OUR DAILY BREAD: WHAT'S IN YOUR HAND?

[cimi]

July 14
Saturday


WHAT'S IN
YOUR HAND?

READ:
Exodus 4:1-5
______________________________

Tomorrow I will stand
on the top of the hill
with the rod of God in
my hand.
__Exodus 17: 9
_____________________________

Zookeepers who must handle snakes will tell you that you should never grab one by its tail. It can coil around in a split second and sink its fangs into your hand. The right way is to control it by its head. (Please don't try this at home!)

Picking up a snake by its tail is exactly what God told Moses to do (Ex. 4:1-5). Moses, who must have encountered snakes in the Midian desert, knew this was unwise.

What was God trying to teach Moses? God wanted him to realize His power and be willing to be used by Him as His messenger. Basically, there was little difference between throwing the rod to the ground and taking the snake by its tail. Both were acts of obedience to the Lord, The lesson was that God was able to use whatever he wanted in order to validate His message to the people through Moses.

What is in our hands? In a sense, our lives are in our hands. We choose whether we'll squander the hours, day, weeks, months, and years in our own pursuits or if we'll live an obedient life that's useful to Almighty God.

We will be surprised at what the Lord will accomplish in us and through us as we obediently do what He asks.

What's in your hand? __Albert Lee
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~O that my life may useful be~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~As I serve Jesus faithfully;~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~And may the world see Christ in me__~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This is my earnest prayer. __Hess~~~~~~~~~~
____________________________________________________________

God's call to a task
includes His strength to complete it.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ Exodus 4:1-5*************

1 Then Moses answered
and said, "But suppose they
will not believe me or listen
to my voice; suppose they
say, 'The LORD has not
appeared to you.'"

2 So the LORD said to
him, "What is that in your
hand?" He said, "A rod."

3 And He said, "Cast it on
the ground." So he cast it on
the ground, and it became
a serpent; and Moses fled
from it. 4 Then the LORD
said to Moses, "Reach out
your hand and take it by
the tail" (and he reached
out his hand and caught
it, and i became a rod in
his hand), 5 "that they may
believe that the LORD God
of their fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, has
appeared to you."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Why would God use the sign of a snake? The snake symbolized life
and pwoer to the pagan Egyptians, so this miracle declared to Moses
that God was able to overcome any power of Egypt. The miracle
would also evoke belief in the hearts of the Israelites that the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was with Moses (Ex. 2:24; 3:6, 15-16).
__HDF