Exodus 17:7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

Massah means temptation and Meribah means contention. Is that all that is to be learned here? Not by a long shot. There is so much to be learned by all the events, causes and effects, attitudes and actions, that no devotional could speak to all of it. It is just too much. If I had to boil all that is meaningful down to one salient point which we could use I would pick just this one thing.

When there is contention in the assembly, glorify God.

The reason is simple enough even though it might not be obvious reading all accounts. Glorifying God heads off all the troubles that resulted because of the contentions. Staying out of trouble, walking down the right path, heading towards blessings and away from consequences should be our goal for the individual and for the congregation.

When the problem isn’t clear, glorify God. When the answer is not clear, glorify God. When doubt arises, glorify God.

Those who will not glorify God in those moments will quickly be seen for what they are and God will deal with them. Our responsibility is to glorify God and to do those things which make for peace and the bond of unity within the congregation. Those among you who cannot will eventually leave your midst.

Hebrews 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Glorify God in those moments, allow Him to do the shaking.

Psalm 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me.

As I opened up my biblegateway app this morning to study God’s Word, this verse came up as the daily opening verse. I know what it means. It means more than it says in mere words. So I went to look at all of the translations and all of them deal strictly with translation from the Hebrew. None of those translations said what it means.

It means, “I have chosen Christ, I walk by faith.”

You might well ask how I can come to that conclusion and my answer would have to be that I chose Christ and I walk by faith. Once you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, choosing Him as Lord and have no other God before Him, His Word takes on a relevant meaning like never before. It is no longer words to be learned, studied, translated, followed, obeyed, memorized and quoted. They are your life.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Faith transforms the way and the truth into a life in Christ that no long lives in the world because you walk by faith and not by sight. The old adage “seeing is believing” is no longer true. Faith is believing. To see with these spiritual eyes means to ignore what the world is trying to make you believe. The world is like a magician with sleight of hand magic. If it isn’t deception then at best it is vanity.

How do I know this? I know it in the same way a man knows his wife in a fifty year marriage.

My life is in Christ.