Numbers 35: 33-34
So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it.
And you shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the Lord am dwelling in the midst of the sons of Israel.
God was dwelling in the land of Canaan with the Israelites, and He is holy. He could not dwell in a polluted land, that had been defiled by blood.
That's one reason why He had His people conquer the peoples who were already there by eradicating some of the towns and cities.
And He gave rules for menslayers who didn't premeditate the killing.
God knew how enticing the World's ways are, to seduce His people away from their Lord Who loves them. He warned them repeatedly to not pay any attention to those people, to not accept their friendship or marry their women or give their daughters to marry their sons. It's just too dangerous.
And we today are warned to be aware of how God's ways are not the World's ways, and our fleshly nature rebels against Him.
Our enemy has never changed his tactics: he still tells us that we can make our own decisions, we're smart, we don't need anyone to tell us what to do.
So we go our merry way, but things don't turn out like we thought. We were deceived. That's when we need to repent, turn around, change our thinking processes to get our focus off ourselves and our surroundings and see Jesus, arms out, waiting for you to fall into His embrace.
God told the Israelites that He would go before them to conquer those peoples. And He will also go before us in our lives, to prepare the way before us; when we decide to follow Him, doing things His way, instead of our own way.
I wonder how much blood will need to be shed to expiate our own land, to cleanse it of all the innocent blood that has been shed here. When our Lord and King returns, He will cleanse the whole world of all its unrighteousness and evil. He will return this Earth to the pristine state it was in before sin messed everything up.
And He will judge the Nations.
May God forgive us and enable us to do His righteousness in our Nation.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Friday, January 12, 2018
All Your Heart And All Your Soul
Deuteronomy 4: 29
But from [other lands] you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
God is waiting for us to want Him with all our reasoning capacity and all our emotions. No matter where we are in this whole World, even to the furthest corner of the World, God is there, waiting for us.
II Peter 3: 9 tells us that The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
This is why He hasn't returned yet, He's still waiting for everyone who will come to Him to turn around their thinking (repent) and realize that they deserve death, as the paycheck for their sins. And turn to Jesus as His death paid their debt, individually. There are still people He is waiting for, but He won't wait forever.
Habakkuk 2: 3 tells us that These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
God told Habakkuk that everything He had planned would take place, just as He determined it would. He determined when it would all take place, and He is never late.
He waited for the right time for Jesus to come the first time, (Romans 5: 6) You see, at just the right time, (when we were powerless) Christ died for the ungodly. This means that God waited for the perfect moment in history for Jesus to come, and to die for, in the place of, those of us who know we are living away from God and His ways, and deserve the death He died for each of us.
And when He returns to this Earth, then the time will be over for choosing Him to be our Savior. That's why God has given us all this time. It's been over 2000 years so far, and we don't know how many years He will tarry. But He has set the specific Day when Jesus will return, and it will not be late. It must be very soon, so please don't delay coming to Him in faith, and doing whatever you can to grow ever closer to Him as your Father, your Savior, your Redeemer, your Best Friend!
He will not tarry, don't you. Today is the Day of Salvation (II Cor 6:2). How will we escape if we neglect this Great Salvation? (Heb 2:3-4).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But from [other lands] you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
God is waiting for us to want Him with all our reasoning capacity and all our emotions. No matter where we are in this whole World, even to the furthest corner of the World, God is there, waiting for us.
II Peter 3: 9 tells us that The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
This is why He hasn't returned yet, He's still waiting for everyone who will come to Him to turn around their thinking (repent) and realize that they deserve death, as the paycheck for their sins. And turn to Jesus as His death paid their debt, individually. There are still people He is waiting for, but He won't wait forever.
Habakkuk 2: 3 tells us that These things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
God told Habakkuk that everything He had planned would take place, just as He determined it would. He determined when it would all take place, and He is never late.
He waited for the right time for Jesus to come the first time, (Romans 5: 6) You see, at just the right time, (when we were powerless) Christ died for the ungodly. This means that God waited for the perfect moment in history for Jesus to come, and to die for, in the place of, those of us who know we are living away from God and His ways, and deserve the death He died for each of us.
And when He returns to this Earth, then the time will be over for choosing Him to be our Savior. That's why God has given us all this time. It's been over 2000 years so far, and we don't know how many years He will tarry. But He has set the specific Day when Jesus will return, and it will not be late. It must be very soon, so please don't delay coming to Him in faith, and doing whatever you can to grow ever closer to Him as your Father, your Savior, your Redeemer, your Best Friend!
He will not tarry, don't you. Today is the Day of Salvation (II Cor 6:2). How will we escape if we neglect this Great Salvation? (Heb 2:3-4).
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Fire From The Lord
Leviticus 9: 24
Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
As soon as Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle for the first time, Then the Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting because the Cloud had settled upon it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34).
Then Moses ordained his brother Aaron and his sons to be the Priests of God. This was a very serious and important concept, to prepare and set aside this man and his sons for God's own ministry took a long and involved process to accomplish. (See Leviticus 8.)
Then Chapter 9 recounts how they began their priestly ministry, with the first sacrifices to be offered on the new altar.
When everything was prepared fully, Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting. We're not told how long they were in there, or what went on inside this Tent of Meeting, but When they came out again, they blessed the people; and the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
That's when the fire came out from before the Lord.... This is the fire that the altar was lit with, the Holy Fire of the Lord, that consumed everything that was being offered on the altar. This fire was to never be allowed to go out, but was to be continually kindled, night and day, for the Lord's sacrifices (Leviticus 6:12-13).
And all the people saw it, and they were so startled that they cried out and fell on their faces. It must have been really dramatic and even theatrical. Very impressive. No one can outdo our God Almighty!
May I also "fall on my face" when I behold His Magnificence!
Then the next thing that happened right away was that Aaron's two older sons, now newly ordained, took it upon themselves to offer some incense to the Lord, but didn't take into account that the fire that was acceptable to Him was His own Fire, and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His command. So Fire came out from the Presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when He said, 'Among those who approach Me I will show Myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent (Leviticus 10: 1-3).
We're not told when God said this to Moses and Aaron, maybe when they were in the Tent of Meeting before the Fire came out. But Aaron understood this much about God's holiness, and had nothing to say in defense of his sons. Now instead of four sons, he only had two left. His Order of Priesthood was just cut in half by number. But numbers are not important to God, faithfulness is.
O my Father, Thank You for showing me Your priorities. We tend to focus on all the wrong things. We think that our success in ministry means great numbers of followers. But You have shown over and over in Your Word that You don't need large numbers, or great people, or strong and worldly-wise workers; You are looking for the meek, the humble, the ones who know that they can do nothing without depending on You to do it in and through them.
Father, please help me to always remember this. Help me to continually lean on You, and depend on You to show me each time I think a thought, or say a word, or do a work. I can do nothing on my own, in my own flesh. Only in the power and ability of Your Holy Spirit in me am I able to do or say or even think anything that pleases You.
And I pray for my blog readers. May each one be precious to You, Father, and not take my words here, even though I strive for them to be Your words, I am still human, and am prone to err. May each reader search for him/herself, to look up the references in Your Word for themselves, and be confident in their own minds that this is what You are teaching them.
And if I have gotten anything the least bit off from Your Truth, Father, prompt them to let me know, so that I can also learn from them.
And may You draw each of us ever closer to You, Father, in Your lovingkindness and mercies.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Then fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.
As soon as Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle for the first time, Then the Cloud covered the Tent of Meeting because the Cloud had settled upon it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34).
Then Moses ordained his brother Aaron and his sons to be the Priests of God. This was a very serious and important concept, to prepare and set aside this man and his sons for God's own ministry took a long and involved process to accomplish. (See Leviticus 8.)
Then Chapter 9 recounts how they began their priestly ministry, with the first sacrifices to be offered on the new altar.
When everything was prepared fully, Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting. We're not told how long they were in there, or what went on inside this Tent of Meeting, but When they came out again, they blessed the people; and the Glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
That's when the fire came out from before the Lord.... This is the fire that the altar was lit with, the Holy Fire of the Lord, that consumed everything that was being offered on the altar. This fire was to never be allowed to go out, but was to be continually kindled, night and day, for the Lord's sacrifices (Leviticus 6:12-13).
And all the people saw it, and they were so startled that they cried out and fell on their faces. It must have been really dramatic and even theatrical. Very impressive. No one can outdo our God Almighty!
May I also "fall on my face" when I behold His Magnificence!
Then the next thing that happened right away was that Aaron's two older sons, now newly ordained, took it upon themselves to offer some incense to the Lord, but didn't take into account that the fire that was acceptable to Him was His own Fire, and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to His command. So Fire came out from the Presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when He said, 'Among those who approach Me I will show Myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent (Leviticus 10: 1-3).
We're not told when God said this to Moses and Aaron, maybe when they were in the Tent of Meeting before the Fire came out. But Aaron understood this much about God's holiness, and had nothing to say in defense of his sons. Now instead of four sons, he only had two left. His Order of Priesthood was just cut in half by number. But numbers are not important to God, faithfulness is.
O my Father, Thank You for showing me Your priorities. We tend to focus on all the wrong things. We think that our success in ministry means great numbers of followers. But You have shown over and over in Your Word that You don't need large numbers, or great people, or strong and worldly-wise workers; You are looking for the meek, the humble, the ones who know that they can do nothing without depending on You to do it in and through them.
Father, please help me to always remember this. Help me to continually lean on You, and depend on You to show me each time I think a thought, or say a word, or do a work. I can do nothing on my own, in my own flesh. Only in the power and ability of Your Holy Spirit in me am I able to do or say or even think anything that pleases You.
And I pray for my blog readers. May each one be precious to You, Father, and not take my words here, even though I strive for them to be Your words, I am still human, and am prone to err. May each reader search for him/herself, to look up the references in Your Word for themselves, and be confident in their own minds that this is what You are teaching them.
And if I have gotten anything the least bit off from Your Truth, Father, prompt them to let me know, so that I can also learn from them.
And may You draw each of us ever closer to You, Father, in Your lovingkindness and mercies.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
The Ten Commandments
Deuteronomy 4: 2
(V. 2) You shall not add to the Word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
God has given us everything we need to know in order to live our lives in a godly manner (II Timothy 3:16). Anything we would add to it would only distort it. And anything we would take away from it would leave an opening for wrong to fill the gap. Both has been done.
"The Jews," the Jewish leadership in Jesus' day, had added so much to God's Law that Jesus accused them of being "whitewashed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27) for adding to the Law all kinds of extra rules that would benefit themselves, at the expense of the people they were supposed to lead.
And the Christian church in the Middle Ages subtracted the Second Commandment by combining it with the First so they could introduce idolatry by putting statues in the church buildings to be prayed to instead of God. This and other atrocities ("doctrines of demons") precipitated the Reformation.
Let's see what these 10 Commandments are:
Deuteronomy 5: 6-21
[Since] I am the Lord your God . . .
(1st) You shall have no other gods before (or besides) Me.
(2nd) You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) in the form of anything (anywhere) . . .
(3rd) You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God (use for no purpose, like an expletive) . . .
(4th) Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy . . .
(5th) Honor your father and your mother . . .
(6th) You shall not murder.
(7th) You shall not commit adultery.
(8th) You shall not steal.
(9th) You shall not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor.
and,
(10) You shall not covet (anything that belongs to your neighbor).
We cannot "break" these laws, we only break ourselves over them when we disobey them.
I can give you many examples of how we are breaking our society over these Laws by disobeying the principles underlying them, but I'll only give one for each.
(1) We have priorities above or in addition to wanting to please God.
(2) There are statues in churches that the people are encouraged to pray to and light candles in front of, elevating these "saints" and "angels" into the position of God.
(3) People all over, and even children, say, "O my God!" when it means nothing because it is not meant to be taken as a serious oath.
(4) How many people work every day, not taking off a day each 7 in order to maintain their own good health and well-being or acknowledging God at all? Very common.
(5) People seem to have little respect for the elderly, instead devaluing them as past their ability to "contribute" to the society in which they live.
(6) What about all the pre-born babies that are discarded as being inconvenient, or not "perfect"?
(7) Many marriages are destroyed by disobeying this one.
(8) We say, "Let the buyer beware" and "Finders keepers, losers weepers" and consider anything not against the civil laws to be okay, not considering the morality of the "business proposition."
(9) How many stories have I heard about people being paid to say what the payer wants them to say?
(10) So much of the adultery and legal stealing is the result of disobeying this commandment to not covet. Very prevalent all over.
I am sure you can think of many more examples of how our societies all over the World are disregarding these principles of righteousness, this moral path that God designed this Creation to operate by. It is the cause of every problem we have, every injustice and cruelty that is perpetrated against vulnerable people everywhere.
Let us "be careful" to know, remember, and live according to these guidelines. We cannot "break" these laws any more than we can "break" the Law of gravity--we only break ourselves and destroy our societies over them.
O my Father, please help us: Help Your children in every family, every language, every tribe, every region, every society to follow Your path, even in the face of strong opposition. Protect Your children who are in the public eye as they proclaim Your righteousness: May all the weapons forged against them fail.
Strengthen us to be courageous and not fear the opposition as we live our lives according to Your good ways, the path You have set each of our feet upon. Help us, O Lord, to continue to know Your Word and Your ways; and to go forth into the World scattering, broadcasting, the seed of Your Gospel, Your Good News for all people everywhere. To release the captives, heal the broken, and rescue the perishing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(V. 2) You shall not add to the Word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it; that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.
God has given us everything we need to know in order to live our lives in a godly manner (II Timothy 3:16). Anything we would add to it would only distort it. And anything we would take away from it would leave an opening for wrong to fill the gap. Both has been done.
"The Jews," the Jewish leadership in Jesus' day, had added so much to God's Law that Jesus accused them of being "whitewashed sepulchres" (Matthew 23:27) for adding to the Law all kinds of extra rules that would benefit themselves, at the expense of the people they were supposed to lead.
And the Christian church in the Middle Ages subtracted the Second Commandment by combining it with the First so they could introduce idolatry by putting statues in the church buildings to be prayed to instead of God. This and other atrocities ("doctrines of demons") precipitated the Reformation.
Let's see what these 10 Commandments are:
Deuteronomy 5: 6-21
[Since] I am the Lord your God . . .
(1st) You shall have no other gods before (or besides) Me.
(2nd) You shall not make for yourself an idol (statue) in the form of anything (anywhere) . . .
(3rd) You shall not misuse the Name of the Lord your God (use for no purpose, like an expletive) . . .
(4th) Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy . . .
(5th) Honor your father and your mother . . .
(6th) You shall not murder.
(7th) You shall not commit adultery.
(8th) You shall not steal.
(9th) You shall not give false testimony (lie) against your neighbor.
and,
(10) You shall not covet (anything that belongs to your neighbor).
We cannot "break" these laws, we only break ourselves over them when we disobey them.
I can give you many examples of how we are breaking our society over these Laws by disobeying the principles underlying them, but I'll only give one for each.
(1) We have priorities above or in addition to wanting to please God.
(2) There are statues in churches that the people are encouraged to pray to and light candles in front of, elevating these "saints" and "angels" into the position of God.
(3) People all over, and even children, say, "O my God!" when it means nothing because it is not meant to be taken as a serious oath.
(4) How many people work every day, not taking off a day each 7 in order to maintain their own good health and well-being or acknowledging God at all? Very common.
(5) People seem to have little respect for the elderly, instead devaluing them as past their ability to "contribute" to the society in which they live.
(6) What about all the pre-born babies that are discarded as being inconvenient, or not "perfect"?
(7) Many marriages are destroyed by disobeying this one.
(8) We say, "Let the buyer beware" and "Finders keepers, losers weepers" and consider anything not against the civil laws to be okay, not considering the morality of the "business proposition."
(9) How many stories have I heard about people being paid to say what the payer wants them to say?
(10) So much of the adultery and legal stealing is the result of disobeying this commandment to not covet. Very prevalent all over.
I am sure you can think of many more examples of how our societies all over the World are disregarding these principles of righteousness, this moral path that God designed this Creation to operate by. It is the cause of every problem we have, every injustice and cruelty that is perpetrated against vulnerable people everywhere.
Let us "be careful" to know, remember, and live according to these guidelines. We cannot "break" these laws any more than we can "break" the Law of gravity--we only break ourselves and destroy our societies over them.
O my Father, please help us: Help Your children in every family, every language, every tribe, every region, every society to follow Your path, even in the face of strong opposition. Protect Your children who are in the public eye as they proclaim Your righteousness: May all the weapons forged against them fail.
Strengthen us to be courageous and not fear the opposition as we live our lives according to Your good ways, the path You have set each of our feet upon. Help us, O Lord, to continue to know Your Word and Your ways; and to go forth into the World scattering, broadcasting, the seed of Your Gospel, Your Good News for all people everywhere. To release the captives, heal the broken, and rescue the perishing.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
That It May Go Well With You
Deuteronomy 4
(Vs. 7 & 8) No other Nation has a god like God Who is near to be called upon, or has laws so just and righteous as this Law.
(Vs. 15 & 23) Watch yourselves, it will be easy to be enticed from this path and wander.
(V. 24) For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
When we understand how holy, how separate, God is from anything He created, and how powerful He is, and how dangerous He is to our persons, then we will have that reverential respect that is called "the fear of the Lord." And then we will also perceive how He will not "share His glory" with anything else, He will not permit any created thing to steal the worship only He deserves.
Jealousy is what we feel when we are about to lose something that is ours. Envy is coveting what belongs to another. A big difference. People tend to call envy, jealousy, not realizing what these words actually mean. God is precise in the words He had His writers use when recording His concepts.
(V. 40) You shall keep His statutes and His commands which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may live long on the Land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
When we understand how God's rules allow us to cooperate with how He made this World to work, then life will go more smoothly, and we'll know what is right to do about the troubles and problems that come up in life, and things will go well for us.
Since the principle underlying all these regulations is the foundation of Love, so when we love God and love our neighbor, we will be following all the statutes and commands and laws and rules He gave us.
To do this we need to know them, and appreciate how they work out, and implement them into the way we live our lives.
Then, "things will go well for us," and, "we will live a long time."
God will enjoy seeing us enjoying what He does in the workings of this life, just like any parent enjoys seeing their children enjoying their lives. And since He planned it, He will get the credit, the glory, that He deserves. It's a win-win.
O my Father, You are so good, so great, so wise, so understanding; You love us so much, to lay out for us everything we need to do to please You by obeying what You gave us to do, and we will get all the benefits! Thank you, Father, that You are God, and we are not. No other god, no other intelligence, no other thing, that is created by You is worthy to direct us, or tell us what to do; but will be wrong in some point, and deceptive in convincing us to do it.
Help me to "be careful" to understand and live according to the whole body of the Law and the Prophets that You have given us to learn from. Teach me how to love You, and how to love my neighbor as I love myself. Teach me what True Love looks like, so I will not be deceived by any other affection.
I want to "pay attention" to what You say, Father, and to how You love me. Then I will be living according to Your ways, not mine, and speaking Your words, not mine, from thinking Your thoughts, not mine.
Then You will be pleased to see me enjoying all Your good blessings in my life and in my family and in all my relationships. And You will get the credit, because that's how You planned it all out and designed it to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(Vs. 7 & 8) No other Nation has a god like God Who is near to be called upon, or has laws so just and righteous as this Law.
(Vs. 15 & 23) Watch yourselves, it will be easy to be enticed from this path and wander.
(V. 24) For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
When we understand how holy, how separate, God is from anything He created, and how powerful He is, and how dangerous He is to our persons, then we will have that reverential respect that is called "the fear of the Lord." And then we will also perceive how He will not "share His glory" with anything else, He will not permit any created thing to steal the worship only He deserves.
Jealousy is what we feel when we are about to lose something that is ours. Envy is coveting what belongs to another. A big difference. People tend to call envy, jealousy, not realizing what these words actually mean. God is precise in the words He had His writers use when recording His concepts.
(V. 40) You shall keep His statutes and His commands which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may live long on the Land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
When we understand how God's rules allow us to cooperate with how He made this World to work, then life will go more smoothly, and we'll know what is right to do about the troubles and problems that come up in life, and things will go well for us.
Since the principle underlying all these regulations is the foundation of Love, so when we love God and love our neighbor, we will be following all the statutes and commands and laws and rules He gave us.
To do this we need to know them, and appreciate how they work out, and implement them into the way we live our lives.
Then, "things will go well for us," and, "we will live a long time."
God will enjoy seeing us enjoying what He does in the workings of this life, just like any parent enjoys seeing their children enjoying their lives. And since He planned it, He will get the credit, the glory, that He deserves. It's a win-win.
O my Father, You are so good, so great, so wise, so understanding; You love us so much, to lay out for us everything we need to do to please You by obeying what You gave us to do, and we will get all the benefits! Thank you, Father, that You are God, and we are not. No other god, no other intelligence, no other thing, that is created by You is worthy to direct us, or tell us what to do; but will be wrong in some point, and deceptive in convincing us to do it.
Help me to "be careful" to understand and live according to the whole body of the Law and the Prophets that You have given us to learn from. Teach me how to love You, and how to love my neighbor as I love myself. Teach me what True Love looks like, so I will not be deceived by any other affection.
I want to "pay attention" to what You say, Father, and to how You love me. Then I will be living according to Your ways, not mine, and speaking Your words, not mine, from thinking Your thoughts, not mine.
Then You will be pleased to see me enjoying all Your good blessings in my life and in my family and in all my relationships. And You will get the credit, because that's how You planned it all out and designed it to work.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, January 8, 2018
Be Strong, Don't Fear
Deuteronomy 31: 7-8
Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel,
God was not going to let Moses be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses wanted to make sure that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd without him, and God told him to commission Joshua to lead them in his place.
So Moses gathered all the people together to witness this "passing of the baton" so they would know to listen to Joshua, and follow his lead. This was important.
So what did Moses say to him?
"Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the Land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
And the Lord is the One Who goes ahead of you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
We tend to fear what we don't understand. They knew that the people who were already in this land were strong Nations with fortified cities, and that little Israel would not be able to stand against them alone. This is very concerting. Without outside help, this little Semite Nation would be obliterated by these "giants" who already had this place. Very scary.
That's why Moses kept telling Joshua not to fear, because the same God Who defeated Egypt would be going ahead of them to also defeat these people for them. It is God Who is giving them this Land, and He will fight for them, if they would only follow God's leading through Joshua.
So Moses commissioned Joshua in the full sight of all Israel so there would be no doubt that he would be their commander.
Everything is being set up for success for the family of Jacob to inherit the property that God chose for them, and everybody can live "happily ever after."
But this is no fairy tale, and human beings still have that "sin-nature," the "original sin" that we all inherit from Adam, which makes us vulnerable to be deceived by all the baubles and bangles and shiny things of this world. All the ideas and mind-sets that put money or things in first place in our priorities. These are the false gods all around us that entice us away from God.
And all the beautiful women and handsome men of these peoples in the land were a very attractive enticement to these Children of Israel. That's why God told them not to pay any attention to them, but to keep their own God on the throne of their hearts. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, but did the people take to heart these warnings?
Do we take to heart these warnings? Our God does not change, and our enemy has never changed his tactics, either. Lucifer is still Satan, who entices each one of us with whatever would hook us into slavery to our own passions or desires or pleasures, looking for the "good life" this World offers. Instead of looking to God and learning His ways, the ways He designed this World to work on this Earth.
So often it looks like the easy way will turn out just as good as the more difficult thing that we know is right. But when we do that, things just don't end up like we thought. We were deceived. If only we would trust God enough to just believe that His way is the only good way, even in the face of extenuating circumstances, even when they look like they will be impossible to take; that's when He will go before us and defeat our enemies for us, so we can take that good "land" He has given us.
So, "Be strong and courageous; do not fear or be dismayed."
Always consider that the Maker of this whole Universe loves what He made, and enjoys seeing us enjoy what He does. So determine in your own heart to get to know this Creator, to trust Him to always do for us what is good for us, even when it seems painful at the moment. Understand that it will all turn out for your benefit, and for His glory in the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel,
God was not going to let Moses be the one to lead the people into the Promised Land. Moses wanted to make sure that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd without him, and God told him to commission Joshua to lead them in his place.
So Moses gathered all the people together to witness this "passing of the baton" so they would know to listen to Joshua, and follow his lead. This was important.
So what did Moses say to him?
"Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the Land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
And the Lord is the One Who goes ahead of you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."
We tend to fear what we don't understand. They knew that the people who were already in this land were strong Nations with fortified cities, and that little Israel would not be able to stand against them alone. This is very concerting. Without outside help, this little Semite Nation would be obliterated by these "giants" who already had this place. Very scary.
That's why Moses kept telling Joshua not to fear, because the same God Who defeated Egypt would be going ahead of them to also defeat these people for them. It is God Who is giving them this Land, and He will fight for them, if they would only follow God's leading through Joshua.
So Moses commissioned Joshua in the full sight of all Israel so there would be no doubt that he would be their commander.
Everything is being set up for success for the family of Jacob to inherit the property that God chose for them, and everybody can live "happily ever after."
But this is no fairy tale, and human beings still have that "sin-nature," the "original sin" that we all inherit from Adam, which makes us vulnerable to be deceived by all the baubles and bangles and shiny things of this world. All the ideas and mind-sets that put money or things in first place in our priorities. These are the false gods all around us that entice us away from God.
And all the beautiful women and handsome men of these peoples in the land were a very attractive enticement to these Children of Israel. That's why God told them not to pay any attention to them, but to keep their own God on the throne of their hearts. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, but did the people take to heart these warnings?
Do we take to heart these warnings? Our God does not change, and our enemy has never changed his tactics, either. Lucifer is still Satan, who entices each one of us with whatever would hook us into slavery to our own passions or desires or pleasures, looking for the "good life" this World offers. Instead of looking to God and learning His ways, the ways He designed this World to work on this Earth.
So often it looks like the easy way will turn out just as good as the more difficult thing that we know is right. But when we do that, things just don't end up like we thought. We were deceived. If only we would trust God enough to just believe that His way is the only good way, even in the face of extenuating circumstances, even when they look like they will be impossible to take; that's when He will go before us and defeat our enemies for us, so we can take that good "land" He has given us.
So, "Be strong and courageous; do not fear or be dismayed."
Always consider that the Maker of this whole Universe loves what He made, and enjoys seeing us enjoy what He does. So determine in your own heart to get to know this Creator, to trust Him to always do for us what is good for us, even when it seems painful at the moment. Understand that it will all turn out for your benefit, and for His glory in the end.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Don't Be Enslaved
Leviticus 26: 13
I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect, so you should not be their slaves.
God goes to every length to do everything He can (and only He can) to put His people into the most favorable position to choose to worship Him. That's how much He loves us.
His people Israel saw His great and wonderful power against all the gods that were worshiped in Egypt, then saw Him destroy the entire army in the Red Sea. They will never need to worry that Pharaoh will ever come after them again.
And He told them to demolish all the altars and shrines in this new land they will be going into, that God was giving them, and to be aware of their enticements, so they wouldn't be trapped by them. God doesn't want any of His people to be enslaved by anything, but to be free to do right and make the choices that will benefit them, to be for their own good. That's why God gave them all his rules, so that they would know what the best choices would be.
And when we pay attention to the bigger picture of how all this works out in our lives, then we can understand that God wants to bless us, to give us all the good things He has provided in this life, and to be with Him forever.
He likes us. He loves us. He wants to spend time with us. And He wants us to spend eternity with Him. Relationship is the center of His program for us, that's why all His Law is based on Love.
He is God, there is no other. And He is in relationship with Himself: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is Love (I John 4:16).
To know how to love Him, and to know how to love one another, we need to get to know Him, and get to know one another. You get to know someone by spending time with them, communicating with them, and being vulnerable to being known by them. That's how you form a connection.
People do this all the time, because we are made to be social beings. People have Best Friends, they fall in love and get married.
And God loves us already; He knows us intimately, and is in love with us passionately, as a newlywed husband is enamored with his new bride.
He called Israel His wife. And the Church today is the Bride of Christ. These terms were not thrown out there carelessly, but describe the precise relationship He wants us to want to have with Him.
That's why He's so adamant about any other altar, or shrine, or idea of anything being more important to us than Himself. Anything that comes between us and God is an idol, a false god that will trap us. And it is like adultery against our Husband. He is the only One Who is worthy of our attention and devotion. He alone is God.
And that's why I love to study His love-letter to me. No matter how deeply I delve into its mysteries, I feel that I've only barely scraped the surface.
God delivered me from the yoke of slavery to relationships when He showed me that His relationship with me was what I was really looking for. He is my espoused Husband, and I need no other.
Then God gave me my husband for 30 years, then He took him away. If He brings me another husband before Jesus returns, that would be a wonderful blessing to me.
But I refuse to be trapped into any kind of romantic relationship with anyone who may not be my Father's choice for me, so I have put a guard on my heart. I love to meet new people, and if God's choice for me comes across my path, then I will depend on my Father to make it known to me that this would be the one for me.
Meanwhile, I will continue to do what lies before me to accomplish, always looking to see what wonder my Father has in store for me "today." And looking for the return of my forever Husband, my Lord and my King.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, I broke the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect, so you should not be their slaves.
God goes to every length to do everything He can (and only He can) to put His people into the most favorable position to choose to worship Him. That's how much He loves us.
His people Israel saw His great and wonderful power against all the gods that were worshiped in Egypt, then saw Him destroy the entire army in the Red Sea. They will never need to worry that Pharaoh will ever come after them again.
And He told them to demolish all the altars and shrines in this new land they will be going into, that God was giving them, and to be aware of their enticements, so they wouldn't be trapped by them. God doesn't want any of His people to be enslaved by anything, but to be free to do right and make the choices that will benefit them, to be for their own good. That's why God gave them all his rules, so that they would know what the best choices would be.
And when we pay attention to the bigger picture of how all this works out in our lives, then we can understand that God wants to bless us, to give us all the good things He has provided in this life, and to be with Him forever.
He likes us. He loves us. He wants to spend time with us. And He wants us to spend eternity with Him. Relationship is the center of His program for us, that's why all His Law is based on Love.
He is God, there is no other. And He is in relationship with Himself: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He is Love (I John 4:16).
To know how to love Him, and to know how to love one another, we need to get to know Him, and get to know one another. You get to know someone by spending time with them, communicating with them, and being vulnerable to being known by them. That's how you form a connection.
People do this all the time, because we are made to be social beings. People have Best Friends, they fall in love and get married.
And God loves us already; He knows us intimately, and is in love with us passionately, as a newlywed husband is enamored with his new bride.
He called Israel His wife. And the Church today is the Bride of Christ. These terms were not thrown out there carelessly, but describe the precise relationship He wants us to want to have with Him.
That's why He's so adamant about any other altar, or shrine, or idea of anything being more important to us than Himself. Anything that comes between us and God is an idol, a false god that will trap us. And it is like adultery against our Husband. He is the only One Who is worthy of our attention and devotion. He alone is God.
And that's why I love to study His love-letter to me. No matter how deeply I delve into its mysteries, I feel that I've only barely scraped the surface.
God delivered me from the yoke of slavery to relationships when He showed me that His relationship with me was what I was really looking for. He is my espoused Husband, and I need no other.
Then God gave me my husband for 30 years, then He took him away. If He brings me another husband before Jesus returns, that would be a wonderful blessing to me.
But I refuse to be trapped into any kind of romantic relationship with anyone who may not be my Father's choice for me, so I have put a guard on my heart. I love to meet new people, and if God's choice for me comes across my path, then I will depend on my Father to make it known to me that this would be the one for me.
Meanwhile, I will continue to do what lies before me to accomplish, always looking to see what wonder my Father has in store for me "today." And looking for the return of my forever Husband, my Lord and my King.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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