Mixed Multitude

 

A mixed multitude also went up with them,

along with flocks and herds,

a very large number of livestock. 

Exodus 12:38

 

When we read “a mixed multitude” in Scripture, our Creator is not speaking about our human label of race. Our God divides people into only two categories: 1) the righteous and 2) the sinner/wicked (Romans 5:19, Proverbs 10:32). You are either of God or of the Devil (John 8:39-47, Acts 26:18). You are either in the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13). In Ephesians 5:8 the Word of God declares, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.”

So my friend, as we look at this “mixed multitude” that walked out of Egypt and as we read and study more of Scripture, let us be sure to understand that race does not factor in with the interpretation of God’s Word. We all came forth from the same one father and the same one mother, Adam and Eve.

All flesh is not the same flesh,

but there is one flesh of men,

and another flesh of beasts,

and another flesh of birds,

and another of fish.

 1 Corinthians 15:39

We may have different nationalities according to our places of birth, but we are all the same flesh, one race. Racism is a philosophy of man. It is a means of division and deception and destruction by the one who seeks to kill, steal, and destroy. Therefore it has no place among those who are of God.    

Now what we learn from Exodus 12:38 is that many of the people who lived in Egypt chose to leave with the Hebrew slaves. Some left in a new found faith, fully devoted to this God of the Hebrews. Some left because they were afraid to stay in Egypt. Some left because the Hebrews took with them most of all the valuables in Egypt.

In Exodus 12:35-36 we read, “Now the sons of Israel had done according to the word of Moses, for they had requested from the Egyptians articles of silver and articles of gold, and clothing; and the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have their request. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.” So the “mixed multitude” that journeys from Rameses to Succoth was a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God.  

In 1 Corinthians 15:33 we read, “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.” The bad company that travels out of Egypt with the Hebrews is going to bring them much grief.

The bad company that we allow in our lives will also bring us much grief. This does not mean that we must put ourselves in a Christian bubble, to do so would be impossible. However we must be wise in our choosing of intimate friends. We must be wise in our choosing of those who we allow to influence us. The bad company that corrupts our good morals are usually not the lost, but those who claim to be saved. The apostle Paul speaks a great deal on this subject.

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;

I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world,

or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters,

for then you would have to go out of the world.

But actually, I wrote to you

not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person,

or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-

not even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders?

Do you not judge those who are within the church?

But those who are outside, God judges.

REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

1 Corinthians 5:9-13  

Our Savior also addresses this in His letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. Jesus rebukes the church of Pergamum and the church of Thyatira for tolerating false teachers and immoral persons in the church. In His word to the churches, Jesus did not call those who tolerated sin in the church overcomers. Yes, we are to tolerate weakness in faith among those who are our brethren in Christ (Romans 14:1-4). However, we are not to tolerate sin.

My friend, toleration of sin is not an act of love. It is not a display of compassion. It is giving “hearty approval” (Romans 1:32) to the things which lead to death. It is like seeing a child who appears to be having a fun time playing in the middle of the interstate and walking away and allowing him to stay because you do not want to hurt his feelings in making him move, or you do not want to offend his parents by stepping up and taking action in their stead, even though the diesal truck is coming around the bend.

Oh precious one, will you be one who overcomes?

Will you be one who refuses to compromise the Word of Truth?

Will you be one who is not afraid of standing for righteousness?

Will you be one who displays true love and compassion by being willing to run out in the middle of the road and snatch the playing child from death?

It is possible to speak the truth and call sin a sin and do it in love and with grace and mercy. We are to be salt and light in this world. Salt sometimes burns and light sometimes is so bright we have to look away, but still it is needed. That burning salt still heals wounds and that blinding light is still the way out of the darkness. 

Will you be one who refuses to be influenced by those who are not whole hearted in their devotion to God?

Some follow Christ because they have a new found faith in Him and are fully devoted to God. Some follow Him because they are afraid of the world. Some follow Him because they think with Him comes health, wealth, and prosperity. Our churches are full of a mixture of heart devotions to the One True God. The question is why have you followed Him and where is your heart’s devotion?

Oh Father,

May I not succomb to the world’s view of compassion and love. May I display love and compassion in accordance with Your Word. May I walk in the footsteps of Christ and follow His example. May I not be afraid to call sin what it is. May I not be controlled by a fear of offending others or by guilt from feelings hurt. I do not want to be one who gives hearty approval to someone’s actions when I know these actions lead to death. I am to be a guide to life. Keep my eyes open that I might not be influenced by those who do not serve You out of a devoted heart. May I be salt that has not lost it’s flavor or it’s sting and light that shines bright because it is not shadowed by doubt. 

My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,

Amen

Don’t Panic

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Okay ladies here’s the thing, we have a couple more days of trash take out and then we are going to begin to dig even deeper… the easy part is taking out the obvious trash. The hard part is when we begin to do inventory on all the rest. The hard part is when we have to discern on what’s good, what’s useful, what’s relevant for our life today, what needs to be passed on to someone else, what needs to be put away in the attic, and what might be discovered as trash after closer inspection.

Don’t panic, this is not just a “Thou Shall Not” challenge… we are just clearing out the clutter so we can see more clearly.

photo (14)

Today’s trash take out might be a little more difficult… tv shows and the chick-flick. Aren’t you glad I waited till after Valentine’s Day to initiate this challenge..

This challenge has to begin with waking up your senses. Shannon Ethridge shared about an experiment she does with youth as she teaches on sexuality. She records twelve minutes of prime time tv (she chose Friends and Seinfeld) and asks them to watch and count every sexual innuendo they see or hear. She said the group always did the same thing, they caught the first three or four but then would get caught up in the humor and jokes and would forget to give the sign, most would end up with eleven or twelve sexual innuendos. When in reality in that twelve minutes there were forty-one.

Shannon writes, “As a society, we have become so desensitized by sexual messages that we often unscrew our heads, put them under the Lazy-boy recliner, and tolerantly allow the television to fill our minds with worldly scripts. Once our minds are corrupted, our hearts memorize these scripts, and then they seep into our lives.”

The good man out of the good treasure of his heart
brings forth what is good;
and the evil man out of the evil treasure
brings forth what is evil;
for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
Luke 6:45

Everything you choose to take in through your mind can be stored up in your heart, and it is your heart that determines the direction you will take and the choices you will make in the future when confronted with temptation. If you fill your mind with images of sexually compromising comments and situations, you will become desensitized to similar scenarios in your own life. ~ Shannon Ethridge

I used to love Friends. There were several shows that I used to love to watch and would laugh my butt off… but on December 9, 2001, I wholly surrendered my life to Christ… and when I sat down to watch these shows after this date, this moment, I was appalled and embarrassed by what I saw.

I could not watch it. I had never heard or seen it through the eyes of Christ and now as I watched it… I couldn’t laugh. I was laughing at the things that my Jesus went to the cross for. It just wasn’t funny to me anymore. 

My sweet sister… you have a choice. For the next  thirty-one days view your tv through the eyes of Christ. If you ask Him, trust me He will let you see. He came to bring sight to the blind… but first we must admit that we cannot see.

 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world,
so that those who do not see may see,
and that those who see may become blind.” 
Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things
and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” 
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
John 9:39-41

Now we must discuss the chick-flick.

If nothing else, for this next thirty-one days as you fast from the flick, look at how much money you can save from not spending the funds on a movie and popcorn 🙂

My husband and I rarely go to the movies. When we do go we are diligent to check out the movie thoroughly on Plugged In before we go see it. I don’t care what Hollywood rates it… if it is full of sexual content that exists outside the marriage bed, even without nudity, we do not attend.

You see I don’t find this sacred act between man and wife as a joke to be ridiculed and demeaned by people who are trashing it up and making it of no more importance than going to the bathroom. I also am not going to waste my time watching two strangers exchange bodily fluids. I most definitely am not going to pay to see that.

Anyway.

The chic-flick, ladies here’s the thing. Let’s get serious. For the married woman reading this… I used to hear married people say this, “It doesn’t matter where you get your appetite as long as you eat at home”. When I was living apart from Christ and unmarried and I heard that I thought, well that makes sense… but now as a married woman and surrendered to Christ… THAT IS ONE OF THE MOST STUPID THINGS I HAVE EVER HEARD!

Marriage is about true intimacy, you can’t have intimacy if your mind is having sex with one person and your body with another. My husband wants all of me and I want all of him. I want him to be aroused and fulfilled by me alone and he deserves the same from me. I don’t want him comparing my body to the latest top model and therefore I am not going to compare him to the leading man’s scripted words in the latest love story.

Men are designed to be aroused visually… ladies we are designed to be aroused emotionally. When a man says the right things and is able to smile the right way… How do you think Eve was deceived? She was emotionally manipulated and the words of the serpent captivated her and then she partook of what she knew was wrong. Unable to walk away.

Let me ask you… what fruit was dangled before you in the last chic-flick movie you watched? Did it make you appreciate your husband, or did it make you wish he was more like so and so? Did it make you long again for the excitement of that first kiss, that first date, that unknown angst?

We must guard our hearts.

We must guard our emotions.

Single ladies… that goes for you too.

Hollywood glamorizes the start of a relationship and then leaves you with this false expectation that this is true love… it’s not. True love is a love that stays after the excitement of the new wears off and stays long enough to have that excitement pop up and surprise you over and over again because true love is patient and it endures all things. We need to protect our marriages and if we are single, our future marriages “by resisting any thoughts that may evoke feelings of disillusionment and disappointment with reality” (Shannon Ethridge). 

Shannon has a little check list to ask yourself before you watch, read, or listen so that you may be proactive in protecting and guarding your heart so that you might become a woman of sexual and emotional integrity.

Ask yourself:

* Does this glamorize ideas or situations that oppose my Christian values?

*Is it uplifting to my spirit, and does it make me grateful for what God has given me, or does it make me depressed and dissatisfied?

*Does this cause me to think about things that build my character, or does it tear it down?

I know this post has been a little more forceful than the last two… but it comes after a night of  Awana T&T when I had 4th-6th grade girls who were too distracted talking about little boyfriends and singing “I got passion in my pants” and “I’m sexy and I know it” to be putting the Word of God in their hearts… it was already too full of trash…

Just think where their little hearts will be at your age if they continue down the path they are on… guess what you are leading the way… so what path are you going to walk? When the little hearts around you follow you where will you lead them…