Are [the angels] not all ministering spirits, sent for the purpose of service on account of those about to inherit salvation?

Hebrews 1:14

Cherubim, seraphim, mal’ach, angelos… there are so many words that we translate as “angel” in English. The first two, cherubim and seraphim are both  names and imagery that come from the common cultural background of Israel and its neighbors. The cherubim are closely associated with the throne of God, while the seraphim hover above it. These two designations of angels both serve as attendants, defending and proclaiming the glory of God.

On the other hand, Hebrew mal’ach and Greek angelos both mean something of “messenger”, someone sent with a message or a task. You can probably see that the Greek word for angel gives us our English word “angel”. An angel is a being whose primary function is serving God by presenting his messages. They have been sent with a purpose!

The book of Hebrews presents that purpose for us: “ministering” or “serving”. It is offered as a question, “Isn’t it obvious that they are servants?” The author is trying to point out how much greater the Son is. The angels are sent to serve, to attend to someone – and that someone is clearly identified in Hebrews 1:14, “those about to inherit salvation”. When it says they were sent “for the purpose of service”, it is using the same word from which we get “deacon”, a servant.

We don’t need to get caught up in a worship of angels. John, in the book of Revelation, is corrected when he attempts to humble himself before the powerful presence of an angel. Nor do we need to avoid the subject or fear them. There is a spiritual war going on around us, and God’s agents work often unseen. Once we understand who they are and why they have been sent, we can thank God for his provision. The angels are here to prepare the way for God’s message to be heard. They have been sent by God so that he can work out his purpose of adopting us into his family. They too share a part in the great chain of “sending” found in Scripture.

If the angels highlight God’s sending, they also highlight the greatness of Jesus. And that is the thrust of Hebrews 1: God’s son was instrumental in creating all that we know about the universe, timeless and matchless. He is the one who has sent the angels, so that we might have a place with him eternally.

]]> http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/11/12/for-service/feed/ 0 http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/11/11/the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak/ http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/2009/11/11/the-spirit-is-willing-but-the-flesh-is-weak/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:03 +0000 odellsg http://devotionals.themountchurch.com/?p=925 A man down the street has been diagnosed with two totally different debilitating diseases. His mind is failing incredibly fast and the prognosis is not good. I know him in the sense all small town folks know one another. I’ve been in the shop he used to own downtown, waved when passing on the street, and even tailgated in a large crowd with him once. He’s a friend of a friend, not anyone I’ve ever known well.

I was out walking in the neighborhood the other night and passed by his house. I’ve never been to visit him before but on this night the thought popped into my mind that I should check in on him. Then I realized where this thought originated when the urging continued with the feeling that I should not only check on his physical well-being but also on his spiritual. Rumor is, he doesn’t have much time left.

I did what I always do when the Holy Spirit urges me to do something  outside my comfort zone. I came up with a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t. “It’s getting late. He’s probably tired. What would I say? Would he even know who I am? Would he be offended? How would his girlfriend feel about my visit?”

I’ve lived long enough to learn that you can never rationalize your way out of what the Holy Spirit asks of you. You can argue your point but you’ll never win. You can turn a deaf ear but God always speaks the truth and on this night He stopped me dead in my tracks with one thought. “You are willing to travel to the other side of the world to speak to a stranger about Me, yet you won’t cross the street to speak with a neighbor?”

Well, that did it. “OK Lord, I’ll go, but only if the front door is still open when I pass back by.”

That was a baby step of obedience with preset conditions but God took me up on it. I spent some time walking and praying and then started back down the street past his house. When I saw the front door closed, I was surprised to feel a little disappointment mixed with the relief. Then as I got closer, I realized it only appeared to be closed from the angle I was approaching. There it was……wide open! Not only that , but I could see him standing in the kitchen at the back of the house.

I turned up the driveway and then onto the sidewalk, up the porch and then rang the doorbell. The cat standing inside the glass storm door ran and the dog barked, but no one came to the door. I could see the gentleman standing at the kitchen counter with his arms shaking from his illness so violently that he couldn’t even reach inside the fast food bag in front of him. He managed to make it to the table, sit down, and then ripped the bag down the front to get to its contents. I stood on the porch that night waiting for his girlfriend to come to the door and prayed for him. My heart was broken as I watched him struggle and as I prayed for his soul.

I began to feel uneasy after a bit standing outside looking in so I walked away. Then it hit me. “God, You really are something! You didn’t need me to talk to him. You just wanted to see if I would be obedient, didn’t You?” Just when I thought I had God all figured out, He threw me a curve ball. “No my child. I knew a billion years before you were born what you would do tonight. I wanted YOU to see what you would do tonight.”

Wow! A lesson in obedience if I have ever had one. No wonder God told Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22 “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Obedience is the sacrifice many times. God may very well ask us to do something as an opportunity for us to be obedient. He wants the willing heart more than the actual deed. God was preparing me for a future time of service and growing my faith at the same time.

There is a reason unknown to me why no one came to let me in that night but the results of my willingness have had a profound effect on my. You see, my times of disobedience far, far outnumber the paltry amount of times I have been obedient. But the feeling I had of pleasing my Father grew a desire that night to never be disobedient again. I’ll fail again, I’m sure. But I hope the agony of missing the blessing of obedience will drive me to my knees in repentance. Then I hope I have the courage to stand up and do whatever He asks. I won’t have to do it alone. God never sends us anywhere He isn’t already headed. He just wants us to come alongside Him.

Add to that that I despise the phone. I don’t like sending email, though it is absolutely essential at times. I would much rather take a walk through the local office and show up at someone’s desk to help them with their problems, or work through possible solutions. Nothing beats that face-to-face when you are trouble-shooting.

Jesus had a similar thought. He new that close personal contact was essential for getting the message out.

But now I am going away to the One who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged.

There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, “The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.”

John 16:5-15

If I do go away, then I will send him to you. Jesus sent someone who would do what he had done: Share the message that the Father had given. Before we can be sent out, we need to capitalize on this great blessing, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He is the one who challenges the sin in our lives, pointing out God’s greatness and uniqueness. The Holy Spirit is the one who declares to us that Jesus will return, and encourages us to take care and be ready.

The Holy Spirit is never absent in the believer’s life. But many Christians fail to take advantage of the power and wisdom he has to share with us. Just imagine that you are having computer trouble. The girl from the helpdesk shows up to take a look, but you don’t move. You keep going about your business. She stands there waiting for the proper moment to interject and offer her services. You continue to become frustrated as you deal with this wayward computer. All the time, the help you need is standing right there, ready and willing. That is how many Christians face their own sinful nature and the other troubling details of life.

Today, begin to ask the Spirit to speak. Take the time to listen. The Spirit is the power behind the community at the Mount. If you feel detached, go to the Spirit and ask him what to do about it. If you feel a lack of energy or worth, ask the Spirit to remind you what has been said in the Scriptures. Ask God for wisdom, and he will pour out the Spirit on you. All the Church will benefit.

The Spirit was sent to reveal God’s intentions and voice to us. Let’s listen in on what God is trying to tell us!

Galatians 4:4-7

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Our family lives within walking distance of a small grocery store.  When we first moved into our home, our children were too young to make the walk on their own, so every once in awhile we’d opt to combine running an errand and exercising to pick up some sugar or eggs with our children in tow.  They loved leaving the cars in the driveway and walking or riding our bikes to the store.  As the years have passed, our kids have asked if they could head to the store on their own to pick up incidentals for the family.  That’s a hard request to grant.  Not that we as parents don’t trust them to be capable of running the errand, but we are concerned for their safety while they are away from our side.  Will they watch traffic as carefully as we would?  Will they be aware of strangers?  Will there be any change left after giving them $10 to buy the $4 worth of stuff at the store? Okay, that last one isn’t exactly a major concern.

On occasion we’ve allowed our maturing children to run to the store for us.  We never let them go alone, however.  They are to go straight to the store, and then return straight home.  Any deviation from the rules could result in severe consequences.  On the few occasions they have gone, they have returned with a great sense of accomplishment and joy for having completed the assignment and having done something special to help out the family.  They have always stuck to the rules, and have even brought us the correct change back every time! Though it seems like just yesterday we were cutting the umbilical cord at the hospital, we find ourselves in the bitter-sweet process of loosening the apron strings a little bit each day as well.

If you’re a parent, can you imagine how God must have felt when He sent Jesus out the front door of Heaven to come to earth and go through the process of redeeming mankind unto Himself?  Jesus was safe in Heaven.  He was with His Father.  But, both the Father and the Son knew that if Jesus didn’t leave the shelter of paradise, mankind was doomed.  Jesus wasn’t sent on just any errand, He was commissioned as the greatest Messenger of all time.  He was sent by His Dad to demonstrate God’s love for you, and for me, by dying on the cross in our place so that we may experience the forgiveness of our sins and the hope of spending eternity in the Presence of God.  God knowingly sent His Son on a mission to be mocked, scorned, beaten, ridiculed, rejected, betrayed, and killed.  He was sent from “home” to be our sacrificial Lamb.  This was certainly more than an errand!!

As a parent, I cannot fathom how God must have felt seeing His Son leave heaven and be incarnated.  What must it have felt like for God to see Jesus and Joseph interacting as earthly father and son?   I cannot comprehend the agony God endured as His Son was whipped and scourged and pierced and crucified, fulfilling the nature of His appointed task.   But, knowing all of this in advance, God still sent His Son.  And Jesus still came.

I know how brightly my children’s faces beam when they return from successfully completing the mission we send them on from time to time.  Can you imagine the smile on Jesus’ face when He returned to heaven, to His Father, after coming back from the dead, after reconciling the world to God and completing the assignment He was given?  I truly cannot comprehend the enormity of such things!!

We all are eternally indebted to Jesus for the price He paid for us, and to God for loving us so much that He sent His Son on our behalf.  There truly is no greater demonstration of love than this!! And because of what they did for us, we who trust in the Lord as our Savior are a part of God’s family, heirs to the joys and treasures of heaven. Thank You, Jesus! Thank You, God!

And every body of believers needs individuals with spiritual discernment. It needs people of wisdom so that is protected from dangers that threaten to destroy the work of God. These threats come from inside and outside, but God wants us to respond to him with trust – aware of the purpose he has called us to and encouraged as we step out in faith. Wisdom based on a close walk with God is the answer.

My child, listen to what I say, and treasure my commands. Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.

Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.

Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted. These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths. They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil. Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

Proverbs 2:1-15

We each have had experiences in life that have made us who we are. Not all of these experiences have made us wiser, though. The unfortunate truth is that many of our experiences have only deepened our inability to hear God’s voice, to respond to the call of wisdom. So what can we do to increase our discernment, our ability to respond with wisdom?

Proverbs tells us to search for it, first of all. That seems simple enough, but we often don’t take the time or effort to build wisdom. We often don’t ask the opinion of others. We often don’t read anything but what we are already familiar and comfortable with. We can be in too big of a hurry to wait on God’s voice. And we have good excuses! We have jobs, kids to look after, ministry needs to attend to and obligations in the community. Searching can be a costly investment, one we are not willing to make, even if we recognize the importance of wisdom. Sadly, our jobs, kids, ministries and communities would have ultimately reaped the benefit of a life that searched for wisdom.

A pattern of conversation with God is essential. Cleverness and wisdom are not the same thing. Cleverness can take advantage of a situation based on a little bit of knowledge and educated guessing. But wisdom requires intimate knowledge of God – what he is doing and who he has revealed himself to be. This knowledge is personal. Wisdom does not just respond to circumstances, but responds to purpose. When our circumstances stack up against us, challenging what we know God has said, wisdom encourages us to step forward in faith.

Familiarity with God’s word and commands is also critical. Wisdom is not just about the most effective way to get something accomplished. It is about the right way to get something done. Acting sinfully, or encouraging sin, in order to accomplish God’s work is madness. Nehemiah was able to avoid sinful behavior that would have discredited him as a leader because he knew God’s voice and his commands.

There are evil forces arrayed against the Church. We need wisdom to hear God’s voice and counter these attacks. We need wisdom and discernment in order to avoid false teaching that would corrupt our relationship with God. We need wisdom to confront sin-producing attitudes and to avoid falling into sinful behavior. We need discernment to detect attempts to deceive the body and stop it from growing and impacting the community and the world.

God wants a community that is guarded by wisdom; the same wisdom that brought all of creation into existence and sustains it each day. So if we ask for wisdom, we can have faith he will respond.

The problem is, most of us have experienced someone who seemed to thrive on conflict with us. And despite our best efforts (well, maybe), we seem unable to stop the cycle of conflict and aggression. Jesus even seemed to be pretty clear that we would face opposition as his followers. Because we are associated with him, we will face enemies, people who will oppose us; some who will make it their mission to destroy our character, or to hurt us physically or emotionally.

The Bible is full of examples of God’s people who had to deal with enemies, and Nehemiah is a great example:

So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God.

Nehemiah 6:15-16

The real issue is not whether we have enemies and face opposition. It is how we respond. Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us. And there is no guarantee that this will bring peace, or an end to hostility. But it will bring glory to our savior, who endured threats, accusations, and even death on the cross at the hand of those who should have been his friends.

To end today, a couple questions:

• Is there a difference n how we respond to a personal enemy and someone who opposes us because of our association with Christ?
• Where do you experience the most conflict with others? On the road? At work? In your own home? Why?
• What would prayer for an enemy look like? Is it difficult for you to pray “good” for someone who is in conflict with you?

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

We see it all the time, it is a regular part of life; opposition.  Whether it be the opposing team on the other side of the line of scrimmage, the other political party, the person with the other Wii remote in their hand, a competitor in the marketplace, or perhaps a stubborn teenager or an overbearing parent.  Opposition is woven deeply into the fabric of our world.  And this is certainly nothing new.

There has been a sense of opposition since the dawn of time, and even God Himself has not escaped its attacks.  (Don’t worry, He gets the last word in due time!) In the Garden of Eden, the voice of opposition could be clearly heard as Satan embodied the serpent and said, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” After Eve answered affirmatively, the crafty tempter went on to say, “You will not surely die for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  (Genesis 3:1b, 4-5)  We’re barely into the third chapter of the history of the world and here we find clear and direct opposition to Almighty God, rearing its slithering head, ushering death and sin into God’s perfect creation.

Things only get worse from there, much worse! In the very next chapter of Genesis, sibling rivalry and opposition to God’s will lead to the first murder in history! Only four chapters in, Abel dies at the hands of opposition.  The chronicle of time continues to unfold, people oppose God, they oppose one another, and God sends a world-wide deluge to wipe the slate clean. But, opposition returns in round two.  Eventually the opposition grows so large and engulfs the world once again, people oppose people, people oppose God, nations oppose nations,  to the point the Son of God is sent from the throne room of heaven to the arid plains of Judea and Israel to intervene.  But, as we know, after 33 years on earth, even Jesus was lifted high on a hill called Golgotha with the echoing sounds of opposition ringing through the countryside with every swing of those hammers.  Opposition took the life of the Son of God.

BUT…God knows how to not only fight opposition, but defeat it! When He breathed oxygen back into the lungs of Jesus that Easter morning, the nails in the coffin of opposition were sealed forever.  Oh, we may still experience some temporal opposition here on earth as followers of Christ, and there will be futile attempts by Satan to thwart God’s plan, but the victory has already been won! It is now just a matter of time before God claims His ultimate victory over Satan and the rest of the opposition, and those of us who are on His side will enjoy an “opposition-less” eternity!

The verse at the top of the post is meant to remind you of the victory God has already won.  Cling to that hope whenever you face opposition and know that you’re not experiencing anything that God didn’t experience.  In fact, nothing we experience even comes close to what He experienced!

In the end, we all have to answer one question…whose side are you on?  God’s or the opposition? When the role call is given on that final day of judgment, I sincerely hope your hand won’t be in the air with the rest of “all those opposed.”

(You can read John 15:18-16:4 for further insight on how our experience with opposition as believers in Jesus relates to God’s work and the opposition He’s faced).

Following the restoration of the walls, the confidence built in the people, we might expect to see retribution on those who had so long oppressed them. Instead, we find a people who is aware of their own failure:

On October 31 the people returned for another observance. This time they fasted and dressed in sackcloth and sprinkled dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners as they confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors. The Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them for about three hours. Then for three more hours they took turns confessing their sins and worshiping the Lord their God.

Nehemiah 9:1-3

Not only aware, but ready to do something about it. They heard and were challenged by reading the Scriptures, and it encouraged them to go even further. And in the end, rather than blaming others, they looked at themselves. And if we look at the law, we realize that they had good reason to. The reason they were in exile was the sin of those who came before them, their distant relatives. Their own sin had held them in bondage under more powerful nations. Their own sin threatened to destroy the efforts to rebuild (Nehemiah 5).

I imagine they had heard from the book of Deuteronomy, If you refuse to obey all the terms…then the Lord will overwhelm you…For the Lord will scatter you among all the nations from one end of the earth to the other…There among the nations you will find no place of security and rest…Your lives will hang in doubt. You will live night and day in fear with no reason to believe that you will see the morning light.  (Deuteronomy 28) These are hard words, the second of a pair of statements: the first blessings, the second curses. Sin would bring devastating results on the entire nation. Both individually, and as an entire community. They became deeply aware of how sin had affected them and their families – how it continued to jeopardize all that had been done already.

And if they heard these words, they likely also heard these soon after:

Suppose all these things happen to you – the blessings and the curses  I have listed – and you meditate on them as you are living among the nations to which the Lord your God has exiled  you. If at that time you return to the Lord your God, and you and your children begin wholeheartedly to obey all the commands I have given today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes. He will have mercy on you and gather you back from all the nations where he has scattered you. Though you are at the ends of the earth, the Lord your God will go and find you and bring you back again. He will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will possess that land again. He will make you even more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors!

The Lord your God will cleanse your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you will love him with all your heart and soul, so that you may live!

Deuteronomy 30:1-6

God had stated that sin would destroy them as a nation, as a community, as the people of God. But he promised also that if they returned to him with their whole beings, they would find restoration; as individuals, but even more, as the nation and people of God. And so the people humbled themselves hearing the law. They declared their sin and the sin of those who came before them. And they worshiped the God who was able to restore. They turned from selfish behaviors that endangered the newly growing community.

Building community begins with this awareness and ownership of our own failures. Community built on shared antagonism against the “other” can build strong attachments, but it isn’t what God is after. Community built on a common background of pain and suffering can build strong bonds of connection, but it lacks the power of thanksgiving, of hope and potential in God’s plan. But community built on shared recognition of sin, and on the experience of God’s power to restore and bring life, is unstoppable.

So what part do you play in helping the body of believers to address sin? Are you actively approaching God and seeking forgiveness yourself? Are you honest with others about your own thoughts and behaviors, or do you wear a mask? Are you encouraging other believers to go to God to seek forgiveness? Do you challenge others in the body to be transparent with each other? Or do you promote and tolerate an atmosphere of “each to his own”?

I joined a rather large church fresh out of college but didn’t really have a place to fit comfortably within. Then I agreed to serve on the social committee and everything changed in a hurry! The hours I spent with this group of people of various ages and backgrounds developed a bond of friendship that would last for years to come. It wasn’t sitting around sharing apple pie that did it either. It was the hours spent together setting up tables, serving food, sweeping and mopping floors and washing dishes that did. The friendships opened doors into other areas and opportunities that I then felt comfortable entering.

It’s amazing what hard labor does for a group of even total strangers. Following the 9-11 terrorist attack I traveled with a friend in a van full of  total strangers to NYC. On the way up, we were cordial, polite, and very proper as we each stayed in our little space on the van. We quickly realized that none of us had anything in common except Christ. Christ it turns out, was the only bond we needed. After a week of working in a tiny kitchen serving rescue workers, helping victim’s families shop in a free Christmas store, and riding the Staten Island ferry sharing Christ’s love, we became very comfortable with one another. By the time we made the exhausting trip back home we were slap-happy silly and sprawled all over the van laughing and poking good natured fun at one another.

When community among a group of believers develops, it is usually the result of laboring together. This innate need for community that God gave us then fulfills the basic needs of a human soul.

Let’s go back to those church folks I began with. Twelve years later I spent two weeks  in CCU with my mother and sister watching my daddy slowly slip away. That group of folks from church were now also my family. We watched in astonishment as the CCU waiting area became a revolving door of church members who took time from their busy schedules to visit us, pray with us, and bring us food. That is what a loving family does. It takes care of its own.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:10

I love my huge, wonderful family!

Will the weather be warm and require a thicker boot rather than a hiking shoe?  Will you be traversing water during the trek?  How long of a hike are you looking at?  All of these factor into the right shoe for the journey.  A lady certainly wouldn’t elect to wear heels for a jaunt through the woods, and a man isn’t going to wear his best Birkenstock sandals on a hike through the snow, underbrush, and mud.  Having the right footwear is essential.

Have you ever worn flip flops to an amusement park or on a trip into a big city for the day?  While they can be great to kick off during a water ride or for keeping you cooler in the summer heat, they are terrible when it comes to support.  By day’s end, you’ll feel like you were walking barefoot all day.  They just aren’t designed for high impact support.  A tennis shoe or perhaps Crocs would be much better suited for those tasks.

When it comes to our spiritual lives, it is imperative that we recognize the right footwear for the journey as well.  Ephesians 6:15 says that our feet are to be “fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”  This is a picturesque illustration of the protective and supportive footgear of the Roman soldier.  We are to be properly geared and ready to take the gospel to anyone at anytime.  We’re to have our boots on and our laces tied.  We’re supposed to be prepared to do God’s work whenever we’re called to action.

It is also necessary that we recognize that the path of life is not a sprint, but rather a marathon.  If we are to persevere and endure, we’ve got to have our feet covered by God’s grace and yielding every step to His will.  We must see Him as the source of our strength and protection all along the route.  Take a look at how God led His people, the nation of Israel, on a long hike, and how he protected their bodies, and specifically their feet:

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land.  With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders.  But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.  During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink.  I did this so that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 29: 2-6

Did you catch how long the desert hikers’ shoes lasted?  Uh huh, forty years!!  Was it because the whole nation had stopped by a Chaco outlet on the way out of Egypt?  No, it was because God had their backs, their fronts, and their feet!  God met every need of His people out there in the middle of that desert, from clothes, to water, to food, to shelter, to direction, simply because He’s God and He loves His people.

He is still God, and He still loves His people, and He’s still leading His people.  So, as we hike the path He’s carved for each of us everyday, it is imperative that we place our trust in Him, follow the path He’s mapped out, and make sure we’re wearing the right shoes; the brand called, “Faith!”