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.