Waymarkers 2021

Monday April 26, 2021
Hebrews 5:14 says that solid food is for the mature. Practice and training.

Thursday October 15, 2020
The Life of Moses
God provides water (15:22-27)
After a dry and thirsty three days, the people came to a place where there was water, but it was so bitter that they couldn’t drink it. Not too long ago they were complaining to Moses when the Pharaoh was in hot pursuit of them, “are there no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way?” (see Exodus 14:11-12). And now, after the great deliverance, they were thirsty and complaining. It was as if God could do the greater thing for them by parting the Red Sea, but could not provide drinkable water. They had lost confidence in God in such a short amount of time!

While the people complained, Moses resorted to crying out to the Lord (v.25a). God provided the answer immediately. In His patience and love for them, He was about to do another miracle. He directed Moses to a specific tree and throw it into the water. The word here is ‘log’ or ‘branch’ or even ‘tree’. Did he throw the whole tree in? Likely, he threw a log or a branch, since that makes more sense. Whatever the case, it’s an odd request of God. It could be that God was foreshadowing the cross here (the removal of the bitterness of sin as Jesus died upon the tree).

Commentators say that some trees contain elements that could emit a sweetness that would change the composition of the water. Could it have been the ‘Moringa Tree’? It’s been called the Miracle Tree and also the Tree of Life. It is one of the most nutrient rich plants on the earth, containing numerous minerals that promote human health and healing: 25 times more iron than spinach, 10 times more Vitamin A than carrots, 7 times more Vitamin C than oranges, 17 times more calcium than milk and up to 15 times more potassium than bananas. This drought-resistant tree is claimed to be native to the the Himalayan region of India, but there is also evidence dating back to 3000 BC that the tree also grew in the Red Sea belt and the Sinai mountain region. Parts of the Moringa tree was used to manufacture perfume as well as protection from the sun and wound healing in ancient Egypt. It is well-known for its use in water purification and hand washing.

But if it was this tree, would it purify enough water for two million people? This was nothing short of a miracle by God.

A summary of responses to adversity here: complaining against God vs. crying out to God.

Monday October 12, 2020
The Life of Moses
Why didn't Pharaoh just kill Moses after the first couple of plagues, when he saw what trouble he was causing? The answer is found in Exodus 11:3 - where it is the Lord granting 'favor' in the sight of the Egyptians, not only to the people, but also specifically to Moses. It says he was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt. This is nothing less than the hand of God protecting him.

Sunday October 11, 2020
The Life of Moses
False gods of the Nile River
Osiris
Name means ‘the powerful’; ‘the one who sees the throne’; the one who presides on his throne’. He was the ruler of the dead. He was also the one that supposedly granted power of life from the underworld, which caused the sprouting of vegetation. He was important to the Egyptians because he was the god of fertility (agriculture fruitfulness due to the cycle of death and rebirth).

Khnum
He was the ‘water god’, ruling over all water sources. Associated with the source of the Nile and responsible for the depositing of black silt onto the river banks and delta to make them fertile. He was also responsible for creating the soul and body of every newborn child (creating them on a potters wheel). He also was athe protective deity of the dead, seeking favorable judgments on their souls. He was married to Heqet, the frog goddess associated with conception and childbirth. He was sometimes referred to by terms which ironically mean ‘purify’.

Hapi
A deity of fertility, providing water, food and the yearly innundation of the Nile River (which was important for providing water for crops). He was known as the ‘Lord of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes’. The Egyptians had no idea how or why the Nile flooded every year, but they put their confidence in Hapi who was in charge of the waters during the floods. Hapi was thought to come with the help of the crocodile gods and the frog goddesses, and sacrifices were made so that the water wouldn’t be too much (damage to mud brick houses) or too little (not enough water for livestock and crop irrigation).

False gods of the Land
Geb
The god of the earth. He supposedly supplied the minerals and precious stones found in the earth. He was often depicted as having vegetation growing from his body.

Apis
The bull god, symbolizing fertility and strength during war. Not only did bulls die, but so did cows. Where was Apis to protect them?

Hathor
The goddess of dance and music. She was also the ‘cow’ goddess and often depicted as a cow or a woman with a cow head.

Imhotep
The god of medicine and healing. Depicted with a scroll on his lap. The scroll contains treatment for 48 cases of trauma, which has amazed modern medical professionals. Was there a treatment plan for boils?

Thoth
The god of wisdom and knowledge. He allegedly wrote 42 books that contained all the knowledge needed by humanity (except for how to heal the boils?)

Sehkmet
The goddess of plagues, but also of medicine and healing. Known as the “Lady of Pestilence”, but also a ‘master of the art of medicine, providing cures to various ailments’. She was the goddess of all healers and physicians. Her priests were supposed to be very skilled doctors.

Nepit (locust plague)
The goddess of grain - a source of nourishment.

Min (locust plague)
The deity of the harvest and protector of the fertility of nature. How well did he protect the harvest against the locusts?

False gods of the Sky
Shu
The god of the atmosphere, creator of the wind. The god of light and space between the skies (is this where the lightning would be?)

Nut
The sky goddess.

Ra
The greatest of all gods; the sun god. Where was he during the three days of pitch blackness?

Tuesday October 6, 2020
The Life of Moses
In Chapter 2, God heard the groaning of the children of Israel and He remembered His covenant with their fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This covenant is found in Genesis 15:13-14; 17:1-27; 22:15-18; 26:2-5;28:13-18; Psalms 105:42-45.

Monday October 5, 2020
The Life of Moses
The plagues were directed primarily at the false gods of the Egyptians that clustered around the three main forces of their lives: the Nile, the land and the sun. 
Gods of the Nile: Osiris, Khnum, Hapi.

Sunday October 4, 2020
Church Service - Part 4 of Samson Study - Be Led Not Into Temptation 
Judges 16
When you fall into temptation, you:
1). Didn't recognize your sin tendency. All we like sheep have gone astray, remember? You need to recognize your weak spots. 
2). Flirted instead of fled. Sin always makes us into a FOOL. The only way to win the fight is by not showing up. The bible says to FLEE in 1 Cor. 6:18; 1 Tim. 2:22; 1 Tim 6:11. God says he always provides a way of ESCAPE: 1 Cor. 10:13. Run away from sin!
3). End up as a slave. It's easier to jump off the sled at the beginning, at the top of the hill. 
4). Aren't abandoned by God. My confidence is not in me 'not failing'. My confidence is in the God who will not fail ME!

Thursday October 1, 2020
Life of Moses - God's Promises
After the pharaoh rejects the demands of Moses to let the people go, he increases their work as punishment. But God isn't absent here. He makes promises to them that He intends to keep (Ex. 6:6-8):
1). I will deliver you from bondage.
2). I will redeem you with great judgments.
3). I will make you my people. I will be your God and you will know that I am the Lord. 
4). I will give you the land of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as your own possession. 

The children of Israel totally disregarded these promises of God - because of their despondency and the cruel bondage (Ex. 6:9).

Tuesday September 29, 2020
Life of Moses - The Burning Bush
God is Personal
God is Self-Existent
God is Self-Sufficient
God is Eternal
God is Unchangeable

Monday September 28, 2020
Begin working on Egypt maps for future Bible study presentations.

Sunday September 27, 2020
Church Service - Part 3 of Samson Study - Strength for Victory - Judges 15
Three Must-Dos in Spiritual Warfare
1). Know your enemy 
2). Give glory to God for victory
     Understanding our position affects our conduct. We are God's adopted child, saints, servants, friends.
3). Recognize your non-spiritual needs
     If you're thirsty, you don't need a Bible lesson, you need a drink. Get food, get sleep, get medicine - look     
     after your physical needs as well as your spiritual and emotional needs.

Friday September 25, 2020
Moses Travels to Midian
After killing the Egyptian, Moses fled to a place in modern-day Saudi Arabia that was known as Midian. He spent the next 40 years of his life in a much different existence than he was used to. He didn't record much at all about his life in Egypt. After all, he rejected that life, refusing to be called the son of pharaoh's daughter and choosing to identify with his own people rather to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). There is much to learn from Moses in this regard. He had everything the culture had to offer as a member of the royal family, but he turned his back on all of that. 

Now he's in the desert land of Midian, a place of solitude. Solitude is the training ground for great things to come. Moses was about to hear from God almighty about what things were next for him. What things might we hear from God in our own time of solitude?

Evening prayer meeting at Harvest. Moving worship music and moving prayer time.

Thursday September 24, 2020
The timeline of Moses takes a huge jump from the time he was a baby drawn out of the Nile to whenever he kills an Egyptian. Doing the right thing but in the wrong manner or at the wrong time is something that happens to us all. But God is still able to use us mightily despite our flaws. Moses flees into the wilderness for decades. God used that time to prepare him for what was coming next... deliverance for his people.

Wednesday September 23, 2020
By faith, Moses parents (Amram and Jochebed, Exodus 6:20 genealogy), hid him for three months, unafraid of the king’s edicts (Hebrews 11:23). How much faith would be required to put your baby into a wicker basket and float it down the Nile River?! They expected great things from God, just like missionary William Carey who said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God!”

Tuesday September 22, 2020
God’s Providence - The Survival of Baby Moses
1). The king’s edict: any baby son born to an Israelite must be killed at birth. 
2). The king’s updated edict: surviving babies boys must be thrown into the Nile River. 
3). The mother’s hard decision: make a floating basket and put it in the Nile.  Moses basket covered with tar (bitumen). Abandoning babies in the bulrushes was a common practice in Moses day! But Amram and Jochabed didn't 'abandon' their son. They knew he'd stay safe in the water with crocodiles and pythons because their God would keep him safe. 
4). Daughter of the pharoah - at the river at the right time and at the right place. 

This Old Testament account of God's sovereignty over the affairs of mankind, and His providence is a clear  example to Christian parents on releasing our children, by faith, into the hands of God, who will see to it that they are cared for. They belong to Him!

Monday September 21, 2020
The Life of Moses
When Moses first threw the staff down at the burning bush, it became a snake. Then when Aaron threw the staff in the presence of the pharaoh, it became something else. The word used was different than at the burning bush. It was the word for 'dragon'. Could it be that it was turned into a crocodile, which was ironically an object of worship in Egypt.

Sunday September 20, 2020
Church Service - Part 2 of Samson Study - Don't Waste Your Resources - Judges 14
Heading down the wrong path: 
1). Completely disregarding God's Authority in your life (v.1-4). "Get me the woman". 
2). Willingness to compromise for a little pleasure (v.5-9). Eating the honey and hiding the act from his parents. A Nazarite was not supposed to be touching anything dead.
3). Wasting time in worldly pursuits (v.10-30). Samson was supposed to be delivering the nation of Israel from oppression, and he is busy with making riddles and stupid bets. 

Men's Group
Study Ephesians 5:22-6:9 - Wives submit to your husbands. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Children obey your parents. Fathers do not exasperate your children. Employees give an honest days work. Employers treat your people with dignity and respect.

Thursday September 17, 2020
Ephesians 5:22-6:9 - Family and Work Relationships

Wives
Be subject to your husbands. Why? Because there is a God-ordained order to familial structures. To be ‘subject’, means to submit. It’s a Greek military term that means arranging ones self under the command of a leader. In non-military usage, the word was used to convey the idea of voluntarily obeying, cooperating, assuming responsibility and carrying a burden. Paul uses the picture of the church and her relationship to Christ. Just as the church ‘comes under’ the authority of her leader, Christ, so must a wife come under the loving leadership of her husband.

Husbands
Love your wives. Why? So that he will have opportunity to participate in her sanctification, teaching her what God has said (washing with the water of the Word!). In what manner should a husband love his wife? In the same manner that Christ loved the church - giving himself, his very life, so that she might live.

Children
Obey your parents. Why? Because it is the right thing to do! Obey in this passage is the idea of a porter who is outside the door, waiting to jump into action in fulfillment of requests or commands. Children honor their parents with this kind of obedience. As a result, the promise is that it will ‘be well with them’.

Fathers
Do not provoke your children. Why? To keep them from anger. Arousing anger in someone else does not produce fruit. It is destructive. Rather nurture them in the things of the Lord through discipline and instruction. Teach them wrong vs. right instead of lashing out and exasperating them. This kind of correctional instruction is that which teaches virtue, because the goal is to cultivate righteousness in the soul.

Employees
Be obedient to your superiors, putting in an honest days work. Why? Because there is a reward for hard work (v. 8).

Employers
Treat your workers right (do not threaten your employees). Why? Because God is watching and he is not partial toward either party.

Wednesday September 16, 2020
Continue in Ephesians 5 - the 'husband and wife relationship' passage. 
Society's most fundamental building block is the family. In fact, it's cornerstone is marriage. When marriages crumble, the society crumbles... because healthy marriages between a man and a woman is the infrastructure that maintains a healthy society. Satan would like nothing better than for marriages to fail. Paul is telling his readers right here how to protect the institution of marriage: wives in submission to their husbands and husbands loving their wives.

Tuesday September 15, 2020
Study Ephesians 5:22-6:9 - men's group prep. 
Husbands love your wives. A sacrificial "I will die for you" kind of love, just like Jesus. In fact, marriage should be a vivid picture of Jesus's relationship to his bride, the church. He "gave himself up for her", in order that she would be presented to God as holy and blameless.

Sunday September 13, 2020
Notes from church service, 'Living Separated to God':
Reminders from the story of Samson and from Romans 12:1-2
1). Pray to be a living sacrifice. 
2). It's not about what you're separated from, but rather about WHO you're separated TO. 
3). Crowd out the world by filling your affections with things of the Cross.
4). Jesus spent time with sinners. In fact, He sought them out. But He never accepted their values. 

Men's Group:
Study Ephesians 5

Saturday September 12, 2020
Preparation for Men's Group: Ephesians 5
Paul says to ‘imitate God’ in this passage, likely as a continuation of the ‘putting on the new man’ from the previous chapter. Because Christians are to pursue a life of holiness, imitating God means to mimic Him in those attributes that we’re able to mimic, like love, forgiveness, generosity, kindness, etc. We are to walk in love, as Christ love us and GAVE himself up for us. He sacrificed his very life - a willful act of love toward rebellious people. ‘Walk’ is used here because it represents progressing through life; it means to regulate one’s conduct. So to ‘walk in love’ means that we’re intentionally and consistently living a life of love - finding ways to show our love for others.

Friday September 11, 2020
Read through Philippians and created outline for future Bible Study. Theme verse for this 'joy and peace' book is found in 1:21 where Paul exclaims, 'for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain'. 

Begin the study on life of Moses by reading intro to Exodus in the ESV Study Bible.