Draw Near

 There is a fascinating story in Exodus 19 when the literal presence of God came down on Mount Sinai. There was smoke, fire, and the whole mountain trembled. God warned the people to not even touch the base of the mountain or they would die. He commanded Moses to set boundaries around the mountain for the people's protection. It must have been an awesome sight to behold. 

God invited one man to come up on the mountain to speak His commands. Moses was summoned to the top of the mountain. It was there that he received not just the ten commandments, but also the other commands as well. Moses was literally consumed in the presence of God. God made Moses go back down and warn the people again not to broach the mountain. 

I have read this account dozens of times over the years. I even preached it one night at a youth camp under an outside tabernacle as a thunderstorm rolled in. The thunder was so loud I had to pause in preaching to let the magnificent presence of God take center stage. I saw something today I have never seen before in scripture. Not in thirty years of serious Bible reading and study. One little verse captured my heart. 

      21      So the people stood at a distance, while Moses approached the thick cloud where God was. New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ex 20:21.

While others feared the presence of God, Moses was drawn to Him. The people did not even want God to speak to them directly. They feared what a direct message from God might do. They all stood at a safe distance. What a resemblance this is for the people of God today. So many are content to stand at a safe distance in devotions and corporate worship. They are content with a little religion, but steer clear of a close personal relationship with Yahweh. 

Moses was different. He yearned for the presence of God. He desired to encounter Him. His first God encounter happened in Exodus 3 at the burning bush. That only whetted his appetite for more. Does that describe you? Do you hunger and thirst for the presence of God? Do you long for more of Him? Moses did and He drew near. That means Moses approached God through the thick cloud. What frightened others intrigued Moses. He wanted to get closer. 

God wants to be known more than most people want to know Him. There is nothing on this earth I desire more than to know Him and to hear Him speak. I could not always say that. I got sucked into the fallacy of the American dream. Houses, vehicles, clothes, hobbies, and success consumed me for most of my life. For thirty years God whittled, chiseled, and cut away into that mentality to remind me of passages like Ps 16:11, Ps 73:25, and Phil 3:7-8. It was a painful process. 

I hunger for God as much or more than I ever have before. I yearn for more encounters with Him. While others may remain content to worship from afar, I want a more intimate view. I keep drawing near through the clouds of confusion to get closer to Him. The beautiful thing for any of us is that as we seek to draw near to Him, He is also seeking to draw near to us. James 4:8. 

More than worship services with multitudes of people I long for the private encounters with God in the secret place. I find a solace and contentment this world cannot offer when I am shut up alone with Him. He pulls me from underneath the snug covers at all hours of the night to come draw near. Even sleep cannot compare to the soul satisfaction found in His presence. I keep approaching God because there is so much else to discover about Him and to experience in Him. 

Will you spend your remaining days as a serious seeker drawing ever nearer to God? Will you be satisfied with the rot of religion that turns the stomach like spoiled food? Maybe you are scared to really draw near. Drawing near will forever change you. You will never be satisfied again with religious routine done out of duty and not the delight of pursuing God. I urge you to spend your remaining days drawing near. 

Mara

 Right after God parted the Red Sea for Israel to escape Egyptian bondage, they ended up in the desert at a place called Mara. They called the place Mara because the water they found there was too bitter to drink. They were tested again and again after leaving Egypt. Many times they were tempted to turn back. Mara was one of those tests. 

Some of you are facing your own Mara. You are in bitter circumstances. We often complain in our Mara. We question why God brought us to such trying times. Remember in the Exodus account, God led Israel with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night. God led them to Mara. He knew they would complain. He also knew He would do a miracle to provide clean water in Mara to demonstrate His power. 

You would think those Israelites would be as high as a kite after the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. Just like us they were prone to forget what God did in the past in light of present challenges. Have you forgotten the ways God has come through in the past? Perhaps a trip down memory lane would do some good to bolster sagging faith. 

None of us like to be in Mara. Mara is an unpleasant place. We question God why. He is not obligated to explain Himself or His ways to anyone. He does not answer to us. What He does require of us is that we trust Him. No matter how bitter our present situation. 

Brenda and I have endured our share of Maras. Our first church declined in attendance to the point I had to voluntarily take several cuts in a very meager salary to start with in the first place. I moved our evening services outside because we could not afford to run the air conditioning all day on Sundays though I never told anyone  why we met outside. No amount of prayer changed the circumstances. Nothing I preached or taught. No events we planned brought new people. It was a very bitter time. 

The next church started off with great excitement. After four years, people left and opted for larger churches with more to offer. We lost our salary in that church. We lived off what little offerings the few who attended gave. It was a Mara time. Our faith was severely tested. God provided. We lived below the official poverty level, but God provided. 

God blessed our next church. It quadrupled in attendance in four years. We had plans to relocate because we did not have room for all the people. God provided ten acres with no debt for us to move the church and we began raising money. We loved our time there. Then God made us leave. I use the word made because to stay would have been an open act of rebellion. I wept like a baby in the pulpit on my last Sunday. It felt like pulling flesh from bones to leave those people. I would not have done so unless God had clearly called us to a different church in west Texas. 

Our next church experienced the power of God in ways we had never seen before. God doubled the size of the church and sent a real revival to us. It was one of the sweetest times of our whole ministry. I worked with a dream team of a staff. The congregation loved us and compensated us generously. I began feeling like God wanted me to give it all up for the grand adventure of planting a church after only two years. People counseled me not to do it. I did not listen. Some thought we had been wronged in some way, and that was why we were leaving. Brenda did not have a peace about leaving, but I was so determined she trusted me and followed my lead. One of my biggest regrets I've carried with me for over a decade was leaving those wonderful people. They are a wonderful church. We experienced Mara again when the church plant failed leaving us hurting and confused. 

We went back to a church where we served in youth ministry to pastor next. We dealt with the Mara of Covid and a church crisis that rocked all our worlds. An unsolicited email from a a search committee, a phone interview, a lot of prayer and a clear call from God and we moved again. We are now in the Texas Panhandle adjusting to a new flock, a new community, and a new home. In the process of transitioning, we experienced the Mara of Brenda's mother dying. A Mara Brenda and her two sisters are still battling. 

In every Mara, God has been faithful to the Edwards family. Even in my foolishness, my sinful choices and behavior, my doubts, battles with depression, financial crisis, through every Mara God came through. That is my hope for all of you. God has demonstrated over and over again the right to be trusted. Hang on even when you do not understand. Keep believing even when the pain is crippling and the questions go unanswered. Keep the faith when Mara slaps you in the face leaving the pain of bitterness, sorrow, confusion, and brokenness. Don't give up on God. 

Right after Mara God led Israel to Elim. A place of abundance and refreshing. You may be in Mara today, but your Elim could be just around the corner. You can read this account in [Ex 15:22-27]

When Life Gets Heavy

 Don't you love those carefree days when it seems you float on the breeze and everything is right with the world? Those days are like Kodak moments when you want to take snap shots in your heart to remember those memories. I had a moment like that this morning looking at our refrigerator. We have a magnet school bus with four windows. Brenda put pictures of the boys when they were little in the windows. I stood for a moment and treasured the memories of those little guys who have all grown up to be men. Treasured memories bringing with them a lighter day. 

There are also days when life is heavy. When the breeze turns into hurricane force gales. Times when the lifting is oppressively heavy just trying to trudge to the end of the day. Days when it feels like you are running up hill and not making any headway. Days when it is two steps forward and three steps backward. Days when we are blinded by the constant rain of trials that keep us from seeing a way to lighter days. 

God is sovereign and rules over both light and heavy days. We might take Him for granted when the bank account is full, the bills are paid, and everything is working like a fine tuned machine. We tend to lean into Him more when we feel frazzled and it seems everything is coming apart at the seams. The heavy days should make us more thankful and to praise God more when the days are light. God is constant in both set of days. He is wise, strong, capable, compassionate, and firmly in control. 

Even in the heavy days we can lighten our load. Read [Ps 55:22]. Have you hurled your burdens onto the Lord? Or do you fret, fuss, and wring your hands in frustration when the load is too heavy to bear? There is no sugar coating it. We live in a sinful fallen world filled with heartaches, trials, tribulations, and sorrows. That does not mean God has weakened. He is still in control even when we lose control. He still listens even when others turn deaf ears. He still helps when we are helpless. He still gives hope when we are hopeless. 

We are not forsaken on the heavy days or heavy seasons. Just because God is silent does not mean He is absent. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. [Heb 13:5] If you are enduring a heavy day or heavy season, cast your cares on Him and leave it with Him. Let God do the heavy lifting as we trust Him the middle of hard times. In due season, I predict lighter days will return. When they come, may we not take them for granted. He is worthy of trust on the light days as well as the heavy days. 

Why So Downcast?

 A perusal of world events can leave a soul downcast. It appears another world war could break out at anytime. The government is shut down again because politicians cannot see eye to eye. Ideologies clash leaving society fractured. Prices keep increasing while some are getting left behind and cannot keep up financially no matter how hard they work. Some have declared war on Christians with whole villages getting destroyed.  On top of all this is the mounting spiritual warfare on parents trying to raise God fearing and Bible believing Christians. It is enough to discourage the stoutest of heart. 

What has you downcast today? The death of a parent, spouse, child, or friend. We got news that a beloved neighbor we had in the Runaway Bay community died yesterday. His wife relayed how the last two years of his life he was rarely at home dealing with multiple health issues that kept him in the hospital. The death knoll knocks for each of us on this side of eternity. 

Maybe you deal with wayward children or grandchildren. Their rebellion and defiance break your heart. They reject the Bible truth they were taught when younger and chase after sins that will never satisfy. Tears soak pillow cases at night as fervent prayers are lifted on behalf of the prodigal. Parents grope through days and nights of weeping longing for the joy that has eluded them in the morning. 

There are many who deal with sickness or caring for someone battling disease. Healing may be slow in coming if it comes at all. There are those who experience the steady decline in health no matter the treatments or prayer sessions. It is easy to get downcast and to lose hope. 

To all of these and more I point you to {Psalm 42:11]. The questions is asked why so downcast? You have your reasons and crisis. Hope in God. The word hope there means to expect good. Many lost hope in God because they feel God failed them in a critical time. The healing did not come. The prodigal did not return. The provision never arrived. The fractured relationship never got restored. The soldier on the battlefield did not return alive. It may appear God failed you. 

Where else will you find hope? Sexual immorality? Substance abuse leading to addiction? Walking away from God and His people in bitterness? How is any of that working for you? Is is producing hope? This world is just a shadow of what is to come. It is all temporary. God is eternal and offers eternity with Him for those who repent of sin and turn to Jesus for salvation. There is hope in that. There is the hope of heaven. There is the hope of abundant life promised by Messiah. No matter how life crushes there is hope with God. Sometimes we just have to worship our way through the hard times. Paul and Silas did in [Acts 16:25]. Lift up another hallelujah, another triumphant shout proclaiming better days by faith. 

I've trod the dark nights of weeping and have lived long enough to see the joy that comes in the morning eventually. I have cast mountains of burdens on God. He has sustained me through devastating seasons of crushing defeat. He has pulled me from the pit of despair. He has delivered me from the dungeon of depression. He can do the same for you. He is faithful. Find a reason to worship Him and keep singing at midnight. Trust Him in the darkness and harshness of life. Cling to Him and bring Him your battered, bruised and broken heart. He will give you reason to hope in Him once again.