by Chris Watkins - Student Minister
At a retreat I recently attended, a pastor spoke on a story in Exodus that I wanted to share with you. In the story of Exodus 3, we see Moses tending to his flock and as he is near Horeb, (aka. Mount Desolate, Mount Sinai, or mountain of God) and he sees a burning bush. Many of us know the story of the burning bush, but I want us to take a moment to realize some of the truths found in this passage. As Moses sees the burning bush he could have kept going with his duties to the flock, but he noticed something out of the ordinary. For some of us, a burning bush may be the unexpected thing to see, but for Moses it was the fact the bush was not actually being destroyed by the fire.
The first truth I want us to notice is that Moses stopped what he was doing to examine the bush. For many of us are so task oriented that we may not have even noticed the bush burning, not to mention that the bush was not actually burning up. This is the case when we are at work, at home, at the grocery store, and even at church. There are opportunities that surround us, but sometimes we do not take the time to notice.
The next part of the story contains the final two truths I want to share. As we read in the passage, Moses approached the bush, God spoke to him by name, and told him to take his sandals off as he is standing on holy ground. The second truth of this passage is that God called him by name. In the same way God has called us by name when we accept His gift of salvation and for those that He has called to serve Him he has called us by name. This is because He knows us, He created us, and hears us. We see these things in this passage as God cares for His chosen people by calling Moses and shared that He has heard their cries in Egypt. To be called by name makes it personal, and we need to remember that our relationship with the Lord is personal.
The final truth is that regardless of what we think of ourselves, God knows us and has a plan for us. Moses shares that he has a speech issue and doubts that the people will believe him. God knew these things and still wanted to use Moses. God shared everything that He was going to do to prepare the way for Moses, including sending his brother Aaron to help. I’m sure you may have heard this quote at some point, but it is especially clear in this passage that God equips those that He calls. If He has called us by name to do a task, then know that God will equip you to complete it.
So, as a church that's mission is to build a great faith in Jesus Christ in every person in Mustang, in Oklahoma, in the United States and in the World, let’s make sure that we start by being aware of what is taking place around us. Let’s be present where God has called us to be and know that He is Lord and that He will provide what is needed for His will to be done where He calls us to go. It must begin with us living in the holiness of God with a heart that is ready for Him to equip us.
Chris