It will help if we understand that the Christian life can be divided into two stages- the Red Sea stage and the Jordan River stage, with the wilderness in between. What the cross is to us, the Red Sea was to Israel. It was the symbol of their redemption, their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt by the mighty hand of God. They looked back at the Red Sea as we look back at the cross; they celebrated the Passover as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
But it wasn’t enough to get them out of Egypt, Moses reminded the people in Deuteronomy 6:23,” and He brought us out from the [Egypt] in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.” He brought us out to bring us in.
0 Comments
Have you ever been to the Holy Land? I am not talking about Texas, I am talking about Israel. For many years I had not intention or interest in going but I began to study and read through the Book of Revelation and this peek my interest. So when we had a chance to go we took it along with a number of other friends and family. It was life-changing because all of sudden some of the places and names I had been reading about came to life. The most touching moment on our first trip was when we went to the Garden of Gethsemane and in the church there was a rock. It may have been the rock on which Jesus prayed and wept. I began to weep thinking of how my Savior suffered and died for me. Sandra and I want to go back in 2019 and take a group. Maybe you would like to go- to see- to feel what it is like.
Now listen carefully, because this is fundamental to any understanding of God and how He works. God knew before you were. He knew what you were going to do before you did what you did. He was aware of it., whether you were acting wrong and letting the devil have his way or whether you were acting right. He knows because He is the Lord of the living and the dead.
For a long time I saw God as the God of the mountaintop. When I saw that He was also the God of the valley, and everything between, it changed my life. I saw that everything that happens is done in accordance to the counsel of His will. We look at adversity far different than God looks at it. So we must look at the difficulties from God’s view point.
Look at Psalm 139:16 (AMP) "Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. Before you became into being, God knew you. Before you were substance, God knew you. He even wrote down in a book what you would become. This kind of God has no problem in being aware of your adversity. He is not only aware of it, but He permits it- not only permits it but He limits it. Judges 3:1- (NASB) "Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to test Israel by them..."
Let me say this, whether we like it or not, if you are a child of God, you are going to face some kind of testing or adversity in life. Another thing,there is a false teaching that says, if you are a righteous person you are not going to have problems, that everything is going to go just right. In fact, most of the righteous people I know have more testing instead of less. |
What we Learned on Sunday? Insights, ideas and InspirationWritten by Pastor Chris Hudson Archives
April 2024
Categories |