Friday's Follow-up Verses
Exodus 3:1-5
1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Pondering Point
Our theme this week revolves around staying close enough to God to touch Him. Moses' near-God experience happens with a bush that is aflame and yet not burning up. It gets his attention (rightly so!) and then God uses it to speak to Moses about His mission of saving His people. How does God get your attention so that you can learn about your part of His mission in saving people? We want to continue to remind ourselves that we each have a role in His mission, however different it might be. And we want to stay close enough to hear from God about it.
Prayer for the Day
Oh God, keep us close –
close enough to hear from You daily. Amen
Micro-Group Moment
Learning about my place in the
mission and ministry of
Hope Lutheran Church
Values of Hope Lutheran Church (Why do we do what we do?):
We value living in the Word, under the Spirit, with all people, as disciples of Jesus.
Part III: Living with all People: As mentioned while reviewing our mission at Hope, Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:39, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Humans were not created to live alone. We see that from the beginning of creation when God made Eve for Adam stating that “It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18). Jesus spent His years on the earth living with people, loving people, and serving people both by Himself and with His disciples. If we don’t take the time to live with others, how will we learn their needs so as to serve them, and/or their joys so as to celebrate with them? If we don’t take the time to build relationships with others, how will we be able to minister to them? God desires not only that we love one another, but that there is unity between His people; for He didn’t come to only save the Jews, but the Gentiles too:
John 10:16.
“I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”
That said, may we “be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love [and may we] make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” as we live with all people (Ephesians 4:2-3).
Prayer for the Day
Taken from Romans 15:5-7 and 2 Corinthians 13:11:
God of endurance and encouragement, give us the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice we may glorify You as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray also that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we rejoice together and strive for full restoration with each other. As the God of love and peace, be with us and inspire us to encourage one another, to be of one mind, and to live in peace with each other. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.