Mark's Daily Reading Journal

Throughout Deuteronomy God is emphatic that HE wants the Israelites to remember that they were slaves in Egypt and that they were delivered by the "outstretched arm of the Lord."

Deut 5:15--‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

Deut 15:15--“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

Deut 16:12--“You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.

Deut 24:18--“But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

Deut 24:22--“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.

We see in our reading today that the purpose of the Passover was to be a reminder for generations to come of the miraculous deliverance of the outstretched arm of the Lord.  Part of the Passover celebration included reenacting aspects of what happened the night of Passover.  In the same way, we as Christians celebrate the LORD'S SUPPER, it is no coincidence that this was the Passover meal, to remember the great deliverance, the outstretched arm of the LORD, as Jesus delivered us from sin, death and Satan!

Deut 16:2-4 Sacrifice to the Lord your God a Passover animal from the herd or flock in the place where the Lord chooses to have His name dwell.  3 You must not eat leavened bread with it. For seven days you are to eat unleavened bread with it, the bread of hardship—because you left the land of Egypt in a hurry—so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. 4 No yeast is to be found anywhere in your territory for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day is to remain until morning.

Steven Curtis Chapman came out with a song several years ago that called us as Christ followers to remember, to remember our chains, the chains of sin.  I found a video clip online of him performing the song at a Billy Graham Crusade.

I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking
As he stared out the window through the sky
It seemed he was taking his last look at freedom
From the hopeless, longing look in his eyes
There were chains on his hands and chains on his feet
And as I passes him by the thought came to me
[Chorus:]
Remember your chains
Remember the prison that one held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone

There's no one more thankful to sit at the table
Than the one who best remembers hunger's pain
And no heart loves greater than the one that is able
To recall the time when all it knew was the shame
The wings of forgiveness can take us to heights never seen
But the wisest ones, they will never lose sight of where they were set free
Love set them free
[Chorus:]

So remember your chains
Remember the prison that one held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone
[Bridge:]
And in the light of all that we've been forgiven of
We will find our hearts fuller and freer
To give and receive God's love
[Chorus:]
So remember your chains
Remember the prison that one held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember the place you were without grace
When you see where you are now
Remember your chains
Oh, remember your chains
When you remember your chains
Remember your chains are gone
Imagine what your life would be
If Jesus had not set you free
Remember your chains are gone
Remember all that once held you
Before the love of God broke through
Remember your chains
And remember your chains are gone

We know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, we are taught we will know the Truth and the Truth will make you free!  Jesus through HIS blood has set the captives free...to the glory and praise of God the Father!

Revelation 1:5-8  and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free  from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.      7 Look! He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, including those who pierced  Him. And all the families of the earth will mourn over Him.   This is certain. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”  says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

What has HE set us free for?  Did HE set us free by HIS OWN BLOOD that we might pursue the American Dream?  Did God the Father send HIS ONLY BEGONNEN TO DIE FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD THAT WE MIGHT PURSUE HEALTH, WEALTH AND PROSPERITY?  I don't think so!  You might be thinking...Mark you are sounding a little (or a lot) sarcastic in your tone...remember sarcasm can be a spiritual gift:)  I believe in this case it is.

We are exhorted over and over to remember, to remember the great deliverance the LORD Jesus won for us through HIS death, burial and resurrection.  Then what?  I confess that I have to stop when I come to Luke 9:23 and confess to my heavenly Father that my flesh does not get excited about taking up my cross.  Whatever else this verse teaches, it certainly smashes the health, wealth and prosperity gospel to smithereens.   What does this passage teach if it does not teach self-denial...turn from sin and self and turning to Christ alone.  Turning to Christ alone that I may receive the true treasure...WHAT IS THE GOSPEL...WHAT IS THE GOOD NEWS?  IT IS THAT WE...SINNERS, DESERVING OF DEATH, ETERNAL HELL...ARE MADE ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST IN THE HEAVENLIES AND WE GET GOD, WE GET TO KNOW HIM, LOVE HIM, ENJOY HIM AND DELIGHT IN HIM.

Luke 9:23-27

Take Up Your Cross

23 Then He said to ⌊them⌋ all, “If anyone wants to come with  Me, he must deny himself,  take up his cross daily,  and follow Me.  24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.  25 What is a man benefited if he gains the whole world, yet loses or forfeits himself?  26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words,  the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory  and that of the Father and the holy angels.  27 I tell you the truth: there are some standing here who will not taste death  until they see the kingdom of God.”

We should not be surprised by the fact that we have trouble in this life!  As Children of God actually you can count on trouble, and if you are not in trouble in this life then I have grave concerns for your eternal future.  Why else would Jesus say in John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”   He does not say you might have trouble or sufferings, HE says you WILL!

In Luke 9:20 Jesus asks a watershed question...it was a defining moment for Peter and it is for you and I as well.  The question still is asked today...who do you say that HE is?  OK, you give mental assent that HE is the Christ, the Son of God...WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS WITH THE WAY YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE?  The way you spend your time, your money, your resources?  Does what you say match how you live?

Please keep in mind I am asking myself these same questions...I don't always like my answers!

Father in heaven,

Fill us with YOUR Holy Spirit and enable us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling!  Enable us to love YOU as YOU command us to love, enable us to pursue YOU in a way that is worthy of who YOU are...open the eyes of our hearts that we may see and behold YOUR glory in Jesus Christ.  Enable us to take up our cross and follow YOU.  Enable us to be able to say with the Apostle Paul, I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...

Work this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU.

love,

m

During his exchange with Pilot, Jesus said in John 18:37, You say that I’m a king,” Jesus replied. “I was born for this, and I have come into the world  for this: to testify  to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.”  That is a strong statement..."I was born for this!  For what...to testify to the truth.  Throughout the gospel of John we see this theme; in John 1:17, John says, "for although the law was given through Moses; grace and truth  came through Jesus Christ."  John 14:6 we see Jesus responding, "I am  the way,  the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  In HIS high priestly prayer before HIS death Jesus prays in John 17:17, "Sanctify   them by the truth; Your word is truth."  In John 8:32, Jesus teaches us that, "You will know the truth,  and the truth will set you free.”  John 16:13, Jesus teaches that, "When the Spirit of truth  comes, He will guide you into all the truth.  For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. "

Mark why are you making a big deal about the "TRUTH," this is not our reading for today:)  I don't know about you, but when I read Deuteronomy 13, especially the part about killing your family members if they try to lead you into idolatry...it sounded a little harsh.  I know that when I respond that way to God's word the problem is not with HIS Word, the problem is with me!  So that is why I did a little back ground work on the truth.  I need some help with understanding God's response here.

Consider what God says in Isaiah, also, listen to HIS sarcasm!

Isaiah 44:16-20 He burns half of it in a fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. He warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm, I see the blaze.” 17 He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.  He bows down to it and worships; He prays to it,  “Save me, for you are my god.” 18 Such people  do not comprehend and cannot understand, for He has shut their eyes  so they cannot see, and their minds so they cannot understand. 19 No one reflects, no one has the perception or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, I also baked bread on its coals, I roasted meat and ate. I will make something detestable  with the rest of it, and I will bow down to a block of wood.” 20 He feeds on  ashes. ⌊His⌋ deceived mind has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself, or say, “Isn’t there a lie in my right hand?”

So when the Israelites fall into idolatry it is because they are believing a lie!  EVERY TIME YOU AND I SIN IT IS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE A LIE AND WE HAVE FALLEN INTO IDOLATRY.  Do you remember in Deuteronomy 6 we learn that God is a jealous God.  HE created us in HIS image for a relationship with HIM.  HE created us, not out of any need within HIMSELF...HE WAS NOT LONELY...HE CREATED US TO ENJOY, TO DELIGHT IN HIS GLORY AND SPLENDOR FOR EVER.  When we turn to an idol for satisfaction and delight what is that like?  Jeremiah 2:13 gives us the answer, "For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water." 

WE LOOK AT THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER AND SAY NO THANK YOU AND WE TURN AND DIG CISTERNS IN THE DIRT, IN THE GARBAGE AND TRY TO FIND SATISFACTION IN THE PUTRID AND VILE THING OF THIS WORLD. 

How would you respond if you saw someone trying to lead your child into the lie of using drugs...hey man try this...this is awesome!  You want to be accepted, you want to be cool and hip, you want everyone to like you...try this it is such a rush...come on, try it!  What would you do?  In that light God's response does not sound so severe, does it?  Remember, drugs will only kill the body, idolatry can kill the body and the spirit sending one to hell.

Deut 13:1-11 The False Prophet

“If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, 2 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let us follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,’ 3 do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. For the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul. 4 You must follow the Lord your God and fear Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful  to Him.  5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery,  to turn you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.  

Don’t Tolerate Idolatry

6 “If your brother, the son of your mother,  or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other— 8 you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity,  and do not spare ⌊him⌋ or shield him. 9 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.  10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 11 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you.

The warnings against false teaching continue into the NT.  We don't see admonitions to kill anyone; however we see strong warning to protect the flock, or the church against false teachers.  Praise God we are not instructed to kill in the NT!  What did Jesus say to those who would stone the woman caught in adultery..."let the one who is among you who is without sin cast the first stone."  Jesus demonstrated a love for repentant sinners, HE still hates sin.  What did HE tell her..."go and sin no more."  I believe that we should apply the phrase, "you must purge the evil from among you," to ourselves.  If your hand offends the cut it off, your eye, gouge it out...no this is not self-mutilation.  A blind man can still lust in his heart...I believe that Jesus is teaching us to deal radically with sin...as John Owen put it, "be killing sin or sin will be killing you."  Let's make sure we remove the log from our own eye, before we try to help our brother.

Acts 20:28-31 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,  among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers,  to shepherd the church of God,  which He purchased with His own blood.  29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 And men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them.  31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears.

Galatians 1:8 But even if we or an angel  from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you,  a curse be on him! 

1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits  to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

There is an amazing statement in 1 Tim 4:16, Paul instructs young Timothy to "Be conscientious about yourself and your teaching; persevere in these things, for by doing this you will save  both yourself and your hearers."  Paul instructs Timothy to watch his life, his walk with the LORD, when he says to "be conscientious about yourself."  Then he instructs him to watch his teaching, make sure your teaching is pure, rightly divide the Word of Truth.  WHAT IS THE RESULT IF HE WILL DO THIS?   "By doing this you will save  both yourself and your hearers." 

THE WAY WE LIVE MATTERS, WHAT WE BELIEVE MATTERS, WHAT WE TEACH MATTERS...THEY ALL MUST MATCH UP...WHAT IS AT STAKE?  HEAVEN AND HELL, ETERNAL LIFE OR ETERNAL SEPARATION FROM GOD...ETERNAL TORMENT AND HORROR!

LET'S GO HARD AFTER JESUS...HE IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE...NO ONE, NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH HIM!

Let's pursue HIM together and seek to bring as many with us as we can.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

LOVE,

m

The "be careful" theme is rampant here in Deuteronomy 11-12.  In the HCSB translation, "be careful" is stated 8 times; be careful to obey MY commands...love the LORD your God and worship HIM with all your heart and soul.  Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside and worship other gods.

With chapter [11] we reach the end of Moses’ statement of the basic principles guiding those in covenant relationship with God. The chapter has a typical form. Moses states God’s requirements (11:1, 8, 13) and then applies and illustrates them (vv. 2–7, 9–12, 14–17). The chapter, and this section of Deuteronomy, concludes with a summary that draws together basic commands found in earlier chapters. When we see these together, we realize again that the believer’s ongoing relationship with God is marked by two things: love and obedience. Those who love and obey the Lord will surely enjoy His blessings, and most important of all, will experience daily fellowship with their Lord.  Key verse. 11:1: This is the whole duty of those who know God.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (127). Wheaton: Victor Books.

The gift of spiritual frankness is exercised here again here in Deuteronomy 11, "Be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside, worship, and bow down to other gods. 17 Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land  the Lord is giving you.   Hey it's up to you...I will not force you, but if you choose not to follow my commands, brace yourself for the consequences of that choice.

Dt 11:18-25 “Impress these words of Mine on your hearts and souls, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol  on your foreheads.  19 Teach them to your children,  talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your fathers.  22 For if you carefully observe every one of these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and remain faithful  to Him— 23 the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will drive out nations greater and stronger than you are. 24 Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours.  Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River  to the Mediterranean Sea.  25 No one will be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot, as He has promised you.

See if you see the same connection between Deuteronomy and Luke...this is so cool!  The promise to the Israelites is that if they will carefully obey the voice of the LORD HE WILL DRIVE OUT THE NATIONS BEFORE THEM.  These nations, we are told are stronger than they are.  These nations are being driven out because of their evil practices, demonic activities and idol worship.  We learned yesterday that it was not because the Israelites were more righteousness.  SO IF THE ISRAELITES WALK IN LOVE AND OBEDIENCE THEY ARE PROMISED TO LIVE WONDERFUL PROSPEROUS DAYS IN THE PROMISED LAND.  However; if they are enticed, and turn to the left or right...it gets nasty, they will not be victorious.

So what is the connection to Luke?  God drove the nations out before the Israelites because of the evil practices of those nations...Jesus drove the demons out of this poor man in the region of the Gerasenes. 

Lk 8:29-31  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and although he was guarded, bound by chains and shackles, he would snap the restraints and be driven by the demon into deserted places.

30 “What is your name?” Jesus asked him. “Legion,”  he said—because many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged Him not to banish them to the abyss.

Lk 8:36-39  Meanwhile the eyewitnesses reported to them how the demon-possessed man was delivered.  37 Then all the people of the Gerasene region  asked Him to leave them,  because they were gripped by great fear. So getting into the boat, He returned.  38 The man from whom the demons had departed kept begging Him to be with Him. But He sent him away and said, 39 “Go back to your home, and tell all that God has done for you.” And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him.

To the degree that you and I walk in obedience, love and fellowship with our LORD, I believe that is the degree that we will experience the victorious Christian life.  Many of us can quote the fruit of the Spirit or at least we are familiar with them, but how about the fruit of the flesh?  Take a close look at that list!  If you casually look at the list you might think that you are OK!  Mark, I'm not an idolater!  You have never pursued anything, anyone more than you pursued your relationship with God?  If God called you to walk away from your current life...would you?  How about "jealousy."  Are you jealous of others sometimes?  Have you ever had an outburst of anger?  Do you have them internally now?  Have you ever been envious of someone, do you still struggle with envy from time to time?  JOIN THE CLUB!

Gal 5:16-25--The Spirit versus the Flesh

16 I say then, walk by the Spirit  and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires  what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.  18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious:   sexual immorality,  moral impurity,  promiscuity,  20 idolatry,  sorcery,  hatreds,  strife,  jealousy,  outbursts of anger,  selfish ambitions,  dissensions,  factions,  21 envy,   drunkenness, carousing,  and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit  is love,  joy,  peace, patience,  kindness,  goodness, faith,  23 gentleness,  self-control.  Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus  have crucified the flesh  with its passions and desires.  25 If we live  by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.

Gee Mark, thank you for making me feel bad about myself...hey, don't mention it:)  BUT PLEASE GET THIS WE ALL STRUGGLE WITH THIS STUFF...BUT THERE IS AN ANSWER...IT IS STATED CLEARLY IN 2 Pe 1:2-4, May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God  and of Jesus our Lord. Growth in the Faith 3 For His  divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge  of Him who called  us by  His own glory and goodness. 4 By these He has given us very great and precious promises,  so that through them you may share in the divine nature,  escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.

Jesus has set us free from our sins by HIS blood, now we may escape the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires...we are even invited to share in HIS divine nature!  AS WE WALK BY FAITH, FAITH AND TRUST IN JESUS CHRIST, WALKING IN OBEDIENCE AND LOVE HE WILL DRIVE THOSE SNARES, EVIL DESIRES OUT.  For His  divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge  of Him who called  us by  His own glory and goodness.

HOW DO WE GET THIS KNOWLEDGE?  THROUGH HIS WORD...LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY...LET'S ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER ALL THE MORE AS YOU SEE THE DAY APPROACHING.

Father in Heaven,

Do this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

M

In the past I have teased about having the spiritual gift of sarcasm, and that if it is Spirit led it can be a good thing.  I say that only because we see God being sarcastic in scripture.  Another area I have teased about, not on this blog, is people with the spiritual gift of frankness.  This would be those that hit you with the truth like a wet mop upside the head...very direct in their approach, they don't hold anything back.   While this is not a spiritual gift that I possess I must say we do see this trait throughout God's Word.  I think that you could safely say that Jesus is very direct and frank with the Pharisees and Sadducees and HE is also frank with the disciples.  In our readings today we see Moses exercising the spiritual gift of frankness as well as Jesus with HIS family and the crowd..."my mother and my brothers ARE THOSE WHO HEAR AND DO THE WORD OF GOD!

In Deut 9-10 the Israelites and we receive, (if you have ears to hear) a strong warning and a sobering reminder.  The warning is to exercise faith in God in taking the land that God is giving you.  For you and I it is exercise faith in living the victorious Christian life that Jesus suffered, died and rose again so that you could do just that.  So take the land by faith...that is the victorious Christian life!

The sober reminder is that you and I were not saved because of anything in us!  "Do not say to yourself" the Lord saved me because I am basically good, the Lord saved me because I was insightful enough to act in faith...no, no, no!  God saved me because HE is loving, merciful, gracious and kind...HIS tender mercies are new every morning!

Deut 9:3-6 But understand that today the Lord your God will cross over ahead of you  as a consuming fire; He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the Lord has told you. 4 When the Lord your God drives them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ Instead, the Lord will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness. 5 You are not going to take possession of their land because of your righteousness or your integrity. Instead, the Lord your God will drive out these nations before you because of their wickedness, in order to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land  to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

The Israelites were a stiff-necked people and so am I apart from the saving grace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Even today, when I am not walking filled with the Spirit, dependent, desperate for Christ in me the hope of glory...I am stiff-necked, rebellious and self-centered.  MY ONLY HOPE IS COMPLETE AND ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE ON HIM FOR EVERY HEART BEAT, EVERY BREATH...EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING OF AN ETERNAL KINGDOM NATURE COMES FROM HIM!

Luke 8:9-15  Then His disciples asked Him, “What does this parable mean?”  10 So He said, “The secrets  of the kingdom of God have been given for you  to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 

11 “This is the meaning of the parable:   The seed is the word of God.  12 The seeds along the path are those who have heard. Then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the seeds on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing.  14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life,  and produce no mature fruit. 15 But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who,  having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring,  bear fruit.

The only way you and I may receive a fourth soil heart is for God to give us one.  What was David's cry in Psalm 51:10..."create in me a clean heart O God."  God tells us in Ezekiel, "I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh."

In Deuteronomy 9 we see the tablets of stone referred to again, and inscribed by the finger of God again; these tablets point to what God is going to do in the hearts of HIS children through Jesus Christ.  Paul writes in 2 Co 5:17, that, "if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation;  old things have passed away, and look,  new things  have come."  Paul tells us that a transformation has taken place! 

Deuteronomy 9:10-11  On the day of the assembly the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, inscribed by God’s finger. The exact words were on them, which the Lord spoke to you from the fire on the mountain. 11 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, at the end of the 40 days and 40 nights.

Paul referrers to this in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians and he says in 2 Cor 3:3, since it is plain that you are Christ’s letter,  produced  by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God;  not on stone tablets  but on tablets that are hearts of flesh. 

Ex 24:12  The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets  with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.”

Ex 31:18  When He finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.

Proverbs 3:3 Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.  Tie them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will place My law  within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Ezekiel 11:19  And I will give them one heart  and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone  from their bodies  and give them a heart of flesh, 

In 2 Co 3:7-8, Paul contrasts the old covenant and the new.  "Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory,  so that the sons of Israel were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading ⌊glory⌋— 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?"

He goes on to say in 2 Co 3:15-18, "However, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns  to the Lord, the veil is removed.  17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting   the glory of the Lord  and are being transformed  into the same image  from glory to glory;  this is from the Lord who is the Spirit."

There is an amazing principle working here...it is absolutely true that we are dependent on God for the new heart, for the heart transformation, but it is also true that we at some level are active in this process.

The caterpillar can't just sit there and do nothing in the larvae state...it must do all the things that God created it to do to be transformed into a butterfly.  I believe that Paul had a clear understanding of God's Work and our responsibility in dealing with a sovereign God.  In Philippians 1:6, he writes, "I am sure of this, that He who started a good work  in you  will carry it on to completion  until the day of Christ Jesus.  It is all God right?  Well check out Philippians 2:12-13, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you, ⌊enabling you⌋ both to will and to act for His good purpose. 

Do you see the tension in Scripture?  "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who is working in you."  If Paul is OK with the tension so am I...SO WHAT DO WE DO!

LUkE 8:15  But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who,  having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring,  bear fruit.

If I may I would like to say it in a prayer.

Father in heaven,

In and through the death, burial and resurrection of YOUR precious Son, in and through HIS life giving blood, we humbly enter YOUR presence with confidence because of Jesus...Father, create in us, create in me a clean heart, a heart to know YOU, to love YOU, to go hard after YOU...Oh Father gives us hearts of flesh to love YOUR Word, enable us to treasure YOUR Word in our hearts.  Oh Father, that our hearts would burn within us as YOU open the eyes and ears of our hearts to YOUR precious Word.  Father, as we hear YOUR Word and treasure YOUR Word transform our hearts to be the good and honest heart, hearts that bear fruit, fruit that will last.  Father enable us to HOLD ON TO YOUR WORD, enable us by YOUR Holy Spirit to ENDURE, to walk and live in a manner that is pleasing to YOU and YOU alone!

Father enable us to always remember that we are absolutely dependent on YOU, that we are desperate for YOU to do YOUR heart transforming work in our hearts and YET YOU have given us a part in this, YOU have given us Work, YOU have called us to Work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.  Please, Holy Spirit of God, work this for YOUR glory and for the JOY of YOUR children.  To God be the glory...great things HE has done!  In Jesus Name!  amen

love,

m

As you reread this passage consider that the fragrant oil was the equivalent of a laborers wages for one year.  Why was she weeping?  I believe that they were tears of JOY...see verse 47, "her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why  she loved much."  Great forgiveness provides the opportunity for great love.  Keep in mind in Jesus story NEITHER HAD THE ABILITY TO REPAY THE DEBT THEY OWED!

Ponder that this woman NEVER SPEAKS ONE WORD, BUT HER ACTIONS, WHAT SHE DOES, says EVERYTHING!  Her actions reflect GREAT CARE, COST, EMOTION AND GREAT LOVE!

Luke 7:36-50

Much Forgiveness, Much Love

Then one of the Pharisees invited Him to eat with him. He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.  37 And a woman in the town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house.  She brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil 38 and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching Him—she’s a sinner!”

40 Jesus replied to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”

“Teacher,” he said, “say it.” 41 “A creditor had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii,  and the other 50. 42 Since they could not pay it back,  he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.”

“You have judged correctly,” He told him. 44 Turning to the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet,  but she, with her tears, has washed My feet and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss,  but she hasn’t stopped kissing My feet since I came in. 46 You didn’t anoint My head with oil,  but she has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why  she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 Those who were at the table with Him began to say among themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”

50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you.  Go in peace.”

In his little book What Jesus Demands from the World, John Piper shares some poignant insights into this passage.

This is a story about the way great love for Jesus comes into being. It comes into being when we are given eyes to see the beauty of Jesus in the way he loved us first. We did not love him first. He loved us first (John 15:16). Our love for Jesus is awakened when our hearts are broken because of our sin (unlike the judgmental Pharisee) and when we taste the sweetness of Jesus’ forgiving love preceding and awakening our love for him.

The Demand That We Love Him Is an Act of Love

There is no doubt that this love will produce the fruit of obedience to Jesus’ other commandments (John 14:15), and that it will incline us to fulfill the ministry he gives us to do (John 21:15-22), and that it will produce a longing that Jesus be honored and blessed (John14:28; 5:23). But beneath all this fruit is the fundamental reality of heartfelt love for Jesus—strong feelings of admiration for his attributes, abiding enjoyment of his fellowship, undying attraction to his presence, warm affection for his kinship, and strong gratitude for loving us before we loved him.  These emotions and this fruit are what Jesus meant when he referred to our being “worthy” of him: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me’ (Matt. 10:37). Loving Jesus with these affections and with this fruit makes us “worthy” of Jesus.  This does not mean that we deserve Jesus, as in the phrase “the laborer is worthy of his wages” (Luke 10:7, literal translation). It means that Jesus deserves this kind of love. Our worthiness means that he has produced in us affections and behaviors that are suitable and fit for his worth. They correspond properly to his value. (Compare the use of the word “worthy” in the phrase, “Bear fruits worthy of [that is, suitable to] repentance,” Luke 3:8, literal translation.)  Jesus demands that he be loved by the world because he is infinitely worthy to be loved. And since our love for him is the enjoyment of his glory and presence and care, therefore Jesus’ demand that we love him is one more way that his love overflows on us.

Father in heaven,

open the eyes our our hearts, my heart, to see YOU as YOU are, to behold YOUR beauty, enable me, enable us to love YOU as YOU command...command what you will, but will what you command...bring to completion the good work YOU began in our hearts.  Hearts that burn with a desire to know YOU, love YOU, pursue YOU with a white hot passionate love...to remember, repent and pursue YOU like we did when we first came to faith in YOU.  I confess that I cannot do this in my power, Holy Spirit of God enable me to love YOU in a manner that is Worthy of YOUR glory, honor, majesty...please work this for YOUR glory and my joy in YOU.

love,

m

In the past I have had people tell me that they feel more alive and experience God more deeply when they are in the great outdoors, as they seek to experience God in nature, HIS nature.  I am OK with that as long as you take your Bible with you and BELONG  to a local church.  I like the observation that C.S. Lewis made concerning the Word of God!  "You find out more about God from the Moral Law than from the universe in general just as you find out more about a man by listening to his conversation than by looking at a house he has built C.S. Lewis."

In Deuteronomy chapter 5 we see Moses restating the 10 Commandments originally stated in Exodus 20.  I believe that Richards nails it in reference to "have no other gods besides me" when he said that..."God must be given absolute priority. This commandment is key to all the others. Unless we commit ourselves to God, and to God alone, our hearts will be drawn away from the righteousness the Ten Commandments decree. For ancient Israel “other gods” were often pagan idols. For us “other gods” may be the pursuit of wealth or pleasure. If our commitment to the Lord is complete, keeping the rest of the commandments will follow naturally.  You shall not make … an idol. God is Spirit. So cutting any image for use in worship must corrupt our grasp of His nature as Yahweh. God’s “jealousy” this reflects a passionate concern for us to know and worship Him as He truly is. The reference to “punishing the children for the sin of the fathers” reminds us that the consequences of a flawed understanding of God persist for generations. If we know and worship God in His spiritual nature we protect our descendants from the sins, and subsequent punishments, that grow wherever men fail to know and love the Lord.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (64). Wheaton: Victor Books.

In the NT Paul and Peter both warn us to be careful, to be sober minded, Paul commands us in 1 Corinthians 15:34, to "Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame."  Peter in 1 Pet 1:13 exhorts us to "prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Moses commands us to be careful over and over...I am sorry for listing so many references, BUT I NEED TO HEAR THEM, I WANT TO GET THIS AT THE CORE OF MY HEART!

Deut 5:32--You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Deut 6:3--Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deut 6:25--And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

Deut 7:11--You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

Deut 7:12--“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.

Deut 8:1--“The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers.

Deut 11:22--For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him,

Deut 11:32--you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.

Deut 12:1--“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.

Deut 12:30--take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’

Deut 15:5--if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today.

Deut 17:10--Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the Lord will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you.

Deut 24:8--“Take care, in a case of leprous disease, to be very careful to do according to all that the Levitical priests shall direct you. As I commanded them, so you shall be careful to do.

Deut 26:16--“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deut 28:1--“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

Deut 28:13--And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them,

Deut 31:12--Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law,

Deuteronomy 6:25 teaches us that "Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’   When Jesus arrived in history, when God became incarnate there were 613 laws and if memory serves me correctly there were thousands of rules and regulations that Jewish tradition had piled on to the 613 laws found in the OT.  If you want to see a list of the 613 laws with their scripture references check out Judaism 101 at http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm 

I don't know about you but this is a little discouraging...the thought of trying to keep 613 commandments...wow!  Paul, under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit teaches us in Galatians that "the law was our tutor [guardian] to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith Gal. 3:24."   THIS IS HUGE!  THIS IS INCREDIBLE AND IT IS REALLY GOOD NEWS!  WHY ARE YOU MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT THIS MARK...BECAUSE NOW REALLY THERE IS ONLY ONE COMMANDMENT!  HE GAVE IT TO THEM IN DEUTERONOMY WITH ALL THE OTHERS AND JESUS QUOTED IT IN THE GOSPELS!

Deut 6:4-5  “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.    5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 

Mark 12:29-30 “This is the most important,”  Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord  our God, The Lord  is One.  30 Love  the Lord your God  with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,  and with all your strength.  

Our purpose and our passion it to love God, to seek HIM, to pursue HIM with a white hot passion...to cry out for a heart that longs for HIM and HIM alone, a heart that longs for HIM as HE is, not as I want HIM to be...Jesus commands us to follow...that is our responsibility...to fix our eyes on Jesus and follow, what did HE say in Matt 4:19?  “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fish for  people!”   You follow me, Jesus, and HE said "I will make you."  All you and I have to concern ourselves with is following hard after Jesus.

Rev 2:4-5--But I have this against you: you have abandoned the love ⌊you had⌋ at first. 5 Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you  and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

REMEMBER, REPENT AND GO HARD AFTER JESUS...PURSUE THE LOVER OF YOUR SOUL!

Alexis de Tocqueville a French political thinker, historian, know for his work Democracy in America is credited with the following quote subsequent to his travels in America in the early 1800's.

I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers - and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce - and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution - and it vas not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. Alexis de Tocqueville

I believe this quote is true of an individual, a family, a community, a church and a nation.  It is true, not because I believe it is, it is true because God's Word says it is true!

As you read through Deuteronomy 4 did you get the idea that knowing, embracing and keeping God's Word is a big deal to God, or should I say it is the ONLY DEAL!  As I read God's Word, I prayerfully seek to enjoy, delight in and be fed by every word, but my eye is always drawn to the purpose statements...the so that's, because, therefore's...I believe I counted 14 "so that's" in the copied scriptures below.  It is a little like an "if then" clause.  If this happens then this will follow...cause and effect, if you do this THEN this will happen.

Deut 4:1-2  “Now, Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live, enter, and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You must not add anything to what I command you or take anything away from it,  so that you may keep the commands of the Lord your God I am giving you.

Deut 4:6  Carefully follow ⌊them⌋, for this will ⌊show⌋ your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’ 

Isn't this what Tocqueville witnessed in America?  Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. Alexis de Tocqueville

As I read God's Word my eye is also drawn to the warnings.  Deuteronomy 4 is full of warnings to the Israelites...diligently watch yourselves, be extremely careful, be careful, be careful...don't forget!

Deut 4:9-10  “Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you don’t forget the things your eyes have seen and so that they don’t slip from your mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and your grandchildren.  10 The day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, ‘Assemble the people before Me, and I will let them hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth and may instruct their children.’

Deut 4:15-16 “Be extremely careful for your own good—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire— 16 not to act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of any figure: a male or female form,

What did Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit say to the Christians in Rome?  Rom 1:20-23  From the creation of the world  His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made.  As a result, people  are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds  were darkened.  22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools  23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

Sadly, this was true of Israel and it is true of America and worse it is true of me and you!  Every time you and I sin it is true of us.  Every time I slightly change a story to set myself in a more positive light I make an idol of my reputation or ego...every time!  Am I more concerned about what people think or about what God thinks?  OUCH!

Deut 4:20 But the Lord selected you and brought you out of Egypt’s iron furnace to be a people for His inheritance, as you are today.

Dt 4:23-24  Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that He made with you, and make an idol for yourselves in the shape of anything He has forbidden you. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,  a jealous God.

The author of Hebrews puts it this way in 12:28-29 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us hold on to grace.  By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe;  29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Dt 4:26-31  I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will quickly perish  from the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not live long there, but you will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be reduced to a few survivors  among the nations where the Lord your God will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see, hear, eat, or smell. 29 But from there, you will search for the Lord your God, and you will find ⌊Him⌋ when you seek Him with all your heart and all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, you will return to the Lord your God in later days and obey Him. 31 He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant  with your fathers that He swore to them by oath, because the Lord your God is a compassionate God.

Dt 4:34  Or has a god ⌊ever⌋ attempted to go and take a nation as his own out of ⌊another⌋ nation, by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

Dt 4:37-40  Because He loved  your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you in and give you their land as an inheritance,  as is now taking place. 39 Today, recognize and keep in mind that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other. 40 Keep His statutes and commands, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper and so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

It was and is HIS presence and great power that has delivered us from our sins by HIS blood...through HIS death, burial, and resurrection.  Praise God for HIS presence.  I have learned much from Moses and his love, his hunger, and his desire for the presence of God...it meant more to Moses than anything else. 

Consider what we learn about Moses in Hebrews 11:24-26, By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.  26 For he considered reproach for the sake of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.  What is the reward?  What is the gospel?  God is the gospel!  The good news of the gospel is that we will experience the presence of God throughout all eternity.

Everyone is building on one of two foundations!  The warning to hear and obey the Word of God comes again from the WORD INCARNATE!  You cannot serve two masters...where are you building?  Are you building your life on the American dream?  If we choose to build on the American dream...the destruction of our house will be great, it will be horrific!

Luke 6:46-49

The Two Foundations

46 “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?  47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them:  48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep  and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great!”

What are you building on?

1 Co 3:11-15  because no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid—that is, Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver,  costly stones,  wood, hay, or straw, 13 each one’s work will become obvious, for the day  will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire;  the fire will test the quality of each one’s work.  14 If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved;  yet it will be like an escape through fire. 

Father in heaven,

Create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me!  Please enable me by the filling of YOUR Holy Spirit to pursue YOU, to love YOU, to seek YOU will all my heart, soul and strength.  To long for and desire YOUR presence infinitely more than anything this world may offer.  Enable me to build my life and my family, my ministry on YOU and YOU alone.  I confess apart from YOU I cannot do it...please help me...for YOUR glory and for my joy in YOU.

love,

m

Below is some basic information about Deuteronomy that will help with context and understanding the book as a whole.  Deuteronomy is the book Jesus quoted most often.  In the WILDERNESS when HE was tempted by Satan HE quoted Deuteronomy, check it out in Matt 4.  In Deut 8:2-3, not only do we see the words Jesus quoted to Satan in the wilderness, we are taught why God allowed the Israelites to endure what they did in the WILDERNESS...and we get a picture of why our heavenly Father allows us to be tried and tested, why we are allowed to experience a spiritual wilderness...2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.  HE allows us to be tested to teach us, to reveal to us what is in our hearts.  To enable us to understand that we were created to have a relationship with HIM, to delight in HIM, rejoice in HIM, to Worship HIM and HIM alone, to love HIM.

As Deuteronomy opens, the people of Israel are camped on plains just across the Jordan River from Canaan. All in the generation that saw so many miracles when God broke the bonds of their slavery in Egypt are gone, victims of their unwillingness to trust the Lord. A new generation has grown to maturity during 40 years of wilderness wanderings. This new generation, which has “held fast to the Lord” (Deut. 4:4), is poised, eager to cross the Jordan River and challenge the entrenched power of the Canaanites.

But Moses, the leader whose piety and commitment to God Israel has come to trust, is about to die. It will be a new leader, Joshua, who takes the armies of the Lord into battle across the river. Moses, aware of his personal destiny, assembles the people he has led and loved to hear his final words. These words, captured for us on the pages of Deuteronomy, sum up the central truths and basic principles Moses has come to understand through his many years of intimate relationship with the Lord. Speaking under the inspiration of God’s Spirit, Moses rehearses the history of God’s saving work for Israel. He explains the motives that lie behind God’s choice of Israel and God’s gift of the Law. And Moses goes on to review and to add to earlier instructions for holy living.

These chapters contain the bulk of Moses’ first sermon to the Israelites assembled on the plains of Moab and eager to conquer Canaan (1:1–5). They lay the historical basis for the relationship between God and Israel defined in Deuteronomy.

That basis, Moses says, is the covenant promises God made to Abraham (vv. 6–8), confirmed in all God has done to keep those promises. Thus the theme of these chapters is the faithfulness of God—and His demand for a faithful people. Though Moses carefully appointed leaders (vv. 9–18), Israel rebelled against the Lord at Kadesh, and was condemned to wander in the wilderness (1:19–2:1). Even there God watched over Israel and defeated their enemies (2:2–3:11). God sealed His commitment by giving Israel the Transjordan (vv. 12–20). But God showed the necessity of total faithfulness. He refused to let Moses enter Canaan for a single act of disobedience (vv. 21–27).

God will be faithful. Joshua will lead Israel to victory (vv. 28–29). Yet to have God’s help, Israel must be faithful to God.

Key verses. 1:30, 43; 2:7: God’s love is seen most clearly against the backdrop of human failure.

Personal application. Look back and see what lessons God has taught you as you lived your life with Him.

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (119). Wheaton: Victor Books.

I pray that you and I will devour and feast on the Word of God in Deuteronomy.  I believe that you will find it is an incredible banquet that the Lord has set before us...taste and see...HE is good!  What did Jesus say?  My food is to do the will of HIM who sent me to accomplish HIS work!  What is the food you are working for and thinking about during the sermon or midmorning.  "For we are HIS workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which HE has before ordained that we should walk in them."  For those not in class yesterday, "workmanship" is the Greek word "poiema."  Do you see another English word in there?  It is the same word we get our word "poem" from.  LET THIS SINK IN...YOU ARE HIS "POEM" WORKMANSHIP CREATED TO FILL YOUR STOMACH? NO...CREATED UNTO GOOD WORKS...HE HAS A PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE...AND I PROMISE THAT IT IS NOT THE AMERICAN DREAM!

Psalm 67 reminded me of the verses in Revelation that speak of heaven being filled with people "Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."  These are people that are and will be very different from me, that is a good thing.  Before the Cross of Jesus Christ there is no social or economic status it is just the redeemed.  Heaven will be filled with an incredible diversity of redeemed people...to the praise and glory of God! 

Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood  Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—

 

PSALM 67

God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us,  Selah 2 That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. 3     Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You.  Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!  For You shall judge the people righteously,   And govern the nations on earth.      Selah 5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. 6 Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us,  And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

A day is coming when the created universe, every creature will go nuts at the appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It is a little humorous at the things that people worship...basketball, and basketball players...it just depends on the season or the sport.  There are countless other idols, music icons, financial wizards on Wall Street etc.

When HE returns, HE being Jesus and the created universe, every angelic being, every human will bow the knee and the created universe will erupt with praise and appropriate worship for the one true KING.

Philippians 2:9-18

9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Light Bearers

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

Happy Easter, HE IS RISEN!  One frustration in doing this little blog is that there is always tons and tons to consider and to write about.  Even going through the genealogies there was too much to consider.  It happened again this morning, but this morning 5 words stood out...“How awesome are Your works!   You could spend day after day considering the works of our great God.  However, when you stop and think about it, without the cross, without the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus  THERE IS NO GOOD NEWS FOR YOU AND I...NONE.

1 Co 15:1-8

The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality

15     Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

This morning pray this Psalm to our great God, praise HIM and bless HIM for HIS great works...more than anything for the work of the Cross and the incredible news that the tomb is empty...HE has risen, just as HE said!

PSALM 66

Praise to God for His Awesome Works

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

1     Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!

2     Sing out the honor of His name; Make His praise glorious.

3     Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!  Through the greatness of Your power  Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.

4     All the earth shall worship You  And sing praises to You;  They shall sing praises to Your name.”      Selah

5     Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.

6     He turned the sea into dry land;  They went through the river on foot.  There we will rejoice in Him.

7     He rules by His power forever;  His eyes observe the nations;  Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.      Selah

8     Oh, bless our God, you peoples!  And make the voice of His praise to be heard,

9     Who keeps our soul among the living,  And does not allow our feet to be moved.

10     For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.

11     You brought us into the net;  You laid affliction on our backs.

12     You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water;  But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

13     I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows,

14     Which my lips have uttered And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.

15     I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats.      Selah

16     Come and hear, all you who fear God,  And I will declare what He has done for my soul.

17     I cried to Him with my mouth, And He was extolled with my tongue.

18     If I regard iniquity in my heart,  The Lord will not hear.

19     But certainly God has heard me;  He has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20     Blessed be God,  Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!

love,

m

HE IS RISEN JUST AS HE SAID!

John 20:11-18  But  Mary stood outside facing the tomb,  crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels  in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet, where Jesus’ body  had been lying. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?”  “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,”  she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Supposing He was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve removed Him, tell me where you’ve put Him, and I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” —which means “Teacher.” 17 “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus told her, “for I have not yet ascended  to the Father.  But go to My brothers  and tell them that I am ascending to My Father  and your Father—to My God  and your God.” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”  And she told them what  He had said to her.

John 20:30-31  Jesus performed many other signs  in the presence of His disciples that are not written  in this book.  31 But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah,  the Son  of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.

The Old Covenant is passed away, Jesus came to make a new covenant in HIS OWN blood.  HE defeated sin, death and Satan at the Cross.  The lower human court ruled...crucify HIM!  The highest court overruled...HE IS RISEN!  I love the way Jesus says this...tell them that I am ascending to My Father  and your Father—to My God  and your God.”  No longer is HE a distant God that only the High Priest may enter HIS presence once each year.  NOW HE is a God, HE is our Father, and through the shed blood of Jesus we, HIS children, may enter HIS presence at any moment.  What was the price for this redemption?  What was the price for this access?  The blood of HIS only Begotten1

Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

Luke 22:20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

1 Corinthians 11:25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Keep this in mind as we move to our reading in Numbers today.  God's Word contains a threat that ought to strike fear, awe-striking fear in the heart of every true child of God.  As we look at this threat remember what Revelation 1:5-6 tells us about the power of Jesus sacrificial act, HIS shed blood..."and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free  from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom,  priests   to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

We see the love of Jesus and that HE has set us free from our sins by HIS precious blood.  I believe that just as the Israelites were called to drive out the inhabitants of the land, I believe that you and I are called to turn from and reject all known idols in our lives.  We are to walk and live in a manner pleasing to the Lord.  Here is the threat...if you don't I will do to you what I had planned to do to them!  If you are a true child of God you will not lose your salvation, that is not possible, but there are ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR SIN...YOU ARE FORGIVEN, NO DOUBT, BUT THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES.

Numbers 33:55-56  But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. 56 And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”

Galatians 5:16-26

The Spirit versus the Flesh

16 I say then, walk by the Spirit  and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires  what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.  18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious:   sexual immorality,  moral impurity,  promiscuity,  20 idolatry,  sorcery,  hatreds,  strife,  jealousy,  outbursts of anger,  selfish ambitions,  dissensions,  factions,  21 envy,   drunkenness, carousing,  and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance—as I told you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit  is love,  joy,  peace, patience,  kindness,  goodness, faith,  23 gentleness,  self-control.  Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus  have crucified the flesh  with its passions and desires.  25 If we live  by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit. 26 We must not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We, the blood bought children of God MUST BE DILIGENT TO crucify the flesh  with its passions and desires.  We must cry out and ask to be filled with the Spirit moment by moment, day by day.  I am not able to live the Spirit filled life by willpower!  I am only able to live the Spirit filled life as I am surrendered to and filled by the Spirit of the living God...ask and you will receive.

Let's be like those in Luke 5:26, God's Word tells us that they were "astounded, and they were giving glory to God. And they were filled with awe  and said, “We have seen incredible things today!”

Father in heaven,

We have seen incredible things in YOUR precious Word today, we have seen YOU and YOUR glory.  I pray that YOU would fill us with YOUR Holy Spirit, fill us, fill me that I might walk in a manner that is pleasing to YOU, that I might walk by faith overflowing with the fruit of YOUR Holy Spirit.  I am desperate for YOU, I am absolutely dependent on YOU and YOU alone...work this for YOUR glory and the JOY of YOUR children.

Being Good Friday, I cannot let the opportunity pass without pointing to the Cross of Christ.  The Cross where the infinite, eternal Son of God took the full force of the wrath of the infinite, eternal God in a finite amount of time.  God is the only one that could accomplish this task.  We learn in 2 Co 5:18-21 that, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

John 18:1-11 The Arrest of Christ

Matt. 26:47–56; Mark 14:43–52; Luke 22:47–53

When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which He and His disciples entered. 2 And Judas, who betrayed Him, also knew the place; for Jesus often met there with His disciples. 3 Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. 4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?”

5 They answered Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them. 6 Now when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

7 Then He asked them again, “Whom are you seeking?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I have told you that I am He. Therefore, if you seek Me, let these go their way,” 9 that the saying might be fulfilled which He spoke, “Of those whom You gave Me I have lost none.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”

I love the "I AM" statements of Jesus in the gospel of John.  I love the way that John includes that when they came to arrest Jesus when HE responded "I AM" they fell to the ground.

John 6:35--Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

John 6:51  “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

John 9:5--“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

John 10:7--So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

John 10:9--“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:11--“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.  John 10:14--“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

John 11:25--Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

John 14:6--Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 15:5--“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Alright, in our reading today there were several things that jumped out at me, but the one that really CAUGHT my attention is in Luke 5:8-11.  Peter saw something in Jesus, somehow Peter CAUGHT A GLIMPSE of Jesus nature and attributes and something wonderfully painful happened to Peter.  I have had the joy of walking through a similar beautifully horrific experience.  This same experience we see other places throughout God's precious Word.  What is that awe striking hideous experience.  It is simply when God in HIS grace and mercy grants an image bearer a glimpse of HIS glory.  The glimpse is awe striking, it is beautiful beyond words, it is breathtaking...you find yourself caught up in HIM, delighting in, rejoicing in HIS presence.  Mark that sounds wonderful why would you add those other words to the experience?  Those words like painful, horrific, hideous...I don't understand.  In HIS presence the light emanating from HIM reveals everything!  In HIS presence, when HE give you that glimpse of HIS glory, you see HIM more clearly and you see YOURSELF!  The experience leaves you repenting, crying out...abhorring yourself in dust and ashes.

Luke 5:8-11

8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” 9 For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” 11 So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Isaiah 6:1-10

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:

     “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;  The whole earth is full of His glory!”

4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone!      Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.”

Job 42:1-6

Then Job answered the Lord and said: 2 “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. 4 Listen, please, and let me speak;  You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’ 5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear,   But now my eye sees You. 6 Therefore I abhor myself,  And repent in dust and ashes.”

The cool thing is that Jesus called and sent Peter, HE called and sent Isaiah and HE called and sent Job to his friends.  All of these men were mightily used by God for God's glory and for their own joy in God.  For them to be used they had to walk through the beautifully horrific experience.  They had to catch the glimpse of God and in the process they saw themselves as they were.  So often we entertain flawed thoughts about God and flawed thoughts about ourselves.  The glimpse of HIS glory is transforming.  Remember, BEHOLDING IS BECOMING!

LOVE,

m

On the surface this feels harsh, killing the male children and every woman who has had sexual relations with a man...my initial thought was Lord, what could the little boys have done, what about the babies?  Male babies do grow up to be male warriors!  In verse 16 we learn what Balaam did, even though he would not curse God's people apparently he counseled them how to subvert and entice God's people away from their God SO THAT GOD'S WRATH WOULD BREAK OUT AGAINST THEM.  After the talking donkey, his encounter with the angel he would not curse God's people because he feared God, but he gave counsel that would bring God's people down IF THEY WERE WILLING TO BE HARLOTS OF THE HEART.

Numbers 31:15-18  “Have  you let every female live?” he asked them. 16 “Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community.  17 So now, kill all the male children and kill every woman who has had sexual relations with a man, 18 but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not had sexual relations.

We know from God's Word that Satan is on a leash, he can only do what God allows...no more, no less!  THIS IS AMAZING...LET THIS HIT YOU AS IT JUST HIT ME...NO ONE CAN CURSE THOSE WHO GOD BLESSES!  It was true for the Israelites and it is true for the children of God today.  What did the Psalmist say in Psalm  56:4 "In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear. What can man do to me?  In Matt 10:28, Jesus COMMANDS US, it is stated in the imperative, "28 Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul;  rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." 

Job 1:8-10 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil.” 9 Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Haven’t You placed a hedge around  him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions are spread out in the land.

Luke 22:31  “Simon, Simon,  look out! Satan  has asked to sift you  like wheat. 

Our enemy has to ask and receive permission to touch a child of God...actually to do anything.  That raises a truck load of questions that we don't have time or space for...let me say this... He did not even spare His own Son, but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything?  When things are happening to you that you don't understand, things that are painful, painful beyond words...rest in knowing that if God did not spare Jesus, but sent HIS only begotten to die for you, what would HE withhold?  NOTHING!  IT has been well said, "when you can't trace HIS hand, trust HIS heart!  FOR GOD SO LOVE THE WORLD!

Alright...stay with me now!  Think about it...what did Balaam do?  He would not and could not curse God's people.  He knows that as long as they are faithful to God they will have HIS protection and HE will go before them and they will inherit the land.  So what does he do...he lays a trap, a snare in front of them...he is hoping that they will prostitute themselves and God himself will judge HIS people.  DO you think that Balaam came up with this on his own?  Do you think that there were some spiritual dark forces behind this strategy?

Think about this...back up in time with me...let's back way up...God learns of Satan's rebellion and HE throws him down to earth like lightening, Jesus tells us.  Now Satan is furious, filled with rage, anger, hatred, murder and he want to get God...right.  What dose he do?  God is not getable...HE just is not getable!  So what does Satan do...he turns his attention to the apple of God's eye, he turns his attention to God's image bearers.  Haven't we witnessed this throughout human history, if you can't hurt the one you want to hurt you simply hurt someone they love and care about.

So Satan undermines God's authority with Adam and Eve they surrender their God given authority to Satan.  This is why in our reading in Luke today Satan was able to offer Jesus the kingdoms of the world..."So he took Him up  and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 The Devil said to Him, “I will give You their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me,  and I can give it to anyone I want. 7 If You, then, will worship me,  all will be Yours.”

Satan can't get God, so he seeks to destroy anything and everything that shows forth God's love, grace, peace, holiness, faithfulness, HIS attributes...anything that pictures God to the world Satan wants to destroy.  Humanity, God's image bearers, marriage, designed to show forth intimacy, love, procreation in relationship...faithful fidelity.

Now Satan also know that every human that turns to the Lord will have the veil removed and be saved for all eternity.  See 2 Cor 3 & 4.  Once we have turned to the Lord and have been saved we are free...Jesus sets us free as HE tells us in Luke 4:18-19, The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom  to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  

Once you are saved, born again, born of the Spirit YOU CAN NEVER BE LOST!  John 10:27-30 teaches us that "27 My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. 28 I give them eternal life,  and they will never perish —ever! No one will snatch  them out of My hand. 29 My Father,  who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” 

God is not getable and anyone in HIS hand is not getable!

Now, if God allows, the enemy still can and will cause you and I great grief and trouble in this world, but he cannot lay a finger on your spirit, your spirit is in the hand of the ALMIGHTY!

What do you think the enemy would do if he can't touch your spirit.  What did he have Balaam do?  Do you think he might try to get you to prostitute yourself with idols.  If he can get you to prostitute yourself with idols then he knows that you are working for "wood, hay and stubble," you will enter heaven with no rewards and you will have no witness effect for Jesus while you are here on this earth!  Not to mention you will experience zero joy, zero power.  Each of us, each child of God will stand before the judgement seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). 

What is the answer?  Jesus taught us how to fight in the wilderness...HE defeated the enemy with the Word of God.  Every attack HE SLAMMED TO THE GROUND WITH THE SWORD OF THE WORD.  IT IS WRITTEN, IT IS WRITTEN, IT IS WRITTEN.

Satan cannot touch your spirit and it infuriates him.  He will stop at nothing to get you to prostitute yourself with idols and thus bring shame on Jesus.  Anything that you love, serve, fear, desire, long for more than God is an idol in your heart.

Let's let Psalm 63 be our closing prayer.  

God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You. I thirst for You; my body faints for You in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water. 2 So I gaze on You in the sanctuary to see Your strength and Your glory. 3 My lips will glorify You because Your faithful love is better than life. 4 So I will praise You as long as I live; at Your name, I will lift up my hands. 5 You satisfy me as with rich food; my mouth will praise You with joyful lips. 6 When, on my bed, I think of You, I meditate on You during the night watches 7 because You are my help; I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings. 8 I follow close to You; Your right hand holds on to me. But those who seek to destroy my life will go into the depths of the earth. 10 They will be given over to the power of the sword; they will become the jackals’ prey.   But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by Him  will boast, for the mouths of liars will be shut.

love,

m

I am more and more convinced and persuaded that there is a treasure to be delighted in, explored and loved...it is a treasure that will NEVER be exhausted in this life...the treasure of God's Word.  I am also persuaded that there is a treasure in EVERY WORD, in the list of festivals, in the attention to detail in the sacrificial system, in the list of names in a genealogy.  I know that Colossians 2:17 teaches us that these are only "a shadow  of what was to come;  the substance is  the Messiah."  The natural thought is, "I don't want to focus on the shadow, I want the real thing, I want to focus on Jesus!"  I agree in general, but if you think about a picture that an artist is drawing...before the shadows and textures are added you might enjoy looking at the picture, but you recognize that something is missing.  Shadows and textures add so much to a picture or portrait...if you want to see Jesus as HE really is...not as you want HIM to be...you have to see all of HIM. 

Question...is ALL OF GOD REVEALED IN HIS WORD?  ANSWER...NO!  QUESTION...IS ALL THAT GOD DESIRES TO REVEAL OF HIMSELF TO HIS CREATURES REVEALED IN HIS CREATION AND IN HIS WORD?  ANSWER...YES!  QUESION...SHOULD EACH OF HIS CHILDREN PRAYERFULL READ AND MEDITATE ON EVERY WORD?  WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Observance of the sacred seasons and Jewish religious festivals constituted a significant aspect of the Hebrew religion. These holy days and sacred seasons were decreed by God as his gifts to Israel. God purposed to preserve by them a remembrance of such sacred events as their divine election and deliverance (the Passover celebration), their sojourn in the wilderness (Feast of Tabernacles), their constant dependence on him for all temporal blessings and prosperity (Pentecost), their preservation from Persia (Feast of Purim), and their need of cleansing and forgiveness (Day of Atonement). Many other spiritual lessons and blessings were also to be derived from the numerous festivals and holy days such as the Sabbath, new moons, Year of Jubilee, and the like. Hence, the sacred seasons were based in large measure on particular significant historical events related to the national or religious life of Israel. Furthermore, like the temple and the Scriptures, the national religious festivals were important bonds of spiritual and national unity for the Hebrew people.  Webber, R. (1993). The Biblical foundations of Christian worship (1st ed.) (185). Nashville, Tenn.: Star Song Pub. Group.

The major festivals of Old Testament Israel were, in calendar order, Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Ingathering). After the exile, the Jews added memorial days for the fall of Jerusalem (eventually fixed as the Ninth of Ab), Purim, and the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah). In addition, the Israelites observed the Sabbath every week and the feast of the New Moon every lunar month.

Israel’s festivals were communal and commemorative as well as theological and typological. They were communal in that they drew the nation together for celebration and worship as they recalled the common origin and experience of the people. They were commemorative in that they kept alive the story of what God had done in the exodus and during the sojourn. They were theological in that the observance of the festivals presented the participants with lessons on the reality of sin, judgment, and forgiveness, on the need for thanksgiving to God, and on the importance of trusting God rather than hoarding possessions. They were typological in that they anticipated a greater fulfillment of the symbolism of the feasts. It is not surprising that each of the major feasts is in some way alluded to in the New Testament. On the other hand, the festivals could become meaningless rituals and were subject to the criticism of the prophets (Isa. 1:13–14).  Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

Consider the Passover, we know that "the Lord’s Supper was a Passover meal (Matt. 26:17–27; Mark 14:12–25; Luke 22:7–22;  In passing the bread to the disciples and telling them that it was his body and that they should eat of it, Jesus was...presenting himself as the Passover lamb. Christ is thus described as “our Passover lamb” in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and as “the Lamb who was slain” in Revelation 5:12. John’s Gospel points out that none of Jesus’ bones were broken in his crucifixion in allusion to the requirement that none of the Passover lamb’s bones be broken (John 19:33–37; cf. Exod. 12:46).  Elwell, W. A., & Elwell, W. A. (1997, c1996). Evangelical dictionary of biblical theology (electronic ed.). Baker reference library; Logos Library System. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

There is a treasure that is more valuable than all the gold and silver to be found in the shadows of God's Word...taste and see, taste and see!

Alright Mark, I see the treasure in the festivals, or at least the potential to see it, but I'm sorry I am having a difficult time with the genealogies.  I admit that there are some passages where the glory of Christ shines forth in a blinding light and there are other places where you have to work diligently to see it, smell it and taste it, BUT IT IS WORTH THE WORK BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE LABOR YOU SEE MORE OF JESUS!

Consider this little nugget in the genealogy of Luke.  I admit it took a little work, but it was worth the effort.  I would call this nugget a shadow in that there are direct promises to gentiles, praise God, but this subtle nuance, for me, adds shading and texture to those promises...it is food for my soul.  "People naturally assumed that Jesus was the physical son of both Joseph and Mary. Luke corrected this misunderstanding by emphasizing that Jesus was only apparently Joseph’s physical son. Luke’s genealogy is unlike Matthew’s, although both go back to David and Abraham. Luke traces Jesus’ line all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus’ significance for all people. Matthew provides the legal lineage from David through Joseph to Jesus, while Luke provides the physical lineage from David through Mary to Jesus.  Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Lk 3:23-38). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

I know that the promises of God's Word apply to gentiles, apply to you and me, but hearing over and over and in different ways strengthens my faith..."faith come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"...EVERY WORD!

I love the way David preaches to himself, you will frequently see him go from despair to hope in the span of a few verses of a Psalm.  We all need to preach God's Word to our own soul...therein you will find true joy, true peace, incredible treasure...therein you will find HIM!

Ps 62:5-8

Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. 6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I will not be shaken. 7 My salvation and glory depend on God; my strong rock, my refuge, is in God. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.       Selah

Father in heaven,

teach us YOUR Word, enable us to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to hunger and thirst for YOU.  For YOUR glory and for our JOY in YOU.

love,

m

Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?  Do you remember those commercials years ago..."Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?"  It may have actually been a TV show, I can't remember.  I do remember they would make the statement "Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?"  Then they would proceed to communicate goofy stuff...like "a woman burns her hand with boiling water and 2000 miles away her mother screams at that very moment while watching "Murder She Wrote, Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?"  I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE THINKING..."hey I saw that episode."  NO...NO, you are thinking, someone better check on Diane and the kids, we might need to call the guys in the white jackets.  I probably would not argue with you too much on that one:)

The above comments are due to the fact that the "One Year Bible" people have Joshua and Jesus commissioned in the same reading or Joshua is commissioned and Jesus is baptized.  Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?  I wondered why yesterdays reading in Numbers was so short, then today it made sense.  I'm sure you all know that the name Joshua can be translated Jesus.  There have been some things that I have wondered if they planned on them being on the same day or if it was only the hand of God.  Either way I acknowledge that it is the hand of God, I simply wondered if the human agents were aware of what God was up to.

Sorry for that digression, but I have always enjoyed saying that little phrase when something weird happens, "Coincidence or bizarre phenomenon?"

Numbers 27:12-17 

12 Then the Lord said to Moses,  “Go up this mountain of the Abarim ⌊range⌋  and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was.  14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against My command to show My holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the waters of Meribah   of Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh,  appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them,  and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”

In Numbers 27 we learn that Moses is rebuked by God for his rebellion in the Wilderness of Zin.  If you recall Moses struck the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock, the rock being a type and symbol of Christ giving water in the desert.  My initial response reading this was a little like the disciples response to Jesus teaching following the rich young ruler...remember..."who then can be saved."  My thought was..."Lord, who then can lead for YOU."  The Lord's response was the same, "with man this is impossible, with God all things are possible."

As I read the incident in Numbers I was blown away by Moses selfless response...he appeals to the Lord on behalf of the people.  "Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh,  appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them,  and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”

I don't know about you, but my first thought was...if that had been me in that situation I would have wanted to defend myself and lay the blame somewhere else...certainly not with me!  Does that smell like the flesh or what?

However,if you read the account in Deuteronomy 3 we get a little more of the story and, (if I am not reading too much between the lines we see different side) we gain a different perspective.  Moses did beg to cross over into the Promised land and he blames the Israelites for God's anger..."the Lord was angry with me on account of you and would not listen to me. "  As I recall God was angry because Moses did not obey in what appears to us to be a small, trivial detail...Moses struck the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock.  Somehow this was a rebellion in Moses heart against God's command to show HIS holiness to the Israelites.

Dt 3:21-29 “I commanded Joshua at that time: Your own eyes have seen everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. 22 Don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God fights for you.

23 “At that time I begged the Lord: 24 Lord God, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can perform deeds and mighty acts like Yours? 25 Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land  on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.

26 “But the Lord was angry with me on account of you and would not listen to me. The Lord said to me, ‘That’s enough! Do not speak to Me again about this matter. 27 Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west, north, south, and east, and see ⌊it⌋ with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan.  28 But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit this land that you will see. ’ 29 So we stayed in the valley facing Beth-peor.

As I am reading this I am grieved and wondering how many Wilderness of Zin experiences have I had in my life and in my ministry.  How many times have I walked in partial obedience, (if we are honest partial obedience is disobedience) thinking that I was doing God a favor.  How many times have I blamed others for my actions...LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!  DON'T MAKE ME SPANK YOU!  All the while, the choices are mine and the disobedience is mine AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR SIN ARE MINE...praise God, I am forgiven, but that does not negate the consequences in this life...IT DID NOT FOR MOSES, and it will not for us. 

We do see that Moses has a shepherd's heart for the people he has led so many years...Num 27:17 who will go out before them and come back in before them,  and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”

Mt 9:36  When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out,  like sheep without a shepherd. 

1 Ki 22:17 So Micaiah said: I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd.  And the Lord said, ‘They have no master; let everyone return home in peace. ’

2 Ch 18:16 So Micaiah said: I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘They have no master; let each return home in peace.’

Eze 34:5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;  they became food for all the wild animals  when they were scattered.

Zec 10:2 For the idols speak falsehood, and the diviners  see illusions; they relate empty dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore ⌊the people⌋ wander like sheep; they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.

When we are in the Wilderness of Zin not only are we no good to anyone we are actually hurting ourselves.  There are consequences...Moses was weary of a faithless, whining nation, but he allowed that to hinder his own relationship with God...I wish I would tell you that I had never been frustrated in ministry...I can't...in those moments I was walking in the Wilderness of Zin.

Jesus was born, took on human flesh, lived a perfect life and then went to the cross willingly and through HIS death, burial and resurrection HE opened a way for us to walk in HIS presence, filled with HIS Holy Spirit moment by moment and day by day!  We can walk and live in the Wilderness of Zin if we choose to, but that is not what HE desires for HIS children...HIS blood bought children...HE paid the unthinkable price...delight in HIM, rejoice in HIM...cry out for the filling of HIS Spirit and allow the JOY of the Lord to be your strength.

Father in heaven,

Accomplish this for YOUR glory and for our Joy in YOU!

love,

m

Census results. Num. reports two censuses, taken 40 years apart. The total count is quite close, some 603,550 in the first Exodus generation compared to 601,730 in the second. However, larger population shifts are shown within tribes, very likely reflecting which tribes’ members were more faithful during the journey from Sinai to Canaan.

Each tribe’s allotment of land depended on the numbers established in this census. You and I may be unfaithful in our relationship with God, and it will not diminish the strength of His army. But it will diminish the size of our inheritance.

Zelophehad’s daughters (27:1–4). Normally daughters received their share of the family estate in the form of a dowry given them when they married. Sons later divided the estate on the death of the father. Because of the dowry, O.T. inheritance laws did not actually discriminate against women. They were given their share of the father’s estate when they left home, and after marriage became members of the husband’s family.

Making law. The story of Zelophehad’s daughters illustrates how O.T. law was made. Here was a case where no precedent existed. The problem was taken to Moses, who inquired of God for a ruling. The ruling given by the Lord then served as a precedent for judges to use in settling other, similar cases. For other examples of this process, see Num. 15:32–36; Lev. 24:10–23.

“Joshua” (27:12–23). Joshua will succeed Moses, but not replace him! Joshua has been Moses’ assistant from the beginning (cf. Ex. 17:9; 24:13; 32:17; Num. 11:28). Now God tells Moses to appoint Joshua as his successor and “give him some of your authority” (27:20). That “some” is important. God spoke to Moses face–to–face, and granted him the power to work miracles. Joshua will seek God’s will by going to the high priest, and using the Urim and Thummim (cf. Ex. 28:30). He will be guided by the sacred lot, not face–to–face communication. And though Joshua will see Jericho’s walls fall down, he will perform no personal miracles as Moses did. Yet Joshua, not Moses, will lead the Israelites to victory in Canaan.

We can rejoice in any leadership role we may be given. We need not envy others with greater prominence or authority. All we need to do is be available to God, and let Him use us as He will.  Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (109). Wheaton: Victor Books.

2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment  seat of Christ,  so that each may be repaid  for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.

Mt 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father,  and then He will reward each according to what he has done.

Ac 10:42  He commanded us to preach to the people, and to solemnly testify that He is the One appointed by God to be the Judge of the living and the dead. 

Ro 2:16 on the day when God judges  what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.

Ro 14:10  But you, why do you criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.  

Ro 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Eph 6:8 knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord.

Yesterday in Numbers we experienced Balaam's Donkey and the Angel of the Lord.  The donkey has always been a source of encouragement to me because if God can speak through a donkey HE can speak through me!  It may sound like a joke, but I am serious.  God is able to proclaim HIS message through any vessel that is surrendered to HIM and willing to be used.

After Balaam's last oracle we see Israel fall into idolatry again.  Paul and John warned the early church against the teaching of Balaam, it is a warning we should listen to and heed.  In 1 Cor. 10:8, Paul says, Let us not commit sexual immorality  as some of them did,  and in a single day 23,000 people fell dead.  In Rev. 2:14, John warns the church at Pergamum,  But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block  in front of the sons of Israel: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. 

Now this next thought is both incredibly exciting and horribly frightening at the same time!  What do you mean Mark?  Check this out!  We hear again what happened from the Psalmist in Psalm 106:28, we see that, "They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.  They provoked the Lord with their deeds, and a plague broke out against them."

The same incident is referred to in Hosea 9:10, "I discovered Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers like the first fruit of the fig tree in its first season.  But they went to Baal-peor, consecrated themselves to Shame, and became detestable, like the thing they loved."   We have the same truth taught in Psalm 135:17-18, They have ears, but cannot hear; indeed, there is no breath in their mouths. Those who make them are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

Compare this with 2 Cor. 3:15-18, here we learn what happens to those who gaze upon Jesus, the glory of the Lord.  "However, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, 16 but whenever a person turns  to the Lord, the veil is removed.  17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting   the glory of the Lord  and are being transformed  into the same image  from glory to glory;  this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

The bottom line is this, we become like what we worship, what we pursue, what we think about most often.  Where do you spend your time, energy passion, money, resources?  BEHOLDING IS BECOMING...THE QUESTION IS WHAT ARE YOU AND I BEHOLDING?  Through HIS Word and godly counsel make sure that you are pursuing the God who is and NOT a god as you want him to be!

The incredible news is that the Kingdom of God has come near through the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  No longer do we rely on the temple and on the blood of bulls and goats, but we have full access to the throne of grace through the shed blood and broken and torn body of Jesus Christ.  Immanuel...our God is with us!

Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers Proverbs 11:14.

Luke’s clear, straightforward telling of the story of Jesus’ birth anchors the events in history and links them to prophecy. God uses an emperor’s decree to guide a Galilean couple to Bethlehem (2:1–5), so the Messiah might be born in David’s hometown, the locale of His predicted birth (vv. 6–7; cf. Micah 5:2). Ecstatic choirs of angels share the news of His birth with local shepherds (vv. 8–15), who find and worship the Christ Child (vv. 16–20). Jesus is circumcised (v. 21), and when He is brought to the temple some 40 days later His identity is revealed to a man named Simon (vv. 22–35) and a prophetess named Anna (vv. 36–40). Luke skips over Jesus’ early childhood, but does tell of a visit to the temple when Jesus was twelve, at which He stunned teachers of the Law with His insights (vv. 41–50). Still, Jesus lived a normal childhood in a typical Jewish home, respecting His parents and winning the respect of all (vv. 51–52).

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (653). Wheaton: Victor Books.

Michael Card and Steve Green singing Immanuel.  Enter HIS presence with Thanksgiving!

Love,

m

This is a beautiful prophecy from the Lord through Zechariah, it was about John, but it applies to us as well.

Luke 1:67-79

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit  and prophesied: 68 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and provided redemption for His people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation  for us in the house of His servant David, 70 just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets in ancient times; 71 salvation from our enemies and from the clutches  of those who hate us. 72 He has dealt mercifully with our fathers and remembered His holy covenant — 73 the oath that He swore to our father Abraham. He has given us the privilege, 74 since we have been rescued from our enemies’ clutches, to serve Him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness in His presence all our days. 76 And child, you will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 to give His people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. 78 Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the Dawn from on high  will visit us 79 to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

We too have been redeemed, we have been saved from the clutches of our enemies [PURPOSE] TO SERVE HIM WITHOUT FEAR!  What will our condition be, how will we do this IF WE WALK IN OBEDIENCE, FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, SERVING IN THE STRENGTH OF THE JOY OF THE LORD?  WE WILL SERVE HIM IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN HIS PRESENCE ALL OUR DAY!

Jesus will be incarnate in us, Christ in us the hope of glory, HE will work in and through us "to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."  HE will bring salvation to others through us bringing glory to HIMSELF and filling us with HIS JOY.

Father in heaven,

Please accomplish this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU.

In Jesus name..amen!

love,

m

It's interesting that Jacob and Joseph did NOT want to be buried in Egypt, they passionately did not want to be buried in Egypt!  In Gen 47:29, Jacob made Joseph promise that, "When the time drew near for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh ⌊and promise me⌋ that you will deal with me in faithful love. Do not bury me in Egypt."  Joseph kept the promise and we later learn that the Israelites carried Joseph's bones out of Egypt during the Exodus.

Over and over we hear the Israelites complaining in different ways, "Why did you bring us out of Egypt," "let's pick a leader to take us back to Egypt."  While they were in Egypt they were crying out for deliverance.  In Psalm 78, the Psalmist gives a concise history of Israel coming out of Egypt and how they treated God.  In, Psalm 78:40 we see how often Israel grieved the heart of God..."How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert.

Exod 14:11--They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?

Exod 14:12--Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Exod 16:3--The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!”

Num 14:3--Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Num 21:5--The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”

Check this out, the food they detest is the Manna, the bread God is giving from heaven.  No longer are they amazed that God is making a daily provision of food for his people, but they detest HIS provision.  They detest the bread of angels as we see in Psalm 78:25, "People  ate the bread of angels. He sent them an abundant supply of food."  What did Jesus say in John 6:35, “I am  the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me  will ever be hungry,  and no one who believes in Me  will ever be thirsty  again."

Never mind they were only supposed to eat this food until they passed through the wilderness into the promise land, it was their own disobedience that forced them to consume the bread of angels for 40 years.

NOW REMEMBER WHAT WE LEARNED FROM 1 Corinthians 10, "Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire  evil as they did." AND "Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us,  on whom the ends of the ages  have come."  Think about this, coming out of Egypt represents Jesus setting us free from sin, death and Satan.  Remember Revelation 1:5, "to HIM who loves us and has set us free from our sins by HIS blood and made us a kingdom, priests to HIS God and Father."  Now if coming out of Egypt represents salvation then the rest of the journey is the walk of faith...the righteous man shall live by faith, without faith it is impossible to please God, anything not done in faith is sin.  So what is the Promise land, IT DOES NOT REPRESENT HEAVEN!  IT REPRESENTS THE VICTORIOUS CHRISTIAN, SPIRIT FILLED LIFE! 

Why are our churches filled with immature, baby Christians?  Out of the gate they disobeyed and they are left eating manna for the rest of their Christian lives and they come to be filled with contempt for the manna.  I don't know...I am open to thoughts here...could it be the regular, faithful preaching and teaching of the word of God?  Could it be that God expects HIS children to grow in the faith to grow spiritually like we expect our children to grow physically?  I think so!

2 Pe 1:2-4 May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God  and of Jesus our Lord. Growth in the Faith 3 For His  divine power  has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge  of Him who called  us by  His own glory and goodness. 4 By these He has given us very great and precious promises,  so that through them you may share in the divine nature,  escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.

In 1 Peter 2:2 we learn it is good for babes in Christ to drink milk, milk is good food..."Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk,  so that you may grow by it in ⌊your⌋ salvation", but in Hebrews 5:13 we learn that we should make progress in the walk of faith...Now everyone who lives on milk is inexperienced with the message about righteousness, because he is an infant."

Are we not grieved when one of our children does not develop physically as they should?  In eternity, which is the greatest tragedy...stunted physical growth or development or spiritual?  I hope you said spiritual!

SO WHAT DOES GOD DO THIS TIME THE ISRAELITS COMPLAIN?  OH, just sends a herd of snakes in on the people!  FATHER IN HEAVEN...BEFORE I SPEAK A WORD IN DISGUST AT THE ISRAELITES...AS PAINFUL AS THIS WILL BE...LET ME SEE HOW MUCH I AM LIKE THEM AND BY YOUR INDWELLING SPIRIT ENABLE ME TO REPENT FROM MY CHILDISH WAYS AND TURN TO YOU THE LIVING GOD...WORK THIS FOR YOUR GLORY AND MY JOY...THANK YOU!

21:6 God’s discipline came upon the people in the form of fiery serpents. Snakes with poisonous venom for which there was no antidote caused raging fevers and agonizing deaths.

21:7–9 The pain of the venomous bites drove the people to repent, and they begged Moses to intervene on their behalf. God instructed Moses to make an image of one of the serpents and to set it on a pole. Anyone who had been bitten and looked at the image lived. The raising of such a contemptible symbol on a pole ordinarily would have caused the people to shrink away in revulsion. But in this case the Israelites had to look at the serpent’s image in order to live. Jesus pointed to this stunning image in His dialogue with Nicodemus (John 3:14, 15) as an analogy to His own execution. To the Jews, crucifixion was a sign of a curse. Therefore, just as the Israelites had to look on the repugnant, uplifted image of a serpent to be saved, we today have to look at the uplifted image of Jesus on a cross in order to be saved from our sins. So it is that this shameful account of Israel’s rebellion becomes an incident that Jesus uses to explain the significance of His death. Hence we have the converging of a double symbol, a double type of the Savior. (1) The bread is a picture of Jesus the blessed; as bread of heaven, He is the proper nourisher of His people. (2) The snake is a picture of Jesus the cursed, who became sin for us as He hung on that awful tree.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Nu 21:6-9). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

"Pain of the venomous bites drove the people to repent"  If you think about it physical pain is good in that it warns you that something is wrong, in the same way spiritual pain is good in that God is warning you that you are hurting yourself spiritually.  Like a physical leper will destroy their bodies because they cannot feel their limbs eventually ending in physical death.  As spiritual lepers, (before faith in Christ we all were) we destroy ourselves spiritually, eventually ending in spiritual death...eternal separation from God.

Let's let Mary's praise be our closing prayer.  Let me point out one thought...in verse 47, if Mary needs a Savior and in verse 48 she calls herself "His slave" then she is not sinless as some believe...just a thought.

Luke 1:46-56 Mary’s Praise

46 And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of  the Lord, 47 and my spirit has rejoiced  in God my Savior, 48 because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of His slave. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and His name  is holy. 50 His mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. 51 He has done a mighty deed with His arm; He has scattered the proud because of the thoughts of their hearts; 52 He has toppled the mighty from their thrones and exalted the lowly. 53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, mindful of His mercy, 55 just as He spoke to our ancestors, to Abraham and his descendants  forever. 56 And Mary stayed with her about three months; then she returned to her home.

In Jesus Name...amen

love,

m

Numbers 21:1-22:20
Luke 1:26-56
Psalm 57:1-11
Proverbs 11:9-11

Proverbs 11:8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead.

Psalm 56:?13. For thou hast delivered my soul from death. His enemies were defeated in their attempts upon his life, and therefore he vowed to devote his life to God. Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling? One mercy is a plea for another, for indeed it may happen that the second is the necessary complement of the first. It matters little that we live, if we are made to fall in character by the thrusts of our enemies. That I may walk before God in the light of the living, enjoying the favor and presence of God, and finding the joy and brightness of life therein. Walking at liberty, in holy service, in sacred communion, in constant progress in holiness, enjoying the smile of heaven—this I seek after. Here is the loftiest reach of a good person’s ambition: to dwell with God, to walk in righteousness before him, to rejoice in his presence, and in the light and glory which it yields. Thus in this short psalm we have climbed from the ravenous jaws of the enemy into the light of Jehovah’s presence, a path which only faith can tread.  Spurgeon, C. H. (1993). Psalms. Crossway classic commentaries (230). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

In our reading in Numbers today the Israelites are coming to the end of their wilderness experience.  They have been wandering some 40 years, and during these 40 years God has provided for their needs.  In their defense, I don't know about you but I drink a lot of water and as you might expect the rest of my family drinks a lot of water.  I can only imagine if I was in their situation and all three of my children are crying for water and then they begin to pass out for lack of water, I would not be happy.  That would cause great concern and pain as a parent...right?  Right!  So what did they do wrong in coming to Moses and Aaron asking for water?  What did poor Moses do wrong?  He has stood in the gap for the Israelites over and over.  How many times did God offer to wipe out the Israelites and start over with Moses and now just because he hit the rock twice instead of speaking to the rock he does not get to enter the promise land!  WOW, cut the guy some slack...nobody is perfect, we all make mistakes...right?  While we are on the subject, what did poor Zechariah, John the Baptist Dad, do wrong?  How did his question differ from Mary's question?  Zechariah is rebuked and Mary is called "favored one, the Lord is with you."  Didn't she ask the same question?

And when I think about it the Psalms are filled with David whining and whining and whining AND HE IS CALLED A MAN AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART?  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT?  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?

SOME OF YOU ARE FINDING YOURSELVES IN AGREEMENT WITH THE LINE OF THINKING AND OTHERS OF YOU ARE WAITING TO SEE IF THIS POST ENDS ABRUPTLY BECAUSE I WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTENING!  I hope you could here the sarcasm.  What is the difference?  Knowing the difference is a matter of life and death...literally!

Let's start with our Psalm this morning.  First David is not whining, he is pouring out his heart before God and he is demonstrating his complete and absolute dependence on God.

Psalm 56:1-4 A Call for God’s Protection

Be gracious to me, God, for man tramples me; he fights and oppresses me all day long. 2 My adversaries trample me all day, for many arrogantly fight against me.  3 When I am afraid, I will trust in You. 4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not fear.  What can man do to me?

Throughout the Psalm we see David crying out to God acknowledging his dependence on God, and his trust in God.  What do we see from the Israelites over and over?  Would the result have been different if they had come to Moses and Aaron and cried out please call on the Lord God for water...we praise HIS Holy NAME, for we have witnessed HIS provision, protection and fulfillment of promises these 40 years, HE has been faithful and patient with us.  We confess we have been stiff necked and hard of heart!  Please pray to God for us, offer sacrifices to God on our behalf...we will die without HIM and we will die without water...please pray for us! 

Is that what they said to Moses and Aaron?  No!

Numbers 20:2-8 There was no water for the community, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.  4 Why have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? 5 Why have you led us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It’s not a place of grain, figs, vines, and pomegranates,  and there is no water to drink!”

6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting. They fell down with their faces ⌊to the ground⌋, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord spoke to Moses, 8 “Take the staff  and assemble the community. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will yield its water. You will bring out water for them from the rock and provide drink for the community and their livestock.”

Alright, I admit it is obvious what the Israelites did wrong, to say...If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord.  WOW!  It almost sounds like they are asking and taunting God to take them out.  God had provided over and over...why didn't they just ask for water...PRAY?  WHY DON'T I?

Ok, what about Moses, what did he do?  God is clear in what Moses did in verse 12, HE said to Moses, “Because you did not trust Me to show My holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.”  Whatever HE did at a heart level he was no different than those who refused to enter the promise land in the beginning. 

This is a powerful warning to those who have walked with the Lord for many years and maybe they have served HIM faithfully...our past is no guarantee that we will finish well!  Moses disobeyed God...disobedience always has consequences...you may not always recognize them, but disobedience and sin ALWAYS HAVE CONSEQUENCES...ALWAYS!  As someone has well said, be killing sin or sin will be killing you...I think it was John Owen.

What about Zechariah and Mary in our reading in Luke, what is the difference there?  I admit the difference in the text is much more subtle at least on the surface.  What is the difference between Zechariah asking, "How can I know this?" and Mary asking, "How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?"  The difference is quite simple and it reflects a huge difference in their hearts condition.  Zechariah is asking for a sign from God.  You have to wonder what Gabriel thought when Zechariah asked for a sign...WHAT ABOUT ME...IT'S NOT EVERY DAY YOU SEE AN ANGEL!

Like Zechariah here, Abraham (Gen 15:8; cf. 17:17), Gideon (Judg 6:17, 36–40; 7:10–11) and others in the Old Testament (2 Kings 20:8; cf. Is 7:10–14) asked for signs in the face of astounding promises, but they were not punished. That Zechariah’s sign should be harsher to him (1:20) suggests only that this revelation is much greater than those which preceded it.  Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Lk 1:18). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

What about Mary?  She did not ask for a sign, she simply asked a question.

How can this be: Mary did not ask for a sign, so this remark does not reflect unbelief. She accepts her role without question in v. 38, and thus is a model of faith even though she does not fully understand everything. The work of God in Mary introduces something unknown before or after: the birth into the human race of One who is both God and man.  Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Lk 1:34). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

It is crucial for God's children to realize HE loves for us to engage HIM in questions like, "how can this be."  HE longs for us to pursue HIM in and through HIS Word and to talk things out with HIM and with others.  THE HEART OF THE MATTER IS THE MATTER OF THE HEART!  If the heart is working from unbelief, HE is not pleased.  If the heart is working like the inquisitive, curious heart of a child...asking why, why, why...how can this be...HE love it and HE will answer.

A few days ago we looked at this passage, under Be Careful What you Crave.  I find myself led here again, considering what Paul wrote in 1 Cor 10:1-14.  Listen to his warning to the Corinthians, be diligent to enter the rest, be diligent to be found with a child like heart, inquisitive, curious, in love with our heavenly Father.

Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers  were all under the cloud,  all passed through the sea,  2 and all were baptized  into Moses  in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food,  4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock  that followed them, and that rock was Christ.  5 But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

6 Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire  evil as they did.   7 Don’t become idolaters  as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play.    8 Let us not commit sexual immorality  as some of them did,  and in a single day 23,000 people fell dead.  9 Let us not tempt Christ as some of them did,  and were destroyed by snakes.  10 Nor should we complain  as some of them did,   and were killed by the destroyer.   11 Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us,  on whom the ends of the ages  have come.  12 Therefore, whoever thinks he stands must be careful not to fall!  13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful  and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape,  so that you are able to bear it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Father in heaven,

Work in our hearts for YOUR glory and our Joy in YOU...in Jesus name...amen!

Numbers 19:1-20:29
Luke 1:1-25
Psalm 56:1-13
Proverbs 11:8

"And the Lord's glory appeared."  In Exodus Moses cries out to God, "let me behold YOUR glory," and God grants his request.  Moses longs for God's presence, HIS glory...Moses longs for God!  So when we read that the Lord's glory appeared in Numbers 16:42 we should get excited for the Israelites...right?  Wrong!  If I was a Dad with a wife and 3 kids back in Moses day...if we had survived the first few incidents, my counsel to my family and friends would have been, "if you see Moses and Aaron fall face down, you better fall face down quick, and begin crying for mercy for all you are worth!" 

Korah's rebellion was stopped in its tracks...no big deal...the EARTH just OPENED ITS MOUTH AND SWALLOWED THEM AND TOOK THEM DOWN TO SHEOL, ALIVE.  AT THEIR CRIES THE PEOPLE AROUND THEM FLED!  If it did not come through I was being sarcastic with the "no big deal" comment.

So what does the community do the next day?  They complain against Moses and Aaron?  They blame Moses and Aaron for the deaths of Korah and his followers...I don't get it...BUT I CONFESS I AM AS SLOW AS THEY WERE AND APART FROM THE GRACE OF GOD MY HEART IS JUST AS SINFUL AND HARD AS THIERS.

Numbers 16:41-45 The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron,  saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!” 42 When the community assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting, and suddenly the cloud covered it, and the Lord’s glory appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord said to Moses, 45 “Get away from this community so that I may consume them instantly.”  But they fell facedown.

It reminds me a little of the war movies, when someone cries "incoming!"  Then they hit the deck!  But this was no movie, with the Korah incident and the plague sent forth because of God's wrath 14,700 people died.  The wages of SIN IS DEATH!  We say that, we quote that verse when we share the gospel...I'm just not sure that we really know what it means.  Let me say that I am not sure that I know what it means.  Even when we share the verse we can't wait to get to the good part..."but the gift of God is eternal life (Rom. 6:23)."  Nothing wrong with wanting to get to the good part, but what makes the good news really good is the horrific condition God saves us from. 

I don't know about you, but I really don't like to think about it much, but I believe it is spiritually healthy to consider.  To consider that I deserve eternal punishment, one sin is sufficient to condemn me to the place where the "worm does not die and the flames are not quenched."  One sin is sufficient to condemn me to eternal horrors, eternal suffering...where there is no hope, only despair...forever and ever and ever...through all eternity.

Some of you are thinking, gee, thanks for cheering us up Mark!  Hang with me for a minute...keep that in mind...you are dead in your sins and trespasses, you are in darkness, spiritually dead, a spiritual leper, in the valley of death with no hope and you hear a voice, God's voice, and HE grants you one request...what do you ask for?  Lord spare me this eternal torment, either let me cease to be or allow me to be in a place that is tolerable...mercy, mercy, mercy...what do you ask for?

NOW inject the gospel... Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  Jn 1:12  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

1 Co 15:1-5  Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.

Ro 8:15  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

WOULD YOU EVER HAVE THOUGHT TO ASK GOD TO SEND HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON TO DIE A HORRIFIC DEATH IN YOUR PLACE?  I DON'T THINK SO!  This is what makes the good news so incredibly good...the horrific, hopeless state we were in and the eternal life HE offers at the price of HIS OWN SON.

My initial reading of Numbers and Mark and Psalms this morning was...man, how could these guys be SO DENSE, SO HARD HEARTED, SO FILLED WITH UNBELIEF...CONSIDER EVERYTHING THEY SAW AND WITNESSES. 

THEN THE LORD'S GLORY APPEARED AND IN MY HEART I FELL FACEDOWN AND CRIED OUT FOR MERCY.  THE LORD REBUKED ME FOR MY UNBELIEF AND MY HEARDNESS OF HEART...I REPENTED AND MY FATHER IN HEAVEN WAS QUICK TO EMBRACE ME.

Mk 16:14-16--Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. 15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

The Israelites, the disciples, and you and I are absolutely dependent every moment of every day ON HIM...THAT WILL NEVER CHANGE THROUGHOUT ALL ETERNITY.  Delight in HIM, rejoice in HIM...like the Samaritan leper, return and FALL FACE DOWN, NOT OUT OF FEAR, BUT WITH A HEART FILLED WITH GRATITUDE, WONDER AND THANKS GIVING...DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD AND HE WILL GIVE YOU HIMSELF!

Zec 4:6 ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.

love,

m

Ever feel that tension between your heart saying, "Yes," and your head saying, "No?" Well how do you make the decision? Do you follow your heart or your head when making the big decisions in life or even just little ones?  What do you do?  I did a quick Google search on "follow your heart" and found the following description of a website..."Where the heart leads, joy follows. Resources & gentle encouragement to develop intuition, imagination and insight as you live from your authentic self."  AHHHHHHHH...that is what we all need...gentle encouragement, intuition, imagination and insight to live from my authentic self...YES! 

NO!  How often have you heard someone give the advice, "follow your heart."  In reality it is the mantra of secular humanist.  What in the world does that mean?  It means that it comes from a philosophy of life or a worldview that excludes God!  It means that IT IS A LIE FROM THE PIT OF HELL.  Come on Mark, that is a little over the top don't you think?  I suppose you might be right if you consider Satan's temptation of Eve no big deal.  When you think about it all Satan did was to say..."did God really say?"  "You will not surely die, for God knows...you will become wise like HIM."  Eve bought the lie and all hell broke loose, literally.  What does God's Word say?

Numbers 15:37-41  The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout their generations they are to make tassels  for the corners of their garments, and put a blue cord on the tassel at ⌊each⌋ corner. 39 These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the Lord’s commands and obey them and not become unfaithful by following your own heart and your own eyes. 40 This way you will remember and obey all My commands and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.”

Following your own heart is a really bad idea!  Look where it got the guy out gathering firewood in 15:35 ff., how about Korah, Dathan and Abiram...they followed their hearts and their end was horrific.  What did Jesus tell his disciples to be?  Follow your heart...follow your heart...where your heart leads, joy follows...NO...HE SAID FOLLOW ME...PAUL SAID FOLLOW ME AS I FOLLOW CHRIST!  DON'T FOLLOW YOUR OWN HEART FOLLOW JESUS! 

The wearing of tassels (Heb. sisit) on the corners of garments was a beautiful sign of great significance. The tassels were memory devices to keep the wearer focused on the commandments of God. To which your own heart and your own eyes are inclined speaks vividly of the believer’s old sin nature. The tendency to sin is always present, as the psalmist observes (Ps. 119:11). Harlotry of the heart is unfaithfulness to God. Each of us needs to have reminders to keep us thinking rightly about God and ourselves.

15:41 I am the Lord your God: God identified Himself as the One who gave these commands. He declared that He had a relationship with the Israelites. He was their God, and He had saved them from slavery. The Israelites had every reason to obey His directives, for He was their Lord and their Savior.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Nu 15:37-41). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

So what do we do?  We memorize scripture, but we know that we cannot stop there...why?  The Pharisees and Sadducees had the entire OT memorized and they were still spiritually dead.  The Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and Sadducees, the rich young ruler, Pilot and many others looked at...beheld the Lamb of God, they looked into the eyes of God incarnate and rejected HIM, they rejected the offer of eternal life, they rejected the living water, the rejected the bread of life.   They committed two great evils, as did the Israelites, as does the Church today, as do we if we are not sober minded, diligent, watching our lives closely...what are those two great evils?  Jeremiah tells us in verse 2:13, "For My people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water."

The Psalmist in Psalm 90:14 get it right, he is looking to God and God alone for satisfaction, joy and delight..."Satisfy us in the morning with Your faithful love so that we may shout with joy and be glad all our days."  The problem is that from the beginning the human heart has committed adultery or harlotry of the heart and gone after idols and cried "SATISFY ME, SATISFY ME, SATISFY ME!!!" 

Consider this quote from Jonathan Edwards.

God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in. When those that see it delight in it, God is more glorified than if they only see it. His glory is then received by the whole soul, both by the understanding and by the heart. God made the world that He might communicate, and the creature receive, His glory; and that it might [be] received both by the mind and heart. He that testifies his idea of God’s glory [doesn’t] glorify God so much as he that testifies also his … delight in it.

What do we do?  We pursue HIM, we go hard after God, we follow Jesus with greater passion, greater love, greater diligence than Donald Trump pursues wealth, power and fame!  We follow Jesus with a white hot passion, with our heart aflame for HIM and HIM alone!  How?  HOW?  Behold HIS glory in HIS Word, in HIS creation, through prayer, meditation...meditating on HIS Word, on HIS Works and on HIS promises...therein you will find JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY.  We understand and acknowledge that nothing in this world can satisfy our hearts!  Nothing!  Our hearts were created to be satisfied ONLY BY BEING FILLED WITH THE GLORY OF GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST...EVERYTHING ELSE WILL LEAVE YOU IN MISERY AND DESPAIR!

John Piper puts it this way...

We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No one goes to the Grand Canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendor than there is in beholding self. Indeed, what could be more ludicrous in a vast and glorious universe like this than a human being, on the speck called earth, standing in front of a mirror trying to find significance in his own self-image? It is a great sadness that this is the gospel of the modern world.

But it is not the Christian Gospel. Into the darkness of petty self-preoccupation has shone “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Christian Gospel is about “the glory of Christ,” not about me. And when it is—in some measure—about me, it is not about my being made much of by God, but about God mercifully enabling me to enjoy making much of him forever.

What was the most loving thing Jesus could do for us? What was the endpoint, the highest good, of the Gospel? Redemption? Forgiveness? Justification? Reconciliation? Sanctification? Adoption? Are not all of these great wonders simply means to something greater? Something final? Something that Jesus asked his Father to give us? “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me” (John 17:24).

The Christian Gospel is “the gospel of the glory of Christ” because its final aim is that we would see and savor and show the glory of Christ. For this is none other than the glory of God. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

Piper, J. (2004). Seeing and savoring Jesus Christ (15). Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books.

WOW!  You mean the advice to follow my heart is a lie and will end in my spiritual death...YES...that is what God's Word states very clearly.  Jesus said it very clearly...In Matt 4:19, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Father in heaven,

please, please, please, work this in my heart, in our hearts for YOUR glory and for our JOY in YOU.  Fill us with YOUR Holy Spirit, complete the good work YOU began in each of us.  Enable us to pursue YOU, to seek after YOU, to follow YOU with a white hot heart consumed with being satisfied in YOU and YOU alone.

love,

m

This is incredible, in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul tells us that everything that happened to Israel, (everything we have been reading about in the OT), happened to them SO THAT THEY COULD BE EXAPMLES TO US!  Paul is WARNING the Corinthians and he is warning you and I not to fall and not to fail the same way most of Israel fell in the desert.

1 Corinthians 10:1-11--Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers  were all under the cloud,  all passed through the sea,  2 and all were baptized  into Moses  in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food,  4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock  that followed them, and that rock was Christ.  5 But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

6 Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire  evil as they did.   7 Don’t become idolaters  as some of them were; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play.    8 Let us not commit sexual immorality  as some of them did,  and in a single day 23,000 people fell dead.  9 Let us not tempt Christ as some of them did,  and were destroyed by snakes.  10 Nor should we complain  as some of them did,   and were killed by the destroyer.   11 Now these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us,  on whom the ends of the ages  have come. 

Keep in mind as we move through the OT that "these things happened to them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us." 

Numbers 14 marks a dramatic turning point in the experience of the Exodus generation. The terrified Israelites angrily reject Moses’ plea for trust in God, and are ready to kill Moses when God intervenes (14:1–11). Moses begs God not to wipe out the camp (vv. 12–19). Though God relents, that entire generation is doomed to wander in the desert for 40 years, until all over 20 years of age die (vv. 20–35). But the spies whose pessimistic report caused the rebellion are struck down immediately (vv. 36–38). When Moses reports God’s verdict, the people refuse to accept it. They rush to attack Canaan in their own strength, and are beaten back (vv. 39–45). The events reported in this crucial Old Testament chapter serve throughout Scripture as a symbol of unbelief and rebellion, and of opportunities lost. What a warning for us, not to let hardness caused by unbelief keep us from responding to God (cf. Heb. 3–4).

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (101). Wheaton: Victor Books.

There is an astounding exchange in Numbers 14:2-11, we see that, "All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron,  and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder.  Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”  4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”  These are the ones that witnesses the plagues on Egypt, the cloud by and and the fire by night leading them, the parting of the Red Sea, the destruction of Pharaoh's army and on and on.  These are the one's that cried out for deliverance while under the bitter yoke of slavery in Egypt and NOW THEY MOVE TO APPOINT A LEADER TO TAKE THEM BACK TO EGYPT.

Moses and Aaron understand the horrible sin that the people are committing before God and respond appropriately..."5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces ⌊to the ground⌋ in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.  8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey,  and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection  has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”

Then the community fell to their faces in repentance and applauded the faith of Joshua and Caleb!  OH, sorry, that's not what happened...what did the community want to do?  Take a look at verse 10, "While the whole community threatened to stone them,  the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

What did God think about HIS people?  It's not pretty!  In verse 11, "The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them?    In verse 12 God lets Moses in on HIS plan, I will destroy them with a plague and make a mightier nation from you.  Moses intercedes and God listens and relents...it is a WONDERFUL THING TO INTERCEDE ON BEHALF OF OTHERS!

God promises a blessing on Joshua and Caleb and then asks again in 14:26, "How long just I endure this evil community that keeps complaining about Me?  He promises in verse 29 that every male that was 20 years old or older would not enter the promised land, would not enter HIS rest.  In verse 14:37 HE KILLED THE 10 SPIES THAT CAME BACK WITH A NEGATIVE REPORT!

The writer of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, discusses in great detail what happened in Numbers 14.  As Paul used this as a WARNING so does the author of Hebrews.

Hebrews 3:7-15 -Warning against Unbelief

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested Me, tried ⌊Me⌋, and saw My works 10 for 40 years. Therefore I was provoked with this generation and said, “They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known My ways.” 11 So I swore in My anger, “They will not enter My rest.”  2 Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. 13 But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.  14 For we have become companions of the Messiah if we hold firmly until the end the reality  that we had at the start.  15 As it is said: Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. 

We see in our reading in Mark that Jesus is questioned by the Sanhedrin, Jesus remains quiet until they ask HIM are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?  I love HIS answer...it is very powerful.

Mk 14:62  “I am,”  said Jesus, “and all of you  will see the Son of Man  seated at the right hand  of the Power and coming with the clouds  of heaven.” 

Jn 6:48  I am the bread of life.

Jn 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am  the light  of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

Jn 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture.

Jn 10:11  “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 

Jn 11:25  Jesus said to her, “I am  the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me,  even if he dies, will live. 

Jn 14:6  Jesus told him, “I am  the way,  the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jn 15:1 The Vine and the Branches  “I am  the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper.

I believe that Jesus remained quite because HE KNEW that the human court had no authority over HIM...none!  They would rule and give a verdict, AND GOD WOULD OVERRULE IN A DEMONSTRATION OF INCREDIBLE POWER IN THE DEFEAT OF SIN, DEATH AND SATAN.

JESUS IS THE GREAT I AM, IT WAS HIS PRESENCE IN THE BURNING BUSH THAT MOSES SPOKE TO.  IN THE SAME WAY THE BUSH WAS NOT CONSUMED BY THE PRESENCE AND GLORY OF GOD, SO THE BODY GOD PREPARED FOR HIS SON, ONE JUST LIKE OURS, WAS NOT CONSUMED AS JESUS FILLED IT WITH THE PRESENCE AND GLORY OF GOD...HE IS THE GREAT I AM! 

HE AND HE ALONE IS WORTHY OF OUR TRUST, OF OUR OBEDIENCE, OF OUR PRAISE, WORSHIP, LOVE...HE IS WORTHY OF OUR VERY BEST.  Delight in HIM, rejoice in HIM...the joy of the Lord is our strength.

TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS...ENTER INTO HIS REST.

Father in heaven,

enable us by YOUR Holy Spirit to enter YOUR rest for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

m

WOW!  Numbers is making up for any level of difficult reading in the previous chapters.  I have to comment on the last verse from our reading in Numbers yesterday.  We all know that this is true, I just deeply enjoyed hearing God say it...Numbers 11:23, The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited?    You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”  This is very encouraging, God loves to move mountains for HIS people...IT MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH HIS WILL, AS WE WILL SEE IN GETHSEMANE, BUT HE LOVES TO DO IT.

This is interesting, in Numbers 11, we see Joshua is jealous for Moses, not jealous of Moses, but FOR Moses.  He did not want others to do what Moses did.  Moses response is right for a godly man or woman...you don't want to keep it for yourself, you long for everyone to experience HIM intimately.

The Spirit of God that Moses is talking about in Numbers 11:29 is available to each of us today, HIS Spirit and presence are available to God's children.  Moses prayer is answered in Numbers 11:29, check it out, "But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account?  If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them.”   The New Covenant that makes HIS spirit available to all HIS children is referred to in Jeremiah 33:31-34 and it is throughout the NT.

Be careful what you pray for...sometimes God answers prayers in ways to teach us to trust HIM, HIS Word, and to trust the provision HE has made for us, and there are consequences for not trusting HIM!  BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CRAVE! 

Numbers 11:33-34  While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned  against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.  34 So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah,   because there they buried the people who had craved ⌊the meat⌋.

Above they did not trust the provision and below we see that they don't trust HIS Word, HIS promises to give them the land.  YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS A PICTURE OF YOU AND I UNTIL WE ENTER THE REST PROMISED IN JESUS...RIGHT.  When you trust Jesus, ask HIM into your heart as LORD AND SAVIOR...AT THAT POINT YOU ARE DELIVERED FROM SIN, DEATH AND SATAN...EGYPT.  The righteous man shall live by faith...after we are born again, our spiritual birth, we must enter the promised rest, promise land by faith in and on the promises of God.  Until we do we wander in the wilderness!

Numbers 13:30-33  Then Caleb  quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” 31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim   there.” (The offspring of Anak were descended from the Nephilim. ) “To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

 

The specific words struck me this morning in Mark 14:22-26...Jesus blessed, broke and gave, and said take and eat...every step, every drop of blood was planned before the foundation of the world...why... the Scriptures  must be fulfilled (Mark 14:49).”  GOD'S WORD, GOD'S PROMISES, GOD'S WILL AND PURPOSE WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED!  HIS WILL...WILL BE DONE...BANK ON IT!

22 As  they were eating, He took bread,  blessed and broke  it, gave it to them,  and said, “Take ⌊it⌋;  this is My body.” 23 Then He took a cup, and after giving thanks,  He gave it to them, and so they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is My blood ⌊that establishes⌋ the covenant;   it is shed  for many.  25 I assure you:  I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine  until that day when I drink it in a new  way  in the kingdom of God.”  26 After singing psalms,  they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Mk 14:33-38 He took Peter,  James,  and John  with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.”  35 Then He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour  might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba,  Father!  All things are possible  for You. Take this cup  away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” 37 Then He came and found them sleeping. “Simon,  are you sleeping?” He asked Peter.  “Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray  so that you won’t enter into temptation.  The spirit  is willing, but the flesh  is weak.”

Psalm 52:8-10 But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever. 9 I will praise You forever for what You have done. In the presence of Your faithful people, I will put my hope in Your name, for it is good.

How may we live in a way to crave HIM and HIM alone, to delight in HIM, to rejoice in HIM, to walk in HIM by faith...trusting in HIS precious and powerful promises?  I only know of one way...Heb 12:2 keeping our eyes on Jesus,  the source and perfecter  of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him  endured a cross and despised the shame,  and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

Ps 121:1--I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?

Ps 123:1-- Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens.

I am trying to expand my techno skills...I pray that it works and that it is a blessing to you...enjoy HIM, delight in HIM, fix and keep your eyes on HIM...for HIS glory and YOUR joy in HIM.

love,

m

Remember back in Exodus 33 God telling Moses that HE would send an angel ahead of them and give the Israelites the land, but that HE would not go with them because "you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”  Then Moses pleads with God and prevails and is actually granted an incredible request from God.  Not only does God agree to maintain HIS presence with HIS people, but by request HE agrees to SHOW MOSES HIS GLORY!  I HAVE TO THINK THAT MY LACK OF POWER, MY LACK OF KINGDOME IMPACT MAY HAVE TO DO WITH SMALL MINDEDNESS, A SMALL VISION OF GOD AND WHO HE REALLY IS...WHAT WOULD HAPPEN...HOW RADICAL MIGHT YOU AND I BE FOR JESUS IF WE LOOKED ON HIS GLORY MOMENT BY MOMENT, DAY BY DAY...AND THEN IN DESPERATION ON HIM, IN DESPERATION FOR HIM AND HIS PRESENCE ASKED HIM TO "to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen?"  What would happen?  Father please work it for YOUR glory and the joy of YOUR people.

Ex 33:2-3 “I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. 3 “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; for I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.”

Amazing, we go from, "I will not go with you because I might destroy you...to not only will I go with you, but I will cause all my goodness to pass before you!

Ex 33:13-23 “Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people.”  14  And He said, “My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then he said to Him, “If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 “For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?”  17  The Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19     And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”  20 But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!”  21 Then the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by Me, and you shall stand there on the rock; 22 and it will come about, while My glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. 23 “Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen.”

If you ever find yourself not knowing what to pray, Exodus 33:13-33 is loaded with powerful prayers to take to the throne of grace!  NOW CONSIDER THE CONTRAST IN OUR READING IN NUMBERS...IT IS STUNNING TO NOTICE THAT THOSE WHO DO NOT HAVE A HEART FOR GOD, HATE HIS PRESENCE AND FLEE HIS GLORY.

Numbers 10:35-36 Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, “Rise up, O Lord! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.” 36 When it came to rest, he said, “Return, O Lord, To the myriad thousands of Israel.”

The unsaved flee as we see in Revelation 6:16,  "and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;"  The Psalmist discussed the futility of trying to flee God's presence, Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

Even children of God and HIS prophets flee in disobedience!

Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Jonah 1:10 Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.

I believe our reading in Mark today is the same incident that we read about in John 12:8, there we learn that the woman is Mary, the one who loved to sit at Jesus feet and hang on every word of our Lord.  It is interesting that possibly even in church today if you have a heart like that of Mary there are some who would scold you and rebuke you.  IT IS NOT EASY TO BE RADICALLY IN LOVE WITH JESUS...YOU WILL BE CRITIZED FOR IT...BUT IT IS WORTH IT.  Oh to have and maintain that heart!

Mk 14:3-9 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at the table, there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head. 4 But some were indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted?  5 “For this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. 6 But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done a good deed to Me. 7 “For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. 8 “She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. 9“Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”

IT IS MIND BLOWING TO THINK THAT AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE ARE INVITED...LIKE MOSES!!!...TO HIDE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK, JESUS, AND BEHOLD, VIEW, SEE, SAVOR, DELIGHT IN, BE CONSUMED WITH THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST...I HOPE YOUR HEART IS GOING BALLISTIC RIGHT NOW...IF NOT CALL ME AND LET'S TALK ABOUT SALVATION:)

2 Co 4:6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

In Psalm 51 David shows us how very imperfect people, can have a heart for God after falling into sin, REPENT and return to their first love...JESUS.

Father,

Work this in my heart, accomplish this in the hearts of YOUR children...for YOUR namesake, for YOUR glory and for our JOY in YOU!

love,

m

Let me start this morning by once again recommending that each of you labor to find a way to include journaling what God gives you during your quite time.  I say that because this morning as I began to read in Numbers almost immediately my mind began to wander as I was reading.  The first 2 paragraphs I was engaged and then I had read another 1/2 page and realized I did not know what I had read:(  Before I began journaling my thoughts I must confess more often than not I would just keep going...I would refocus, but I would not back up every time.  You might be thinking, (I don't think you would say it out loud, just think it) what is the big deal?  I will confess I am seeing so much more than I ever have because I am journaling and I am awe struck at how many times Jesus rebuked the religious leaders..."haven't you read, haven't you read, haven't you read."  WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY SINGLE WORD...EVERY WORD IS PRECIOUS AND VALUABLE!

So with great joy I can say this morning that I backed up and reread with an engaged heart, soul and mind:)  As I am flowing through God's Word I was moved by Numbers 8:12, we see God making a provision to atone for the Levites, "Sacrifice one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to the Lord, to make atonement for the Levites."  I AM MOVED AS I KNOW THAT GOD MADE A PROVISION FOR ME IN JESUS, AND BECAUSE OF THAT PROVISION AND RECEIVE IT BY FAITH HIS SPIRIT TESTIFIES THAT I AM HIS ADOPTED SON AND I AM FREE TO CRY ABBA, FATHER!

The two words that really stuck out this morning were the two words "is mine."  They appeared first in Numbers 8:17, For every firstborn among the Israelites is Mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to Myself  on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt.  We see these two words over and over in God's Word to us.  We learn that EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD.  ANYTHING THAT YOU AND I HAVE BELONGS TO HIM...THIS INCLUDES OUR PHYSICAL BODIES AND OUR SPIRITS, OUR SOULS...IT IS ALL HIS!  It really caught my attention when it showed up in our Psalm this morning...below you will see it appeared 3 times in Psalm 50.

Exod 19:5--‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine;

Lev 25:23--‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.

Num 8:17--“For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself.

Job 41:11--“Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.

Ps 50:10--“For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.

Ps 50:11--“I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

Ps 50:12--“If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.

Ps 60:7--“Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.

Ps 108:8--“Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim also is the helmet of My head; Judah is My scepter.

Prov 8:14--“Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine.

Ezek 18:4--“Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

Ezek 29:3--“Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, That has said, ‘My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.’

Ezek 29:9--“The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the Lord. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it,’

Haggai 2:8--‘The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

Sorry for the over kill, but getting a grip on this changed, and is changing, transforming my heart.  Contemplate that everything is HIS in the light of our offerings, offerings of our money, time, passion, energy...our lives.  It is only right and acceptable that every sacrifice be a sacrifice of thanksgiving because the real giver in every act of my giving is God. If you and I have something to give, it is because it belongs to God and HE gave it to us. If I have a DESIRE to give, it is because God put it there (1 Chronicles 29:14, 18; Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 13:21; 2 Corinthians 8:1). ALL giving must be a sacrifice of gratitude. If we don’t see this, IS IT NOT AN insult to God?

Ps 50:14-15 Sacrifice a thank offering to God, and pay your vows to the Most High. 15     Call on Me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

For me here is where it get really good.  In Isaiah 43, we see two words that are precious to me, those two words are "are mine."  I love this...But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Now consider Mark 13:20, Unless the Lord  limited those days,  no one would survive.  But He limited those days because of the elect,  whom He chose.

John 13:18 I’m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen.  But the Scripture  must be fulfilled:  The one who eats My bread  has raised his heel against Me. 

John 15:16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you.  I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask  the Father in My name,  He will give you. 

2 Tim 1:9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works,  but according to His own purpose  and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

James 2:5  Listen, my dear brothers: Didn’t God choose the poor in this world  to be rich in faith  and heirs  of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him?

Eph 1:4  for He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.   In love 

Rev 17:8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up from the abyss  and go to destruction.  Those who live on the earth whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world  will be astounded when they see the beast that was, and is not, and will be present ⌊again⌋.

Please don't misunderstand...I passionately love and embrace and believe every "whosoever will may come" in God's Word.  But I find great comfort and peace in knowing that HE, God is jealous for me and HE is jealous for you...to the point HE says YOU ARE MINE!

John 3:16--  “For God loved  the world in this way: He gave His One and Only  Son,  so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 

Rev 22:17--Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.

IT'S ALL HIS, IT IS ALL HIS...ENTER THE REST, BE DILIGENT TO ENTER HIS REST LEST YOU FALL LIKE THE ISRAELITES WHO FELL IN THE WILDERNESS!  Be filled to overflowing with joy and thanksgiving to the one, to the Holy one of Israel, to the Lord of Hosts...delight in knowing that you are children of the most High God.

John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life,  and they will never perish —ever! No one will snatch  them out of My hand. 29 My Father,  who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” 

Father in heaven,

burn these words in our hearts, complete the good work YOU began in us for YOUR glory and for our JOY in YOU!  Father, let each of us that knows YOU intimately bear witness to ALL the cry of YOUR heart...“Come!” Anyone who hears should say, “Come!” And the one who is thirsty should come. Whoever desires should take the living water as a gift.  Father give us a passion to share the joy we have in YOU with those that do not know YOU.

love,

m

I know what you all are thinking, not really, I know what I was thinking as I was reading Numbers 6-7 this morning...for a moment I was thinking...how many more chapters are there in Numbers?  This is tuff reading and then bam...Num 6:24-26 The Lord bless you and protect you; the Lord make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.   I paused here for a long time and just thought...thank you Lord, thank you for the countless blessings you continue to pour on me and my family...thank you, thank you, thank you...THANK YOU THAT IN JESUS CHRIST YOU MADE YOUR FACE TO SHINE ON US AND WE CAN KNOW THE JOY OF YOUR PRESENCE THROUGH YOUR SON AND YOUR INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT!  2 Co 4:6  For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness” —He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge  of God’s glory  in the face of Jesus Christ.

Father, thank you for being gracious to us beyond our wildest imaginations in the sending of YOUR Son.  Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood,  the forgiveness  of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace   Eph 2:8-10  For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation—created  in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time  so that we should walk in them.   Father, enable me to walk in them, enable me to walk and live in a manner that is pleasing to YOU and YOU alone...for YOUR glory and my joy in YOU!

Father, thank YOU for YOUR presence and the light of YOUR countenance in the face of Jesus Christ, thank you for your grace that comes by faith in Jesus as a gift and THANK YOU FOR YOUR PEACE, YOUR PEACE THAT IS A GIFT FROM THE THRONE OF GRACE...Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith,  we have peace  with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

AFTER THAT IT WAS BACK TO 88 DIFFICULT VERSES BUT THEN IT WAS BAM AGAIN...WHAT WAS THE BAM THIS TIME?  Num 7:89  When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him  from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim.  He spoke to him ⌊that way⌋.  

REMEMBER THAT the grand summary of the Bible is, The Lord God through his Christ is graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory (Easley).

SO IN VERSE 7:89 I AM REMINDED THAT IT IS ALL THE UNFOLDING OF HIS REDEMPTIVE PLAN...SO IT IS ALL PRECIOUS...AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR JESUS KNOWING THAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED ALL OF THIS...WHAT IS THIS?  THE STUFF WE READ IN LEVITICUS AND NUMBERS...IT IS ALL DONE IN HIM!

Consider Hebrews 9:23-38

Heb 9:23-38

23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be purified with these ⌊sacrifices⌋, but the heavenly things themselves ⌊to be purified⌋ with better sacrifices than these.  24 For the Messiah did not enter a sanctuary made with hands (only a model  of the true one) but into heaven itself, that He might now appear in the presence of God for us.  25 He did not do this to offer Himself many times, as the high priest enters the sanctuary yearly with the blood of another.  26 Otherwise, He would have had to suffer many times since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages,  for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  27 And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment — 28 so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,  will appear a second time,  not to bear sin, but  to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

Let this sink in...the Israelites were bound by the Levitical laws, they HAD to do these things to remain in right standing with God.  Remember what Jesus said in Matt 5:17 “Don’t assume that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.  Consider this in the light of Ephesians 2:15,  He did away with the law of the commandments in regulations, so that He might create  in Himself one  new man from the two, resulting in peace.  We know that HE did not abolish the Law, but that HE fulfilled the Law.

Heb 4:14-16

Our Great High Priest

14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of God—let us hold fast to the confession.  15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are,  yet without sin.  16 Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.

Mark, what is your point in all of this?  My point is simply as you read the countless regulations rejoice, don't think how hard it is to read, JUST THINK IF YOU HAD TO KEEP ALL OF THEM TO REMAIN IN RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD!  REJOICE THAT EVERY REGULATION IS FULFILLED IN JESUS AND THAT YOU AND I ARE INVITED TO COME TO THE THRONE OF GRACE WITH CONFIDENCE AS CHILDREN OF THE MOST HIGH GOD.  The High Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement...you and I have constant access, if we will repent of our sins, ask for forgiveness and turn back to our heavenly Father...by HIS grace we are invited to live in the presence of God!  THIS IS GOOD NEWS!

I don't know about you, but I long to have a heart toward God like the widow that we read about in Mark 12.

Mk 12:42-44  And a poor  widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.  43 Summoning His disciples,  He said to them, “I assure you:  This poor widow has put in more than all those giving to the temple treasury.  44 For they all gave out of their surplus,  but she out of her poverty  has put in everything she possessed —all she had to live on.”

I don't think that this means that everyone should go and sell all they have and give it to the poor...I do believe that if Jesus tells you to go and sell all you have and give it to the poor...that our heart should be holding the things of this world so loosely that we would joyfully obey!  I want that heart!  The strange thing in the Christian life there have been times when I can honestly say I would do it, and in a sense Diane and I did as we walked away from our business several years ago.  But in the last 7 years I confess that there have been times that if Jesus had come and told us to run to another ministry field I would have been slow and hesitant to move.  I'm thinking of Philip in Acts 8:26, Philip is experiencing a thriving ministry and an angel of the Lord tells him to get up and run into the desert.  No explanation, just get up and run...and he gets up and runs.

I long for the heart of the widow, I long for the heart of Philip!

love,

m

What did Jesus mean when He said that the widow had put more money into the treasury than [all of them combined.] (Mark 12:43)? Clearly, He was indicating that economic value is relative. The widow’s contribution would have been nothing but spare change to the rich who preceded her. But to her, two mites represented enormous value. It was “all that she had, her whole livelihood” (12:44, emphasis added). Replacing it would be difficult, if not impossible; as a poor widow, she was probably unemployable. Giving it to God meant that she could not use it to buy her next crust of bread.

But Jesus indicated that God placed moral rather than economic value on her tiny offering. Her gift showed that she was giving herself entirely to God and trusting in Him to meet her needs. Her use of money disclosed the moral and spiritual condition of her heart.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Mk 12:42). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

The greatest commandment as quoted in Matthew, Mark and Luke is a quote from Deuteronomy chapter 6.  In our reading in Mark Jesus quotes the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4ff.  Jesus is responding to a question..."Which commandment is the most important of all?"  In Mark 12:32-33 we see an amazing confession from the scribe...32 Then the scribe said to Him, “You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one  else except Him.  33 And to love  Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,  and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more ⌊important⌋ than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Deuteronomy  6:4-9-- “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.    5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  7 Repeat them to your children.  Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol  on your forehead.    9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4 and following contain the Shema, you may ask a faithful Jew today to quote the Shema and you will hear these words.  One thing is obvious...OK several things are obvious, first we know the 2 greatest commandments are to love God and to love others.  Second, GOD EXPECTS HIS PEOPLE TO KNOW HIS WORD!  Remember they did not have printing presses, they had to memorize everything they wanted to remember.  Read through Deut 6:4-9 again...do you get the idea that God expected them to know HIS Word?  How else would they be able to "repeat them to their children."  How else would they be able to "talk about them" basically ALL THE TIME!  Third, God expected that HIS people would have an understanding of how to apply HIS Word to their lives and the lives of their children!  IT IS NOT DIRECTLY STATED BUT IT IS IMPLIED!

[The Shema] contains a call not just to respect and obey God (6:1–3), but to love God completely (vv. 4–9). The call is so central to Old Testament religion that it is celebrated in Judaism as the shema, a confession of faith repeated in synagogue services across the world for untold centuries.

The words lead directly into the Old Testament’s central prescription for the communication of faith across the generations (vv. 5–9; Learning God’s Law). The chapter continues by returning to these themes. God will bless Israel with prosperity. When this happens Israel is to remember Him, and to serve Him by doing “what is right and good” in His sight (vv. 10–19). In the future Israel is to rehearse the wonderful acts of deliverance by which God proved His love for His people—and which should awaken their love for Him (vv. 20–25).

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (122). Wheaton: Victor Books.

When we see something repeated in God's Word over and over...when we see it throughout the OT, when we see it quoted by Jesus, Paul and James...you know this is huge...to say that ALL THE LAWS OF THE PROPHETS HANG ON THESE TWO COMMANDS...ALL. 

What does it mean to love God, what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?

Leviticus 19:18 Do not take revenge  or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself;  I am the Lord.

Matt 5:43-45  “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor   and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

Matt 19:19 honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself. 

Matt 22:39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  

Mark 12:31 “The second is: Love your neighbor  as yourself.   There is no other commandment  greater than these.”

Mark 12:33  And to love  Him with all your heart, with all your understanding,  and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more ⌊important⌋ than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Luke 10:27 He answered: Love the Lord your God  with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind;  and your neighbor as yourself. 

Romans 12:19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His  wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay,   says the Lord.

Romans 13:9 The commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and if there is any other commandment—all are summed up by this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

Gal 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled  in one statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  

James 2:8 8 If you really carry out the royal law prescribed in Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself,   you are doing well.

We are commanded to love God and to love others!  You and I must acknowledge that WE ARE NOT ABLE TO DO THIS APART FROM THE INDWELLING POWER OT THE HOLY SPIRIT!  I CANNOT LOVE GOD, OTHERS, DIANE, MY CHILDREN, ANYONE...THE WAY I AM COMMANDED WITHOUT GOD WORKING IT THROUGH ME.  Christ is me the hope of glory, Christ becoming incarnate in you and I through the Spirit of God dwelling with us...IT IS OUR ONLY HOPE!

HOW DO I FIGHT FOR THIS DAY AFTER DAY?  What was the problem with the Sadducees?  They did NOT KNOW, [UNDERSTAND] the scriptures of the power of God!  We see this in 2 Tim 3:5 holding to the form of religion but denying its power.  Avoid these people!

So what is the answer?  To cry out to our heavenly Father...Lord have mercy...Lord may YOUR name be praised, teach me YOUR Word, Father please do not allow me, YOUR child, to be deceived, do not allow me to believe a lie and sin against YOU.  Open the eyes of my heart and enable me to see the wonderful things in YOUR precious Word so that I might not sin against YOU. Move me to treasure YOUR Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Fill me moment by moment with YOUR Holy Spirit, enable me to KNOW YOU, TO KNOW YOUR WORD...PLEASE ALLOW ME TO SEE YOUR GLORY AS YOU HAVE REVEALED IT IN YOUR WORD THROUGH YOUR ONLY BEGOTTON SON...JESUS CHRIST.  TEACH ME HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD TO LOVE YOU...COMMAND WHAT YOU WILL, BUT THEN ENABLE ME TO OBEY WHAT YOU COMMAND FOR YOUR GLORY AND MY JOY IN YOU!  I AM DESPERATE...IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO WORK THIS APART FROM YOUR LIFE GIVING SPIRIT, YOUR GRACE, YOUR PRESENCE.  ENABLE ME TO LOVE YOU AND TO LOVE OTHERS AS YOU HAVE COMMANDED...YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE!  Grant me wisdom to hide in YOU, to seek shelter in the shadow of YOUR wing, to live in peace in YOU, my refuge.  Enable me to love YOU continually with a pure heart, a heart that hungers and thirsts for righteousness, a heart that hungers and thirsts for YOU!

love,

m

Mk 12:24-27  Jesus told them, “Are you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures  or the power  of God?  25 For when they rise  from the dead,  they neither marry nor are given in marriage  but are like angels  in heaven. 26 Now concerning the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I  am the God of Abraham  and the God of Isaac  and the God of Jacob?   27 He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”

It is amazing to me how often Jesus said, "haven't you read, haven't you read, haven't you read the scriptures"...or "you are deceived because you don't know the scriptures or the power of God."  Clearly, the Pharisees and Sadducees had the scriptures memorized and they could quote them verbatim, they knew them in their heads, BUT THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND IN THEIR HEARTS!  When you consider that the temple was destroyed in 70 AD what they had dreaded came upon them.  What was it that they had feared from Jesus?  They feared losing their position, power, recognition.  "What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desires will be given to him. When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more, but the righteous are secure forever. Pr 10:24-25"

I want to encourage everyone to hang on...every word of Numbers is precious!  I confess it is difficult reading sometimes and that is when I lean on the LORD ALL THE HARDER and cry Father, Holy Spirit of God, please enable me to see the treasures in YOUR Word...I know that the problem is not with YOUR Word Father, the problem is with me and my heart...open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things in YOUR Word, mainly YOU!

There is an interesting exchange that takes place in Numbers 3:13...God requires the firstborn of the Israelites in exchange for firstborn in Egypt that were killed and then HE makes another exchange.  HE takes the entire clan of Levi in the place of the firstborn of Israel.

Numbers 3:13 because every firstborn belongs to Me. At the time I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt,  I consecrated every firstborn in Israel to Myself, both man and animal; they are Mine; I am the Lord.”

I Myself points to God’s direct involvement in redemption. When God redeemed and saved His people, it was by His own person (Ex. 12:29; 13:3, 17, 21; 14:19, 30, 31). Similarly, when God selected the Levites to be a special tribe in the ministry of His presence, it was His personal work, not something He delegated to a created being. Likewise, [God the Father sent God the Son] to be a perfect High Priest for all those who would believe in Him (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 6:20—8:6). The firstborn are Mine: When God passed over the homes of the Hebrew families who had obeyed His commands in the Passover (Ex. 12:29–51), He declared the surviving firstborn Hebrew children—and also the firstborn of animals—to be His own (Ex. 13:1, 2). Now the firstborn children needed to be redeemed. An exchange was made. God took the entire tribe of Levi as His special possession, instead of the firstborn child of each family (3:40–51).

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Nu 3:11-13). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

Numbers 3:41 You are to take the Levites for Me—I am the Lord—in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of every firstborn among the Israelites’ cattle.”

This continues throughout the OT and as you would expect Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the prophets kept and fulfilled this command also...even though HE was the one who spoke it.

Numbers 3:42
So Moses registered every firstborn among the Israelites, as the Lord commanded him.

Numbers 3:45
“Take the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites, and the Levites’ cattle in place of their cattle. The Levites belong to Me; I am the Lord.

Numbers 8:17-18
For every firstborn among the Israelites is Mine, both man and animal. I consecrated them to Myself on the day I struck down every firstborn in the land of Egypt. I have taken the Levites in place of every firstborn among the Israelites.

Numbers 33:4
Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male the Lord had struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against their gods.

Deut 15:19
“You must consecrate to the Lord your God every firstborn male produced by your herd and flock. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work or shear the firstborn of your flock.

Lk 2:21-24  When the eight days were completed for His circumcision,  He was named JESUS —the name given by the angel before He was conceived.  22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were finished,  they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord 23 (just as it is written in the law of the Lord: Every firstborn male  will be dedicated  to the Lord  ) 24 and to offer a sacrifice (according to what is stated in the law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons  ).

The most astonishing exchange in the universe is the exchange God made for HIS only Begotten Son.  It was pictured by the ram caught in the thicket for Abraham and Isaac...that just happened to take place in the same place where Jesus was crucified.  What makes it so amazing to me is that God would have been perfectly within HIS rights and it would have been perfectly just for HIM to cast every last one of us into hell...that would be fair, that would be right and that would be justice.  One sin, one sin...one sin is enough to condemn you and I to hell for eternity.  As Dr. Rogers used to say, "I would not trust my best 15 minutes to get me to heaven."  I would not trust by best one second to get me there, who knows what sinful thought could float through my mind in one second!

In Revelation 1:4-6, we read about what Jesus accomplished for us by the shedding of HIS precious blood.  "Grace and peace  to you from  the One who is, who was, and who is coming;  from the seven spirits    before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has set us free  from our sins by His blood, 6 and made us a kingdom,  priests  to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  HOW AWESOME AND WONDERFUL IT IS TO BELONG TO JESUS, TO BE BLOOD BOUGHT, HOW WONDERFUL TO SAY I BELONG TO HIM AND HOW SWEET TO HEAR HIM SAY..."they are Mine; I am the Lord.”

Father in heaven,

thank YOU for sending YOUR Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to set us free from our sins by HIS precious blood, thank YOU for calling us out of darkness into YOUR marvelous light, thank YOU for calling us and equipping us to serve YOU...Father, thank YOU for YOUR patience with me a sinner...enable me to walk in a manner that is pleasing to YOU, that brings glory and honor to YOU.  I confess that apart from YOUR life giving grace I am not able...I shudder to think how far I would fall apart from YOUR moment by moment sustaining grace in my life...thank YOU, thank YOU, thank YOU!  Please work this for YOUR glory and my joy in YOU.

love,

m

Good morning everyone!  Congratulations you have made it to the book of Numbers.  Numbers is another place where people begin to drop the one year reading and get lost in the minutia.  Now more than ever it is vital to keep in mind that the grand summary of the Bible is, The Lord God through his Christ is graciously building a kingdom of redeemed people for their joy and for his own glory (Easley).  Below is a summary from the "Bible readers companion" that I believe will help us maintain perspective.  How does Numbers have anything to do with me?  It pictures my own wilderness experience.

Numbers is a book of transition. The Israelites have been freed from slavery in Egypt and given God’s Law at Sinai (Ex., Lev.). This is their past. Their future is in the land God promised long ago to give Abraham’s descendants (Gen.). Numbers tells the story of the journey from Sinai to Canaan, the last stage of the long trail that leads from slavery to rest in the Promised Land. As we read Numbers we see that the journey was filled with tests and challenges. And we realize that these could be met successfully only by an obedience that grows out of a vital, living faith. The failure of the Exodus generation to meet those tests successfully is reflected in the Hebrew name for the book, bemidbar, “in the wilderness.”

Numbers is a historical report of ancient Israel’s experience. But it can also be read as an analogy of Christian experience. We too are a redeemed people on a journey to God’s Promised Land. Our journey too is filled with tests and challenges. And for us too, only a faith that responds obediently to the Lord can preserve us from disasters along the way.

The Book of Numbers teaches us much about God. He is with His people as they travel. His holiness is expressed in His demand for obedience. Yet His holiness is tempered by mercy and grace. The wonderful truth we realize as we travel with ancient Israel is that God remains constant and faithful in His commitment to His own. When sinning and when obedient, in success and in failure, God stays with us. He is committed to bring us at last to His own Promised Land.

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (92). Wheaton: Victor Books.

In Mark chapter we witness Jesus triumphal entry with the people shouting "Hosanna! Blessed  is He who comes in the name  of the Lord!  Blessed is the coming  kingdom of our father  David! Hosanna  in the highest heaven!"  It is interesting the next scene is Jesus cursing a fruitless fig tree, immediately followed by His rejection of the temple worship.  The fig tree was destroyed the next morning, the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. 

Jesus quoted the OT, My house will be called a house of prayer!

Jeremiah 7:11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers  in your view? Yes, I too have seen ⌊it⌋.”

⌊This is⌋ the Lord’s declaration.

Matt 21:13--And He said to them, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer.  But you are making it a den of thieves!” 

Mark 11:17   Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written,  My house  will be called a house of prayer  for all nations?  But you have made it a den of thieves!”  

Luke 19:46  and He said, “It is written, My house will be a house of prayer,  but you have made it a den of thieves!” 

Below is a long passage from 2 Peter, here we learn that we are living stones that are being built into a spiritual house.  This is an amazing passage!

1 Peter 2:1-10

The Living Stone and a Holy People

2     So rid yourselves of  all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.  2 Like newborn infants, desire the unadulterated spiritual milk,  so that you may grow by it in ⌊your⌋ salvation,   3 since you have tasted  that the Lord is good.   4 Coming to Him, a living stone—rejected by men but chosen and valuable to God— 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God  through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:

Look! I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and valuable cornerstone, and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame!  7 So the honor is for you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this One has become the cornerstone,  and 8 A stone that causes men to stumble,  and a rock that trips them up.    

They stumble by disobeying the message; they were destined  for this [compare Leviticus 27:29]. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession,  so that you may proclaim the praises  of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

You and I are the House of God, we are the church, the church is not the building, the building is where the church meets, where the body comes together for the building up of one another.  Remember the comments from the summary of Numbers?  Our journey too is filled with tests and challenges. And for us too, only a faith that responds obediently to the Lord can preserve us from disasters along the way. 

Mark 11:22-26

22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.  23 I assure you:  If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt  in his heart, but believes  that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  24 Therefore, I tell you, all the things you pray  and ask for —believe that you have received   them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand  praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive  him, so that your Father  in heaven  will also forgive  you your wrongdoing.  [ 26 But if you don’t forgive, neither will your Father in heaven  forgive your wrongdoing.”]

Jesus condemns fruitless worship, fruitless lives, fruitless temples...fruitless churches.  The tree was destroyed the next morning, the temple within 70 years.  Don't lead a fruitless life! The wonderful thing about this is the only way to lead a Spirit filled life is in absolute dependence on HIM...you and I cannot do it!  Only the Holy Spirit may work it through you, as you acknowledge your absolute dependence on HIM!  Galatians 5:22 gives us the fruit of the Spirit, but you and I cannot strain to make it happen or resolved to live out the fruit...only as we are filled with the Holy Spirit, surrendered and yielded will HE flow in and through HIS children...for HIS glory and our joy.

The righteous man/woman shall live by faith...trusting in the promises of God, acknowledging their absolute dependence on HIM.

Father in heaven please do this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

m

The reading in Leviticus 26 should delight you and terrify you.  Delight you to know that God longs to flood you with HIS richest blessings if you and I will "love the LORD our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  Terrify us to know what HE will do if we continue to walk and live in disobedience.  It should strike delight and terror because we KNOW that God will do what HE said HE will.  We see the blessing and bounty in Israel during Solomon's reign and we see the harsh discipline begin immediately following him.

What was the issue?  It was their hard heart's!  Interesting...what was the issue that plagued the disciples...we have pointed it out...they were hard hearted...they had to be broken to be useful.

Ac 7:51 Resisting the Holy Spirit

51 “You stiff-necked  people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your forefathers did, so do you.

Exodus 32:9  The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked  people.

Exodus 33:3  ⌊Go up⌋ to a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you because you are a stiff-necked people; otherwise, I might destroy you on the way.” 

Ex 33:5  For the Lord said to Moses: “Tell the Israelites: You are a stiff-necked people. If I went with you for a single moment, I would destroy you. Now take off your jewelry, and I will decide what to do with you.”

Isaiah 63:10   But they rebelled, and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He became their enemy ⌊and⌋ fought against them.

Jeremiah 6:10  Who can I speak to and give such a warning that they will listen?  Look, their ear is uncircumcised, so they cannot pay attention.  See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them— they find no pleasure in it.

Jeremiah 9:26  Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, all those who clip the hair on their temples  and reside in the wilderness. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

Leviticus 26:41  and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled,  and if they will pay the penalty for their sin,

If you continue on the One Year journey we will see that this discipline came to pass...the unthinkable actually happened...this nation that was so richly blessed fell so far into sin that they consumed...ate their children.  Judgement on sin is worse sin.

God kept HIS promise and HE brought the people back, HE rebuilt the nation Israel.  In Leviticus we learn about the kinsman redeemer; praise God this simply points to our kinsman redeemer Jesus Christ...we learn in Mark 10:45, that "the Son of Man  did not come to be served, but to serve,  and to give His life —a ransom  for many.”  Jesus came to redeem us that God might dwell with HIS people.

Rev 21:3  Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:  Look! God’s dwelling  is with men, and He will live with them.  They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

2 Chronicles 6:18 But will God indeed live on earth with man?  Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.

Ezekiel 37:27  My dwelling place will be with them;  I will be their God, and they will be My people. 

Leviticus 26:11-12 I will place My residence  among you, and I will not reject you.  12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. 

Zec 2:10  “Daughter Zion, shout for joy and be glad, for I am coming to dwell among you”—the Lord’s declaration.

God's Word is truly amazing...we can learn much from a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.  Out of desperation (that is where we are, desperate) he calls on Jesus for help..."Jesus, have mercy on me!"  Jesus is asking you and I..."what do you want me to do for you?"  I don't know about you, but my answer is...Lord Jesus, I want to see...I want to see YOUR glory!  I want to see YOUR glory in YOUR Word, in YOUR creation, I want to fix my eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of my faith...Jesus told Bartimawus, "Your faith has healed you."  HIS FAITH IN JESUS!

Mk 10:51-52  Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want  Me to do for you?” “Rabbouni,”   the blind man told Him, “I want to see!” 52 “Go your way,” Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.”  Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.

Father in heaven,

Have mercy on us, LORD have mercy...open our eyes that we may see YOU and the wonderful things in YOUR Word...open the eyes of our hearts Lord.  Father please enable us to behold YOUR glory in the face of Jesus Christ, that we may be transformed and conformed to the image of YOUR Son.  Please work this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU.  Enable us to walk in humility, with a broken and contrite spirit...walking in obedience to YOUR precious Word.  Enable us to love YOU with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  To God be the glory, to God be the glory, to God be the glory...in Jesus name, Amen.

love,

m

Mark 10 Summary

As Jesus travels toward Jerusalem and His crucifixion He is met by a delegation of Pharisees intent on tripping Christ up on a point of law. He answers the divorce question they pose (10:1–12), but again emphasizes the fact that His kingdom must be approached in a childlike, rather than legalistic, way (vv. 13–16). Christ is then approached by an honest seeker, a young man intent on winning eternal life. But when challenged to give up his wealth, the man refuses, showing clearly that riches, not Christ, exercise lordship in his life (vv. 17–31). Jesus again predicts His death (vv. 32–34), but the disciples remain insensitive. James and John actually lobby for the two chief places in Christ’s coming kingdom, still unaware that greatness in Christ’s kingdom is expressed in service to others (vv. 35–45). Jesus illustrates the pathway of service when He stops on His way to the cross to heal a man who is blind (vv. 46–52).

Richards, L. O. (1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996). The Bible readers companion (electronic ed.) (642). Wheaton: Victor Books.

Let the Little Children come to ME, Jesus said!

When we saw the parallel passage in Matthew we focused on the word indignant.  We should consider the difference between what makes Jesus indignant and what normally makes us indignant.  In my flesh I become indignant when I have been wronged, not someone else.  I believe if we are filled with the Spirit and following hard after God we, like Jesus, we will become indignant when one of these little ones is wronged.  The greatest wrong in the universe is to put up barriers to keep people from Jesus.  What are those barriers?  Jesus clearly points out one in Mark 7:5-9, do you remember, 5 Then the Pharisees  and the scribes  asked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders,  instead of eating bread with ritually unclean  hands?” 6 He answered them, “Isaiah  prophesied  correctly about you hypocrites,  as it is written: These people honor  Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 7 They worship Me in vain, teaching  as doctrines  the commands  of men.  8 Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men.”  9 He also said to them, “You completely invalidate God’s command in order to maintain  your tradition! 

It is amazing that our very traditions can become barriers keeping people from coming to Jesus.  Legalism is another barrier and licentiousness is another barrier to keep people away.  What is licentiousness...in one sense it is the opposite of legalism.  Paul talks about it in Romans..."if sin causes grace to abound then I should sin more and enjoy myself."  Paul said something like..."may it never be!" 

There are other barriers I'm sure, suffice it to say that anything in your life, anything in your heart, mind, attitude, practice that hinders someone from coming to Jesus will make HIM indignant!  I'm thinking you don't want to experience HIS indignation!

Mk 10:13-16  Some  people were bringing little children  to Him so He might touch them, but His disciples rebuked  them. 14 When Jesus saw it, He was indignant  and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me.  Don’t stop  them, for the kingdom of God  belongs to such as these. 15 I assure you:  Whoever does not welcome   the kingdom of God like a little child  will never enter it.” 16 After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on  them and blessed  them.

You will notice the scripture does not say that they cannot enter, it says that they "will never enter it."  Why not?  Are they blocked...do they have barriers?  Yes they do, but their barriers are within their own heart.  They will not enter due to their pride, arrogance, self-sufficient, jaundiced, jaded, heart attitude.

Receive the kingdom indicates the continuing thrust of Jesus’ message as He prepares His disciples for reigning in the coming kingdom. Children exhibit sincerity, eagerness, a trusting attitude, and total dependence on their parents. Thus, childlikeness is a fitting comparison for the qualities a disciple should have. Adults can become worldly wise, self-sufficient, and skeptical of religion and various plans for salvation. Heart attitude is basic to leadership in the kingdom.

Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson's new illustrated Bible commentary (Mk 10:15). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

So we see that there are barriers without and there are barriers within.  Jesus conversation with the "Rich Young Ruler" points this out, and if you recall the parable of the soils, the rich young rulers heart pictures the 3rd soil.

Mk 10:17-27  As  He was setting out on a journey,  a man ran up, knelt down  before Him, and asked Him, “Good  Teacher,  what must I do to inherit  eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good but One—God.  19 You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor  your father and mother.”  20 He said to Him, “Teacher,  I have kept all these from my youth.” 21 Then, looking at him, Jesus loved him  and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor,  and you will have treasure  in heaven.  Then come,  follow Me.”  22 But he was stunned  at this demand, and he went away grieving,  because he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth  to enter the kingdom of God!”  24 But the disciples were astonished at His words. Again Jesus said to them, “Children,  how hard it is  to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich  person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible,  but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”

Do you remember our reading in Matt 18?  There are barriers or stumbling blocks without and within...regardless, I want no part of them!  Dealing with the barriers within is called sanctification.  Press on for the upward call of Christ, crying out for our Great and Good God to complete the good work HE began in you.

Matt 18:5-7 “And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

I must confess that at one level this passage fills my heart with fear and trembling...fear and trembling that something that I do or say might cause a little one to stumble!  May it never be LORD, may it never be!

Father in heaven,

O God, YOU and YOU alone are good, faithful, righteous, holy, perfect in love, grace and peace...Father please keep us, keep me from being a barrier to anyone....I long to be a part of leading people to YOU and toward YOU so that they (and I) may become like YOU, conformed to the image of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Father YOU tell us that YOU can turn the heart of a king like rivers of water, YOU can turn it wherever YOU wish (Pro. 21:1) please Father, by YOUR grace and indwelling Spirit remove the barriers from within our hearts and prevent us from being a barrier to anyone.  Use us as vessels, instruments in YOUR hand to bring people to YOU!  As we seek to follow hard after YOU...we stand on YOUR promise to make us fish for men.  Please work this for YOUR glory and our JOY in YOU!

love,

m