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"MondaythruFriday" Devotional Series
"Mike MacIntosh"
And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. Why would God "harden Pharaoh's heart"? Wouldn't that make Him a "cruel" God, if He would show such callousness to an individual? No, we must understand that God is a gracious, loving God -- even to Pharaoh. That word "harden" literally means "to stiffen." A lump of clay, sitting on a table, will become stiff if left alone. It needs a potter; it needs hydration. And just as that clay needs water to keep from becoming hard, so we, as people, need the grace of God to keep our hearts pliable. Except by the grace of God, we would all be "filled with all unrighteousness," and given over to a "reprobate heart" (Romans 1:28). We would all have hardened, sin-stained hearts without Christ because, as Romans 3:23 says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." You see, Pharaoh was like the clay on the table, left all to itself, without water to keep it pliable, or a potter to give it shape. He watched the Lord do wonder after wonder through Moses, and yet he still rejected God, so his heart became hard. He didn't want anything to do with God, so God pulled away. Notice the Bible never says that God didn't love Pharaoh. Quite the opposite! If God didn't love Pharaoh, He wouldn't have given Pharaoh the opportunity to reject Him. If God were a cruel God, He would have forced Pharaoh to obey Him, like a dictator forces his subjects to heed his every word. Instead, God allowed Pharaoh to make his own decision. And not only did God honor the decision, He actually used it for His glory. "For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, 'For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth'" (Romans 9:17). God allows us to make our own decisions. He loves us with an unyielding love, and He will honor our choices. We can choose to let the Lord mold and shape us -- like a potter with clay -- or we can refuse. If we refuse, we are like the untouched clay that sits on the table and becomes hardened. But if we will allow Him to do His work in us, He will be faithful to "complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). For better or worse, He will be glorified. Hebrews 3:7 says, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do no harden your hearts..." Let the Lord's grace be the water that keeps your heart pliable.
Exodus 7:3
And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward." Leadership is never easy. If you've ever been in a place of leadership, you probably know what it feels like to have people second-guess your every decision, complain behind your back, and talk negatively about you. Can you imagine, then, how Moses must have felt, tasked to lead 1-2 million Israelites through the wilderness? And can you imagine the sheer panic that must have broken loose amongst the Israelites as they realized they were being pursued by the entire Egyptian army? Here they were, the Red Sea ahead of them, and Pharaoh's armies behind them. They feared for their lives; they were trapped. Having spent the past 430 years in slavery, the Israelites had no experience in warfare. In fact, they probably possessed not a single sword, arrow, or combat weapon. And with so much at stake, not only did they complain to Moses, they actually accused him of wanting them killed. "Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness?" they cried to Moses (Exodus 14:11). Moses must have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, but when he cried out to the Lord for direction, God said, "Why do you cry to Me? Go forward" (Exodus 14:15). Moses simply needed a reminder: It was God who had "led the people by way...of the Red Sea" (Exodus 13:18). And it was God who "went before them...in a pillar of cloud...and a pillar of fire" (Exodus 13:21). Moses had embarked on a journey without even a map to follow -- his only task was, literally, to follow God. Each day, he pursued the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night. His destination each day was not a city, landmark, or border -- it was the pillar, itself. You see, not only does God lead us; He goes ahead of us. He doesn't just point us towards our destination -- He is our destination. When we live a life in pursuit of God, His will becomes our only aim, and His provision becomes our only need. When our eyes are fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ, we realize that we have no need to fear -- even when we feel trapped on all sides, because His "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Sometimes we make following Christ more difficult than it needs to be, especially when we feel pressed on all sides. "How will I accomplish this? How will I pay for that?" Sometimes we complain about, and like the Israelites, even accuse others for our problems. And sometimes we are the ones, like Moses, being blamed. But just as the Lord led the Israelites across the Red Sea, so He wants to lead you through the trials you face in your life today. You must take your eyes off the oceans of problems before you, and make Him your only focus. Today, make Christ your destination, and, like Moses, "go forward.".
Exodus 14:15
Jesus said to [the Pharisees], "Have you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"
Matthew 21:42
If someone you loved were in grave danger, wouldn't you rush to help them? Before even blinking an eye, you'd probably drop everything to rescue them from losing their life -- even if it meant losing your own. I think we all have people we love for whom we'd lay down our own lives to save. But would you do the same for someone who hated you? Would you stop at nothing to lay down your life for someone who had rejected, despised, and even tried to kill you? That's the sacrifice Jesus made.
In Matthew 21, we see Jesus talking with the very people who would be responsible for plotting His death -- the religious establishment; the Pharisees. Jesus knew their motives. He knew they despised Him because He spoke with the authority of God, and He knew they "sought to lay hands on Him" (Matthew 21:46). Here were men who had spent their whole lives building up a religious construct -- a pious institution over which they reigned unchallenged -- and along comes Jesus, threatening not only to tear down their empire, but to build something totally new in its place. It would be a new kingdom -- a heavenly kingdom whose boundaries only exist in the hearts of its people, and where the only requirement for citizenship is a simple acceptance of the grace of God. And of this new kingdom, the very person the religious leaders hated and rejected -- Jesus Himself -- would be the "chief cornerstone" (Matthew 21:42).
Jesus, then, was too big a threat. The Pharisees wanted Him dead. And Jesus, the Son of God, could have thwarted their plans, or even sought revenge. After all, the Pharisees were hypocrites! They were self-righteous cowards! But Jesus didn't seek revenge; He warned them of the mistake they would make -- the mistake of rejecting Him -- that they might avoid it. He wasn't out for blood -- He came to shed His blood, that even those who put Him to death might be forgiven.
You see, we are the Pharisees. We are the hypocrites whose sin put Jesus to death. Romans 3:10 says, "There is none righteous, no, not one." Our sin made us haters of God. And still, Jesus chose to die for us. Even though it was our sin that caused Him to be rejected, despised, and even killed, He chose to sacrifice His life for our sake. And today, even though you may love your sin and hate God, He chose to die for you, that you might turn from your sin and be forgiven.
Jesus died for all of us -- those who love Him, and those who hate Him. His love is that amazing! If you've never experienced the awesome love of God, and the freedom from sin that it brings, let today be the day.
"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
"Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do." My father-in-law was a man for whom I held deep respect. He walked with God, and always demonstrated such great wisdom. Just before he passed away, he told me something that I've never forgotten: "Mike, don't wear yourself out." It sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But he knew my workload at the time, and that I was taking on a lot, especially as we were starting a new church ministry here in San Diego. His words were not a recommendation that I take a vacation, but an encouragement for me, as a leader, to share the burden of leadership -- to delegate. He knew that a good leader doesn't hoard control -- he empowers others with it. Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, gave Moses similar advice. Moses was spending every hour of every day addressing the Israelites' quarrels, questions, and concerns that inevitably arose as they journeyed through the wilderness. And with 1-2 million people on the journey, it was no small task. Something had to change, or Moses would not only wear himself out -- he would cripple the people he was leading. So Jethro told Moses to delegate -- to find "able men, such as fear God," and place them as rulers over the people (Exodus 18:21). Moses, then, would only be concerned with the issues too big for the rulers to handle. This way, the rulers would "bear the burden" with Moses (Exodus 18:22). You see, when Moses delegated power, not only did it ease his burden; it empowered the people. As he became free to "show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do" (Exodus 18:20); the people became empowered by his guidance. Instead of receiving only analyses and verdicts, they received purpose. What makes a good leader? Volumes have been written on the topic. But a good leader is not so concerned with being recognized by the people he leads as he is with empowering them. Often, as leaders, we fail to delegate power because we fear losing control. We fear the very empowerment of others that will make us effective leaders! But if we fail to empower, we fail to lead. Today, as followers of Christ, we have purpose because He has empowered us. He does not hoard control over us like a dictator -- He gives us free will to serve Him and walk with Him. And He didn't have to. Do you realize that the very people to whom Moses delegated power would become the Sanhedrin -- the court body that would, centuries later, deliver Jesus to Pontius Pilate to be crucified? No doubt, God knew from the beginning that by empowering His people, they would make mistakes -- even the ultimate mistake of rejecting Him. But His love is so great for us, that He was willing to pay the ultimate price. He was willing to give us free will, even if it meant He must die to fix our mistakes. That's true leadership. May we become people who lead others to the God who has forgiven and empowered us, that they, too, would be forgiven and empowered!
Exodus 18:19b-20
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:37-39
Growing up, I tended to push the envelope. I think I was thrown out of more bars than I walked into. I wasn't a bad guy, but I was always getting into mischievous trouble. Why? Deep down, I felt empty. I feared I would never amount to anything. I was afraid of what people might do to me. I feared where I was headed, but I feared changing course. I lived in perpetual fear... and I blamed myself.
Years later, as a new Christian, I came across a verse that changed my life. 1 John 3:20 says, "For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things." Boy, I could relate! If anyone had a condemning heart, I did. I carried such guilt. I knew God loved me enough to forgive my every sin, but I was afraid to forgive myself. In essence, I had made God smaller than myself -- I had allowed my own sense of guilt and sinfulness to trump the perfecting work of His love in my life. One thing had always stood in my way: fear.
The opposite of love is fear. Perfect love and fear cannot coexist, because "perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). Where there is fear, love is lacking. And in my heart, God's love was lacking. You see, I'd never realized that all the guilt, shame, bitterness, and anger in my life was rooted in fear. I was afraid of love, because I didn't think I deserved it. From the moment I allowed God to uproot the fear, I realized the sheer power of His love. I didn't have to defend myself. I didn't need to strive to be somebody. If God was in charge, why should I fear? "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
All the Lord requires of us is love -- to love Him, and to love others. That's it. All the commandments boil down to this one thing: love. Nothing is more powerful than the perfect love of Jesus Christ. Today, allow His love to permeate every cell of your body. Let Him cast out all the fear in your heart, and the sin it causes. Let His love bring forgiveness and restoration to you, your family, your friends, and your enemies. Let Him give you a love for others that you've never known or experienced, and that radically transforms your world. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).
