GOD SPEAKS
Suggested Reading: Exodus 5-6
(click scripture link to read online)
The Temple of Edfu is an ancient Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in the city of Edfu. It is the second largest temple in Egypt after Karnak and one of the best preserved. The temple, dedicated to the falcon god Horus, was built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC. The statue in the foreground is known as "The Lord of Darkness." Satan desired all to worship him. He is known in Scripture as "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4). We recognize that this statue is just a chunk of stone. We worship the LORD GOD, THE GREAT I AM, THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.
Key Verse: Exodus 6:2
And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the Lord.”
In yesterday’s reading, Exodus 3 & 4, God said His Name is “I Am.” Now He adds greater insight into His Eternal Being. He is “the Lord.” The original Hebrew, in its English form, is “Jehovah.” Out of respect for that holy Name, the observant Jew will leave a blank when writing it and will not even speak that Name. It’s a form of honour to God. The word translated “Lord” means, “self existent or eternal.” I’ve just done a quick count and found His Name well over 10,000 times in the Bible. I have in front of me, “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance,” a book about three inches thick. In this computer savvy generation, you can click here and access an on-line concordance, and find where every word that comes to mind appears in the Bible. The Bible is the “Word of God.” That does not indicate that God spoke every word. It does inform us that God supervised the writing of every word in the original languages over a 1500-year period of time by various people so that what God wanted written was done as He wanted it done. God speaks and introduces Himself to us. Isn’t that great!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I worship You, and as Jesus said, I am to love You with “all my heart, my soul, and my mind” (Matt 22:37-38). You would not have commanded me to do this without giving the grace to me so that I could obey You. I pray and believe for that grace now Lord God. In the Name of the One who loved You completely, Father God, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I am at a loss to express adequately with my heart, soul and mind the infinite greatness of the Lord God. The magnificent anthem, “How Great Thou Art” is a wonderful expression of awe toward God. When this blog is posted, I plan to look up the words of that song and sing them. My son-in-law, Bruce Stacey, came close to expressing fully how I feel in his composition called, “The Scroll.” This work has been the centerpiece of “The Pavilion of Promise” at three World Expos, Vancouver ’86, Brisbane ’88 and Seville ’92. Bruce has been named “Chief Content Officer” for Crossroads Christian Communications by Don Simmonds, CEO of both Crossroads and the TV Network, CTS. I congratulate the team for the creation of “Crossroads TV,” a multi-channel internet-based network that will have an immediate potential to reach 3.5 billion people, starting October 1st (God willing!). The Ministry needs an additional $800,000 by the end of August to fully implement this vision. Norma-Jean and I are giving to this. Will you do the same? I’m asking Ron to add to this a link to the great words and music to which I’ve referred and also the simplest way for you to support “Crossroads TV.” Together we can make that “Name” known in a greater way than ever.
Yours for the Glory of the Lord God Jehovah, the Great, “I am,”
David
P.S. I could go on at length about the ways God has used “The Scroll.” Here’s just one mighty occasion: When the city of Leningrad, Russia, changed its name from honouring the atheist Lenin back to its original Christian name, “St. Petersburg,” they wanted a modern musical work as part of their celebration to be performed in their most famous theater. You guessed it, they chose a Russian translation of “The Scroll” for repeated performances. The “Great I Am” was glorified! O.K. Ron, how will you connect our readers to those anthems?…
From Ron: OK, Dad, I’m on it!… First, let me give you the simplest ways to respond with a donation toward the new internet vision for “Crossroads TV”…you can call 1-800-265-3100 (during business hours) or you can give online by clicking here.
Dad referred to the hymn “How Great Thou Art,” so here’s a link to the words for you (and Dad)…click here to read them. And let me also include a link to an old video from 1961 of George Beverly Shea singing “How Great Thou Art” at a Billy Graham Crusade…click here to watch it.
Also, below are the lyrics to one of the songs from The Scroll musical by Bruce W. Stacey, referring to “The Great I Am”…
Worthy Is The Son
NARRATION: “A great quiet fell upon all of heaven and earth as the Son returned and appeared at the right hand of the Father. Taking the scroll from the Great I Am, He held it out for all to see. Holding it high above the throne, He broke the seven seals, releasing the Great I Am’s final judgment on all evil and wickedness. All of heaven and earth fell upon their knees and worshipped the King and the Son…the Great I Am.”
SONG: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals because You were slain
And with Your blood You purchased men for God
From every tribe and nation
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God
And they will reign on the earth
Worthy, worthy is the Son who was slain, who was slain
Worthy, worthy is the Son who was slain, who was slain
To receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength,
honor and glory and praise
Alleluia! We praise the King, the Great I Am
We worship You
Alleluia, we worship You, Most High
Bruce W. Stacey, The Scroll, 1981
Try as we might, there really are no adequate words to express the wonder of God’s grace and love for us. Here in Exodus 6 we are on the brink of seeing some mighty acts of God, revealing His power and justice. But His acts of power, justice, grace and love are more fully revealed, I believe, at Calvary’s cross. Jesus is the embodiment of God, He was (and is) Emanuel ‘God with us’. The great ‘I AM’ is made most completely known to us, through Jesus. Our task is to follow Him, to become more like Him and to obey Him through the many principles revealed to us in God’s word. Thank-you Crossroads and the entire team for helping to accomplish the daunting task of reaching the lost in an era of great technical advance. Now with the new resource of Crossroads TV, even more of the world will be reached for Jesus! Amen!
God performs what He has promised and finishes His own work. “Happiness” intended for His own glory is His intention for His people. “Ye shall know that I AM the Lord” affirms comfort and providence at His Word. What Moses knew, we know. Rejoice in “the Lord” All our sufficiency must be in “the Lord.” Philippians 4:13.
If inspiration was defined as the creation into existence by mankind, what God has purposed, than the works of Bruce Stacey and other leaders of Christian Crossroads Ministries, have been a true revelation to behold.
When Moses questions, it is as though in prayer, he needs to gain a greater sense of clarity and direction, beyond his own scope of reality. To see what is not visible or even logical at the time. The impossible. And, the great “I Am” leads.
David
My prayer is the same as yours. The hymn How Great Thou Art I never really
read the words before just sung them in choir. Gods power is great and so is he
Lianne Hogg
Thankyou
Hi there! I would very much like to own ‘the scroll’ but can’t seem to find it on iTunes. Has it been made available online yet?
Unfortunately, it’s not available online.Maybe at some point it will be.