No sooner had rivers of water flowed out of the rock at Rephidim than Israel experienced a vicious, unprovoked attack. The Amalekites were distant relatives (Ge 36:12) and therefore should have welcomed the news that Jacob’s descendants had been freed from slavery in Egypt, but instead they sent an army to attack when Israel was “faint and weary” (Dt 25:18). In fact, the Amalekite soldiers deliberately targeted the young, elderly and infirm who walked slowly at the end of the procession. They sh...
Apr 27, 2023•50 min•Ep. 220
Jesus Christ did not simply die to forgive our sins. If that were all He did we would still have a wonderful gift for which we would be eternally grateful. But when we believe in Him we also receive another gift. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit who, because we have been made holy by our faith in Jesus, can join Himself to us forever. Not only are Christians forgiven but we are also filled and that makes the good news of the gospel even better. Jesus gives dry, thirsty people “rivers of living ...
Apr 24, 2023•43 min•Ep. 219
Using “manna” the Lord taught Israel to depend on Him daily and commune with Him once a week. We no longer get up in the morning to go out looking for manna on the ground, but the spiritual principles modeled in this event should still guide us in our walk with God. In fact, I believe Jesus deliberately drew our attention to the manna when He taught us to pray, “give us this day our daily bread” (Mt 6:11). He wanted His followers to learn to depend on God daily just like Israel did. Today we’ll ...
Apr 20, 2023•48 min•Ep. 218
Most people have no problem theorizing that God is powerful enough to help them if He wants to, but if asked the question, “Does He want to?” their answer is far less confident. Either they aren’t sure whether God wants to help them or not, or they may admit they actually suspect He may be the One who brought the problem upon them in the first place. So when it comes to asking for help, many people are unsure of whether they can expect His help or not. But when we’re sick or in trouble there’s n...
Apr 17, 2023•42 min•Ep. 217
The next day, after Jesus fed about 15,000 people with five barley loaves and two fish, a crowd of people found Him and tried to convince Him to again miraculously provide them with bread. He refused, but picked up on their reference to the manna in the wilderness (vs 31–33) explaining that they had not understood the real message in the miracle of the manna. The real message was that God would someday provide a bread that they would only have to eat once and would keep them alive forever. Still...
Apr 13, 2023•49 min•Ep. 216
What is worship? Worship is not a means to an end—it is an end in itself. Westminister Confession: What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Those who know God love Him and those who love Him long to glorify Him. It is impossible to be in His presence and not change. We either draw near and listen or harden ourselves and pull away. “In His image”: one person with another (conversation; submission; correction; love; spiritual transformation: refreshed, strengthened, humb...
Apr 10, 2023•48 min•Ep. 215
How is it possible that only three days after a miracle of the magnitude of parting the Red Sea that people could fear they would die of thirst? And then only a few days after God turned a briny pond into a pool of fresh water they could angrily complain “…you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger” (16:3). As we read these accounts the most amazing part isn’t the miracles but the doubt that persisted in the hearts of those who saw those miracles with th...
Apr 06, 2023•51 min•Ep. 214
On the western shore of the Red Sea Israel could still be considered a band of runaway slaves. It’s true Egypt had “driven them out” to prevent any more plagues, but their army remained powerful enough to recapture their former slaves and bring them back to Egypt in chains. On that side of the sea, Israel’s freedom depended on Egypt’s good will, which of course didn’t last long. But on the eastern shore everything changed. Here Israel was at last totally free from their old bondage. With the dea...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 213
You’ll notice God didn’t give Israel a map of the wilderness and say, “I’ll meet you again when you get to Mt. Sinai.” He personally led them day-by-day: 1) He protected them: revealing hidden things that would cause them to stumble; 2) He sheltered them: shading them from the glare of the scorching sun; 3) He guided them: leading them with direction and purpose; 4) He comforted them: showing them a sign of His presence day and night. Today the Lord still takes us into the wilderness where we fa...
Mar 30, 2023•58 min•Ep. 212
It’s one thing to be delivered from bondage, but it’s another to inherit our promises. It seems there are always obstacles standing in our way—powerful forces determined to prevent us from possessing those promises. In this case it was the Philistine army who stood between Israel and their promised land. God had the power to give them their inheritance immediately, but He knew they didn’t have the faith to aggressively attack an intimidating enemy. The problem lay in old attitudes that dominated...
Mar 27, 2023•50 min•Ep. 211
As Israel prepared to leave Egypt God wanted to make sure they would never forget the important lessons they were learning about Him. He knew human nature tends to quickly forget spiritual lessons and ceases to be thankful. And when this happens people are forced to keep relearning painful lessons, and those who fall into that cycle are prevented from maturing. Forgetting also leads to thanklessness and that is an even greater danger for it allows pride to grow and pride in time will always lift...
Mar 23, 2023•51 min•Ep. 210
Though God’s salvation is a free gift which cannot be earned or deserved, it does leave those who are saved with a great moral debt. We realize we now owe our lives to God. It’s impossible to look at all He has done for us and not feel deep gratitude. Somehow our hearts understand that our only proper response is to give ourselves back to Him. This is the lesson the Lord meant to teach His people by having them dedicate their firstborn sons. They were to never forget that on Passover night their...
Mar 20, 2023•48 min•Ep. 209
One of the most fundamental barriers to serving God is our apparent lack of resources. We fear that if we follow where He leads, we will end up destitute. Like Israel we stand on the borders of Egypt and gaze into the wilderness and we see in that barren wasteland no possible way of surviving. We find ourselves caught between God’s call to follow and our own logic which says this is impossible. But it’s in the wilderness that we discover God’s commitment to us. Our own resources quickly run out ...
Mar 16, 2023•53 min•Ep. 208
As our nation and the world move toward what the Bible refers to as the “last days” we see disturbing trends around us which leave us feeling confused and alienated. Why are people so committed to tearing down God’s moral standards? Why such hostility toward Jesus Christ? Who in their right mind could be so hateful as to bomb innocent people and then celebrate as if they had done something heroic? Where is all this headed? The forces behind these trends seem relentless. But at the same time we s...
Mar 13, 2023•57 min•Ep. 207
Every time we deliberately say “no” to God we harden our own hearts, and every time we say “yes” to Him we become softer. By making us in His own image, God has given us the power to choose and that ability means we are responsible for the choices we make. This passage in Exodus concludes with the statement, “But when Pharaoh saw there was relief he hardened his own heart and did not listen to them as the Lord had said” (v 15). In order to understand what was taking place in Pharaoh we will firs...
Mar 09, 2023•54 min•Ep. 206
This passage raises a subject which has been debated for centuries. Does the statement that God “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart mean He actually prevents some people from repenting and being saved. Throughout the next five chapters there are repeated references to hardening Pharaoh’s heart along with statements to the effect that Pharaoh then refused to submit to God’s demand to release the Hebrew slaves. Taken from one perspective, God appears to be playing a cruel game with Pharaoh. While ordering ...
Mar 06, 2023•55 min•Ep. 205
There are different levels at which people tend to relate to God: There are those who call on God only when they need help. There are those who recognize their sinfulness and call on God for forgiveness (confess and repent; trust and submit) There are those who regularly meet God personally and fall in love with Him (worship and pray) There are those who let God’s presence transform them until they are filled with His love for others (serve and witness)...
Mar 02, 2023•55 min•Ep. 204
One of the key ingredients for true discipleship is learning how to be part of a family—whether that be our natural family or the family of God. Learning to live in a committed way with people is a tremendous challenge for all of us. Nothing confronts our character so much as living with other people. Our weaknesses are exposed, our selfishness confronted and our love is tested. But as ironic as it may sound, these are some of the things that cause us to mature as disciples of Jesus Christ. Prov...
Feb 27, 2023•51 min•Ep. 203
If we’re going to be free and inherit our promises we’re going to have to learn to fight. Just because something is God’s will for us doesn’t mean it will come easily or without opposition. In fact, there are always forces which oppose the advancement of God’s kingdom. Whenever God’s power is breaking into darkness with salvation, healing, restoration, deliverance, love, guidance or provision, we can expect a counterattack from the enemy. So we have to learn to fight, but the battle we experienc...
Feb 23, 2023•56 min•Ep. 202
Definition of Thanks: 1) Sees the good; 2) Sees the grace: acknowledges the reception of something undeserved; I don’t need to thank someone for what I deserve or pay for; 3) Sees the source: this is generated by someone other than me; I was given this, I didn’t produce this; 4) Sees the need to speak: I need to communicate to the person who provided it Life always seems to offer us a mixture of good and bad We keep waiting for the moment when the circumstances of life will be all good and no ba...
Feb 20, 2023•46 min•Ep. 201
Last week we learned: God uses people to deliver people; a “deliverer” is someone who: sets free from restraint, rescues from evil or unburdens the oppressed; God uses suffering, failure and frustration to prepare deliverers. This week we’ll learn that God calls those who are His deliverers: In chapters three and four we’ll see God call Moses to his role in delivering Israel from Egypt. There are numerous examples in the Bible of God calling people to a specific assignment in ministry: Abraham (...
Feb 16, 2023•47 min•Ep. 200
What does it mean to “deliver” someone? set free from restraint; rescue from evil; lift off a burden.
Feb 13, 2023•55 min•Ep. 199
God knew Israel would not leave Egypt just because He asked them to. They would have to undergo a deep attitude-change before He could give them the promised land. After all, they had lived in Egypt for 400 years. It had become home to many generations and they had prospered there. Their families grew large, their livestock flourished and they built fine houses to live in. Yet, God did not want them to comfortably melt into the surrounding culture, gradually becoming Egyptians over the centuries...
Feb 09, 2023•53 min•Ep. 198
The first step on the road to freedom is that a person must desire to be free. This may sound like an unnecessary statement because we assume everyone must want to be free. After all, who in their right mind would want to remain in any sort of bondage if they had an opportunity to escape. Yet, when we actually look more closely at the human heart we frequently find just the opposite. Since freedom always demands radical change, many prefer their chains to the risks of freedom. This attitude can ...
Feb 06, 2023•54 min•Ep. 197
The book of Exodus is a model of the Christian life. It starts with people being set free from slavery (salvation). Next, we see God put them in situations where they will learn to grow in faith (Ex 13:17). Then, once their faith reaches the point where they have the courage to follow God, He leads them to possess the blessings He has promised. Becoming free is a process, not an event, because real freedom is an attitude of the heart. It wasn’t enough for God to physically release the Israelites...
Feb 02, 2023•53 min•Ep. 196
What is the relationship between speaking in tongues and the baptism with the Holy Spirit? When we observe people being baptized with the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts the gifts often mentioned as immediately accompanying this experience are speaking in tongues and prophecy (Ac 2:4; 10:46; 19:6). When these early Christians encountered the power of the Spirit they burst out in inspired speech giving praise and thanks to God. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul clearly expected those who had received...
Jan 30, 2023•57 min•Ep. 195
The Baptism with the Holy Spirit is a blessing from God which causes ordinary people to become extraordinarily effective as witnesses for Jesus Christ (Ac 1:5, 8). By it God equips believers today with the same power we read about in the New Testament. Since the Day of Pentecost (Ac 2) God’s plan has been to supernaturally equip every believer so that the ministry of Jesus Christ may continue through us (Jn 14:12). His ascension into heaven (Ac 1:9) did not mean that Jesus’ ministry on earth sto...
Jan 26, 2023•50 min•Ep. 194
Why be baptized? The most important reason for a believer to be baptized in water is because Jesus commanded it. In His “Great Commission” Jesus instructed that all who became His disciples are to be baptized (Mt 28:19). Since every true believer chooses to obey Jesus as “Lord” no better reason can be given. If He wants me to be baptized then I will gladly be baptized.
Jan 23, 2023•42 min•Ep. 193
1 - How to be Born-Again A Step-by-Step Guide for Leading a Person to Salvation Being born-again is more than simply chang-ing one’s attitude toward God. A person may have positive feelings toward God, His Son Jesus, and the Bible, and may even attend church regularly but have never received the inner miracle called the “new birth.” This is because it only occurs when the Spirit of God comes inside us to join Himself to our human spirit. And this union cannot take place until we first repent of ...
Jan 23, 2023•55 min•Ep. 192
The death of a relationship can bring on depression. Times when friendships and families are broken or loved ones die seriously affects us. Pastor Steve discusses this type of depression and teaches how to go to the Lord for comfort.
Jan 12, 2023•34 min•Ep. 191
