You.

Then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Exodus 14, verse 15 do you remember the scene? The hebrew people enslaved in Egypt for 400 years were finally free. But when they came to the Red Sea, they encountered what appeared to be insurmountable obstacles. The Red Sea was in front of them. Pharaoh's army was behind them. The barren, unforgiving desert lay on either side. When Moses asked the Lord, what do we do now? He was told to move on in faith because God was with them to deliver them. I read the story of a teenaged boy competing for a spot in a singing group. He was suffering from a miserable cold, yet gave an outstanding audition with no hint of the obstacles and physical limitations he faced. One of the contest judges knew that the boy had been battling this cold and praised him for singing around it, because that's what professionals do. Despite the cold, this young man pressed ahead and was chosen for a spot in the group. God's people have always faced obstacles, whether a shortage of finances, rising costs of operation and maintenance, a declining neighborhood, and other negative factors. But is the unstated goal of the christian life and of the church simply to survive? The purpose of the church cannot simply be to survive. Once survival becomes the primary focus and chief concern and overall objective, we no longer have the right to call ourselves the Church of Christ. Jesus said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The church is designed to succeed and to carry out her Christ given mission. God has given the church everything she needs to prevail against all odds. Therefore, the only thing that can stop the church from realizing her full potential is not money or location or a building, but her own people. We are to sing around the obstacles and struggles we encounter, never willing to compromise, back off, or restrict ourselves to only those things we deem necessary for our survival. God has not changed since his people came out of Egypt long years ago. Though hardships and struggles still confront us, he tells us the same thing he told our ancient ancestors, to move on in faith because he is still there to deliver us.

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of Community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to [email protected] have a great day, and we hope you'll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens God's word to bring us another thought for the day.