pastorjohnb

Thoughts and musings on faith and our mighty God!

Tag Archives: acquainted


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Day by Day, Step by Step

Reading: Exodus 16:6-12

Exodus 16:12d – “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

Grain by grain

In our reading from day two in Exodus 16, Moses and Aaron relay God’s decision to the people. God’s response is prefaced by why God is responding to the people’s complaints: so they will know that it was God who brought them out of Egypt. I’d always questioned why they would need a reminder. They’d just survived the death of the firstborn, walked through a sea, witnessed the total destruction of Pharaoh’s army, and experienced God turning bitter water sweet. But yesterday in a small group study at church, I heard a new thought. It was pointed out that Israel was still so new to the faith. Israel was just getting reacquainted with God.

Having heard the people’s complaints, a loving God responds with meat in the evening and bread in the morning. Through Aaron and Moses, God then invites the people to draw near to God. The glorious presence of the Lord is revealed in the cloud that has been leading Israel on their desert journey. After this experience and the receiving of the meat and bread, God declares, “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” God’s day by day presence through provision will remind the Israelites that God is always with them.

In our wilderness experiences, we often cry out to God. And like it was with the Israelites, God always hears our cries. Sometimes God will meet an immediate and pressing need. But more often than not, God’s response is tailored to our deeper needs. And that, like with Israel, is to strengthen our faith and to deepen our trust in God. When we surrender to God’s plan and purposes, we find grace for the journey ahead. And step by step, we come to know that God is always with us.

Prayer: Lord God, when we find ourselves in a desert place or in a wilderness experience, remind us of your presence. We are grateful for the times when you provide food or strength or something else to meet our need. Open our eyes to see the ways not so obvious – the ways you respond that deepen our faith or that work to refine or renew us. Thank you for your constant presence. Amen.


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Intimately Acquainted

Reading: Psalm 1

Psalm 1:6 – “The Lord is intimately acquainted with the way of the righteous.”

Photo credit: Felipe Correia

Psalm 1 continues the ideas of Jeremiah 18, Luke 14, Psalm 139, Deuteronomy 30, and Philemon: there are two ways to live in this world. One can choose to deny self, to pick up one’s cross, to follow God’s commands, living a holy and righteous life. Or one can choose to live for self, to walk in the way of the world, living an inwardly focused, sinful life. Psalm 1 mostly paints the same black and white choice that we find in most of these other Old Testament passages.

For the psalmist, those who choose to love God’s instruction are “like a tree replanted by steams of water.” There is a hint of the potter recasting the clay here. To be replanted implies new or second life, redemption and restoration. A life of faith, a life dedicated to the Lord, it “bears fruit at just the right time.” David wrote of God’s plans for us in Psalm 139. To follow and live into God’s ways will be fruitful and will connect us to the one in whom we were fearfully and wonderfully made. To be holy is to walk closely with God. In verse 6 the psalmist describes the outcome of this choice this way: “The Lord is intimately acquainted with the way of the righteous.” For the writer and for us, true happiness and joy are found in a close, personal relationship with God.

This close, personal, intimate relationship is fostered and developed and grows when we “recite God’s instruction day and night.” For the psalmist, this was living with God’s will and way ever before him or her. This remains true today. In our lives, temptation is always there, always seeking to draw us away from God. So may we, like the psalmist, daily and regularly study and meditate on God’s word, becoming intimately acquainted with the Lord our God.

Prayer: Lord God, we ask that you would walk with us closely, guiding us and leading us as we seek to walk the path of life. Replant us when necessary, shaping and reshaping us as we wander and return. Each time, draw us deeper into relationship with you, our hope and our salvation. Amen.