Scattering in Obedience

We are having a rare month in July this year. The weather which is normally extremely dry is unusually wet. I do not remember ever getting over six inches of rain all at once in July like we did a few nights ago as well as the other July rains in which God has blessed us. The weather may seem strange, but I have no fear of changing seasons because all is in God's mighty hands. He created it all and is in charge of it all. When the world gets ready to end, it will be by God's choice and by His command. 

Scattering in Obedience  

 

The waters of the Red Sea split,

The waves feared and gave way to submit.

In dryness, it left a trail.

Even the wind gave up its gale.

I read, “The Jordan fled”

All because, God’s power dipped its head.

Surly storms dissipated 

Rumbling back and deflated

In fear of God’s mighty word

And the power He stirred.

With the sound of His voice,

The winds calmed; they had no choice.

Mountain walls and flowing waterfalls 

Gave up their charm  

When God reached out His powerful arm.

The simmering sun in all its glory, 

Throughout the territory 

Escapes behind a canopy of gloomy clouds.

There is obedience as the presence of God enshrouds.

Crumbled are the mighty iron-linked chains

As Jesus reigns.

At the sound of His voice there will be no choice;

The graves will give up their dead,

And fear will spread.

At His command, a dying heartbeat will come to life;

No more will be feuds and strife, 

No matter which-

The poor or the rich, 

The minority or those in superiority- 

All will come to know God’s authority.

Let us all repeat,

“Praise the Lord !”

And fall at Jesus’ feet. 

 

Mary Crisp Jameson 7/12/2023 

 

"The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was given back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs…Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.“ Psalm 114: 3-4, 7 KJV 

^“But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” Matthew 8:27 KJV

Parting of the Waters

How many times did God part the waters? 

     I have a tendency to forget the stories of the waters parting except the one of Moses and the Red Sea. But actually, there were other times in scripture God caused the waters to part. In my search, I found five times: 

1. In the beginning with God's creation:  Genesis 1:6-7, "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so." 

2. Moses delivers the Israelites out of Egypt (Red Sea): Exodus 14:21-22 "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left."

3: Carrying the ark (Jordan River): Joshua 3:16-17, "That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zairean: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."

4. When Elijah is taken into heaven (Jordan River): 2 Kings 2:8, "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground." 

5. When Elisha returns from seeing Elijah taken into heaven  (Jordan River): 2 Kings 2:12, "And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over." 

God, I pray for parted waters so I may walk the righteous path with you on solid ground. I pray for wisdom and courage to move through the waters when they are parted by your miraculous hand.   

 

 

Division of the Waters

     As I was studying Elijah and Elisha, about the waters separating, I decided I wanted to record for my own information how many times the water separated as a result of our God's almighty power.  This is what I found:

1.  It begins in Genesis when God created the heaven and the earth. 
Genesis 1:6-7  "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above firmament and it was so.   Again in verse 9 we find, "And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so." 

2.  Next and the most described and illustrated is the parting of the Red Sea which occurs in Exodus when Moses leads the children of Israel out of Egypt.   Exodus 14:21-22, 26-27   "And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground:  and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left...And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.  And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea."  

3.  The next time the waters divide is found in Joshua when the Israelites prepare to enter the promised land.  Joshua 3:13-17  "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.  And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tens, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap ver far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the peoplr passed over right against Jericho.  And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."  We find in Chapter 4 verse 18, "And it came to pass, when the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan and the soles of the priest's feet were lifted up unto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place, and flowed over all his banks, as they did before."

4.  The next two occurrences involves Elijah and Elisha which I studied today.  Elisha had left his previous farming life to follow Elijah and minister with him.  When God got ready to take Elijah, Elisha was committed to staying with him until that time occurred.  In 2 Kings 2:7 we find fifty men of the sons of prophets witnessing the event as Elijah and Elisha stood by the Jordan.  Verse 8, "And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 

5.  Following Elijah's departure in a whirlwind into heaven, Elisha, in 2 Kings 2:13, "took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over."   

What an amazing God we have!  He is the Creator of all and is in control of it all.  

 

Guys In Camo

     It would have been every guy in camo’s dream come true!  Nothing would have created a more adrenalin rush than to see this covering of birds flying in from every direction and landing just a hair-trigger away.   
     A true guy in camo will hunt anytime and anywhere.  It does not matter if it is raining, snowing, sleeting, or scalding hot.  They will tread thickets, briars, swamps, creeks or any thing that gets between them and their prey.   They will brave snakes, mosquitoes, and other wild varmin.  They do it because they have an expectancy for the big trophy; they do it to provide meat for the table; they do it for the camaraderie; and they do it for the serenity that God’s natural habitat provides. 
     Most guys in camo are not patient in everyday life events.  Yet, they can be very patient if they need to wait hours for the animal or bird they are hunting to come their way.  Most guys in camo cannot hear the alarm when it comes to getting up to head to their daily week-day job.  Yet, the alarm need only make a tiny sound in the early morning before daylight breaks and the guy in camo is up, dressed, and out the door with his first cup of coffee. 
     Most spouses would say the guy in camo is foolish.  It is a big waste of time.
     In the book, The Circle Maker, the author, Mark Batterson, talks about feeling and looking foolish. He wrote that foolishness is a feeling that Moses was very familiar with.  Moses must have felt foolish and looked foolish when he held up his staff to save the people. However, it no longer looked foolish when the Red Sea parted and the Israelites were able to escape. Most people called Noah foolish when he was building the ark, but, as they soon found out when the floods came, Noah had not been foolish by obeying God.  When Moses told the complaining people that God would cover the land with quail, he probably felt foolish, and the people thought the same.  How was God going to send enough quail to a desert land to feed six hundred thousand men?  Yet that is exactly what God did.  In the The Circle Maker we find that "faith is the willingness to look foolish." 
     Yes, it would have been a “Guy In Camo” dream come true to see all those quails dropping from the sky, but for the Israelites it was a source of meat they had not tasted in a very long time. 

“Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction.”  Numbers 11:31

 

     For those who enjoy short true life hunting stories check out my book GUYS In CAMO  kindle edition on Amazon.  It is loaded in coon, squirrel,deer, and quail hunting episodes.   

http://www.amazon.com/Guys-In-Camo-Mary-Crisp-ebook/dp/B005CB8O1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394989360&sr=8-1&keywords=guys+in+camo