the young man to hear what he had to say.                  The young man looked the business owner in the eye an...

New Article: We need a Better Scorecard

                   “Is that a Sun Ice?”                “Excuse me,” I said.                My friend pointed to my new ski jacket and asked again, “Is that a Sun Ice?”                It was 1991 and Sun Ice was the big name in ski wear at the time.   “No” I replied, “I can’t afford one of those”.                “Oh” he said as he lost interest and then just walked away.                I had not seen this friend in more than a year and, sadly, his first ...

New Article: Surprised by God

                 We would be shocked if we could hear the Bible for the first time again.   On every page, something unexpected happens.   The only reason we are not surprised is that the stories are so familiar to us.   Think about some of the unexpected interactions that God has had with his people.                For example, every culture has stories about a creator, but none imagined that God would become part of the creation.   That the creator would lower himself and become human is surprising, to say the least.                Not only did he become one of us, but he also came as a baby.   A tiny, helpless, baby!   If I wer...