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Marked by the Uncommon

Words of Faith Final

Marked by the Uncommon
Words of Faith 9-14-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 3
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. [2] There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. [3] So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight--why the bush does not burn up."
[4] When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
And Moses said, "Here I am."

This chapter of Exodus relates one of the most famous human encounters with God in history. Moses was now 80 years old. He had been a shepherd for 40 years and led his father-in-law's flock searching for grassland. The mountain of God is located in the southern part of the Sinai Peninsula. This is the same place where Moses will receive the Law of God. It was here that God first spoke to Moses, gaining his attention through a burning bush.
Interestingly, in these verses, Moses' father-in-law is called Jethro instead of Reuel. No one is certain of the reason for this change. Still, some suggest that the marriage of Reuel's daughter to a royal family member gave him a new beginning. Jethro means "abundance" or "superiority." The change may signal a greater sense of prestige and purpose. If this is true, we can gather that Moses had been laboring in great humility. Even though his status as a royal prince was known, he had not demanded a higher station in life. Moses continued to serve where God had led him.
But what about this bush? Burning bushes were not terribly uncommon in the desert regions. Fires broke out as the result of lightning or traveling Bedouins. The unusual fact concerning this bush was not that it was burning but that it was not consumed. This was a miracle. It was the angel of the Lord that appeared in the flames and caught the attention of Moses. The voice of the Lord God communicated from within the bush.
The burning bush has become the quintessential example of communication from God. People often suggest that "if only we could see a burning bush," we would be confident of God's guidance. (Would we also want to take on the responsibility of the Exodus that came with the burning bush?) In reality, the bush was something quite ordinary, marked by the uncommon.
The burning bush fits perfectly into the experience and environment of Moses and would not have even caught his attention except that it was not consumed. A telephone booth or a book, or even a sermon would not have fit into his environment. Interestingly, in all of Scripture, the unconsumed burning bush never again appeared. It was a unique way of gaining the attention of a particular prophet of God.
So how might God gain the attention of a modern listener? Probably the Lord will gain our attention through something familiar to our experience that is suddenly different. It might be an encounter with a person who is undeniably and remarkably changed. It might be a common Scripture that suddenly burns with truth and will not go away. It could be a message or teaching that seems uncanny in its direct insight into you. It may be an unlikely change in common circumstances.
It is an excellent time to listen when we see, hear or experience something out of the ordinary. The world will shrug off the unusual as "coincidence." We know better.

Lord God, keep my eyes open for You. Keep my heart open for You. I am listening. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.