Basking in His Word

by Nina Atcheson

A FEW YEARS AGO, my walk with God was transformed. Not only did this transformation impact my life personally but also the lives of my husband and my three children in unexpected, incredible ways. I pray that this message changes your life as well.

This article first appeared in Issue 3, 2019 of the GC Shepherdess The Journal. Used by permission.

Enjoying the Closeness of God

by Maria McClean

Developing Spiritual Habits

Introduction

I am sure that each of us desires a greater sense of the divine presence in our lives. We all long to make spirituality a deeply relevant, sustained source of meaning in our lives, rather than a marginal pursuit limited to Sabbath mornings. We want our Christian experience to be joyful, compassionate, mentally stimulating, and creative. We achieve this spiritual posture by what some call religious disciplines. It must be made clear that a spiritual discipline is something we offer God as a loving, obedient response to His grace in our lives. It is not something we are trying to do in order to impress God or others. It is a spiritual offering that we present every waking minute of our lives.

Developing personal religious disciplines is essentially the process of being shaped in the full image and likeness of Christ. This process begins when we make the decision to allow Christ to control everything about us (Galatians 2:20). All too often, though, we neglect the nurturing of our souls, not because we do not understand its importance, but because it is easy to become distraught by the unrelenting pressures of life that result in the urge to concentrate on preserving and gratifying self at the expense of a healthy spiritual experience.

If Christians lack fulfillment and purpose in life, it could be due to the fragmentation of life itself. Without a center of meaning and purpose around which life is organized, our days can be reduced to a frustrating pattern of multiple loose ends. The needed center or focus for personal existence can be achieved only by the practice of Spirit-directed and purposeful disciplines. When such disciplines are in place, God brings all our habits, senses, and desires into focus upon Him and His love. It is at this point that we are ready for service.
What are these disciplines? How is this process of spiritual formation started and nurtured? How long does it take? In order to answer these questions, we will examine the experience of Moses. While engaged in this exercise, we will be practicing the disciplines that should mark our growth toward maturity as Christians.

First Session – Scripture

Moments of reflection – Meditation/journal entries

Christians need to schedule some carefully guarded time EVERY DAY with the Word of God. There is no short cut to the development of this discipline. Read the following Scripture passages and complete the exercises. As you read, make listening to God your priority. Keep asking yourself: “What is God seeking to say to me in all of this?” By adopting that posture toward the text, you will begin to allow the text to become an instrument of God’s control in your life.

• Moses is born (Exodus 2:1-10). It is obvious that Moses’ miraculous escape from death is an indication of God’s plan for his life. Record specific ways in which God has revealed His plan for your life.

• Moses makes a fatal mistake and escapes from Egypt. He moves from an influential position to one of dependence and limited resources. He is also forced to learn a new culture and work for someone else (Exodus 2:11-21). Was Moses’ escape a part of God’s plan? How did Jehthro, Zipporah, and sheep fit into this plan? Can you think of a time when you had an experience similar to that of Moses at this stage? What was the outcome?

• God speaks to Moses (Exodus 3). God engineers a detour in Moses’ journey – a detour that includes a mountain, a bush on fire, miracles, and an interview with God. Name some detours God has used in your life to get your attention and to prove His sovereignty.

Points to note: God takes advantage of a negative incident (murder) to pull Moses away from a life of luxury and comfort in order to get his attention.

God can use anyone willing to be used. Moses was a murderer, but God saw what he could become when transformed by grace.

When God speaks to us in meditation, He wants our full attention. This means that we need to be separated from family, friends, and life’s demands. Moses was drawn away from everything and everyone in order to enjoy uninterrupted intimacy with God.

What is there about Moses’ interview with God that speaks to your interaction with God?

Second Session – Prayer

Moments of reflection

One of the disciplines Christians need to develop and maintain is prayer. Prayer must be thoughtful and purposeful. The door to the outer world must be closed. As far as possible, distractions and disturbances must be eliminated. Prayer is a relational conversation with God. It is listening. It is talking. Prayer is moving along in the confidence that God is guiding whether or not we are aware of where and how He is working. What we are certain of is that no matter where we are, He is there, too.

In the act of praying, our focus should not be on our words, our posture, or our interests, but on God. Our prayers should always be in the context of His attributes, His will, and His glory. Only then are we in harmony with heaven.

Read Exodus 4. As you do, put yourself in the place of Moses and pray through each of his experiences. The intimacy Moses enjoyed with God can be ours as well.

The Lord gives great power to Moses (verses 1-17). All heaven is available to us during times of prayer. “The Holy Spirit is the power at work in us’” (Ephesians 3:20) to do “far more than we can imagine’”(Ephesians 3:21). His power is limitless.

When we approach God in prayer asking for tools for ministry, His focus is on what gifts He has given us. He will use what we have because each gift is tailor-made for each of us. All God asks of us is “What do you have in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). In connecting with us, He is not concerned with what others have in their hands. He will deal with those individuals in His time and in His way. But our prayer should be for God to use what we have and are for His glory. If we need additional gifts, He will supply them (Exodus 31:1-6).

Moses returns to Egypt (Exodus 4:18-23). Once we have been “locked away” with God in communion and have been given power as a result of a consistent, solid prayer experience, God wants us to return to our “Egypt.” There are many there who need the same deliverance we now enjoy.

God chooses a ministry partner for Moses (Exodus 4: 27-31). There are times when we need to be engaged in ministry alone, but sometimes there is a need for a partner. God is aware of the gifts of each of His children, and He provides whatever assistance we need to complement our area of ministry. But the bottom line is that we need to allow Him to do the choosing.

Third Session – Service

Moments of reflection

We’ve seen through the life of Moses that God uses many means to prepare His people for service. The greatest task in which God has engaged Himself is that of redeeming His creation. When we keep company with God, therefore, we will be involved in acts of service, not for personal gratification and expansion, but as unselfish agents of God in ministry to the world.

Service comes in many forms. One of the most striking examples of the impact of love spending itself in service is given in John’s account of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples (John 13:5-17). When we mature and live a transformed life in Christ, He shifts the center of interest and activity from us (our bodies, possessions, self-interests) to a larger concern for the community of people whose lives may yet be touched by the creative power of God.

Read Exodus 5. Find a partner and discuss this chapter using the following guidelines.

• Service involves facing the enemy and/or his associates (5:1-21).

• We are bolstered by the promises of God which enable us to live confidently and face anyone or anything (5:22-6:13).

• And the story of spiritual growth continues ...

Victorious living is a journey that is guaranteed when we repeat the steps outlined in this study continuously. The story of Moses is a testimony to God’s faithfulness in enabling us to enjoy closeness with Him through disciplines of personal growth.

Spiritual growth is facilitated through ministry. WE CANNOT GROW WITHOUT SERVICE. If we do not share, we are in danger of becoming as stagnant as a body of water with no outlet. But when we serve, we are like a stream that keeps moving and finding new paths of effectiveness.

Once Moses was prepared for ministry, he did not retire. His story is a fascinating journey of grace – from rescued child to prince to murderer to fugitive to shepherd to messenger to leader to great prophet. His story (Exodus to Deuteronomy) is a record of a fearless, Spirit-filled leader, but more so, it is a story of an awesome God who longs for us to get close to Him and share in His purpose of saving lost humanity.