Monthly Archives: October 2013

When God Is Mad

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Goal Weight

Today’s Devotional: Exodus Chapter 33.

What are some things that you get excited about? A big game, concert, date night, achieving your goal weight, finishing a project or a shopping spree? As I was reading Exodus chapter 32 I was thinking, “There must be something wrong with me, I’m so excited about this stuff – I love God’s Word!” I just want to cut/paste this whole chapter into this blog page today and say, “There… God has all kinds of lessons for us. Take it all in.”

There are three main things got my heart going today. The first was verse 3 where God speaks to Moses and says, “Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” Oh boy… God is still really mad at the Israelite people for their rebellion and idol worship that we read about in chapter 32.

When someone is mad at you they give you the silent treatment, roll their eyes, turn their cheek/look away or speak in short-snappy phrases? (Can you tell that I have been mad at before?) No fun! There is friction, distance, rejection and belittlement. Spoken from experience, this is not a good place to be. I don’t feel sorry for the Israelites because they disobeyed our Holy God, but can you imagine if someone who is mad at you saying, “I can’t be near you right now, I might have to kill you?” As a believer, I cringe at the thought that God would ever be THAT mad at me.

The 2nd thing that amazed me in this chapter is verse 13. “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” Moses is asking God to teach Him. I love Moses willingness to learn and eagerness to have a deeper understanding of who God is. That should be our prayer as it says in Psalm 25:4 “Make me know Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths.”

Lastly, verse 15, “Then Moses said to him, ‘If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.'” Moses is demonstrating his need for God to be with Him wherever he goes. We NEED God with us where ever we go, without Him, you know everything is bound to go bad.

Thank you for taking the time to be a Godly Girlfriend and grow in your relationship with God. We need Him wherever we go and today is no exception. My prayer for you is that you will know God’s ways, feel his presence and that we (I’m not excluded in this one) will not be like those “stiff-necked” Israelites who rebelled against Him.

Leadership Into Trouble

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Puss-In-Boots

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 32

Exodus 32:22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil.

This verse jumped off the page. Aaron is making excuses to justify the sin of the Israelite people. Are you kidding me? Since they are prone to sin, Abraham, and ultimately God, are supposed to not be angry and forgive them automatically?

They can’t get off that easily. I don’t know if I can say this, but the worst thing is that Aaron (the leader while Abraham was gone) should have been keeping them in line, but instead he jumps right in and recruits them to supply their gold to build and idol, and he goes right along and worships the golden calf right along with them!

Sadly, I can relate. I am the oldest of three, I have two younger brothers. I remember when my parents would tell me to watch my brothers because they had a quick errand to run. It wouldn’t be long before their car pulled out of the driveway that we started down the path of mischief. When my parents got back home they would look at me and with a stern and disappointed tone, “Sarah! What did you do?!” Oh I can still remember how it felt to hear those words. That face on the kitty from Puss-n-Boots at the top of this blog post, Yah… that was me. Guilty! Caught! Busted!

Of course, I didn’t know what came over me. I was given a little piece of responsibility and I blew it! I not only DIDN’T stop my brothers from doing wrong, I participated in it and sometimes even came up with the idea. Yes, my parents punished them, but I carried the guilt afterwords knowing that I undermined their trust.

This seems to parallel what happened when Moses when up on the Mountain to meet with God. “The cats away the mice shall play right?” Well, God was mad first and Moses persuaded Him not to punish them, but when Moses witnessed the mess for himself, even he got angry and acted on his anger.

We have to be aware of when we are given an opportunity to standup against the crowd, the temptation of fun, the festivals of idolatry, and the golden calves of our day. Yes, people are prone to sin, but that doesn’t mean that is our excuse for not living righteously and standing firm to keep people from participating in wrongdoing. God has entrusted us with the opportunity to know better. Not only do we need to take responsibility for ourselves, but we have to be especially careful what we lead others to do.

Equipped For Success

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True Success

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 31

I’m moved. God’s Word does that to me all the time, but today in particular because we have this pleasant little chapter set refreshingly inside of a pretty heavy book. So far in Exodus we have gotten God’s Laws and all of God’s uncompromising expectations about the tabernacle. Interestingly enough, I never questioned who would actually build the tabernacle and who could satisfactorily accomplish such a standard of perfection. God answers it in chapter 31… the gifted!

I love this! I manage a small team on the professional career side of my life and it is true. When God equips the gifted, get out of the way. They can scale mountains and overcome virtually any obstacle, seemingly without effort.

I remember out of college how I used to interview for jobs with the mindset that I needed to tell them what they wanted to hear. I would try to impress my interviewer with answers that would fit or mold me into the position that they were seeking to fill. I learned over the years that that is like fitting a square peg into a round hole. If I tried to morph into the perfect person for the job, the chances are likely that I would be prone to make mistakes and the job itself would be miserable for me. On the flip side, my boss would be frustrated because my errors and inefficiencies cost the company money in rework, additional training, and additional supervision/guidance.

Since then I have interviewed for jobs with the confidence in knowing what I can and can’t do. I’m very transparent in my interview because I want my future employer to know full-well what strengths I bring to their organization and I also want them to know where I would disappoint them. That allows them to fully discern how we can mutually benefit from having a relationship. I can be assured that I will be working in areas that I will be most effective and they can find someone to compliment my strengths so the organization can capitalize on the strengths of a synergistic team.

When this is accomplished, everybody wins. Can you imagine Moses trying to carve the wood on the altar, hang the curtains, take measurements to God’s specifications, sew the priestly outfit and chemically blend the special incense? Of course not! God equips the workers and results in true success.

Sin Stinks!

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Stinky

Today’s Devotional: Exodus 30

Once again this chapter of Exodus is packed with incredible insights into God’s holiness which exposes our human inadequacies. In the past two chapters we have read about two altars. The burnt altar is where God deals with a sinner and sin of man and the altar of incense which speaks of heaven and holiness. The burnt altar speaks of what Christ did for us on earth while the incense altar speaks of what Christ is doing for us in heaven today.

Have you ever been around someone who is wearing too much perfume? Your eyes water, nose burns, and makes it very difficult to hold a conversation. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they are well intended when they applied it; they want to smell good. Chances are, it makes THEM feel better, meanwhile it repels those who come into close contact with them. After all, perfume is supposed to stimulate our senses in a positive way and the person wearing it can be oblivious to its offensiveness. In other words, when applied wrong – it stinks!

This is our sin. Our sin stinks to God. We can’t smell it, we actually think that we’re “not that bad.” God goes to great lengths to make sure Aaron wears a heavenly aroma of a certain Godly formula so Aaron is acceptable to God when entering in to His presence. A formula that God says cannot be duplicated.

So how do we enter the presence of God today? Worship! What is worship? If you’re a Christian, your life is worship. That being said, we cannot make worship pleasing to man, we are to worship God in spirit and in truth. We don’t worship for the show of man so that others think our sin doesn’t stink. We go right to God and pour ourselves out as an offering and confess that we are not worthy of his mercy and grace. We have to be genuine, authentic, and pure.

So the moral of my Exodus story is that we need to stop trying to cover up our sin. If we try to do it on your own, we stink. God covers our sin through His son Jesus so when we come to Him, as we are, He can purity us and give us the opportunity to walk righteously with His heavenly covering. It can’t be duplicated and there is no substitute – just as God did for Aaron at the tabernacle.

As my Godly Girlfriend, I hope you will tell me if my perfume is too strong, and moreover, that my sin stinks!

Recipe For Right Living

Posted in Daily Devotions: Chapter by Chapter, Reflections From My Heart by

Chef

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 29.

Of all the gifts and talents the Lord has given me, cooking is not one of them. I know for you cooks out there, you don’t understand it. I have heard my entire life, “What do you mean? It’s so easy!”

That’s easy for you to say…. you know how to cook! It’s not for a lack of effort, I have a family and I’ve tried to please them with my best attempt at great and wonderful things, but I’ve ruined a lot of simple dishes – like green bean casserole. Grilled cheese is a delicacy in my house.

As I’m reading this chapter of Exodus I felt like I was reading a recipe. It kept going on and on. There are a lot of commanding words from God like, “Take, do, and, then, put.” It’s very intimidating. What if they missed something, as I am prone to missing something, when I glaze over the instructions contained within a recipe book? Do you know what happens? It ends badly.

God has instructions throughout the book of Exodus that are specific and purposeful. Since the Old Testament contains so many symbolic parallels to Christ, I draw the conclusion that even though we are not expected to give God burnt offerings, altars, bread without yeast, or sacrifices of year-old lambs; we are expected to follow His little instruction book – the bible.

It’s a big book though and in our sinful existence, you know we’re bound to miss something. That’s the beauty of Christ – we can. Just like my family offers me grace and forgiveness when they say, “It’s o.k. Mom, you tried… I’ll just have cereal.” Rather than beating me down and making me feel bad, they work around it. They still get a meal and that’s what God does for us. He’ll meet our needs, even when things don’t turn out.

Dress For The Best

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Fashion Model

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 28.

When I was younger, my Mom used to tell me to wear my “Sunday best”. I had a couple of dresses that were very special and I only wore them to church on Sundays or dress up events like funerals, weddings, school pictures or concerts. As I read Exodus chapter 28, I thought of my Sunday best.

God was very specific about this certain outfit because it is the attire that Aaron would need in order to enter into the presence of God. It appears that Aaron was promoted in this chapter so God is making sure that Aaron was appropriately suited to represent the position of high priest.

Have you ever heard the quote, “Dress for the position you want, not the position you have?” After reading Exodus 28 and the criteria of this Godly dress code, I believe that statement applies here – Dress the Best for God. What does that say about our choices for our wardrobe? As it has been in the past four chapters of Exodus, God has every intricate detail covered and in this one, He is a bit more personal. This one describes our own physical presence in relation to a perfect God.

It causes me to think about what a Christian woman should wear to represent Christ. I know we are not supposed to dress immodestly because we don’t want to draw negative attention to ourselves. If we want people to see us as followers of Christ, as I tell my daughters, in words, actions, thoughts and deeds – what does that look like? I think the way we dress can say a lot about who we are and how we desire to honor God.

This chapter is a call out to me on what dressing for God looks like. It certainly leaves us with much to think as it relates to our choice for dress. We don’t just turn our Christianity on or off whether its a Sunday or any other day of the week, so the question I will take to my closet this morning is, “How can I dress for Godly Success?”

Does God Tell You Twice?

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Altar at the Tabernacle

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 27. As we move outside the tabernacle proper to the court that the articles of furniture are made, the emphasis is on the work of Christ. It is evident that the tabernacle is a respectable place. Back in the old testament God went to great lengths to make sure that everything was placed in its exact place for a precise reason. I’m taking particular interest in the altar that is symbolized in this chapter.

I think of it as the place you bring a sacrifice to God that is worthy of him. God has specific instructions about the making of the altar itself; He even emphasizes in verse 8, “Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.” He’s repeating Himself! He showed them on the mountain and now He’s reminding them what they were told. If God has to repeat Himself, He wants them to get it right.

So here is my question, “Do I have to be reminded that God wants to make sure we get right?” I think He does tell us more than once. Clearly He gives us His Word, but He also uses friends, family members, children, sermons, bible conferences, authors, creation, counselors, hardships, circumstances, and quiet moments to remind us or teach us what He wants us to know.

I want to go into the day today with a heightened awareness of what God is telling me. Rather than rush through the day with the adrenaline to tackle my to-do list, I want to make sure I see God at work or become aware of what God is showing me. I’d love to hear your comments on where you see God at work in your life today…. What is He telling you?

Interior Decorations Of My Heart

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Glo-Snapshot-2013-10-11-04-39-54

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 26. “Things are what they seem in the bible.” I heard this on the radio yesterday on my commute to work. The radio guy said that we need to take the Word of God literally. Many take scripture, read it to what they want it to say, and twist it to defend it against itself. I can’t say I completely disagree with that because I have had people take it out of context and misuse it. I used to be a surface reader, but I have come to appreciate reading God’s Word and looking deeper, beyond just the words to the heart of the meaning.

I especially find myself doing that as I read the intricacies of the tabernacle. If we were to read it too literally, we would think God is quite the interior decorator. So I ask myself why God put such a thorough description of this tabernacle in His word? I can muster up a lot of theories and questions like, “Where did they get all of this stuff? They are supposed to be in the desert. Is it a literal desert with sand and cactus and stuff, or is it one of those deserts that I have faced in my life that are places of isolation, discomfort, and pain?”

For this I went to my commentary and this is what I learned from Dr. Vernon McGee, “Everything in the tabernacle speaks of either the person or work of Christ. Every covering, every thread, and every article of furniture reveals some facet of the Savior. As the bars held the tabernacle together, so the Holy Spirit of God holds true believers together today. Believers should be held together by the Spirit. In fact, believers are told “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

McGee, J. Vernon (1984-01-06). Thru the Bible Commentary, Volumes 1-5: Genesis through Revelation (Thru the Bible 5 Volume Set) (Kindle Locations 11849-11852). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

I love that! It all points to Christ. God is very deliberate in the old testament to point to the coming Messiah. I find it especially interesting that He has every detail covered. This tells me (us) that He has everything in my life covered too. I also can’t help but realize that He is pointing every detail of my life to the return of Christ and He is being very deliberate about that too.

Life may be a metaphoric desert, but it doesn’t have to be hell, nor does it have to be insignificant. God has a plan and His plan is detailed and perfect. What an honor that He has all of that figured out in advance for us. We simply need to be reading His Word, growing in knowing Him and having a relationship with Him. It’s as if He’s decorating my heart with His love.

Rock Star Status

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Rock Stars

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 26. I have friends in the hospitality/hotel business and the definition of hospitality is the friendly reception and treatment of guests or strangers. Certain guests that are of a “celebrity” status can set very high expectations when they come to town – unrealistic and unreasonable in most cases.

Examples: I have heard of a certain (Christian) artist whom requested a specific type of bottled water, with an exact number of ice cubes and the caps slightly twisted so all seals broken. It was said only one of the bottles were used – the others had to be wasted. I learned of a certain rock star that only likes blue M&M’s and red Starbursts; a specific request that there would be a bowl of blue M&M’s and another bowl of just red Starbursts in their suite upon arrival. The bags of M&M’s that had to be purchased to only remove the deserved ones; the others were wasted. Or an unnamed pro football player who expected a type of pillow that he was known to have a fit if it wasn’t ‘perfect’ – staff had to keep bringing in selections until the pillow of satisfaction was chosen. (And we have starving children in the world… I digress…)

Who do these people think they are? God? Surely they are not, but they most certainly have a God complex.

When I read Exodus 26 and all of the offerings that God requests for the Tabernacle, I couldn’t help but think about the stories of my hospitable friends. In perspective, these requests weren’t to make God treat people like doormats – they were very specific, symbolic, intentionally selected items that would allow people to come into the presence of God himself. GOD!

Two thoughts:

1 – We are people and no matter what our income, social status, college education, or inheritance; we are (according to Genesis 3:19b), Dust! That makes us pretty insignificant.

2 – God is GOD! Isaiah 45:5a, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.”

Building a tabernacle wasn’t just some frivolous hospitable task; it was honoring the one and only God. We should probably put into perspective what we bring to God and why we bring it – not what God brings to us and why we  “think” we deserve it.

I Will Obey… NOT!

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obey

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 24. How many times have you said this? “God, I will obey you.” Only to prove yourself a liar? I have and there is nothing more humiliating then putting your best foot forward and falling flat on your face.

Have you ever stood in Sunday service and looked at the words you are singing? Let’s take this lyric for example…

Wherever you want me to go. I will go
Whatever you need me to do. I will do
Whatever you like me to say. I will say
Just speak the word lord I’ll obey

Whether it’s on a mountain high or in the valley low just have your way whatever you say lord I’ll obey

Wherever you want me to preach. I’ll preach whenever you need me to sing I’ll sing whenever you want me to pray I’ll pray

 Whether it’s in a crowed room or some place where there’s just a few. Whatever you say lord have your way and I’ll obey

 I will obey you lord
I will obey you lord
Just have your way
Whatever you say I’ll obey

Really? How are we any different than the Israelites when they were given God’s laws? Verse 7 says, “Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, ‘We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.’”

Let’s not kid ourselves. We aren’t capable of being obedient to God. We can be consciously aware of what is right and what is wrong, but to think we can live a life of obedience is only to fall short of the glory of God  (Romans 3:23) over and over again.

So rather than saying we will obey, let’s just admit that we can’t and pray that God would take our lives, do with it as He wills, and praise Him for who He is and what He has done. This not only takes the pressure off of us, but it puts all the credit onto Him where it belongs.