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Sick Earth, Sick Hearts

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Sick Earth

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 35

If I mention the word pollution, it doesn’t take long to conger up images of smog, skylines of chimneys, shorelines of debris, exhaust pipes on automobiles, liter collecting in ditches, sewage plants and garbage piled up in land files that are as tall as mountains.

As much as Genesis 1:31a tells us that, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good,” it’s been all down hill from there. We are a messy bunch of humans and we are dirty. I’m not petitioning to go back to horse and buggy days and I have no plans to get on some environmental soapbox. I’m simply sharing what came to mind when reading Numbers 35 today and how understanding what God is teaching me through it.

The statement that triggered all of this is Numbers 35:33 when God says to Moses, “Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.”

God is talking about murder as pollution and He’s telling us that sin has polluted our hearts. Sin is ugly, dirty, and void of beauty. I heard a radio program the other day and the DJ said, “With God there are no opposites. Darkness is not the opposite of light, it’s the absence of light. Hate is not the opposite of love, its the absence of love and sin isn’t the opposite of God, it’s the absence of God.”  So this statement could be a blog post to unpack all on its own, but could it be that earth is the absence of heaven?

Sin separates us from God, it brings dissonance into relationships and metaphorically speaking – it really stinks.

How do we clean it up? It starts and ends with God. We can’t clean it up on our own and we can’t be free from it without the covering of Jesus’ blood. So today, invite Him in. Ask Him to clean up your heart, your life, your messes. He can do it. He’s a big God and just like we feel so liberated when we complete a cleaning project; how much more liberating it is to not haul around our baggage of this world and in our polluted hearts.

Press On!

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Past Present Future

Today’s Devotion: Exodus 33

If I went on a trip to Europe and told you every city I visited, but didn’t tell you about my experience in each city, you would be bored. You likely wouldn’t care about the places I had been as much as you would like to hear about the sights I saw, food I ate, places I stayed or the attractions we took in. Reading Exodus 33 is like that. We get the recap of the whole wilderness march and no details.

Boring!

However. What I took away is that this journey expanded over 40 years. Moses and Aaron spent a big part of their lives putting up with whiny, rebellious, antagonistic, skeptical and downright disobedient Israelities. They even passed though several generations of Israelities that we learned yesterday only those who were under the age of 20 ever entered the land. This means the Isrealities who actually made it, weren’t even born when they first left Egypt.

So what does this boring passage say to us? It tells me that God is with us. God cares enough to put every camp that the Israelities camped. He records for us in His Word the entire journey [I believe] as a means to say, “Look where I’ve been, where you came from, how I’ve helped you, been faithful to you, delivered you and walked along side of you.”

Doesn’t this resemble the Christian life? I’m in my early forties and I can most certainly look back on my life, to this point, and see where I’ve been, where I came from, how God has helped me, how faithful (even though I don’t deserve it) he has been to me, how He delivered me and was, is, and will continue to walk along side of me.

I’m in awe. Are you? Is your life, whatever age you are, show you how God is with you? Even in those times when you didn’t feel Him, doubted Him, questioned Him and denied Him… He has been there and you know it now.

Just think about How differently our future can look when we take a minute to reflect on the past. It gives us certainty that He will be there. Yet, the world has a different story; the world gives us discouragement, loneliness, fatigue, guilt, regrets and hopelessness. That is why we have a different outlook on life. His Word tells us in 119:105 that His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Hebrews 13:5 says He will never leave us or forsake us and Philippians 3:14 says to press on toward the goal!

So there is our marching orders. Press on!

God Keeps His

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Promises

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 30

Have you ever taken a vow? According to dictionary.com a vow is a promise, pledge, or personal commitment. It makes me think of marriage vows, a vow of secrecy, the Pledge of Allegiance, oath of office, promissory notes, and debts to be repaid.

Chapter 30 speaks of vows; a young daughter under the authority of her father and a wife under the authority of her husband. Vows are our responsibility. God doesn’t make us make vows. He doesn’t force our hand in marriage, bond us to a 30 year mortgage or strap us with the pinky promises we make between girlfriends. God says in verse 2, “When a man [woman] makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”

As sinners, who fall short of God’s perfection, we break vows. It’s unfortunate because vows are the most sacred promises God entrusts us to make and commit to follow through. Statistics show that keeping our vows are not stacked in favor of the people making those vows.

But God keeps His!

His Word is FULL of promises. Among my favorites are:

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Acts 16:31  They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Romans 10:9-10 “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

1 Peter 5:10 “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast”

So, my takeaway in Numbers 30 is that we need to be true to our earthly vows and take them very seriously. However, one thing that we can be confident in…. God keeps His.

Sad Worship

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True WorshipTears

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 28-29

In my commentary, Dr. Vernon McGee describes the worship described in Numbers 28-29 best. “Now what does this mean to you and me? We hear a lot today about worship and worship services. But how much is true worship in our services? How much is just aimless activity? Real worship is when we think God’s thoughts after Him. This sweet savor offering which God speaks of as My offering, My bread, My sacrifice, represents what God thinks of Christ. God is satisfied with what Christ did for you and me on the cross. What about you? Are you satisfied with what Christ did for you on the cross? Are you resting in that today? His invitation is “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Have you brought your burden of sin to Him and received Him as your Savior? Are you satisfied with who He is? If He is not the Son of God, then what He did is absolutely meaningless. True worship is a recognition of who He is and an adoration of His Person. In other words, it is thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”

Have you ever thought of worship as being sad? When I think of worship I picture hands lifted, eyes closed, hearts connected and praises sung, but then I search my heart and remember that my most raw, heart-filled, genuine, God-centered worship has been on my knees, tears flowing, eyes puffy, nose running and auditory weeping.

Numbers 28-29 reminds me that sin is ugly and when we truly see ourselves has sinners, we become aware that sin robs us of our fellowship with God; sin is an occasion for mourning. When was the last time you wept over your sins? Have you been before God and wept over your sin, over the failure of your life, over your coldness and indifference? My, how we need to confess that to Him today. It is not because God is high and we are low, or because He is great and weare small, nor because He is infinite and we are finite that we are separated from Him. He says it is our sins that have separated us from Him. That is the occasion for weeping.

I realize it is really our lives that are an act of worship and we don’t want to be wandering depressed souls living aimless lives that is a constant beat down of our inadequacies, but an occasional pause to put things into perspective is not a bad thing. I think that is why much of the book of Leviticus and now a detailed reminder of God’s offerings are reiterated here in Numbers.

Heavenly Headcount

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Appleton, WI

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 26

This is the beginning of a new section of the Book of Numbers and my bible labels this chapter as census and rules. The new generation is preparing to enter the land. The remainder of the Book of Numbers is about this preparation.

When I drive by those signs that tell us what the population is, I’m always fascinated by that number. I know it this the population that was recorded according to our latest census, but counting every adult on the planet is no easy task and it’s constantly changing. There is a small town that we pass through when we go to my in-laws house that reads population = 23. After all the years of driving past that sign and through that little town, I have often thought about going around to introduce myself to those 23 people and asking them what it means to them to be so significant? 23 is such a small number, but the fact that they live there and their population sign records it tells me that every one of them matters. In the sign above, I matter… I’m one of 70, 078!

I know, I have too much time on my hands, but truth is… someone took the time to count and tax payer dollars were spent to publish that number on their sign. So why does it matter? It matters because we matter to God.

Numbers 26:51 says, “The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.” The census determined that number. Sad thing is, that throughout the book of Numbers we lost a lot of people to sin, selfishness, greed, impatience, complaining and discontentment. The number is actually 1,800 few than the previous census that was taken back in Leviticus.

So here’s the deal, or at least my interpretation of what God is telling us today. You matter. We matter. We, collectively, make up mankind. God created us; every man, woman and child. This is our life to live, but we are His people called to live according to His purpose and plan. New Year’s Day was yesterday and many of us are going out in the world today (back to work, school, regular routine) with the intentions of being better people that we were last year or even a day ago. This is great, but we need to keep our focus on God, not ourselves. What is His plan to fulfill through us, what is He going to do to transform your heart this year and how can you most effectively do that? As we represent one human being in the headcount of believers, let’s exercise our significance and get out there and matter… For Christ’s sake.

Permissive Will of God

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Today’s Devotion: Numbers 22

I’m on the verge of a major life decision and God puts Numbers 22 in my path. He’s amazing that way. I teach my kids in Sunday school that praying is how we talk to God. Reading His Word is how He talks to you. Then sometimes, what He tells you isn’t what you want to hear.

So here I am. Reading Numbers 22 and realizing that God permits us to make our own decisions. There is His will and then there is our will. In verse 20, “That night God came to Balaam and said, ‘Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.'” In other words, God is saying, “All right, you want to go and before it is through you will go, but if you go, you are to say what I want you to say. Be careful of that.” We have here what is known as the permissive will of God. He permits us many times to do something that we insist on doing when it is not in His direct will. You remember how we learned from the children of Israel that God granted their request but sent leanness to their souls. Sometimes He also grants our requests and sends leanness to our souls.

So am I making a decision outside of the will of God? Yes! Months ago this seemed like a great idea and I was fully convicted that it was something God was leading me to do. Now, here I am, the day before I’m about the pull the metaphoric trigger and I hold a great deal of anxiety wondering why I have such apprehension to follow through? I have Christian friends on both sides of the fence – Friends who ardently oppose and those who know God uses people and circumstances for His good. I have sought wise counsel and prayed, but there are risks to say ‘yes’ to my decision and there are an equal number of risks to say ‘no.’ Nothing God can’t handle, of course, but as you know if we are living outside of the will of God we cannot/will not be blessed.

Heavy stuff here today and a chapter and verse put here just for me today. I guess you get to read it to make your own interpretation, but as for me, I need to get on bended knee and seek the LORD’s clarity today so I don’t make a mistake. If you could pray about it, even though I’m been very vague… God will hear you and I believe will help guide me.  Thank you!

Don’t Go There

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avoid

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 14

Have you ever been in a conversation, when all of a sudden the topic at hand takes a turn and the person stops you and says, “Don’t go there!” These are words that say, “Stop, you have crossed a boundary and this is not something that needs to be brought up.” I thought of this phrase as I read Numbers chapter 14. When Moses and Aaron warned the Israelites to stop going to the land of Canaan because God wasn’t with them – but they didn’t listen. Look at verse 41-42a, “But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the LORD’s command? This will not succeed! Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.”

If these words have a tone to them, I hear them pleading. Not just asking, not just saying – pleading. At this point they had turned from the land (future), but as they face the wilderness (present), they are actually more afraid of the wilderness (past) than they had been afraid of entering the land. In other words, they fear their past more than they fear the future so they proceed to pursue the future, but forgot one important component…. God!

The message that I take away is that we shouldn’t be so discontent in our present that we press on to change ourselves, our future and our circumstances without God. God needs to be our leader and our guide. He can work in our current circumstances and He can take us where we want to go, but His timing is everything. If we go alone and He is not with us, our plans will not succeed.

Please pray with me.

Father God. There is a big gap between where we are and where we want to be. The past and present is certain to us – it is our reality, while our future is unknown. You ask us to walk  by faith and not by sight, which propels us to leap to the future and trust that you will deliver us from our current circumstances and have a brighter future, but what if you’re not there? What if we act in accordance to our will and not your will, in faith, that you will make all things work for the good? Let us not be ignorant, as the Israelities acted in Numbers chapter 14. We don’t want to be ungrateful, disobedient servants. We have hearts to honor and obey you, but we also know that you desire good for us. Please give us the discernment to hear your call, patience to wait on your timing, and courage to proceed according to your will. Father, please be the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our paths. ~Amen!”

More “You” and Less “Me”

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Humility

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 12

A short chapter that is packed with teaching, but my favorite is found in verse 3 “(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)”  Not only are the words themselves saying something, but the fact that they are in parentheses gives it extra attention and emphasis.

So we’re kicking off the new week with humility. I think that is an excellent way to start. As we approach our work, families and trials that we face (and any number of them that could be), I think it is a great place to enter the day and week.

My family has a Christmas tradition. Every December we read a chapter a day in the book of Luke. There are 24 days until Christmas and 24 chapters of Luke. I love this yearly reminder of the story of Jesus – his birth, life, and resurrection. It truly brings the meaning of Christmas to the forefront of the chaotic season. Sure, this is a random tangent, but I do have a point. My point is that we just read Luke chapter 14 and the majority of the chapter is about humility – taking the lowest seat at the banquet table, the cost of being a disciple and verse 11 says it best, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

So how can we be humble today. To me, humility means to esteem others not yourself. To make everyone around you feel significant, valuable, appreciated and accepted. Using the word “I” less and “You” more. Serving others and seeking ways to meet their needs rather than your own and giving credit, not taking credit.

The bible has a lot to say about humility and God clearly loves humility, especially in Moses as taught in Numbers chapter 12. I think the fact that Moses was recognized for it is for us to know that it is a character trait that God wants and we need to be. Let’s proceed confidently into the day with humility.

Get In YOUR Place

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soulrest_fb

Today’s Devotion: Numbers 2

Numbers 2:1 – 2 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: “The Israelites are to camp around the tent of meeting some distance from it, each of them under their standard and holding the banners of their family.”

What is your standard and if you had a banner for your family, what would it say?

God has Moses gather all the families to surround the tabernacle in a specific order and each of them is allowed to represent themselves according to how they want to be represented. This is God’s army of people who He gathered. I’m so fascinated by the order and even more fascinated by God’s logic. God really has things all figured out.

It makes me realize that God has each of us in a specific place in the world, at a specific time and for a specific purpose. We need to be who were are. Have you given up on trying to be what everyone else wants you to be? I became a Christian about 10 years ago and I learned that my life wasn’t created to be molded into what the world wanted me to be, I was created for a specific purpose that God created me to be.

That was the day I stopped taking anti-depressants. I didn’t need them anymore. When I was working hard to fit in and be what I thought the world wanted me to be, I was burdened so heavily that it was actually doing me harm. Once I came to accept who I was, in Christ, and focus on doing what God created me to be and do, I was set free from that bondage of pain, suffering, depression, anxiety and stress.

Not sure how all of that came out of my reading of Numbers chapter 2, but I was prompted to write it. Perhaps to encourage you today? For whatever reason God laid that on my heart, I hope you can be encouraged that God is with us and it’s such a beautiful picture to know we are exactly where he wants us and it is our turn to create our standard and hold our banner that best represents who we are.

Thanksgiving Day Perspective

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Thanks

Today’s Devotion: Leviticus 27

What is better?

  • When someone does something for you out of obligation or does something for you out of generosity?
  • When someone does something because you tell them to or because they want to?
  • When someone does the bare minimum or goes above and beyond?
  • When someone does something and brags about it or something that has been done and is a mystery as to how it happened?
  • When someone gives you something because you asked for it or someone who gives you something because they want you to have it?

I think you will make the same choices as I would – they seem obvious. As I was reading the 27th Chapter of Leviticus it seemed as though this chapter was out of place. Then I realized that in all of the preceding chapters of this book, God had mandated laws, while in chapter 27 the laws given are voluntary – It’s like an addendum that God is saying, “Not because you have to, but if you want to.”

It’s Thanksgiving morning and I am reflecting on all of the blessings that I have in my life. Then I take all of my blessings and correlate what God is trying to teach me in Chapter 27. Here is my conclusion…

We aren’t bound by those same laws because we live Leviticus Chapter 27 kind of lives.

  • God gave us His son to die on the cross for our sin; not because we we told him too, but Jesus is God’s gift to us.
  • We do not nor should we live our lives out of obligation, but because we love Him.
  • We live by the law, not because He commands us to, but because we want to honor Him for what He has done for us.
  • We can go through the motions of living a Christian life or we can live humbly, as if we don’t deserve what Jesus did for us on the cross.
  • We can surrender our lives as an act of worship and live each day in gratitude and thanksgiving or we can work hard at living a perfect life, only to fall short and grow defeated.

On this Thanksgiving day, as you are taking an inventory of all of your blessings, please don’t neglect to recognize that loving God and how we love God is voluntarily. He doesn’t command it – it’s optional, just like the laws in chapter 27 are optional. We do it because we want to, choose to, and desire to.

May God bless you and your family abundantly on this day of Thanksgiving.