At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 5

Numbers 14:21-44

This is a long narrative, however, I feel that this passage has some important lessons that are applicable to our daily lives.

God forgives the Israelites for their unbelief, lack of trust, and ultimately their contempt. But, the consequences are still theirs to live with. No one that had treated with Him contempt would ever see the promised land. The saddest part is that even the children had to suffer for their parents sin. Not because God was punishing them directly, but because sin even affects the innocent.

When a husband or wife chooses to be unfaithful, their entire family is effected. What consequences are my children suffering because of my rebellion? Are they rebellious because I have allowed them to be? Do they have a complaining attitude because I do?

The last part of the story is the most tragic. The people realize they have sinned and decide they will go into the promised land. Moses tried to tell them that the Lord was not with them, but they would not listen. Sometimes we cannot go back. Sometimes the opportunity for obedience is forever lost and we must live with the consequences. Persistent failure to trust God and obey Him is always disastrous.

Not all sin has to end in disastrous consequences. The time to believe and repent through our actions is now. The Israelites never got to see their promised land. I pray we don't miss ours. Don't just stand on the threshold - GO IN!!

At the Threshold of the Promised Lard - Part 4

Numbers 14:13-20

Again, we see the wonderful character traits of Moses. Moses was more concerned about the reputation of the Lord than he was his own purposes. Moses reasons with God to forgive them for His namesake. Moses wants the nations to know that God is The LORD and that the one, true God keeps His promises.

We should be ever mindful of the Lord's reputation as we live our lives. During this time and even today, the world is looking for the one, true God. The world is looking for a god who keeps his promises. We can show them this God, the only God through our lives.

One important thing to point out about this passage is that Moses appeals to God's love and His mercy - not His justice. To appeal to God's justice would have meant certain death. We do not want God's justice. If God treated us justly, we would surely be destroyed.

As we pray for our country, let us confess our sins and plead for God to be merciful to us and to our country. Let us ask God to show the world again that He is the One, True God and that He keeps His promises!

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 3

Number 14: 1-12

I must tell you that reading this vivid passage in the Bible literally brings me to tears. These people had seen the wonders of God, the provision of God, the blessings of God, and the literal glory of God yet they still do not believe. It is hard to comprehend.

Deuteronomy 1:27 tells us that the people literally grumbled in their tents saying, "the LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us".

What makes this so heartbreaking to me is that I know that I have felt that way. I know that when I have been faced with opposition I have wondered, "why are You doing this to me?" Oh, how I have distrusted my loving God! It breaks my heart that the Israelites did it, but it breaks my heart even more that I did not learn from their example.

Moses and Aaron hit the dirt out of shame, but also probably because they were afraid God might justifiably wipe the people off the face of the Earth! Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and tried to reason with these unbelieving people. But, then God shows up and speaks with Moses. God asks Moses how long would these people, His people, treat Him with contempt!

When we fail to trust God and believe His promises, we are treating the Lord with contempt. It is rebellion and it is sin. Is that really how we want to treat the God that gave His only Son so that we might have a relationship with Him? Do we really want to treat Him with contempt? Do you really believe God? Not do you believe in God, but do you believe Him?

He is worthy of our trust. Ask Him to reveal any area of unbelief to you today and then ask Him to "Help your unbelief". An honest cry for help He will not deny.

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 2

Numbers 13:26-33

This passage starts out so encouraging! Can't you just hear the people saying "Ohh" and "Ahh" as the spies give their report! Unfortunately, one little word changes everything. "But". The spies begin to tell the people why they can never take possession of the land. But this, and but that! Then Caleb steps up and becomes the voice of faith in a God that had seen them through and proven Himself faithful.

Caleb says "we can certainly do it", but the other 10 basically say, "no we can't!". They compare themselves to grasshoppers! However, with God, grasshoppers can overcome giants! Let me give you an example...

George Mueller, an ordinary man that lived in the 1800s, felt God calling him to care for orphans in Bristol, England. He did not have the means to do this on his own, yet he trusted God and made a covenant with God that he would never ask anyone for financial assistance. He would only ask God for the provisions needed to care for orphaned children and himself. God proved Himself faithful as George Mueller provided for over 10,000 children during the course of his ministry! George Mueller was just a grasshopper, but he overcame a giant by trusting in a giant God!

What giant in your life is holding you back from entering the promised land? God does great things with grasshoppers who trust Him. How will you trust Him today?

By the way, if you have an extra minute, click on George Mueller and read his story. It is quite amazing!

At the Threshold of the Promised Land - Part 1

Numbers 13:1-3, 17-25

The Israelites were finally there!! They made it to the promised land! In this passage, we see the Lord instructing Moses to send spies into the land to check it out. However, based on Deuteronomy 1:19-23 we see that this was a concession made by God to allow them to explore the land. But, the decision had already been made. They were to inhabit the land.

The Israelites knew that they were to take possession of this land. They didn't have to question whether this was the right place or the right time. They had all known since childhood that one day God would deliver them to this land. Yet, here they stand on the edge of it and doubt.

Although we might think that we might just walk right in, let's stop and think for a moment... Do we do everything that we know God has commanded us to do? When God gives us instructions to do something, we are to do it. We are not to see if it is "do-able". We are to do it! The decision has been made and we are to do it. Specifically, this means that instructions that are given in His Word are to be carried out.

As we will see later this week, failure to trust God and follow Him in obedience can be disasterous. Where do you need to be obedient? What has God told you to do in His Word that you are not doing? Can you confess that you aren't doing it either because you don't want to or because you don't trust Him enough to follow Him? Ask God to change any area of disobedience in your life today. Let's not miss out on the promised land.

Judgement, Repentance, Intercession, & Restoration

Numbers 12:10-16

God's judgment falls on Miriam and it is severe. Leprosy. At this time, there is no cure for leprosy aside from divine healing from God. Aaron looks at her and as high priest knows that he will have to pronounce her unclean and send her out of the camp forever. Knowing that he has sinned as well, Aaron humbly confesses and repents of this sin they so "foolishly committed". Aaron begs Moses to intercede for their sister.

Moses, who had been so deeply hurt by them, cries out in intercession for his sister. This is exactly what Jesus Christ does for you everyday of your life. He is the offended and we are the offenders. Yet, He cries out to the Father on our behalf and pleads for our forgiveness. Thank Jesus for doing that right now.

One lesson we can learn from Numbers 12 is that jealousy hurts everyone. Moses was hurt, Aaron was hurt, and Miriam was hurt. Jealousy enslaves us and the root of it is dissatisfaction with what God has blessed us with.

There is hope in this story as well. First of all, God comes to the defense of His faithful servants. He defended Moses against his family, and God will defend us as well. Lastly, Miriam and Aaron were restored. Yes, they were humbled - especially Miriam - but God forgave them and restored them. Aaron and Miriam continued to serve the Lord. Even when we fail, God can still use us if we will turn from our sin and turn back to Him.

Too Close to Home - Part 2

Numbers 12:4-9

Talk about accountability! We know that God hears and sees everything we say and do, but here we see God Himself coming to hold Miriam and Aaron accountable for what they were saying about His servant Moses. God basically says to them "How dare you!" This is an extremely important lesson so I don't want you to miss it:

God is not pleased when we criticize those He has placed in leadership.

Who does this include? No, our pastor and other ministers at our churches are not the same as Moses. But, they have been placed as overseers of God's church. We must heed the question God asks in verse 8 very seriously. "Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" Will we respect those that God has placed over us or will we belittle them? Will we pray for them as God leads through them or will we demean their efforts to serve God?

I'm sure that everyone reading this has had "fried pastor" or "fried worship leader" for lunch on Sunday at least once. However, God has convicted me over this so severely that I do not want to fall into this sin ever again. And I don't want you to either. If you know that you have talked poorly about the leadership of your church, confess and repent right now. God will forgive and restore you. Begin praying right now for God to move in the leadership of your church and commit to support them in whatever way God leads you to.

Too Close to Home

Numbers 12: 1-3

The problems that Moses faced in chapter 11, unfortunately were only the beginning. Only this time, it is a little too close to home. His own family is personally attacking him and his leadership. Why? Many believe it was because of Moses' wife threatening Miriam's position, but usually an attack of this magnitude would be something deeper than that. Moses' wife was probably just a smokescreen. Miriam and Aaron had become envious of their younger brother.

God had just anointed 70 new leaders. Possibly Miriam and Aaron felt that their position was threatened. Or maybe they were just jealous of Moses' special relationship with God. What we need to realize is that God has the right to choose whomever He desires. Have you ever been offended or jealous when God chose someone else to do a job that you wanted to do?

We see in verse 3 that Moses was "the most humble man on the face of the earth". (Just in case you are wondering if Moses wrote this about himself, the answer is - probably not!! This verse was probably added by Joshua since if Moses said that about himself, he wouldn't be very humble!) Moses stood silent in the face of his attackers. How could he do this? Moses could let this attack go, no matter how much it hurt him, because he was secure in God and God's love for him. He believed what God said about him more than what his family said about him. Wow!

What can you do today to help you not be so defensive in the face of criticism? Ask God to show you who He says you are and to help you silence all the other voices.

True Leader of God

Numbers 11:16-30

I realize we have skipped around a lot in the 11th chapter of Numbers, but there are so many lessons to be learned that I don't want us to miss any of them! Today, I want us to look deep into the heart of Moses. I know we will see Jesus, but I hope we will see ourselves. If we don't, I hope we will want to change...

Moses was at a point in his ministry where he truly needed help. He took his requests to God and God gave him help. God gave Moses 70 leaders to help him share the burden of leading His people. When God put His Spirit on the 70 new leaders, they temporarily prophesied. 68 of the men were around the Tent, but for some reason, possibly because of ceremonially uncleanness, Eldad and Medad were not present. They were chosen to be part of the leadership, but they were in the camp. So, when God's Spirit came down they prophesied as well, and Joshua heard them.

Joshua had been Moses right-hand man since he was a boy. He was extremely loyal to Moses. When he heard these other men prophesying, he was afraid that Moses' authority might be threatened. Joshua even told Moses to "stop them"! This is when we see the true heart of a leader come forth. Moses tells Joshua that he wishes that God would put His Spirit on all of the people.

We must remember that during this time, the Holy Spirit came and went as He pleased. When we accept Christ, the Spirit indwells us always, but this was not the case for the children of Israel. Moses, Aaron, and Miriam had been the only ones that God had put His Spirit on thus far. Now God was giving His Spirit to 70 others. But, was Moses jealous? No.

Moses had no personal ambition of his own. He only had the ambition of the Father. Moses did not want to get in the way of God's work. How do you feel when someone else is used powerfully by God? Are you thrilled that God's work is being done or are you envious that He didn't use you or your church? Maybe the bigger question is: Are we about building God's kingdom or our own?

These are hard questions. We see the heart of Moses was to serve God's purposes. What are ours?

Their Fearless Leader?

Numbers 11:10-17

In this passage we see none other than Moses, the Israelites fearless leader, complaining! Oh no! Is he falling into the same sin that the people were committing? Actually, he isn't. We can see from God's response that Moses is not sinning against God by complaining. But why?

Their is a subtle difference that makes what Moses was doing not a sin. The Israelites were complaining about their circumstances and therefore complaining about God. Moses was not complaining about God. He was complaining to God.

God does not rebuke Moses for bringing his complaints to Him. He realized that Moses had a very heavy burden and that he was just a man. But, Moses had forgotten that God had made him a promise that He would be with him and would give him rest. God recognized that Moses felt like he was failing the people, himself, and ultimately God. God gave him others to come along beside him and help carry the load. God heard Moses and answered his prayer.

The lesson for us today is to remember to "carry our complaints to the throne instead of to the phone"!

More Complaining...

Numbers 11:4-6, 18-20, 31-35

Even after being punished with the fire, the people are still wailing about their circumstances. This time, it's about the food. We may be sympathetic to the Israelites because we have an abundance of different foods everyday. God was moving them into a new land that would be "flowing with milk and honey". However, they could not be thankful for their "daily bread". They desired different and more. This must be understood as ingratitude and ultimately sin.

Their issue was not really about the food. It was really about their dissatisfaction with their circumstances and with God. They were rejecting God Himself. This lesson that they learned is so applicable to us today. In our society, it is the norm to be dissatisfied with our current lifestyle. To always want more or different is acceptable. Unfortunately, when we reject what God has given us we are rejecting God.

We must ask ourselves: Am I rejecting God because I don't like what He has given me? Am I dissatisfied with my spouse, my job, my house, or anything else in my life because I want different or I want more?

Unfortunately, the end of the story is tragic. The people got their meat, but they did not even get to enjoy it. The old saying rings true: Be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.

The Reteaching of God

"Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the LORD and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the LORD had burned among them." Numbers 11:1-3

Have you ever had to learn a lesson more than once? I know that I certainly have! Way back in Exodus 15, the Israelites had grumbled and complained against the Lord. He did not punish them or strike out against them at that point in time. However, this passage is two years later! Two years that God had shown his faithfulness to them over and over. He had supplied all of their needs. He was even dwelling among them, leading them, and guiding them, yet they still complained.

As they learned earlier and as we have learned, complaining about anything is truly to complain about God. God is Sovereign, therefore, anything that comes into our lives is ultimately from Him and is for our good. To complain about it, even if it is undesirable, is to complain about God.

Complaining reveals a lack of trust and a lack of gratitude to God. Complaining is accepted in society, but it is sin before God. The Israelites had a habit of complaining. They complained about their conditions in Egypt. Then they complained about their conditions when God freed them. They had a complaining attitude. It was contagious and it angered God.

We must ask ourselves: Am I a complainer? If so, will I ask God to change this attitude in my life? One way to begin, is when you find yourself tempted to complain about a circumstance or condition, praise God instead. Praise Him for who He is - He is Sovereign, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, forgiving, holy, etc. Then thank Him for the blessings in your life.

The old song, Count your blessings, really is true. When you are struggling, count your blessings and "it will surprise you what the Lord has done".

Do I Count?

"The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said: "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one...These were the men counted by Moses and Aaron and the twelve leaders of Israel, each one representing his family. All the Israelites twenty years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. The total number was 603,550." Numbers 1:1-2 & 44-46

Many of you know that I am personally studying the life of Moses. Last week I started studying Numbers. Numbers is not a book that you pick up to leisurely read on the beach or to really "feel" moved, but it is scripture and therefore I know that God has something to teach us through it. But, what is it? I asked myself that question all week and today God is beginning to bring at least one lesson together for me.

Numbers begins with God commanding Moses to do a census of the people. God knew exactly how many people there were, so why did He have Moses do a census? For one, they needed to know. The Israelites had been slaves and now had to form an army. They needed to know how many men they had. But, I also think that it is recorded in scripture for another reason.

Scripture could have recorded that there were "approximately 600,000 men", but God did not choose for it to be that way. Scripture records that there were exactly "603,550" men that were able to fight in the army and that they represented each family. Later in Numbers, there is another census done for the Levites. What this says to me is that everyone matters. Everyone counts, and God wanted them to know it. These were God's people and they all mattered to Him. By counting them and recording it, He was showing them that they all had a place in His work.
We can look at God's relationship with them and apply it to our lives daily because we too are God's chosen people if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord.

Have you ever wondered if you mattered to God? Have you ever wondered if He sees you? Knows that you're there? Have you ever wondered if your life counts for anything? Through the little read book of Numbers, you can know that it does. You do count, and you matter to Him. You have a role in His kingdom and are ultimately a member of His army.

God's Provision

Matthew 6:25-34

I love the way that the Old and New Testament work together absolutely perfectly. This passage of scripture reminds me of one of God's promises that He made to the Israelites in Leviticus 25. To summarize, He commanded them to observe the sabbath, but to also observe a sabbath year every seven years. That meant that every seven years they were not to sow or reap to allow the land to rest. He promised them that He would so increase their harvest in the sixth year that they would be able to live off of it for three years! That's quite a promise!

However, there is no scriptural evidence that the Israelites ever followed this command. We know that they didn't follow this command because they were punished for it. In 2 Chronicles 36:21, all the Israelites had been carried off into captivity and the land was able to rest.

If they never followed this command, they totally missed the blessing of God's provision in their lives. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we will eat or wear, but yet I find myself worrying about those types of things often. Am I missing the blessing of God's provision by trying to jump ahead of Him instead of waiting on how He will provide?

I have never really believed that God will show us all the blessings we missed out on. I just never thought that would be very "heavenly"! But, I do wonder what I am missing out on because of my own lack of faith and disobedience. Ask God to show you if there is any area that you are controlling that He wants to provide for you in. I certainly don't want to miss any of His blessings and I don't want you to either.

"The earth is the Lord's..."

"The earth is the LORD's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."
Psalm 24:1

Greed: Maybe it started with the American dream or maybe it started way before America was even thought of. Either way, it is rampant in our society today. The Bible has much to say about the accumulation of wealth (Proverbs 21:20, Proverbs 28:20), which is not evil or bad in and of itself. The Bible also has much to say about how to be good stewards of what God has given us (Matthew 25:14-30). In light of what God says, what are we to do with all the events swirling around us that deal with our personal, national, and global economy?

I have come to one conclusion over this recently and it is that we may be able to politically change policies, but only God can change the heart of men. We live in a society that greed, materialism, and the accumulation of "stuff" has become more important than families and the protection of the poor. It is easy to point the finger at "big executives", but are we any less guilty? At some point, the church stopped taking care of the poor in the community and the government had to step in. At some point, Christians began to decide that a bigger house, a more expensive car, and the best of everything was more important than whether or not their neighbor had food on the table. I am just as guilty as anyone.

So what are we to do? We must pray that the Lord will change hearts and that He will start with ours. I am not suggesting that we go and sell everything we own and give to the poor - unless God directs us to do that - but I am suggesting that we take a good look at what it means to be a sacrificial giver. Everything we have belongs to the Lord. Everything. Knowing that, we must be good stewards and ready to give whatever He asks of us.

Doing God's Work

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

We can all agree that we are to be the hands and feet of Christ and do His work. However, there always seems to be much debate about how that work is to be done. Or maybe there is no debate and sometimes we just do what we want to do and then say that we are doing it for the Lord.

As I have been studying the Old Testament, several themes ring loud and clear. One of them is this:

God's work must be done God's way.

In the story of Cain and Able, Cain was sincere in his offering to the Lord, but it wasn't God's way therefore it was unacceptable. In Leviticus 10, Aaron's son's offered "unauthorized fire" to the Lord and they were consumed by the presence of the Lord. I am sure that their offering was sincere, but it was not what God had told them to do. In 1 Chronicles 13, David sincerely wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem, but he did not do it God's way and the consequences were quite severe.

God is serious about us doing what He asks us to do, but He is also serious about us doing it His way. I believe this is something we should not take lightly when it comes to our work in the church as well as outside the church. If we want God to bless our work for Him, we must start by asking Him how He wants it accomplished.

As we were leaving Gatlinburg last week, our 5 year old, Joel, prayed for us as we started our trip home. He prayed for God to keep us safe on the road, but then he said "and God, if you need us to do anything today for you, use us." Wow! Can we all be that open to His will? Not just that we will do it, but use us to do it the way You want it done.

"Like Little Children..."

"He called a little child and had him stand among them. and he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." Matthew 18:2-6

There are many important lessons to be learned from this passage. I want to focus on two that stand out to me. The first brings me as a mother much comfort. We teach our children and grandchildren that God loves them and that He is with them. But, then at some point they begin learning that until they trust in Christ to forgive them for their sins that Jesus does not live in their heart. This has always been hard for me to reconcile because both are true. However, I believe that this passage, as well as others in which Jesus deals with children, teach us that Jesus is uniquely with children. I believe that He is with all children whether they realize it or not. My children believe that God is with them because that is what they have been taught, however, I am thankful that He is even with the Buddhist child in Indonesia right now. May he come to believe in Christ as well.

The second lesson is that we as a culture need a good dose of humility. I have heard it said many times that "we are the most powerful nation in the world" and "nothing can come up against America". Hmmm, are we so sure anymore? We are and have been the most powerful nation in the world because God has ordained that we would be at this point in history. Not because of any of our own doing. It is only by His grace and His mercy bestowed upon us day after day after day. And yet, we continue to take credit for it. May we thank Him today the way a little child thanks their parents for doing something they could never do themselves.

"Be Holy"

"Be holy, because I am holy" Leviticus 11:45

We have all heard this verse quoted many times I am sure. But what exactly does it mean to "be holy"? Holy means to be "set apart, consecrated for the Lord". Simply put, holy means to be different from the world. If we are not different from the world in our actions and our attitudes, we are not holy.

The entire book of Leviticus instructs the Israelites on how to be holy. I am not suggesting that we are to live by the entire Levitical code, however it is a good book to read to begin to grasp the holiness of God. An interesting fact about that book is that all the laws that are given to them regarding holiness were not given so that the Israelites could have a relationship with God. They were already in relationship with God because He had chosen them to be His people. The laws were given to them so that they could maintain their relationship with God.

The same is true for us today. When we accept Christ, we are in relationship with God. Through God's mercy, the righteousness of Christ is given to us, but holiness must be acquired. Holiness is something that we must work at daily by seeking God and His will. We do this not to have a relationship with God, but in order to maintain it. I have heard it said that we will never "drift into holiness". And this is true.

A holy life will always be characterized by obedience. Let's all ask ourselves, "Where do I fall short?"

Our Greatest Reward

Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34-35

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—John 14:16

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 1 Corinthians 6:19

Sometimes we might think that the Israelites had it easy. They knew exactly where to go and when because the "cloud of God" led them through the desert. I know I have thought that it would be easy to follow God if I had that clear of a direction. They even had God's presence come and live in their church! They really seem to have the advantage until we take a closer look at what God has given us through Christ.

Now, Believers don't follow a cloud or a pillar of fire. Nor do we build a temple for the presence of God to come and dwell inside. When we accept Christ, we are the temple. He literally comes and dwells inside of us! The presence of the Living God that Moses could not come near as He was filling the temple, fills you and I when we trust in Christ's sacrifice for our sins.

Of all the blessings or rewards we could ever hope for, this is by far the greatest. Thank God today for the gift of His promised Holy Spirit in you life. Ask Him to help you "hear" His leadership. Yield yourself to Him today so that you can be completely filled with His presence.

Finding Wisdom

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:5-8

Wisdom is something that we all desire, but seem to have the hardest time finding. I love these verses and have quoted them quite frequently to myself, to others, and to God in prayer. It is important that we ask for wisdom and the Bible tells us plainly that when we do, it will be given to us. But, sometimes I still have a hard time figuring out what to do in a situation. Why? I have prayed for wisdom so why doesn't the Lord give it to me like He says He will?

The Bible tells us that if we doubt we will not receive anything from the Lord because we are like "a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind". I don't think this necessarily just means if we are having trouble believing that God can give us wisdom, but more that we are doubting that His wisdom is the right choice for us. God is not going to give us wisdom in a situation just so we can throw it into our "suggestion" pile. He is only going to give us His wisdom if we are willing to obey.

Chris Tiegreen says, " If we are only requesting His advice, He will not give it. He only gives solutions to be implemented, not suggestions to consider."

God is not an advice column. He is Almighty God, full of wisdom and understanding. When we ask for His wisdom on an issue, we must be willing to obey what He says. Otherwise, we will continue to be tossed about from one suggestion to the next.

Ask God to give you wisdom today in your daily decisions and commit to obey what He says.

Expecting Excellence

So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses... The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them. Exodus 39:32-33a, 42-43

We expect excellence from everyone we are around. If we are an employer, we expect our employees to work with excellence. If we lead a ministry, we expect our ministry team to minister with excellence. And for heaven's sake, we all expect our children to do everything with excellence! But, what gives us the right to expect this excellence? Is is because we have taught or encouraged others with our words to do everything with excellence? Or is it because we have mirrored excellence in our own lives?

Moses could expect excellence from the Israelites because he had live a life of excellence. He could expect the Israelites to do everything "just as the LORD had commanded" because he had done everything "just as the LORD had commanded".

We cannot expect things to be any different in our lives. If we are not behaving with excellence, those we lead will not either. For example, we cannot expect our employees, ministry team, or our children to be punctual if we are always five minutes behind. We cannot expect our children to talk respectful to us and others if they hear us talking disrespectful to or about our spouse.
Those who are led by us, tend to take on many of our characteristics - good or bad.

We see from scripture that the Israelites truly cared about what Moses thought of their work. They brought all of their work to Moses to be inspected, and Moses blessed them. Because Moses had displayed excellence in his own life, the people truly valued his opinion. I know that when my children are grown, I want them to value my opinion. I do not want to run their lives or tell them what to do as adults, but I hope that they will have seen consistent excellence in my life and in my walk with Christ and therefore value what I say.

Today, ask God to help you serve Him with excellence in whatever area of service He has placed you. Whether you are the head of a company or ministry or just the CEO of your household and children, God desires that we serve Him with excellence. And others are looking for it in their leaders.

"Stop Giving!"

Exodus 35:4-9, 36:2-6

The Israelites are getting ready to build the first tabernacle that God has instructed them to build. The materials were all given to God as free-will offerings. No one was forced to give, and God gave no percentage of goods that had to be given per person. The people just gave as there hearts led them to. And what they gave were not old clothes or can goods from the back shelf. They were giving gold, silver, and true finery.

An amazing thing takes place in the beginning of chapter 26. The men that God had chosen to do the work received all the offerings to begin the work, but the people continued to bring more and more every morning. Finally they had so much it began to overwhelm them and Moses had to "restrain" the people from giving anything else!

Now I know the Israelites blew it a lot of the time, but this time they got it right! They truly gave from their hearts and when they did, their offerings were more than enough. Can you imagine going to your church this Sunday and your pastor saying to the congregation, "We have already met budget for the year and have no idea what to do with all this extra money, so please, stop giving!" That sound absurd, doesn't it? But, literally, that is what happened in this passage.

What this teaches me, it that God has provided enough resources to support His Church. So why are so many churches and parachurch organizations suffering financially? Because we are failing to give from our hearts.

Today, ask God what He would have you give to His Church this year. If you have never given on a regular basis, ask God to help you start. If you do give a certain percentage of your income regularly, ask God to show you if that is the amount He would have you continue to give. And, ask Him to help you not only give financially this year, but also of yourself.

"If your Presence does not go with us..."

Exodus 33:15-18

This passage of scripture has deeply impacted my life recently. Moses was truly someone that understood what it means to follow God. And is still a great example for us to follow today.

The Israelites had rebelled against God, therefore God told Moses that He would no longer go with them, but would send His angel to lead them into the promised land. This was just not good enough for Moses. He would have rather stayed in the desert than take one step without God.

As we begin this New Year, I pray that God will make that the attitude of my heart. This year, I don't want to do anything without knowing that He is with me. Like Moses, we ought to be afraid to take one step without the assurance of God presence. However, when we know He is with us, we can move forward with boldness. This type of assurance does not just happen. It is only going to happen when we spend time seeking God through prayer and bible study.

My favorite part of this passage is verse 18 that says,

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

After Moses had been assured of God's presence going with them, then and only then does He ask God to show him His glory. Quite a bold request, don't you think? But, I know that I personally ask God to let His glory fall on my life, my family, my church, etc all the time. I want to see His glory, but I seem to miss the part about not taking one step without Him. If I truly want to see Him work, I must make sure that my life is aligned with His will.

Spend some time praying today and ask God to assure you of His presence. Ask Him to show you if you are doing what He would have you do. Commit your year to Him if you haven't already and then get ready to see His glory.

On a personal note, I am glad to be back! My children start back to preschool today and I am very thankful because I have been so tired and not just "morning sick", but all day sick. Oh yeah, for those of you who do not know - I am 9 weeks pregnant! We are very excited about this gift that the Lord has blessed us with and we do ask for your prayers. I have missed writing and I hope God will continue to use me in this way during 2009. God bless you and thanks so much for reading!

The Lampstand

Exodus 25:31-40

I realize that these may not be the most exciting scripture references you have ever read, but I hope when you read the significance of the lampstand you will have a new appreciation for what we now call the menorah.

The lampstand had seven lamps that were supplied with oil and were trimmed by the priest every morning and evening. The light was never to be extinguished. Obviously, this piece of the tabernacle points us to Jesus being the light of the world. The reason that it points to Jesus is because the lampstand was positioned in the Holy Place outside the Most Holy Place God would meet with the priest. It was the only light in the area. Without this light it would have been impossible to see because both areas were surrounded by very thick curtains. The lampstand provided the only light for the priest as he worked in the Holy Place and led him to the Most Holy Place and into the presence of God.

In the same way, Jesus is the light that ushers us into the very presence of God. He shows us the way and no one can come to God except by following the Light of Jesus. In the same way, Jesus said that "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). We are to reflect the light of Christ and lead others to God.

Thank Jesus for lighting the way for you to come to God. Also, ask Him to reflect His light through your life today that you might lead someone to Him.

The Table

Exodus 25: 23-30

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that the table that held the Bread of the Presence is my absolute favorite aspect of the Tabernacle. It points us directly to Jesus in many different ways. The first way is that it was set on the right from God's perspective. Just as Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, the table was set on the right. There were 12 loaves placed on the table and they were replaced every Sabbath. The 12 loaves were to remind the Israelites of God's sustenance of the 12 tribes. The main way that it points us to Christ, however is the fact that later Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life. Eating the Bread He offers satisfies the very soul.

So many times the Bible talks about Christ being the only one that can truly satisfy. Isaiah 55:1-3 might say it best:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.

He is the only one that can satisfy our soul. Jesus satisfies and sustains us in our lives as we seek after Him. A unfulfilled soul is a stronghold waiting to happen. Ask Him today to be the Bread of Life for you. Ask Him to satisfy your very soul so that you do not look to anyone or anything else to do it for you.

The Atonement Cover

Exodus 25:17-22

The atonement cover was part of the Ark, but I wanted us to look at it separately today. It was made of pure gold and had two cherubim on top (one on each side) with their wings pointing up to signify God's symbolic dwelling place. This is where God would meet with Moses and with the priests for generations to come. The atonement cover literally covered the "testimony" that was inside the Ark.

The word "atonement" means to "make restitution for or to cover over". Sacrifices had to be made and the blood of the animal had to be put on the atonement cover when the priest would go to meet with God once a year in the Most Holy Place. The picture here is of God dwelling between the cherubim looking down on the Ark. Inside He would see the testimony or the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. He would also see the fact that His law had been broken by the people. But, because the priest had put the blood of the sacrifice on the atonement cover, God saw all of this through the blood and His wrath was turned away.

Jesus is now our Atonement Cover. He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven with His own blood. When we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, God no longer just sees you and I and our sin. He sees us through the atoning sacrifice of His perfect son Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

We were discussing this the other morning in our family devotion and discovered that even a four year old can understand atonement. We explained it by taking two pieces of white paper. We left one of them white and put all kinds of black scribbles all over the other. We explained to Joel that the white one was the holiness of God and that the one with scribbles represented us when we do things that are wrong. Then we told him that when we trust Jesus He covers our sin with His holiness. I took the white paper and put it over the other one and asked him what he saw. He said, "Clean and white". Exactly. That is what Jesus does for us. No matter what sin we have in our lives, He makes us "clean and white".

Have you allowed Jesus to be your Atonement cover for your life? If you have not, I cannot think of a better Christmas gift you could give yourself and your family. Ask Him to forgive your sins today. Trust in His atoning sacrifice. Enter into the life He always wanted for you. Not the perfect life, but the forgiven life.

The Ark

Exodus 25:10-16

The first piece for the Tabernacle that God instructs Moses to make was the Ark of the Covenant. This was undoubtedly the most important piece in the Tabernacle. Amazingly, every aspect of it points directly to our Savior. Let's break it down...

The Ark was to be constructed of wood and covered with pure gold. This is symbolic of Jesus being 100% man and 100% God. The wood symbolizes the humanity of Jesus and the gold the deity of Jesus.

In this passage, we learn that the "Testimony" was to be placed in the Ark. The Testimony was the Ten Commandments. Later, God tells Moses to place two other objects into the Ark. They are a gold jar of manna and Aaron's rod that budded (Hebrews 9:4). The Testimony points us to Jesus because He completely fulfilled the Law. The manna reminds us that Jesus is truly the Bread of Life and our Satisfier and Sustainer. The rod points directly to the resurrection of Christ. The rod was a dead piece of wood that came to life. I hope we never forget that our Savior was as dead as that stick, but rose from the dead to give us new life.

I have always had a deep reverence for the Ark of God, but from studying the past few weeks I have been amazed at how it points directly to Jesus and what He did for us. Thank Him today for fulfilling the Law because we never could have. Thank Him for being our Bread of Life. Lastly, thank Him for coming back from the dead so that we might live.

Offerings for the Tabernacle

Exodus 25:1-8

We have skipped a few chapters in Exodus, because this time of year I really want to focus on Jesus. Now you may be asking what do Exodus and Jesus have in common? Well, we may be surprised to find out that there is actually a lot of information about Jesus in Exodus. The Tabernacle that God told Moses to construct for Him is actually a picture of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Every piece and every piece's placement point us directly to Jesus. We are going to spend some time looking at that this week.

Today I want us to focus on the first eight verses of chapter 25. The Israelites were to bring offerings to God in order to build the Tabernacle. The things that they were to bring were of great value and God was very specific about the types of offerings that would be acceptable and why they would be acceptable.

The only offerings that would be acceptable were ones that were offered from someone whose "heart [prompted] him to give". Have you ever been prompted to give to something or someone? When we are prompted to give, we must not ignore this. Many times it is truly the Holy Spirit and if we are obedient, we will be taking part in His work. God only wanted offerings from people who truly wanted to give. To me, even the offerings point to Christ because Christ freely came to Earth and gave His life for us. (See John 10:18)

The offerings also had to be the best of what the Israelites possessed. Now, let's remember that these people just came out of slavery. Where did they get all of these costly possessions? The Egyptians gave them to them as they were leaving Egypt. The Egyptians were prompted by God to give these costly items to the Israelites. Therefore, the very things that God was asking for as an offering had been really been given to them by Him in the first place.

Isn't that how it is with us as well? Everything we have has been given is from God. We are merely a steward of it. With that in mind, do we willingly give off the top of what He has given us or do we just give whatever we have left? Do we give God our best? Do we give Him the things that are hard to let go of like our families knowing that they belong to Him more than they will ever belong to us?

This Christmas season, I pray that we will give our best of what God has given us. He gave His life. What will you give in return?

The Ten Commandments - 9&10

Exodus 20:1-17

We have reached the end. The last two commandments in the moral law of God. I hope you have enjoyed studying this with me and have gained some insight into how God would have us to live. These commandments are not for God's benefit. They are for ours. His ways are always best in our lives. When we follow what He says, we will always be happier. And yes, I think God wants us to be happy!

The Ninth Commandment: "You shall not give false testimony."

This command has two indications. First, "testimony" is a legal term, therefore it is wrong to perjur oneself in a court of law. But, we know that God desires "truth in the inner parts" (Psalm 51:6) and therefore this command also tells us to be truthful in every aspect of our lives. This is extremely difficult. What about in circumstances where telling the truth would hurt someone or in situation where we are unsure what the truth is? Again, as with all the commands, there is no way to keep this commandment aside from the Holy Spirit truly living in us and through us. We must fill ourselves with truth and the only real truth is God's Word. Let's allow this commandment to serve as a reminder to stay in the truth's of God's Word and to meditate on it. Only then will we be able to speak the truth in love.

The Tenth Commandment: "You shall not covet."

This commandment is probably the most convicting and revealing for anyone living in the materialistic culture that we live in. Millions of dollars are spent daily on marketing to convince us that what we have is not good enough and that if we have more, we will be satisfied. This is a big lie that I'm sure we have all bought into in one way or another. While it is not wrong to want to better our lives, (such as a child that grew up poor, but as adult worked extremely hard to provide a better life for himself and his family), it is wrong to want things or a certain life just because another person has it. This sin also leads to other sins, such as adultery or stealing.

If you have not enjoyed taking a deep look at these commandments, you are not alone. It is hard to truly look at God's standard and then look in the mirror and see how far we fall short. The Israelites heard these commandments and were terrified. They did not even want to hear the voice of God and asked Moses to speak to them instead. It is difficult to listen to the voice of God at times, but what has God revealed to you about yourself? And more importantly, what will you do about it?

Before we end, I want to encourage you that the law cannot save us and was never meant to. It shows us how much we fall short in order to drive us to a Savior. Will you approach Him today in humility and ask Him for forgiveness? Fall on your knees before Him. He is already waiting for you.

The Ten Commandments - 7&8

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and "Black Friday"! We definitely had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. We have so much to be thankful for! I also wanted to let you know that on "Black Friday" I got in line at Office Depot at about 3:45 a.m. to get the doorbuster computer - you know we have been needing a new computer! And I got it!! They had seven and I was seventh in line! Okay, with that let's get on with it!

Exodus 20:1-17

The Seventh Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery."

As we try to teach these commandments to our boys, Joel is at the age where he wants to know what everything means. So he immediately asked "what is adultery"? While we do not feel that four is an appropriate age to explain everything there is to know about sex, we do not want to avoid his questions. The way we explained it was to say that adultery is when you pretend either in real life or in your mind that you are married to someone else. That has satisfied him for now, but as he gets older, we truly want to teach what this commandment means to the best of our ability.

So what does it mean? Jesus clarified what the godly standard is in Matthew 5:27-28 which says,

You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This means that if we even look at someone and think about being with them sexually or even intimately, we have broken this commandment. Why is this so important to God? If sex is a gift, why can't we do it with just anyone? The reason is because sexual intimacy is truly a representation of Christ and the church. Sexual intimacy with one's spouse is holy in the same way that one's intimacy with Christ is holy. The standard is holiness. But, who is holy among man? None of us are and have no hope without Christ. The standards of this commandment are unattainable without Christ and the sooner that the Church admits that and admits that Christians struggle with it as well, the sooner I believe we will see a difference in our society in this area. As long as the Church continues to be silent on sex and sweep sexual matters under the rug, Satan will be able to continue to deceive others into believing that they are the only ones that struggle with sexual sins. Shame and isolation is his game and how he keeps believers in chains.

The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not steal"

Unfortunately, I wish this one was going to be an easy one, but I recently read some statistics that said that a large percentage of people in many countries would steal from someone if they knew the other person would not miss it. That probably does not characterize you and me, but the other statistic was that most employees spend about one work day in five doing absolutely nothing productive. That one might hit a little closer to home.

Another way that we break this commandment is by stealing others time. I know this may sound legalistic, but if we are continuously late for everything and everyone always has to wait on us, we are stealing. We also break this commandment by talking excessively on the phone with others, especially if they are busy and have told us so! So many times I will spend 20-30 minutes on the phone letting my other responsibilities go and then miss out on time with my family. I have stolen precious time from my family when I make that choice. The phone does not have to rule our lives!! I am not saying we should never talk on the phone, but I am saying that we must be mindful of our time and others time as well.

Pray about these two commandments today asking God to show you again if there is anywhere He wants you to change. Ask Him to bring to mind any habitual ways you are breaking these commandments. If He shows you any sin, confess and repent and ask Him to change your heart today.