Forward!

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry out to me?  Tell the Israelites to go forward.’”  Exodus 14:15

Are you feeling caught between a rock and hard place? Or stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea? Does it seem that there is no way out? Then just imagine how Moses and the Israelites must have felt with the deep Red Sea before them and the Egyptian army fast on their heels. They hear the waves of the sea crashing before them and Pharaoh’s chariots coming closer and closer.

And what are Moses and the Israelites doing? They’re doing exactly what you and I would be doing—praying! Of course they’re praying and crying out to God,  “O Lord help us!”

But strangely, the Lord rebukes them:
        Why do you cry out to me?  Go forward.

There comes a time in our lives when after praying and praying for God to make a way for us, that the Spirit of God sort of elbows us and says, “Go forward!” There comes a time when to say any more prayer amounts to unbelief. There comes a time we need to say a quick “Amen,” get up and get on with it. The Spirit is calling us to take the next step in faith. Go forward.

The Bible tells us that the story of Moses and the Children of Israel is also the story of our lives (Romans 15:4-6). And our better natures tell us that the Lord will be there for us just as surely as he was for Moses and the people. Our lives may not be as dramatic as the parting of the waters, but that doesn’t mean that God cares for us any less than he did for them. He will be there for us as we go forward in faith.

Perhaps you’ve been crying out to God to make a way for you in your troubles. Perhaps you’ve been asking him to help you in your business, in your marriage, in your addiction, in your fears.

Might the Spirit of God today be nudging you today with the words:  “Go forward”?  Step out and trust Him.

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

Grace and Peace,
Tim Smith

Weekly Classes with Tim Smith – Every Wednesday
At the Franciscan Renewal Center (Garces Room of Piper Hall)

Wednesday Noon – 1:00 P.M.
Jesus’ Teaching on the Spiritual Life:  John 13-17
Wednesday Evening 7:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Four Life Changing Prayers

What’s happening to our country!

Are you afraid to watch the news today?  Are you depressed when you read the newspaper? I am! When I look around I often think of the prophet Hosea’s postmortem over ancient Israel: “We have sown to the wind and now are reaping the whirlwind” (Hosea 8:7).  I fear we are watching what happens when a nation forgets God. Is there something we can do? I believe there is! I believe that through the prophet Ezekiel God tells us what he wants us to do. Consider his words: 

And I sought for anyone among them who would repair the wall and stand in the breach before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one (Ezekiel 22:30).

Here in Ezekiel 22 God has just announced impending judgment on Jerusalem for their unrelenting violence and idolatry.  Through the years what had been called “The Holy City,” is now known as “The Bloody City” (Ezekiel 22:1).  Corruption and immorality are widespread.   The wall of divine protection that had surrounded the God’s people has broken down.

But in the midst of all their evil God is still looking for an excuse to show mercy and forgive.  God is seeking “anyone” who would stand in the breached wall before him and intercede on behalf of the land.  God sought anyone who would offer the protection of prayer. But tragically, he found no one.  And the rest is history.

We look around our land today and history seems to be repeating itself. But God is still “gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.”  And God is still looking for anyone, men or women, who will stand in the breached wall and intercede for the nation. I want to be that anyone.

• I’m taking time every week to write our two senators, and my congressman. I tell them I’m praying for them, as well as letting them know I’m closely watching their votes.
• I’m also taking time every week to fast and pray for our nation.

What might you do? 

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (II Chronicles 7:14)

Grace and Peace,
Tim Smith

Weekly Classes with Tim Smith – Every Wednesday
At the Franciscan Renewal Center
(Garces Room of Piper Hall)

Wednesday Noon – 1:00 P.M.
Jesus’ Teaching on the Spiritual Life:  John 13-17
Wednesday Evening 7:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
Four Life Changing Prayers

Don’t Live with the Breaks On!

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know…what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places.                                                         

Ephesians 1:18-20

Here we are the first day after Easter, and what incredible power is available for us as we enter this new week!

The Apostle Paul says that it is the same power God put “to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:20)   Think of it – the power that raised Christ on Easter Sunday raises us to new dimensions of living and new exciting possibilities.

Peter Marshall spoke of this resurrection power that transformed Jesus’ disciples at the first Easter:

“The undeniable fact is this: The disciples were scattered, downcast, hopeless, with a sense of tragic loss. And then, in a few days, they were thrilling with victory, completely changed.”

The only explanation for their transformed lives is this resurrection power of God!  It was not a memory of an empty tomb that emboldened and empowered them – it was resurrection power at work in them.  For them Easter was not just an historical event, it was the spiritual reality of their lives.

Here is this same transcendent power available to you and me as we face difficulties this week. Here is power to take on perplexing problems, power to thrive under pressure, and power to forgive the offender.

Don‘t think small. Don’t be afraid. Don’t live with the brakes on! You’ve got Power! Let’s trust in that Power and live into that life.

Because He lives,

Tim Smith

Come join us this Saturday, April 18 , for the Spiritual Stimulus workshop, “How to Get through What You’re Going Through” , 9a.m.-4p.m.,  $30 ( incl. lunch). Details in flyers emailed out, on the website, or available at the Wednesday classes, let us know by Wednesday, April 15!

Weekly Classes with Tim Smith – Every Wednesday

At the Franciscan Renewal Center (Garces Room of Piper Hall)

Wednesday Noon – 1:00 P.M.

Jesus’ Teaching on the Spiritual Life:  John 13-17

Wednesday Evening 7:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

Soulful Living: Everyday Spirituality for Busy People

Mystery of Mysteries

Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24
 
We all love a good mystery don’t we? There are few things more satisfying than curling up with a good mystery and trying to figure out “who did it?” and “how did it all happen?” 
 
For lovers of mystery there is no mystery more grand or mystifying than that which we enter into this week in Passion Week. It is what Christians from earliest times have called The Paschal Mystery. It is the greatest thriller of all  –  life rising up out of death, tears suddenly turning to joy. 
 
The word “Paschal” is the Hebrew word for “to pass over,” and alludes to the Jewish Passover when God’s judgment “passed over” his people in Egypt. When God saw the blood of the lamb sprinkled on their doorposts, God  “passed over” them. And by the blood of the Passover Lamb, God “passed them over” from bondage to freedom and from sin to new life (Exodus 12:23). It is sheer mystery! Passing over from death into life. Passing over from bondage into glorious freedom.
 
But this is the very mystery Jesus speaks of in today’s text. Shortly before his death Jesus describes his impending sacrifice as a seed being buried in the ground. The seed dies, it disintegrates, it literally comes apart, and then in its dying it passes over into new life. Not just new life, but abundant and fruitful life for all.
 
The good news of the Gospel is that this wondrous mystery is for all who will follow in Jesus’ steps. Like the Paschal Lamb they too will suffer loss, defeat, discouragement and pain, but with each blow God promises to pass them over to new life and fruit.  Without Good Friday, there is no Easter Morning. Without the Cross, there is no Crown.

Perhaps in this Passion Week you are suffering a death of sorts. Perhaps it is the death of a dream, the death of a relationship, the death of your career, the death of your good health.  Whatever the death, whatever the loss, our faithful God promises to bring good out of it. He will pass you over into new life and fruitfulness. Hold onto the promise. Believe in it. Look for it no matter the circumstances. Enter the mystery.
 
Grace and Peace
Tim Smith

P. S. No classes this week at the Franciscan Renewal Center.
You are invited to join us for the Holy Saturday Prayer Walk on April 11, 8:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m., at Canaan in the Desert, 9849 N. 40th Street. In you would like to join us in the Prayer Walk, email us at waterfromrock.gmail.com, or call 480.998.3338.