"Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord" (Exod. 14:13).

Waiting is the hardest of all commands of the Lord!  Yet, it is a COMMAND!  I have heard it said that living with the Lord is about waiting and running.  He has you wait and wait and then you have to run to keep up with Him.  People don’t wait well.  Moses left the congregation under the oversight of Aaron while he went up the mountain to "wait on The Word from God." 

The people became anxious and Aaron yielded to their faithless suggestions and gave them "a word, a direction, a vision of sorts."  The waiting period may be our greatest of all tests. The two great tests of waiting is silence and faithless words. We cannot make the answer come sooner.  We may fabricate an answer but at best it will only be an imitation of the real thing.  We might even convince everyone around us that this "answer" is the word from the Lord.  When the answer, the Word of the Lord does arrive, and it will arrive, the imitation will be ground to powder.  We must wait! Faith must wait!

Then, in the timing of the Lord we will see the "salvation of the Lord!"

"Stand still"--keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice; and it will not be long ere God shall say to you, as distinctly as Moses said it to the people of Israel, "Go forward.'

—Charles Spurgeon

Obedience Or A Fad

20Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

22Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

23Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say that they went forward in a church service because all the other kids were doing so.  It was a popular thing to do.  They said they accepted Jesus and joined the church because of peer pressure. Now, at a later time they are questioning if they were ever really saved.  Some current test was shaking the validity of their foundation.  Most of the folks who did this were young people.  It is an easy thing to relegate these kinds of actions to teenagers.  Yet, following the fad is a driving force of the economy.  Fads are often motivated by ads.  Advertising plays on the human need to belong and to be considered as different or out front.  This same kind of behavior happens in church as well.  We may all dress alike, talk the same religious dialect and even say we believe the same things.  Yet, the truth about our commitment to Jesus is awaiting our personal test of obedience.  What will I do when all others walk away or their passion for Jesus cools?  In the passage above Peter demonstrates a chink in his armor.   After Jesus tells Peter what the future will require of him for the Kingdom of God Peter asks, What about John?  Jesus gives a shocking answer: "What is that to you?"  Being translated into our language of today he is saying, "it's none of your business!"  My obedience cannot be dependent upon others.  My obedience is between Jesus and me.  Nothing else matters at the end of the day.  

In much the same way, my convictions and lifestyle cannot be determined by the way others live their lives.  This Christian walk is a personal, one on one, eye ball to eye ball living relationship with the living Jesus.  There are two great tests in our journey.  They are the test of failure and the test of success.  Both have the potential to shipwreck us.  Make the decision today to obey in the seemingly small things so you will stand when the difficult decision is before you.  

The Attitude of the Redeemed

Ephesians. 5: 1 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 

12 It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. 

These two verses are in the same chapter, the same instruction from Ephesians 5.  Because we are to “imitate God”, there are things that we don’t do.  The Apostle Paul said that all things were legal for him but all things weren’t profitable.  Verse 1 here sounds a little like performance but it is really speaking of a lifestyle from a release from within us.  I’m finding in my Walk that more and more it is about a release from within.  The answer for victorious living comes from a release of the Jesus man within us.  Too often we think of doing the right thing as making a decision to act in a foreign manner that is opposed to or nature. Actually, as “born again” children of God, we are now equipped to live the God life.  It is now closer to normal for us to act righteously. The more we live by the Spirit from within, the God life becomes more fluid with less effort.  Then the sinful practices stand out more vividly when they happen around us.  We must be careful when that happens because when we see sinful practices that are illuminated in others we have a great temptation to judge them and feel better than they.  This is the place where we are “in the world but not of the world.”  Even to the point, as verse 12 says, “it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.” For a believer to speak of sinful practices of the ungodly is a kind of judging and a type of hypocrisy.  If we feel a sense of enjoyment in sharing it we are demonstrating a modern day Pharisee-ism.  Jesus tells the story in Luke 18 of a Pharisee who said, “ 'I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don't cheat, I don't sin, and I don't commit adultery. I'm certainly not like that tax collector!” Jesus tells this story as a rebuke for such thinking.  Silence can be a great act of faith and obedience.  Silence may contain resistance to judgment and condemnation.  It may contain a deep appreciation for what Jesus has done for us and a compassion for those who haven’t yet found redemption.  The redeemed are filled with gratitude and not self-righteousness.  

Inspiration

It has been said that an idea is the most powerful thing on earth.  Certainly every great invention began with an idea but did it really begin there?  Is an idea the starting point?  An idea is a process of the intellect.  Far deeper within us there is something that births ideas and that is inspiration.  The dictionary defines the word inspiration as, "the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative."  Therefore the great inventions, works of art and beneficial philosophies originated with inspiration.  Inspiration brings creation!  Imitation only brings rearranged sameness.  I like all kinds of music.  I have to be in a particular mood, but I can enjoy 1960's Rock and Roll, Classical, Country, Bluegrass, Sacred, and yes even elevator music.  One thing is critical to me regardless of genre though, it must be an original thought.  There have been a few remade originals that I have liked but even then there must be some new creativity or it is boring.  Sameness bores me terribly and I think that is true of most people.  Just like inspiration leads to creation, imitation leads to sterilization. It brings no life and in time, within the imitator, will destroy the ability to be creative.  Why isn't there more creativity?  It must be because there is not a lot of inspiration.  
The journey from inspiration to creation may be a long, laborious trip or it might be an almost instantaneous incarnation of an idea.  Regardless, inspiration is a process that originates in the spirit of man.  When the spirit of man is united and reborn by direct contact with the Spirit of God, the only true Creator, there is the potential for spiritual creation.  The great composer and believer, Felix Mendedlssohn wrote the Aria  of Elijah, O Rest in the Lord.  It is a powerful song of the dealing of God with Elijah.  When he began to read I Kings he said this Aria just began to flow.  It has been called possibly his best work.  Inspiration brought about creation.  Too often we "try" to be creative.  From our frustration we are tempted to go to the rancid waters of imitation.  If we would only "wait upon the Lord" we would come to the artesian well of inspiration from our Holy friendship.  From that covenant connection flows original creativity.  A desire to be creative should take us directly to the Lord Jesus, our only true connection to the Heavenly Father, the Creator of heaven and earth.  

HE IS RISEN!  WE ARE RISEN!

Today as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus two things must stand out in our mind. First and foremost Jesus paid it all!  Jesus came as the perfect Lamb of God to sacrificially die a horrible death not for his sins but for ours.  Today, just as we do each time we receive Holy Communion, we remember Him.  We remember that He paid the ultimate price for you and me.  It was not a sacrifice that we deserved, but an act of pure Grace.  Secondly, we remember today that his death means our life.  By faith we died with Him on the cross and by faith we arose with Him to live a resurrected life and lifestyle.  Jesus went to the cross and remained there until it was "Finished"!  He did so by a decision, obedience and the Grace of the Father.  We now live the Kingdom life by a decision, obedience and the Grace of the Father as well.  We must continue this lifestyle until it is finished as well.   Today, on this powerful day of remembrance may we give thanks to Him and remind ourselves of the power that is at work in us.  He is risen and because of that, We are risen!