Spiritual Renewal Sunday

Today was an amazing day. There was a wonderful spirit all around the church and I was very thankful to have Pastor Ricky speaking today. He did an amazing job. He has a ton of passion and his excitement is contagious. Some of the truths he brought out really had an impact on me. I hope they had an impact on you as well.

One point that really stood out to me was the idea of Moses having to lay down his staff and how hard that might have been for him. Sometimes we get attached to things that are good, but that are not God and we begin to place value on them that go beyond their worth. It may be a job, a house, a car, some techno gadget, a relationship, or even a position that we take pride in and are afraid to give up. When that happens, that thing, whatever it may be, becomes our functional savior. We tell ourselves that we must have it to be safe and successful.

God told Moses to throw his staff down and when he did, it became a snake and Moses ran from it. Sometimes the thing that God gives us to do and use for His glory is scary. It may be a calling to forgive, to love, or to serve in a way that you do not feel qualified or even care to. God has no fear and He also knows what is best. We must learn to trust Him.

God then has Moses pick the snake up by the most dangerous part of the snake - the tail. If Moses had picked it up by the neck, he would have been able to control it. By picking it up by the tail as God commanded Moses was showing faith and also learning that God's work depends on God and we will not be able to be in control. This was an important lesson because Moses had a huge fight ahead of him with Pharaoh. This is a huge lesson for us as well because God wants us to be like Paul and say, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12-14).

God wants us to be committed to walking closely with Him no matter what and moving forward in His grace.

Pastor Jason