Moses: More Than The Exodus

Hebrews 11 Bible Study,

By Kristen Entwistle

If you’ve ever seen the movie, The Prince of Egypt, or heard the stories about the Exodus from Egypt in Sunday school, you’re probably familiar with the life of Moses.  His parents – at great personal risk – hid Moses as a baby.  There came a time, though, when it was no longer possible to hide the baby.  When she could hide him no longer, his mother placed him in a basket and set him adrift on the Nile, trusting his fate to God.  The basket was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, who took pity on him and raised him as her own son.

We don’t know whether Moses was raised with the knowledge that he was a Hebrew or if he discovered this later on.  What we do know is that as an adult he went to watch his own people at hard labor.  While he was there, Moses witnessed an Egyptian who beating a Hebrew slave.  Moses, believing that he was alone, killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand.  But, someone apparently had witnessed the attack and news had spread.  Fearing that he would be caught, Moses fled across the desert to Midian.

In Midian, Moses took up like as a shepherd, married, and had two sons before meeting God in the burning bush.  At the burning bush, God directed Moses to return to Egypt, where he would be God’s instrument for freeing His people from slavery.  Moses argued with God, saying that he was not well-spoken enough and that no one will listen to him.  But God provided him with his brother-in-law, Aaron, as a spokesman, as well as signs to convince Pharaoh and the Israelites that God had indeed sent him.  Moses returned to Egypt, and performed many signs and wonders before Pharaoh.  But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not let the Israelites go.  Ten plagues fell upon the Egyptians, ending with the death of the firstborn.  Only then did Pharaoh let God’s people go… but a few days later he pursued them, only to have his army swallowed up in the Red Sea.

 

Moses continued to lead the Israelites, through the desert where the Lord provided the people with manna and quail and water from the rock, to Mount Sinai, where Moses brings down the Ten Commandments and the Law.  Although Moses was a great prophet, leader, and instrument in the hands of God, he was not perfect.  Numbers 20 records that Moses and Aaron did not follow God’s instructions and so the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:12, NIV)

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Interestingly, we learn more about Moses’ story and his great faith in Hebrews 11, where we will dig deeper into Moses’ life today.

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Say Amen

Uncategorized

By Kristen Entwistle

Beep!  Beep!  Beep!  As the alarm clock blares its unforgiving tune in the morning and I swing my feet out of bed, greeted by the cold winter air, I start thinking about all of the things I have to do today.  I start getting caught up by the to-do lists, the frustrations at work, the things I want to do but never have time for, the dishes waiting for me in the sink, the people who need my attention, the dozens of medications and therapies that lie before me that day and every day, the hurting people around me, the family obligations, the church and Bible study duties that require my attention, the run I need to go on, the foods I should be eating rather than the ones I am eating, and the time I should be spending in the Word.

I get so caught up in my own little life and what’s ahead of me that day that I forget what’s behind me, what I’ve come through.  What God has brought me through. 

Perhaps you can relate. 

In the busyness of life and the to-do lists a mile long, I forget that God has moved in my life, and that He has been faithful.  I have seen His power in my life and in the lives of others.  I forget, on the dark days, the hard days, that He who has led me in will be faithful to lead me out, and that He’s done it before.

I’m reminded of Christ’s faithfulness through the stories of others.  Through the lives of other people.  And that brings me out of my own little world of heartache and pain, raising my eyes to heaven, reminding me that He has done the same for me.

So shout it from the rooftops, tell your friends, family, and strangers on the street – because your story might just be the one that reminds someone else that He has been faithful, and will continue to be faithful throughout all generations. 

amen

Glasses To See What’s Next

Hebrews 11 Bible Study

By Kristen Entwistle

I remember being a first or second grader, and realizing that I couldn’t see what the teacher was writing on the board.  I couldn’t read things unless they weren’t right in front of my face.  And so, my parents signed me up at the eye doctor’s office, and I got glasses.  I thought they were pretty cool at first.  I thought they made me look pretty smart.

Then I started swimming in middle school, and realized that when I put on my goggles, I couldn’t see anymore.  Fortunately, someone came up with the idea of prescription goggles that fixed that problem.  When I started wearing contacts, life got a lot better.  I was no longer the nerd with glasses, but I could still see, which was great for both my social life and my grades.

I wish there was a pair of glasses that I could put on that would show me why things happen the way they do.  Or what’s coming next.  Or maybe even what comes after this life – what God has in store for us.

Jacob and Joseph didn’t have glasses like that, but their faith allowed them to look beyond the temporary, beyond the here and now, and beyond even death. Join me today as we study these heroes of the faith.

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You Forgot That You’re Beautiful

Testimony, Truth, ,

By Kristen Entwistle

When I look in the mirror, I see a tired, worn girl who is overextended, overworked, and often lonely. I see the bags under my eyes and the lines on my forehead, the unwanted pounds and pale complexion of a girl who feels twice her years. A girl who struggles with questions of worth and usefulness and if anyone would miss me if I was gone tomorrow. I don’t see myself as beautiful when I look in the mirror. I see the flaws and the cracks and the bad things. I’ve forgotten that I am beautiful in the eyes of my Savior, my God. That I am loved beyond measure, saved by grace through faith.

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There was a man, once, who reminded me that I am beautiful. He wasn’t a boyfriend or my father. I don’t even know his name. You see, I was walking through Aldi, our cheap generic grocery store one Sunday after church. I stopped by the toilet paper to check my list before I continued down the aisle. A man brushed past me on his way through, and I apologized for being in his way. “I think you forgot something,” he said as he passed. I looked over my shoulder to see if I had dropped something, looked down at my skirt to make sure it was still intact. I checked my purse to make sure I still had my phone and my wallet. I couldn’t find anything that I was missing. I shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my list again, seeing what else I needed to pick up before I could check out and head home. I started to walk forward as the same man was coming back up the aisle. I smiled politely as he passed and he leaned toward me as he passed. “You forgot that you’re beautiful.” I was dumbstruck for a moment. Totally baffled. It took me a moment, but I turned around to see if perhaps I knew the man, could place him. And he was gone.

You forgot that you’re beautiful, he told me. Not, “You are beautiful.” He said, “You forgot that you’re beautiful.”

You are beautiful. You may not see it. You may not see beautiful when you look in the mirror after you roll out of bed, or even after you put on makeup. But God made you beautiful, and that’s not going to change. One of a kind. Loved more than you will ever know.

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Don’t forget it. Remind yourself that God made you beautiful, and nothing can take that away. Not a failed marriage. A past abortion. A troubled home life. A terminal cancer diagnosis. Nothing can take away the fact that God made you beautiful. Nothing.

You may have forgotten that God made you beautiful. You may not see it in the mirror, even now. But you are beautiful. Priceless. Forgiven. Loved.

You are beautiful. Don’t forget it.

Loving The Next Generation To Jesus

Hebrews 11 Bible Study

By Kristen Entwistle

Jud and Jan were like family to the students of Gordon College, inviting them into their home and their lives, loving them as only they could.  One of the other icons of Gordon College, if you will, is Dr. Marv Wilson.  Dr. Wilson is a short, older gentleman who teaches in the Biblical Studies department at Gordon College.  He is a translator and editor of the New International Version of the Bible, and has also contributed notes in the NIV study Bible for two Old Testament books.  Learning from Dr. Wilson was truly a highlight of my career at Gordon College, as was learning from the example set by Jud and Jan Carlberg.

Jan has written a book called The Welcome Song, in which she recounts a story of the funeral of Marv Wilson’s mother.  She writes,

“Marv Wilson spoke first, though he said nothing from the podium.  He simply sat on the front row with his wife, Polly, and their grandson, Ian.  I watched Ian nestle under the wings of Marv and Polly.  Sometimes Ian’s head rested on his grandpa’s shoulder.  And God spoke to me of safe places and strong shoulders and of loving the next generation to Jesus.  I want to be that kind of person.  I want Gordon College to be that kind of place. […] These grandparents pray that, someday, by faith, Ian and Jay will take their own stands beneath the cross of Jesus, and they’ll become the strong shoulders, the safe places, the singers, and love-links for another generation.”

Isn’t that what every Christian parent and grandparent wants for their children?  To be a strong shoulder and safe place, showing them the love of Christ so that they might become the strong shoulders and safe places for the next generation?  Even as just a babysitter to many kids in my church, this is what I want for them.  That when they need a shoulder to cry on and mom’s not there, I can be.  I pray that my example can be one to follow, and that they will grow up and by faith walk in the light.

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Join us today as we study our next hero of hope, Isaac.

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Praying In The Waiting Room

Patience, Prayer, Waiting

By Kristen Entwistle

When I sit in doctor’s offices, waiting (which is fairly often if you’re me), I tend to people-watch. Most of the time, there’s the mom with two kids who she has to take back with her, even though it’s her appointment. She looks frazzled and a little overwhelmed as they lead her back to the room. There’s the teenager who’s here with her mom, and her mom is trying to micromanage everything she writes on the sheet the receptionist hands her. The daughter gets frustrated (I can do it myself!), and quits talking to her mom, finishing the paperwork with a scowl on her face. There’s the older couple in the corner, with the man nodding off while his wife reads a magazine. The receptionists continue clacking away on their keyboards. Then a man walks in, sits down, a look of fear in his eyes. He’s expecting bad news, it seems. A pregnant woman walks in alone, no ring on her finger. I wonder what has brought her here today – herself or her baby.

I’ve spent a significant portion of my life in doctor’s offices, waiting. Perhaps not so patiently, but waiting nonetheless. And I’ve spent much time watching.

And yet I cannot physically help any of these people.

I cannot take away their diabetes or asthma or pain. But I want to, so badly, to tell them that it doesn’t have to be terrible. That good can come from these ‘bad’ things. I’ve seen it.

But the only way that happens is with God.

And so, as I sit here waiting, I pray for these people – sitting here, waiting with me. I pray that if they don’t know Christ, that someone will come into their path to tell them about the love that He has for them. I pray that if they do know Christ, that they would lean on Him in the tough times and the good times, and that they would be a light to those they come in contact with, even in this office today.

And I pray the same for you, even though you aren’t in this office right now.

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19)

Amen.

Impossible Things

Hebrews 11 Bible Study, , , , ,

By Kristen Entwistle

Impossible, according to Webster: not able to be accomplished.  There are a lot of things that I think are impossible.  But with God, all things are possible, right?  What if God asking you to do something impossible today?  What can we learn from the next person in Hebrews 11 – Abraham?

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Remember Noah?  Abram is his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson.  Abram (later Abraham) gets the biggest chunk of Hebrews 11.  His faith and obedience when God tells him to do what seems impossible are excellent examples for us to follow.  Three different situations in Abram’s life are worthy to be mentioned in Hebrews 11, each of which we’ll take a look at today.

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Hindsight

Faithful, Testimony, Truth

By Kristen Entwistle

I was walking around my undergraduate alma mater a few months ago. I was there for my sister’s graduation, but I took a few minutes to walk around my old science building. As I walked the near-hallowed halls of Ken Olsen Science Center, I was overcome by how far removed I feel from a place that used to feel so much like home. How many changes have occurred since I graduated three years ago – both in faculty and staff as well as the infrastructure of the building.

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As I walked around, I remembered first classes and last classes. Beloved professors and presidents. Botched labs and failed tests. Successful research and fond memories of classes. The cold days and the hard days, the warm days and the easy days.

I’m in the middle of graduate school right now, and it’s amazing to look back and see where I’ve been. It’s hard to believe that three years ago I was graduating on this very lawn. That I had no idea what lie ahead for me, except where I was attending graduate school. I did not know what God had in store for me, and looking back now, I could not have ever guessed that I would be where I am right now: working in a lab on the disease that I have, funded by a group of parents of kids with CF, part of an amazing church where I can serve and grow and love people, where I have the opportunity to babysit some wonderful kids who I can honestly say I love with all of my heart, where a place I knew nothing of and knew no one could feel so much like a home.

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It’s true. I’ve lost much, struggled, been frustrated and beaten down in these last three years. I’ve had PICC lines and more antibiotics than I can count, but I’ve come out swinging on the other side. But I’ve also seen God do some amazing things with what I’ve been given and where I’ve been. I have seen him use my CF to change people’s hearts and lives. I have seen God use me in ways I never thought possible – leading a Bible study and leading worship from the piano. He’s provided me with friends who lift me up and encourage me, challenge me and love me. He’s blessed me with so much.

I never saw any of that coming three years ago. All I saw was the great unknown, the strange state of Michigan and the weird mascot of my school – the Spartan. The headache of changing doctors and hospitals and the anxiety of living on my own. I was heartbroken to leave the place where I had grown so much, devastated to leave a church that I had come to love, people I had grown to love as well. I couldn’t see past the here and now, couldn’t see that even as I was leaving a place I knew so well and loved, God had great things planned. He was going before me, preparing a place for me even then. And he was preparing me.

Even now, when the future is unknown and I’m not sure how God is going to work things out, I can trust that He is faithful and that He will go with me, wherever I go. Hindsight may be 20/20, but God’s vision is always 20/20. So no matter what you’re going through right now, no matter what unknown you’re facing, trust in the One who can see it all, who’s got you in His hands, and who will never fail you. His sight is better than hindsight.

When It Rains, It Pours

Hebrews 11 Bible Study, , ,

By Kristen Entwistle

Rain is a very good thing.  It comes to water the earth and nourish the plants, to cool off the scorching temperatures.  But too much of a good thing can be catastrophic.  You’ve seen it on the evening news – houses submerged under the waters that breached the banks of a river, cars floating downstream, people torn away from loved ones and washed away.  Sometimes the storms of life are devastating.  Other times we can pick up the pieces and start over.  The story of Noah shows both of these outcomes – many people were literally washed away, while Noah and a small remnant were saved, left to pick up the pieces.

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Noah dealt with a lot of rain.  He probably felt very abandoned by God and yet had incredible faith to do what God had told him to.  Join me as we study a very familiar story to many of us today.

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Missing Pieces

Hebrews 11 Bible Study

By Kristen Entwistle

When I put together a jigsaw puzzle, I start with the outside edges.  Once I have the corners connected and the outline of the puzzle, I can start working on the inside – the harder part.

Hebrews 11 is a little bit of a puzzle for us because we aren’t as familiar with some of the stories and people that the writer mentions.  One of the people we’ll look at today (Enoch) only gets a measly seven verses in the whole Bible!  And yet, even though some of the puzzle pieces may be missing in these stories, there is so much we can learn from them.

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What we do know is that by faith we understand that the universe was formed by God. We know that Abel was faithful, and Enoch was faithful and that we can follow their example.

I often find that I do not have all the puzzle pieces to my life. I don’t understand why certain things happen. I don’t always understand why I am where I am. Maybe you’ve been there too. These stories remind us that life is often a puzzle. It isn’t always clear. But the pieces of the puzzle that we do have make at least this much clear: faith tells us that God created us, hears us, and wants to walk with us. And in the midst of all the missing puzzle pieces, that’s a pretty amazing picture.

Join me as we study these heroes of hope today by downloading the chapter below.

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