I know you will finish what you began
Your promises are true
Somehow my story is part of your plan
Here I am
Encouragement of a divine kind—things are all about looking up for our friends, the Israelites, and for us.
A River of Life
As Moses raised the serpent up in the desert to heal the people from the venomous snakes that were overcoming them after their bitter grumbling against God, (Numbers 21.4-8) so our God wants us to look up and see his hand working things out in our lives. Is the Jordan River seemingly too wide to cross?
Does your flood stage river seem impassable? Look up and see the One who puts all of life in perspective. Do you need the kind of courage that Joshua had to walk into your land of milk and honey? Do you believe that Jesus is with you even during the times when the snakes are biting and you need his help?
John 3.14-16
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Another River of Life at the very end of time
Revelation 22.1-5
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city and his servants will serve him. They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
17b. Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
Come Lord Jesus!
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Vs. 21
I will sing of my Redeemer and his wondrous love to me
On the cruel cross he suffered, from the curse to set me free
Sing, O sing of my Redeemer, with his blood he purchased me
On the cross he sealed my pardon
Paid the debt and made me free.
I will tell the wondrous story, how my lost estate to save,
In his boundless love and mercy, he the ransom freely gave
I will praise my dear Redeemer,
His triumphant power I’ll tell
How the victory he gives me,
Over sin and death and hell.
I will sing of my Redeemer and his heavenly love for me
He from death to life has brought me,
Son of God, with him to be
Sing I sing of my Redeemer
With his blood he purchased me
On the cross he sealed my pardon,
Paid the debt and made me free.
You set me free
My ransomed soul free
The darkness is over
Behold Him I see
A living Redeemer
Love healing me
Forever forgiven
This love song I bring
You set me free!
You hold my every moment
You calm my raging sea
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease
I trust in you
I trust in you!
I believe you’re my healer
I believe you are all I need
I believe, you’re my portion
You’re more than enough for me
Jesus, you’re all I need
Nothing is impossible for you
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible for you
You hold my world in your hands
What happened in the wilderness wanderings? God did something only God could do. He did the impossible simply by being himself. God, you reign!
We are free in ways we never should be
sweet release from the grip of these chains
My heart no longer can keep from singing
All that is within me cries
You alone be glorified
Immanuel, God with us!
Wonder-full Wednesdays’ study, One in a Million, is ending this coming week. We have come full circle with our new friends, the Israelites. We see how much we are like them and how much courage we will need to follow God into our destiny.
Whether your journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is one that is just beginning or you are finding that you are at an oasis or even sitting at your own Mt. Sinai, camping out for a time with your great God–at each and every place along the way, the Lord of the Universe has a plan for your life. You are his treasured possession. He wants to take you to abundance. And he will let you take as long as you need to find him in sweet communion, to rest, to listen to his voice, to obey and take the next steps needed to continue on the way. He loves you extravagantly. He wants for you to be completely his: body, mind and soul. He is waiting for you to seek him and find him in all his glory. Let’s walk together into our Promised Land, hand in hand, sisters, with great compassion. Our God shows the way; he is our life.
Isaiah 35
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
Strengthen feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;
Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear;
Your God will come
He will come with vengeance; with divine retribution
He will come to save you.”
Then the eyes of the blind will be opened
The ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer,
And the mute tongue shout for joy.
Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become a pool.
The thirsty ground bubbling springs . . .
And a Highway will be there;
It will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it;
It will be for those who walk in that Way;
Wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there . . .
Only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;
Everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. He has done great things. Hallelujah!
Moses sits atop Mt. Nebo, peering over the Promised land. His work is over, and he gets to go see his God face to face. He doesn’t have to imagine his reward any longer. His hope is in the Lord. Joshua will carry on the conquest.
More than all I know
More than all I can see
More than all I want
More than all I need
More than enough for me
There are twelve spies who are given the task of scouting out the Promised Land–twelve men hand picked by their leaders Moses and Aaron to bring back a report. After forty days there are mixed reviews. Ten spies talk of the perils of claiming the land and two have a different spirit about them and speak with confidence about all that is good about this land flowing with milk and honey (Numbers 13-14). They have confidence that God will be with them and accomplish his purposes.
Ten spies say that God is not enough to handle their enemies who are like giants in the land. Two men, Joshua and Caleb, say he is more than enough. Whom do I believe? Does a spirit of fear keep us out of the land that we are called to claim for our God?
You know better than I
I’ll take what answers you supply
The Israelites knew their history, and Joseph was a part of their story. In their oral tradition this was the story of all stories! They resonated with his slavery, his imprisonment, the tests he went through, the abandonment, the loss of all he held dear and his trust in a great God who could help him accomplish things he could never have even dreamed. His slavery gave them glimmers of hope in what they were going through. Would they remember how Yahweh could save? Would they remember how he kept them safe and why he was taking them out of Egypt? Was there a plan that was bigger than themselves and their immediate needs?
Lord, we are your people
Hear our song
Your children worship
Make this a place for your glory to dwell
Open the blind eyes
Unlock the deaf ears
Come to your people, Lord
Hear us from heaven
Touch our generation
We are your people
Crying out in desperation
Hear us from heaven
God is trying to restore worship where he once again dwells with his people. Even in the wilderness, he came to them to offer rescue and true worship, but they fill in to sin,whining for the past, rebellion, blatant complaining and disrespect over and over again. Yahweh heard Israel’s heart cry over and over. They kept falling back into the habits of Egypt.
Do we do the same? Will we see and hear and know that our God saves, that He wants to sing over us and make us His very own? Will this generation, our generation, be different?