In the Book of Exodus, which I’m reading through during my daily Bible reading times, I read about how the Pharaoh of Egypt tried to get Moses and the Israelites to compromise on their beliefs and values. In Exodus 8:24-25 we read: “And the Lord did just as He had said. There were terrible swarms of flies in Pharaoh’s palace and in every home in Egypt. The whole country was thrown into chaos by the flies. Pharaoh hastily called for Moses and Aaron. ‘All right! Go ahead and offer sacrifices to your God,’ he said. ‘But do it here in this land. Don’t go out into the wilderness.’” The Pharaoh was reluctantly willing to allow the Israelites to worship their God because of the terrible swarms of flies that had invaded his country, but he didn’t want them to go off into the wilderness to worship God as they had requested. He was probably afraid they would leave and never return, which would diminish his nation’s workforce. And so he offered them a compromise.

But Moses told the Pharaoh that his proposal wouldn’t work. He said, “We must take a three-day trip into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, just as He has commanded us” (Exodus 8:27). What Moses was saying was, “We can’t worship our God and blend in with the world. There must be a distinct separation from the world if we are to fully worship and follow our God.” That’s a truth that modern Christians need to understand and embrace as well. If we are to live for God we must overcome and resist the temptations, philosophies and values of the world (1 John 2:15-17; James 1:27, 4:4; Romans 12:2).

We are offered other compromises as well. In Exodus 8:28 the compromise was to allow Israelites to go into the wilderness but not “too far away.” This same compromise is offered to us in our day when the Devil or ungodly people tell us, “It’s okay to be a Christian, just don’t go too far or get too committed.” In Exodus 10:8-11 the compromise was to allow the Israelite men to go worship God, but they were to leave their family members in Egypt. Sometimes the Devil tells us we can be committed to the Lord, but that we shouldn’t expect our family members to be committed to following and worshiping God. In Exodus 10:24 the compromise was to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness to worship God, but they were to leave their possessions behind. The Devil oftentimes tells us that we can worship God all we want as long as we don’t let our worship of God affect our finances, possessions or vocations.  Again, these “compromises” are utilized by our enemy to keep us from fully following and serving the Lord.  Like Moses and the Israelites, we must have the discernment to understand what these “compromises” are all about, and we must have the discernment, and strength to overcome them.

So let me ask you, “What types of compromises has the Devil been offering you?” How has the Devil been tempting you to compromise on God’s revealed will for your life – and have you been giving in to the “compromises” he has extended to you? When we are offered “compromises” by the world (and people in the world), the flesh or the Devil, we must be steadfast and strong like Moses and God’s people were in that day. In response to every offered up “compromise” Moses said, “No, we’re going to only do what the Lord has told us to do.” When we reach that level of godliness and commitment, we are on our way to continuous victory over the enemy in our lives.

In the coming days, especially as we enter the Mardi Gras season here in NOLA, pray that the Lord will reveal to you any “compromises” you have been tempted with or given in to. and ask Him to forgive you for any “compromises” you have allowed in your life. Also, pray that the Lord will give you discernment, conviction and strength, so that you can recognize ‘compromises” when they are offered to you, and reject them. And thirdly, pray for the Lord to give you (and others you know who are struggling) victory over every attack of the enemy. Because when we reject ungodly “compromise” and commit to living life God’s way, that’s when we will honor and please the Lord and when we will experience God’s best in our lives

As we’ve done in years past at Celebration, we have put together a list of Mission Trips that people from our Church family can participate in if they have a desire to serve the Lord in other countries around the world. When we send people on Mission Trips to other countries they’re often involved in building homes, feeding ministries, working with children and teens in orphanages or impoverished areas, street evangelism, teaching ethics in schools, etc. And the people who participate on Missions Trips often come back stronger in their relationship with the Lord and the people they were on mission with, and they come back feeling more “blessed” than the people they were ministering to.

Because the world is still recovering from the Covid19 Pandemic, we are focusing our Missions Trips in 2023 on Central America – sending teams to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. If you would like info about these upcoming Mission Trips, go to www.celebrationchurch.org/missions. You can also download and fill out our Mission Trip application by clicking here. God can use you right where you work and live, but sometimes He wants to use you to bring help, hope and healing to people in other nations.

Our 2022 Contribution Statements are available. You can access your personal 2022 Contribution Statement by logging in to your Pushpay account.

• Navigate to https://pushpay.com/login

• Sign in with your mobile number, then click Next. Verify the 6-digit security code sent to your phone and click Confirm.

• Click on Giving Statements and you will have access to view or download your 2022 giving statement.

If you don’t have a Pushpay account set up, please follow these steps.

• Navigate to https://pushpay.com/onboarding

• Enter your first and last name, email address, and mobile number, then click Next. Verify the 6-digit security code sent to your phone and click Confirm.

• Enter your payment details and click Next. Alternatively, click Skip to continue without entering your payment details.

• You should then be directed to a page that indicates that your account has been successfully set up.

This Sunday at our Celebration Campuses we are continuing our Steps To Success sermon series. Last week we learned from Nehemiah 4 about “overcoming opposition.” You can click here to view and listen to that message. This coming Sunday we’re going to be learning from Nehemiah 5 about how to “resolve conflict” – which is a lesson every person needs to learn if they are to have healthy relationships at home, at work or in the Church. Be sure to join us either in-person or online this Sunday, as we continue to learn from Nehemiah about the Steps To Success. 

Jesus is everything.