Building Biceps

In the fourth chapter of Exodus the LORD speaks with Moses who has been called to be the ambassador and  the mediator of the covenant between God and His Chosen People. Moses fears that his words will neither be heeded nor believed. The LORD gives him wise counsel using practical instruction. In Exodus 4: 2-5…we read…" So the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), "that they may believe that the LORD GOD of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."What a wonderful picture of the great Lawgiver being tutored in the classroom of Heaven! Throw it down.. pick it up… they will believe!How about us? Have you ever wondered in what manner our "message"  is heard? We are called "ambassadors" for Christ. Are we even perceived as being followers of Messiah Jesus while living  in the midst of a "crooked" generation? It really gets down to a personal issue. Am I holding on to something that hinders Heavenly “progress”?  What is in my grasp that needs to be “thrown down”? What does the Spirit of God wish me to "pick up" in order to transform my life so that ultimately the lives of others will be eternally changed for the good as well?  Confidently, we read in the New Covenant that if “any man is in Christ he is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things become new”.  It is amazing, reassuring and liberating!  But within that same Testament we are also told “to throw away”, “to put aside” things that are specifically of the “self” life. We are commanded to “cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light”. We are reminded to ”lay aside" all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and "receive" with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save our souls.Perhaps it is a bit like building up “spiritual” biceps. Throw down the self life, pick up the godly. Cast self down, lift Jesus up.  It's an ongoing practice...  undoubtedly somewhat similar to working the body with physical weights… keep changing the amount of weight lifted along with the number of reps. At the end of the day stronger muscles are built. So it is in the realm of the spirit…Godly change promotes godly results. The hissing snake of self thrown into the dirt morphs into a staff of gentle holiness when controlled by the Holy Spirit.Jesus told us forever He would be with us ... never to leave or forsake us.  What a great promise to treasure... what a great power to claim!  Let us step forward and heed His call...Throw it down!  Pick it up!  They will believe!