Bible

Exodus 16 – The Lessons of Manna

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Any time you begin something new (a new school, a new job, a new marriage, etc.) there are always some lessons you need to learn to help you do well in that new thing.
In Exodus 16, the Children of Israel were embarking on something brand new, and there were some basic lessons God wanted them to learn from the beginning. So God provided a food called manna that would show up every morning. They were only to gather enough for that day. If they gathered more than they needed for the day, it would spoil. But God gave them manna, not only to feed them, but to teach them the following lessons:
  1. The Provider is more important than the provision. An abundance of provision still will not satisfy our hunger for something more. That satisfaction can only be found in the Provider…God (Luke 12:15)
  2. We can trust God to faithfully provide for our needs. God does not take pleasure in withholding good things from His children, but in providing the good things we need. (Ps. 103:1-5)
  3. Though we can trust God to faithfully provide for our needs, God does not obligate Himself to provide all of our wants. Nor does God obligate Himself to provide things ahead of time. Yes, God often provides so many of our wants, rather quickly. But He is not obligated to do so.
  4. We are to demonstrate our trust in God through our obedience to Him. True trust is believing in God so deeply that we do what He tells us to do, rather than what we want to do. Doing things our own way produces fleeting results that leave us unfulfilled, but doing things His way results in our deeper satisfaction.
I’m sure there were many other lessons God was teaching His children through the marvelous medium of manna, but following these four simple lessons will change the way we see and respond to life and God.
Think about the last time you grumbled about something in you life. This is probably an area where you need a refresher course on the lessons of manna.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 15 – How’s Your Short Term Memory?

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There was an old Saturday Night Live sketch with Tom Hanks called “Mr. Short Term Memory.” It was about a man who only held things in his memory for a few seconds, and then totally forgot them. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to deal with such a person?
In Exodus chapter 15, the Israelites are much like Mr. Short Term Memory. They had witnessed and walked through one of the most awesome miracles known to mankind…the parting of the Red Sea. This miracle proved God could do anything. Then, just three days later, they are complaining about not having anything to drink; as if the God who parted the Red Sea couldn’t handle a drink of water. Talk about short term memory! Just three days!
Why is it we’re so quick to forget God’s mighty power and provision in our lives? Why is it we’re so quick to forget the love and strength by which He promises to guide us? (Exodus 15:13)
In the flesh, we tend to focus on what we can touch and see. But we are called to live by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7) (Rom. 1:17) We are called to live by faith rather than flesh. This means we must operate on what we know about God, rather than what we know about our circumstances.
Seeing only what is in front of you leads to forgetting the God who is ahead of you. This type of short-term memory leads to short-term faith…operating on the circumstances you see, rather then the God you don’t.
The Israelites forgot the Red Sea miracle in just three days. What has God done for you that you are you too quickly forgetting?

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 13-14 – A Life of Freedom

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In the movie, “The Shawshank Redemption,” you see the difficulty people have transitioning from a life in prison to a life of freedom. Familiar with years of incarceration, they have trouble shifting gears and knowing how to live as a free person.
This was true for the the Israelites who were freed from Egyptian bondage. They had to learn how to live out their freedom. Those who find themselves released from the bondage of sin also have to learn to live out their freedom.
Exodus chapters 13-14, gives us clues as to how we can live out our freedom in Christ.
  • ALWAYS REMEMBER the price of your freedom, (Ex. 13:8-10) (Ex.13:14-16). Where a lamb was provided in place of the Israelites’ first born sons, God provided the life of His first born in place of us, so that we might be released from the bondage of our sin.
  • ALWAYS RELY on God for your needs. You can trust Him, because God doesn’t just set us free.
  • ALWAYS RESPOND to God’s direction and leading. Even though God provided a way through the sea, they still had to move, (Ex. 14:15). Even though God set them free from Egyptian bondage, they still had to walk out into the unknown. Responding to God completes the loop of our freedom.
Is your life more freedom or bondage? If you’re still experiencing bondage, what do you need to shore up…remembering, relying, or responding?

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 11-12 – The Grand Finale

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Exodus chapters 11-12 tell us that before Pharaoh will set the Israelites free from bondage, there will have to be one final plague. It’s as if all the other plagues were warm-ups in preparation for the grand finale.
God has been laying ground work with all the other plagues. He has been showing His supremacy and sovereignty over nature, over the kings of Egypt, and over the gods of Egypt. Now, with this final plague, God will definitively make His point.
This final plague is different from all the others. With the other plagues, the Israelites were spectators. But now, for them be set them free from their bondage, they must invest and participate in this final plague!
Their investment would be the death of a lamb as a substitution for their first born son. It would be an act of trust, obedience, and faith.
It is the same today. All around us, God displays His power, supremacy, and sovereignty. But for Him to truly set us free from our sin and bondage, their must be a sacrifice…the death of His first born Son, Jesus the Lamb of God. And we must participate in this by trusting the blood of His sacrifice to be enough to substitute for our sins. When we do, God will use this act of faithful obedience to lead us out of our bondage.
This was so important, the Israelites were commanded to regularly remember the grand finale of their deliverance. Should we do any less?

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 7-10 – The Big Three

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Exodus chapters 7-10 give an account of the plagues God brought upon Egypt, because of Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Israelites.
Though these chapters are rich with truths, there are three main truths that stand out like large illuminated billboards along the interstate. No matter how fast you travel through these chapters, it’s hard to miss these three truths:
  1. The God of Moses is the one, true, and only God. He is the Creator; awesome in power and might. Every atom of all creation is instantly at His command and exists to do His bidding. He supernaturally controls all things, either by might or by timing, and He cannot be thwarted.
  2. All of creation exists and for one purpose…to reveal God. God used the plagues to reveal Himself to Pharaoh. He even raised Pharaoh up for the distinct purpose of revealing Himself to all the earth. (Ex. 9:16) And God used Pharaoh’s pride, stubbornness, and arrogance to reveal Himself to the Israelites. (Ex. 10:1-2) Creation will always reveal the Creator.
  3. We are to consistently and persistently reveal God and what He has said to others. We must be the ones who say, “This is what God says…” And it’s not enough to just say it once. Time and time again, Moses went to Pharaoh and spoke the same message… “This is what God says…” Moses was neither arrogant nor apologetic. He was simply consistently and persistent in speaking for God.
These are the big three truths, we’re all called to live by. Try writing these three truth out on a card and looking at them throughout the day. It may make a difference in how you see and approach your day…and your life.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 6 – The Big Reveal

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You do everything you know to do. You plan, pray, and work hard. But despite your best efforts, things get worse rather than better. It’s frustrating, discouraging, and even angering. You ask yourself, “What did I do wrong?” If your analysis turns up nothing, you begin to question God and feel He’s not being attentive or fair.
This is where Moses finds himself in Ex. 5:22-23. He has gone back to Egypt and done everything God has told him to do, but things get worse, rather than better. He complains to God about this, and this is when God reveals His simple objective for tough times.
What is God’s objective for tough times? It’s to reveal Himself! In everything He does, and everything He doesn’t do, God goes out of His way to reveal Himself. He does this through creation (Rom. 1:20) and specifically through people; such as Abraham, Moses, and us! But the ultimate revelation of Himself is in His Son, Jesus…”God with us.” (Matt. 1:23)
At the beginning of Moses’ mission, (Exodus 6), God shows him a valuable lesson. He shows Moses that there are times when God will allow things to go bad, simply to reveal Himself in an even greater way. At times, He does the same thing in our lives, much to our dismay. But in the end, we and others are the better for it, because we get and even bigger view of God.
God’s objective is to reveal Himself to us, because He knows that in seeing Him more clearly, we learn to trust Him more fully. And one day, we will stand face to face with Jesus and we will be fully changed into His likeness. (1 John 3:2) That will be the big reveal!

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 5 – When God Doesn’t Make Sense

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God doesn’t always make sense. Sometimes, it’s because He sees so much further down the road than we do. Sometimes, it’s because He’s teaching us to trust Him. But whatever the reason, God doesn’t always make sense, and this is why faith is such a critical element to both our salvation and our day-to-day walk.
Can you imagine what Moses must have been thinking in Exodus chapter 5?…
“God, You went out of Your way to get my attention by using a burning bush. Then You were explicitly clear that You wanted me to go back to Egypt to set Your people free from bondage. You even gave me my brother Aaron to help me speak to Pharaoh and miracles to do in Pharaoh’s presence. And now that I’ve done what you wanted me to do, the people have been put under even more bondage! God, you said you saw the bondage of the people and wanted to bring it to an end, not increase it! Did I miss something here?!”
Ever felt this way? Ever felt like God is not making sense in your current circumstance?
When God doesn’t seem to be making sense in your current circumstance, you need to place your faith and focus on God more than your circumstance. Remember…
  • God is faithful and can be no other way. (Duet. 32:4)
  • God’s ways are very different than our ways. (Isa. 55:8)
  • God has promised to never leave or forsake you, even when things get difficult. (Isa. 43;2) (Matt. 28:20)
To sum it up…It’s not what you know about your circumstances. It’s Who you know in your circumstances.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 4 – Ability vs Availability

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So many people feel too common, too plain, or too ordinary to do anything great. Others believe they could do something great, but they don’t want to go through the difficulties it would require.
Both were probably true of Moses. In Exodus chapter 4, Moses didn’t feel worthy or able to do what God was asking him to do. He was also aware of the great hardship and risk he would would have to face if he went back to do what God wanted him to do. This is probably why God assured Moses that those who once wanted to kill him were now dead. (Ex. 4:19)
What God had to get through to Moses (and to us) is that He is able, if we are available. God is able to supply anything we need to accomplish great things for him, but to do that, we must make available to Him all that we have (Ex. 4:2) and all we are (Ex. 4:6). If we want God to use us to do big things, we must offer up to Him both our possessions and our person.
God wants to do great things through us, and He’s willing and able to do so, but the question we have to answer is: Have we made ourselves and all we have completely available to Him, or are we holding on to things tightly, hoping He will use someone else. (Ex. 4:13)
God is completely able, but am I completely available? This is what makes the difference between a life of fulfillment and a life of regret.

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 3 – What’s In A Name?

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What’s in a name? Quite a lot, actually. From the moment your parents decided on your name, it has been your main identifier and descriptor.
In Exodus chapter 3, God reveals His name to Moses when He says, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” In Hebrew, “I AM” means, “I was, am, and will be who I am.” It’s kind of an odd name, but what it says about God is that He does not change. He is the eternally existent God, who always was and always will be. He is the only true constant in all of time and existence. (Malachi 3:6) (John 1:1-3) (James 1:17)
This is important, because it tells us that God wants to be as intimately involved in things now as He was then.
This is good news, right? But look how God got involved then…
After God told Moses He was going to get involved in freeing the Israelite slaves, He said, “So now, go. I am sending you…” Moses planned on being a spectator to God’s involvement. He didn’t intend to get involved himself. But God intended to get involved by getting Moses involved.
The “I Am” has not changed. He still gets involved in what’s going on by getting us involved in what’s going on. We are to be partners, not spectators. It is our involvement that channels God’s involvement, and what He does in us and through us is the bigger miracle.
So look at where you want God’s involvement and ask yourself, “How does he want me to get involved?” This could be your burning bush!
Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.

Exodus 2 – Feeling Like You Don’t Belong

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Sometime you can just tell when something’s not right. You can just tell when you don’t belong where you are. Whether it’s a discontent or a difficulty fitting in, there’s a dissonance in your spirit. You just know it.
This was the case for Moses in chapter 2 of Exodus. Perhaps it was all that time bonding with his birth mother, as she nursed him for Pharaoh’s daughter, that led him to feel like he didn’t belong in Pharaoh’s family. Maybe it was the lack of acceptance and approval from his own people that made him feel like he didn’t belong with them. Even after he had a wife and a family of his own, the thoughts and connections of the past kept him feeling like an alien.
Feeling like you don’t fit in or don’t belong can be very frustrating and even painful. But the discomfort of feeling like an alien can be turned toward a powerful and positive outcome.
  • It can be a sign that God is transitioning you to a new phase in your life and service.
  • The discontent and discouragement can move you to work on yourself and engage with others more.
  • Or, it can be a simple reminder that this world can never be your home, because you are an alien in this world until you are home with Jesus.
Despite the reason, feeling like you don’t fit in or don’t belong can be a powerful turning point in your life…if you let it open you up to God’s purpose and plan for your life.
Moses had no idea where his discontentment would lead him, and neither do we!

 

Bret Legg is the Teaching and Counseling Pastor at Warren Baptist Church in Augusta, GA.