Exodus 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
I hate it whenever there are major lightning/thunder storms in the middle of the night when I sleep. In the darkness, a sudden bright flash that wakes me out of my deep sleep followed by a scary explosion of thunderous sound. The English description "clasp of thunder" doesn't even come close to describe the scarily loud and sharp sounds of thunder which strike fear deep into the marrows of my bones.
This morning, I was awaken by such a loud, screeching explosion that jolted me up. Everytime something like this happens, I curl up in fear and try my very best to rest with something covering my eyes and ears. Somehow, it doesn't calm the trembling heart of mine, as I unconvincingly coax myself back to sleep and pray for God's mercy and protection.
Bizarre as it seems, everytime I encounter a fierce lightning/thunderstorm, my mind immediately races towards a potential Rapture or the fear of being struck dead by a random blot of lightning. It always being about a deep rooted fear that my sins and sinful human heart would be judged or I would be left behind should it be the rapture.
I guess it doesn't help that during such moments the verse in 1 Corinthians 15:52 races through my mind and I tell myself, the trumpet of Heaven is likely to be as awesomely loud as this thunderously loud thunder. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Last night, as I curled in my fearful foetal postion, I recalled praying in faith and fear over my life and circumstances. As fearful as I was, I was also struck in awe of the power God as reflected in nature. Crazily, I even searched deep to 'ensure' that should I be struck dead by a lightning bolt that might race into my window, I would indeed end up in heaven and not hell for all eternity. Before I fell back into deep sleep, I remembered the situation in the above verses in Exodus 20:18-21.
I can fully empathise with the people of Israel as they saw the awesome power of God through thunder, lightning, heavenly trumpet noises and a rumbling mountain. For a grown adult who only lives through the rare thunder and lightning storm and is already so terrified, I cannot imagine how much more incredibly scary it would be to have all the above phenomena together.
The only word I know to describe something like this is AWESOME. I recall in 1998 when I stayed in the town Murren of the Swiss Alps and as I gazed at the majesty of the Swiss mountains and the amazing scenery, I was so floored by the majestic beauty that I muttered "Awesome". David echoes in Psalms 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Before the largeness of creation, I saw the majesty and Awesome-ness of the creator God and felt so dwarfed and insignificant.
But before the raw power of nature in last nights thunder and lightning, I too felt floored by the tremendous awesomeness of the creator God who set in place the mighty thunder and lightning. After last night's encounter, I can now fully understand why the people of Israel were so terrified for their lives when they saw the awesome God represented through nature's display of raw power as God descended the mountain. Especially in light of their sinful complaints of boring manna and lack of water despite experiencing the awesome miracle of God parting the Red Sea and liberating them. In times when we face such astounding might, the revelation of how frail and insignificant we are, how sinful we are, and all we fear is for our lives in light of God's awesome might.
Proverbs states that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", and how we see the truth in Moses' statement of assurance to the people "Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not". Last night, as I curled in fear and with little faith I realised that before the awesome power of God demonstrated by Nature, I didn't dare move much of a muscle, much more commit sin.
I awoke today greatful for the revelation of God as the awesome God. I realised how base my life was and how feeble were my praises and worship declaring Him as the awesome, majestic God. I believe Moses was equally floored by what he saw then, but the only key difference between him and the people was the truth that his conscience and life was clean/transparent to God and he knew God intimately. Instead of cowering in fear like the people, Moses braved the awesome display of nature's power and drew into the thick darkness, attracted and in faith of the Awesome God he worshipped and communed with.
Today, when I parellel to modern thunderstorm days and I recall how everyone would scurry for shelter and in fright, I'm impressed by the faith and knowledge that Moses possessed as he bravely drew near into God's awesome presence.
May the awesome power of God stop you in your tracks and challenge you to reverse what you have humanly lived. That you too may live in fear of God's awesome power and sin not.
Blessings
M.
"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome"(Deuteronomy 10:17)
22 June 2006
Awesome
Exodus 20:18-21
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
I hate it whenever there are major lightning/thunder storms in the middle of the night when I sleep. In the darkness, a sudden bright flash that wakes me out of my deep sleep followed by a scary explosion of thunderous sound. The English description "clasp of thunder" doesn't even come close to describe the scarily loud and sharp sounds of thunder which strike fear deep into the marrows of my bones.
This morning, I was awaken by such a loud, screeching explosion that jolted me up. Everytime something like this happens, I curl up in fear and try my very best to rest with something covering my eyes and ears. Somehow, it doesn't calm the trembling heart of mine, as I unconvincingly coax myself back to sleep and pray for God's mercy and protection.
Bizarre as it seems, everytime I encounter a fierce lightning/thunderstorm, my mind immediately races towards a potential Rapture or the fear of being struck dead by a random blot of lightning. It always being about a deep rooted fear that my sins and sinful human heart would be judged or I would be left behind should it be the rapture.
I guess it doesn't help that during such moments the verse in 1 Corinthians 15:52 races through my mind and I tell myself, the trumpet of Heaven is likely to be as awesomely loud as this thunderously loud thunder. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Last night, as I curled in my fearful foetal postion, I recalled praying in faith and fear over my life and circumstances. As fearful as I was, I was also struck in awe of the power God as reflected in nature. Crazily, I even searched deep to 'ensure' that should I be struck dead by a lightning bolt that might race into my window, I would indeed end up in heaven and not hell for all eternity. Before I fell back into deep sleep, I remembered the situation in the above verses in Exodus 20:18-21.
I can fully empathise with the people of Israel as they saw the awesome power of God through thunder, lightning, heavenly trumpet noises and a rumbling mountain. For a grown adult who only lives through the rare thunder and lightning storm and is already so terrified, I cannot imagine how much more incredibly scary it would be to have all the above phenomena together.
The only word I know to describe something like this is AWESOME. I recall in 1998 when I stayed in the town Murren of the Swiss Alps and as I gazed at the majesty of the Swiss mountains and the amazing scenery, I was so floored by the majestic beauty that I muttered "Awesome". David echoes in Psalms 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Before the largeness of creation, I saw the majesty and Awesome-ness of the creator God and felt so dwarfed and insignificant.
But before the raw power of nature in last nights thunder and lightning, I too felt floored by the tremendous awesomeness of the creator God who set in place the mighty thunder and lightning. After last night's encounter, I can now fully understand why the people of Israel were so terrified for their lives when they saw the awesome God represented through nature's display of raw power as God descended the mountain. Especially in light of their sinful complaints of boring manna and lack of water despite experiencing the awesome miracle of God parting the Red Sea and liberating them. In times when we face such astounding might, the revelation of how frail and insignificant we are, how sinful we are, and all we fear is for our lives in light of God's awesome might.
Proverbs states that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", and how we see the truth in Moses' statement of assurance to the people "Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not". Last night, as I curled in fear and with little faith I realised that before the awesome power of God demonstrated by Nature, I didn't dare move much of a muscle, much more commit sin.
I awoke today greatful for the revelation of God as the awesome God. I realised how base my life was and how feeble were my praises and worship declaring Him as the awesome, majestic God. I believe Moses was equally floored by what he saw then, but the only key difference between him and the people was the truth that his conscience and life was clean/transparent to God and he knew God intimately. Instead of cowering in fear like the people, Moses braved the awesome display of nature's power and drew into the thick darkness, attracted and in faith of the Awesome God he worshipped and communed with.
Today, when I parellel to modern thunderstorm days and I recall how everyone would scurry for shelter and in fright, I'm impressed by the faith and knowledge that Moses possessed as he bravely drew near into God's awesome presence.
May the awesome power of God stop you in your tracks and challenge you to reverse what you have humanly lived. That you too may live in fear of God's awesome power and sin not.
Blessings
M.
"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome"(Deuteronomy 10:17)
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
I hate it whenever there are major lightning/thunder storms in the middle of the night when I sleep. In the darkness, a sudden bright flash that wakes me out of my deep sleep followed by a scary explosion of thunderous sound. The English description "clasp of thunder" doesn't even come close to describe the scarily loud and sharp sounds of thunder which strike fear deep into the marrows of my bones.
This morning, I was awaken by such a loud, screeching explosion that jolted me up. Everytime something like this happens, I curl up in fear and try my very best to rest with something covering my eyes and ears. Somehow, it doesn't calm the trembling heart of mine, as I unconvincingly coax myself back to sleep and pray for God's mercy and protection.
Bizarre as it seems, everytime I encounter a fierce lightning/thunderstorm, my mind immediately races towards a potential Rapture or the fear of being struck dead by a random blot of lightning. It always being about a deep rooted fear that my sins and sinful human heart would be judged or I would be left behind should it be the rapture.
I guess it doesn't help that during such moments the verse in 1 Corinthians 15:52 races through my mind and I tell myself, the trumpet of Heaven is likely to be as awesomely loud as this thunderously loud thunder. "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed."
Last night, as I curled in my fearful foetal postion, I recalled praying in faith and fear over my life and circumstances. As fearful as I was, I was also struck in awe of the power God as reflected in nature. Crazily, I even searched deep to 'ensure' that should I be struck dead by a lightning bolt that might race into my window, I would indeed end up in heaven and not hell for all eternity. Before I fell back into deep sleep, I remembered the situation in the above verses in Exodus 20:18-21.
I can fully empathise with the people of Israel as they saw the awesome power of God through thunder, lightning, heavenly trumpet noises and a rumbling mountain. For a grown adult who only lives through the rare thunder and lightning storm and is already so terrified, I cannot imagine how much more incredibly scary it would be to have all the above phenomena together.
The only word I know to describe something like this is AWESOME. I recall in 1998 when I stayed in the town Murren of the Swiss Alps and as I gazed at the majesty of the Swiss mountains and the amazing scenery, I was so floored by the majestic beauty that I muttered "Awesome". David echoes in Psalms 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Before the largeness of creation, I saw the majesty and Awesome-ness of the creator God and felt so dwarfed and insignificant.
But before the raw power of nature in last nights thunder and lightning, I too felt floored by the tremendous awesomeness of the creator God who set in place the mighty thunder and lightning. After last night's encounter, I can now fully understand why the people of Israel were so terrified for their lives when they saw the awesome God represented through nature's display of raw power as God descended the mountain. Especially in light of their sinful complaints of boring manna and lack of water despite experiencing the awesome miracle of God parting the Red Sea and liberating them. In times when we face such astounding might, the revelation of how frail and insignificant we are, how sinful we are, and all we fear is for our lives in light of God's awesome might.
Proverbs states that "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", and how we see the truth in Moses' statement of assurance to the people "Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not". Last night, as I curled in fear and with little faith I realised that before the awesome power of God demonstrated by Nature, I didn't dare move much of a muscle, much more commit sin.
I awoke today greatful for the revelation of God as the awesome God. I realised how base my life was and how feeble were my praises and worship declaring Him as the awesome, majestic God. I believe Moses was equally floored by what he saw then, but the only key difference between him and the people was the truth that his conscience and life was clean/transparent to God and he knew God intimately. Instead of cowering in fear like the people, Moses braved the awesome display of nature's power and drew into the thick darkness, attracted and in faith of the Awesome God he worshipped and communed with.
Today, when I parellel to modern thunderstorm days and I recall how everyone would scurry for shelter and in fright, I'm impressed by the faith and knowledge that Moses possessed as he bravely drew near into God's awesome presence.
May the awesome power of God stop you in your tracks and challenge you to reverse what you have humanly lived. That you too may live in fear of God's awesome power and sin not.
Blessings
M.
"For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome"(Deuteronomy 10:17)
