Tag: Jacqui Stoner

FICKLE PEOPLE, FAITHFUL GOD

It is easy to accuse God of not looking out for us.

Ever have a fickle friend? The relationship is unstable. “A rolling stone gathers no moss” implies someone who is constantly changing their mind because of instability. Having a friend like this leads to major disappointments. In Exodus, the Israelites are fickle and certainly rolling down the hill of instability in their relationship with God.

GOD KNOWS FICKLE PEOPLE

God knows His fickle people described in Exodus 13:17-22; 14:11-31. “So it happened, when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearer; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war [that is, that there will be war], and return to Egypt.’” 

GOD’S GUIDANCE SYSTEM

God plans the longer road trip to Canaan because the Israelites had some serious lessons to learn about God. They need to exchange their slavery mindset to learning who they are in God. God marks their journey to freedom with unusual guidance systems. “The [presence of the] Lord was going before them by day in a pillar (column) of cloud to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, so that they could travel by day and by night. He did not withdraw the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from going before the people.”

OUR PILLAR OF FIRE

Once Bill and I traveled at night in severe fog. We were on the road and the headlights of our car went out. My father ended up driving to our location. Through the darkness and fog, we drove our car behind him the entire way home. He became our “pillar of fire” in a frightening situation. He saved our lives on that road.

ACCUSATION ABOUT GOD’S MOTIVES

God carefully guides the Israelites on the long route with the cloud and the pillar of fire. He provides directions for the entire journey. The Israelites do not respond well. “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”  Talk about fickle…

THEIR TRUE NEED

They don’t know God or His ways and accuse Moses of hatching a plan for their demise. The Israelites desperately need an intimate relationship with God.

We live in a fallen world. It can be frightening. It is easy to accuse God of not looking out for us. He wants to be our cloud by day and pillar of fire at night, but often we ignore Him. We are fickle.

THE DECISION

Regardless of the miracles, the Israelites develop spiritual amnesia concerning the God Who always loves them and plans a future for them. They forget His cloud and the pillar of fire mark their path. Have you forgotten your cloud and pillar? This is the God Who promises: Even to your old age I am He, and even to your advanced old age I will carry you! I have made you, and I will carry you; Be assured I will carry you and I will save you. (Isaiah 46:4) Don’t be fickle! Decide to entrust Him with the entirety of your journey.

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN

Did you ever feel like you are living the movie Groundhog Day? You awake to discover you keep repeating the same failures over and over.

Did you ever feel like you are living the movie Groundhog Day? You awake to discover you keep repeating the same failures over and over. Every day is Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. In the movie, the main character comes the realization that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing EVERY day.

NOTHING NEW ON EARTH

Our world is Groundhog Day in the flesh. The writer of Ecclesiastes accurately observes: What exists now is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing truly new on earth.

CREATION IS DOOMED

God’s lovely, perfect, incredible creation became doomed. Through Adam’s decision in the Garden, he walked away from the Creator God.  Sin rears its ugly head in every individual and generation since the Garden. There is nothing truly new on earth regarding our behavior as people.

A DIM MEMORY OF THE BEAUTY

We are but a dim memory of the beauty of who we were created to be. The sin process repeats over and over every day of our lives. Ecclesiastes says, “Is there anything about which someone can say, ‘Look at this! Is it new’? It was already done long ago, before our time.”

BAND-AIDS DON’T WORK

I keep trying the same and band-aids for my sin problem. Along with the vast majority of people, I have collective amnesia when I think that just trying harder to be “nice people” changes people internally. The band-aid solution is futile. People cannot permanently be changed without the Creator.

THE SOLUTION

God provides the solution to breaking the cycle. Jesus’ death and resurrection offer reconciliation with God and new lives. By handing every inch and scrap of one’s life over to Jesus, the Creator makes all things new.  Hope exists!  All He is asking is that we give up the reins and let Him lead.  Run to the Savior!  “Vanity of vanities! All [that is done without God’s guidance] is vanity [futile, meaningless—a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes, merely chasing the wind].” (Ecclesiastes 1:2)

GENUINE HOPE!

There is hope! Scripture gives hope for a fresh beginning. Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]. (II Corinthians 5:17) Tired from chasing failure over and over again? Join me; come to the Cycle-Breaker: Jesus Christ.

ISOLATE NO MORE!

Being isolated isn’t a whole lot of fun when you are a little kid, especially when your mouth is a crusty mess.

As an elementary school student, I remember the bane of impetigo, a contagious skin infection forming pustules and yellow crusty sores often appearing on the mouth.  When a classmate entered the room with the telltale sores, they were immediately sent home and couldn’t return until their skin had cleared up.  Being isolated isn’t a whole lot of fun when you are a little kid, especially when your mouth is a crusty mess. 

THE CHALLENGE OF COMMUNITY

Human beings of any age are social creatures, created to live life together.  Yet many people insist on living in seclusion because living in community, especially Christian community, can be challenging.  It means making oneself vulnerable to others and making sacrifices.  That is the underlying theme to James 5:13-20. We read what community for a believer, as designed by God, looks like.  James mentions the communities of suffering, rejoicing, illness, confession, and caring. If someone strays, the individual should be lovingly pulled back to community. 

ISOLATION MAKE US VULNERABLE

Remember those nature films where the lions pursue their next meal by separating that lone animal from the herd?  That’s what Satan wants for believers, to separate us from other believers so we are vulnerable to attack.

THE EFFORT OF COMMUNITY

It can take a great deal of effort to commit to community living.  “If we love each other, we will not stand in judgment on each other or speak evil against each other. We will not bite or devour each other (as if we were wild beasts). And we will not provoke or envy or lie to each other. Positively, if we love each other, we will be kind and compassionate to each other, forbear and forgive each other, submit to each other and build each other up, practice hospitality to each other ungrudgingly, encourage each other, admonish and comfort each other, pray for each other and bear each other’s burdens.” (from “The Living Church”, by John Stott). 

If more of us purposely lived this way, wouldn’t the local community of believers be wondrous?

THE OPPORTUNITY OF COMMUNITY

How about considering Christian community as an opportunity to live out life as God has designed?  In my own life I have my Life Group.  The participants are individuals I can weep and laugh with. We praise God together and pray. Our community is a safe place to be genuine. They hold me accountable if I start “straying off the reservation”.  They are James 5:13-20. 

GOD’S DESIGN FOR US

Have you pushed against the Christian ideal of community due to past painful experiences? Do you consider isolation a way to protect yourself?  If you are a believer, you are designed for honest genuine community with other believers.  Isolation does not cut it. This is God’s plan and wondrous design just for you.

I HOPE YOU DANCE!

It is difficult shifting gears from joy to sorrow and then reversing from sorrow to joy.  How can one dance when God’s tempo changes?

As a child, I loved to dance. We lived in an old farmhouse. A previous owner converted an upstairs bedroom into a huge bathroom. I would lock the bathroom door and sing my heart out as I twirled around the room. Even as a clumsy child, I danced in abandon.

NOTHING REMAINS THE SAME

The joy of dancing with unrestrained joy dampened with time. Nothing ever remains the same on this earth. On the way I stumble over minor things. At the worst, I run through seasons of depression and even full panic attacks. Just maintaining an open relationship with Jesus is never an easy route.

I wonder, over the years what became of that child who danced with abandon; not worried about what was coming ahead.

THE EBB AND FLOW

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 describes the ebb and flow of life. There is a season for every activity under the heavens. A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance. It is difficult shifting gears from joy to sorrow and then reversing from sorrow to joy. How can one dance when the music and God’s tempo change?

AND YET ANOTHER CHANGE

Recently I became a substitute teacher. I choose the days, the school district and and the approximate student age and subject matter. Let me tell you, every day is a surprise when I take an assignment. There are so many variables in working with students and the dynamics in a classroom. Sometimes I arrive at a school and even the best lesson plans provided by a school are in shambles. We live in a world where things can go wrong.

THE DECISION

So what do I do? I make a conscious decision. I choose to trust in Him. God knows the school, the students, what will happen that day. No ebb and flow ever take Him by surprise. God supplies the dance music and metronome for each minute of my day. He offers the heartbeat of His soul. 

EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

HE IS SUFFICIENT

He is amazingly sufficient. My Heavenly Father calls me not only to trust, but also to dance as I find rhythm in His timing. I may not be a ballerina, but I’m continually striving to find the beauty of moving to God’s symphony of life even in this season of my life. I hope you also dance!

IS EGYPT BURNING?

The lunacy of sin and the hardness of an unrepentant heart. Pharaoh brings his house down upon himself by his own choice.

“Is Paris burning?” was a command attributed to Adolf Hitler. He wanted to ensure his henchmen burned Paris to the ground in August 1944 as Paris fell to the Allies. If Hitler couldn’t have Paris, no one would. In Exodus 11, if Pharaoh can’t control the Israelites, he decides no one will. His dynasty thought nothing of ordering the genocide of all the Israelite baby boys. In the mind of Pharaoh, the Israelite people are commodities. They belong to him alone. This demonstrates the lunacy of sin and the hardness of an unrepentant heart. Pharaoh brings his house down upon himself by his own choice. Egypt will figuratively burn in Exodus 11:1-10.

SUFFICIENT WARNING GIVEN

It is not as if Pharaoh is not given sufficient warning, but he consistently denies God. Three times, Exodus mentions that Pharaoh hardens his own heart; six times there is a general reference that his heart’s condition is hard. Given opportunity after opportunity to repent, Pharaoh allows the concrete of his heart to solidify, regardless of the warnings. Judgment barrels down the tracks.

GOD COMES TO TOWN

God speaks, demonstrates, and warns. The earlier genocide of the Israelite baby boys ironically brings an equivocal death blow to Pharaoh’s own people. The first born of every Egyptian household will die. Pharaoh stands alone against Jehovah God; the gauntlet thrown down. In paraphrase, God declares: “You won’t let My people go out of Egypt? I’m coming to Egypt. I’m coming to the midst of Egypt.” God comes to town.

WORSHIP IN THE MIDST OF DEATH

Amazingly, “when does the judgment of God come against Egypt and the deliverance of God come for Israel? In the midst of worship. As the sacrifice is being lifted up, as the Passover lamb is being slaughtered, the angel of death comes. Judgment and deliverance are accomplished by sacrifice and plague. God will not be trifled with. Those who resist Him and mock do not possess the last laugh.” (Bill Sytsma)

THE GIFT OF 400 YEARS OF WAGES

After this last plague, the Egyptians rush to remove the Israelites from their country. Over four hundred years ago, in Genesis 15:13-14, God told Abram that the children of Israel would come out of the land of their oppression with many possessions. Now, God instructs Moses to tell the people to ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them gold and silver. The people of Egypt do so willingly. The Israelite slaves of Egypt receive their past wages accumulated from 400 years of slavery. They don’t leave Egypt empty-handed.

GOD WILL DO THE FIGHTING FOR US

God figuratively burns down the house of Pharaoh in one night. “This is how things go when we fight on God’s side. Our job is not to fight. Our job is to be faithful, and He will do the fighting for us. And this is a good thing because when He does the fighting, victory is certain.” (Jonathan Waits)

THE CHOICE

Pharaoh burnt down his own house. We have a choice. Do you choose to serve the same Sovereign God of Abraham, Jacob and Moses? Whatever life situation you are in right now, regardless of the odds that appear against you, entrust it to God, lock stock and barrel. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. (Isaiah 43:10)

TRUST IN GOD’S PROCESS

Laura’s mother’s heart had been torn in two. Still, God was working in the midst.

Discouraged? Disheartened? Listen to this story of God perseverance. Laura’s mother did not give up. God remains faithful!

Click to listen to the story of Laura Perry Smalts

THE CONSUMING FIRE

Throwing a tantrum, the dictator defiantly responds, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”

It looked like the aftermath of an atom bomb falling on Hiroshima. California’s decimated landscape. Mile after mile of burnt-out homes. The fires took place in a geographical tinderbox and were further spread by huge gusts of dry winds. California will never look the same. Lives lost and families altered forever.

MORE THAN A MERE ATOMB BOMB

Moses encounters an even stronger fire in the burning bush. Rather than a mere atom bomb, this is the hydrogen bomb because of Who it signifies. Trembling has seized the godless. “Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning?” (Isaiah 33:14) This is the fire of the holiness of God. “Our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:28-29) God’s holiness burns up anything which is unholy.

THE PROGRESSION OF MOSES & HIS PEOPLE

Exodus 5:2; 7:1-7; 9:13-16 recounts the progression of Moses and his people. It dawns on Moses at the burning bush Who God is. Despite his protests, Moses caves and obeys the Holy God. Moses tells the Israelites God will set them free from Egypt; they respond by tentatively placing their toes in the waters of obedience before the God of Abraham.

THE LINE IN THE SAND

However, Pharaoh reacts with scorn. In Egyptian culture the Pharaoh was more than a man; he considers himself a god. Throwing a tantrum, the dictator defiantly responds, “Who is the Lord that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.” Pharaoh draws his line into the sand.

HE THOUGHT HE HAD EVERYTHING COVERED

Pharaoh thinks he is prepared for all eventualities. Nothing can break down his power and resources. Just like many Californians thought that the perfect storm of fire would never hit their state, Pharaoh assumes everything is in control. However, his people are spiritually bankrupt, caught in a desert of darkness. Just as in California, the reservoirs are empty!  

SPIRITUAL SURGERY WITHOUT ANESTHESIA

The Egyptians’, the Israelites’ and Pharaoh’s coming days result in spiritual surgery without anesthesia. The approaching disastrous events have one goal: And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” This is the wakeup call, to see first-hand the reality of the One and Holy God. I will send the full force of my plagues against you and against your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

WHY PHARAOH ALLOWED TO LIVE

God is not One to be trifled with. Little does Pharaoh understand the one reason he himself still exists. But indeed, for this very reason I have allowed you to live, in order to show you My power and in order that My name may be proclaimed throughout all the earth.

3,500 YEARS LATER, STILL REMEMBERING

“By these specific works in Exodus, God made a name for himself for ages and generations. Nearly one thousand years later, the exiles returning from Babylon prayed, “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and heard their cry at the Red Sea, and performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh …. And you made a name for yourself, as it is to this day” (Nehemiah 9:9–10). Here we are 3,500 years later, still recounting these glorious deeds. God will be known and worshiped by people from every tribe and tongue, and he has spoken and acted in history to make his name glorious.” (Ryan Chase)

THE PRAYER

Are you on your face before this glorious Holy God? Do you long to obey and be filled with His reservoirs of Living Water?  Let this be your prayer: “God, clean me, change me and mold me so that Your Name is proclaimed throughout all the earth. Let Your fire burn within me so that lives are changed for eternity.” It only takes one spark of submission and obedience to eternally alter your life and those you encounter.

THE JOY OF LEAPING

Am I terrified? Yes! Will God be with me every moment of this new venture? A double yes!!!!!

And there we were in an exciting game of Keep Away – boys against the girls.  Non-athletic me was thrilled to finally get possession of the ball. I sharply pivoted to begin my sprint away from the onslaught of boys. However, I had not checked my bearings and promptly smacked into a steel volleyball pole.  I literally bounced off the pole, face first. I was down for the count.

Both eyes were black and blue.  But no CAT scan or x-rays for me!  I had to lay down on the school couch until the end of the day and then be driven home by Mom.  An intense headache.  My bruising caused me to resemble a raccoon. Lesson learned: always look before your leap, carefully consider the cost, and never leap (or so I thought).

BOUNCING AGAINST THE POLES

Is this the lesson, to never leap? Often in my life I “bounce against the poles.” I take risks into the unknown, at the prompting of God. Yes, I carefully count the cost, but God reminds me “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I pray, God continually niggles away at my doubts, and then He begins to hound me. Eventually, I leap….

OTHER LEAPERS

The Bible has many “leapers.” What if Noah looked at the plans and decided he would not build the ark? Or, how about Rahab? What if instead of putting out the scarlet cord, she and her family hid in a closet? And then we have Peter. What if he just stayed in the boat, scared out of his wits? He would have never walked on the sea, sunk, and been rescued by Christ.

LEAPING TEACHES TRUST

Leaping teaches trust. Looking back at my own life just over the years, what if I always played it safe and never took the leap? There would be a multitude of missed joys. Due to leaping, here’s a list of a few of my scary ventures that brought great delight:

  • Forming a 70-voice choir which gave benefit performances for a pregnancy center.
  • Became a Christian Life Coach (could write a book on that difficult challenge)
  • Started to teach and encourage writers who needed to find their voice.
  • Work with trauma survivors using writing therapy.
  • Consistently remind people Who God is, even when they would prefer I shut up.

GOD IS GOOD

Genuine faith involves abandoning all human reliance on self-efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, His actions, and His promises, as revealed in His Word. God is good. (GotQuestions.org) While writing this, I quit my job recently (again at God’s hounding) and began a career as a substitute teach. Am I terrified? Yes! Will God be with me every moment of this new venture? A double yes!!!!!

Leaping is scary. But, oh the joy of jumping into the Savior’s arms!

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (I Peter 4:10-11)

WHEN NOTHING GOES RIGHT

Is your life not working out the way you expected?

Moses went back to God and said, “My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?” (from The Message paraphrase) Can you hear the frustration in Moses’ voice? He never asked for this job, didn’t want this job, obediently begins this job, and there you have it: failure! At least, Moses thought it was failure. What was going on with this God he had decided to trust?

FROM BAD TO WORSE

As Moses follows God’s directions, in Exodus 5:1-22, Pharaoh makes it exponentially worse for the Israelites. The Israelites move from a dire situation to a worse one. Their quotas for brick making are doubled and now they must find their own straw to make the bricks. No wonder the people blamed Moses for their pain.

PHAROAH’S MIND GAMES

Observe Pharoah’s purpose in creating this impossible situation. “Let labor be heavier on the men and let them work [hard] at it so that they will pay no attention to [their God’s] lying words.” (AMP Version) This is spiritual warfare at its worst. Warfare against their hearts, their relationship to God, and their obedience to the words of Moses. Eighty-year-old Moses is at the end of his rope.

THE UNEXPECTED

I love the saying, “Everything will work out, just not the way you expect.” Moses expected immediate blue skies and parades, but God usually does not work that way. The God of the Universe fulfills His purpose; however the parade route is quite different than Moses’ expectations.

Is your life not working out the way you expected, even though you faithfully try to be obedient and follow God’s promptings? I have personal experience with this. God once led us to minister at a church. We were voted in by 100% of the congregation and naively assumed it would be smooth sailing. Nothing went to plan. That ministry shattered our hearts, fractured my husband’s health, disintegrated our plans for the future and evaporated our finances. Were we in the will of God? Yes!!!!! 

COMING OUT AT THE OTHER END

It took quite a few years to heal from the experience, but we came out with gold! For example, that experience developed me as a writer and life coach. We learned to know and trust God at a much deeper level. All those things we depended on before (our ministry experience, education, and relationships with people) went up in dust. God was and is faithful, not just in the way we expected. He is far better than we ever anticipate, even when the pain is excruciating.

Take heart in the words of Paul: Be strong in the Lord [draw your strength from Him and be empowered through your union with Him] and in the power of His [boundless] might. Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places. (Ephesians 6:10-12)

Like Moses, keep putting one foot in front of the other. Consistently obey God and trust Him, even when the forces of the night threaten to devour you. When nothing goes right, God is faithful!

WHAT WAS GOD THINKING OF?

God’s Chosen People didn’t want to know God. They just wanted a smooth, painless and easy brief excursion.

You think you have it bad? God (on purpose) called Moses to the worst job ever. Moses is 80 years old, feels like a failure and can’t even speak a sentence without stuttering. Rewind it back forty years when Moses was hot to trot. Now, the fire has burned out. If Moses went to a career counselor they would probably suggest he be a greeter at Wal-Mart (not that there is anything wrong with that position).

What was God thinking of?

Not only does Moses feel unequipped, he called to lead a group of people famous for consistently whining, complaining, and rebelling against Moses’ leadership.

What was God thinking of?

It took culling an entire generation before the Israelite people were finally ready to enter the Promised Land. This journey should have taken a few weeks. It took them forty years. This is the slowest exit strategy ever.

What was God thinking of?

He was thinking must more of heart preparation than comfort level. God’s Chosen People didn’t want to know God. They just wanted a smooth, painless and easy brief excursion.

What was God thinking of?

“The healthy Christian is not necessarily the extrovert, ebullient Christian, but the Christian who has a sense of God’s presence stamped deep on his soul, who trembles at God’s word, who lets it dwell in him richly by constant meditation upon it, and who tests and reforms his life daily in response to it.” (J.I. Packer)

God wants His people to KNOW Him.

“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10