A New Life Formula: Acts 7:30-34
““30) After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31) When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32) ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. 33) But the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34) I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’” Acts 7:30-34
After his rejection and flight from Egypt, Moses spent forty years as an alien in the land of Midian. Instead of leading people he spent his time tending sheep. It looked like the prime years of his life were wasted.
But again notice how verse 30 starts; “and after forty years had passed.” Timing was important. God had to work deeply in Moses before He could work greatly through Moses. God often uses adversity as bootcamp to mold and shape us for a meeting with divine destiny for our lives.
It was at the end of this time that Moses had a personal encounter with God. The burning bush was used to get his attention. It was there that God appeared to Him. This Divine encounter was the pivotal point in the life of Moses. He was changed into a new man. God became his portion and passion in life moving forward.
God was the missing factor in the life of Moses up to that point. No equation that leaves God out has sufficient means to accomplish anything extraordinary. That includes our formula to understand the origins of the universe, the origins of the laws of physics, the origins of life and the meaning of human history.
Apart from God as the main factor, the equations do not compute. Billions of years of random chance does not have the power needed to pull of the origin and complexity of the universe. An intelligent designer must be added to the equation.
The same is true when seeking to embrace the meaning and purpose of life. Your life and my life will be ordinary and mundane until we encounter God and make Him the central factor of our life equation. Moses apart from God could not have engineered or pulled off the Exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. It cannot be explained apart from Divine intervention.
God and not Moses was the central factor in the equation of the Exodus. The difference between an average or mundane life and an extraordinary life comes down to making God and not self the central focus. The same is true for a church, business, organization or ministry.
When God becomes the central focus… then God sized things begin to happen. That is the primary story of the book of Acts. When you deny the miraculous you exclude the Divine. When God becomes your focus then miraculous things begin to happen. This was the difference between the Sanhedrin and the Apostles. It is possible to have religion void of God. The results are pathetic.
When timing and Divine Destiny converge… miraculous things begin to happen. It cannot be otherwise. The fingerprints of God are always extraordinary. The finger prints of self or the flesh are always ordinary and mundane.
When Moses encountered God everything changed in his life. The same happens to every person who invites Jesus Christ into their life. The Holy Spirit begins to transform them, empower them and start working through them. The key is making Jesus Christ and His Spirit the new central factor in your life equation.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
