WHAT DO YOU NEED A
GOOD DOSE OF? With each passing day as I
cross paths with lots of people, I see more and more sad faces and hear more
and more heartbreaking stories. I see
less and less hope and hear less and less laughter. We know how we feel when the world and its burdens cave in on us … and others
are no different. The only difference,
the BIG difference when despair strikes, is if there is someone to turn to,
someone who cares, and someone who can help.
I am beginning to realize that to really help someone else, we have to
first help them help themselves. Of
course God is about the business of peeling back the scales on our eyes so we
can truly see what He is desiring to reveal to us so we can live above despair. And
the great thing about God putting us in situations where we He calls us to help
others, is that as we seek Him for wisdom we also help ourselves by learning
the same lessons God gives us for others in a new and fresh way. That’s what I love about God’s Word! It is always timely. God always knows just what to say to us! And how
to say it! Sometimes He drops the
instructions in a thundering voice that we cannot miss. Other times He speaks encouragement in a
gentle, soothing tone. And then there
are those moments that it would be so easy to completely miss His whispers of
exactly what we need – if we weren’t tuned in to Him and listening
attentively. This week God gave me a
double dose of a story that is recorded in Exodus, chapter 17. When an enemy of the Israelites came and
attacked them, Moses took authority and delegated the military mission to
Joshua. His command was short and to the
point, basically that Joshua was to go and choose some of their men and then go
out to fight the Amalekites. Then he
revealed what his part would be: he said
that he, Moses, would stand on top of the hill the next day – with the staff of
God in his hands. There are a few things
here that are pertinent to rising above our attacks. Did you notice that Moses took action? He made a plan and gave orders for it to be
carried out. I love that he didn’t speak
the word “retreat” but instead gave the directive to “go out” to fight the
enemy. That means facing them front and
forward and confronting them. Should we
do any less? And I love that Joshua and
his chosen soldiers did not have to feel as if they were being sent to
slaughter, but given Moses’ word that he would do his part to ensure
victory. Remember the staff of God that
he mentioned would be in his hands?
Well, just what did he do with it?
This is how God has the story recorded:
“So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron
and Hur went to the top of the hill. As
long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he
lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.
When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and
he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his
hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained
steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame
the enemy with the sword.” Do you see
how very powerful this is? The footnote
in my Bible says that holding up his hands was “a symbol of appeal to God for
help and enablement.” And do you see how
long Moses actively implored God for help and victory over the enemy? Till sunset.
Till the enemy was defeated and the battle was over and victory was
theirs! He didn’t send up a weak SOS and
then walk away and tell Joshua that he’d be back later to see how they were
doing! He came alongside Joshua and the
military men and did what God asked him to do for as long as it took. And when his hands and arms grew weary, two
other men of God came alongside Moses and lifted up his hands high into the sky
as they looked over the battle that was waging below. Did the soldiers alone win the battle? Did Joshua win it by himself? Did Moses win it alone by the strength of his
uplifted hands? Or were Aaron and Hur
the two who won the battle because they stood in the gap and helped hold up
Moses’ hands? Can you see that each
strategy was necessary as God had given Moses the plan … but victory would not
have been realized had not each one been faithful to step into place and stay
there as long as it took! That’s godly
teamwork, people! Please read the last
few verses … that’s a story in itself about how God will war against our
enemies – from generation to generation!
I believe the same is true for us today as God’s church and God’s
people. Which position will we take
up? Let’s plan on serving faithfully in
the army of our Lord as we help each other to victory!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
A SPECIAL
THANKS to everyone who helped with our church team fundraising efforts
for Relay for Life! May God bless you!
SUNDAY, JULY 07:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP with Communion
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH
WEDNESDAY, JULY 10:
7:00 P.M. - MOVIE & MUNCHIES with our friends at Kay Knutson Apartments (see Spotlight below!)
SATURDAY, JULY 13:
9:00 A.M. - BARNABAS TEAM MEETING at the church. Be sure to be in prayer for our leaders as they seek God's face for guidance and direction for our church as we move forward!
NEXT SUNDAY, JULY 14:
10:00 A.M. - PRAISE & WORSHIP
10:30 A.M. - KIDZONE CHURCH
ELEVATION
NORTH SPOTLIGHT!
Our church
families that come to us from Kay Knutson Apartments mean so much to us! And since they cannot always come to us for
all of our extra events, we are taking one to them! Everyone is invited to join our friends there
for a “Movie & Munchies” night on Wednesday, July 10th, at 7:00
p.m. Bring some munchies & beverages
and head on over to 905 El Dorado Street SE!
REMEMBER . .
. “God has a thousand ways, where I can see not one; when all my
means have reached their end, then His have just begun.” ~ Esther Guyot
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
