Between a Rock and a Hard Place

When Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the Israelites leave Egypt, he sent his best chariots and soldiers after them. The Israelites could see them coming in the distance when they saw the dust clouds on the horizon.

Put yourself in the Israelites shoes for a moment, most of them weren't soldiers and they were certainly not prepared to go to fight. Terrified parents grabbing their children and not knowing if the small children they were holding in their arms would make it to be old.

The Israelites were , to use an old cliche, between a rock and a hard place. Pharaoh's army was behind them and the Red Sea was in front of them . The people cried out to Moses in Exodus 14 and asked him if he had brought them their to die!

In verse 13 and 14 of Exodus 14, Moses declares to the people:

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."

The people of Israel were saying to Moses what we often say when we are faced with crises in our lives - "Where is God in all of this?"

Our uncertain times raise that question - where is God in all of this war, recession, job losses?

Moses' word from the Lord holds true today. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still. The Lord calls us to be still and know that He is God and that we don't have to be afraid of the future.

When we choose to stand firm and not be afraid, God will deliver us. He may not do things in our time frame, but He will do what He promised to do even thousands of years ago for us today.

The Israelites saw the deliverance of the Lord when He caused the Red Sea to swallow up the Egyptian army!

When you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place, remember what the Bible says in Psalms 46:10:

Be still and know that I am God.

A man of integrity

This weekend , I will be attending a performance of the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat " . Even though the play may not be completely Biblically accurate - the guy in the Elvis costume in the second act should be a dead giveaway - the story of Joseph can be one that can remind us that when we live in integrity, God will reward us.

If there was anyone who could be bitter and lose focus on God, it was Joseph . The Bible tells us he was sold into slavery by his own brothers, became a slave in Egypt, after becoming the captain of the guards' most trusted servant , he was falsely accused of wrong and thrown in jail. Joseph's integrity - a firm and faithful belief in a moral code of conduct kept him strong. He never lost faith in God even in tough times. Eventually, he will be brought out of jail and become an important government official. When he had the opportunity to get revenge, he chose to take the high road

Read his story in the book of Genesis starting in chapter 39

When our actions match up with our words, we are showing integrity.

We can receive blessings of integrity by following God's way.

The book of Proverbs mentions in several places how integrity brings blessing to us.

The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.
Proverbs 10:9

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Proverbs 11:3

Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
Proverbs 13:6

Tying your shoes isn't complicated once you know how

Learning to tie your shoes when you are young seems hard, but once you get the hang of it you tie them without thinking (or get those Velcro things!). Learning to love others can be a little more complicated. Choosing to love others doesn't always come naturally!! The final part of our recent series of posts is to find a better way of loving - not just in a marriage relationship - but in all of our relationships with our friends, family, and maybe those who we don't call friends...

When we know how to love, we can grow and it will come naturally to us. Often times we think we know how to love, but we are doing it our way, not God's way.

Here are three types of love....

Eros - where we get our word for erotic. It is a sensual love, which focuses on what I can get out of this...

Phileos - brotherly love - Philadelphia the city of brotherly love - what can we get out of this...

Agapae - unconditional love -what can I do for you? what can I give to you?

The extraordinary thing about the word agape is there is no English word that translates into agape , it stands alone!!

Eros loves when we like things.

Phileos loves because of something.

Agape loves in spite of what is done or not done

In the movie Fireproof, Caleb's relationship with his wife changes when he chooses to love his wife in spite of all the things that have transpired between them in their marriage. Without his wife's knowledge, he pays for medical supplies that his mother in law needed with money he had been saving for a boat. That is when the change starts to happen in their relationship...

Jesus shows us a way of loving better in Luke chapter 5....

1. Better love thinks about others more then self.

2he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

In verse 2 Jesus is teaching and He decides to sit in a boat floating in the water to let the people hear Him better.

Think about how different our world would be today if more people put others first.

2. Better loves makes the first move. Jesus didn't heal and forgive sins of others after they had done something for Him.

12While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.[c] When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
13Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" And immediately the leprosy left him.

Jesus reached out to the sick man and touched him, when most others would have been afraid to . If we reached out in love to our enemies, what a difference it would make.

3. Better love takes risks.

18Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

The man's friends in verse 18 were willing to take the risk of lowering their friend into the room with Jesus and He responded not only by healing the man physically, but forgiving his sins as well, taking care of the whole person!!

4. Better love goes the last 10%.

Even when it might be hard , true love presses on and doesn't give up.

A baseball team can't say they won a game if they were leading for the first 8 innings, they have to take it all the way to the end for victory!

Not love when,

not love because,

but love regardless of

This week, try to make loving others as automatic as tying your shoes!

We need more macrothumia!

It's not a word you hear everyday , but it has an important meaning! Macrothumia is a Greek word meaning "put aside your anger". Putting aside anger and hurt to forgive someone who has wronged you can sometimes feel nearly impossible.
In the movie "Fireproof", Caleb apologizes to his wife Catherine...


For Catherine , forgiveness does not come easy. Forgiveness is never an easy thing.

In Matthew 18, when the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him how often they should forgive, His answer was 70 times 7.

Why should I forgive?

1. To keep Satan out of my life. When I don't forgive I give Satan a chance to have a foothold in my life.

2. For myself. When I do not forgive, i give that person who I am not forgiving a hold over me. God does not have ownership over me and can't fully use me!

3. I am not perfect!! How can we expect overs to forgive us , when we cannot forgive ourselves.

4. Christ forgave me! Jesus' death on the cross was the ultimate act of forgiveness. He paid our debt in full and rose again so that we might have life eternally with Him!


Okay so I understand why I should forgive, but how should I do it...

1. Make a decision to forgive. It's a hard choice, but when we make the choice to forgive, Satan does not have a foothold anymore in our lives.

2. Say the words "I forgive you" at least out loud to yourself.

3. When you forgive, forgive for real.

4. Forgive completely as the Lord forgave us.

5. Forgive repeatedly.

6. Forgiving doesn't mean forgetting. We can never completely forget the hurt that has been done, but we have to try and move on.

7. Forgiving doesn't mean trusting. Use wisdom and don't set yourself up to be hurt again by the same person.


Ultimately, forgiving is about us. No one can control anyone but ourselves no matter how much we might try. Forgiveness isn't about the other person , it is about what we will do.

God will bless our efforts and renew us each time we make the difficult choice to forgive.

Colossians 3:13 states:
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Let's forgive just as the Lord has forgiven us today!

More Macrothumia will make this world a better place for all of us!