Exodus 7, Luke 4

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - Brandon Hatmaker

"Moses found power in doing what God said, Jesus confronted Satan with the same thing."

(Exodus 7)

“Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you.” Vs. 1-4

At first look, this sounds like a pretty good thing. I mean, if Moses was concerned about the fact that he was a “nobody” and that Pharaoh would not listen to him because he had not authority, surely Pharaoh seeing Moses as a God would help his cause. But it didn’t. We can’t forget that Pharaoh saw himself as a God too. So now Moses has became a legitimate threat to what Pharaoh had built. And his heart was hardened.

Although we see God and we acknowledge His power, I believe that one of the quickest ways for us to allow the hardening of our hearts is to see God’s ways as a “threat” us. And if we were honest, when we don’t trust or see God’s ways as the best ways, it becomes a threat to our ways. That is true in our businesses, in our social lives, and in our homes.

Too easily we say, “God, I got this one. If I apply these faith morals or standards to my business, it will fold. I have to be cut-throat”. We quickly hide the fact that we are scared that if God gets involved in our social life or dating scene, He’ll take all the fun out of it and life will become boring. Or worse yet, we’ll be labeled. The list goes on and on.

If we feel like this in a certain area (and God already knows where we do), how is it impacting our faith? Have we become hardened in areas where we lack trust? Is there a chain reaction at risk that can end up saturating others areas of life and faith?

Jesus said that he came that we might have life, and life to the fullest? If we believed that His ways truly bring the fullest of the full, we’d follow.

I’m thankful that we have a God that we can come to and simply say, “Father, I struggle with this. I have a hard time trusting and believing. Help me with my unbelief”. I think God welcomes those moments. I think it’s when we pretend it’s not there that the problems multiply.

Father, show us areas of life in which we are “threatened” by you. Give us the faith to let go and trust. Father, we thank you in advance for your faithfulness.

(Luke 4)

Verse 9-11 “The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:" 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

There were two in the desert who were well versed in God’s Word. Both Jesus and the devil knew it well. One used it for good. One used it for Bad. Our knowledge of God’s Word is the beginning, what we do with it, has more significance than we can ever imagine.

God, may we be faithful with your Word. May we correctly teach and seek to live it. Keep us from using it wrongly. Help us to use it to define our lives more than we use it to defend our lives.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” - Isaiah 55:10-11