Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 26-36

The Israelites are finally on the brink of actually entering the Promised Land. They are numbered, reminded of the daily sacrifices and feasts, given some final instructions, Joshua is appointed to lead them in battle. Then, a few tribes decide to stay put, and claim the land that was just emptied instead of carrying on to the promised land. Oh sure, they send soldiers, but the reality is that they have sacrificed their inheritance for the immediate opportunity that has presented itself.

The Midianites sinned against the Lord and Israel, God's wrath meant their destruction, the land was open in front of them. It was an open door, an answer to a hope for them, land for their herds and their families. Certain land. But God had so much more planned for them! God had so much more he wanted to give them, and he had TOLD them he would give them. They went for the sure thing rather than God's promise of the future.

How often do we do this? We see something open up, and we take it as an open door even when we know, deep down, that God is asking us to step out in faith and go for the full promise. God wants obedience, and he too will take us all the way to the promised land if we let him.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 22-25

God can use even those who are against him to reveal his plans and blessings. The story of Balaam is an interesting one, he is a man who was not a follower of God, didn't believe in Him and Him alone. He took money to cast a curse and then God used him to bless Israel instead. He tried to warn Balaam, even told him that, yes, indeed, you will only be able to say what I tell you to say! But Balaam went forth, and tried three separate times to do what the King told him to do, curse the people of Israel.

God however, had a different plan, he opened Balaam's mouth and through the Holy Spirit, made him bless the Israelites, his people. He restated his covenant with the patriarchs, affirmed his plans for the people and the promises he had given them, and then prophesied the destruction of Israel's enemies and eventually the coming Messiah.

God can use whomever and whatever he wants to communicate his will, his blessings, and his promises. He can turn the people whom you would least expect into his mouthpieces. We need to be in tune to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to open our mouths and speak. Maybe next time we want to curse someone (denigrate, criticize, treat with disrespect) we should pray first, wait and then say what the Holy Spirit would have us say. If blessings come out of your mouth instead, God is using you to promote his will instead of your own.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 21

Finally we are seeing the Israelites becoming victorious and heading towards the promised land. In the early parts of this chapter, they win a crucial victory at Hormah - where they had been defeated 38 years prior. This place of defeat and sin where the Israelites strayed from the Lord's will has become their first victory!

There is something touchingly poetic about that. Sometimes your greatest sins, where you feel like you could never recover from, can then become your greatest victories. God teaches us, he doesn't just let us fail. Each time we turn to Him he raises us up and teaches us of His mercy, grace, and will for our lives. Maybe that sin that you have been stumbling over, or the massive sin - such as Hormah for Israel - that has brought you to your lowest low, is going to be used as a place of victory later in your life.

The Lord desires to use us, in his will, to accomplish great things. The Israelites are finally achieving victory by trusting in God, and dedicating their lives to his purpose. Have you done that? What is the Lord doing through you? Where do your victories lie? Trust in the Lord and he will provide the victories for his glory!

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 20 & Psalm 90

Moses sinned and was banned from ever seeing the promised land. Immediately, reading the passage, you think: okay how? His sin isn't obvious at first glance. He struck the rock when God said speak to it, he was angry with the people when God didn't instruct him to chastise, but God says he failed to honor him and trust in him.

That made me pause. A while ago I read a novel adaptation of the life of Hezekiah from 2 Kings and he had a similar problem, he was doing everything right, causing the people and his kingdom to turn back to God, but in one instance he claimed the deeds of the Lord as his own and was punished severely for it.

How often do I do this? How often do I allow things that are not my doing, things that I know God has done, to be credited to myself? I should be bringing honor to my Lord, bringing the glory to my Lord, and trusting only in Him not myself to accomplish the things in my life.

And then to read Psalm 90 - written by Moses - to see the humility and love that Moses had for God. How he trusted him to "establish the work of our hands". It is never too late to turn back and have God work through you, with you, no matter the sin. Start honoring Him in your speech, your thoughts, your actions today.

For me the very specific example of this is my car, which is having expensive problems right now, but God gave us 4 months of saving before we were able to get into our house last summer, so we have the money to take care of it. I could say "luckily" (and I've found myself saying that and corrected myself) or I could just take credit "I've been budgeting so..." but it's not the truth. The truth is that we trust God to take care of our needs and He knew the car would break down, and he knew how much money we would need and he has provided for that need. Just like water at Meribah. God is willing to provide for his children. All I have to do is remember to trust him and honor him with all the praise he deserves.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 15-19

What struck me through my study this week was the repeated faults of the Israelites, and how easy it is to just throw our hands up and say "Really? Your doing what? Don't you know what will happen to you?" when in reality we are exactly the same. Day by day we make the same mistakes, hurt our God the same way, make Him frustrated and angry so that his wrath is kindled against us. Thank goodness that we have the immediate intercession of Jesus, better than Moses whom the Israelites had. Moses shows us what Jesus does for us every time we sin against the Lord.

Moses went to God, pled for the people, and even had Aaron move through them offering a sacrifice to appease and atone for the sin and rebellion of his people. How much more does Jesus intercede for us, moving between us and God's wrath.

Next time I feel a little bit of "ha!" at the Israelites as they move through the wilderness, watching them stumble, grumble and rebel, I need to look at my life, and the ways in which I am in constant rebellion against the Lord.

Thank you Lord for your unending mercy and grace, for your forgiveness no matter how many times we sin against you and disobey your commands. You are almighty God and you deserve our utmost devotion. Help us to remember that we all sin and that you alone are the way to redemption and ultimately to righteousness.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 13-14

"If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." Numbers 14:8-9

This passage defines faith versus fear for me. How far are you willing to trust the Lord? When it seems impossible? When it seems dangerous? When you think you will not only fail but hurt or die because you fail?

The need to trust the Lord is implicit. If you do not trust the Lord you will fail. But then there is the phrase 'do not be afraid' and it occurs frequently. The things of this world, the situations, the people, the problems, are not to cause us fear. The only fear we should have is a healthy respect and fear of the Lord. He is the one we should be concerned about. If we are in his will, nothing should cause us to be afraid. Death should hold no fear for us. Pain is a passing thing. Struggles are not the end! When we belong to Him, when he dwells with us, there is nothing in this world that we should be afraid of. There is nothing in this world that should deter us from following Him.

Instead, we should be afraid of living a life without Him! We need to impress that fear on those who don't have a relationship with Him! There is a reason that hell is described as a lake of fire with weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is separation from the Lord and it is agony. Our fear should be living without the Lord.

So what does that mean? It means stepping out in faith and defeating the fear. Nothing is impossible with Him. Unfortunately our culture is such a non-confrontational culture - focused so much on compromise and comfort. But God doesn't call us to mediocrity and we need to not be afraid to step out in faith. We need to be bold in our trust in our father, call out that which we need to call out, pursue that which he calls us too and do not be afraid.

Do not be afraid. Trust in the Lord.

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 11-12

    Complain, grumble, whine. These two chapters show the Israelites, and then Moses and then Aaron and Miriam, complaining about circumstances. These are three different kinds of complaints. 

1. Israelites: surface level. They don't want just manna anymore. This is like us complaining that our house is too small, or why spaghetti again? These complaints ignore the blessings God has given to us.

2. Aaron and Miriam (no this is not in chronological order) they complain that God shouldn't be just using Moses, they were leaders and had spoken with God too! This is like is complaining when someone gets the promotion ahead of us, or lands the job we wanted, or gets credit for something we don't think they deserve. 

3. Moses - bringing his complaints about what he sees as his afflictions and burdens to the Lord. This is us crying it to God when we feel overburdened or like we have been given more than we can handle. 

     The lesson? We need to see the blessings of God all around us, in our food, in our jobs, in the ministry God has called us to. And we need to learn to rely on Him and Him alone for the answers to our complaints. We shouldn't complain to others about things that do not matter. And we should bring all of our burdens to God and lay them at His feet. For He is the God who provides. 

Devotions: Life of Moses Numbers 1-10

“On the day when Moses had finished setting up the tabernacle and had anointed and consecrated it with all its furnishings and had anointed and consecrated the altar with all its utensils, the chiefs of Israel, heads of their fathers’ houses who were the chiefs of the tribes, who were over those who were listed approached and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle. Then the Lord said to Moses “Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting…” Numbers 7:1-5a

I may be reading this passage completely incorrectly, but as I read this, Moses wasn’t expecting these offerings. He wasn’t expecting these offerings for the tent of meeting, which means that he hadn’t commanded them. Not only did the tribes bring these of their own accord, or maybe of the prompting of the Lord, but then the Lord instructed Moses to accept their offerings and how to use them. We have seen the Israelites being generous before: “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do…” Exodus 36:5b. But this is the first time that the people have come up with and then executed a sacrifice of worship and service to the Lord without the prompting of Moses or any of the priests. And the Lord not only honors that sacrifice, but uses it to bless the Levites who are now set apart. They are not going to be able to take care of themselves the same way as the other tribes but they are at the mercy of the 12 tribes by partaking in the sacrifices that are given to God. This is a sacrifice of goods and God shares them with his Levites, giving them to them so that they may use them in his service, in the service of the Tabernacle.

My favorite part of the passage though is the fact that God takes what at face value is just a valuable gift, and makes use of it. He takes what we can give him, no matter what it is, and uses it for his purpose and for his glory. No gift is more elaborate than another, no gift is more useful than another. The Levites needed these goods in order to serve the Lord. A tithe in the church is just as important as a pastor. The gift of a vehicle, or the use of a building is just as important as an usher, greeter, or Sunday school teacher. God can use whatever we are willing to offer to him. It doesn’t have to be asked for, it doesn’t have to fit the need that the church thinks it has. God will use what we are willing to give. And sometimes we need to be willing to give more than we think God can use. I think sometimes we get stuck in the “one ministry, 10% tithe” world of our American churches. We think - oh, I’m a greeter - or I’m teaching the children - or I’m on the worship team - so I’m doing my part. And - I’m giving 10% of my income - so I’m doing my part. God wants us to be dedicated in our service and our giving. But he also wants us to be generous. Maybe this year you can afford to give more than 10% - then do so! Maybe this month you can afford to volunteer more than once, or in more than one area - do so! God will never let a sacrifice, of time, money, energy, etc go to waste. He will always use them to his purpose and advantage. Even if the leadership isn’t expecting them and doesn’t know what to do. 

Devotions: Life of Moses Leviticus 25-27

Everything belongs to the Lord. Everything. This passage about the sabbath year and the year of Jubilee is truly pointing towards the fact that everything in the world belongs to the one who created it. Our "ownership" is really stewardship. Otherwise there would be no reason to forgive debts, free slaves and return to the land previously given to your family. God is reminding his people, they are his, the land is his, and in order to walk in covenant relationship with him, they need to follow his commands and treat the land and their people with the respect that he commands.

We don't have a sabbath year, or a year of Jubilee. I am not a farmer and I don't own slaves or have servants. But the principle of the sabbath year and the year of Jubilee is about he way we treat our brothers and sisters, in Christ or otherwise. God is calling us to trust him for our lives and prosperity. To show kindness to the poor, to take in impoverished family, to treat our homes and our money like they are not our possessions but the Lords. Because they are the Lords. How much more will heaven be worth than these "treasures" we have here? What is really important is that we can live in the presence of God. 

I may not be able to implement a jubilee year, but I can treat my possessions as what they are - God's possessions. And I can treat my life like what it is - for I am a servant of God, bought with the blood of Jesus, redeemed from the debt of sin, and brought to live in his house, wretched and poor as I am. Thank you Lord. 

Devotions: Life of Moses Leviticus 16

It seems like such a simple concept, but if it was that simple, everyone in the world would be saved. We, humans, are sinful and deserve death. We have failed our perfect and holy God and sin results in death. The end. The only way to pay for sin is through death - in Leviticus it is through the death of animals. Blood on the Atonement cover, the Lord seeing blood before seeing the broken law when he looks down from his seat. Jesus paid the ultimate price, his blood is always before God, paying for our sins. We only have to accept Him, follow Him. But first, we must acknowledge the truth that we are all sinful. We all fall short. There are none of us that live up to the precepts of Holiness that the Lord requires. We are all worthy of death. Once that is acknowledged, how can you not fall on your face and worship God who sent his son to atone for you?

Devotions: Life of Moses Leviticus 8-10

Leviticus chapter 10 holds a very sad revelation about respecting God and His worship. Aaron's sons, fresh out of training, have disobeyed the regulations for how to approach the Lord and they have been consumed by fire. God makes an example of them, whether their attitude was wrong, or whether they hadn't paid attention during Moses's training, or if they were drunk it doesn't matter. God has decreed the way in which he will be approached and worshipped and they disregarded that commandment and were punished for it.

The idea that worship must be approached in a certain way is hard for us, we don't understand it because we don't have laws specifying how to burn incense or where to sprinkle blood, but we do have a way to approach the Lord. The question is do we enter the Lord's presence lightly? Do we enter into worship in a manner that dishonors the Lord?

Aaron recognized that his sons had sinned and he refrained from grief, refrained from speaking out in his emotion, and stayed true to his anointing, finishing out the sacrifices. His example shows that God's presence, his worship, our relationship with Him should be over all other things.

It must have been excruciating, his two sons dead at the hands of the God he is serving, having to continue in an attitude of honor, respect and worship. We should do the same, no matter what is going on in our lives, no matter who has wronged or harmed us. We should enter into worship of God with Him at the center, no distractions. Spend the time with God, and let's worship Him and honor Him in the way that He has commanded.

Devotions: Life of Moses Leviticus 1-7; 11-15; 17-24

"All things in moderation." This phrase is used frequently in our American culture. A little bit of exercise - but all things in moderation. A little bit of a healthy diet - but all things in moderation. A little bit of drinking - but all things in moderation. I can read that, listen to that, watch that, do that, say that, wear that etc - all things in moderation. We think that as long as we are well-rounded, listen to, read, or do things only in moderation that nothing will touch us.

Moderation is compromise. It is saying that as long as I don't do/say/listen to this thing more than a certain arbitrary amount then it's not hurting anything. It's not affecting me, it's not a problem.

The book of Leviticus stands firm on the holiness of God, shows us the desire of a holy God to be a part of every part of our lives. He wants to give parameters, laws, commands, for every part of your existence. Our holy God desires us to be holy as he is holy.

Moderation in our lives leads to moderate Christianity.
And moderate Christianity sounds a lot like lukewarm...

I am just going to sit there for a moment.

Let it sink in.

Re-read the passage in Revelation, yeah, I'll still be here.

Our Lord wants us to be sold out for Him. He wants to indwell us with his Spirit just as he indwelt the tabernacle. And the tabernacle required specific sacrifices and rules in order for God to stay there. He commanded them to follow these laws in order for them to be holy. Our holy God loves us enough to speak into every aspect of our lives. He wants us to live, breathe, eat, be in relationship, in His way. He wants every aspect of our lives to be holy, because that is the way he designed us to be. He desires to be with us, but a holy God cannot be with a sinful people. We shouldn't just rest on our salvation, we should be constantly striving to be closer to our Lord. And a holy Lord deserves holy people.

He wants our every action, every thought, every deed, dedicated to Him.

And he deserves no less.

So next time you think, its only one movie, one song, one book, one tv show, one word, one day, remember, nothing in moderation. God demands and deserves our 100% obedience as we strive to be holy as he is holy.

Thank goodness that he forgives our errors and has provided the Holy Spirit to give us strength and purpose, because even in this we will never achieve holiness. But Jesus' sacrifice, God's love, the Holy Spirit's encouragement deserves our genuine attempt.

Devotions: A thought

I know this isn't some radical new thought, but it has gotten my attention this last week. 

This world exists in tension, between heaven and hell, faith and fear, trust and doubt, relationship with God or denial of Him. 

I have been listening to the radio lately, and no, not the Christian radio station. There are a few songs on the radio that speak to the sad and deep longing in the soul, but also to the desires of humanity to be able to do what they want. And those songs are haunting, and beautiful, and touch something inside of me. Life is the tension between what the world offers and what we have through salvation in Jesus Christ. Immediate desires versus our eternal lives in community with the Creator of the universe. What would make us think that the same God that created the world and all that we desire within it would make a heaven any less awesome? 

Our salvation is not the end of the story. We aren't Disney Princesses where the curtain falls at the happily ever after. Salvation is our Happily Ever After moment, it guarantees our place in heaven with him. But after that moment, there are struggles and fights, failings, faults, sins. The world is tempting, it's allures are designed to distract us. I do think however that we need to acknowledge our fears and failings, our doubts, our desires for the things in the world, the beauty that is around us. Maybe Christian music spends too much time taking about salvation and not enough time in minor keys, and mournful chords. We are allowed to be honest with God. He knows that we live in this tension and he has sent us The Holy Spirit, not to solve our problems, but to be our comforter, because we feel pain, and our encourager because we feel desire, fear, and doubt. 

As I said, this isn't a new idea or thought, but we should strive to remember that life happens between salvation and righteousness. And even though it's messy, it's worth the struggle. 

Christmas

There is a song by Pentatonix called "That's Christmas to Me" which has gotten me thinking. What defines Christmas for me? So in a nutshell - here you go!

1. Jesus: From setting up the nativity scene (which got changed around every couple hours when I was little) to Christmas eve service with the candlelight Silent Night and remembering the importance of His birth, Christmas has been centered on my families faith in Jesus and his impact on our lives. 

2. Family: Traditions abound! 

                  We always picked our tree from a u-cut tree place the weekend after Thanksgiving. We would go out, bundled, usually in the rain (yay Western Washington!) and the five of us (and the dog) would go pick out a tree. We never took very long, we are a pretty decisive family, but the trip out, the tree shaker, and the apple cider along with the candy cane on the way out of the tree farm was the first excitement of the season! (The tree farm we went to also had signs on the way in and out - they always said the same thing but we three kids all read them in a chorus each year anyway). 

                   The storage for our Christmas decorations was accessed through my bedroom growing up, and I always had to clear away my stuff, pull open the door and crawl in on hands and knees to pull out the boxes and boxes of decorations. That began our day of playing Christmas music, setting up of outdoor lights and decorating the tree. 

                    Mom always took us three girls out to buy our presents for Dad. That included lunch out and a whole day wandering the mall, counting how many people each of us knew and seeing who won our makeshift Christmas popularity contest. 

                    Dad would then take each of us girls out on a Daddy daughter date. This is a tradition I kept even into  my first year of marriage. I appreciated that one on one time shopping for mom and the Baskin Robbins 2 scoop hot fudge sundae with at least one scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry. 

                    Christmas cookies. This one has evolved over the years. When I was younger, we used to go to my Grammie's house and decorate sugar cookies, ending up with dozens of cookies with varying degrees of artistic talent stored in our freezer for Christmas treats. Then, it turned into a more varied endeavor starting when my Grandma would come over for a few days and we would spend it making ginger cookies, spritz, snickerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies with red and green chips etc. Now, my Mom, my Aunt, and my sisters and I make our own collection of cookies together every year, a tradition that I cherish for the crazy antics that we all get into, and the delicious results of our labor. And for the fact that I get four to six different kinds of cookies while only having to make one of them (I make the Krumkake). 

                    Christmas Eve was spent together as a family, going to church, dressing up, and then anxiously awaiting the next morning. 

                    Christmas morning is Hot Chocolate, Santa presents, Stockings, watching the dog check out each and every present, wrapping paper balls thrown at Dad (the keeper of the trash bag) and mounds of presents laid out. This was followed by breakfast, showers, and then the re-laying out of presents on made beds so that everyone who came over in the afternoon could examine and ooh and aah over our haul. 

                     Christmas afternoon included pool, lots of food, laughter and family. By seven o'clock we were usually conked out on the couch watching someone's Christmas present movie and thoroughly sated. 

                     These past few years have changed our traditions as we are all getting married and have our own houses. I can't wait to see what new traditions we make for ourselves!

3. The Christmas Excitement: Christmas eve has never been a particularly easy to sleep night. All growing up my sister and I had adjacent rooms in the basement, and often we would talk through the wall to each other before giving up and getting up, spending time playing cards or talking. We would sometimes fall asleep around midnight, but then by about two thirty in the morning I would find myself awake again. I was always so excited I couldn't sleep. But I would BEG to sleep. I would pray, on my knees, asking God to help me sleep so it could be Christmas morning already! I even remember one year grabbing my cd player and listening to music hoping that it would help turn off my mind. 

Christmas is God, Family, and Excitement. It is a time of year where joy fills the air, generosity is more important than what you receive and everyone takes time to spend time with each other. Now that we have all grown up it is harder and harder to make time to spend with each other. Christmas gives us multiple opportunities and we take advantage of every one. 

Jesus is the reason for Christmas. His birth is the reason that we can be with God, but I'm glad that his birth gives us a reason to celebrate, and to spend time in joyous giving and receiving, in laughter and ridiculous antics, in relationship not only with our God, but with each other. 

Devotions: A Look at Hope

How many times have you seen the words "Jesus is the reason for the season". It's ironic how cliche Christianity can get, words and phrases repeated that mean everything and yet nothing at the same time. Jesus is the reason for the Christmas season, but why? Not because we want people to take their focus from presents, or to think about the true meaning of Christmas (although that would be wonderful) but because this is a celebration of our salvation, the hope that should drive our lives - EVERY part of our lives. Jesus isn't just the reason for Christmas, he should be the reason we get up in the morning, tie our shoes, go about our days. Jesus represents the hope of an eternity with our Lord, Jesus represents the hope of a future, the hope of a life spent with Him.

So in reality, the saying should go "Jesus is the reason for my life" but that doesn't rhyme. But life isn't always pretty, it doesn't always rhyme, it doesn't always wrap itself up into a nice little bow. Think about the story of our saviors birth - born to a teenage, unwed virgin whose fiance needed to be convinced via divine intervention (angel) that he should even stay engaged to her. She has a baby in a city she's never been to, in a stable. Jesus is born after a journey that must have been extraordinarily painful for her, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Mary's life doesn't wrap up neatly. She probably didn't ever have that calm and profound moment that is pictured in every nativity scene ever made. But the birth of Jesus represents something for Mary, for Joseph, and for their entire nation of Israel - Hope.

Christmas is the season of hope. And Jesus is our hope, our only hope:

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Without Jesus we wouldn't even know how to hope, or what to hope for. Israel was the only nation chosen by God and what did they hope for? The Messiah. Well, he had come, he has risen, and he is seated at the right hand of his father! Jesus is now our hope and our everything. Through Him we can come to the father, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, we have purpose and peace and salvation. We can live eternally in the presence of the Lord because of Jesus.

Jesus is hope. Hope for a better tomorrow, that life isn't meaningless, that we have purpose, that we were created for a reason and that reason is to be in relationship with a God who doesn't need us, but who loves us because that is who He is. Hope.

This Christmas, take the time to think about Jesus, and what that Hope means in your life.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."  Romans 15:13

Devotions: Life of Moses Exodus 35:1-40:38

"Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up." Exodus 40:36-37

I feel like the story of the Israelites through Exodus could so easily be the story of any persons life. You spend time in constant circles of doubt, confidence in your own strength, failure, trust in God, and then spiritual mountaintop experiences followed by drinking the ash of your idols. Life is a journey, and God wants to be our navigator.

Like Moses, I've told God that I don't have the skills that He needs to accomplish what he desires.
Like the Israelites, I have failed to trust God's promises even if he has recently proven himself in my life.
Like the Elders and Aaron, I have led others astray by compromise within my own life.
Like Moses, I have leaned on God and asked for forgiveness.
Like the Israelites I have shown genuine repentance.

And mercifully, like the tabernacle, I have God in the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of me, with me. God is so good, so loving, so merciful and kind, but he is also the holy and righteous God, the ruler of creation and the only righteous judge. Israel had a bumpy journey through the first year, rescued from Egypt, taken into the arms of a jealous God whom they had very little experience with. Making promises they could not keep, and then failing in them. But they came to the realization that they could not make this journey without the Lord. They repented, they asked God to forgive them and dwell among them again. And when He did, they followed Him. Literally, they followed Him. When the cloud was taken up, they followed after it, when the cloud stayed put, they stayed put.

I don't have a physical cloud to follow. I can't point towards the sky and say, "God want's me to go that way" but I do have his word, and I have his spirit. I have direction and I have a way of learning his desires and will for my life. I have set out on my own, I have created idols, I have told God that he doesn't know what is best for my life, but that doesn't work out. God is a jealous God. He is jealous of the love of his creation. He deserves our undivided attention, our ability to put the world away and focus on Him. He wants to lead us to the promised land. Yes, it takes a lifetime to get there, but he knows the way. He knows how best to keep us out of danger, away from the wild animals, away from the nations that would destroy us. He knows how best to bless our lives, or how best to protect us - whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually.

Thank you Lord for giving us your word. For mirroring even in this old story, both your plan for the world through your son and the journey that you want to take us on. Lord, you alone are worthy of all of our praise and our admiration. Thank you for giving us your Holy Spirit to dwell among us. May I only ever depart when you are leading, and be content to stay put when you tell me to wait.

Devotions: Life of Moses Exodus 33:7-34:35

"The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin'" Exodus 34:6-7a

A God merciful and gracious. How true is that, a God who in the midst of these stiff-necked people, in the midst of their pride, is willing to forgive because of their repentance and Moses' intercession. What a beautiful picture of his mercy to us through Jesus. After everything we have done, after everything He knows we will do, are continuing to do, he extends His forgiveness. A God of steadfast love and faithfulness. He will not neglect His people. This is the God who threatened to kill the Israelites not a few verses ago, who offered Moses the spot as the patriarch of a new nation. And here He is, naming himself, giving us the attributes that will also describe our salvation.

He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. And I am so grateful to Him for the gift of salvation, of relationship and of His word, so that I can know His character, and who He is. The  LORD, forgiving us for all that we have done against Him. 

Thank you. 

Devotions: Life of Moses Exodus 32:1 - 33:6

Have you ever been caught in a situation where you know that you did something wrong? Where your mom, dad, best friend, husband, wife, sister, boss, whoever is looking at you and asking a question and you know that the answer that you have will disappoint or place the blame squarely on your shoulders? Have you ever hedged your story? Changed details, or left things out because it would cast you in an unflattering light? Do you realize that you can't lie to an Omnipotent and Omnipresent God?

Exodus 32:23-24 "For they said to me, "Make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." So I said to them, "Let any who have gold take it off." So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf"

The Israelites have just been delivered by God in power numerous times. They have stood at the base of the mountain and God has spoken to them. They have agreed to a covenant that expressly says you shall have no other gods. Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel have all had a personal encounter with God! And here they are, a few chapters later (forty days later) worshiping a golden calf. Now, I don't know if the calf was made to represent the god that they felt had delivered them, or whether they were creating a god out of whole cloth, but regardless they were breaking the commandment.

So, God sees this (because, oh I don't know, he's all-seeing and all-knowing) and Moses comes down the mountain and he and God are angry. Righteously indignant. Here Moses was receiving commandments from God, and they weren't even obeying the first one! So he confronts Aaron. Aaron blames the people first saying they made him. Then, he says the golden calf just "came out" of the fire.

His details seem a little bit fuzzy. Like maybe he left out a few to make himself look better to Moses. It was peer pressure! I didn't mean to! It just happened! They made me do it! If I hadn't done it something worse could have happened!

These sound vaguely familiar, like something I would tell myself or others to justify my actions or to defend myself, or even to cover something that I don't want fully revealed. In our society, we call them 'white lies' or 'lies of omission'. But that doesn't change what they are. Moses's solution was to make them eat the golden calf. They literally bore their sin inside of them. What do we call it when we get caught in a lie? Putting our foot in our mouth?

I think that we all recognize when we are at fault, when we need to own up, confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. Let's stop passing the blame and start taking responsibility for our own sin in front of God and others. We have already broken his commandments, all we have left to fall on is his grace.

Devotions: Life of Moses Exodus 25-31

All I can say after reading this passage is Thank You Lord Jesus! This is a hard few chapters to get through. I appreciate the detail, how the Lord makes sure that his tabernacle is made very specifically so that the people could approach him. I appreciate the fact that he asks for skilled laborers, whom HE has given the skill. He is specific and he blesses the people through skill and through his presence. Here he also asks for a love offering.

Think about this offering for a minute. The Lord has given all of the gold and jewels, linens and animals to the Israelites by having them find favor with the Egyptians as they left Egypt. Now he is asking for a portion back to build his tabernacle. Isn't this just a picture of what we are to do every time we tithe? We too should recognize we only have what we do by the providence of God and that we are stewards until that time when God should require it back from us - in this case to build the temple. In my case? It could be the next missionary to come to our church, the organization down the road, or even the person next door who needs a meal. God has given in abundance and so should we.

But the thing that strikes me the most is the precision with which everything has to be done. The incense (prayers of the saints - isn't that so cool!) is to be lit, the blood sprinkled so that the Lord sees the repentance and blood before he sees the law, the atonement seat, the curtains that Jesus later tore.

I am so glad that we no longer have to look to the rituals and sacrifices to approach God, but rather our bodies are the temple and we have the Holy Spirit inside of us.

How much more does that mean we should take care of it? How much more does that mean that we should take care to treat it like the Lord wants his temple or tabernacle treated, with reverence? We should still approach him with reverence, and with confession and covered in the sacrifice of Christ. But I am so grateful that I can approach my Lord without robes, blood, incense and an ark.

Devotions: Life of Moses Exodus 21-24

Laws. Laws, laws, laws and more laws. Here, outlined in detail, is THE LAW, or at least, the beginning of it. This is what Jesus came, not to abolish but to fulfill. Shouldn't we be acquainted with it? Listen to what it says? These are things that we hope to abide by still, some are culturally contextual, but all can be related to our daily lives and problems. These are laws about relating to each other, dealing with other sinful people, and laws about remembering and worshiping our God.

The part of this passage that made me excited though, came at the end. In chapter 24 Moses comes down the mountain, the people agree to obey all that the Lord says and Moses sprinkles them with blood. They have been cleansed, a sin offering has been offered and they have come into relationship, covenant relationship, with the Lord. So what happens next?

"Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel went up, and they saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank." Exodus 24:9-11 - I added the italics.

Hello. Woah. Can anyone say AMEN!!

They were cleansed with the blood of an oxen, or two or however many, became a part of the covenant and saw God. And then, like it's no big deal, ate and drank with him.

This is going to become a broken record moment for me, but I don't know how many times I have read Exodus and missed that the elders saw God and then had a meal. How significant is that? What are we going to do when we finally see God? The wedding feast of the bridegroom? What a picture! With the paving stones of sapphire stone? God allows these men to see him in his splendor, to get a glimpse of heaven and more importantly, to have a communal, relational moment with him and with their people.

God is a God of relationships, both through the law and how to treat each other and then through the covenant in relationship with us. Now, we are no longer under that covenant. After all, if you are anything like me, you are part of the gentile majority that would have been excluded from this opportunity. No, thanks to Jesus we have a new covenant in His blood. Now, instead of having to sacrifice oxen to get a glimpse of heaven, we agree to obey and become a part of his covenant through our acceptance of Christ and then we get the assurance that one day, we too will get a feast in the presence of the Lord.

Thank you Exodus for giving us such a picture of our father and his splendor and glory. He let them see him, and then, they ate and drank in his presence. Oh how I am looking forward to that day in heaven.