It's an intimidating scene right out of Universal Studios - smoke, thunder and lightning, and loud trumpet blasts. There is the warning of keeping distance back to avoid being incinerated. And then the instructions.
The people are freaked out. They ask Moses to be a go-between so they don't have to talk to God directly. It is as if they are overwhelmed by God's instructions and they are saying, "we can't do this."
They are feeling what we feel everyday. We need God desperately, but he scares us. We want to do what he asks, but it's all a bit overwhelming.
That's why God gives us his Spirit. The Hebrews proved that left to our own devices, instructions are just text on a page. We can't do it. Jesus leaves us his Spirit to coach and enable us to live his core values. In the end, Christianity is not firstly the execution of God's instructions in our lives, it is living with the living God in our lives.
Write
Think about your faith story: what's your experience with the tension between wanting God and fearing God, and between wanting to do what God wants, and feeling overwhelmed by his instructions?
Presently, which "instructions" do you struggle with? How do you need the Spirit's help?
Who do you know is trying to be good by their own effort?
Pray
What
is God saying to you today? What's Good News to you?
Talk to God about your experience trying to live his instructions. Thank God for the way he empowers you to live his values, and the way he forgives you when you fail.
Pray about your present struggle with his instructinos. Ask God for the help you need, the reassureance of his presence, and the courage to shift from performance to rely on God.
Pray for the person who is trying to be good by their own effort. Pray for the wisdom and opportunity to walk with and support your friend.
Pray for an experience of God's love, grace and mercy in the way he offers himself in friendship to you, and not just instructions at your own devices.