Both directions to Moses came from God – throw down the staff – pick up the snake!  It seems to me that it had to be a whole lot easier to comply with the former direction than the latter!  Yet -  God was in control of the staff to snake AND the snake to staff.

Our life is full of challenges.  Some are easy.  Some are tough.  Sometimes trusting God in our circumstances is easy – sometimes not so much.  Yet – the same God presides over all.

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You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Ps. 16:11)

After the resurrection, when Jesus was telling his disciples what to expect, Jesus promised that

“If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

What Jesus is teaching them and us, is that when we accept Jesus, the WE – the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit comes to make Their home in believers – to abide in us.

Abide refers to an on-going, never-ending positional relationship in which one cannot be separated from the other. What a wonderful description of what happens when the “God-shaped” vacuum in our lives is filled with God – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Imagine with me the top of a pie divided into three equal sections. Let’s give a name to each part – body, soul and spirit. God created us to be in three parts, but sin has separated us from Him and our spirits are dead, so when we are born into this world we are only alive in body and soul.

Scripture also teaches that when Jesus comes into our being, that dead portion, the spirit, is “quickened” – made alive, so we are fully the tri-part being that God created us to be, fully in His image.

When we accept Jesus, God’s own presence becomes part of us, and with that presence comes fullness of joy.

Psalm 51:10-12 says,
10  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

This Psalm of Penitence arises when Nathan, the prophet, was sent to David to hold him accountable for his sin with Bathsheba. David indeed recognized that his sin was against God alone – that he had willfully sinned and broken his fellowship with God, and he asked God for restoration.

David also knew what pleased God, as he states in verses 16-17.
16  For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart – these, O God, You will not despise.

Whenever we sin, and break our fellowship with God, a broken and contrite heart is all we need to lay before God. He will forgive, and restore to us the joy of His salvation. We will again be able to fully experience His presence.

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Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. (Ps. 27:11, KJV)

The Psalms are a favorite place in Scriptures for many people–me included. Perhaps this is true because they speak so clearly and often so succinctly of our daily lives. We can identify with the emotions expressed. Because frequently the Psalms are brief; they may be helpful when one is full of emotions and low on mental concentration.

Most commentators believe Psalm 27 was written by David.  Certainly David had many days filled with trouble that brought him waves of anxiety.  He was threatened by physical and emotional harm;  pursued by enemies.  The Scriptures show that when David was troubled and needed guidance he turned to God.

When we are anxious about the cares of daily living or the trouble that surrounds us; like David we can seek God’s help and guidance.  When we humbly seek Him, He can show us how to live. He can bring our focus to the peacefulness of His presence whatever the circumstances in which we are living.   God has promised “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  (Isaiah 46:4)

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If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to you own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil. 2:1-4)

Paul reminds us in Philippians 2:1 that as believers in Christ, we have encouragement from being united with Christ. By having tenderness and compassion, we will be like minded with Him, making His joy complete.  We need to have that same love and be one in the Spirit as we serve one another.

God doesn’t want us to do anything out of selfish ambitions or conceit. God wants us to humble ourselves. He tells us in Philippians 2:4 not to just think of our own needs but to think of the needs of others. Here at H*VMI, even though we are all involved in different ministries, God wants us to serve each other. No matter what  we are doing in life, we need to serve each other with joy and put others before ourselves. This will make us better servants for the Lord.

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