Quote from Forum Archives on April 4, 2005, 8:57 am

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

To address the pervasive and growing problem of sexual addictions (ie Lust,
Pornography, Homosexuality) I've developed the Addictions Kit for Sexual
Addictions which is now available. As long as possible these booklets (and
other booklets I have) will be available at no charge to those who ask.

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The Burning Bush Devotional

(Over 13,000 subscribers in 75 countries)

04.04.05

Reluctant Servants

Moses:

But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I
should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" - Exodus 3:11.

Gideon:

So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the
weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." - Judges
6:15.

Esther:

Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: "All the
king's servants and the people of the king's provinces know that any man or
woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he
has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out
the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to
go in to the king these thirty days." - Esther 4:10.

Someone shared with me recently how they had woke up in the middle of the
night and being unable to sleep had read for awhile. One of the things that
they read was a story about a woman writing devotionals and they were
touched by the story. Since I know this person very well that was sharing
with me, I know that they have excellent writing skills and a creative mind
very capable of writing devotionals, or books, or articles, or just about
anything. However, I also know that this person is not writing. I then
shared that it sounded to me that God had given a call to write. But they
said, "Shouldn't I have a desire to do that." In other words, this person
did not want to do it.

My response was this: Moses had the call - but he didn't have a desire to do
it. Gideon had the call - but he didn't want to do it. Esther had the call -
but she didn't want to do it.

In the lives of all three of these individuals, God had invested much
training and preparation for the mission He had for them. Moses had received
the best education possible for an adopted son of the daughter of the
Pharaoh. Many believe he had also received advanced military and leadership
training. Moses had then spent 40 years on the backside of the desert
receiving his "doctorate" in desert survival skills.

Gideon according to his own account was a "nobody". He belonged to the
smallest tribe in the smallest family in the entire nation and probably
believed he was the smallest member of his own family. In other words,
Gideon was the very least qualified person in the entire nation to lead a
revolution. However, God had been preparing Gideon. Gideon had a unique
skill that perhaps no one else in the nation possessed. That skill was the
ability to listen. He could hear God's voice.

Esther had won the royal beauty pageant to replace the queen that had fallen
out of favor. As Mordecai told Esther, "Do not think in your heart that you
will escape in the king's palace any more than all the other Jews. For if
you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise
for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will
perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time
as this (Esther 4:13-14)?"

What was the source of the reluctance of Moses, Gideon, and Esther? They
feared for their lives! They had a very real fear that to be obedient to God
could mean the loss of their physical lives.

What about you? Has God called you to do something but you don't want to do
it? What is the reason for your fear? The possibility that you might be
embarrassed if the reaction of your friends is not positive? Or, is it the
possibility that you might face a reduction in your income? Or, is it
because someone close to you is opposed to what God wants?

It may be that you are thinking something along the lines of "Surely there
is someone else that God can use to do this?" God can do that. He can raise
up someone out of thin air but He wants you and has prepared you. Please don't
let embarrassment, or money, or immature Christians rob you of the greatest
blessing of your life!

Copyright © 2005. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

YouthFire.com is a great resource for young people and will soon be adding
the Burning Bush Devotionals to their site.

The Crossmap Christian Search and Portal is a wonderful resource. I would
like to encourage you to visit this great site at www.crossmap.com. Crossmap
has recently added the Burning Bush Devotionals to their site. You may visit
Crossmap's sister website, the online version of the Christian Post at
www.christianpost.com.

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