Have you ever felt like you disappointed God, or worse, completely fallen away from him? It happens to all of us, and in the midst of these struggles, it’s easy to forget that God’s grace and Jesus’ atoning work on the cross is sufficient for everyone. Join us next time to Every Last Word for an encouraging message from Dr. Phil Ryken as he gives us a “Word for the fallen.”
John 21:17
The Book of Exodus presents us with many important themes: God saving his children, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, and ultimately, God punishing the wicked. But before any of that could happen, Moses had much to learn.
God has made you exactly as he wants you. Do you believe that? He calls us to serve him. No matter where you live and no matter what our abilities are. Why? It’s not just our talents that God can use. Our weakness gives him glory as well. Do you live that way?
Do you ever stop to think about why God used such extraordinary miracles when he freed his people out of slavery in Egypt? Not only did he demonstrate his power, but in doing the miracles, he honored his covenant promises. And even more than that, he brought about justice for their years of enslavement. It was a redemption that was paid in full. Sound familiar?
If you’re a Christian, you have work to do. And it’s work that God has called you, and you alone, to do. If you’re like me, hearing that can result in anxiety. It’s easy to focus on myself – my planning, my readiness, my preparedness. And while doing that, forgetting that if it’s God’s work, he provides all that is needed. You and I are just his instruments.
Do you realize God does not meet us where we are? No, it’s far better than that. God brings us to where he is. We are not good. We can never keep his law. We can never stop from sinning. Instead, the Bible teaches that Jesus keeps the law with perfect holiness. And then he died on the cross to take away all of our un-holiness.
God’s servant Moses had choices most of us would never dream of. Raised in Pharaoh’s court he had everything life can offer. But he chose hardship instead of glory. And yet for all his good intentions, Moses sinned against God. If we’re honest, we’ll see that we do as well. When we take matters into our own hands, we’re fighting against God.
As American Christians, we often get focused on behavior. In some ways it’s part of our national character to be pragmatic. We want to know what to do or to change in order to live better. And while that goal can certainly result in pleasing God, we need to remember that the scriptures first and foremost, reveal God’s plan for salvation.
Do you realize that the story of Moses’ birth and life mirrors that of Jesus Christ in several important ways? And from these events in history we learn quite a bit about how God saves us – both by using people and triumphing over evil – in his timing and in his way?
Slavery, persecution and suffering. These certainly aren’t things any of us would choose to go through. And if truth be told, if we had to endure them, as many people have throughout history, our first response would likely be, “Why, me?” So why do God’s people go through such hardships? How is it that a sovereign, all-powerful God allows this?
If you want to learn about Jesus Christ, where do you turn? Most of us would say the Gospels, and that’s right. But we can also turn to the book of Exodus, because one way or another, the entire Bible is the story of God’s salvation. And in Exodus we’ll learn about the mercy, justice, holiness, and glory of our Almighty God.
Have you ever looked at a work of modern art and been puzzled as to its message or purpose? So much of the art in the world today seems to be odd that we find it hard to fit it into our Christian world-view. But what’s the bigger question … what role do the arts play in the church today? What does God say about the arts? And what kind of art glorifies God?
“You belong to me.” Did you know that there are over 50 songs that have been written about those four simple words? Jazz, pop, country -- artists of all kinds of music have written lyrics about this concept that conveys such strong feelings. But these feelings didn’t start with us.
Is your prayer life where you want it to be? Do you ever feel like the words you’re trying to lift up to God’s ear just fall to the floor the minute they leave your lips? We all feel like that at times.
Have you ever wondered what your purpose in life is? It’s easy to wonder -- we don’t always feel like our lives are achieving any greatness. Well, there is a purpose...but with all the difficulties and distractions of daily life, it is easy for us to get lost in the details.
We often describe our Christian communities as a “body of believers” or “God’s church family.” You might call yourself a “believer” or a “follower of Christ.” But do you ever think of yourself as a priest, or as part of a royal priesthood?
Most of us wear our “Sunday best” for church. We try to look a little nicer than normal, as it’s after all for worship. So too the priests of Israel had fine garments they had to wear when entering into God’s presence. But one Priest didn’t wear them when he made His sacrifice. He didn’t need outward splendor -- he had a splendor all his own.
Have you experienced a time when you felt like God wasn’t present? Or been anxious that he might not get you through a difficult time? You’re not alone. When Jesus was crucified, the disciples felt they had lost him for good. But they were wrong, and they came to see how Jesus’ promise that he would be with them forever --was true.
“Time heals all wounds” -- that’s a famous quote and something that we all rest on after suffering grief. Sometimes time is all we have. But I can only think of one great tragedy in all of history where no time was needed -- where the grief was not only turned into joy, but became the source of the rejoicing. And that’s the story of Christ on the cross.
Have you ever wanted to know exactly what God wanted you to do? Decision-making can be difficult, and when it’s time to make an important life choice, people often wish that God would write his will for them in the sky. What they fail to see is that God has revealed his will for them. He has even given us an instruction manual on how his children should go about learning just what his will is.
The priests of the Old Testament were holy men with a holy calling. They were servants of God, offering sacrifices to Him for the entire nation of Israel day and night. They had the high privilege of entering into the Holy Place were God was. They wore sacred and beautiful garments. But they weren’t perfect. They were still sinners -- except for One. And this Priest has offered the perfect and final sacrifice.
Many people today say that they want to know God. But what there really interested in is what God can do for them. They’ve got a lot of questions they’d like him to answer, problems they’d like him to solve, and blessing they’d like him to give. But this is not how God operates. God is holy, we’re not, and before anything else happens, something has to be done about our sin.
When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, President Ronald Reagan spoke of the astronauts as having “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” This phrase expresses one of our deepest longings. We want to meet with God. We want to see him -- the only problem is, we’re sinners. We stretch the truth. We use our money selfishly...these sins keep us from God. And that’s why we need Jesus.
Do you find it hard to be one of the only Christians at your work place? How much do you talk about your faith to the other parents at your child’s school? It’s not easy, but there are so many people living in darkness who cross our paths each day who need to hear about the light that God offers to sinners. The only way to have the light of God is to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
In today’s struggling economy, a lot of us have come to a place that we thought we would never be… worrying about how we will meet our needs. If you’ve lost your job, you’re probably worried about how you will pay your bills and provide food for your family. And you may feel like nobody understands or knows your needs. But someone does. And he knows your needs even better than you do.
We live in a casual age. Life is busy and modern. People don’t have time for the pomp and circumstance of yesterday, especially when it comes to church and God. But we should remember that God and everything about him is holy. So we must be careful not to treat holy things carelessly.
The Bible teaches us that “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I think the reverse is also true, that where our hearts are, that is where we put our treasure. So if all this is true why do we spend so much money on earthly things? Well, it’s because our hearts are hard. But when we give back to God what he has given to us, we have the privilege to participate in God’s work of spreading the Gospel.
Boasting is never attractive. But have you ever noticed that, despite the fact that nobody likes a bragger, everybody brags anyway? And what about? Our brain power, our muscle power, our buying power...anything that makes us feel like we are better than someone else. But when we come to know Jesus, we humbly realize that we have nothing, except for his cross, to boast about. And for the cross we should boast eagerly.
Does each day’s mail only bring bills? Or have you ever been at a time where you were so far in debt, you saw no way of getting out? Now imagine someone else paying all of your bills, every last one, until your name is completely cleared. Well, good news! That’s already happened.
Christians believe that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, with his resurrection, was the most important event in the history of the world. To Christians, the cross of Christ is the source of all hope and comfort. Yet the same cross that is so attractive to the followers of Christ is exactly what keeps others from coming to him at all. How could there be any power in a man hanging on a cross?
If I were to ask you “Are you at war with anyone?” you would probably be surprised, maybe even offended. And why would that be such a strange question? Probably because we all want to think of ourselves as peace loving individuals. But the fact is, we are at war, with God. The good news is, that God has made a peace offering towards us. Will you accept it?
Would you be offended if I told you that you were hopeless and helpless? Of course you would, but the fact is, we're all hopeless and helpless, every one of us born into this world, except One. Listen next time to Every Last Word with Dr. Philip Ryken as he teaches about that one person who will give us all the hope, all the help that we will ever need in this life.
If you look around at Christmas time you’ll likely see almost everywhere baby Jesus in a manger. But something is missing, can you think of what it is? In order to fully understand Christmas, another part of Jesus’ story needs to be told. Tune in this week to Every Last Word with Dr. Phil Ryken to hear about the very important connection between the manger and the cross.
We see it everywhere, hanging from people’s necks, in the skyline on top of certain buildings, and even on the covers of some books. It’s something that we’ve gotten so used to seeing, we’ve forgotten how powerful it can be. Do you know what I’m talking about? Join us next time on Every Last Word as Dr. Phil Ryken reminds us of the power and necessity of the cross of Christ.
Have you ever felt like you disappointed God, or worse, completely fallen away from him? It happens to all of us, and in the midst of these struggles, it’s easy to forget that God’s grace and Jesus’ atoning work on the cross is sufficient for everyone. Join us next time to Every Last Word for an encouraging message from Dr. Phil Ryken as he gives us a “Word for the fallen.”
The Bible teaches that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the most significant events in human history. The reason Jesus rose from the dead was to conquer sin and death once and for all. That sounds like critical information for all of us to hear. But the question you might be asking is this: “Is what the Bible says about Jesus really true? Did Jesus of Nazareth actually come back to life?”
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