Follow Directions (Num 20)

Have you ever let your anger get the better of you? If so, you are in good company. Moses, Peter, David all made choices from anger that misrepresented what God was up to. Unchecked anger tends to cloud our judgement and often keeps us from seeing what is going on around us from Gods perspective. Paul Quotes Psalm 4:4 and adds his own comments when he says...

“don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil. Ephesians 4:26-27

Moses had spent years pleading to and for the people of Israel. They had complained agains him constantly, rejected God's instruction, and disobeyed his direct commands. When they first begun their journey (Ex 17), God told him to strike the rock (a foretaste of what would happen to Christ for us). But now, back where they has started, God told him to speak to the rock (Num 20). It would seem like such a small difference, Moses only deviated a little. The story began the same... The people grumbled and Moses turned to God for the answer. But, Moses didn't listen for the answer to today's problem. 

When we let anger get the best of us we allow ourselves to become self-centered rather than God-centered. Even our most noble anger, when acted upon in a way that doesn't represent the big picture of the Kingdom of God, becomes about us. Moses paid a hefty price, he was no longer permitted to lead the people into the promise land. What might we miss out on when we let our actions misrepresent God in our anger.

May we be people who follow the direction of Jesus both when we are angry, and when we are at peace, so that the world may rightly see the character and love of God through us.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Wanting (Num 16)

Lately I've been thinking lately about coveting. Its the last on the list of the ten commandments and we rarely hear much about it. Its easy to talk about killing, and stealing at a distance, but desiring what another has hits us far closer to home. I think it was a friend and fellow pastor, Bill Dogterom, who once told me "The tenth commandment is the gateway to the other nine." Sadly, much of our culture has settled for desiring what another has as a motivation for work, social interactions, and general worldview.


We need simply to examen our own thought life throughout the course of a day to see how tempted we are to desire what another has. It may spring up at the good fortune of a friend, the stranger who races by in the fancy car, or the promotion of a colleague.  It may surface as a twinge we are only slightly aware of, a word of criticism, or a sarcastic remark. 


Such was the case with Korah and Moses. Korah saw Moses influence and authority as human oppression rather than divine provision. He saw Moses the leader, but did not stop to consider the eighty years of training that formed the man whom the scripture calls "the most humble man on the face of the earth." Korah didn't learn leadership and diplomacy over forty years as member of the Egyptian royal court, he didn't learn humility and faithfulness over forty more years as a shepherd in the wilderness, and he wasn't called by God to lead the people. He acted from his desire and became "insolent" stirring up rebellion among  hundreds of  community leaders. Had not Moses pleaded with God, it could have cost the people of Israel everything.


I can't help but wonder what Korah's future could have been like had he been patient. Maybe he would have learned from his time in the wilderness and formed a character that was ready to lead. It was not the "big commandments" that were his undoing, it was the last on the list. 


May we have the patience to examen our hearts, putting them before God moment by moment, that we may be humbled like Moses growing in the character to lead. 




   

Faith Takes Guts (Num 13-14)

A friend once said that faith is not about having the right answers, its about having guts. All throughout the scriptures we see examples of men and women given the opportunity to step out... Noah building a giant boat on dry land, or Moses telling a king what to do, Ruth leaving her homeland to live with the people of God, Rehab risking her life for foreign spies, and who could forget Peter stepping out of a boat onto the rough waters... etc, etc.  All of these people have one thing in common, guts. They didn't know for sure what was going to happen after they acted. There was no committee to study their issue and present a position paper. They simply were invited by God into a relational act of trust and they all obeyed. 


Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." Num 13:30


This week at my home congregation I am teaching on God and circumstance. Circumstances are funny things as we can either see them as opportunities or barriers. I hear Christians talking all the time about doors and windows opening and closing, but rarely do I hear people honestly talk about "the thing" they are called to do but are afraid to do it. I am convinced that God loves an underdog. I think its because in using ordinary people to do extraordinary things  the world can't explain away, though it may try, the miraculous God is up to. 


Caleb had just returned from forty days of exploring the promised land. He and Joshua saw past the giants and walled cities. They saw God's invitation and promise. Ten others, whose names we never seem to remember even though they are listed with Caleb and Joshua, grumbled at the circumstances and stirred up rebellion among the people such that all of Israel was kept from living in the land. A forty year sentence in the desert, one for every day of exploration.


The question is simple, which are you going to be? Will we see past the circumstances, face our  fear, and step out of the... desert, boat, car, position, home, etc? Or, will we grumble at the circumstances, deny our fear, and stay home? May you be blessed with guts to hear and obey.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Rebellion & Humility (Num 12)

Why is humility so hard for us to grasp? Martin Luther once said; "True humility does not know that it is humble. If it did, it would be proud from the contemplation of so fine a virtue." Another way I've heard is said; "The fastest way to cure a man of humility is to tell him he is humble." The Bible is full of humble people, but it says of Moses... 


"Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the Earth." Num 12:3


In the midst of his brother's and sister's grumblings he maintains a humble posture. Aaron and Mariam were jealous of their brother and began to undermine his authority. God struck Miriam with leprosy in anger and Moses pleaded for his Sister, who moments before had been attacking him. Moses continually did the same for the entire people of Israel despite there constant state of rebellion. 


We are wired for rebellion. It is in our nature to be self-centered, we need only read the daily news to see the evidence. Yet, there are gleaming flickers of other-centeredness. Sometimes they come from followers of Jesus, sometimes not. The scriptures teach that all humanity was made in God's image, that we all bear the signature of our maker. By choosing to learn of good from evil through disobedience rather than obedience we became defined by rebellion. While our rebellion has marred that signature, there are still flickers of love and kindness, traces of our makers intent.   


Jesus came not to simply "clear our name," changing our circumstances as Moses did for Miriam. This would be simply a first order change, a shift in the external. God's desire for us is that of a second order change, an change in our very nature. Jesus came to put our rebellious self to death, raising up a new self born in humility (John 3). I can't remember where I heard it, but may favorite definition of humility goes something like this... Humility is seeing God for who he is, and seeing our selves in light of that fact. 


The fact that God ascribes to us unsurpassable worth, calls us to do the same for others (Philippians 2). May we invite Christ to put rebellion to death and become truly other-centered today and everyday.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen 

Traveling Light (Num 7-11)

Did I ever tell you that I'm a traveller? When I was younger, I travelled a great deal. While many of my friends spent their money on cars and electronics, I was off to see the world. To be honest, part of me was Jealous when friends would buy new cars or when one of my best friends, Ike, bought his first condo.  All I had to show for my early twenties were stamped pages on a passport, and a  few photographs from far off lands. As time passed and friends finished college and "settled down" I felt this nagging feeling I was falling behind. I didn't have an asset to my name, save a beat up old 85 GMC Jimmy that my friend George lovingly called Big Red as he repeatedly brought her back to life with parts from his dealership.  


What I didn't notice at the time, but have since some to value, is that many of my friends in their "settling down" were taking on loads that weighed them down. In some cases the stresses of material life prevented them from emotionally and spiritually growing past the limits of their  possessions, or the pursuit there of. I also noticed that my memories of trips with friends have far outweighed the memory of any new car... I'd imagine since I've never had a truly new car. But, I do remember the little Opal rental car in Spain that my friend Tim couldn't drive because he is to tall and had to sit with passenger seat all the way back so it was touching the back seat. Or perhaps the rickety  safari van that blew three tires in two days as Glen, a second chance dad in my life, and I traveled the Serengeti plain. These memories are part of a treasure of experiences that has made me who I am. It has been a great journey, with great people that God has brought into my life.


The most valuable lesson I learned in that season was to travel light. First, in a literal sense, do you know how much time and worry you save when you fly with a backpack rather than a suitcase? The less you carry to easier it is to get up and go... anywhere. Sometimes, I think we "put down roots" near the wrong wells. A bad relationship, a mortgage we can't afford, a vocation that doesn't suit us... all because of this roaring voice that says "you don't have enough! You are falling behind! your future isn't secure!" Maybe its because we act before our character has formed enough to know the good wells from the bad, or maybe we out-grow the range of possibilities we set for  in our youth. Maybe this was the problem with the rich young ruler Jesus invited to sell his earthly possessions. Jesus knew he was so tied by them that he could never live freely. He says in another place...


"those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples."
Luke 14:33


In Greek the literal wording goes something like this... "Those of your who do not give up you claim to everything that you have come underneath to hold up, will not have the ability to learn from me." What are we holding up? Can you feel the weight of it? What keeps us so occupied that we loose the ability to rest or listen to God. 


I'd like to say that I intentionally traveled light but I have never been that thoughtful. In fact, some of my most painful mistakes I made came from times I tried to "catch up" with my friends.  But that wasn't the right plan for me, it didn't fit what God was working into my life. He has crafted a character from both positive and negative to uniquely fit me. As I reflect now, I believe God knew, and knows, exactly what I need to learn the postures of gratitude and obedience needed to listen to his voice. 


In Numbers 11 God leads his people with a cloud that rests over the tabernacle, a fancy word for the meeting tent where God met with man. When the cloud moved, the people moved. Sometimes it stayed for a single day, and sometimes it stayed for a year. They never knew when it would move. They would have to always be ready to break camp and follow. I am convinced that God did this in order to teach his people to travel light. The key is in the not knowing what is next. They had to learn trust from following, as do we. 


Daily following does not mean that we don't put down roots, It simply means that we put down roots in wells that giver life and won't hold us back in following God. It means that we are constantly ready to give up claim to everything, realizing that everything is God's and we will take the most joy from it when we are using "our possessions" how he would have us use them. Are we able to follow the cloud in our lives? My memories of Opals and safari vans, My relationships with Tim and Glen will go with me when I leave this life. Big Red will not.... at least I hope not, I sure don't want to drive a red 85 GMC Jimmy in heaven. May we all learn to travel light.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

In The Desert (Num 1-6)

Ok, I’ve been avoiding the book of Numbers. It isn’t that I think its boring or dull as others have suggested, rather I find Numbers a challenging book to write on. It seems to me that among its pages we find our own story, the story of the human condition full of stumbles and strife. After some careful consideration and prayerful reading and rereading I am ready to jump in with a few thoughts.

       First, we get the name Numbers from the Numbering of the Israelites in the first chapters of the book. The numbering and layout of the camp is the same as military camps of that day. Even from the beginning of the book, we see that the path to the promise land is not going to be an easy road, but one filled with battles. That hasn’t changed for us here and now, the path of faith is full of battles. The scriptures teach us..

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

I prefer the Hebrew name for the book of Numbers, Bemidbar or “In the desert”. Have you ever found yourself in a spiritual desert? Dry, wondering if God was there, or if he liked you? Even though he had just done amazing things on behalf of the Israelites, they seem to immediately forget and sink back into fear. The same is true of you and I as well, its part of the human condition. We forget… wait what was I talking about?

       Recently, the past three years or so, I’ve taken up the discipline of writing down the stories of what God has been up to in my life. Not for some amazing memoir or anything like that, but simply to keep me from forgetting or trying to explain away what he has done. For example, I’d forget that the first rain of the season came on the day that Gabriel was born, and again the day that Neriyah was born, reminding me that they are a gift and despite the difficulty of their births God was with us. I’d forget how God brought the first mission partners of what would become Radiant Church, to Westminster Lutheran Church of Hope as I was preaching my last sermon. I could go on and on.

I have learned that drinking deeply from the wells of these experiences carry me through the dry desert seasons of life. Numbers is a story of the desert and how forgetful and fickle we are. Will we choose to remember what God has done on our behalf, what God has used us to do in the lives of others, and how he is speaking to us today, so that tomorrow we will have what it takes to walk through the desert? May you be blessed today with a long memory of blessing.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

Holy (Lev 16-27)

What does it mean to be holy? When I think of the word I imagine stained glass, candles, and old books with pages that smell of dry paper and dust. I can smell the oil Crystal, my favorite of the old guard alter guild ladies from the church of my youth, used to clean the railings. I remember the fear she placed in me that the sanctuary was holy and there was to be no horsing around therein. Even when she was threatening my life, there was a kind wink that would inevitably ease my fears just enough to know she cared deeply for me and was trying to teach me something special.


As I read the scriptures I see both similarity and drastic difference in holiness. Over again God says in Leviticus, "be holy for I am holy." In jewish culture and language it simply means separate. "Be set apart from everyone, everything else. Much like Crystal tried to teach me that the Church building was to be separate, different from ordinary space. This is the similarity. Holiness means different.


But what should be holy? Is it a tabernacle? A special sacrifice? A building, or a railing, a special garment or cloth? Are these items holy because there is something special about them or do they become holy because we separate them? What was God trying to teach us? Or maybe he is still teaching us the same lesson... 
"Be holy because I am holy."


Just as holy as the sacred space is the dirty, smelly sheep that lives in the lower room of the family home.  The holy invades the ordinary as a reminder that it isn't about the stuff, but about you and I. We are what is holy. This is way Romans 12 reminds us that we are to live life as a living sacrifice to God and 1 Peter reminds us that we are Gods House of living stones. 
"Be holy for I am holy"   


The people of the bible, much like us, often forgot that what God was trying to teach them in a pattern of living was not about the rules in particular, but the lesson that to be holy, set apart, is to live in such a way that the nations around them would see God through them and come to worship him. The Jewish Law has more accommodations and inclusions for welcoming the foreigner than any other of its time. It has more accommodations for caring for the poor  and preventing injustice than any other I have read. This is what it means to be holy.... 

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40


How are we living differently than the world around us so that they, as we live among them, see God in the way we live and love? May you be holy as God is holy.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Sacred vs Secular (Lev 8-15)

Were Holy and Worldly meant to be separate? As I reflect on my personal piety it seems I place this divide between the sacred and the secular. I frame my world into two distinct categories... my quiet time is sacred, but listening to world events on the news is secular. My morning and evening prayers are sacred, but going for a run or letting Jillian Michael's punish me on the video screen is secular.  You get the picture. I would venture to guess, your daily experience is similar to mine, and as it is with my own experience... every once in a while, the sacred breaks into the secular life. Something bursts in and disrupts our regular pattern. You are struck by warmth in the greeting of the cashier at McDonald's, or your child embraces you and says "I love you," or you think about something normal in a new way. All these pull back the curtain just a little and remind us that there is a whole lot more going on in the world than we are aware of. What if our lives were never meant to be so fragmented?

In reading Leviticus I am struck by the level of detail in God's instruction for both the "sacred" ordination of priests, and the "secular" care of regular household items. It would seem that laws to protect people for the spread of disease are placed right next to those that govern the worship life of Israel. It strikes me that God was training his people to live an integrated life. Everything is spiritual. While we have come a long way in understanding hygiene and basic health, we seem to have lost the sense that how we interact with everything and everyone has a drastic effect on our relationship with God and our representation of him to the world around us.

Over the past year,  one of our Mission Partners at Radiant has been reaching out to a Jewish family, Steven and Robyn, that lives across the street. Steven was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic  cancer, one of the worst you can have. Lenny, our Mission Partner, took them one of the stained glass angels we give to those in need of prayer. They were so touched by our prayers that they came to thank us. In an effort to make them feel comfortable among us, I prayed in Hebrew on the Sunday's they visited. They remarked at the sense of reverence I had for our roots in Judaism. Over time, they have come to Radiant periodically for prayer, and with each visit the news got better and better. A few weeks ago they came again with news that his cancer numbers had reached remarkably low numbers and they were going to do a surgery that only one in ten thousand with his type and severity of cancer ever get to. They asked me to come and pray for them at the hospital before his surgery. Again, I prayed a simple Hebrew prayer of healing over him and asked God to heal him in the name of Jesus, who fulfilled the Passover, which was to take place two days after the surgery. As far as I know the cancer is gone and the doctors have called his case a miracle. Robyn left me a messages saying that she knew the prayers of Radiant Church made a difference. 

What if God has wanted us to see the sacred in the secular all along? Steven and Robyn are experiencing an in-breaking of the sacred because Lenny was bold enough to invite them for prayer. I am convinced that scriptures teach us about a God who would have us see every circumstance, every interaction, and every opportunity with eyes and hearts tuned into the sacred. God is inviting us to frame the two together, secular and sacred, in such a way that people see the ministry of God in the authority and name of Jesus through our prayers, words, and deeds. May you break free from a fragmented life today and enjoy what God has in store for you.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen  

Reading Plan:

May 3rd – Leviticus 1-4

May 4th – Leviticus 5-7

May 5th – Leviticus 8-10

May 6th – Leviticus 11-13

May 7th – Leviticus 14-15

May 8th – Worship

May 9th – Leviticus 16-18

May 10th – Leviticus 19-21

May 11th – Leviticus 22-23

May 12th – Leviticus 24-25

May 13th – Leviticus 26-27

May 14th – Day off for prayer

Priests & Portions (Lev 5-7)

Its time for my first evaluation as pastor of Radiant Church and I've been reflecting a great deal on what a pastor does. In my evaluation tool there are questions about my leadership, communication, accountability, etc etc... But the ones I am most interested in are those of a more personal nature; "have you personally felt cared for by pastor Jeremey? How?" "How has pastor Jeremey challenged you in your faith journey?" These are the questions that drive me to do a better job because they are deeply relational. While I share skill sets with many other vocations, it is the heart of my vocation to push beyond the content and into the dynamic of living life with people. Further, my vocation calls me to equip those who are part of the community I serve to do the same. In fact, the best evaluation would be to give those same questions to people in the lives of Radiants (My friend and Vision Team member, Chris, calls our Mission Partners... Radiants). "Have you felt cared for by Chris? How?" "How has Chris challenged you to grow in your faith journey?" 

I wonder what it was like for the priests in the Old Testament? Were they able to be pastoral at all? As I read I notice that there are a ton of rules and regulations for preparing, and making sacrifice. Even more rules are devoted to what the priests get to use or keep. It seems there was a sacrifice for every occasion and sin. This means that, over and above the required tithe (means tenth) of giving to God, a given person would have to make any number of sacrifices throughout the year. A particularly sinful person may end up racking up a small fortune of penalties... Wait, this is sounding more and more like our tax system by the minute. Exhibit A extremely complicated requiring a special class of people to interpret; Exhibit B just when you think you are in the clear you discover you owe even more; Exhibit C it feels like you payments go up in smoke (I couldn't help myself on that one). 

In all seriousness the priests must have spent so much time in the sacrificial system, that they were not able to really care for the people or teach them well. when Jesus called us all to be priests, what Martin Luther called the "Priesthood of all Believers," he tore down the curtain that kept us from coming directly to God...

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
Matthew 27: 50-51 


While much of popular culture views a pastor as a priest, we are not. Many ask me to pray for them each day, often joking that I somehow have a direct line, a batphone to God. As a pastor, my vocation is to train the priesthood of all believers to love one another and reach out to those who don't know that God has torn down every barrier between himself and them. 


Each person who puts their full weight on Jesus is a priest and shares in the portion of his sacrifice. That is why Jesus, when acting as a servant and washing the feet of his disciples, says to Peter "unless I wash you you have no portion with me" (John 13). May we seek to serve the world as priests of Jesus and those who share in the portion of his inheritance. 


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Ruts (Lev 1-4)

Okay, so I've been in a rut and haven't posted in some time. Now before you say "what, the pastor hasn't been doing his devotions?" let me say that pastors are just like everybody else.  Pastors get into ruts all time. Sometimes its preaching, or leadership, or taking time with their family... In my recent experience the perfect storm of the family flu, Easter, and followup from Easter have taken their toll on my posts. Well, its time to dust myself off and get back into a healthy flow of life. I went for my prayer run this morning, which largely consists of me praying that I survive my prayer run as a gasp for each breath, and I am ready to face a new season.


We are starting Leviticus today. I know what you are thinking.... oh no not the boring laws... there is part of me that response the same way. But from these laws we see Jesus, the need for his death and resurrection, and we gain a deeper understanding how our faith is related to the Jewish faith of those who came before us. Leviticus (of the Levites in Greek) or Wayiqra (and YHWH [God's name] called in Hebrew) is the third book of the Torah (also called Pentateuch) and was most likely written in its final form in the 6-5 century BCE, right about the time that God's people were going into captivity in Babylon. In it we find guidelines on living as the holy people of God, given to the people do frame their relationship with God.  It is largely case law on the first three of the ten Commandments in Exodus 20. In other words, this book is designed to help people be mindful of God in all aspects of life and live in such a way that the cultures around them know that they are different.


Being a father has really helped me understand how God parented his people Israel at this time, and how he parents us as well. My son Gabriel needs a clear set of structures... If he does A, then B will happen. If I don't follow through on B, then there is a whole host of other capital letters conspiring in his little mind to emerge. One need only spend time with any toddler to know that, at the core, humanity is sinful and disobedient. Groups of people grow in similar ways to children. Israel was an infant nation needing clear guidelines on how to live.  God had claimed this people and made it abundantly clear to the world through the Exodus that this rag-tag group of nomads was his. His adopted infant needed to learn what it meant to represent him in the world. This was his plan all along, that this people would be the line through which God would bring the whole world into the orbit of his love through Jesus. 


In Leviticus 1-4 we are introduced to the official sacrificial code. Burnt offerings and grain offerings, fellowship offerings and sin offerings, all sorts of offerings for people to maintain their covenant relationship with God. The bottom line is this. Jesus fulfills all of these in such a way that they never need to be repeated. This system was intended to remind the people of their sinfulness and the need for God's grace and mercy to forgive their sin. The sacrifice of the animal represented an economic reminder that disobedience is costly. As they laid their hands upon the head of an animal and slaughtered it, they were also reminded that they justly deserve death for their wrongdoing. Hebrews 10 is a helpful tool in understanding Jesus role as the ultimate sacrifice...


"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."     
Hebrews 10:1-4


God still wants us, as his adopted children to look different from the world around us. That is done differently today than it was thousands of years ago. There are times in our life when we need the clear instruction to keep us looking different from the world around us. In Jesus we are feed to live past the minimum requirements. We are freed to love God, and our neighbor not by the compulsion of rules, but because of gratitude for the sacrifice made once and for all on our behalf. In this way, it is time for us to grow-up in grace and live outwardly the calling of the Gospel to share God's love with those around us.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen


   

Give Yourself Away (Ex 36-38)

Has God ever surprised you with abundance? No, I'm not a "prosperity gospel preacher." When I say abundance I'm not talking about money but a wide range of things. Maybe it is 

friendship, or love in your family, or an opportunity to do something you have always dreamed, or a lesson learned... etc. I'm reminded of one of my favorite stories, the Giving Tree. 

God is always doing things abundantly. That is exactly what Jesus said about his mission on earth... "I come to bring life abundantly" John 10:10. God wants to give you life abundantly.... but what on earth does that mean?

I am convinced that the scriptures paint a picture of God as one who is the ultimate giver of good gifts. As a follower of Jesus, the ultimate gift and the ultimate giver, I am called to go from being a taker to a giver. I cannot stress this enough, God wants to give us so much life that we spend the rest of our lives giving ourselves away! 

Consider this passage from Exodus...

They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing and said to Moses, “The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done.”

 Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Exodus 36:3-7

The people had just been disciplined for using their gold to make idols of false gods, the golden calf. Once that correction sinks in they are given the task of building the tabernacle, a representation of heaven's throne room on earth. God had not left them... He moved forward with his plan to live among his people, a plan fulfilled completely in Jesus (John 1). Now the people begin to give... and give... and give until there is an abundance of gold, silver, and fine cloth.


I see two important things for you and I in this passage. First, when God gives abundantly he often times uses his people to do so. It was the people that kept giving and giving beyond what was required. Think of a time in your life when you have experienced some sort of abundance. How did it come about? As I reflect on my life, it has always been through others God has used. My mother who took on my first college loan to free me for my masters, my friend Tim who took me on trip to Spain, my wife who calls me out to be the best version of myself, our friends the Wagners who faithfully prayed for the miracles we experienced with the births of our children, the leadership of the congregation I now serve who care for my family... all of these are examples of God using people to bring about some sort of abundance. What are yours?


Secondly, I've noticed that God tends to use places of deep wounding or failure to become our greatest opportunities to give. The Israelites has misused their gold and silver and yet it was these very materials that became the content of their generosity. In my own life God took me from almost dropping out of college because of self-worth issues, and made me into a teacher of the Word. God used faithful mentors and second-chance-dads like Glen Carlson, Joe Johnson, and others in my life to pick me up and empower me to serve. What are the wounds or failures in your life that God is just waiting to redeem? Maybe you are ready now, or maybe its a few years, and for me a ton of therapy, down the road. 

I read The Giving Tree to my son sometimes at bedtime. Now as an adult, I see it much differently. For a long time I wondered why the boy didn't give back? I realized that the boy never learned to give himself away and no matter how much the tree gave it was never abundant enough to fill the gaping whole in his soul... That is hard to explain to a three year old by the way. 

God's giving is much different that that of the giving tree. 

God W

ants to give you life abundantly! Thats what he does. He wants to give you so much that you spend the rest of your life giving yourself away. May you be blessed today with reminders of God's abundant giving in your life.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Reading Plan:

April 8th - Leviticus 1-4

April 9th - Leviticus 5-7

Second Chances (Ex 32-35)

God loves to give second chances... Real relationship is built on second chances. Fathers and sons,  daughters and mothers-in-law, husbands and wives, you and God... every relationship we have is based on second, third and four chances. A relationship isn't ever really tested until someone fails. There is a reason they call the first days, weeks, or months the "Honeymoon Phase"... I guess the timing just depends upon how fast we are likely to mess things up.


Michelle and I have learned to live life in the second chance. We miss things all the time. Sometimes its the opportunity to clean the house before the other has a big day, or simply forgetting to ask "how was your day?" at the end of a long week. One time I forgot to mail out a whole stack of thank-you cards Michelle had spent hour working on. Life without second chances would be miserable and lonely. Think about the last time someone close hurt you. What happened? Did you "kiss and make-up?" Is there still hurt feelings?


My knee-jerk internal reaction to hurt has always been to say to myself... "Fine, that's it, I'm outa here." The funny thing is, I don't act that way, its not the type of person I am. Maybe its God's Grace. Maybe its because I married up and my wife is such a better person than I that she always calls me back to relationship, reminding me that the person who hurt me simply hit a raw nerve in my soul that is afraid of rejection. I think a big part of it is rooted in the fact that I have been on the receiving end of countless second chances. When was the last time you received a second chance? What happened? How did you respond?


It is interesting to me that the first thing Israel did when Moses was gone a little to long on the mountain with God, was to make new gods for themselves and party like it was 1999 (outdated prince song reference). And what did Aaron do? He wimped out and helped them do it. Moses broke the stone tablets God had written on in anger. But, Just when God was about to wipe out the people and start over, Moses steps up and toke the bullet. He invited God to consider his own character and calm his wrath. I bet that made God proud, I can just see God saying "way to go Moses, you are starting to understand what I want to do here." 


Just like a child experiences consequences when a parent catches him running into the street, Israel felt the consequences of worshiping other gods. Ultimately, God spared them and exercised a great deal of patience with them because... God loves to give second chances. The tablets a a perfect example... This time God didn't do the writing for them, they had to do it themselves. In the middle of this scene Moses asked God... "Now show me your Glory."  God, consented with the condition that Moses would only see the rough equivalent to his back side, since even the sight of his full face would destroy Moses. As he passed by God covered moses to protect him and proclaimed his name. The interesting part is what he said...  


“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7


While God doesn't erase the consequences for our mistakes, he loves to give us second chances when we turn back to him. Do you need a second chance? Is there someone in your life that could use a second chance from you? May God bless you with his love of second chances.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Instruction (Ex 19-31)

I love Ikea furniture. I could spend the entire day walking through Ikea, not to mention eating at their cafe and partaking in a cinnamon bun from their food stand on the way out the door. I stroll through the showroom looking for the perfect item to fill that corner or hold my books as my son, Gabriel, searches for the kid's play stations. To him, these beautiful multicolored kiosks of delight, look like rocket ships representing brief moments of joy that break up the hours of boredom caused by his father's addiction. My pattern always takes me to the used section of discounted floor models, hastily put together late at night by exhausted staff members who hate the very process I have come to love... Putting together Ikea furniture. There, I'm looking for the best deal or maybe just a few parts I can fashion into a new something or other. Once finished, I load in boxes into, or onto, the family Ford Freestyle (a minivan for those of us in denial about minivans and want to still claim to drive an SUV) and drive home for my favorite part... some assembly required.


My problem is this, I pride myself on completing my project without the use of instructions. I sit down to my task with tools in hand, usually power tools which for Ikea furniture is total overkill but makes me feel manly, and begin putting tab "a" into slot "b". With the simple projects, I am usually fine, but I remember one evening having to take apart and rebuild my new bookcase because I had put it together backwards the first time. 
  

If you think I have a problem following directions, wait until you read the history of Israel. Exodus 20-31 represents the first major set of instructions God gave to the his people. The Hebrew word for the first five books of the bible is Torah which, though it can be translated as Law, it can more rightly be read as "instruction" as God was instructing them on life. Here you have the usual commands life; “pierce a hole in the ear of a slave who loves you and wants to stay with you” along with the not so usual, “place the blood of the sacrifice on the right ear, thumb and big toe of the priest.”  Okay, so maybe most of them seem unusual to us. 

In this section there are 4 chapters devoted to instructions about life in general and 6 chapters about how the people are to worship God. Why is this? God wants his people to undertand that he is the most important person for them to follow. In the tabernacle God is bringing the throne room of heaven down to earth so that the people know that he is with them. It has to be special, it has to be sacred, or the people would quickly turn to other objects of worship. How can we make worshiping God more sacred in our lives? Committing to worship daily, weekly, hours of prayer, moments of solitude... these are all ways to remember that God is sacred. 

On another track, there are 613 laws in the Old Testament. Many of these laws develop and repeat through Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, narrowing the number down a bit. When you begin to read these laws in detail, you will notice that each of them can be drawn back to the 10 commandments in some way. For instance, there is a law that you must put a railing around your roof to prevent someone from falling off... or to prevent you from accidentally violating the 5th commandment and killing someone.  Essentially we are reading case law, how the ten play out in the biblical culture. Memorizing 10 is a lot more appealing than  613, don't you think? Jesus takes a step further  in giving us what has come to be called the Great Commandment (Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28, Matt 7:12, 19:19, & 22:34-40), where he boils the 10 down to 2. Each of these teach in one form or another that we are to Love God, and Love our Neighbor.  Now that is much simpler... I might even remember those. 

What if, in any given situation we could pause and ask. How am loving God in this situation? How am I loving my neighbor?  What if remembering God's holiness is simply living out of those two questions?

May God bless us with the ability to follow his instruction... simply loving him, and loving our neighbors today.

In Jesus' Name,

Amen

Mr. Grumble (Ex 16-18)

I have to confess that I am Mr Grumble. Just about every chance I get, it seems I'm grumbling about something. Not so much a quarreler, but definitely a grumbler, most of the time under just my breath. If it isn't that there isn't enough food in the house, its that there isn't the right kind of food. Or, maybe its because I want to watch the latest episode of V (yep, I'm that guy) and Michelle is busy watching the Nate Berkus show. Sometimes, I think I grumble for no reason at all, but other times... I have, at least in my own opinion, a darn good reason. 

We all grumble... its just part of the human condition. I think its deeply connected to our sense of time. We were made to live in the present, each moment, each breath is a gift. But, how often do we live in the past? Or, maybe we spend so much time stewing over the future that we miss what God is doing right in front of us. Our problem is we forget. We forget what God has done for us, or we try to explain it away. That erodes our ability to be grateful. Our capacity to live in gratitude is deeply connected to our ability to live in wholeness. 

We all quarrel too. For some it may be the passive aggressive sarcastic remark that waits just under our tongue. For others of us it may be the eruption waiting to unleash on those closest to us or maybe even those who serve us like waiters or checkers at the grocery store. Complaint is a language of our culture.

All of this, I believe, is rooted in our uncanny ability to block out memories that lead to gratitude while amplifying our memories that lead to complaint. I heard once that bad news travels ten times faster than good news. For example, my internet home page is cnn.com and the headline news is almost always bad. Today, on the very bottom of the page was a brief article about Bruno Serato of the White House Restaurant in Anaheim. There he feeds over 200 hotel children each day. A ray of good news in a spectrum of bad. 

So, I decided to pause in from my grumbling... I emailed the info address at Bruno's restaurant and asked how our church could help. He responded personally within the hour from  Italy where he is being interviewed for TV about his work here. We will get together when he returns in April. Its amazing what a ray of good news and a choice to embrace an opportunity can do.  I realized in the process what a great deal of grumbling I have been doing lately, grumbling that has been keeping me from what God wants me to be up to, like helping Bruno or connecting people with Liveten24 in Niger. 

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

Exodus 17:3-4

When I read the scriptures, I realize that I am in good company... All may favorite bible characters were cowards and complainers. The entire people of Israel had just witnessed the most drastic jailbreak in the history of the universe! Set free, given wealth beyond belief, having walked through the Sea of Reeds (Sorry it wasn't the Red Sea, bad translation) and what is the first thing they do? Grumble and quarrel with Moses and God about their conditions! Moses even named the place where they rested Massah and Meribah... grumble and quarrel! What a short memory the people had. But don't we do the same thing? 

I am prompted to think about my family, and the all the miraculous things God did in bringing our children into the world, and preserving Michelle when she could have died. Or about how God brought me to my church and built something amazing out of nothing. And what is the first thing I do when I'm hit with a big tax bill, and a lean bank account?... grumble and quarrel. "Oh LORD why have you brought us out here to starve?" God brought us this far, shouldn't I trust him to cover any need? (Disclaimer: we are still responsible for good planning and faithful stewardship) It took the generosity of a good friend, who gifted us a tithe of our bill, to remind me that God is not worried and I shouldn't be grumbling. The test for us is always one of memory; will we remember and rely upon a history of God's faithful provision, or will we grumble and quarrel in a world of negativity. 

What opportunity is waiting for you today? What good in the world is calling you out of grumbling and quarreling? May Jesus' love be radiant in and through your life.

In Jesus' Name

Amen

A Lot With A Little (Ex 10-15)

"I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.”
Exodus 14:4


All throughout the scriptures God seems to be doing a great deal with little means. If he isn't multiplying the oil of a widow (2 Kings 4), he is feeding 5000 with a young boys lunch (John 6, Matt 14, Luke 9, Mark 6). He does the same thing with people. From an old man with no hope of a future he builds a great nation (Gen 12). From a jewish school drop-out, working the family fishing business he makes a great leader of the Church (Peter in Acts 10-11, 15). God loves to do a lot with a little. Moses had just enough faith to say yes when God called, though he threw every excuse in the book at him, and the people of Israel were freed.


God isn't limited to positive examples in this multiplication table. God can also do a great deal with a little self-centerdness. I have been troubled by the amount of times Exodus 4-15 mentions that God was hardening Pharaoh's heart. This has been an age-old question and harsh debate which I doubt will be settled with a modest daily devotional, far greater minds than my own have tried and failed.
Now the regular argument goes something like this...


Problem: If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, doesn't that mean pharaoh had no free will?
but #1: "yeah but, it also says Pharaoh's heart was hardened.. and that pharaoh hardened his own heard too." Drop a little 1 Samuel 6 in the mix.
Response:  "Don't skirt this issue, it says several times, even from God's own mouth, that he hardened pharaoh's heart." Throw Romans 9 on the table as a trump card.
...and so on and so forth until everyone is angry and confused. 


As I see it, this is just one more example of God doing a lot with a little. To do so, we have to go back to the language this part of the bible was written in. In Exodus 4:21 God says for the first time that he will "harden" Pharaoh's heart. This word in Hebrew, Chazaq, carries many meanings most coming back to some form of "rootedness or strengthening". In other words God is saying, quite literally, that he will strengthen Pharaoh's resolve. This is God doing a lot with a little. The resolve of man caves quickly, but when God has a point to make for all of history, he reenforces that preexisting resolve to meet its end. Isn't that what hell basically is? God says, "fine have it your way." Romans 1 roughly makes this same argument, there comes a point at which God leaves us to our choices and/or even uses them to build his kingdom in other ways. 


The simplest answer... God strengthened Pharaoh's already hardened heart and resolve in order to bring about victory for his people and prepare the way for the entire world to receive the saving message of his promise to Abraham through Jesus. 


Now we haven't gotten to the good news yet. God can do a great deal with just a little softening too. Think about Nicodemus (John 3), or Zacchaeus (luke 19), or anyone else that hung around with Jesus for that matter. The point is simple, Jesus can do a lot with a little in our lives. This counts in any area we might be struggling with. Just today a good friend who has been praying with me regarding a circumstance in my life gave me a little good news. That news shifted my whole outlook as it reminded me that God is with us in all of our circumstances, doing a lot with a little. 


What little do you have for God to multiply? Where might be some hardened areas of our hearts God wants to soften? Join with me and Moses, and countless others in bringing our little to God... see what happens.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen