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Is this not a strange way to raise up the leader of a nation?

Moses has been rescued, preserved, and given the finest education Egypt offered.

He knew who he was, a Hebrew, one of the chosen people of God.

One day he went out to where his kith and kin were struggling. He saw an Egyptian beat a Hebrew, and seeking revenge he looked to see that no-one was watching and he killed the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

Next day he saw two Hebrews fighting, and he intervened, only to be met with, “Who do you think you are?”

He had been seen. We never know…  ( Click for more )

Almighty God permitted these Hebrew people to go down to Egypt for food during the time of Joseph, but they should not have remained there.

You can get food in Egypt, but you will be blessed in Canaan.

It is justice when the prodigal son goes from the Father’s House and finds it tough, but that is when you can also receive mercy.

There was food in Egypt, but many Golden Calves, idols and attractions to sidetrack and divert.

God has seen their plight and listened to their cries.

Moses is born, and for the first three months this baby son would have been kept…  ( Click for more )

Why should anyone bother reading the book of Exodus these days? That is good question and deserves an answer.

The New Testament is so influenced by Exodus, where words like covenant, blood of the lamb, Passover, and leaven, are all explained, having found their roots in Exodus.

The God of Moses is the God and Father of Jesus Christ, and He is the same God in Matthew, John, Acts, and the letters, as in Exodus.

We learn about His love and judgment, His leading and compassion, and how He raises up leaders, even when they are reluctant to lead.

God is the redeemer, who…  ( Click for more )

Why were these two million Hebrews slaves in Egypt? Why were the children of Israel enduring such hardship?

Joseph had arrived in Egypt 400 years previously and rose to become Prime Minister.

He was wise, efficient and trusted by Pharaoh, but Pharaoh died, as did Joseph and his brothers. The Hebrew people remained and multiplied numerically, and were regarded as real threat to Egypt.

When a minority grow in number they can present problems.

Do you think we might be in similar situation today?

The new king had no sympathy for these Hebrews, and it was as if he chose…  ( Click for more )

Much has been said and written recently regarding keeping religion private.

Religion should be kept private and the more private the better. Religion is so burdensome with its rituals, regulations and traditions.

Faith in Jesus Christ is a very different matter. You will not find the slightest hint anywhere in the Bible that faith in Jesus Christ should be kept under wraps, like “you in your small corner and I in mine”.

Those who heard of Jesus Christ, and who have come to believe in Jesus Christ, and been baptised in water and filled with the Holy Spirit,…  ( Click for more )

After a lengthy struggle, Pharaoh finally commands Moses to get the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt.

When the yeast of God is working there is nothing we can do to stop it, but there is also nothing we can do to make that yeast work.

The Hebrew people took their dough without yeast.

Imagine what would have happened if there had been yeast in the dough.

A lady was making bread and her oven broke down. She ended up taking the dough to her mother’s on the bus. It was a hot day. The yeast began to work, and the dough expanded. Her basin was soon overflowing. Try stopping…  ( Click for more )

When God released the Hebrew slaves from bondage in Egypt, at midnight the Lord struck, and the firstborn in Egypt died. Even Pharaoh’s privileged household suffered this plague. Everyone did throughout the entire land, except those who were protected by the blood of the lamb – the lamb which had been sacrificed in accordance with the instructions of Moses as he received them from Almighty God.

It was not Moses job to change, modify, water down, or edit the instructions. That would have meant disaster.

Moses, although leader of the nation, was, in one sense, like…  ( Click for more )

During the Passover, it was not enough that a lamb died. The people had to apply the blood to their doors.

Although Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, each individual has to apply that saving, cleansing, protecting blood.

I cannot do that for you, no more than Moses could do it for them.

To be safe and secure, the blood of Jesus Christ must be applied.

Inside each house there was total safety. Stay in the security of the shelter.

Moses believed God, and the people believed Moses.

They were not only to kill the lamb, but they were to eat its flesh.…  ( Click for more )

It is Passover, when we recall how two million Hebrew slaves were set free from bondage in Egypt.

Our gracious God speaks to Moses and gives him a word.

There will be no loss of life when God’s Word is obeyed.

Moses is commanded to instruct the people of God to take a wholesome spotless unblemished male lamb. Offer only the finest to God. Kill it and sprinkle its blood on the doorposts, and eat its flesh.

God is showing His people how they can be saved, and safe. There is only one effective remedy.

The only one place of safety is in the blood of the lamb.…  ( Click for more )

That upper room where the disciples of Jesus assembled during the first part of Resurrection Day is a kind of microcosm of our present world. These men were permeated with a spirit of hopelessness.

If you need explanatory words just read of the two on the Emmaus Road that afternoon. They left the others. Had they had enough?

Those in Jerusalem thought they were the answer to the world’s problems.

It has been said often that God has no plan B.

On that Emmaus Road a figure approaches, draws near, engages these men in conversation, and within a couple of hours they…  ( Click for more )

Have you ever seen such a miserable bunch?

It is Resurrection Morning, and we read of a band of men still living on the wrong side of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

That is where many are living today, in this broken, sad, warring, troubled world.

People are groping in the dark, just as these men were on this occasion.

These disciples felt hopelessly inadequate in face of the grim facts which they thought confronted them.

The supreme need of our world is to discover Jesus Christ risen, living and alive!

Throughout the daylight hours the disciples feel bewildered…  ( Click for more )

Would you ever be so foolish as to step out of a boat and attempt to walk on water? Peter did, at the invitation of Jesus, and no problem arose until he looked at his circumstances and took his eyes off Jesus Christ.

Focussing on your circumstances can cause you to sink.

A farmer, who thought he was doing quite well, decided to build bigger barns so that he could bathe in his material prosperity for years to come.

God called him a fool. When God refers to anyone as a fool, He means a fool morally and never mentally. It has more to do with wisdom, or the lack of it, than…  ( Click for more )

Dare to consider for the briefest of moments what it would be like if it were not true.

“If Christ has not been raised from the dead, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” That was one man’s incisive dogmatic conclusion, as he dared to contemplate this pathetic possibility.

Can you imagine if all the trust you had ever put in God were one huge mistake?

Stop. Go no further. Don’t even mention it.

Does the very thought not send a shudder through any disciple’s mind?

So why raise it? Because we are informed that the huge mass…  ( Click for more )

An author was out walking when he saw the outline of a crane which looked like a Cross. He said to his two friends, “Calvary”. They moved on and suddenly they became silent and pondered.

No-one in the group was particularly spiritual, so why should there be a remark about that death outside the city of Jerusalem?

Why should a Roman gallows haunt that man’s imagination?

Why do people in 2008 still wear crosses?

Is it because that in the depths of man there is something, conscious or subconscious, where he knows that there at Golgotha God has spoken? …  ( Click for more )

King Solomon, with all his wisdom, fame, wealth, popularity and business acumen, became bored.

Do you ever hear people say that today? “Oh, I am bored. I have nothing to do. There is nowhere to go!”

People need God to give shape and purpose for their lives. It was only when Solomon turned away from Almighty God that he became increasingly dissatisfied.

The issues Solomon dared to write about are the same basic issues which bother many people today. Solomon’s writings are highly relevant.

He has big important significant questions. Routine bored him.…  ( Click for more )

This Teacher began well. He had wisdom, fame, wealth and knowledge. Would all that not guarantee that he would be a most satisfied and secure man?

He had been highly successful in the commercial world. His writings became inspirational. When he lectured on animals, birds, reptiles and fish, people came from all over the world to hear what he had to say.

He built that magnificent Temple in Jerusalem and led the nation in prayer.

It was as if King Solomon could do no wrong, but as life went on he faced a crisis.

He reached a day when he appeared to regard everything…  ( Click for more )

Many years ago a Teacher wrote these wise words, which have profoundly influenced thousands of young lives, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth”.

Remember means much more than not forgetting. It implies a renewing of a relationship.

Following the Flood we read that God remembered Noah. God had not forgotten Noah during that period in the Ark, but now He was renewing His relationship with Noah, and events would move on.

Renew your relationship with God and enjoy a relationship with God as early as you can.

Those who have come to faith in Jesus…  ( Click for more )

One stark fact the Bible is never afraid to address is the reality that one day each of us will die, unless Jesus Christ returns beforehand.

Moses described human life as being like dust, easily blown away, or like driftwood being swept away in a torrent of water.

We do not know where we will be next week, next month, next year.

Life is likened to a dream. We dream regularly, and soon the memory disappears, and often the sweeter the dream, the shorter it appears to be.

The Psalms picture life being like a desert where the grass is fresh and green in the morning but…  ( Click for more )

That powerful and valiant leader, Moses, knew there were no secrets which could be hidden from God. All we do and say and the way we treat people is seen by God and known to God.

Our sins are seen even when we think He may not be looking.

Moses prayed about this. He was a man who talked with God face to face.

He asked to be taught to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. We need teaching about this.

There is much we can learn by observing Moses at prayer.

A man can decide to give himself to seeking wisdom, and the Bible will enable you to…  ( Click for more )

School discipline, as well as discipline in other areas of society, has become a controversial topic.

Discipline is almost a dirty word. It is not, but the consequences of indiscipline are more serious than many recognise.

God has established an amazing principle with regard to discipline.

The man whom Almighty God disciplines is blessed. There is a difference between being disciplined and being punished, but the individual who refuses discipline will end up being punished in some form.

There is another person whom Almighty God blesses. He happens to be the man who…  ( Click for more )

It is a good song to sing, and the lyrics are true. That is not always the case when people sing songs.

Psalm 93 is quite short but what a lot the writer packs into these few lines. There is not a wasted word.

Right at the very beginning he tells us something we each need to know, and of which we require frequent reminding.

The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty.

This is more than trappings, emblems or mere fancy-dress.

It is quite an astonishing and reassuring picture.

Jesus Christ is risen and alive, enthroned in heaven at God the Father’s right hand,…  ( Click for more )

After writing last week’s piece about Moses ability to overcome problems, setbacks, and disappointments, these facts appeared.

Twice General McArthur was refused admission to West Point Military Academy. The third time he was accepted and marched into the history books.

Rudyard Kipling received a rejection slip saying, “Sorry, Mr Kipling, but you just do not know how to use the English language.

After a lifetime of defeats, at 66, Winston Churchill became one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers.

Enrico Caruso’s music teacher told him he had…  ( Click for more )

In Scotland, we have appreciated and loved the Psalms for many years. We sing the Psalms regularly, as did Israel of old, and as do many who belong to Israel today.

Almighty God has not changed over the years, and the God Who heard the Psalmist’s prayers hears ours.

God’s nature has not changed and neither has human nature.

So much changes. Fashions change, as do philosophies and attitudes, but human nature is still selfish, corrupt, sinful.

That is why God sent Jesus. The God of the Old Testament is the same God as revealed to us by Jesus.

The Bible…  ( Click for more )

Have you ever seen grass turning into trees?

When a man comes to Jesus Christ the rock, that is the amazing spiritual picture the Psalmist prophetically portrays. He speaks of a permanence and endurance, compared with the transitory nature of life without God.

He points to the palm tree which grows and flourishes in the desert.

To the disciple of Jesus, this present world is very much a barren desert, but like the palm, the true believer grows deep roots which search for nourishing food and refreshing moisture, in times of drought.

He speaks next of the cedar, which…  ( Click for more )