“in the world and not of it“

“When the Word is really abiding in you, when it's alive and producing like it should, you can hear it.” RGA

The windows of Somerset House that face the Strand, a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London, are all double-cased, so as to deaden the roar of the traffic outside. It would be impossible to do mental work unless some such system were adopted. 


God's Sound And Lights

When Almighty God presented the Ten Commandments it was better than a Disney light show, the mountain quaked, covered in smoke, lightnings, and thunderings. God spoke from a great ball of fire surrounded by thick darkness. A heavenly trumpet sounded so loudly that two million people ran far away from the mountain.

Exodus 19:16 - "...there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled."

Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai was in the Wilderness of Sin, (some believe) named after the "moon god," Sin. But it was not a moon god who made it famous. Today, "scholars" could drive you crazy with arguments about where Sinai is, but it does not really matter. What matters is that God spoke to Moses and Israel there, and forever changed the world.

Exodus 19:18 - "And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly."

The Premise Of Prayer

Prayer is the living connection between you and God. Dialogue, not monologue, is the stuff of relationships. How do you know and bond with others without conversation? Can a husband and wife spend happy years together without meaningful conversations? Can parents and children truly bond without frank and honest discussions? Even so, the bilateral exchanges of my words with God's bind me to Him. I pour out my heart to Him, and He responds compassionately. Prayers are the terms of endearment.

Exodus 19:19 - "Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice."

The Ten Commandments

Before God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He had already done many mighty miracles in behalf of the Children of Israel (i.e., Deliverance from Pharaoh, Red Sea crossing, Manna, Quail, etc.). If they had been grateful, they should have been eager to conform to His commandments. But God had to remind them of His goodness. Let us remember that we owe Him far more than He will ever ask of us.

Exodus 20:2 - "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

Exodus 19:16-25
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mount…

As I said in the beginning

The windows of Somerset House that face the Strand, a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London, are all double-cased, so as to deaden the roar of the traffic outside. It would be impossible to do mental work unless some such system were adopted. 

There is but one way to be "in the world and not of it"; it is to be shut in with God, away from the din of its cares, temptations, and strifes. Outside, confusion, uproar; inside, quiet, peace, under the shadow of the Almighty.

OMBS7 audio 

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