The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States “A flame of fire in the middle of a bush” for Monday, 22 August 2016
Exodus 2:23 Sometime during those many years the king of Egypt died, but the people of Isra’el still groaned under the yoke of slavery, and they cried out, and their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov. 25 God saw the people of Isra’el, and God acknowledged them.
3:1(iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev. 2 The angel of Adonai appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
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When he became an adult, Moses showed his compassion for his fellow Hebrews (albeit in an unwise, impulsive way) by killing an Egyptian slave master. He fled to Midian, and found a home when his compassion for the weak led him to defend Reuel’s daughters from bullies at a well (Exodus 2:11-22). He stayed “a long time,” with a steady, safe (if fairly boring) job tending his father-in-law’s sheep. One fateful day God called to Moses in a burning bush that didn’t burn up.
Prayer: Lord God, sometimes when I’m in a hurry, you do not seem to be. Teach me to trust in your eternal love, even when it is hard for me to understand your eternal patience. Amen.
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Insights from Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees All Church Serve Events, New Member Connections and our Re-Connection Team. Ginny is passionate about helping people get engaged in the life of the church and would love to visit with you if you are looking to find a way to get involved.
It is very easy for me to identify which central figure in this passage I relate to the most: the burning bush. While I try to think about the steps I would take if I were in Moses’ shoes, or consider the cries of the Israelite slaves, I can’t help but feel like the burning bush. Fueled by the tasks and responsibilities aligned with each fragment of identity or role I choose to take on in life, these flames are ever-present. Even when my mind wanders from what I should be focused on, those flames keep burning and that which fuels the fire never goes away.
It is more than the flames themselves that draw me to identifying with the burning bush. It is the beauty with which those flames never go out. I feel as though most days are about 6 hours too short to get all of the things done that I want to do, and at least 3 hours too short for the things I need to get done. Despite the constant state of ignition I seem to exist in as a wife, mother, daughter, program director, volunteer….somehow I miraculously do not burn out. Those flames keep on burning because at the center of all that I am, I am a child of God.
I don’t encourage overextending yourself to the point that you feel like you are on fire. But for me, my calm is strangely wrapped up inside the fire burning in the bush. I thrive on activity, and am happiest in life when I am busy and engaged in the things that matter most to me. God filled me with passion to care for others and seek justice, and God sustains and refuels those flames so that I can fully be who God has called me to be.
When I look back on my life and recognize the times when I’ve felt God saying, “Get going, I’m sending you…” (and I didn’t turn away or make excuses), the steps I have taken in responding to God’s call have absolutely been the most life-giving, meaningful things I have ever done. They were not always easy; some didn’t make sense to me at the time. But each and every one has brought me to understand the beauty of the burning bush. I believe the bush demonstrates God’s ever-present love in our lives, even when we might not consider ourselves up for the task, or think that we possibly have enough hours in the day to get it all done.
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Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
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3:1(iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev. 2 The angel of Adonai appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
-------
When he became an adult, Moses showed his compassion for his fellow Hebrews (albeit in an unwise, impulsive way) by killing an Egyptian slave master. He fled to Midian, and found a home when his compassion for the weak led him to defend Reuel’s daughters from bullies at a well (Exodus 2:11-22). He stayed “a long time,” with a steady, safe (if fairly boring) job tending his father-in-law’s sheep. One fateful day God called to Moses in a burning bush that didn’t burn up.
- “God looked at the Israelites, and God understood” (Exodus 2:25). Yet God felt Israel’s suffering as soon as Pharaoh began afflicting them. God didn’t just wake up after 80 or 100 years of cruelty and think, “Hey—why’s he hurting my people?” Much later, Peter wrote about the mystery of God’s timing: “With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years and a thousand years are like a single day. The Lord isn’t slow to keep his promise” (2 Peter 3:8-9). Can you trust that God is aware of whatever worries you’re facing? How can you learn to trust God even when help seems to take a long time to arrive?
- “Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” What are some important ways in today’s world that you can show reverence and respect for the God of the universe as you come into God’s presence in worship, in prayer or in other ways? Do you think showing reverence and respect dulls the edge of the message of God’s love for you, or do the two realities fit together well?
Prayer: Lord God, sometimes when I’m in a hurry, you do not seem to be. Teach me to trust in your eternal love, even when it is hard for me to understand your eternal patience. Amen.
-------
Insights from Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection. She oversees All Church Serve Events, New Member Connections and our Re-Connection Team. Ginny is passionate about helping people get engaged in the life of the church and would love to visit with you if you are looking to find a way to get involved.It is very easy for me to identify which central figure in this passage I relate to the most: the burning bush. While I try to think about the steps I would take if I were in Moses’ shoes, or consider the cries of the Israelite slaves, I can’t help but feel like the burning bush. Fueled by the tasks and responsibilities aligned with each fragment of identity or role I choose to take on in life, these flames are ever-present. Even when my mind wanders from what I should be focused on, those flames keep burning and that which fuels the fire never goes away.
It is more than the flames themselves that draw me to identifying with the burning bush. It is the beauty with which those flames never go out. I feel as though most days are about 6 hours too short to get all of the things done that I want to do, and at least 3 hours too short for the things I need to get done. Despite the constant state of ignition I seem to exist in as a wife, mother, daughter, program director, volunteer….somehow I miraculously do not burn out. Those flames keep on burning because at the center of all that I am, I am a child of God.
I don’t encourage overextending yourself to the point that you feel like you are on fire. But for me, my calm is strangely wrapped up inside the fire burning in the bush. I thrive on activity, and am happiest in life when I am busy and engaged in the things that matter most to me. God filled me with passion to care for others and seek justice, and God sustains and refuels those flames so that I can fully be who God has called me to be.
When I look back on my life and recognize the times when I’ve felt God saying, “Get going, I’m sending you…” (and I didn’t turn away or make excuses), the steps I have taken in responding to God’s call have absolutely been the most life-giving, meaningful things I have ever done. They were not always easy; some didn’t make sense to me at the time. But each and every one has brought me to understand the beauty of the burning bush. I believe the bush demonstrates God’s ever-present love in our lives, even when we might not consider ourselves up for the task, or think that we possibly have enough hours in the day to get it all done.
-------
Join us for worship today - click here for information on worship times and locations. If you are not in the Kansas City area, you can take part in our worship via live Web stream at rezonline.org.
Download a printable version of this week's GPS.
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