Growin' Up Gregory

We have now seen the Israelites trapped between the Red Sea on one side and the pursuing Egyptian army on the other.  They began to become filled with fear and think irrationally and responded by questioning their leader Moses, and even God himself.  Let's look at how God responded to their fear, and how he responds to our fear today. God's response to the troubled Israelites was not one that we imagine of the typical loving and king Father.  However, his response was quite fair and just.  The Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to me?  Tell the people of Israel to go forward" (Ex 14:15).  God was not ignoring the cry of his people, nor was He turning his back on them.  God had already promised to deliver them and He had shown them his power over nature, Pharaoh, and all the false gods of Egypt.  The cry of the Israelites at this juncture demonstrated their lack of faith.  This is the same God who in Exodus 2:23-24 heard the cries of the pe...

We have seen through the last couple posts that God has called Moses to do something that seems much too difficult for him to accomplish.  Read Parts 1 and 2 if you haven't already as they pretty much intro this post. Prior to picking up with Moses' next excuse, God gave him several signs in Exodus 4:1-9.  He turned Moses' staff into a serpent, then back to a staff; turned Moses' hand leprous by placing it into his cloak then restoring it in the same manner; then told Moses that if the people would not listen and believe these signs that he could take water from the Nile and pour it on the ground and it would become blood. Yet after not only witnessing, but performing these miraculous signs through God, Moses continues with the excuses.  In Exodus 4:10, Moses says to the Lord, "I am not eloquent...I am slow of speech and of tongue."  God responds to Moses by asking, "Who has made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is ...

Have you ever been asked to do something that seemed impossible, or that you felt totally inadequate for?  Or perhaps there is a challenge that you just don't see how you can complete or accomplish the goals that have been set?  It could be anything; a job offer, a duty or task being assigned to you at work, a test coming up, or a physical challenge.  This can sometimes leave us wondering how we are supposed to go on.  We may seek out motivational and inspirational quotes and image to help us trudge along and keep moving forward, all the while still feeling like we are doomed to fail.  In Exodus 3:10, Moses was given such a task.  He was asked to go to the Pharaoh and lead the Israelites, who were being used as slave labor at the time, out of Egypt.  Let's look at who Moses was when asked to do this: -  He was living in exile in the wilderness having fled from Egypt. -  He had fled Egypt for killing an Egyptian out of anger -...