Moses - Barbara Lynn Seibel

April 14, 2024April 2, 2024

Reasons to Worship God

Have you given any consideration to why you worship God?

What reasons would you share with others for worshiping God?

Do the reasons vary depending on whom you are sharing with? If so, why?

Or perhaps you came across this post because you have never worshiped God and are curious why others do.

The primary definition of the word worship is to honor or show reverence to a divine being or supernatural power.

Here, I am writing about the God of the ancient Israelites whom Christians also worship today.

I believe the most accurate source to learn the reasons to worship God comes from God himself in the Bible.

Today, we will explore the reasons God himself provided to the ancient Israelites for worshiping Him in Deuteronomy 11:1-20.

April 7, 2024April 1, 2024

Remember Not to Forget | Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Do you know the name of the flowers in the picture above?

Yep, Forget-Me-Nots.

I found some interesting German lore stories on farmersalmanc.com. These stories about knights, maidens, and forget-me-nots are both sweet and bitter.

Farmersalmanc.com also stated that these flowers are prolific bloomers between May and October in my region. Traditionally, these flowers symbolize true love, respect, fidelity, and faithfulness based on those German lore stories mentioned above.

But forget-me-not flower lore and symbolism aside, today we will consider the value of remembering not to forget the LORD as we study Deuteronomy 8:1-20.

March 10, 2024March 9, 2024

Responding to Who God Says He Is

Moses’ life was not ordinary.

First, against the Egyptian Pharoah’s edict, his mother hid Moses for three months after his birth. (Exodus 1:22-2:2)

Then Pharoah’s daughter ends up adopting Moses and raising him with the help of Moses’ mother. (Exodus 2:3-10)

After Moses becomes an adult, he murders an Egyptian for beating an Israelite and attempts to hide his actions. (Exodus 2:11-12)

Yet the Lord called Moses to be His spokesperson to reveal Himself to the Israelites and all the other nations around the world. (Exodus 3:1-22)

After much back and forth in this private encounter with the Lord, Moses asks the Lord to send someone else. (Exodus 4:13)

But over time, Moses’ response to God changed.

The question is, why did Moses’ response change?

February 18, 2024February 17, 2024

God’s Response to Idolatry

In Exodus 32

Over the last several weeks, we have explored the passages leading up to Exodus 32 to understand why the Israelites disobeyed the LORD and turned to idolatry.

Ultimately, their decision was not just one of impatience, but in the words of Paul many years later,

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!^{^[1]}

Keeping in mind that scripture says we were created in the LORD’s image (Genesis 1:26), have you ever considered how humanity’s tendency to worship things or people other than Him affects the LORD?

Also, why would the LORD create us to have this tendency?

What purpose does this serve?

February 11, 2024February 10, 2024

Why Did They Turn to Idolatry? | Part Three

Again, thank you for all the prayers while I recovered from my exceptionally long work week and head cold.

Although I am still feeling some physical tiredness along with some lingering symptoms from the head cold, I am much stronger today than I was a week ago.

It is fascinating how the fact that I had to pause between each part of this “Why Did They Turn to Idolatry” series aligns with the series.

One reason I feel this way is that it has reinforced the concept of patience we first looked at in part one.

Another reason I feel this way is that it allowed me to share how the LORD encouraged me during an exhausting week through both His Word and songs written by fellow believers about Him.

Each of these examples was exceptionally timely for my need, just as the LORD provided for the Israelites exactly what they needed in part two of this series.

But now we need to answer the question, “Why did they turn to idolatry?”

November 5, 2023November 4, 2023

Why Do People Worship God? |Exodus 4:31 | Part Two

I’m back!

In Why Do People Worship God? | Exodus 4:31 | Part One, we considered the primary and secondary definitions of both the word worship and God using Merriam-Webster.com.

We then reviewed how the stage was set in Genesis 15:12-14 and how the plot developed from Genesis 41:41-43 through Exodus 4:17 before the people in Exodus 4:31 responded to the news Moses and Aaron presented to them by worshipping God.

Today, we will continue our study of Exodus 4, seeking to gain insight into why people worship God.

October 15, 2023October 14, 2023

Why Do People Worship God? |Exodus 4:31 | Part One

Answering the question of why people worship God seems both simple and complex.

The primary definition of worship is to honor or show reverence for a divine being or supernatural power.

But this definition implies that there are multiple potential divine beings or supernatural powers to choose from.

Further, the secondary definition reveals that worship may be directed toward other humans or physical objects.

The primary definition of God, according to Merriam-Webster.com, is the supreme or ultimate reality who is perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness and the creator ruler of the universe.

Yet, secondary definitions mention god as a being or object that has more than natural attributes and powers, one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality, a person or thing of supreme value, or a powerful ruler.

How can Exodus 4:31 help us unravel this simple yet complex question of why people worship God?

October 11, 2020October 11, 2020

COMPROMISED REPUTATION

A few years ago, I discovered that my debit card had been compromised.

In contacting the companies that were showing a purchase I had not made one reported they had already stopped the charge as their internal security measures had already determined it was fraudulent.

Another company kept passing me from person to person before ultimately telling me unless my bank stood behind me that I would be liable for the charges.

Thankfully, my bank stood behind me.

Sadly, due to the amount of time it took to dialogue with that company, they lost not only money but the goods they went ahead and shipped because they failed to heed my report that the charge was invalid.

Neither company knew me personally.

I would even say my bank did not really know me personally but because I followed all their requested reporting procedures, including filing a police report, they granted my request to stop payment on the faulty charges.

I am thankful that the one company was proactive in recognizing the fraud and my bank was responsive to my claim.

Clearly the first company had better methods of determining fraudulent activity than the other company.

Clearly my bank supported me because I acted responsibly in meeting all their requirements.

Admittedly, the situation could have been significantly worse.

I am thankful my fiscal reputation did not suffer any significant harm from that situation.

What if this had been a more serious attack on my reputation?

What if instead of my reputation being at risk it was God’s reputation under suspicion?