Author Archives: Nicole Vaughn

>Devotions from Exodus Part One: Learning to Live in Freedom

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Introduction
 
The journey that we are about to take through Exodus, is both a fulfilled Word and a great foreshadowing of Word to be fulfilled. As we proceed through the first 20 chapters of this amazing book we must take careful inventory of our hearts. We must examine ourselves and check the condition of our own hearts as we examine the heart of Pharaoh, of Moses, and the children of Israel.  
 
The children of Israel had been enslaved for 400 years when freedom finally came. Now that they are out of Egypt, God has to get Egypt out of them.
 
We, like these children of Israel, are born in bondage to sin and enslaved to the world and the enemy of our souls. When in and through and by Christ we are set free, we like the children of Israel have to learn what all this freedom means. After we have been taken out of the world, God has to then get the world out of us.
 
Let us follow the Israelites through these first twenty chapters of Exodus as they learn to live in their freedom. May we take notes as we travel this journey with them and learn from the examples that God has recorded for us in his Word.  I pray your eyes and heart will be open to the Spirit of God.
 
 
MOSES MEETS THE I AM
 
Now a new king arose over Egypt,
who did not know Joseph.
 Exodus 1:8
 
Genesis 49:27 and Deuteronomy 10:22 along with Exodus 1:5 tell us that seventy persons from the loins of Jacob came down to Egypt. Of course Joseph first came as a slave. The rest of the family came after God had advanced Joseph to second in command over all of Egypt. Jacob and his family enjoyed many years of peace in Egypt, yet with a new king comes new rules. I believe even Joseph experienced bondage again.
 
In Genesis 50:24 Joseph is reminding his brothers of the promise given to their father Abraham, the promise of the land. He also reminds them that God will take care of them. Knowing us as people, I would say that the children of Israel are already experiencing hardship from this new king or Joseph would not be reminding them of this promise.
 
We as humans seem to be perfectly content wherever we are at, as long as things are going good. Like the eagle who has to make the nest uncomfortable so that the eaglets will attempt to fly, so God has to sometimes make where we are uncomfortable so that we too will attempt to fly.
 
Possibly the sons of Jacob thought that as they grew and multiplied and as Joseph reigned in command life would always be in Egypt. Most likely many began calling Egypt home, forgetting the LORD their God, the God of their fathers, but Egypt was not their home and God is now beginning to remind them of the promise of home.
 
We live in this world, yet this is not home. Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world.”(John 18:36) If we have received Christ and thus entered into His kingdom, then we too are no longer of this world (John 15:19). God tells us in His Word that we are not to love this world nor the things in the world (1John 2:15-17), this world is passing away, and this world is not our home.
 
If we are believers in Christ our citizenship is in His kingdom (Philippians 3:20)  Jesus told us that in this world we would have tribulation (John 16:33), this tribulation stems from many sources, our on flesh, our enemy Satan, and the fact that this world is fallen and groaning for redemption itself (Romans 8:20-21). As believers our response to the pains of life should not be to grow angry at God, but simply to grow in our desire to be home.
 
Oh Father,
 
How easy it is to slip into a state of complacency and apathy in this world. Especially if you live in comfort. Here I am, never truly experienced hunger, never not had a roof over my head, always had a closet full of clothing, never experienced the tyranny of an earthly king, yet how often have I found myself in a heap on the floor with tears streaming down my face praying you would just remove my life breathe from me. How often have I felt overwhelmed by this world, by the things of this world, by the pains of this world. How easy it would be to grow angry at You and attempt to accuse You of not loving me, that is after all how the enemy of my soul wants me to respond, but oh my Father, I cannot. As Job said, “Thou He slay me I will hope in Him”(Job 13:15). This is what I know, I know I have peace with You through Jesus Christ, and because I do I can rejoice in all things, because I know that Your love is poured out on and within me (Romans 5:1-5). In You, my Jesus, this world is not my home, and any pains I suffer just remind me of that fact and cause my anticipation to grow.
 
My Jesus it is in Your name I pray,
Amen

>Fast Accountability

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>Okay so it’s after midnight and I have been searching my blog posts for a post I am pretty sure I did on the subject of fasting while studying Isaiah… although that could be one that was a draft then deleted or something I posted somewhere else or could be something I wrote in a journal with actual pen and paper…

The reason I was searching for it was to back up my reasons for this post and also to see where I was in my thought process concerning fasting when I wrote it. I feel the Lord has called me to a fast. However I do not have a set reason… other than the desire to be completely and totally in His will and walking in it with full confidence. There are several areas in my life where I go “well I don’t know… maybe this… or maybe that…” There are some areas that I need solid assurance not wishy washy maybes… because I know my God is a solid Rock… He is not wishy or washy… and He has a plan… I need to be still and see if He is willing to give me the heads up on what that plan might be.

However when I even think “fast” my stomach starts growling and my head starts hurting… and the excuses begin and the compromises come. So this is my accountability. I usually try a secret fast. The don’t-let-the-right-hand-know-what-the-left-hand-is-doing fast, but for me it makes it too easy to compromise and take a big ole bite of whatever.

Here’s the thing.
I will be teaching on love from 1 Corinthians 13 this coming Sunday morning as I finish up a study on spiritual gifts and then I will be leading an adult small group study from the book of Job beginning the next Sunday.
This Sunday, after my small group, I will immediately go to teach our children at church on Bible prophecy through the book of Revelation. 
On Monday I will be back to teaching during our homeschool co-op chapel time on the names of God and I also teach a Zoology class.
I also am involved in a prayer wall ministry and will be speaking at a ladies retreat in March.
Then of course their is my writing.
And being a wife to my wonderful husband.
And motherhood and homeschooling my girls.
And all the other stuff in between…

So many times people ask me how I have the time for all that I do… and I immediately begin to try to make excuses and justify and defend and basicly apologize for my service… I have no clue why I do that.

The simple truth is that as long as I am doing what He alone has called me to do, my God, the Author and Finisher, the I AM, the Beginning and the End, the One not bound by time, space, or matter, He always manages to make enough time for me to accomplish whatever He has called me to do. It’s all Him. And I have no clue how He does it… He just does.

So my fast…
My fast is to make sure that I am serving on His time, in His time, for His time, with His time, so that I always have time. In His strength not my own. Not my will but His will be done. No wishy-washy maybe but only a sold rock of assurance. I like my face set like flint, fully focused on the prize of my Christ. Obeying His Word, His Way, His will.

F aith
A mplifies
S urrendered
T ime

Accountability: to help me keep my mouth closed and my heart open

It’s 1am now…
I’ll let you know how well this fast goes.
Hopefully I will not be defeated with breakfast…

Names of God – Jehovah-jireh

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It’s time for another post in the Names of God series. We have done a little study on the names Elohim, El Elyon, El Roi, El Shaddai, El Olam, Adonia, and Jehovah. Today we will discover more about the character of our God as we take a look at His name, Jehovah-jireh.

We first see this name of God in Genesis. To discover the meaning of this name of our God we go again to Abraham. We go to the day that an old man of great faith is asked by his God to do the unthinkable. We go to Genesis 22:1-14.

In Genesis 22, we go to the day that God calls out to Abraham to take his son… his son that he loves… and sacrifice him to Him. This is the first time the word love is used in Scripture. I think that has to be for a reason… don’t you? God has always tried to show us, to teach us, that love is about sacrifice.

 Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering
and laid it on Isaac his son,
and he took in his hand the fire and the knife.
So the two of them walked on together.
Genesis 22:6
What a beautiful picture this was of our Savior. A small foreshadowing of what was to come. Abraham walked with his son, ready to be wholly surrendered in absolute committed obedience to his God. He walked on in faith. He walked on trusting in the promises of his God. His God who had given His Word that through Isaac he would become a great nation and all the nations would be blessed in him. So somehow he knew that his God would provide life for his son and life for those who were to come through the seed of his son… even though now He asked for his death.
They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out,
bearing His own cross,
to the place called the Place of a Skull,
which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
John 19:17
Jesus walked to the place of His sacrifice and He carried the wood on His back and it was His Father that walked with Him. It was His Father who carried the fire and the knife. The difference in the story is found in this name we are looking at today… Jehovah-jireh, the LORD Will Provide.
Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked,
and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns;
and Abraham went and took the ram
and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. 
Abraham called the name of that place
The LORD Will Provide,
as it is said to this day,
“In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.”
Genesis 22:13-14
Abraham’s son was spared. God’s Son was not. The ram that spared Isaac… was a picture of the Lamb that would not be spared in order to not only spare Isaac, but to spare you and I. The Lord would provide the sacrifice that was needed. It would be God who would take His Son, His Only Begotten Son, His Son Whom He loved, and sacrifice Him… for us.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
John 1:29
***
For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
 that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life. 
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world,
but that the world might be saved through Him.  
John 3:16-17
It would be God who would provide the sacrifice for our sin. However the sacrifice for our sin is not the only necessity that our God has promised to provide.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11
 ***
And my God will supply all your needs
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 
Philippians 4:19
Our God promises to supply our daily needs. He knows what we need. He has promised to meet those needs according to His riches… according to His will… according to His way. He always provides what is best when it is best.
Last year I found myself clinging to a particular Psalm all year… over and over I would come back to the promises of my God and would hold on to them for dear life. That Psalm was Psalm 34. As I read threw this Psalm I noticed the repeating of the word “all”. It was this word that I clung to as I held on to this Word of my God, my God whose name is Jehovah-jireh.
 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the LORD, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
 O taste and see that the LORD is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry. 
 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

>Fierce Beauty Book Review

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>I have finished reading Fierce Beauty by Kim Meeder. There were so many moments in this book where my heart caught in my throat as I read words of strength and encouragement, words of confirmation, that this path that I am on is indeed the path that the Lord has set before me. (My ten year old daughter is currently reading it now.)

If you follow my FB page you would find quote after quote from this book. Kim shared stories of such courage and depth that I could not help but share a little from them along the way as I read through the book.

The book is centered on getting your focus off of you. We live in a day where outward beauty is worshiped and it doesn’t matter how ugly the inside is. All around us are young girls killing themselves to be beautiful before a fickle world and while they smile on the outside their insides are crumbling within them dying slowly and painfully. Then we older girls are so focused on maintaining our own youthful beauty that we completely miss the young girls around us following our lead into a pointless battle.

By God’s grace and mercy might we stop and look into the mirror of our God and judge our reflection by His eyes and not our own. Might we stop and look into the souls of the women around us and pull out the mirror of the Word and say look, Are you beautiful before your King because His opinion is the only one that matters?  

As you pour through the pages of Fierce Beauty you will gain renewed determination and purpose. If you are currently in a place of stumbling, a place of hopelessness, a place of frustration… if you will pick up this book and press on through it… I guarantee you that by the end you will have a face set like flint to get up and stand on the solid Rock of your God and take Him by His outstretched hand and walk on knowing that He is with you every step of the way. 

It is such a breathe of sweet air to me to know that my sufferings are never in vain. Kim shares her own times of suffering as well as the sufferings of others and she shows how God took these ashes and turned them into something beautiful and how in His hands our sorrow becomes gladness.

Kim shares toward the end of the book and says, “Friends, no matter how difficult this race of life gets and how lonely we might feel, we are not alone in our struggles.”

Here is what some others had to say about Fierce Beauty and you can also read an excerpt from the book to get a closer look inside the pages. I recommend this book for young ladies all the way up to not-so-young ladies. We all need reminded that true beauty begins on the inside and our focus should not be the condition of our outward appearance but the condition of our hearts.

Are we beautiful before our King?
Let us not fight a pointless battle, but let us fight the good fight of faith.
Let us never forget that our sufferings are not in vain nor are we alone in them.
May we all become fierce beauties.

FTC disclaimer: “I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

>My Own Little World

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Yesterday was an “ick” day.
It was just one of those “Ugh” days.
This morning I wake up to realize it was because I got caught up in my own little world.
 
I know now that it was an attack.
You see it time for changes.
It’s time for new commitments.
So it’s time for the enemy of my soul to make me feel unworthy and unable.
 
It almost worked.
Doubts began to fill my head.
Discouragement was creeping up my back.
 
… “Get behind Me, Satan!
You are a stumbling block to Me;
for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
Matthew 16:23
 
How easy it is to find myself wrapped up and tripping all over me.
I so get in my way!
I so get in the way of what God is trying to do in and through me…
I have to remember daily to die daily.
So today I die and live to Him.
 
Today I say goodbye to my own little world…
I don’t like it here anyway. It always makes me frustrated and aggravated and hopeless and just plain old unlikable. I can’t even stand myself in my own little world… how on earth could anyone else stand me here. Today I choose to remember that I am of another world. His world. His kingdom. I like it much better in the BIG OF HIM than the little of me!   
 
 

>Trusting in Forgiveness

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When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”
Genesis 50:15
 
Are you still holding on to guilt from a sin that God has long since forgiven you? Joseph’s brothers, after all these years, still have not trusted in his forgiveness. They still live in fear of his wrath. They could not grasp the love and forgiveness of Joseph that was his because of the faith in God that he treasured in his heart.
 
We can only experience forgiveness when we trust the word of the forgiver.
 
Joseph’s brothers concoct a message for Joseph, claiming that Jacob sent word by them, asking him to forgive them. The brothers come and fall down again before the feet of a weeping Joseph. Joseph wept not from the pain of what his brothers had done to him, but from the realization that his brothers had not believed and trusted in his word of forgiveness.
 
Joseph replies, “Do not be afraid, for I am in God’s place. As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:19–20).
 
Joseph had an amazing walk with God. We have no record of him ever doubting the sovereignty of God. I believe Joseph was able to forgive his brothers because he knew the wickedness of his own heart. He knew that it was only by his faith in God and his respect of God that he was who he was.
 
Jesus looks at us, and he says, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1). Believe in what He says; trust in all He promises. Adjust your life to His Word.
 
Joseph had given his brothers his word that he had forgiven them, but his brothers had not united that word with faith. God has given us His word that if we admit that we are a sinner, confess our sins, believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again so that we might have eternal life, He would save us. We have His Word; we now too must trust His Word and unite it with faith. “For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard” (Hebrews 4:2).
 
Oh, precious one, are you walking in what you know?
 
Faith is not just saying the truth and saying you believe. It is a surrender to those words; a surrender that produces action. My friend, are you wholly surrendered to Christ?
 
Oh Father,
 
Thank you for sending Christ. The enemy of my soul and the wickedness of my own heart nailed Christ to the cross. The cross was meant for evil, meant to destroy and to do away with, but you, my God, intended it for good, to bring about the present result, to preserve many people alive. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Oh, my Jesus, my Savior, my King, I praise You, for I know that Your suffering was not and never will be in vain. My Jesus, You endured the cross for the joy set before You (Hebrews 12:2). You endured the cross for me, not because I was worthy, not because You owed it to me; You endured it because You loved me. Oh Father, how great is Your love for me!
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen.

Beginning 2012 With Innocence Lost

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New Years day was spent first at home getting ready for church… which we managed to do without any yelling or meltdowns and we only pulled into the parking lot 5 minutes late…
Then at church the last gifts to be studied in my spiritual gifts class were discussed and we left small group to head to “big church” to listen to one of the cutest couples I have ever seen share about their missions adventures in Guatemala.
Then we were off to spend the rest of the day at my in-laws.

My momma-in-law had a copy of The Help, a movie I had not seen but had wanted to, so we popped it in. PG-13 should be fine with the kids running around… right?
I cringed with the first “gd” and hoped there would not be another… there was, but they never fell when the children were in the room (whew).

Then Bekah, tired and not feeling all too wonderful yesterday crawled up in my lap while the movie was playing… in closed-caption I mind you…

Her first question came.
“Momma why can’t she go to the bathroom?”   

So the explanation of the civil rights movement began and as I spoke my child’s beautiful innocent eyes looked at me with utter befuddled confusion. The fact that someone could be treated so horrible simply because of the color of her skin was completely foreign and insane to her. Proof that racism is taught, not natural.

Her next question came.
“But why Momma?” 

My only answer.
“Foolish ignorance and human self-righteousness”

The next lesson my youngest child learned from The Help was just as upsetting to her… and me.

While watching the movie, the time of Minny’s revenge came, and at this time my little one decided to enter the room once again… and at the exact time that (in closed caption) Minny says, “Eat my s**t”. To which I look in horror to my child who is watching (and reading) and then turns to me and says “Momma what’s s**t?” 

Really?!?!

So I have to take my young beautiful innocent child to another room and explain to her what s**t is. I laugh in uncomfortable situations. So now I am trying to explain the seriousness of why we do not use this word without my uncomfortable situation laughter, because in truth my heart is breaking, and I feel like I have failed my child.

She asked, “Momma if it is just another word that people use for poo-poo what’s so bad about it?”
I then have to explain about profanity and what God says in His Word about speaking with these words and how this is not a word we are to use.

 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk,
or coarse jesting, which are not fitting,
but rather giving of thanks.
Ephesians 5:4
Then she erupts in tears.
It hits her that she has just said a bad word and she is horrified.
Her heart is broken and my heart is broken because it was my job to protect her…
I hold her close in my arms and cuddle her up and close and explain to her that it was not her fault and she did not know it was a bad word and that it was going to be okay. Then she says, “I’ll forget it Momma! I forget things I read and hear all the time” 
Then we pray that God would help her forget it and replace it with good words… and though this may seem an insignificant moment to some… it was heart wrenching for her and for me as well… to watch her heart break and to see innocence leaving her before my very eyes.
Oh that all our hearts would break with such horror at the thought and realization of “bad words” coming out of our mouths. That all of us would be so confused and befuddled at the cruelty that comes from the foolish ignorance of self-righteous human beings.
I learn so very much from my children…

Church Adolescence

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I have one lesson left to complete a Precept Upon Precept study on Spiritual Gifts. I have loved this study. If you are interested in discovering your spiritual gift (and if you are a believer, you really should be) and understanding exactly how it Biblically is to be put into action I highly recommend this study.

This is not a question/answer survey. It will require time and effort to get through it, but when you finish the race what you will discover is freedom, purpose, and understanding… trust me… it’s worth it.

Now concerning spiritual gifts,
brethren, I do not want you to be unaware.
1 Corinthians 12:1

God doesn’t want you to be unaware, Paul does not want you to be unaware, and I do not want you to be unaware… so become aware. However, do not let your awareness come through the opinions and interpretations of man…

You know that when you were pagans,
you were led astray to the mute idols,
however you were led.
1 Corinthians 12:2

Go straight to Scripture.

There are plenty of ideas and imaginations of man attempting to explain and define spiritual gifts according to what fits in their own man made traditions and doctrines… be brave my friend… and be willing to go against the grain if need be… do not continue to be led astray… become aware.

In this study the first three weeks are an overview study of the subject of spiritual gifts and then the next nine weeks you will dig into each individual gift, the last week is a study on love.

 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
but do not have love,
I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
 If I have the gift of prophecy,
and know all mysteries and all knowledge;
and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing. 
And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor,
and if I surrender my body to be burned,
but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3

As I was studying in the overview section of this study the Lord opened my eyes to something that I was surprised that I had not seen before. He has a way of doing that… and I adore Him for it.

As God begins to make us aware of spiritual gifts He uses the human body as an analogy to help us understand. As I was studying this illustration of the body in light of Ephesians 4 and pondering what it means to become to maturity, to go from children to a mature man… my thoughts went to that time period in between that we in our day have termed as “adolescence”.

You know that time.

If you have lived it, you know it.

You don’t recognize it when you are in it… only when it is behind you and you look back… with utter humiliation and head shaking good-griefs…

It’s that time when your father and mother become the most outdated and stupid and old-fashioned people you have ever met. It’s that time when what your friends say and do matters more than what your parents have taught you. It’s that time when you begin to question and rebel against every authority figure around you. It’s that time when you begin test life in a not so good way… more challenge life and those who have given you life and gotten you safely thus far.

As I pondered this and did a little research on adolescence and considered my own days in that dreaded fog of disillusioning it hit me that this is where the body of Christ is at today.

We live in a day when those in the church are questioning the Word of God. We have been questioning and challenging the authority of our Heavenly Father. We have put down His Book and have picked up the books of our peers. We have decided to listen to what our “friends” say and have consider the Word of our Heavenly Father out-dated and old-fashioned and for a different generation.

We have become immature little brats.

It’s time to grow up.

It’s time to get to the point that when we hear the word and advice of our “friends” we go and ask our Heavenly Father what He thinks about it before we follow it.

It’s time for us to hit that point that we look back and say… “you know what maybe Momma and Daddy ain’t as stupid as I thought they were, I might should listen to what they say, and follow what they have already taught me… my way ain’t turned out so good.” 

I had to ask myself what is one of the biggest signs of beginning to reach maturity?

My answer: When we realize that the world does not revolve around me and realize that we have a responsibility in this life and we get busy meeting it.

Church it’s time to grow up.

As a result, we are no longer to be children,
tossed here and there by waves
and carried about by every wind of doctrine,
by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 
but speaking the truth in love,
we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head,
even Christ, from whom the whole body,
being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part,
causes the growth of the body
for the building up of itself in love.
Ephesians 4:14-16

>My Redeemer Lives

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Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you
what will befall you in the days to come.”
Genesis 49:1
 
Jewish tradition speaks of the importance of a shepherd’s staff, and we also have biblical truth to support that tradition. It was the rod and the staff of God that David made mention of in Psalm 23. And we can remember in Genesis 38 that when Tamar asked for a pledge from Judah, his staff was one of her requests, and in Numbers 17:8, God used the budded rod of Aaron to show the sons of Israel that Aaron was his chosen high priest.
 
A shepherd’s staff was as good as DNA, as good as a social security number or driver’s license in our day. Tradition says that the shepherd’s staff held carvings that identified its owner. In this time in history, there were no stores filled with notebook paper for journaling, no computers on which to blog; the shepherd’s carved staff told the stories of his life.
 
Tradition also speaks of the passing down of the staff of the father to the son, a sign to show transfer of the head of the family. Hebrews 11:21 says, “By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped leaning on his staff,” most likely the very same staff that he held in his hand in Genesis 32:10 when he cried, “For with my staff only I crossed this Jordan and now I have become two companies;” quite possibly the very same staff that once belonged to Isaac and once belonged to Abraham.
 
NowJacob,Israel, is about to breathe his last. He has blessed the sons of Joseph and claimed them as his own sons, and now he calls in the other eleven. Traditionally, the firstborn son would become head of the family after the passing of the father, but sometimes that privilege is lost.
 
Jacob blesses Reuben, but Reuben will not receive the ruler’s staff, for in Genesis 35:22, we learned that Reuben greatly dishonored his father by defiling his father’s bed by going into Bilhah.
 
Jacob next blesses Simeon and Levi, but neither of them shall receive the staff, for in anger and in violence and in deception, they slew many in Genesis 34 because of the rape of Dinah and made Jacob odious in the sight of the Canaanite and Perizzite.
 
Jacob then comes to Judah, and he says, “ Judah, your father’s sons shall bow down to you … the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49:8, 10). Judah was worthy to receive the staff, and through Judah would come David, and from David, our Savior Jesus Christ. The promised seed of Abraham, would go through Isaac, Jacob, and Judah and would be fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16).
 
In Revelation 5:5, John stands weeping. The elders before the throne of God tell him to “stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” Oh, beloved of God, do you see the beautiful scarlet thread of redemption being woven through the Word of our Elohim?
 
Oh Father,
 
Not only is Christ the Lion, but He is the Lamb who was slain. My Jesus, worthy are You “to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Revelation 5:12). Oh Father, You made a promise of redemption in Genesis 3:15, and in Christ that promise was fulfilled. “As for me, I know my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me!” (Job 20:25–27). Oh Father, as Job knows, so I know my Redeemer lives. Yes, my heart faints within me!
 
My Jesus, it’s in Your name I pray,
Amen.
 
Oh precious one, Jacob dies, Judah dies, David dies… but Jesus… oh my friend HE LIVES!
 

>Now I See

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He blessed Joseph, and said,
“The God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day.”
Genesis 48:15
 
Jacob now refers to God as his shepherd, the shepherd that has guided and protected him his whole life. David also referred to God as his shepherd: “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). In John 10:11 Jesus Christ says, “I am the good shepherd.” He is the shepherd that lays down His life for His sheep.
 
Jacob learned through his lifetime that God was with him. He learned that God was sovereign. He learned that God was the door and God was the gate, and no one and nothing could pass through that gate without God Almighty’s permission. Jacob realized that God had always been there leading him, guiding him, protecting him, even when Jacob was not seeking Him.
 
I can look back on my life and see so many places where God sovereignly watched over me. I see how “in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:25–26).
 
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and sin has had every right to claim its wage in my life. Yet God protected me. God, in His patience, in His love, gave me time. Now God, by faith in Christ, is my justifier.
 
Now I look back and see all that He has done for me, even when I gave Him no glory. Now I give Him all the glory, for now my eyes see.
 
Jacob now saw and knew that it was God who made him lie down in green pastures, and it was God who led him beside still waters. He learned that when he had fallen, it was God who picked him up and restored his soul. It was God who guided him in paths of righteousness, for he knew not the way on his own.
 
Jesus said in John 10:27–28, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
 
Precious one, do you hear His voice?
Is Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, your shepherd?
I pray He is.
 
 
 
Oh Father,
 
For the sake of Your name and the sake of the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, guide me in paths of righteousness. For I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, the valley of this world. There are temptations and evils on my every side, yet I will fear no evil, for You are with me. Your rod and Your staff are with me, and I know that You will make the way when there seems to be no way. You are my shepherd, and nothing is too difficult for You. I know that I dwell with You forever, and one day I will dwell in Your house and behold Your beauty. My Jesus, You have been my shepherd, and to this day my shepherd You remain. Thank You for guiding me, loving me, protecting me. You are my everything. To You be all the glory.
 
My Jesus, it is in Your name I pray,
Amen