January 14, 2010
Moses is born. The king (in his fear) has demanded that all Hebrew baby boys be thrown in the river. Instead of obeying Pharaoh's command, baby Moses was put in a basket and hidden in the reeds. When he was discovered by the king's daughter, Moses' sister offered her (and Moses') mom to be the nursemaid. And incredibly, Moses' mom even got paid to be his nursemaid.
Living by faith—not fear. Moses' mom had to be willing to open her hands and let go. She did her part. She prepared the basket, put Moses in the river, and had her daughter watch. It was God who made sure Moses was discovered by the right person, returned to her for his care, and even had her paid for it. When Moses grew older his mother had to open her hands and let go again. She took Moses to the king's daughter and released him for adoption. She had to live by faith.
Opening your hands. We had to learn this same concept. It was a step-by-step process of opening our hands to release any-thing and every-thing God showed us. We literally drove a wooden stake in the ground where we could see it every day. That stake symbolized our surrender and our decision to live by faith. "Here's my life—I lay it down; Here's my pride—I lay it down; Here's my fear—I lay it down; I surrender it all to you." We let go—and let God. Let God. What an oxymoron. Yet that is exactly what it requires. We need to do our part, then step aside, get out of the way, and "let" God.
The Israelites (and we) cried out to God. Exodus 2:23–25 - God heard them ... he remembered ... he saw ... he was concerned. Jeremiah 29:12 - "Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you."
Exodus 2:23 - "After a long time...." The path you are on may be long, but hang on! Even though there isn't always a quick fix to our problems, God is faithful and His promises are true.
Moses is out in the field and sees a bush burning and decides to check it out. Scripture says that when the Lord saw him coming (verse 4) the Lord called his name and Moses answered, "Here I am." God was already there. He was waiting for Moses, but Moses had to go to Him. God is always there—waiting. He is waiting for us to come to Him.
Listen to what God says in Exodus 3:
Verse 5 - You are standing on holy ground ...
Verse 7 - I have seen ... I have heard ... I am concerned ...
Verse 8 - I have come down to save ... I will bring them out ... and lead them ...
Verse 9 - I have heard the cries ... I have seen the way ... life was made hard for them ...
Verse 16 - I care about you. I have seen what happened...
Verse 17 - I promised I would take you out of your troubles ... I will lead you ...
Verse 20 - I will use my great power ... after I do that he will let you go.
Wow! After we cry out to Him, He reveals that He has been watching, He knows what we've been through, He cares, He's concerned, He's heard, and HE will be the one that frees us. Praise God!!
God calls Moses to lead His people out but Moses feels totally inadequate. The next verses are astounding.
Exodus 3:12 - "I will be with you." And what is the proof that God will do all he promised? Signs? Miracles? No! God said the proof that he was sending him was this: AFTER Moses leads the people out of Egypt, all of them will worship Him on the mountain. AFTER!! Moses' response to God? WHEN I go (not if) what shall I tell the people? God's response, "I AM WHO I AM ... the I AM sent me to you."
Moses had to start out in faith. Later God gave Moses proof for himself and the people he was going to lead. Tangible signs to help their faith. Moses decided to obey and go back to Egypt before he knew that the people who wanted to kill him were dead (Verses 18–19). God wants our complete surrender and obedience before we know the facts that would logically make us willing to surrender. Total surrender and obedience—no matter what. Not a decision to surrender and obey "if" or "because" something else does or does not happen.
Moses originally hesitated to do the job God asked of him because of what he perceived as his inabilities. Exodus 4:11–12 - The Lord answered him, "Who makes a person's mouth? And who makes someone deaf or not able to speak? Or who gives a person sight or blindness? It is I, the Lord. Now go! I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say."
God gave us Jane to bolster our faith. (Her Name was Jane)
Psalm 32:8 - "I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you." Jane's Life Verse
Isaiah 48:17 - "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to do what is good, who leads you in the way you should go." Cross-reference from Jane's NIV Bible.
Isaiah 30:21 - "...you will hear a voice saying, "This is the right way to go..." Jane told us to read in fall of '07, just a few days before my first deposition.
Matthew 10:19–20 - "...at that time you will be given the words to say. It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit..." Late 2008 - I was reading in Job 6 and the Exploration Verses sent me to read these verses in Matthew, just days before another deposition.
Mark 13:9 - "...it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit." Early 2009. I was reading Jeremiah 38 and it sent me to Mark 13:9. The exact same promise at another critical time.
When we first started telling people the story of Jane, everyone (literally) was saying that this story should be told and I should write a book. I always just smiled and nodded my head, but in my mind I thought it was an impossible notion. The same response kept happening—over and over. I started to think maybe God was trying to tell me something and there should be a book. I then responded just like Moses. What?? A book?!? I don't have the abilities needed to write a book! Being an author has never even crossed my mind!! I most certainly don't have the skills needed to write a book. It's impossible! English was my worst subject in school! How could I even think that maybe writing a book was what I was supposed to do? Then it hit me. God does not need my abilities. He needs my availability.
Lord, I am available. I can't—but You can. I have no ideas of my own on what this book should be. Holy Spirit, direct me and guide me to write YOUR words. May YOUR will be done. I'm available Lord. Use me.
Addendum: 9/7/13 ~ God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our life situations. God knew Pharaoh was not going to let the Israelites go. "Only a great power will force him to let you go, so I will use my great power..." He gave Moses glimpses of what He was going to do. Moses wasn't even back in Egypt yet and the plagues hadn't even started, but God revealed what the end punishment was going to be—death to the firstborn sons. God gave Moses signs to encourage him, bolster his faith, and provide proof to him and others of God's leading.
Moses was on his way to Egypt when he faced a battle with the LORD during the night. Why? Because Moses, while being obedient to God's call to go back to Egypt, still had not been obedient in other areas of his life. He still had not circumcised his son. So Moses' wife circumcised their son and put the blood on Moses' feet. Then the LORD let Moses alone. We must do first things first. We must be obedient to do what God has told us to do before He can use us to do His will.
God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our life situations. We don't need to know the how, what, when, or where—we just need to be obedient in ALL things and trust Him to fulfill His promises.
Addendum #2: 9/26/15 ~ When I first wrote this entry in January of 2010, and then transcribed it in September of 2013, I had NO idea what God had planned for my journals. NONE. What a journey this has been!! See LORD – What Am I To Do? ; The LORD Answers! ; and I Didn't Know—BUT GOD DID!
Next Entry: Exodus 5:1 – 6:27
Moses is born. The king (in his fear) has demanded that all Hebrew baby boys be thrown in the river. Instead of obeying Pharaoh's command, baby Moses was put in a basket and hidden in the reeds. When he was discovered by the king's daughter, Moses' sister offered her (and Moses') mom to be the nursemaid. And incredibly, Moses' mom even got paid to be his nursemaid.
Living by faith—not fear. Moses' mom had to be willing to open her hands and let go. She did her part. She prepared the basket, put Moses in the river, and had her daughter watch. It was God who made sure Moses was discovered by the right person, returned to her for his care, and even had her paid for it. When Moses grew older his mother had to open her hands and let go again. She took Moses to the king's daughter and released him for adoption. She had to live by faith.
Opening your hands. We had to learn this same concept. It was a step-by-step process of opening our hands to release any-thing and every-thing God showed us. We literally drove a wooden stake in the ground where we could see it every day. That stake symbolized our surrender and our decision to live by faith. "Here's my life—I lay it down; Here's my pride—I lay it down; Here's my fear—I lay it down; I surrender it all to you." We let go—and let God. Let God. What an oxymoron. Yet that is exactly what it requires. We need to do our part, then step aside, get out of the way, and "let" God.
The Israelites (and we) cried out to God. Exodus 2:23–25 - God heard them ... he remembered ... he saw ... he was concerned. Jeremiah 29:12 - "Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you."
Exodus 2:23 - "After a long time...." The path you are on may be long, but hang on! Even though there isn't always a quick fix to our problems, God is faithful and His promises are true.
Moses is out in the field and sees a bush burning and decides to check it out. Scripture says that when the Lord saw him coming (verse 4) the Lord called his name and Moses answered, "Here I am." God was already there. He was waiting for Moses, but Moses had to go to Him. God is always there—waiting. He is waiting for us to come to Him.
Listen to what God says in Exodus 3:
Verse 5 - You are standing on holy ground ...
Verse 7 - I have seen ... I have heard ... I am concerned ...
Verse 8 - I have come down to save ... I will bring them out ... and lead them ...
Verse 9 - I have heard the cries ... I have seen the way ... life was made hard for them ...
Verse 16 - I care about you. I have seen what happened...
Verse 17 - I promised I would take you out of your troubles ... I will lead you ...
Verse 20 - I will use my great power ... after I do that he will let you go.
Wow! After we cry out to Him, He reveals that He has been watching, He knows what we've been through, He cares, He's concerned, He's heard, and HE will be the one that frees us. Praise God!!
God calls Moses to lead His people out but Moses feels totally inadequate. The next verses are astounding.
Exodus 3:12 - "I will be with you." And what is the proof that God will do all he promised? Signs? Miracles? No! God said the proof that he was sending him was this: AFTER Moses leads the people out of Egypt, all of them will worship Him on the mountain. AFTER!! Moses' response to God? WHEN I go (not if) what shall I tell the people? God's response, "I AM WHO I AM ... the I AM sent me to you."
Moses had to start out in faith. Later God gave Moses proof for himself and the people he was going to lead. Tangible signs to help their faith. Moses decided to obey and go back to Egypt before he knew that the people who wanted to kill him were dead (Verses 18–19). God wants our complete surrender and obedience before we know the facts that would logically make us willing to surrender. Total surrender and obedience—no matter what. Not a decision to surrender and obey "if" or "because" something else does or does not happen.
Moses originally hesitated to do the job God asked of him because of what he perceived as his inabilities. Exodus 4:11–12 - The Lord answered him, "Who makes a person's mouth? And who makes someone deaf or not able to speak? Or who gives a person sight or blindness? It is I, the Lord. Now go! I will help you speak, and I will teach you what to say."
God gave us Jane to bolster our faith. (Her Name was Jane)
Psalm 32:8 - "I will make you wise and show you where to go. I will guide you and watch over you." Jane's Life Verse
Isaiah 48:17 - "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to do what is good, who leads you in the way you should go." Cross-reference from Jane's NIV Bible.
Isaiah 30:21 - "...you will hear a voice saying, "This is the right way to go..." Jane told us to read in fall of '07, just a few days before my first deposition.
Matthew 10:19–20 - "...at that time you will be given the words to say. It will not really be you speaking but the Spirit..." Late 2008 - I was reading in Job 6 and the Exploration Verses sent me to read these verses in Matthew, just days before another deposition.
Mark 13:9 - "...it will not really be you speaking; it will be the Holy Spirit." Early 2009. I was reading Jeremiah 38 and it sent me to Mark 13:9. The exact same promise at another critical time.
When we first started telling people the story of Jane, everyone (literally) was saying that this story should be told and I should write a book. I always just smiled and nodded my head, but in my mind I thought it was an impossible notion. The same response kept happening—over and over. I started to think maybe God was trying to tell me something and there should be a book. I then responded just like Moses. What?? A book?!? I don't have the abilities needed to write a book! Being an author has never even crossed my mind!! I most certainly don't have the skills needed to write a book. It's impossible! English was my worst subject in school! How could I even think that maybe writing a book was what I was supposed to do? Then it hit me. God does not need my abilities. He needs my availability.
Lord, I am available. I can't—but You can. I have no ideas of my own on what this book should be. Holy Spirit, direct me and guide me to write YOUR words. May YOUR will be done. I'm available Lord. Use me.
Addendum: 9/7/13 ~ God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our life situations. God knew Pharaoh was not going to let the Israelites go. "Only a great power will force him to let you go, so I will use my great power..." He gave Moses glimpses of what He was going to do. Moses wasn't even back in Egypt yet and the plagues hadn't even started, but God revealed what the end punishment was going to be—death to the firstborn sons. God gave Moses signs to encourage him, bolster his faith, and provide proof to him and others of God's leading.
- "What is that in your hand?" His walking stick became a snake.
- "Put your hand inside your coat." His hand becomes white with a skin disease.
Moses was on his way to Egypt when he faced a battle with the LORD during the night. Why? Because Moses, while being obedient to God's call to go back to Egypt, still had not been obedient in other areas of his life. He still had not circumcised his son. So Moses' wife circumcised their son and put the blood on Moses' feet. Then the LORD let Moses alone. We must do first things first. We must be obedient to do what God has told us to do before He can use us to do His will.
God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our life situations. We don't need to know the how, what, when, or where—we just need to be obedient in ALL things and trust Him to fulfill His promises.
Addendum #2: 9/26/15 ~ When I first wrote this entry in January of 2010, and then transcribed it in September of 2013, I had NO idea what God had planned for my journals. NONE. What a journey this has been!! See LORD – What Am I To Do? ; The LORD Answers! ; and I Didn't Know—BUT GOD DID!
Next Entry: Exodus 5:1 – 6:27
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