Read Exodus 3:1-12
"Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharoah, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt" (v. 10).
God must get a person's attention before He can speak to him. God used a very unusual happening to get the attention of Moses. The burning bush is not the only impressive thing; the location is as well, as the Scripture says, "the backside of the desert."
The Lord gave me the privilege several years to visit the Holy Land. While in the desert region of southern Lebanon, a small bush growing there was pointed out as perhaps the kind of bush that Moses witnesses burning but not being consumed. It seemed to be a very unlikely place for such an extraordinary event.
This showed not only the power of God, but also His care to make sure Moses got His message. God also prepared the atmosphere by hallowing the sandy ground upon which Moses was standing. The first response of Moses was, "Here am I."
Moses was rightly humbled that God would call him for such a mission. He wanted to be sure the call was from God. God gave him ample assurance that He would go with him.
It is encouraging to know that if God calls us, He will go with us. (Burl A McClanahan)
What would it take for God to get your attention?
This week's featured devotional is the Monday, February 24, 2014 entry of Opening the Word. Order your copy!
Photo Credit: "Desert Bushes" by greeblie used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read John 9:1-8
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (v. 4).
Is your to-do list like mine — always a carry-over from yesterday and seemingly never done? I have often wished for a few extra hours in my day and then need to remind myself that God apportioned the number of hours to a day and it corresponds to the rhythm He has established for us. If twenty-four is the right number, then I must learn to work within that allotment.
It is astonishing to realize that, while on this earth, Jesus was re- stricted to the limitations of time in the same way as we are. He submitted to all the hardships of humanness, including time pressure.
John related that, on leaving the Temple, Jesus encountered this blind man. His followers were sure his affliction was the result of direct sin, but Jesus corrected their thinking. Then Christ went on to say He had many works to complete before night. It seems He was referring to His death — the cessation of work. And like Him, you and I must be focused on completing the tasks the Father has given us while it is day. Let us not be found with an incomplete “to-do list” when He calls. (Valorie Quesenberry)
Work when the day grows brighter;
Work in the glowing sun.
Work, for the night is coming,
When man’s work is done.
— Annie L. Coghill
God has given you twenty-four hours today; fill your to-do list for His glory.
This is the Monday, February 17, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "tuesday to-do list" by Stacey Spensley used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read Matthew 13:36-43
“The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one” (v. 38).
A number of years ago I worked for a screen printing company in Kansas City, Missouri, and one of our clients was a large seed company with its home office in Iowa. Usually, each year we would receive an order to print corrugated plastic field signs that would be placed along the highway in the fields where our customer’s “certified” seed was being grown.
As we think about the motive of the seed company, we would note their desire to advertise and express their pride in the quality crop being produced from their seed. In this parable, Jesus noted that there is both good seed and bad seed. The good seed is representative of the children of the kingdom, but the poor seed is the result of Satan’s activity in the lives of lost humanity.
If there were to be a sign posted in your life as to the quality or purity of the seed in your life, would you be a representative of good seed or bad seed? We cannot expect to sow the seed of unrighteousness in our lives and then bring forth a harvest of holiness. As we live in this world today, what signs are being read by those who pass our way? Are we producing a life of purity or that of wicked worldliness? (Marshall Mosley)
There are only two kinds of spiritual seeds — God’s and Satan’s. Which
do you use?
This is the February 11, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "Billboard by Editor B used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped.

Read 2 Kings 17:14-23
“Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only” (v. 18).

Having grown up in the 50’s and 60’s under the training of parents who believed in teaching us that children were responsible for behavior, sometimes the rod (maybe a yardstick or green switch) was employed. Sometimes we got the “brown chair treatment.” The brown chair was a place where we could sit and reflect upon our misdemeanors and consider how we might adjust our attitudes to be more conformable to the expectations of parents.
Admittedly, as a parent I sometimes counted to ten. Counting is condemned by those who may have it all together, but I was not one of those. Sometimes counting to ten gave me time to think of the next step. Sometimes a time-out chair was safer for the child than corporal discipline, and again, it gave me time to formulate a plan.
God gave Israel a “time-out” not because He was fearful that He would overreact nor because He did not have a next step in mind. He set Israel aside so they could reflect. He set them aside so they could reject those things which had displaced God. (Lonnie Witt)
God sometimes sets us aside so we can deal with carnal pride.
God sometimes sets us aside so that we can better accept Him as a guide. — Lonnie Witt

It is better to take a time-out voluntarily than it is for God to impose one on us.

This is the February 3, 2014 devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "chair" by qmnonic used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped and resampled.

Read Acts 17:22-31
“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (v. 31).
As we listen to and watch the daily news reports, we cannot help being very well-acquainted with judgment days. Many of the trials that take place in our justice system drag on for weeks or months before a verdict is reached. When a guilty verdict is given, then a sentencing date is set. At that time, the person found guilty is again brought into the court for his “judgment day.”
As surely as the convicted criminal faces his “judgment day,” so each of us will face a Judgment Day. The criminal has his conviction decided by twelve of his peers who listen to the evidence presented, then, in the best of their judgment, make a decision as to the innocence or guilt of the accused, and a human judge makes and announces his sentence.
Regardless of our status as forgiven or unforgiven, we will all be present for our Judgment Day. It will not be presided over by a human judge who may be influenced by many factors including some that are not true, but by “that man whom he hath ordained,” who knows all the facts about and intents of the one to be judged. (LRD)
Our judgment at our appointed Judgment Day will be just, because it is pronounced by a judge who is impartial and fair.
This is the Friday, January 31, 2014, devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: "My Trusty Gavel" by Brian Turner used under CC BY / Cropped.

Read Luke 10:1-16
“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves” (v. 3).
Lambs among wolves — what chance would they have? Jesus was sending His disciples into an environment in which they would be opposed by those who hated righteousness and loved evil. Persecution awaited them. Indeed, we only need to read the life of the Apostle Paul to know that this was true.
The Nicene Council was held in the fourth century to debate the nature of Christ. It was an important milestone in Church history — Jesus was declared to be one with the Father. Vance Havner, the well-known evangelist, reportedly declared that, of the 318 bishops who participated in the debates, fewer than a dozen had whole, healthy bodies. The rest, he said, had lost eyes or hands or had been severely hurt in other ways because of their faith in Christ.
That believers go forth as lambs among wolves is no less true today. Read the accounts of persecution in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine to acquaint yourself with modern fulfillments of Jesus’ ancient declaration. But note also that “it is the manifestation of a meek and lamblike spirit among ravenous and wolfish men which wins the battle for Christ and conquers the world” (Pulpit Comm.). Jesus does not win the world through armed conflict or coercion; He wins the hearts of men through meekness and love. (Steven E Hight)
Lambs among wolves ultimately overcome through Christ.
This is the January 20, 2014, devotional from Opening the Word.
Photo Credit: Jean-Léon Gérôme [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons