Finding Peace

A Lenten Series on the number 40
Moses’ 40 days on Mount Sinai
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 33:12-34:35 

[Historically, Lent is a 40‑day period of preparation leading up to Easter. It involves reflection, repentance and readiness for the resurrection. Ultimately, it leads us to transformation. The number 40 is significant in the Bible as it is associated with multiple stories of preparation and testing. In this Lenten series, we will be looking at various Biblical stories that revolve around the number 40, and how that applies to us.]

 

The year 1996 was a turning point in my career in full time urban youth ministry. I was choosing between staying with the ministry that I’d been with for 20 years, or starting my own non-profit ministry. Looking for the Lord’s guidance, I decided to go on a 24-hour personal retreat at Mohican State Park.

 

The only things that I took with me were my Bible, a notebook and my Sports Illustrated. Most of my time was spent reading from Exodus about how God called Moses to lead his people. Although I didn’t come away with a specific direction from God, I believed he was telling me that, like Moses, “I will be with you”. 

 

When God called Moses to lead his people out of Egypt, he told him that he would give him a sign. And that sign would be that Moses would worship God on the same mountain as where the burning bush was – Mount Sinai.

 

Three months after the Israelites had left Egypt, Moses went up Mount Sinai to worship the Lord – the first of two visits of 40 days and 40 nights. It was there that the Lord reaffirmed his covenant with Israel.

 

In the covenant, the Lord promised to protect Israel when they entered the Promised Land. He would drive out the nations that were already there. In return, Israel was to be obedient to him; to not serve other gods. The people of Israel all responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” But of course, they didn’t.

 

During Moses’ first visit on Mount Sinai, the people became impatient and convinced Aaron to make a golden calf that they could worship. When he did, they proclaimed, “These are the gods, Israel, who brought us up out of Egypt.”

 

The second time that Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, he pleaded with the Lord to forgive his people and for the Lord’s presence to go with them. During this visit he also asked to see the Lord’s glory.

 

⁶ The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. ^7a I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty.      NLT   Exodus 34

 

As a result, something startling happened. When Moses came down, his face was so radiant that Aaron and the people were afraid. Because Moses had seen the glory of the Lord, he had experienced a physical manifestation.

 

There’s only one time in my life when I’ve experienced anything close to this. It was after my personal retreat. The following Monday in the office one of the staff, without any prompting, commented that I looked different; more at peace.

 

Being in the presence of the Lord may not change us in our outward appearance, but it will change us inwardly. Before Israel left Mount Sinai for the Promised Land, the Lord spoke this blessing to Moses so that it might be given to the people of Israel.

 

²⁴ The Lord bless you and keep you; ²⁵ the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you; ²⁶ the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. ESV   Numbers 6

 

Copyright 2026 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

Pushing Buttons

A series on meeting God – Elijah
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
1 Kings 19:1-18 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Pushing buttons… everybody does it. Spouses push each other’s buttons. Bosses push employees’ buttons. Parents push their children’s buttons. Siblings push their brother or sister’s buttons. Coaches push their player’s buttons.

 

In every case, the person pushing the button knows the other person well enough to anticipate how they’ll react. Such was the case for Ahab, the king of Israel. He married Jezebel, a Phoenician princess.

 

Jezebel was the daughter of the king of Sidon, a Phoenician city-state where they worshiped Baal. When she married Ahab, he followed her lead and also worshiped Baal. In fact, he even had a temple of Baal built in Samaria.

 

But Jezebel wasn’t satisfied with just promoting the worship of Baal in Israel. She went to the extreme measure of having the prophets of the Lord killed! In many ways, she was responsible for a three-year draught and famine in Israel which was the result of the judgement of the Lord for worshipping Baal.

 

Following Elijah’s defeat of the prophets of Baal, and their utter destruction, Ahab ran to Jezebel, and told her everything that Elijah had done. He pushed her button. As a result, Jezebel went into a rage and sent Elijah a cryptic message that promised she would have him killed within 24 hours.

 

She pushed his button which drove Elijah into a suicidal depression. He panicked and ran for his life into the wilderness of Beersheba, eventually arriving at Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. It was here that he had an encounter with the Lord even though Elijah was still feeling sorry for himself.

 

¹⁰ Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”                     NLT

 

In response, the Lord told him to “stand before me on the mountain”. As Elijah did this, a strong wind passed him; then an earthquake; followed by a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in any of these. Finally, Elijah heard a “gentle whisper”. It was the Lord.

 

Elijah’s life; his mission; his purpose for living, had been derailed by Ahab who pushed Jezebel’s button who, in turn, pushed Elijah’s button. Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to get us off track. It’s just a matter of the right button being pushed.

 

When that happens, what can we do to get back on track? For Elijah, he needed to meet the Lord in a quiet place far away from the pressures he was feeling. He needed to be someplace where he could listen for the Lord to speak to his heart.

 

It’s hard to find a quiet place in today’s world. Everybody’s busy. Life is lived at a frenetic pace. But the Lord is faithful and is always pursuing us. He’s waiting for us to draw near to him so that we can hear his voice.

 

¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.       ESV    Hebrews 4

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

Turning Point

A series on meeting God – Moses
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 19-20:2 

[We all have a story about how we met God. Some are more miraculous than others, but none more amazing than the mere fact that the Living God, our Creator, reached out to bring us into relationship with him. In this series, we will be looking at how people in the Bible met God, and what that means to you today.]

  

Do you remember where you were on 9/11? I was in a meeting when someone’s pager went off. His wife told him that a plane had flown into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City.

 

I can still remember watching the TV reports as first the south tower crumbled and then the north. Before collapsing, you could see people jumping from the towers to escape their fiery death. The images were horrific, unbelievable and surreal. It was a turning point for the United States, as well as the world.

 

The Israelites also experienced a turning point in the life of their nation. For 430 years, the Egyptians had enslaved them. But then the Lord called Moses to lead them to freedom… to the Promised Land.

Sixty days after they escaped Egypt, the Israelites entered into the wilderness of Sinai where they stopped at the foot of Mount Sinai. This wasn’t by chance. It was providential; a divine appointment orchestrated by the sovereign God.

 

The Lord was about to confirm his covenant and to give the Israelites a new identity and purpose as a nation. Not as slaves, but as free people to serve a holy God. Speaking to Moses, the Lord gave him this message.

 

⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ⁶ And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”           NLT

 

Following this, the Lord told Moses that he was going to come to him in a dense cloud so that the Israelites would hear him when he spoke to Moses. But before doing that, Moses needed to consecrate, or prepare, the people for the Lord.

 

On the morning of the third day, “thunder roared, and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain". In fact, Mount Sinai shook violently. 

“As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply”. Although consecrated, the Israelites were terrified!

 

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.   NIV

 

Like 9/11, this was a dramatic turning point not only for Israel, but for the whole world for ALL generations to come. In fact, almost fifteen hundred years later, the Lord sent his Son to establish a new covenant.

 

This new covenant included everyone everywhere. Because of this, God’s word spoken to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, today applies to all who believe and follow Christ. Peter put it like this.

 

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.            NIV    1 Peter 2

 

Like he did with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, the Lord has freed us and given us a new identity in Christ. He has chosen us to be his priests, his holy nation and his special people.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

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www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

The Far Side of the Wilderness

A Lenten series on Mountaintop Moments
– Moses on Mount Sinai (or Horeb)
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Exodus 3:1-17 

[In this Lenten series, we will be looking at Mountaintop Moments. These mountains are more than just geographical features. They symbolize divine encounters and moments of revelation, faith and transformation. In other words, meeting God on the mountain top.]

  

In September 1974, when my wife and I were first married, we had season tickets for Michigan State football. There’s one game that still sticks in my memory. Ohio State was the perennial Big Ten champs and that year was no different. They were undefeated and ranked #1 in the country. We were average at best.

 

But that day, Levi Jackson ran for an 88-yard touchdown and the Spartans defeated the mighty Buckeyes! Later that night, as we watched the TV replay of Jackson’s winning run over and over again, we decided that we’d name our first son Levi.

 

You see, Debbie was born and raised in Lansing. And when growing up, her parents had season tickets for Spartan football for years. I also grew up in Michigan and graduated from Michigan State. I bleed green and white. Fast forward to 1985, we moved to Columbus, Ohio – home of the Buckeyes. Life is full of ironies.

 

Consider Moses. The very river that Pharoah had decreed to kill all Hebrew baby boys, saved Moses’ life. Discovered by Pharoah’s daughter, his biological mother was paid to nurse him. Raised as a prince in the household of Pharoah, despite Pharaoh’s decree. Spared by the grace of God, Moses showed no grace when he killed an Egyptian guard.

 

As a fugitive of the law, Moses fled to Midian, married the daughter of a Midianite priest, started a family and tended his father-in-law’s sheep. Until one day when he took the sheep to the “far side of the wilderness” at Mount Horeb, “the mountain of God”, also known as Mount Sinai. It was there that he met the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in a burning bush that didn’t burn.

 

God told Moses that he had seen the cruel oppression of his people, heard their desperate cries for help and that he had come to deliver them! Instead, he sent Moses the murderer, who hadn’t lived with his people for forty years. How ironic.

 

Moses gave the Lord excuse after excuse as to why he couldn’t do it. But, in a verse that’s easily overlooked, the Lord made this promise to Moses.

 

¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”                NIV

 

Moses’ life was filled with irony. You begin to get the feeling that maybe that’s how God works – through irony. After all, he works in ways you don’t expect. He works through ordinary people who do extraordinary things. He works through unexpected circumstances that change your life. He works through people’s weaknesses to show his strength.

 

Moses went to the far side of the wilderness to tend sheep, not to meet God. But ironically, God was there. Paul was in the middle of persecuting Christians when Jesus struck him blind so that he could see. Peter was in a fishing boat when Jesus invited him to come fish for men. Matthew was filling his pockets with tax money when Jesus said, “come follow me”.

 

Where have you met God? How has he surprised you? What has he done unexpectedly in your life? “I will be with you”, God told Moses. He makes the same promise to you and me even when we go to the far side of the wilderness.

 

Copyright 2025 Joseph B Williams

Feel free to share this blog with others.

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com