Exodus 24:12, 15-16

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Life can be really busy between work and school and all our other commitments. There can be so many parts of our life that we have to juggle. Sometimes it feels like there’s too much going on. But what about in those times when there’s not a lot happening? What about those times when it feels like there’s not much going on? We can get so used to our busy lives that we don’t know how to feel when we’re not busy. It can feel uncomfortable, even wrong, at times because we are so used to always doing something.

But the Bible suggests that these periods when there’s not a lot happening can actually be a good thing. In the book of Exodus, when God gives the law to Moses. There’s this very interesting detail that often gets overlooked or even missed.

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain. Wait there, and I will give you the stone tablets with the law and the commands that I have written, so that you can teach them.” Moses went up onto the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The Glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered the mountain for six days. On the seventh day the Lord called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud.

Why did God make Moses wait on the mountain before giving him the Ten Commandments? Why didn’t God just have Moses come up on the mountain when he was ready to give him the law? Those are questions that I don’t have a good answer to. But what I can tell you is that God seems to find these periods when there’s not a lot happening productive. All over the Bible, you can find very similar situations where people had these periods where it felt like nothing was happening. Joseph spent months or even years in prison. King David spent years hiding out in caves. The prophet Elijah even was sent out of Israel to live by a creek for what could have been three years. And in all of these instances, these people probably were wondering how these periods that felt like nothing was happening could have made any sense. But God seems to find these periods productive in ways that we can’t quite understand.

We often want our lives to go at our own speed and work according to our own timing. But Jesus lived his life perfectly according to his Father’s will. He lived, died, and rose again to set us right with God. And he did all of it according to God’s timing. Odds are, right now your life is busier than not. But even during his busy ministry, Jesus had periods that looked like there was a little less happening periods when he went to be alone. Periods when he spent time with his Father in prayer.

So if your life is busy, that’s okay. Do what you can, but if it’s not, that’s okay too. And God might be using this period that feels like nothing’s happening for your benefit. It might be a period where you can learn, a period where you can grow in patience. Maybe it’s period for you to build your own spiritual life and spend time in the word and in prayer. But no matter what period of life you’re in, busy or not, you can be assured that God is working for your good as he has over and over again. Amen.

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I am a forgetful person. I’ll forget where I set down my phone or my keys. I forget all the different tasks I have to do throughout the day. I’ll even forget the names of people who I meet. So I need to make reminders. I need to jot down the things I have to do for the day on a piece of paper so I can check them off. I’ll take notes in my phone so I can remember what I have to do. I’ll even place sticky notes all over the place saying do not forget. But the thing that I need to be reminded of the most is that God loves me.

Today you might need to be reminded that God loves you. Maybe you’re going through something right now in life. Maybe it feels like life is really tough or things are never going your way. And maybe it even feels like things are never going to get better and you can’t see a way forward. And when we’re in these low moments in life and we’re feeling sad, afraid, or even angry, our emotions have this tendency to cloud our ability to remember what’s good and only allow us to focus on what’s bad. And in those times, we need to be reminded of all the good things that God has done in our lives up until now.

All over the Bible, you can find people who, when faced with challenges, had to be reminded of all the things that God had done for them. The Israelites needed to be reminded of how God brought them out of Egypt and gave them the Promised Land. The exiles who were taken out of Jerusalem into Babylon, needed to be reminded of God’s promises for their future. Even the disciples who were with Jesus needed to be reminded over and over again of the things that Jesus did and said. And like he reminded all those people, God reminds us of his love too.

God through His Word and the Holy Spirit reminds you that you have a Savior who lived, died, and rose again to set you right with God. A Savior who is still working for your good and can get you through all situations. The truth is that no matter what you might be going through right now, there was a time in your life when you were going through something else, something that God brought you through. A time when God was working in your life to get you to where you are right now. And when we can remember all those good things that God has already done for us, we are reminded that God still loves us and that he has the power to get us through again.

It’s easy to forget about all those things that God has done for us, and we need to be reminded over and over again of his love. So today, remember that God loves you. Jesus has died for you and your sins are forgiven. God promises that he is working for your good and that you are going to be okay. Amen.

Matthew 10:5-6

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Recently I visited Australia and while I was there I had the opportunity to preach at a church made up of no more than 20 people. And it got me thinking what would it be like to be a world missionary? Now, maybe you’re someone who gets excited by the sound of getting to travel to some far off place to share God’s Word. Or maybe you’re someone who’s frightened by the idea of having to leave your family and friends and move across the globe. But as I begin to ponder this question, I was reminded of the first time that Jesus sent out the apostles.

When Jesus sent out the 12 apostles the very first thing he said to them was,

“Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter any town of the Samaritans. Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:5-6)

Now Jesus didn’t give these directions because he loved the Jews more than the Gentiles or the Samaritans. No, Jesus loved these other groups too, and he would later send the apostles to go share the word to these nations, but not right away. Not right now. Why? Well, it was because he had to start somewhere. Jesus lived, died, and rose to redeem the whole world. And he wants everyone to know and believe the work that he has done to set us right with God. But in order to share his message with everyone, he needed to start by sharing it with one. One group, one person, he needed to start somewhere.

Jesus sent the apostles to the Jews because they were Jews themselves. It made sense to start by sharing his message with the people who they knew the most, and can most easily relate to. Yes, it was important for Jesus to get his word out to these other nations, but there were people in the apostles backyards who needed to hear that message too. God, he has a plan to share his message with the whole world, and he wants you to be a part of that plan. And maybe God’s plan is for you to one day move across the world and share his message in some far off place. But wherever you are right now, you have been placed in an environment, in a community with people who do not know Jesus. You have friends, family, coworkers, classmates, teammates, even neighbors who have yet to know what Jesus has done to save them.

And yes, while you might be sent to some far off place, you have people right now who need to hear Jesus too. Odds are, most of us aren’t going to be world missionaries. But you are a missionary. You have been given the authority to forgive sins and to share the message of salvation with the world. So get to know the people who are around you today. Build relationships. Meet new people. Get to know your neighbors, and remember that Jesus died for you, me, and our neighbors too. Amen.

Acts 1:3

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Prove to me that Jesus rose from the dead. Can you? As we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus during this Easter season, you’ve maybe wrestled with that kind of question. How do we know that Jesus rose from the dead? How do we prove to someone else that he rose? That’s a difficult question, but it’s a natural question for us to have. We want to know evidence for the things that we put our faith in. We want to see all the facts. We want to be absolutely sure that the things we believe are true.

And while I can’t prove to you that Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus can. In Acts chapter one, Luke tells us that after he had suffered, he referring to Jesus,

After he had suffered, he presented himself alive to the apostles with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and told them things about the kingdom of God.

(Acts 1:3)

Jesus wanted to make sure that his followers really knew that he was alive. He didn’t want to leave any doubts in their minds about his resurrection, so he took every measure to prove it to them. For example, Jesus didn’t want people thinking that he was just some ghost, so he took food and ate it to prove that he was alive in the flesh. One of his followers, Thomas, was a bit of a skeptic, like many of us can be, and he had a harder time believing. So Jesus took Thomas’ finger and shoved it into the nail holes on his hands, and then took Thomas’s hand and thrust it into the spear wound on his side, so that Thomas would know that he really was the man who died on a cross. But it wasn’t just his closest followers that Jesus revealed himself to. Paul tells us that on one occasion, Jesus even appeared to over 500 people who saw him alive.

But maybe that’s not enough for you. Maybe you’re thinking, well, some food, a few wounds. That’s not a whole lot to put my faith in. But remember that Jesus was with his followers for 40 days after his resurrection, and during that time he would have done many other things to convince and prove to them that he really was the one who came back from the dead. And although we don’t know all the things that these eyewitnesses saw, we do know what the eyewitnesses believed. They saw a man who was dead one day and alive three days later, and they were radically changed. They went from being these frightened cowards after Jesus crucifixion to bold preachers who were willing to die for what they believed after Jesus resurrection.

These men knew the truth, and they recorded it in a book so that you and I could believe. Look, I can’t prove to you all the things that Jesus did. But Jesus has given you his word so that you can know that he loves you and forgives you. And his resurrection is proof that he died for your sins and that he really is your Savior. Jesus is risen. Amen.

Matthew 26:34, 72

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Do you have any fake friends? Friends who act one way part of the time, but then at other times seem like completely different people. Friends who you want to believe will stick up for you and have your back no matter what, but then always seem to turn their back on you when they’re around other people. If that’s you know that Jesus had friends like that too.

On the night that Jesus was arrested and put on trial, one of his closest friends, Peter, turned his back on Jesus. That night, three different times, people came up to Peter and asked him, hey, didn’t I see you hanging out with Jesus? And out of fear, Peter denied it each time, saying, I don’t know what you’re talking about. In fact, by the third time this happened, Peter was so upset that people kept associating him with Jesus that the Bible tells us

Again Peter denied it with an oath and said, “I do not know the man.” (Matthew 26:72 EHV)

Now you might be thinking, if that was my friend, well, we would no longer be friends. But Jesus had a different answer. You see, just hours before Jesus told Peter that this was going to happen. Jesus, he looked Peter dead in the eye and he said,

“Amen I tell you: Tonight before the rooster crows you will deny me three times.” (Matthew 26:34 EHV)

And yet even knowing what Peter was going to do. Jesus still chose to go to the cross. Jesus. He knows what it’s like to get let down by your friends. He knows what it’s like to have friends who don’t always have your back, or pretend not to be your friend when they’re around others. He also knows that, well, we don’t always act like the best friends either. But no matter who you are or what you’ve done. Jesus chooses to be your friend and he is loyal to you because he loves you.

Jesus, he didn’t need to wait for Peter to deny him to determine whether or not he would be Peter’s friend, because he already knew what Peter was going to do. Jesus, he knows what it’s like to be let down by your friends. He knows what it’s like to have friends who don’t always have your back, or pretend not to be your friend when they’re around other people. He also knows that we don’t always act like the best friends either. But no matter what you’re going through or what you’ve done, Jesus still chooses to be your friend and he is loyal to you because he loves you.

Jesus. He didn’t need to wait for Peter to deny him to determine whether or not he would be Peter’s friend, because Jesus already knew what Peter was going to do. Jesus knows everything about you, and there is nothing that could ever cause him to turn his back on you. Jesus, he came into this world to be with you. He lived a perfect life, free from sin, and then died on a cross for your sin so that you wouldn’t have to. And then he rose from the dead to prove to you that he would never leave you.

Yes, it’s hard when we have friends that don’t always have our backs. But Jesus does. And you have a true friend in Jesus. A friend who loves you. A friend who is loyal to you. And a friend who forgives you. Amen.

Matthew 9:2

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I need it! You probably said those words at one point or another. When I was younger, I said those words a lot. For example, when we’d be at the grocery store and I’d see that new snack on the shelf. “Hey, mom, I need it.” Or there’d be that toy on the television commercial, “dad, I need it.” Or really, anytime someone had something that I didn’t. I need it.

There are many things that we need. Or at least we think we need. But what do we need the most? In the Gospel of Matthew, we read about a person who had a need, a much greater need than any snack or toy. In chapter nine, Matthew writes about a paralyzed man who couldn’t walk and a group of people who carried this man to Jesus to be healed. This man had a legitimate need. He couldn’t walk, and the people knew that Jesus was the one who could satisfy this need and heal him. When the people bring this man before Jesus, Jesus doesn’t do what we might expect. Matthew tells us that Jesus saw the faith of these people.

And then he said to the paralyzed man, take heart, your sins are forgiven. (Matthew 9:2)

Jesus didn’t deny this man’s need to be able to walk, but rather recognize the man’s greater need, the need to receive forgiveness for his sins. This was the need that Jesus came into the world for. Jesus came to live that perfect life free from sin that you and me were meant to live. He laid his life down on the cross as the payment for sins, and then rose from the dead so that we could be made right with God. Jesus loved this man, and he wanted him to know that this need, his greatest need, had already been met. His sin had been paid for and forgiven.

But then Jesus did something else. Jesus didn’t just forgive this man’s sin and then leave him there how he was. After forgiving his sin, Jesus told the man to get up and walk and he healed his legs. You see, Jesus first meets our primary need by forgiving our sins, but then he also desires to meet our secondary needs as well. Like the paralyzed man. When you have a need, whatever that may be, you can bring it to Jesus, knowing that he has the power to meet that need. And he might or he might not, because what we think we need isn’t always what we actually need.

The truth is, we don’t know everything that we need in this world. But Jesus does. Jesus loved that paralyzed man and he loves you. You can be certain that Jesus will meet all those needs that he knows you have. You can be certain that he has already met your greatest need. Take heart. Your sins are forgiven. Amen.

Matthew 1:23

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Are you missing Christmas? If so, you might be dealing with what’s often referred to as the post-Christmas blues. In the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, there’s a lot of hype. There’s lights and decorations everywhere you go, Christmas music is playing on the radio. People are shopping for presents. There’s all this anticipation and excitement that keeps building and building until Christmas Day, which is one of the most exciting days of the year as we celebrate the birth of our King.

But then when Christmas Day comes. Then Christmas Day goes. And we return to our school, and our work, and our daily lives. And sometimes we don’t know what to do next. But today, I want to remind you of some familiar words that we often hear around Christmas, quoting the prophet Isaiah, Matthew writes,

“Look, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son. And they will name him Immanuel,” which means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

That’s something that we can be excited about today. God is with us. Maybe you weren’t aware, but we don’t actually just celebrate Christmas on a single day out of the year. It’s actually a 12 day celebration. Maybe you’ve heard of something called the 12 Days of Christmas. And if so, maybe you’ve thought that those 12 days lead up to Christmas. And if that’s the case, don’t worry, because, well, I used to think the same thing too. But actually those 12 days start on Christmas Day and lead all the way up to January 6th, which is what in the church year is known as Epiphany.

And Epiphany is cool because it’s actually the season where it is revealed to us that that little child in the manger really is true God, our Immanuel. Yes, I get that Christmas is exciting because, well, I love Christmas and I understand if those Christmas feelings may have left you. But let me assure you that Christmas is just the beginning, and there’s still a lot more to come. Jesus didn’t just come into the world to be born as a baby. He came to live with you, to experience the difficulties of life with you, to die on a cross for you. Jesus came because he loves you. Let’s celebrate that today. Let’s celebrate the fact that our God is with us.