As we come out of our spiritual “Egypt” and go on our way to the “Promised Land,” we all go through stages in our journey of faith.
When we start out, everything in Christianity is new and different. We leave behind the familiar territory of our slavery to sin.
And there are times, like there were for the Israelites, when that old way of life seems to call out to us with an irresistible siren’s call. Much as we know this new life is right, we still sometimes miss aspects of our old life of slavery.
But as we go deeper into the new territory, we learn more things about God. We come to know, as the Israelites did, just how patient, gracious and giving our God is. We begin to grasp his laws and commands. We see that each day he will give us our daily bread. And sometimes he will grant his blessings in wondrous ways, far beyond our comprehension.
And as for us? We remain sinful, even as we are drawn each day by the Spirit to live more fully in our new identity as children of God. There will be stages of pride and rebellion, of reversal in our faith, then repentance. There will be battles. And there will be wanderings.
But always, always, wherever we wander, whatever battle we are currently fighting, there is our faithful and forgiving God. And there is his word, pointing us back to him.
One of the reasons I love writing this blog is that it gives me the opportunity to record the stages in my own journey.
How about you? Do you take time to reflect and meditate on the stages in your journey of faith in Jesus? Do you take time to step back, and get up on the “balcony” of your life?
Doing so will give you time for repentance, for gratitude, for joy and for enjoying God’s faithful love.
“Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages…” (Numbers 33:1-2, NIV).
Our Bible reading for Thursday, April 2, is Numbers 33:1 – 34:29, Luke 9:10-27 and Proverbs 8:22-31.
Header image based on "hiking the Grand Canyon" by Rick McCharles, CC By 2.0
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Our Bible reading for Thursday, April 2, is Numbers 33:1 – 34:29, Luke 9:10-27 and Proverbs 8:22-31.
Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. (Numbers 33:1 NIV)
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.” (Luke 9:20 NIV)
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23 NIV)
Heavenly Father, what an amazing journey you have made for me. You have done greet things in my life and thank you so much for each and everyone of them. The most special to me is my relationship with Jesus. It wasn’t always this way. I am a sinner and fought against your will so often, but I always had faith. As I have grown and become more of your servant than serving the world my eyes have been opened to the truth. Please Lord if it is your will help me to carry my cross daily and do good things in your eyes. It is a burden, but with you help all things are possible.
~Paul Montenieri
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