Serving Together as a Family
Today’s Passage – Exodus 28 – 29 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 13 – 14; Proverbs 29; Psalms 141 – 145)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – 1 Timothy 1:17
Read the “0129 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this passage – “Interceding on Behalf of God’s People,” and “I’ll Meet You There.“
“And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.” (Exodus 28:1)
The context of Exodus 28 and 29 mostly involves the consecration of Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons in their roles as priests who were consecrated to serve in the Tabernacle, ministering to God’s people. The Tabernacle was the center of worship for the entire congregation of Israel and the place that God would meet with his people (Exodus 29:42). The priests not only officiated in the temple, but they were also responsible for teaching people the Law (Deuteronomy 33:10). Chapter 28 deals primarily with the garments worn by the high priest, Aaron, as well as the less elaborate clothing worn by his sons, the priests (Click here for graphic of High Priest’s Garments.). Chapter 29 discusses the initial installation and dedication of this family of priests for their service in the Tabernacle.
The thought that captured my attention this morning was the fact that Aaron had the awesome privilege of serving the Lord along with his sons. They served the Lord together as a family. In Bible days, the sons typically followed in the father’s footsteps and served in the family business, whatever that was. Aaron was chosen by God to be the first high priest, and his sons were anointed along with him to serve as well as priests.
Getting to serve the Lord by yourself is wonderful enough, but being able to minister for the Lord with your family by your side is a dream come true. I have the wonderful privilege of serving as the pastor of our church along with my wife, my son-in-law and daughter. Of course, when the kids were young, all four of them were here serving the Lord with us. For nearly eighteen years I also had my son and eventually our daughter-in-law serving here as well. It was awesome to have them here for all of those years, but God called them to serve Him in a church in Texas. We certainly miss them, but we are thankful for all of the years that God gave us to serve together.
Aside from my relationship with the Lord, I treasure my family more than anything else in my life. I enjoy very much serving the Lord together with them. Even when my children were very young, my wife and I would include them in just about everything we did for the Lord within our local church. We took them out visiting with us, and we made sure that we worshipped together in the church services. When there was a church work day, they came with us and worked (or played) along with us. The church was not something that separated our family, and it should not be something that keeps you from yours. My children enjoyed being a part of the local church ministry with their mom and dad.
I want to encourage you to serve together with your family. Include your spouse and children in all that you do for the Lord. Take them with you soulwinning and out on visitation. Make serving the Lord fun and enjoyable for your family. Of course, you should also do other things that are not ministry related with them as well, but you will not regret including them in your service for the Lord.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 10 comments.
Pattern What You Preach
Today’s Passage – Exodus 25 – 27 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 11 – 12; Proverbs 28; Psalms 136 – 140
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2
Read the “0128 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
In chapters 25 – 27, God is instructing Moses regarding the construction of the Tabernacle. He first tells him that he must take up an offering from the people, collecting all of the materials that would be needed in order to construct it. This was no small undertaking as the tabernacle with all of its curtains and coverings and with all of its gold, silver, and brass, not to mention the wood that would be required, was a masterpiece of magnificent beauty and elaborate detail. Yet, it is interesting to note, as we will learn later in future passages, that Moses had to eventually stop the people from giving because they had given much more than was necessary to construct the Tabernacle. We don’t see that very often today, do we. Can you imagine what could be done in our churches today if God’s people were this excited about the work of God?
God then shows Moses a pattern; a picture of what the tabernacle was to look like. He no doubt also showed him blueprints of each element of the tabernacle, including all of the pieces of furniture. Moses had a clear picture in his mind of what it all would look like when he was finished. Then, God goes on for several chapters giving Moses detailed instructions outlining precisely how the tabernacle was to be built. So, in review, we see that God showed Moses an example, and then he gave him clear instructions, or exhortation.
I got to thinking how that this is how the ministry is supposed to work. God commands those of us who minister to His people to be a good example (or pattern) of what He expects in a finished product, and then He wants us to give clear instructions of how the people are to go about it. If the picture we are presenting is not consistent with the instructions we are giving, we will not be able to clearly help the people do and be what God expects of them. I know that none of us is perfect, but it is imperitive that we keep this thought in mind as we go about our business of serving the Lord. People will sometimes learn more from what they see, than from what we tell them. Both our example and our exhortation must be right, if we are going to effectively be used of God in building the lives of people for His glory.
By the way, this does not only apply to pastors and teachers. It applies to every believer. Your life (pattern, example) must back up what you are trying to instruct people. Parents, you need to be the right examlple to your children. They will not listen to your exhortation if your example is not what it should be. And to those of you that are concerned about winning people to Christ, which should be all of us; make sure your life backs up your profession. We have an awesome obligation to show people Christ with our lives as well as to tell them with our words. Think about it? Have you given much thought to your example; your pattern? Is it sending the right message to the people around you? Do the things that you do and say point people to the Lord, or do they send a conflicting message? Just a thought.
Posted in Thoughts from Exodus by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
Following Through
Today’s Passage – Exodus 22 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 8 – 9; Proverbs 27; Psalms 126 – 130)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Isaiah 51:11
Read the “0127 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “Living in Canaan“
“And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.” (Exodus 24:3)
In chapter 24 of our reading today in the Book of Exodus, we see Moses telling the people the words that God had given Him, which included the Ten Commandments. (See Exodus 20 – 23 for Moses account of what God told him to tell the people.) God had given many laws for the people to live by and the people were very pleased with what the Lord had said, and at the time they committed to cheerfully obey what God had commanded them. However, we will soon discover that when Moses goes back up to meet with God and is gone for a long period of time, the people will completely forsake Him, and create their own idol to worship. (If you want to read ahead, you can see the story in Exodus 32.) The point is that when God was with them and all the excitement of the smoke and thunder and lightning was in front of them, they were perfectly willing to follow God, but after 40 days of Moses’ absence, and none of the excitement they had previously experienced, they decided that they would try to create some excitement of their own; but they abandoned God.
Right now at our church we are experiencing some wonderful days. People seem to be excited and hungry for the Word of God. We are seeing quite a few new people and some are getting saved, and lives are changing. It certainly is exciting to see and experience what God is doing. His presence has been felt in our services, and I am looking forward to what God is going to do in the days ahead. Right now, it seems that everybody at our church wants to do right and live for the Lord. However, I know that there will come a day when the excitement will recede and we will have days when the crowds will be smaller and the zeal will not be as strong. My question is this: will the people still want to follow through with the decisions that they made in the exciting times when the excitement goes away?
Our kids just came back from camp and they are excited. God spoke to them in wonderful ways and they made decisions to do right. But, will they follow through with those decisions when the excitement of snow camp is a distant memory?
My point is that we need to develop our Christian character to the extent that we follow through with what God wants for us regardless of the emotional temperature of any given day. We need to do right and continue to follow the Lord’s will for our lives, even when the crowd is not with us, cheering us on, and regardless of how we feel. I hope and pray the spirit of revival continues and increases in the days ahead. I love living on the mountaintop, but I also pray that if I have to go through a valley that I will remain faithful to the decisions I made back on the mountain.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
A Peculiar Treasure
Today’s Passage – Exodus 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 7 – 8; Proverbs 26; Psalms 126 – 130)
Read the “0126 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “Come As You Are.“
“Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and [how] I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth [is] mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These [are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” (Exodus 19:4-6)
The phrase, “peculiar treasure,” is translated from one Hebrew word (סְגֻלָּה – cĕgullah) which means “a valued possession.” Sometimes we use the word “peculiar” today to refer to something in a derogatory way, but here it just has the idea of something that is different, unique, or special. In the context of these verses in Exodus, the peculiar treasure that God is referring to is Israel, the people that He had just redeemed from Egypt “on eagles’ wings.” God uses this phrase, “peculiar treasure,” one other time in reference to Israel:
“For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, [and] Israel for his peculiar treasure.“ (Psalm 135:4)
The Hebrew root word (סְגֻלָּה – cĕgullah) behind the phrase has also been translated into other English phrases that have a similar meaning, such as: “special people” (Deuteronomy 7:6), “peculiar people” (Deuteronomy 14:2; 26:18), and even “jewels” (Malachi 3:17). In all of the these examples, the reference is to God’s People, Israel.
I want to make a leap here into the New Testament and broaden the application of that phrase “peculiar treasure,” to include Christians. Twice the phrase, “peculiar people,” is used specifically in reference to New Testament believers:
“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14)
“But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (1 Peter 2:9)
God considers His people today to be a peculiar treasure to Him just as He did (and still does) the Nation of Israel. Notice, however, that He put a caveat in all of these verses, regarding how and when He especially sees His people as a peculiar treasure. In Exodus 19:5, it was conditioned on the fact that Israel obeyed God’s voice and kept His covenant. In Titus 2:14, it is connected with the fact that these believers were redeemed from iniquity, purified, and zealous of good works. In 1 Peter 2:9, these peculiar people are said to “shew forth the praises of God,” meaning that their lives were to glorify God.
If you are saved, you are a peculiar treasure to God. You are different from other people who do not have that special relationship with God through faith in His Son. You are not better in yourself than other people who do not know Him, but you are certainly seen by God as something peculiar, very special to Him. You are one of His jewels. Shouldn’t your life (and mine) reflect that special relationship? Shouldn’t the way we live her on earth “shew forth the praises” of the God who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Sad to say that many of us are hiding our light and trying to blend in with the rest of those that are still in darkness. Ought we not rather embrace the fact that we are peculiar and special to God? It may be that we will then be used of Him to draw more people to Christ. Just a thought.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 4 comments.
Moving Forward
Today’s Passage – Exodus 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 3 – 4; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Isaiah 51:11
Read the “0124 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from this passage – “He Brought Us This Far” and “Quit Griping!“
“15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:15)
In Exodus 14, the Israelites are heading out of Egypt through the wilderness and eventually into the Promised Land of Canaan. God had just miraculously delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt through a series of divine judgments (plagues) culminating with the death of every firstborn person and even animal of the Egyptians. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, finally had enough and agreed to let the Israelites leave. However, Pharaoh has a change of heart and decides that he is going to pursue after the Israelites with his army and trap them on the shore of the Red Sea.
The people of God were once again very afraid and their fear affected their faith in God:
“10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. 11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? 12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.” (Exodus 14:10-12)
Moses assures the people that God was going to deliver them once again:
“13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14:13-14)
It is interesting that Moses told the people to “stand still,” but God breaks into the conversation Himself and tells the people to “go forward:”
“15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:” (Exodus 14:15)
But where were they going to go? They were pinned up against the waters of the Red Sea. God put a wall of separation between the army of Israel and people of God (vs. 19 – 20), and then God parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could pass through on dry land, and once they were safely on the other side, God closed up the waters again and drowned the Egyptian army that attempted to follow them.
Though the people of God were fearful, they moved forward in faith, which caused God to bring them the victory. Then Moses and the Israelites were singing:
“1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.” (Exodus 15:1-2)
There would be many more challenging moments for the people of God in their future as they wandered through the wilderness on their way to the Land of Promise and each time they had a choice: were they going to allow their fear to cripple their faith or were they going to move forward?
The theme for our church in 2024 was “moving forward.” We have experienced many obstacles in our past that God has gotten us through and I am quite sure there will also be many more obstacles, no doubt more challenging obstacles in our future, but I am also quite sure that as long as we keep moving forward by faith, God will bring us through them all.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
Do I Have Your Attention?
Today’s Passage – Exodus 10 – 12 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Luke 1 – 2; Proverbs 23; Psalms 111 – 115)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Isaiah 40:31
Read the “0123 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read previous posts from today’s passage in Exodus – “Your Free To Go” and “What Can Wash Away My Sin?“
“And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also. And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.” – (Exodus 12:30-33)
Flies, frogs, locusts, darkness, hail. All of these and more sent by the hand of God in order that the Egyptians, as well as the Israelites, would know that there is an awesome and powerful God in Heaven. God’s command to the king of Egypt was simple: “let my people go.” However, Pharaoh was not too willing to heed the request of God. He seemed to be more willing to endure all of the plagues that God was sending his way. That is, all until his first born son was taken from him at the hand of God. God finally got his attention. He was finally ready to yield his stubborn will to the will of God.
There was a lot to think about in the passages of Scripture that we read this morning and I understand that there are deeper theological truths behind the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, but I couldn’t get past the thought that sometimes God has to allow some especially painful things in our lives in order to get our attention. We are sometimes like that hard clay that the potter must soften before he can use it. I’m just wondering this morning, is there something that the Lord has been trying to do in your life that you have been resisting? Have you hardened yourself to the point, where in order for God to accomplish His will, He will have to break you? What will God have to do to get your attention? I suppose this thought applies just as much to the Christian that is fighting against God’s perfect will as it does to the lost person that is resisting salvation. Whichever your case is, the remedy is the same: soften your heart and yield to God’s will. Is there some sin that you are holding on to? God will do what He has to do in order to get you to repent of it and forsake it. Whatever it takes, God will accomplish His will for your life. You cannot win in a battle with God.
When the Apostle Paul was gloriously saved, the Lord said to him: “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5b). A “prick” ( κέντρα from κέντρον – kentron) was an iron and spiked goad or stick used for herding cattle. The Lord was saying that Paul was fighting a losing battle in resisting the Him and fighting against what God was doing in those early days of Christianity, and what He was doing personally in Paul’s life. Is it possible that you are kicking against the pricks in something that God is trying to do in your life?
[Edited 012325]
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 8 comments.
Sin Stinks
Today’s Passage – Exodus 7 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 15 – 16; Proverbs 22; Psalms 106 – 110)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Proverbs 27:15
Read the “0122 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “Did Pharaoh have a Choice?“
“And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 7:21)
“And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.” (Exodus 8:14)
There are a few thoughts that came to mind from these three chapters of Scripture this morning. First, notice in the above verses the results of the first two plagues upon the people of Egypt. These plagues were delivered by God to the people of Egypt through Moses because the Egyptians had enslaved the children of Israel and had flatly refused to submit to God and then let them go. In the first plague, the waters of the Nile River and then all of the fresh water sources were turned to blood, killing all of the fish. In the next plague, the frogs came out of the water in droves and covered the land and even got into people’s homes. Notice also in Exodus 8:7, the “brilliant” Egyptians magicians while trying to prove that they had just as much power as God did, duplicated the plague, producing even more frogs and complicated the problem even more for the people of Egypt.
When God finally called off the plague, the frogs died. They gathered all of the dead frogs and piled them up “in heaps.” All of this death that was result of these initial plagues caused Egypt to stink. Here we see that the wages of Pharaoh’s sin not only caused a lot of death in Egypt, but it also caused a very unpleasant stench. There would be more death to come as well as many cattle would die (Exodus 9:6) as well as many other “men and beasts” (Exodus 9:26). Sin produces all sorts of negative results. Sin stinks! It causes nothing but devastating and unpleasant consequences for everybody involved.
Another thought that came to mind from this passage is that the magicians who worked for Pharaoh did have power, but their power was limited. They could imitate some of the miracles that God wrought through Moses (Exodus 7:11), but most of them they could not. The magicians were also powerless to undo what God had done, and even acknowledged to Pharaoh the far superior power of God.
“And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.” (Exodus 8:18-19)
“And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.” (Exodus 9:11)
The devil is certainly a very shrewd and powerful being, but he “ain’t got nothin’ on God.” God is infinite in everything He is, including in power. If you want to be on the team that doesn’t “stink,” and wins every time, you will want to be on God’s team.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 6 comments.
Expect Opposition
Today’s Passage – Exodus 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Proverbs 21; Psalms 101 – 105
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8
Read a previous post from this passage – “What’s Your Excuse“
Read the “0121 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.” – (Exodus 5:20-23)
Moses did exactly what God had called him to do. He went to the people of Israel and convinced them that God had told him to deliver them out from under the bondage of the Egyptians. He then went to Pharaoh and demanded on behalf of God to let the people of God leave. However, things did not work out exactly the way Moses thought they would. Instead of things getting better, in the short term, things actually took a turn for the worse. Not only did Pharaoh refuse to let the people go, he also made their jobs harder by making them gather their own straw for the bricks that they had to make for their labor. Pharaoh was mad at the people, the people were mad at Moses, and Moses was mad at God.
Notice the opposition that Moses faced in the will of God:
1 He had opposition from without the congregation. I guess Pharaoh could be symbolic of the devil. The devil will vehemently oppose anyone that seeks to do the will of God.
2 He also faced opposition from within the congregation of Israel. They were all for God’s plan until their life got uncomfortable, then they wanted to go back. Many Christians today are the same way. They claim to love the Lord, and want to do His will, but when it begins to cost them something, they will often quit.
3 Notice also that Moses faced opposition from within himself. When the pressure was on him, he began to second guess the will of God.
Nobody ever said that the road was going to always be easy. You can take to the bank the fact that opposition will come to those who are doing the will of God. But you can also count on the fact that God will always bring His victory, if we will just stick with the plan and not quit.
Posted in Thoughts from Exodus by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
The Call of God
Today’s Passage – Exodus 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Proverbs 20; Psalms 96 – 100)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 121
Read the “0120 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Read a previous post from this passage – “Growing Through Affliction“
“And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.” (Exodus 3:4)
Forgive me for reminiscing a little this morning, but when I read this passage of Scripture dealing with the call of God to Moses, I cannot help but remember the times that I heard clearly the voice of God as He was directing my life. The times that I will share with you happened after I had already trusted Christ as my Saviour, and after I was also already serving Him and growing in Him the best I knew how through my local church. Notice in the passage that Moses also had to get close to God in order for him to hear God’s call.
The first time in my life that I felt God call me was when I was attending a evening service back at Ocean County Baptist Church many years ago. I was probably 25 years old at the time and had only been a Christian at that point for a short while. Anyway, we had a guest missionary speaker that night. I must confess that I do not remember the preacher’s name, or the place where he was a missionary. I don’t even remember his message title or text. What I do remember, however, was his invitation. It went something like this: “If God were to call you to do something, and He were to make it clear to you that it was His will, would you surrender?” To me, that was a no brainer. The man was not asking me to surrender to some specific place or ministry at that moment; he was merely posing the possibility of a call, and asking what my response would be. I went forward, and frankly I thought the entire congregation would have walked the aisle with me; but when I got up after praying, I was shocked to see that there were only two of us up at the front. At that time in my life, I had no idea what God might do with me, but I told Him that night that I was willing to go “if” He were to call me. I often think back on that moment as the beginning point of God directing me to where I am today.
The second time, I heard God’s call clearly was when He called me to go to Bible College. I had already been to college once and had a degree in business administration, and I was perfectly content with just serving with my pastor at my home church while I learned what I needed to know there. I remember my pastor and I agreeing that I should take some correspondance classes so that I would not have to uproot my family and go off to school. God, however, had other plans. While I was attending a conference down in Longview, Texas, God revealed clearly that He wanted me to be trained at Texas Baptist College (now Texas Independent Seminary). I do not regret that move for one minute. God taught me much there, but the main thing that He taught me was how to trust Him.
The third time I heard the voice of God in my life was when God called me to be the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. I never candidated at any other church. I really didn’t even candidate here. God, through a very miraculous set of circumstances placed me here. That was over twenty-one years ago now and one thing is for sure, knowing that I was genuinely “called of God” has been the thing that has kept me going for all these years. There have been many blessings along the way, and there have also been some difficult days; but I know that I am exactly where God wants me. The certainty of God’s call is what helps keep me going.
What is God calling you to do? Maybe He has called you to do something in the past and you have not heeded that call. the Bible tells us “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29). God has not changed his mind about His call on your life; He is just waiting for you to surrender to that call.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 5 comments.
Graduation Day
Today’s Passage – Genesis 48 – 50 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Mark 9 – 10; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 119:105
Read the “0119 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.” (Genesis 49:1)
I remember when I was a young person attending school. At the end of every school year there was an awards ceremony and they would give out various awards for attendance, academics, athletics, and even some for attitude. I didn’t receive many awards as a child, I was what you might call “exceedingly average” in just about every area. Looking back on my school days, I can only recall receiving three awards: two in intermediate school, and one in college (the first time I went to college – not Bible school). However, I remember that every time I attended one of those awards ceremonies, or a commencement exercise, I would always feel two things. First, I would feel regret for not having applied myself more that year. I would realize that I could and should have done more; I should have worked harder; I shouldn’t have goofed off so much, wasting valuable time. The second thing that I would feel is motivated. I would determine that next year was going to be different for me; next year I was going to do better; next year I would be up there on the stage getting some kind of award. The only problem was that my weaknesses in character always outlasted my bursts of motivation.
You may be wondering right now what all of this has to do with the passage that we read in Genesis this morning. Well, here is the connection. Every time I read chapter 49 in Genesis, I am reminded of these award ceremonies. Except, here it is the one who is graduating to Heaven that is handing out the awards. Jacob is about to die, and he calls all of his children together to pronounce a blessing upon some. Unfortunately, he also will be pronouncing a curse upon others. Can you imagine the last words that you hear out of your father’s mouth before he dies being words of regret, rather than words of praise. I know well what it feels like trying to live a life that is pleasing to a father. I spent a good deal of my young adulthood trying to receive “attaboys” from my dad by achieving sales and success in the business world, which was his life. I think every child desires to please their father; at least most do. I cannot imagine the hurt I would have felt had my father said words of regret about my life at his passing. These sons of Jacob had all ran out of time. The time to live a life that would be worthy of being blessed by their father had passed.
You know what’s worse, however, than not receiving words of blessing and praise from your earthly father? Not receiving them from your Heavenly Father. Someday all who are His children will stand before Him and give account for their lives. Some will hear words of praise and will receive rewards; others will not. I want to please my Heavenly Father in my life today so that He will someday say to me, “Well done”. I guess I never got past that desire to hear “attaboy”; only now it is my Heavenly Father that I want to live for. Don’t misunderstand, I loved my dad dearly, and I wanted my life to be a source of blessing to him as well, but my passion in life today is to live for God. I want the same thing for my children. Yes I want to be pleased with them, but ultimately the only thing that matters is if God is pleased with them.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (3 John 1:4)
Posted in Thoughts from Genesis by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.