Skip to main content

Close Counts

                Moses had a problem.  After leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, he ended up in the wilderness with a huge group of people who did not care much about God.  In fact, they decided to create an idol and worship it instead.  Things were going from bad to worse very quickly.

                Moses knew that there was only one solution.  He approached God and insisted that “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Exodus 33:15).  He was unwilling to move a muscle if God was not close by and leading the way.  The only hope he had was to stay near to God.

                Fifteen hundred years later, we meet a woman who has a medical condition that has left her ceremonially unclean for twelve years.  She was required to isolate herself and, therefore, she was cut off from her community.  She could not go to the market or the temple.  She was not even allowed to be with her own family because then they would be considered unclean.  She had tried every cure she could find, and she had spent all she had under the care of many doctors, but she found no relief. 

                Then, one day, she heard that Jesus was near and thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed” (Mark 5:29).  As it turned out, she was right!  Being close to Jesus allowed her to get her life back.

                Thirty years later, a little group of Christians was facing a dilemma.  They knew what they believed, but they also knew that worshipping God could cost them their status in the community, their homes, and even their lives.  Paul had a solution for them.  “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).  The strength that they needed would be found as they stayed close to God.

                You have probably heard that close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.  Well, close counts in spiritual matters as well.

                “Come near to God and he will come near to you!” (James 4:8)

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

New Article: A Path Worth Following

  Jehoram was a terrible king.  He reigned in Judah around the year 850 B.C. and he did not care about God or his people.  His first act as king was to assassinate his six brothers so that no one could challenge his authority.  He was brutal and selfish.   Therefore, when the Bible sums up his life, it says, “Jehoram… passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried in the City of David” (2 Chronicles 21:20).  Did you catch that?  “To no one’s regret!”  What a terrible phrase for your tombstone. On the other hand, consider a lady named Tabitha.  She lived in the city of Joppa in the first century A.D. and we are told, “… she was always doing good and helping the poor” (Acts 9:36).  She became sick and died.  This caused the community so much grief that they called Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda, to come and help them.  When Peter arrived, a crowd gathered, bringing all the robes and other clothing that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more