Psalm 54 - Picturing God

This has been an interesting week for me and this Psalm. i have not don't an entry with it because i just wasn't solid on where it was supposed to go...so each day I read the psalm and pray about it and each day I got little pieces...a picture here, but nothing complete. Then today, as I read the psalm, all the pictures came together and I realized the blog was to be about picturing God.

Do you picture God? How do you picture God?

If you are like me, when you hear a phrase, you get an image of God that goes with that phrase...for example:

¹ Come with great power, O God, and rescue me!
      Defend me with your might.

I get a picture of a warrior dressed in armor sort of like the classic pictures of the archangel Michael) ...

⁴ But God is my helper.
      The Lord keeps me alive!

I picture a healer, holding a vial of cure-all ointments (sort of like Lucy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe)

⁷ For you have rescued me from my troubles
      and helped me to triumph over my enemies.

And I see a sage (a little Dumbledorish) who is understanding and knows things beyond what is visible.

The truth is that God is all of these things and the fact that the pictures in my head transcend gender and age is completely appropriate. God is without gender and age and different times, different passages, different circumstances, all lead us to different visions of God.

As I write this, I can't help but remember the book The Shack (if you haven't read it, I recommend it!) where the author shares three characters that are God and each share different characteristics and aspects of God.

Take a little bit of time today and think of how you picture God. If you need to, read a few passages and let them inspire your vision.

I would love to hear about your pictures of God, so feel free to share them as a comment.

Psalm 53 - Broad or Narrow Look

Did you ever take a broad look at a situation and either see that it was amazing or that it was a disaster...only to later find that it wasn't quite what you saw?



Sometimes when we look broadly at a situation we only see a small piece of what is really happening and miss the details or discount them.

² God looks down from heaven
      on the entire human race;
   he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
      if anyone seeks God.
 ³ But no, all have turned away;
      all have become corrupt.
   No one does good,
      not a single one!

You can certainly see the discouragement and complete black and white perspective. I was actually reminded yesterday in the message at church that psalms are musical poems...designed to appeal to the emotions and are therefore over-the-top...very much like a persuasive argument.

The truth is, that ALL have not turned away and become corrupt. There were still followers of God, including the psalmist, but the psalmist is trying to influence people around him to think about God and choose righteousness.

As you read this psalm, you should see it as motivation to evaluate your life...don't see it as a discouragement on life, but a motivator.

Psalm 52 - Duality

As I read this psalm, I think I was thinking about duality within us and although the psalm doesn't describe the duality of one person, i saw it that way....

So do you ever find yourself filled with thoughts that belong to your sin nature. Thoughts that don't become acts because of the Christ in you...but you think them, feel them, and sometimes wish for them...but are stopped by your sense of right and wrong.

Maybe I am the only one who experiences such a thing...I hope so, but I doubt it.

I definitely find myself wrestling with desires that the duality in me struggles with. The desire to let myself go with abandon and pursue pleasures that could become very destructive but they run up against the wall of righteousness and my desire to live a long and healthy life.

It can be a difficult thing and a real struggle.

Look at these verses from the psalm:

 ² All day long you plot destruction.
      Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;
      you’re an expert at telling lies.
 ³ You love evil more than good
      and lies more than truth.

⁸ But I am like an olive tree, thriving in the house of God.
      I will always trust in God’s unfailing love.
 ⁹ I will praise you forever, O God,
      for what you have done.
   I will trust in your good name
      in the presence of your faithful people.

In these two portions we can see both the evil plotting and  the strength of living in unity with God. While it wasn't describing just one person, I can't help but wonder. I think of David and his anger towards the people who persecuted him and his commitment not to return evil for evil, but I can only imagine that he must have been tempted. And then I remember how he got Bathsheeba. David certainly had a duality as well.

So how do you fight the duality in you? Is it a daily struggle or just an occasional battle?

Psalm 51 - The Cleaning Only God Can Do

This is a favorite psalm of mine and there is so much that can be discussed in it, but I want to focus on this verse:

⁷ Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
      wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

We are all sinners and if we examine our lives, we can see the stain of sin all over it. Stains that we can't take back or erase. You know exactly which ones they are. But look at this verse...purify me and I will be clean...wash me and i will be whiter than snow. God is capable of removing our sin and cleansing us. In fact, Jesus traded his purity for our sin on the cross.

Do you really accept that? Do you really allow God to purify and cleanse you or are you holding on to the stains of your sin?

Since we can clean it up, we often have trouble letting God do it. We are creatures of control and independence and want to do it ourselves. we don't like to rely on others including God, but the truth is that we either let God cleanse us in a way that only God can or we remain stained.

And just the knowledge of our stain can hold us back from being who we were created to be and accepting all the blessings that are available to us.

Will you let God clean you? Will you accept God's grace and mercy? Let today be the day that you are purified and become whiter than snow.

Ephesians 6 - A Full Faith

What happens if you leave off a piece of of your cold weather clothing when you go out to have a snowball fight? What if you had no gloves...or no hat...or you didn't wear snow pants?  The cold would see in and even though you are wearing the other pieces, you are unprotected.

So let's consider this is our faith...what it you don't one of the basic potions of God's truths for you? What if you believed you were not saved. Maybe you feel unworthy or like God doesn't really know you and couldn't possibly save you. Or maybe you question God's righteousness. You aren't sure that God is good and that God is doing good things on your behalf. Perhaps you don't trust what God says as truth. You feel like you can't count on God's word. Maybe you can't find peace in what God is saying and worry overtakes you or you just struggle to believe...

What happens if one of these things is true? You could be firm in the others, but what if one isn't true? You have a whole in your armor. In spite of all the other pieces, there is a place for Satan to wound you and you are vulnerable.

In this chapter, Paul talks about wearing the full armor of God.

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Each piece is important and each fits into the others to provide a full protection. Now, the truth is we all struggle and will have places of weakness and this is why Paul follows up these verses with:

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Prayer stands in the gaps of our weaknesses and brings God's strengths into fill those places.

So, yes, we need to build a full faith to resist evil and be strong and protected. We need to find ourselves in times of communion with God through prayer and meditation, the Word, and Christian fellowship. And yes, we need to recognize that we have our weaknesses and invite God into those places to help and build us up.

What do you need to do today to start building a full faith?

Ephesians 5 - How to Live Life

Do you ever wonder what you should do in life? Which is the right action to take? What path will be blessed by God? This chapter gives us some great wisdom. 

¹ Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. ² Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

Imitate God...that is a tall order. The easiest way to look at this is to consider Christ and his actions and do likewise. Even, them, we will find ourselves failing, but the goal and the bar are set. We can always look to what Jesus did,,,how he treated others, the actions he took.

Live a life filled with love...each day we have choices and if we choose love, we will be happer and healthier ourselves and see stronger relationships around us. Anger has no place is a life of joy. Righteous anger can be life-changing for a moment, but love will pave the way to true life.

 ¹⁰ Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.

Be thoughtful in your choices. Rash decisions can lead down paths you don't wish to go on. Take the time and think about your words and your actions. 

¹³ But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, ¹⁴ for the light makes everything visible.

I love this concept. It always reminds me that if I don't want to share what I am thinking or about to do or what I have done, I may want to rethink it. Things do come to the light and you will do better if those things are ones you will be fine with others knowing. I always think of it this way...if I wouldn't tell my mother about it, maybe I shouldn't even do it.

¹⁶ Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.

This verse always reminds me not to live in fear. It is important to seize opportunities. Don't be bogged down in  fears, or worries. Seize each blessing and door that God places on your journey.

Oh, there are plenty of others verses in the Bible that tell us how to live and plenty more in this chapter (I recommend you read the rest), but I love how this chapter is chock full of good nuggets. Maybe today is the day to pick one and memorize it and apply it to your life. See if you are living life as God intended!

Ephesians 4 - Move Towards Unconditional Love

Yesterday I visited a new local church in my quest to find a church home now that I have moved and her a sermon on whether unconditional love is real. The conclusion was yes, it is real, but we as humans suck at it.

But reading this chapter this morning, I just had to stop at verse 2.

² Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.

This line has such beautiful advice and can help us to practice and become better at unconditional love. But one of the things I noticed was that the reason for being patient and gentle with one another was not because the person deserved it....not because they had earned it...not because they would return it, but because of love. Our patience and gentleness needs to be a free gift because we love.

You may be thinking, I don't love the person who needs my patience and gentleness, but again, the verse doesn't specify that it is out of love for that person, just out of love. Our love of God should be enough. We can't return all that God gives us directly, but God has commanded us to pour that love onto God's children.

Today I challenge you to give yourself a pep talk about patience and gentleness as you start your day. i am confident that the opportunity will come up where it can be applied. Choose patience and gentleness and let love conquer any negative reactions to the person. They will be better for it and so will you and just perhaps, in the glimpse of God's love that you show to that person, they will turn to repentance.

Ephisians 3 - Who is Worthy?

⁸ Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. ⁹ I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

Paul writes these words in reference to his ministry. We probably read these and chuckle thinking that Paul was certainly not the least, in fact we consider him a spiritual great.We might even wonder how he could consider himself undeserving. But if we consider his role before his ministry began, we know that he was a persecutor of followers of Jesus. He was involved in murders and of using the technical details of the law to imprison followers of Jesus. He was the enemy, so to speak. Paul was also not the most charismatic speaker. He references that other teachers are far more charismatic than he and at times those speakers are leading followers of Jesus astray.

Clearly we understand from this that God can and will use people with lack of skills, people who have screwed up in the past...the key is a wiling heart. So how come most of us laugh at the idea of God using us fro greatness? Just that alone, makes it more difficult for God to use us significantly. Instead, we need to act on the idea that God does have amazingly great plans for each of us. Instead of the , I am not worthy or gifted or talented or have the time for God to use me for greatness, we need to instead be thinking. God has a special plan and calling on my life to do amazing things for God's Kingdom.

Ephesians 2 - Gift of Belief

Can you believe? Why does the Bible say that belief is God is a gift?

⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

I had to stop and ponder that for a moment as I read through this chapter and take a little bit of an analytical thought path. If we think about belief, what is it really?  The dictionary defines it as "a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing ."

So where does that trust or confidence come from. It comes from understanding. Either we understand the consistency of an event/person, we understand the thinking/process so we can figure out what is coming next, or we know the insides and out fully of the person/event.

So let's examine this in relation to God. Well, can we see consistency on God? Well, yes, and no. God is consistent, but we can't always see it. Sometimes we don't understand the reasons behind something and we struggle to know that it is for good. Also, God's consistency relates over a time span much greater than our own so sometimes the events can only be truly evaluated in the course of a history and then, since we are not witnesses, we struggle to find confidence in it. Do we understand the thinking of God so we can determine what happens next? Absolutely not, God is looking at a bigger picture and working with greater understanding than we are, God also had abilities beyond ours that we have no experience with, and hence lack understanding. Last, do we fully understand God inside and out. Again, absolutely not. We are limited and can't even begin to comprehend and understand all that God is.

So where does our belief come from? Well for many, it just isn't there. They lack belief and that lack becomes a hindrance in a relationship with God. Is that where you are? If you are, pray that God will help you and bless you with the gift of belief. Let me know you are asking for this from God and I will pray for you too.

For others, they have received belief as a gift. That is truly the only way to find belief in something where understanding is not there. So, yes...belief is a gift and God gives us belief that we might be in full relationship with God.

Ephesians 1 - Gratitude

On this Thanksgiving Day, of course what jumps out at me are the verses of gratitude...

³ All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

¹⁵ Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, ¹⁶ I have not stopped thanking God for you. 

 One of the things I love about this is that it is God who receives thanks first. Paul takes the time to honor God for all the spiritual blessings. The focus is on that which really matters. Those things that come through the spirit. It is not fame and power or fortune that get first place, but spiritual gifts such as prophecy, faith, and other tongues. Paul recognizes what is truly important. Do you? When you sit down to eat Thanksgiving, what will be first on your list? I have to admit that people often fall at the top of my list. But this year, I am taking the time to thanks God in prayer, starting with all those spiritual gifts which are eternal.


Later in the chapter Paul gives thanks for people. Today, i also give thanks to so many people who have impacted my life. Some because of their spiritual guidance and example, so for acts of kindness, others for friendship and many for all of these. Can you think of people in your life that have blessed you with the gift of themselves...whether it was for a moment or it has been for a lifetime?

I think of family that has stood by me when life was challenging, friends who have given me the motivation to do what needs to be done and new friends that have inspired me!

Let today be the beginning of a life of gratitude and you will experience increased joy. Don't do it for the joy though, do it because you love and are grateful to God!

Numbers 36 - Ownership of Land

As the Israelites prepare to enter the land, we see a very interesting thing coming about...for the first time in the nation's history, they are being given ownership of land by God. Previously, they had been given a place to live in Egypt and before that, they were wanderers with territories that they typically had their flocks graze. Never before had an allotment of land been given/assigned to their families.

⁹ No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”

I wonder how momentous they thought this was? When I think about this, I wonder realize that in here are the seeds of people believing that they can own a land that belongs to God. To see it as more than just a loan for our time on this Earth. I also see the seeds of people feeling like they are finally home.

I guess it is interesting that these things should be tied together...a sense of belonging and a sense of ownership. Part of why I find it interesting is because one, the land isn't really ours. It was given to all inhabitants of the Earth and we are just assigned to be caretakers, but two, the Earth is just a temporary home. We truly belong with God in God's heavenly realms.

If you think about it further, one (the sense of belonging) is a shadow of what is to come and the other (ownership) is a concept that will be so foreign when we live in the heavenly Kingdom, but both are given together is the Promised Land.

I know this is a little philosophical today...but thanks for bearing with me.And tomorrow...a new book.

Numbers 35 - Integration

Where is God in your world? As I read this chapter, I am reminded that God wants tour acts of faith and worship to be integrated into your life. As God is telling the Israelites about where they will settle in the land, he sets aside a place for the Levites, those whom he has annointed to be spiritual leaders fro the nation.

⁷ In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. ⁸ These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.”

This place is not set aside, its own land, but consists of 48 cities in the midst of all the other tribes lands. They are to be spread out throughout the land. 

Is this how God operates in your life? Is God spread throughout the areas and events of your life or does God life for you only in a central location? I challenge you to reflect today and make a list of the areas/events where God lives in your life. Does this include your work? your friends? your playtime? your family time? your home? If it doesn't, how can you change that. How can you begin to integrate God into all areas of your life?

I will be praying for you during this process and if you have any specific prayer requests, feel free to comment on this post or shoot me a private message and I will pray specifically for you.

Numbers 34 - Boundaries

Boundaries are an important thing and in this case, the Lord is giving boundaries of the land to the nation of Israel.

¹ Then the Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries.

But boundaries exist in all kinds of situations and pressing or passing boundaries can have consequences. In this case, God was telling them the extent of what God was giving them. Passing beyond those boundaries would mean  trying to take things God had not giving and God would not be with them to conquer.

We all have personal boundaries too. Have you ever been in a situation where you have crossed someone's personal boundaries? There certainly can be consequences. A situation that has the potential to be wonderful and joy-filled can take become negative. The difficulty is that sometimes it is hard to read boundaries and know what they are and you can cross them not knowing and not wanting to.

It is much easier when the boundaries are well defined. God gives very clear instructions to the Israelites and this makes it very easy to stay within the boundaries (although I am sure there were temptations to exceed them). When you don't know the boundaries, it is much more challenging and risky.

My best advice is to talk to God and talk to other people to identify boundaries so that you can stay within the area of blessing and acceptability. Also, don't assume that another person's boundaries are the same as yours.

Numbers 33 - Remember the Journey

Do you journal  or keep a diary? Have you ever spent some time reading through what is written there? Or maybe you have spent time reflecting on your past. If you have, you know what it is like to remember the journey. Reading or thinking about a name, a place, and idea, or event, can bring back a flood of memories. Memories of feeling, lessons learned, commitments to to things like that again or commitments to do it differently next time. These journeys into the past can be quite valuable as we remember lessons and renew our commitments.

This chapter is like a journal for the people of Israel, listing the places on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, with a few key events. If you read it, as I did, probably some of the places will stand out to you and I was reminded as to what happened there. The interesting this about remembrance is that it isn't a personal remembrance and spans multiple generations. I would liken it to reading back into your family history or a time in history that you have been told stories of all your life. For the Israelites, those who did not live through portions of the journey, heard about it, and this quick overview of the journey would have been enough to revive memories and stories that had been told.

Have you taken the time to remember you own history or family history? You certainly can't live in the past, but you can learn from it and be inspired for the present and the future. Take a journey to the past and see what God has to say to you in it. You won't be disappointed.

Numbers 32 - Almost, but Not Quite

Are you headed to the Promised Land?

Here Moses and the Israelites are on the verge of the Promised Land and Moses receives the following request from the tribes of Reuben and Gad.

³ “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah,^[a] Nebo, and Beon. ⁴ The Lord has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. ⁵ If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.”

Now they do end up promising that they will help conquer the land.

¹⁶ But they approached Moses and said, “We simply want to build pens for our livestock and fortified towns for our wives and children. ¹⁷ Then we will arm ourselves and lead our fellow Israelites into battle until we have brought them safely to their land. Meanwhile, our families will stay in the fortified towns we build here, so they will be safe from any attacks by the local people. ¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until all the people of Israel have received their portions of land. ¹⁹ But we do not claim any of the land on the other side of the Jordan. We would rather live here on the east side and accept this as our grant of land.”

But here they are on the verge of the Promised Land and they decide to stop. They choose what the land they can see and know is suitable for cattle and a place where they can keep their wives and children in safety over the land that God has promised them. In one sense we can say they chose a good thing and are still fulfilling the commitment to the whole nation, what is the problem? But consider for a moment. God has given them the Promised Land. Would God not give them the best? With this request, they choose what is convenient and safe ofver the best God has to offer them. They show a lack of complete trust in the Lord.

Have you ever stopped shy of the Promised Land? has God promised you something and when you see something that looks good or is easy along the way, you decide to stop and stay there? Are you almost getting the full blessing of God?

Keep going! Don't stop on the threshold of what God has promised you. Enter in faith into all that the Lord wants to give you! Let's pray for each other than we will trust, enter and receive the Promised Land that God has set aside for each of us.

Numbers 31 - Testing the Boundaries of Obedience

So this chapter is interesting to me because it involves the final test of obedience for the Israelites before they enter the promised land. Interestigly, the test is with the Midianites.

⁶ Then Moses sent them out, 1,000 men from each tribe, and Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest led them into battle. They carried along the holy objects of the sanctuary and the trumpets for sounding the charge. ⁷ They attacked Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. ⁸ All five of the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.

One of the reasons this is an interesting test is because Moses' wife and father-in-law were Midianites. Remember that his father-in-law gave him excellent leadership advice early in their journey. Also remember that Balaam, blessed the people of Israel when the king asked him to curse them.

The Midianites were causing them trouble though and the people had led the Israelites astray. so this is their test. They mostly passed it...the one flaw, allowing the women to live who had influenced the men to worship other gods were initially allowed to live. This is a foreshadowing of what will happen in the Promised Land where the people will be almost fully obedient but will allow some to live who will later turn them from God and cause trouble.

How is your level of obedience? Do you follow God's direction "almost" fully or are you on target. I know I at times test the boundaries of obedience. Do you? When tempted to do that, the Israelites are a good people to remember because it is the small portion of disobedience that causes them the greatest trouble. They will turn from God, becomes slaves of other people, be spread out all over and find themselves in constant conflict with other peoples.

Let the Israelites inspire you to full obedience!

Numbers 30 - Vows

Are you a person of your word? I know I try to be. When I make a commitment, I make every effort and then some to keep that commitment. But this chapter is about more than just a commitment, it is about vows...defined by the dictionary as:

1. An earnest promise to perform a specified act or behave in a certain manner, especially a solemn promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order

This is a step beyond a promise and in this chapter reefers  to a promise made to God. Here are a few verses from the chapter:

² A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what he said he would do.

 ¹⁴ But if he does not object on the day he hears of it, then he is agreeing to all her vows and pledges. ¹⁵ If he waits more than a day and then tries to nullify a vow or pledge, he will be punished for her guilt.”

Vows are taken very seriously and for a man, once made, he is responsible. For a woman, she is also responsible once the vow is made with the exception if her husband/father objects immediately, she can be forgiven, but it he objects later, he bears the guilt.

I don't want to get into the gender issue of this but to point out that keeping a vow to God is imprtant and not keeping the vow has consequences.

When I consider vows to God, they involve a number of characteristics to make and keep:

• devotion/love
• commitment/persistence
• sacrifice
• and more...

It is these characteristics that God values over the substance of the vow, because these, more than the substance of the vow, show our commitment to God.

When a vow is not kept, it is these characteristics that have failed and the failure of these characteristics fall into other areas of our life and consequences start to abound. Our lack of commitment to God becomes a lack of commitment to others and relationships fail. Our lack of persistence to God becomes lack of persistence in projects we are working on and our work fails and our lack of sacrifice to God becomes an indulgent life and things just fall apart.

When you consider all this, it is important to be thoughtful in your promises and especially those made to the Lord. Have you made a vow to God in the past? How are you doing with that. Do you need to make a re-commitment to it? Are you considering a vow? Have you taken the time to be thoughtful and cover it in prayer?

A vow to God can be a great discipline, but don't make it lightly.

Numbers 29 - Holidays (or Holy Days)

I thought this was an appropriate chapter with the holidays right around the corner. Consider the upcoming holidays for a moment and list off in your mind the first five things that come to mind...

family?
food?
gatherings?
special meals/decorations?

what is on your list? Is God? and where is God on that list? Is God at the top?

As I read this chapter, I was reminded where God belongs in our holiday celebrations...right at the forefront of our minds. And in the direction God gave the Israelites, the Lord tried to make sure that the Israelites would stay focused on God. The Lord commanded proscribed sacrifices both as special offerings and sin offerings. The number of sacrifices would have kept the priests and the people busy for the day, honoring and thinking of God and the aroma of the burnt offerings would be a reminder of the Lord throughout the day.

Think about your holiday celebration. Is there something you do that keeps God in the forefront of your thoughts? What could you do that would accomplish that. Maybe start a new tradition. Could you use scent or sound to focus your thoughts?

I will be thinking about that today...feel free to post any suggestions.

Numbers 28 - Living off Love

Think of a timer that you have received a special gift. Can you feel that goodness inside you, filling you up? As I was reading the beginning of this chapter, I couldn't help but be captured by the words, they are my food...but let's look at the whole section.

¹ The Lord said to Moses, ² “Give these instructions to the people of Israel: The offerings you present as special gifts are a pleasing aroma to me; they are my food. See to it that they are brought at the appointed times and offered according to my instructions.

Maybe because my birthday is near and I have received special gifts that I keyed into the idea of special gifts being food, but the phrases triggered beautiful feelings and memories. I couldn't help but remember what it feels like to receive a gift that is a symbol of a person's love for me. When that happens, there is a fullness inside that feels warm and all encompassing. Other things fade away, and there are no needs. All is well and has been supplied.

I picture God feeling this way when God receives our special offerings. In this chapter, the offerings are animal sacrifices, but from studying, the whole of the Bible, we understand that it is the attitude of love and obediance that is the true offering that God desires.

So today, will you give your love to God for the Lord to live on? What will you offer? Will it be a heart of gratitude? Will it be a gift of service to another? Will it be words that bring healing to those around you?

Today, part of my offering is bringing lunch to some friends at work, to share my caring with them in the form of food made with love and given in God's honor. It also took the form of a prayer of gratitude this morning for all that has been put in my life and the reminder (through a sweet gift of a song from a friend) that God's grace is amazing and God has brought me on an incredible journey of love and grace far beyond what I deserve.

I would love to hear about your offering of love to the Lord today. Feel free to comment and share with me or send me an email, that we all might encourage one another.

Numbers 27 - Leadership

¹⁸ So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.¹⁹ Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. ²⁰ Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. ²¹ He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the LORD. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

So as the God brings the people to the land that has been promised them, God has Moses pass the mantle of leadership on to Joshua. But notice, that Joshua will not walk in the same authority or relationship with God. Two things of note inj God's instructions are :

²⁰ Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community

²¹ He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the LORD. 

Joshua will not have the same authority as Moses and will not speak to God directly. And yet, Joshua will be a powerful leader for the Israelites. Joshua will lead them to take the land they have been promised. So why does God change the system of how this leadership will work? Is it because leadership such as Moses had is not necessary? Is it because God doesn't want to set that as typical?

I beleive that God has molded the people to have a new attitude of fear of the Lord and trust. The people are not the walking wounded that the previous generation was and does not need the signs and miracles that the previous generation did. Also, God is bringing separation between the spiritual leadership and the other leadership. God has designed it that they will work hand in hand, but no one person will be the sole leader.

The interesting thing is that throughout the time to come, and even today, there will be conflict between those sides of the coin generally with one side trying to be more powerful than the other and we have seen periods of history where both governmental leadership and spiritual leadership have been figureheads of the other.

Is it possible to get back to the balance of Joshua and Eleazar? A time when governmental leadership is clearly directed by God and governmental leaders value spiritual leaders? I believe that it is possible and we see glimpses of it now and then. Things do become further confused today by the number of spiritual leaders though. Our nation does not have a spiritual leader which all people look to. So what do we do? We pray. pray that God will bring forth both spiritual leaders and governmental leaders that are clearly ordained for their positions. And we watch, so that we can recognize these leaders when they arrive.

Numbers 26 - Being Molded

Now I bet you are wondering what I have to say about this chapter (if you have already read it). if you haven't, it is about an accounting of how many men are of the age to go to war.

But the key is that God is preparing them to be ready. The land which they are passing through has enemies and God is preparing them to deal with that and to become a people with a different attitude than when they arrives at the promised land the first time. God is molding them to have the attitude God needs them to have in order to receive all the blessings God has in store for them.

So bringing this in today, this chapter is a reminder that God is molding us as well. Have you examined what God is doing in your life to figure out how? Maybe you should. If God is doing the molding without your cooperation, it could be a challenge and more painful. If you work with God and see where God is taking you, the process can be smoother and less painful.

Writing about this reminds me of a video called God's Chisel. Please take the time to watch it...it is about 10 minutes, but really powerful.

Numbers 25 - Zeal

This is a difficult chapter for me because it speaks to a side of God I struggle with, and this is righteous zeal.

⁶ Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into his tent, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as everyone was weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle. ⁷ When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. He took a spear ⁸ and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man’s body and into the woman’s stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, ⁹ but not before 24,000 people had died.

 ¹⁰ Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹¹ “Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger. ¹² Now tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. ¹³ In this covenant, I give him and his descendants a permanent right to the priesthood, for in his zeal for me, his God, he purified the people of Israel, making them right with me

 Phinehas acts  in God's anger and prevents further plague among the Israelites and earns a special reward for he and his descendents. For me, I struggle with this because it emphasizes God's righteous anger and I tend to eant to focus on God's love and forgiveness. The idea of killing someone for disobedience makes me uncomfortable but we see it time and time again, especially as God leads the Israelites to the promised land. God wants a cleansed people and environment that will not tempt and lead the Israelites astray.

But truthfully, we all have aspects of God that we have more difficulty relating to and may make us uncomfortable, but God is God and we need to work towards understanding all parts of God's character if we wish to operate as God's instrument and serve God.

The warning with this is to be careful to be absolutely sure about what God is calling us to do, particularly if it is going to cause conflict here on Earth. We would not want to find ourselves out of God's will, having showed anger or acted out in destruction, believing that we are acting God's part.

What aspect of God;s character makes you uncomfortable or struggle? Feel free to comment and share what you are thinking.

”

Numbers 24 - Eyes Wide Open

I just love the way this chapter starts:

¹ By now Balaam realized that the Lord was determined to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as before. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness, ² where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him,

  Then Balaam blesses the people of Israel a third time. What amuses me is it is like Balaam finally gets it. Of course he had been telling Balak that he could only speak the words God gave him, but at Balaks instruction, he has traveled quite the road to get to this place.

Has that ever been you? Have you ever had to travel a long road to have your eyes fully opened and to understand and accept exactly what God was doing in a situation. I know I have asked this before, but why do we fight God? I think because we are created in God's image, we have a shadow of the characteristics of God, including creator and we seem to think that we have the knowledge of God too. Somehow, we think we might possibly have a clue about what is going on.

Whenever I am feeling that way, I think of God's conversation with Job when he asks Job if he has created the universe and made the sun to shine, etc and I try to humble my thinking. Though not easy, we all need to humble ourselves before God and get out of our own way. When Balaam finally does this, the Spirit of the Lord falls upon him. We can clear up the channel for God to use us and speak through us when we finally get this straight. Humble yourself and open yourself to God!

Now another interesting thought (or maybe it is just completely random) that I had was the phrase of, "the third time is the charm". In this situation it is the third time that Balaam completely opens himself to God without asking the question that God has already answered. It is three times that the persistent widow in the gospels asks for help from the judge. Three times until complete success is common in the Bible and I started to wonder if the origin of this phrase was early faith. I guess that could be a question for google, but an interesting thought (to me) none the less.

God Bless!

Numbers 23 - God's Faithfulness

This is an interesting chapter that really speaks to the consistency of God and man's inability to trust it. Balak has asked Balaam to curse the nation of Israel and Balaam tells him to make his sacrifices and he will speak to God and come back with God's answer, which he does and instead of cursing the nation of Israel, God sends Balaam with a blessing. Balak asks Balaam to try again and Balaam comes back with this message:

 ¹⁸ This was the message Balaam delivered:
   “Rise up, Balak, and listen!
      Hear me, son of Zippor.
 ¹⁹ God is not a man, so he does not lie.
      He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
   Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
      Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
 ²⁰ Listen, I received a command to bless;
      God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
 ²¹ No misfortune is in his plan for Jacob;
      no trouble is in store for Israel.
   For the Lord their God is with them;
      he has been proclaimed their king.
 ²² God brought them out of Egypt;
      for them he is as strong as a wild ox.
 ²³ No curse can touch Jacob;
      no magic has any power against Israel.
   For now it will be said of Jacob,
      ‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’
 ²⁴ These people rise up like a lioness,
      like a majestic lion rousing itself.
   They refuse to rest
      until they have feasted on prey,
      drinking the blood of the slaughtered!”

 Now you would expect Balak to hear and receive this word, but thew chapter ends with him asking Ballam to try yet again.

Have you ever been like Balak and asked God to do something repeatedly that God is refusing to do? I have to admit that I have, In fact I spent many years begging God to change a piece of who I am. I had no peace over it until\, I finally came to understand that God has spoken and I had been created as God had planned and I accepted all of who God made me to be. Balak, is in the same position, He is in fear of the Israelites and lacks peace, He can either accept that they are protected by God and work with God and find peace, or he can continue to ask God to curse them, which God has made it clear won't happen.

So why do we fight with God like this? Why don't we take the answer that God gives us and live by it and embrace it as true, We are a stubborn people for sure and maybe their is a piece of us that is arrogant to believe that we can influence God and change God's mind. But the truth is that God is faithful to God's promises.

The next time God has given a clear answer and you don't like it, consider Balak and the lack of peace he is living with. Would you be better off making peace with what God has said and finding peace in the circumstances....undoubtedly yet. Consider saving yourself grief and trust God is who God says God is and that God's will be faithful to God's promises.

Numbers 22 - Out of Character/Trust

I really like this chapter because it reminds me that sometimes we have to place trust in what we know about a person, not what they are doing at that moment.

Baalam is traveling with his donkey and his donkey starts acting very strangely and is avoiding parts of the path which is resulting in some injury to Baalam. Balaam starts to mistreat the donkey and the donkey speaks this to him:

³⁰ “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”

Have you ever been in a situation where someone you have known has suddenly acted out of character? How have you reacted?

It is interesting how we develop trust with one another. Some give it freely, others require that people earn it. Sometimes that trust is strong and covers moments like this and sometimes it is weak and their change in behavior breaks that bond. But what about when we consider our trust of God?

For me, there are many times where i don't understand what God is doing. I know God's character but in my limited ability to understand God, i can't always see how it all meshes together with what i am experiencing. So i have two choices...trust or lack of trust.

I think many people find it hard to choose trust and since they don't understand God and can't see the consistency of character, they walk away from God or set God aside. Don't we sometimes do that with people too? Especially if they start acting very differently. We don't know what to do, so we push them to the side.

But this story reminds us that we need to trust and understand that sometimes there are things we don't see and understand. Sometimes, the "out of character" behavior is for our protection. I am not saying people won't hurt or disappoint you, because they will, but I am saying that you should choose trust and take the time to try and understand what is going on.

P.S. I apologize for the inconsistency this week. I am in the middle of a move and my new apartment doesn't have Internet yet and my schedule is a little crazy.

Numbers 21 - Spiritual Wilderness

What caught my eye today is something that has been said before:

 ⁴ Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, ⁵ and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!” (emphasis mine)

Yet again, the Israelites are complaining about the wilderness. I find this interesting because I started thinking about it in a spiritual sense and the fact is, it is very much the opposite spiritually from the perspective of what is being offered from God.

So in this journey, God has provided them with manna and water (and meat when they grew tired of the manna), God has provided them with God's presence, guiding them on the journey in a pillar of clouds and fire, God has spoken to them and revealed God's glory and performed many miracles. The spiritual blessings are evident and overflowing, and yet the people are in wilderness...even spiritually. The people have hearts filled with fear and complaints and consistently miss the blessings for their own hang-ups.They can't seem to hold on to what God is offering them and outr of fear, choose to be in spiritual wilderness. If only their eyes could be open...

But how about us. Do we live in spiritual wilderness of our own choosing? Do we allow fears and worries to remove us from God's blessing? Have we let a complaining spirit close off our heart to the gifts that God is showering us with?

I know that I have seen times in my life where that has seemed true. And I know that it is my wilderness, that I have chosen, because God has never deserted me or not provided what I needed. I may have gotten caught up in wants and taken the gifts from God for granted, but they have been there.

The next time you feel like you are in a spiritual wilderness, examine your heart first and see if it is a wilderness that you have created. Examine yourself to determine if you are cutting yourself from God or ignoring God's blessings for you. Don't be in spiritual wilderness when the God who loves you deeply and compassionately is beckoning and wooing you.

Numbers 20 - How Like the Israelites are You?

There are times as I read the book of Numbers, I want to just slap the Israelites and say, "Really, now. How many times does God have to provide miracles for you to trust God's provision!" It seems like they are always complaining about something and this time their rebellion has affected Moses and Aaron.

The real question is, are we any different? How many times does God have to provide or open up a blessing to us and yet we still cry out to God wondering where God is and when this or that will come our way?

It can be very convicting to read about the behavior of followers of God, to see their weaknesses and doubts and insecurities. We can even become critical of their lack of faith. But it is also important to examine ourselves and see where our faith stands. Do we have those same fears and insecurities. And if we do, how are we responding to God?

I believe all those stories are in their for a reason. To cause us to examine ourselves and be convicted. So that we can see our own weakness and do things differently. When next we doubt God's provision, maybe coming back to the book of Numbers would be a place to remind ourselves both of God's faithfulness, but also of God's discipline. God is certainly patient and big enough to deal with our doubts and questions, but faith that constantly falters has its consequences.

Don't let another day go by without some self examination and let self examination be a daily activity. As we seen repeatedly, rebellion against God can be contagious. Be wary and be aware.

Numbers 19 - Questions

So this chapter left me more questions than it answered. I can see throughout scripture that God is looking for a clean and pure heart, but that rituals start to make it seem like it is a clean body and this is where the Jewish priesthood has gone wrong by the time Jesus comes on the scene. I also recognize that there is symbolism between the clean body representing aspects of a clean heart, but I am somewhat lost with this one. Maybe someone out there can help me.

So here we have God setting up the laws revolving uncleanness in regards to a dead body. So in essence being around a dead body either when the person dies or after the person is dead makes you unclean. I am not seeing the spiritual representation in that. Instead what I am seeing is that showing respect for the dead makes you unclean. This just doesn't sound like God to me, so i am wrestling with what is going on here. Here are my thoughts:

• There was a fear of disease from dead remains and this law is man's creations not God's.
• God is requiring a sacrifice of love to honor those dead that you love...meaning you have to love them enough to be willing to become unclean.
• When a person dies, their soul (which is every thing good in them) goes to heaven and all that is left is sin (which is in their body) and we shouldn't honor the body.

Truthfully to me, nothing jumps out to me a a strong God reason for this.  if you have insights please share. i admit that I have thought about this since yesterday when I first read it and I haven't come up with anything that I feel is from God on this one.

But, it is OK, because, i know I don't need to understand everything and that I can bring my questions to God (which I have been doing) and to God's people (which I am doing right now). I look forward to the wisdom that comers of it.

Numbers 18 - Church Finances

As I was reading this chapter that talks about the provision given to the priests and the Levites, I was thinking about church finances today. At that time, the best was given to the priests and the tithes were shared with all the Levites who were taking care of the tabernacle and its sacred objects.

¹⁴ “Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the Lord^[c] also belongs to you.

²⁰ And the Lord said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no allotment of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your allotment. ²¹ As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.

These offerings were to be the allotment of the Levites and to support them while they were in service to the Lord. Now I found this interesting because it made me start to think about church finances and how the tithes and offerings we give to the church  are similar to those given back then at the Lord's direction. I was noticing that the tithes were not also set aside to help the poor or to spread the news of who God is to others, which is something that occurs today. At first I was thinking, maybe their shouldn't be objections when those are not the major focus of a church budget...but then as I thought about it more, I realize that Jesus has given us some new instructions:

 ²² When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

¹⁸ Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. ²⁰ Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

With these new instructions comes a new way for the church to operate and an outward focus that wasn't given as much focus earlier. So therefore, when we consider our church finances, we do need to consider this new emphasis.

The true question becomes what is the balance between caring for our spiritual leaders and buildings and following the commission that Jesus gave. Paul also weighs in on this topic and states that the people should support those who are serving the Lord and teaching them, but Paul also supports himself by working as a tent maker as he spreads the word of God.

I have heard so many discussions of this over the years, but I think there are many questions left for us to wrestle with as a church and while I firmly believe that a greater portion should go to the work of the Lord, I can't actually see where it says that in the Bible and certainly God did intend for those caring for the holy places of God and serving God in the temple to be supported by the community.

Maybe you have some insight to share. Feel free to comment.

Numbers 17 - Communication

Have you ever had a complete communication miss with a person? Maybe, no matter what, it seems like you and that person just can't communicate. Each of you says one thing and the other person never receives that and you both feel lost in the dark and things just go awry...

Well, I hope that never happens to you, but it has happened to me. I think I am telling somebody exactly what I am thinking and how I feel and that person misses that and they think the same and yest I don't see it. When I read this chapter that was all I could think about. Here God is trying to make clear to the people who God has chosen in order to avoid rebellion and more deaths.

⁵ Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to the people’s murmuring and complaining against you.”

¹⁰ And the Lord said to Moses: “Place Aaron’s staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant^[d] to serve as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths.” ¹¹ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him.

 It all seems so clear. God provides the sign, the people are obedient and there is no more rebellion and death. Except that is not  the place the people end up...

¹² Then the people of Israel said to Moses, “Look, we are doomed! We are dead! We are ruined! ¹³ Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the Lord dies. Are we all doomed to die?”

I think this is not a one time problem for God and a major reason why Jesus came to Earth. Maybe it is because of who God is or maybe because of who we are (probably both), but we sometimes have trouble communicating with God. I actually believe that it is more often than we think, we just don't understand enough to realize that we haven't really understood what God is telling us.

So how do we fix this> Well, one thing I think we need to do is shut up and listen more. You really can't hear someone when you are already talking and since I think God has more of value to say than we do, we should start by listening more. Another is to trust and take what we do know and apply it to what we think we here. Since God is not in a bodily form in front of us, we don't have gestures and facial expressions to help convey the meaning of the words. Therefore, we need to use what we know to help us. I think sometimes we get so fearful of the possibilities that we don't focus on the realities of God's behavior and attitudes.

I think if we could do those two things, we could really improve our communication with God. I know I need to give it a try and improve in that area...why don't you join me.

Numbers 16 - Pure Heart

So yesterday I wrote about how one man's attitude and disobedience can be contagious and infect the community and today's chapter provides and example of that. We see that Korah, has done just that at stirred up the people against Moses and Aaron and God turns to punish the whole community.

It is only through Moses and Aaron's intervention that God spares the the community as a whole and limits the punishments to a small portion.

²² But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. “O God,” they pleaded, “you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?

⁴³ Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, ⁴⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!” But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

 ⁴⁶ And Moses said to Aaron, “Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it, and carry it out among the people to purify them and make them right with the Lord.^[f] The Lord’s anger is blazing against them—the plague has already begun.”

Following the warning, God makes his point that a heart that is sincere for God is what is acceptable. We see that when Korah and the 250 present their incense burners to God, they are not acceptable.

³⁵ Then fire blazed forth from the Lord and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense.

Just following purification rituals without truly being pure in your heart is not what God is looking for. God searches for a heart that is open to God and obedience.

So consider where your heart is and where you want it to be....and let moving closer to God be a daily prayer.

Numbers 15 - Unintentional vs. Purposeful Sin

So as the Lord describes the future...the sacrifices to be made when the people settle in the promised land....God provides provision for being a forgetful people regarding the sacrifice laws. God knows that we, as humans, can make mistakes and forget things. Look at what God says about that:

²² “But suppose you unintentionally fail to carry out all these commands that the Lord has given you through Moses. ²³ And suppose your descendants in the future fail to do everything the Lord has commanded through Moses. ²⁴ If the mistake was made unintentionally, and the community was unaware of it, the whole community must present a young bull for a burnt offering as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. It must be offered along with its prescribed grain offering and liquid offering and with one male goat for a sin offering.

²⁷ “If one individual commits an unintentional sin, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering.

³⁰ “But those who brazenly violate the Lord’s will, whether native-born Israelites or foreigners, have blasphemed the Lord, and they must be cut off from the community. ³¹ Since they have treated the Lord’s word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his command, they must be completely cut off and suffer the punishment for their guilt.”

Notice that the person (people) who sin unintentionally are given the opportunity to atone and be forgiven while those who are intentional with their sin and to be separated from the community.

So let's think about what it means to be intentional in your disobedience and why the punishment. So in order to be in willful disobedience, you first have to know what you are supposed to do. Then you also have to think about what you will do and make a conscious choice to do it sinfully. In the case of the sacrifices, that means that the person needs to understand that they are to honor and be grateful to God for all the blessings God has given and then the person has to decide to do to that.

When a person does that, they are receiving the blessings, but taking them for granted and not appreciating the one who has provided them. God is saying, don't take me for granted. And the punishment for that is to cut that person off from the fellowship of the community.

Why that punishment. I believe that it has to do with the fact that an attitude of taking things for granted is easily spread. The punishment is more about protecting the rest of the community. God doesn't want that attitude to become a community attitude.

I completely appreciate what God is trying to do. I also look at who we are today as a society...

We are experts at taking others for granted. Especially those we are closest to. We just expect that those closest to us will keep loving and caring for us regardless of how we treat them. And we can see this attitude pervasive throughout the nation.

What do we do? Well, for one, we make sure we are not doing this. We become people of appreciation and recognize both God and others for the role they play in our lives and the blessings they add to our lives. For another, we set this example and encourage others to make this shift as well.

Just as a negative attitude can spread, so can a positive one. It won't be easy, and we may stumble and fall ourselves, but we need to be faithful as God is faithful and when we sin, we need to repent and atone.

Numbers 14 - Are You Someone God Can Work With?

This chapter compares two types of people. First we have most of the Israelite community:

¹ Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. ² Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. ³ “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

³⁹ When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. ⁴⁰ Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”

As you can see, the people are afraid and lack trust in God. They fear the people of the land and won't accept the blessing God has offered them.  Then there is a change of heart and they are ready to trust. But why does this change of heart come about. Not because of repentance, no, because they don't like the consequences of their choice. The people are just flitting from one fear to another, trying to find the easy and safe path, rather than the path of trust. Now maybe they were so internally hurt by the Egyptians and being slaves that they don't posses the ability to step forward in faith and be courageous. But the bottom line is, that the feasrs of the moment dictate their decisions. God is not willing to work with this kind of person. God wants a person who trusts and will listen to God's voice and be obedient.

The other personalitry we see is that of Caleb and Joshua:

⁶ Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. ⁷ They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! ⁸ And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

These two have trusted the promises of God and know that God is mightier than the people of the land. They have seen God's miracles and remember God's strength over their fears. These tow alone, God promises to bring into the land when all the others have died.  This is the type of person that God can use and work with and in fact when they finally do enter the Promised Land, these men are instruments of God used to lead the people.

So where are you? If I am honest, i fall into both camps. Just six months ago, I picked up my life and moved in spite of many fears but believing this was God's plan for me. I trusted that God would take care of me and provide and God has been very faithful. But if I step back a few months earlier, I thought God had different plans and one could say I was just going to where things looked best at the moment. I honestly can't really say what was or wasn't in that particular situation, maybe God prepared me to move by sending me down another path that would start me thinking of leaving home, so that I would take that step when it came, or maybe I was very like the Israelites heading for the easy and safe road. but the truth is that isn't the only time that I possibly was like a wisp in the wind. In fact, for many years, I was not very assertive for myself or willing to take a lot of risks. I was more interested in trying to please others. Fortunately, the others I wanted to please walked with God and that didn't head me in horrible directions, but it did cause me to deny myself some of what I wanted and needed and that did come back to bite me.

So where are you? Are you like Caleb and Joshua, the Israelites, or like me who spends time in both camps. I hope I am becoming more like Caleb and Joshua and if you aren't already there, I pray that you also will become more like these two men.

Numbers 13 - Fear

Have you ever let fear topple your trust?

The Israelites have been promised the land by God and yet, when they scout the land, they see the people living there and are afraid. They have a promise from God, who travels with them, has done miracles in their presence, and yet, they still suffer from fear. Why do they? Well,, while they have a relationship with God, there is a lacking trust. Maybe brought on by the the lack of ability to interact with a God whom they can easily understand.   But aren't we similar.When people get married they promise to love and cherish the other person until death do us part, but things happen to erode that relationship sometimes and trust is lost.

So the scouts go out and survey the land and find:

Numbers 13 (New Living Translation)

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Numbers 13

New Living Translation (NLT)

Numbers 13

Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan

 ¹ The Lord now said to Moses, ² “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” ³ So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. ⁴ These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:

         Tribe — Leader
         Reuben — Shammua son of Zaccur
       ⁵ Simeon — Shaphat son of Hori
       ⁶ Judah — Caleb son of Jephunneh
       ⁷ Issachar — Igal son of Joseph
       ⁸ Ephraim — Hoshea son of Nun
       ⁹ Benjamin — Palti son of Raphu
       ¹⁰ Zebulun — Gaddiel son of Sodi
       ¹¹ Manasseh son of Joseph — Gaddi son of Susi
       ¹² Dan — Ammiel son of Gemalli
       ¹³ Asher — Sethur son of Michael
       ¹⁴ Naphtali — Nahbi son of Vophsi
       ¹⁵ Gad — Geuel son of Maki ¹⁶ These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.)
 ¹⁷ Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹ See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? ²⁰ Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)
 ²¹ So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. ²² Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) ²³ When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

The Scouting Report

 ²⁵ After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned ²⁶ to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. ²⁷ This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. ²⁸ But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! ²⁹ The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea^[a] and along the Jordan Valley.”

While they find great bounty, they also find people who are strong. Now in spite of the promises made the them by God, they ultimately choose not to trust in God's promise. Now maybe they aere so beaten down by the Egyptians that they couldn't see themselves as conquerors. Knowing the rest of the story, we know there lack of trust resulted in many more years of wandering until almost all of those who had come out of Egypt were dead.

If only the people could have overcome their wounds and fears, they could have had a different life. This is also true for us. We are the walking wounded and we harbor fears. But like the Israelites we can either find trust and let that overcome our wounds and fears or we can wander through life not receiving the blessings set aside for us.

Yes, trust can require risk, It would feel like a risk to the Israelites to fight the people of the land because of their fears, and we too have to take risks that tap into our fears, but the blessings sit there, set aside from us.

Are there areas where you are not taking up blessings because of fear? What risks do you need to take? Ask God to help you overcome your fears and follow God's direction for you.

Numbers 12 - Impure Heart

Now this is a very interesting passage to me. Yesterday we saw the people complaining and now we hear of Aaron and Miriam complaining, feeling like they are as important as Moses because the Lord has also used them:

¹ While they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. ² They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he spoken through us, too?”

So the Lord brings them all together and gives Miriam leprosy and she had to be kept out of the city for seven days.

Two things that I find interesting about this. The first is that Aaron does not get the punishment that Miriam gets. It seems rather unfair to me. Although, it would have been problematic for the High Priest to become unclean, it seems that Aaron got really lucky. Of course having Miriam get leprosy as punishment probably caused guilt for Aaron as he knew he was to blame and also community shame as they were related and the people understood leprosy to be a punishment from God. So I am sure all three of them actually felt punished.

The second is that Aaron and Miriam make their hearts unclean through their criticism and God makes that uncleanness visible in the form of leprosy. If i think about that idea, I realize that all that is happened is that an inner condition has been made visible. Don't thoughts against others and words spoken in jealousy, anger, hatred, etc give us leprosy of the heart.

I think God is reminding us that we can look just fine on the outside and appear unclean, while still being unclean on the inside. We shouldn't allow our outward appearance to let us think we are fine and pure. Just because others may see a clean person, it is not necessarily true. God sees the truth of our hearts and we need to be focused on acting based on how God sees us, rather than the world. I think this something that Miriam and Aaron forgot. They got focused on an earthly picture of Moses and compared that to their earthly view of themselves. This is the reason for God's anger and punishment.

This passage is a reminder that we need to examine our hearts for sings of uncleanness and deal with them with the Lord's help and keep a clean heart. Have you examined your heart lately or are you relying on an exterior view of how you are doing in righteousness?

Numbers 11 - Complaints

So I bet each one of us can think of someone who is always whining and complaining. Even when things are good, they have something to complain about. They are such a drag and we tend to find them quite annoying, right?

Moses also had to contend with whiners:

⁵ “We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we wanted. ⁶ But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!”

¹⁰ Moses heard all the families standing in the doorways of their tents whining, and the Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also very aggravated. 

The good thing that came out of this situation is that Moses under God's direction called other leaders to help lead the people and therefore didn't have to share the burden alone.

But, I want to point out the result of the people's whining:

¹¹ And Moses said to the Lord, “Why are you treating me, your servant, so harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to deserve the burden of all these people? ¹² Did I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How can I carry them to the land you swore to give their ancestors? ¹³ Where am I supposed to get meat for all these people? They keep whining to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I can’t carry all these people by myself! The load is far too heavy! ¹⁵ If this is how you intend to treat me, just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and spare me this misery!”

Moses himself started whining. Isn't it interesting how whining begets whining. And if you think about it, haven't you yourself been dragged into one of those whining conversation with the person who you find so annoying...or maybe you start the whining your self.

The Bible tells us in several places to beware of our tongue for it can sin in what it says. We constantly need to think before we speak. And if we are not vigilant, that upbeat conversation can quickly turn around...or that conversation that we hear that is all complaining...next thing you know we are in the middle of it.

So how do you avoid complaining and whining? That is a great question and I wish I had the answer to it. It seems to often that we get fed up and blow off steam by letting the complaints out on a willing (or unwilling) ear. But I think that one way to help with this is to talk to God about what is bothering you. Share with God and let God take away your frustration. Another way to curtail it, is to develop an attitude of gratitude. If you focus on things that you are grateful for, the things which you have complaints about will seem less important and fade away.

Do you have some other strategies? Feel free to share them.

Numbers 10 - Signals

In this chapter the Lord instructs Moses to build two trumpets that are to be used for signalling the people:

¹ Now the Lord said to Moses, ² “Make two trumpets of hammered silver for calling the community to assemble and for signaling the breaking of camp. ³ When both trumpets are blown, everyone must gather before you at the entrance of the Tabernacle.^{[a] 4} But if only one trumpet is blown, then only the leaders—the heads of the clans of Israel—must present themselves to you.

 ⁵ “When you sound the signal to move on, the tribes camped on the east side of the Tabernacle must break camp and move forward. ⁶ When you sound the signal a second time, the tribes camped on the south will follow. You must sound short blasts as the signal for moving on. ⁷ But when you call the people to an assembly, blow the trumpets with a different signal. ⁸ Only the priests, Aaron’s descendants, are allowed to blow the trumpets. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation.

 ⁹ “When you arrive in your own land and go to war against your enemies who attack you, sound the alarm with the trumpets. Then the Lord your God will remember you and rescue you from your enemies. ¹⁰ Blow the trumpets in times of gladness, too, sounding them at your annual festivals and at the beginning of each month. And blow the trumpets over your burnt offerings and peace offerings. The trumpets will remind the Lord your God of his covenant with you. I am the Lord your God.”

These are to signal the people to  gather, signal them to move on, signal for war and signal for celebration. These signals both provide direction and are a reminder of the Lord.

Signals can be very good memory tricks and ways of communicating to others (as long as they know the signals). For instance turn signals make driving around other cars safer because it allows other drivers to know what you are planning to do. Also, with children, we may raise a hand, which tells them it is time to be quiet. Signals help us to remember and call us to obedience.

But do we have modern signals with God? Certainly as a people of God we do, but sometimes we set our own signs and signals with God. The rainbow is one such symbol which the church shares. This symbol originated with Noah and is still a reminder of God's promise. Looking at a rainbow signals the end of the rain, the beginning of a promise and we see the beauty that God has created.

 Church bells can also be a signal. They can announce the time and sometimes are a call to worship (although that use seems to have decreased over the years). They also have been used to signal celebration and war, just as the trumpets God instructed Moses to fashion.

So what are some personal signals? One signal I use is scripture cards. I keep one on my dashboard in my car and each time I see it, I am reminded of God and to stay tight with God. It calls me to a relationship of love and reminds me to remember God and that I am loved. I put this in place to have that extra reminder of my relationship with God and to keep nurturing it.

Do you have signals with God? I would love to hear about them and I am guessing we could all grow from hearing each others. Possibly we might want to adopt one.

If you don't have any signals with God, consider and set up a way for you and God to communicate. Maybe it will be a sound or a sight, but something that calls you into obedience and deeper relationship with God.