Snakes & The Cross

Numbers 21:7-9

The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

The Israelites sinned against God, and the consequence of that was that God put poisonous snakes among them. They obviously weren’t stoked, it made them realise what they had done and who God was, and they cried out to God to take away the snakes.

God heard their cry, but didn’t answer them in the way that they asked, God didn’t take away the snakes, and in fact He said that they would be bitten by the snakes. But what He did do is give them a lifeline, a way to live through the snake bites. All they had to do was look to the bronze snake on the pole and they lived.

The same goes for us. We have sinned, and always will sin against God. And for our sin there are consequences, things that aren’t generally great. We often cry out to God to take the consequences away. He hears us, and in Exodus 2:23-25, it says that God hears our cry and is moved with compassion.

Yet He does not take the snakes of our sin away, instead He gives us a way out. He offers us life amidst the poison of death that will bite us. All we have to do is look to Jesus [Hebrews 12:1-3], God’s Son, and the Cross, and we’ll live.

Heartsick

Proverbs 13:12

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”

People tend to disappoint; it’s just what we do best. Most things seem to disappoint actually. I have found lately that I have exceedingly high expectations for everything and everyone, and that hope is too often deferred and I'm let down. It makes my heart feel sick. There are things that I so deeply long for, that nothing and no one can satisfy. The false hope the world offers us will continually fall short and fail us. Even in the best job, the greatest friend, the highest marks, the most beautiful marriage, we are heartsick, and have no hope without Jesus.

But inside of Jesus we have this hope, Christ the hope of glory, as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure [Hebrews 6:19]. All our longings will be fulfilled, our expectations lived up to and our hearts at peace. We will become trees of life, entirely satisfied and secure in Jesus our hope.

The Answer

“Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

1 Kings 19:11

Remember Elijah, the guy who asked God to set fire to the rain (/water), who had the faith to challenge a bunch of Baal prophets to a sacrifice and fire duel, knowing that his God would come through and win? [Read all about it]

Did you know that just after that insane display of God's power and Elijah's faith, Elijah ran away, hid, and prayed that he might die [1 Kings 19:4]? This is because the crazy queen of that time swore by her gods that she would kill him. It's amazing how quickly Elijah forgot that his God had absolutely annihilated her gods just moments before.

Remember what God has done in your life. Don't let your circumstances change your view of God, rather let Him change your view of your circumstances. Know that the Lord is great, that our God is greater than all gods [Psalm 135:5].

So God appears to Elijah, and says, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Why have you abandoned your call? Why have you run away from the things I have for you? Why do you fear that over which I so clearly have the victory?

Elijah responds by telling God about the situation he faces. I don't want to make light of what Elijah was facing. People hated him and were trying to kill him. Pretty sure, I'd also hide in a cave. And I don't know what's forced you to your cave, but if you're in a hard time, the best place to start is to speak to Jesus.

Did God respond with, "No worries, mate, I'll go out and smite them all!"? I'm sure that's what Elijah was hoping for. "I'll make all your problems disappear, Elijah!" Nope. God's response was to invite Elijah into His presence. God's solution to Elijah's problem was Himself.

And God's solution right now to anything you may be facing is Jesus. Yes, God is all powerful and can change any situation in the blink of an eye, but He wants us to want Jesus more than any solution or happy ending that He could give us.

You're lonely? Come to Me [James 4:8].
You're hurting? Come, there is healing in My presence [1 Peter 2:24-25].
You're anxious? Come, give Me your burdens for I care for you [1 Peter 5:7].
You're feeling weak? Come, find your strength in me [2 Corinthians 12:9-10].
You don't know what to do? Come, walk with Me and I will direct your way [Proverbs 3:5-6].
Come out of the cave you're in and stand in the presence of the Lord.

God then asks Elijah the same question again. Elijah responds in exactly the same way. His circumstances hadn't changed, people were still trying to kill him. But this time God tells Elijah how to deal with it, and what He would do. God had all the solutions, but He wanted Elijah to realise that He Himself, the Lord Almighty, was, is, and always will be, the first and ultimate answer to all things in life.

Jesus is the answer. Come to Him.

It's Not About You

Romans 1:11-12

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith." 

We all need a little bit of courage. And that's what friends are for. 

God has put stuff in you that will give strength to others. It's not about you. Don't be selfish. Don't hide your faith.

Why? Because God's calling on every person's life is so much bigger than we can understand. When we encourage, we become a part of people's stories, of history and, most importantly, of His Story.

Change

John 4 brilliantly summarised:

- The Church of Facebook

Jesse Rice

Who Are You??

 If you have given your life to Jesus, the answer to that is in 1 Peter 2:9.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

You are chosen

If Messi or Bismarck or AB came along and chose you to play in his team, it would kinda be a big deal. It would be such an honour and I’m sure you’d play your heart out. But what’s an even bigger deal times a million, is that the Holy God, the Creator of the universe, Jesus, has chosen you to be on his team, on his mission. You are not overlooked or forgotten. So don’t sit on the sideline watching. Get into the game, give it everything you got and live all out for Jesus.

You are royal

Through God’s great love you are adopted into his family and are now his child [1 John 3:1]. Therefore, because God is the King of kings, you are indeed a prince/princess. You are not a piece of dirt, you are a member of God’s royal family. So live like it; not in a stuck up, looking down on others way, but live knowing how much value you hold.

You are a priest

Does this mean you should be wearing a big robe and working in a church? No. It means you have complete access to the presence of God. It means you are here on earth to do the work of God, in whatever different way he has called you to. It requires sacrifice from you, not of animals like the old times, but of your life, time, gifts and body [Romans 12:1].

You are holy

Holiness is to be different, to be set apart to live for God. You are called to be holy, which means you are called to live by a different standard, the standard of Jesus [Colossians 3:12-17]. If you just live the same way as the people who don’t love Jesus, what good is that? Be wiling to stand up, to stand out and to shine bright with holiness for Jesus.

You belong to God

Everybody needs to belong somewhere. We were all created to love and be loved. So we try to fit in wherever we can find a gap. But you don’t have to worry about finding a gap to fit in, because you belong to the Almighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you [Hebrews 13:5]. He is yours and you are his.

You are in the light

You don’t have to stumble around in the darkness and you don’t have to live in a world without light and colour, because God has called you out of that. He has called you to turn away from sin and to live a life of love and truth in which you will find wonderful light, hope, joy, peace and abundant life.

  

Therefore, in the light [excuse the pun] of all that you are in Jesus, live to declare his praises.

Starving

Have you ever felt tired, lazy and just kinda over everything? Ever wondered why you feel like that? Maybe it’s because you’re starving yourself. Not physically, but starving yourself from something way bigger than food: from Jesus and his Word.

Jesus says that our bodies have no life in them by themselves, but that his words are full of life [John 6:63]. He also says that the life he gives is more than just this thing we have on earth before we die and it’s more than not being dead. Knowing God, having a relationship with Jesus: that is life [John 17:3]. And the best way to know God is to spend time with him and find him in his Word, the Bible.

It’s simple: if we’re not getting Jesus’ words into us and getting to know him, we won’t have life. Way too often we don’t read the Bible to get the Word and life of Jesus into us, and then wonder why we feel so empty and lifeless. If you don’t hunger after Jesus, you won’t be filled [Matthew 5:6]. Don’t starve yourself! Fill up your spiritual stomach, your soul, with the Word, and you will live and you will grow.

Being full also allows you to share the life with others. God told Ezekiel: “Eat what is before you, eat this scroll [the Word]; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” [Ezekiel 3:1] Once you’ve got the words and life of Jesus in you, get out there and share it. Sharing is caring!

So where do you begin to read these amazing words? Well, if you want to know more about being filled with Jesus, take your Bible and read John 6 from verse 25. As you read the words of Jesus, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with his wonderful life.

And if that doesn’t get you amped enough about God’s Word, go to the middle of your Bible and read Psalm 119. Yeah, it’s the longest chapter in the Bible, but I guess it just requires a whole lot of words to describe the greatness of the gift of God’s Word to us.

Here are a few great thoughts from Psalm 119:

· How do us young people stay pure? By living by the Word of God [v9]
· How do we stand against the sin and temptation we face? By getting God’s Word into us [v11]
· Where do we find strength when we are tired and depressed? The Words of Jesus [v28]
· How do we let go of the things that break us down? By turning our hearts to God’s Word [v37]
· Where do we find hope (and love) in a hopeless place? In the Word of God [v43]
· How do we not give up when we’re desperate and hurting? By delighting in Jesus’ Word [v92]
· What lights our way in our dark days? The Words of Jesus [v105]

Don't miss out, don't starve. There is life in Jesus and in him alone. Read your Bible, spend time with God and get his Word and his life into your heart.