LEARNING DAILY

 

Exodus 5:2, And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”

 

I have decided to once again read The Daily Bible in Chronological Order – 365 Daily Readings for part of my daily devotions. There is really good commentary that goes with the daily readings and from time to time I will share some thoughts on it. You might be able to tell that I am reading about the “struggle” between Pharaoh and God. The commentary states the struggle “is classic because it demonstrates how all men and women tend to struggle with God”.

 

 I bring this to your attention because of the message taught by Dr. Ed Newton of Community bible Church this past weekend. Take a moment to read Mark 10:46-52, the text he used for his message. If it is okay, I would like to relate one of the statements he made to the verse about Pharaoh, as I reflect on the message. “Hell is not afraid of Sunday morning faith!” Stop and think about that. What does that mean? It means that if that is the only time we give any thought to God, if Monday morning faith is empty and gives no consideration to walking on the narrow way with Jesus as our guide, are we not asking the question that Pharaoh asked about obeying the Lord’s voice?

 

I am going to use the words in the commentary again. “ Pharaoh will first reject God altogether, then respond to initial demonstrations of God’s power by believing artificial manifestations of power which human trickery can devise. When the tricks of his magicians cannot duplicate the plagues brought against his people and property, Pharaoh will try to avoid God through procrastination, compromise, and insincere repentance. With each attempt at resisting God, Pharaoh’s heart gets harder, until he is unmoved by even the threat of his people.” Those who have a Sunday morning faith, in my opinion, are avoiding God in the same way Pharaoh did and are in danger of hardening their heart to the Word of God, His way of speaking to us today.

 

God demands His followers be obedient to Him. For each of us this requires change in the way we live our lives – every moment of every day. Remember Jesus told us that walking the narrow way would be difficult. The Holy Spirit is with each Believer to guide and help us change from within and become the people God wants us to be. If you have walked on this narrow way for any length of time, you know it comes with many temptations and trial; we must choose to walk in obedience to the Truth of God’s Word. That is a Sunday morning faith that shows up every day of the week.

 

In Mark 10:50, we are shown the response of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar when Jesus called him to come to Him. “And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Him.” He did not hesitate. He did not look for anyone to help him. He did not need to place his cloak where he could find it. He got up in response to Jesus’ call in complete surrender to Him. Jesus healed him and Bartimaeus followed Him.

 

Here is my point today. Jesus has called each of us to follow Him, to be obedient to Him, to worship Him not just on Sunday but to do so every day of the week. If we do not do so, we risk the world creeping into our lives, tempting us to not care about living like He wants us to. What is it that keeps you from walking as close to Jesus as He desires? Whatever it is, He wants you to throw it off and run to Him – right now. He wants you to know Him personally. He wants you to know His Word. He wants you to be obedient to Him every day. Be like Bartimaeus and not Pharaoh!