{"id":21275,"date":"2017-01-24T00:10:33","date_gmt":"2017-01-24T08:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lccredding.com\/lcc\/?p=9941"},"modified":"2017-01-24T00:10:33","modified_gmt":"2017-01-24T08:10:33","slug":"january-24-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2017\/01\/24\/january-24-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"January 24, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cAnd the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush\u2026 Then Moses said, \u2018I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.\u2019 So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, \u2018Moses, Moses!\u2019 And he said, \u2018Here I am.\u2019 Then He said, \u2018Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.\u2019\u201d<\/em>
\nExodus 3:2-5<\/span><\/p>\n

Cultivating Awe and Reverence for God, Day 24<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

Encounter<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u2019ve never seen a burning bush like Moses did, but I can say with certainty that I have encountered the living God. However, it wasn\u2019t in the casual, daily, comfortable, normal way of life I\u2019ve come to know. It was at an unexpected time and place, and I am at a loss for words to describe it to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Encountering God is disruptive. It is an out-of-the-ordinary event. For Moses, it was the sudden appearance of a bush, burning but not consumed. For Pharaoh, it was unexplained, never-before-seen plagues. For Mary, it was a virgin pregnancy. For Paul, it was being struck blind for no apparent reason. There are many other God-encounters in Scripture you can probably name right now.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just look at Moses, to whom God appeared as fire. \u201cFire\u201d is the word God used to describe His appearance. God isn\u2019t really fire, but He says He is like fire, because we can\u2019t see or understand what He really is. We don\u2019t have words for it. He can only tell us what He is \u201clike.\u201d He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29)\u2014but He didn\u2019t consume the burning bush. God spoke from the fire, just as He can speak in and through any instrument that obeys Him (stars, wind, animals, rocks, mountains, waters, storms, clouds\u2014and fire).<\/span><\/p>\n

God encountered Moses face-to-face so that Moses would experience that sense of holiness and sacredness that comes with His presence. He had work for Moses to do, and it would take a mighty visitation for Moses to believe it was God speaking. Some things can only be learned by God\u2019s presence. God\u2019s work must begin in God\u2019s presence, and then be carried out by us working in tandem with that same Presence, the Holy Spirit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moses knew God intellectually. God was, you might say, all in Moses\u2019 head, until Moses experienced Him in person and found Him to be a living, speaking, active Person. As with Job (Job 42:5), Moses had heard of God but now he encountered God. We know many things simply because Scripture tells us about them. This is intellectual knowledge, and it\u2019s a good thing, but it\u2019s not the only thing. There is also experiential knowledge, a much deeper, absolute knowing. Experience affects you to the core, transforming you. It\u2019s the time you begin to say, \u201cI will never be the same.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did Moses want to turn aside to see that great sight of the fire in the bush? It is what all our hearts desire, though we may not realize it. We are attracted to that Light. In many churches and hearts today, worship has become so common that we no longer burn for an encounter with God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let us say with the psalmist, \u201cMy soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God\u201d<\/em> (Psalm 84:2).<\/span><\/p>\n

The Lord God Almighty wants to have an encounter with you. He is not hiding; He waits for you to come. Confess your sins, and come before Him, ready to receive His presence. Don\u2019t stand back in dread or doubt, for He loves you and longs to know intimate fellowship wth you. He has something to whisper to you. It is for your ears only\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCleanse our hearts, and purify us with Your own holiness and righteousness, that we may encounter You. Come, Lord Jesus. Our eyes are fixed on You alone. Amen.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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