Humbleness- Close to God.

I have started working through the Old Testament lately and noticed someone that had an extraordinary life, not that he was anything on his own. I have read about Moses many times before, but this time around I saw something that really drew my attention. Moses' relationship with God really started with a burning bush that was not consumed by that fire. He stood up to investigate, and God called to him from the bush. Notice that at first God just drew Moses' attention, God didn't call out to Moses until he noticed and out of curiosity went closer to the bush. Exodus 3:1-5.

My question here is this: Can you remember your own burning bush experience? I can recall mine to this day, it is a moment that I will never forget. It is the moment that God came and completely turned my life upside down, and I am glad He did. God came to me, a sinner unworthy of God's Love.

So as I read on, I saw something awesome. Look at Numbers 12:3: "Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth."  (HCSB). When you continue to read on in this passage God speaks to Aaron and Miriam and tells them something that really knocked me off my chair. Numbers 12:6-8: " He said: Listen to what I say: If there is a prophet among you from the Lord, I make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my household. I speak with him directly, openly, and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord." (HCSB).

I desperately long to have a relationship with God the way that Moses did, and I see a wonderful connection between a deep relationship with the Lord and being humble. I want to be that humble, I struggle with pride all the time. My nature is to seek the praises of men, but I have decided to crucify the pride of Pieter. I will no longer seek my own praises, I no longer care what people think of me. I care about the name of God alone and His name glorified over all the earth.

I pray that the Lord will make me a humble man, I desperately need His presence everyday. I want to experience God the way Moses did.

So I encourage you dear friends, do not look to bring honour to yourselves if you want to experience God in a way that will make your face shine so that everybody can see that you have been in His presence (Exodus 34:29). Jesus' words in Matt. 23:12 ring truer than ever before to me: "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (ESV).  

Making Disciples

Okay, I wrote this post on Facebook on the 23rd of May while we were in Mozambique on an outreach.

I felt that I should share it again, but this time here on the blog.

The more I look at God's Word and the more I study it, the more I am convinced that if we do not make disciples at all or even try to share God's Word with the lost, that we don't really know the heart of the Lord at all. 

Consider Ephesians 4:11-12, we are supposed to be equipped for the work of the Ministry. It is not just the work of the Pastors, prophets, evangelists, teachers and apostles to do God's work. We as God's church is supposed to reach out to the lost by all means possible. Will you allow someone to burn to death in a building if you know you can help and save them? 

We do not have an excuse, we have Bibles. Friends, I beg you to take God's Word and to study it and to apply what you read to your life. The time for Chri
stians to be bottle-fed with milk has to stop. Start reading the meaty stuff and do what the Bible tells you to do. Please consider James 1:22-24: "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." (HCSB). 

Do not be concerned with what the World is doing and their sins, but look at your own heart and strive to live a life giving to God alone. We will only make an impact if we live God's Word. 

Also go and read Matt. 28:18-20. Jesus's call for us to make disciples is something no Christian can deny. The one who has been given all authority is sending us. 

May the Lord Bless you and help you to make disciples for His name's sake.