RED SEA DECISIONS

Where do we go from here? That might have been the first question the Israelites would have asked after coming up out of the Red Sea. The idea at issue is one of direction. We often fail to consider the subject of direction in our lives and therefore wind up going no where, or being dissatisfied when we get there. Israel had before them the subject of "Where do we go from here?" The fact remained that God had been directing them, and would continue to do so. However they were free moral agents, and would have to determine if they were going to go God's way or not. Going God's way is the plea of our study.

Looking behind, the Israelites could see a ghastly glimpse of carnage. The Egyptian army had been drowned creating a grotesque scene behind them. God "Overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea" (Psalm 136:15). Leaving one's hindrances behind, is what Paul encouraged in Romans 8:18 when he said, "Mortify the deeds of teh body." Further we are told to "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth" (Colossians 3:5). Like the Israelites when we look behind the Christian of today we would hope to see a trail of put to death "deeds of the body". Carnage that we have thrown to the side as we continue to live the life of a faithful Christian.

Prior to crossing the Red Sea, Israel uttered random faithless phrases of provocation to Moses, God's representative. "Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?" (Exodus 14:11). Further, they state that they would have "been better" to have continued serving the Egyptians as slaves (Exodus 14:12). In effect they would rather remain in an immoral, and pagan country than to have faithfully followed a loving, caring God. To often, this is similar to the way we try to live our Christian lives, in effect desiring to go back to our idolatrous past. Paul advised to put such ways to death. In our Christian lives we need to stop crying after our pernicious past, and look to the bright future we now have in Christ.

Where do we go from here? A tremendous question you and I as Christians must continually ask of ourselves at every juncture of life-"which way will I go?". Each morning when we awaken, ask and decide, with determination, "Today I will serve God"!

A Red Sea decision is twofold, first, how will I relate to my past? Second, how will I follow God in the future? With urgency, decide to continually turn your back on the past and seek to follow God in the future.