When you get stuck and find no way out

 

Moses had brought the whole nation of Israel, approximately 600,000, to a dead end in the desert. The only thing between Israel and Pharaoh's pursuing army was the Red Sea. This was after nine plagues God had inflicted on Pharaoh to motivate him to free the Israelites. Finally, Pharaoh had freed Moses and the people, and they left Egypt. They thought they were home free. "Freedom at last," they said. But God did a strange thing. He directed Moses to take a route that led to the Red Sea, instead of the northern route around the Red Sea. God explained that He didn't want them fighting the enemies they would have encountered on this route. But still, there was the issue of the Red Sea.

They finally arrived at the Red Sea, and the people were wondering where they would go from there. News hit the camp: Pharaoh had changed his mind. He was coming after them with his army. Panic set in. The defenseless Israelites cried out, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?...It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (Ex. 14:11b-12)

God sometimes brings each of us to a "Red Sea" in our life. It may be a work problem that can't be solved. It may be a marriage that seems to be failing. It may be a debilitating disease. Whatever your Red Sea, God tells us one thing: "Keep moving." The Red Sea was before them, yet God was angered at Moses and told him to "Keep moving."

"But Lord, the Red Sea is before me." "Keep moving." When we live by sight, we act on what we see. God sets this stage in dramatic fashion. God is into the dramatic. There is no way out without God here. That is just the way He wants it. No one will get glory except God.

A friend once admonished me when I was in the midst of a marriage separation that eventually led to a divorce, "You must not withdraw from being proactive in your faith just because of this trial that you are in. God's hand is on your life. There are too many who are depending on you to fulfill the purposes God has in your life. Keep moving! Keep investing yourself in others." I didn't feel like it. I was in too much pain. But I did it anyway. God met me at the point of my greatest need once I decided simply to be obedient. Getting past myself by investing myself in others helped heal the pain. There is great healing when we look past our own problems and seek to invest ourselves in others for the sake of Christ. This is when our own Red Seas become parted. We begin to walk to freedom. But we will never experience the miracle of the Red Sea in our lives if we don't first "Keep moving."

 

TODAY GOD IS FIRST by Os Hillman © 2001 - 2007. All rights reserved. Click here for personal prayer and counsel. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Don't Give Up Hope

 

Do you feel trapped in an impossible situation you can't seem to change or escape? If so, God is saying to you today, "The plans I have for you… are… good… to give you a future and a hope." Now, hope is not just the absence of despair, it's the presence of something greater; something only God can give. Hope is not passive; it's the most active force in the world because it's derived from the most powerful being of all - God. And it's never further away than He is. Clint Eastwood became famous for starring in a movie called The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Four decades later some of us still use those words when describing certain aspects of life.

 

But here's the good news: through His amazing grace God can take the good, the bad and the ugly experiences in your life and use them to make you unbelievably better at what He created you for, whatever that might be! In God's economy all is redeemed and nothing is ever lost. He can take the good things we remember fondly, the bad things we might like to forget, and the ugly things that shaped us into people we didn't start out to be, and use all of them to facilitate His purpose for each and every one of us. So, don't give up hope!

THE VINE by Bob Gass © 2000 - 2007. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Courage

 

All you who put your hope in the LORD be strong and brave (PSALM 31:24)

A legend from India tells about a mouse who was terrified of cats until a magician agreed to transform him into a cat. That resolved his fear... until he met a dog, so the magician changed him into a dog. The mouse-turned-cat-turned-dog was content until he met a tiger--so, once again, the magician changed him into what he feared. But when the tiger came complaining that he had met a hunter, the magician refused to help. "I will make you into a mouse again, for though you have the body of a tiger, you still have the heart of a mouse."
 
Sound familiar? How many people do you know who have built a formidable exterior, only to tremble inside with fear?... We face our fears with force… or… we stockpile wealth. We seek security in things. We cultivate fame and seek status.
 
But do these approaches work?

Courage is an outgrowth of who we are.

Exterior supports may temporarily sustain,

but only inward character creates courage.

OAKHILLS CHURCH by Max Lucado © 2000-2006. All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward the message).

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. (Acts 3:1-9)

When you read these scriptures, meditate on them, receive them by faith and trust in God, and you will be a target for restoration, a target for healing, and a target for a miracle that God will perform in your life.

The Beautiful Gate in this chapter turned out to be not as beautiful as its name as daily the lame beggar sat at the gate, and every day he was hoping and expecting alms from people. It must have been a great burden for this beggar and his family to live their lives like that. Every single day he had to be carried to this gate and sit there begging from the people who were going in and out of the temple.

Before Peter and John passed by, no one apparently ever stopped and took time out to pray for him, except maybe to give him some small change as a sign of compassion. To him and his family this must have been the most important thing every day receiving the alms, so they could sustain themselves with whatever money they got. His weak body, poverty and circumstances probably already caused them to abandon all hope a long time ago. But look at what God did do in this tragic situation.

Peter and John, the disciples who walked with Jesus, loved and obeyed His will, went to the temple to pray. It was no coincidence that they passed through the Beautiful Gate. When the beggar saw them coming, he immediately went to work trying to get their attention so they would look at him and give alms. Instead Peter and John said, "Look at us." Without hesitating, he looked up to them expecting to receive something.

Beloved brothers and sisters, no matter how heavy the burdens of life are, whether it be sickness, troubles, or something else, Christ is also asking the same thing from us. He asks that we fix our spiritual eyes on Him, looking onto Him with hope. When you fix your eyes of faith on Christ and not on the sicknesses you are suffering, not on the burdens you carry, not on the situations and problems you are facing, then HE will DO SOMETHING!

But, too often it happens quite differently. Although we fix our eyes on Christ, we don't expect anything, because of a lack of faith and trust that He can do it. And so, we don't receive anything from the Lord. The beggar's face expressed hope, he was expecting something, and God responded and met his need through Peter and John.

Peter said, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have, give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk." So, what did they have? They had POWER from the Most High God. Peter acted on the POWER that he had. He took the beggar by the hand, and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

Brothers and sisters, there may come times in our lives when money cannot help us. Maybe some of you are already experiencing that maybe the doctor told you that there is no cure for your illness. A luxurious house, jewelries, a fancy car, fancy clothes, a trip abroad, may not be able to heal our inner wounds. But if we are a child of God, we have hope, and that is CHRIST!

The Scripture in Acts 1:8 states, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." The beggar who was lame since birth was healed! There was no doctor at that time that could cure him. But the power of Christ through Peter was able to heal him. That same power will work in you right now, if you open your heart and let Him. His Spirit is still working today.

I have personally seen the manifestation of God's power over and over again, a few months ago in one of the Crusades, 4 men carried a lame man with much effort on the stairs and laid him down upon the platform, the minute they laid him down the Power of God manifested, the man stood up and walked off the stage by himself.

In our earlier years of Ministry a little boy with his grandmother came over the border from Mexico, one leg was at least 6 inches shorter than the other and therefore he was limping badly. When we prayed, and laid hands on the boy's leg, by the power of God the boy's leg suddenly started to grow! I was amazed myself to see this, but praised and glorified God for His wonderful work.

In the end, God is glorified. Everything that happens in our lives as a child of God has a purpose, so that ultimately God may be glorified. It will become a living testimony for His children and especially for people who don't know God.

The lame beggar, who had sat at the Beautiful Gate, eventually had people amazed and praising God because of his healing and even today. The Beautiful Gate had now truly become beautiful and when we as children of God read these scriptures we know that God can do the same for us. God restores, God heals, God provides, God delivers and etc, and God makes His POWER known.

May this Christmas remind you to always keep your eyes on Jesus, and be faithful to God who gave us His Son. Have a Blessed Christmas!

GOTN MINISTRY by John Hartman © 2006 All rights reserved. (Please include this line to forward).

Hope for You Today

We now know that God had not abandoned His people. He would redeem them when the timing was right. He brings them hope and promises for a new day.

"As for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD. "My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever," says the LORD. "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you." (Isaiah 59:21-60:2 NIV)

We always have the choice to respond to God's promise and deliverance or to reject it. Hope comes in our response to His promise and trust in Him. Even some of those who came home to freedom remained discontented and returned willingly to bondage.

God is our hope, offered through His Son Jesus Christ. It is freely offered to all who will accept it, but most will reject it. Even some who come into the house of hope will choose to abandon it and return to their oppression. God is gentle with the hope He offers. He will not forcefully free anyone. It is freely offered.

I do not know what is oppressing you, but I know you can be free in the hope and promises of God no matter what your situation.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Gleanings From The Word, Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #1729 Hope (c) 2001-2006. Gleanings From The Word Ministries International All Rights Reserved.