Red Sea Rule #1--Realize that God means for you to be where you are.

Last night was the church Bible Study on the Red Sea Rules.  Last week we started this study with the introduction.  Last night we got into rule #1-- "Realize that God means for you to be where you are."

Before I get into the material, I found it interesting that over one hundred books have been ordered and distributed.  And the pile of books at the entry last night were gone by the end and there are still folks without books.  This is great!

Rev. Amy Nutt gave a brief overview from last week, only touching on some highlights here and there as needed to introduce the teaching for the evening. 

The focus came back to two things:  turning our panic into praise and our fear into faith.

PANIC to PRAISE

FEAR to FAITH

 

How do you do this?  Robert J. Morgan writes: "So, take a deep breath and recall this deeper secret of the Christian life: when you are in a difficult place, realize the Lord either placed you there or allowd you to be there, for reasons perhaps known for now only to Himself.  The same God who led you in will lead you out." (6)

 

 

Keeping this perspective while engaging in prayer with God and in community will strengthen us and allow us to make the transitions from panic to praise and from fear to faith.

 

 

Rev. Amy Nutt introduced us last night to Ron (Ronald) Wyatt who had studied the Red Sea and traveled to Egypt.  She showed a clip of an interview with him and his sons from the 1980s.  There were pictures of chariot wheels at the bottom of the sea in the sand as well as some that encrusted in coral.  Pretty amazing.

 

The Wyatt Museum website has lots of information on the Wyatt's findings as well as pictures.  Here you can find some pictures of the chariot wheels underneath the water.

 

Ron Wyatt and his findings aren't without controversy, but what archaelogical evidence is?  The dig I participated on in 2000 is said to be the site of Ai by some, yet not those who dispute it. 

 

One of the passages in the book that Rev. Amy Nutt pointed out is one that caught my attention when I had read it.  It was written by Andrew Murray who was a South African pastor facing a crisis.  This is what he wrote in his journal:

 

"First, He brought me here, it is by His will that I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest. 

Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.

Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.

Last, in His good time He can bring me out again-- how and when He knows.

 

Let me say I am here,

(1) By God's appointment,

(2) In His keeping,

(3) Under His training,

(4) For His time."  (pages 12-13)

 

The last part of the lesson focused on self-forgiveness.  Sometimes we find ourselves in a difficult place of our own making and choosing.  When we do, the good news is that God is still with us.  I've got my own stories to support this.  I imagine you do too.  Though Amy didn't mention this verse, 1 John 1:9 comes to mind as one of my favorites in situations like these.  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  From there, it is forgiving ourselves that can be the more difficult step.  Yet, if God will forgive us, why would we continue to punish ourselves?  Robert J. Morgan says this about self-forgiveness: "Self-forgiveness comes when we realize that if God has forgiven us, we needn't remain angry with ourselves, needn't hate ourselves any longer." (15)  Amen!  And, that is where freedom begins!  By accepting God's forgiveness and allowing self to be forgiven, we become free.  We can begin to move onward.  The situation then can become useful for the good of the Kingdom and God's glory because it no longer has a hold on us.

 

Amy closed the class with a Casting Crowns song and video: "East to West".

 

"East to West" (youtube link)

 

Lyrics:

 

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus, can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through, to get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus, You know just how far the east is from the west
I don't have to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other
One scarred hand to the other
From one scarred hand to the other

 

 

As you journey, remember, there is always a way out.  Don't give up or give out.  Hold on and trust through the difficult times.

 

~Debra