Up In Smoke

“There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.  Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up” Exodus 3:2. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground…I am the God” Exodus 3:5. 

Moses was a shepherd whose days were filled with the mundane…the sameness…the rut and routine of life.  Did he ever look to stars at night and wonder what next?  Did he ever think that the greatest contribution to the kingdom of God would be after he turned 80?  What kind of experiences with God had he encountered during those boring years in the previous 40 years of leading sheep?  The Bible remains silent on these ponderings but then Holy Writ speaks with a resounding boom!  Upon completion of God’s timing Moses saw something that sent him on the greatest adventure he had ever experienced.  He saw the fire…he recognized the Messenger…he realized the reverence that was required.  The Lord instructed him to settle in…stand still…and listen.  Both the message and the Messenger were in the fire.

We know that feeling don’t we?  Life is being marked by the sunrises and the sunsets with work days, family obligations and television nights…nothing special…nothing overwhelming…nothing threatening.  Then one day life happens, and we see something in our lives going up in flames.  We can’t believe it is happening, and we move closer to it to get a better perspective.  We see that what we fear really is happening.  We draw closer to God and we know we will need His mercy…we take off our sandals and drop to our knees.  We quit our senseless running and stand still before our God who is the only one who can deliver us from our situation.  We know that the answer to our fire is within the fire of God’s holy revelations.

God has promised us through the Scripture that He will be with us in all situations.  We are like the bush in the wilderness, ‘They will be like a tree…that does not fear when heat comes;’ Jeremiah 17:8.  We will not be consumed by our fires when we trust in God who walks with us in the fire.  ‘When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze’ Isaiah 43:2b.

You may feel this morning that ‘you have been set ablaze’ but please take comfort that while you feel consumed by your fire He will be faithful in restoring your life.  You are being delivered a new message for your life by the all-consuming lovers of your soul…the blessed Trinity.  God the Father created you, God the Son died for you, and God the Holy Spirit will guide you.

 

If Hearts Could Wink...

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” Genesis 12:1.

I remember as I got into my 40’s I really began understanding the impact my grandmother made on women across the landscape of her life.  She had dedicated her life to serving through community and women’s ministries, leaving her mark on the heart of every woman she encouraged.  I recall at her 100^th birthday party woman after woman would stand up and share how she had impacted their lives.  The closer I became to God the more deeply I desired to also go into women’s ministries like my grandmother.  It seemed that the path was opening in my church for this to become a reality.  But something happened…Genesis 12:1 happened.  God led me away from the familiar and comfortable and right through the doors of an organization of which I had little knowledge.  The land to which He brought me was nothing like the land I left.  I felt this was so foreign to me and did not lend itself towards the goal I had for myself of women’s ministries.  Just like Abram must have felt, I didn’t understand why I had to leave my comfort zone.  I didn’t know why I had to give up on the image in my mind of what serving in women’s ministry looked like.  I was insecure about the land He was showing me and the places He was taking me.

The other day I was asked to go and meet with a lovely woman to receive a donation for the ministry.  She was a stranger to me but I had a job to do and was certainly going to do it well.  I prayed that God would allow me to be in the moment with that woman and really enjoy her company.  Guess what happened?  Women’s ministry happened…right in the food court of Ikea as I watched her 4 year old watch television, nibbling on his chicken nuggets…alongside a young woman who struggled with the way her church lacked passion about this cause.  We talked about her marriage, her life, her children and her service.  I remember looking into her eyes as she needed some encouragement and realizing how God was working.  If a heart could wink, it winked at God that day as He pulled the curtain back and showed me a different way of women’s ministries in 2014.  It was one of the most wonderful experiences as I realize what first seemed like a far-off land became a familiar and fruitful harvest ground.  God has a plan for each of our lives and if we surrender our own perception of how it looks He will show us His design.  It can be scary to venture into something new but we must remember what is our ‘new’ is His predetermined calling.

‘From the east I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose.  What I have said, that will I bring about; what I have planned that will I do’ Isaiah 46:10-11.

All Shut In

“Then the LORD shut him in…The waters flooded the earth for 150 days…But God remembered… and he sent a wind…and the waters receded…and…the tops of the mountains were visible!” Gen 7:16, 24, Gen 8:1.

 

We should never forget that Noah’s experience for himself and the family was not a sweet little Sunday School story.  I am sure it was one of the most devastating things they could have experienced.  Like you and me, they had a community with friends, cousins, other family members I am sure.  They lived and breathed life just like we do today.  I am sure they considered their future…their children… their future grandchildren…their future provisions.  I can only imagine the anxiety and grief they must have experienced during those 150 days.  What would their future hold?  How long would their hearts be sad from the loss of those who died in the flood?  Would God be faithful in restoring their lives and rebuilding their security?  And the biggest question of all…How much longer Lord?  But God was faithful in His remembrance of this chosen family.  When we read ‘God remembered…’ it doesn’t mean God had forgotten. ‘It means that God cares for and is concerned for that person and has decided to act on his or her behalf.’ NIV Study Bible, p. 17.

We have all been ‘shut in our circumstances.’  Maybe we are walking out the day to day life with a loved one with an illness.  Perhaps we are shut in a situation where we have no control over time or circumstances.  Some of us are living out a life without a loved one, with grief guiding our day.  We all will experience times in our lives when we seem to be closed up in our situational arks.  We cannot see the mountaintops and we feel engulfed by our circumstances.  We know intellectually that God is in control but our hearts convince us of something else.  ‘The heart is more deceitful than anything else’ Jeremiah 17:9.  Our days turn to weeks which turn to months as we wait for the rain to stop falling.  We send out doves looking for the proof that life will one day resume as we have known it.  We must continue to believe in a God who believes in us.  We must look up to God for the mountaintops to be visible instead of looking at our circumstances. 

When the water has receded and it is safe to come out of the ark, not a moment will pass before God throws open that door and restores the lives of those He loves.  He knows when the danger has passed… He knows when our hearts have changed…He knows when our minds have been transformed.  Not one moment passes when we are not on God’s mind.  He will not keep us in our arks one second beyond the time required to accomplish His work for the benefit of His sons and daughters. You can be sure that the mountaintops will be visible again one day soon. 

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” Phil 1:6.

Where Are You?

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid…But the LORD God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’” Genesis 3:8-9.

As long as I can remember I wanted to be a mommy.  It was all I ever dreamed of and most of what I pretended as a child.  It is no doubt that by the age of 21 I had birthed a beautiful daughter.  I had imagined a world for her of complete joy and a life for me of sheer pleasure.  I decided to have her because I wanted to take pleasure in her.  But something happened that separated us from each other…evil happened.  When she was 13 years old she began a downward spiral of sin and darkness.  The choices she made broke our fellowship with each other.  She left home at 15 and for the next 8 years would live a life apart from the family.  We would tell her how loved she was but she couldn’t believe it.  We would tell her how we would do anything to save her life but the world told her different things.  We constantly offered ways back to us but she chose to continue in her own lifestyle and agenda.  We would spend days and nights looking for her…wondering if she would ever return…was she even still alive…if there would ever be reconciliation between us… ‘Darling daughter, where are you?’

We have a Father who searches us out, desiring fellowship in the sacred places.  God created every one of us for His pleasure and to share a life with Him.  His desire is to walk with us…talk with us…fellowship with us…but sin happens separating us from Him.  But like a parent He is relentless in His pursuit to bring fellowship back between Father and child.  He put in place a process to bring us back to Him…the ministry of reconciliation through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.  That ministry is the very vessel that allows our prodigal hearts to return home like our daughter did after 8 long years.  That ministry is the very means to the end allowing me to see the faces of my departed loved ones one day.  But most importantly that ministry covers me with God’s unchanging grace, allowing me one fine day to see the face of my Father fully instead of in part.  ‘For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known’ 1 Co 13:12.

We cannot outrun God and we will never out-sin His grace.  Whatever we have done, are presently doing or will do in the future is already covered by the blood of Jesus.  We must simply reach out and receive the forgiveness and mercy that came about by the work on the cross.  Our Father will keep pursuing…keep chasing…never give up on restoring the relationship He created between you and me.  We must believe Him when He tells us He loves us…we must remember that He offered a way back to Him through Christ.  We must never forget that He will never forget us, and will pursue us until we return to Him.  He has proven that He would do anything to save us.

‘Our Father, who art in Heaven, holy is your name!’

What We Have...

“Now a man crippled...was being carried to the temple gate…where he was put every day to beg…Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk” Acts 3:6.

We have been there. We are driving on our route only to see up ahead a person with a sign at a stop light. We feel dread in our hearts and most likely the prayer we lift is not for the person, but rather for a green light. Peter was no different as he approached the temple gate in an effort to go pray. To get where he was going he had to walk right past the beggar. Did he pick up his pace as he approached the beggar? Did his mind rush ahead trying to prepare his response to dismiss the man? Not hardly. Peter knew that he couldn’t offer what he didn’t have himself. But on the flipside Peter also knew that what the beggar was asking for was just a Band-Aid for what he really needed…healing. Not only did Peter stop and make contact with the man, but he explained that he lacked what the beggar wanted. However Peter didn’t stop with his explanation. He reached within himself and offered something much better than money ...he offered the healing power through the name of Jesus Christ. Peter exemplified several Christian principles within that one interaction. He recognized that no one should be made to feel invisible. He validated the beggar’s need, although he lacked the necessity to help him in that way. He took the time to recall the things that he did possess that could help this man in need. Finally, he called on the name of Jesus to give the man what he really lacked.

There have been times when I was the beggar…looking for the healing for my daughter’s drug use… begging for forgiveness when my secret spending came to light…holding up my cup to collect acceptance and approval from others. I was asking for things no one but Christ could give me. On other occasions, I have been the person who didn’t have the answers or resolution for someone’s problem. I couldn’t give my daughter what she needed to take away her pain…I couldn’t remove the cancer from my family members…I can’t provide the financial resources to bless others in this season of my life. But what I can do is offer what God has entrusted me with…my testimony…my prayers…my time. I can take the time to stop and really see people in their begging state. As they hold up their cups I can drop compassion, mercy and grace into their cups. Most importantly, I can recognize that while I might not have what they lack, God does.

Every one of us has been given a deposit for which God has entrusted to us. He has given us talents, gifts, money and/or time. We have been given these things not to hoard but to drop into the lives of others. We cannot ignore those in need, for they have been placed at the gates of our path for God to work through us and in us. I once read that true love is love that works for the benefit of another person. We are expected to share what God gives us daily…mercy, grace and forgiveness. We cannot decide who our neighbor is…who we will choose to help…for the Bible has already spoken on that. In Luke 10:36-37 Jesus points out in the story of the good Samaritan that the neighbor was the one who showed mercy toward him. Then Jesus instructed him to go and do the same. We cannot give to others what we do not have, but we can give them our experience…our journey of faith…our time and compassion. If we are going to sing about being the hands and feet of God, we must be willing to be those vessels. God places searching people in our lives, and equips us to give what they lack to a watching and hurting world.

Taking Our Seat

“The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge…When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing…he said, ‘Why do you alone sit as judge? What you are doing is not good. You…will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone’” Exodus 18:13-17.

I can just picture Moses leaning against a boulder out in the desert. He leans on his staff to support himself as he comfortably prepares to take his seat and judge the crowd. One by one disgruntled and complaining people form a line hoping to have Moses side with them. They present their argument to him and he plays God. Jethro, his father-in-law is visiting and witnesses this sight. He looks at Moses in disbelief and asks the obvious question, ‘What are you doing? Why are you judging all of these situations? Don’t you have more important things to do with what God has given you? This is not good because it only leads to exhaustion and loneliness.’

We’ve all been there and some of us are still sitting atop that boulder. We feel entitled to certain self-appointed roles and lose sight of the impact it has on both our spiritual health and the health of those around us. We declare this about a certain situation and we take a stand on that issue, all the while taking our eyes off of the God appointed tasks for which He has created us. We meddle in areas that were never meant for attention, and we lack attention in the areas where God intends us to focus. Just like Moses we need that Godly counsel to approach us in love and wisdom and point out the obvious. I know I’m grateful for Bruce for this blessing. There have been times when he has questioned certain actions or decisions and challenged me to reconsider…to reexamine…to regroup.

When someone comes to us in love and concern we must have an open mind and heart to receive their wisdom and discernment. We must learn to see certain situations outside of ourselves, and accept that the work of judging will wear us out, and is too heavy a burden to carry. If you have a Jethro in your life, thank God for that person. If you don’t yet have one, lift a prayer to God for Him to send someone to you. We were never meant to experience life alone…we have the Body of Christ to help us. I love the song by Ten Avenue North.

“No man is an island, we can be found
No man is an island, let your guard down
Please don’t try to fight me, I am for you
We’re not meant to live this life alone
Through trouble, rain, or fire
Let’s reach out to something higher
Ain’t no life outside each other
We are not alone”

The Owner of Our Gardens

“Now the LORD God had planted a garden…and there he put the man he had formed…The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it… ‘You are free to eat from any tree…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” Genesis 2:8-17.

Since the beginning of time God has placed man over authority of many good and great things.  Also, since the creation God has ushered in blessings along with boundaries.  In the perfect place He gave to Adam and Eve there was an area in their surroundings that was not meant to be touched.  Scripture tells us that God planted the garden where they would live and work.  With it came His command to enjoy the lives God had formed for them but to never lose sight of the boundaries which He put into place.  God knew that man’s tendency would be to live life without boundaries…to pursue authority over everything…to gain access to anything. 

It is mind-boggling to think that we have not evolved much more than the original man and woman in the Garden.  God has planted a wonderful Garden of Eden for each of us…our home lives…our work lives…our ministries.  But every facet of our lives will have certain forbidden areas that we must not approach.  These areas are established by God for our good, and if we wander beyond the appointed boundaries we communicate to God that we have forgotten how able He is…we doubt how great His plans are for each of us…we rob Him of His honor and glory by trying to be God for Him.  ‘Even though God gave Adam and Eve dominion over the garden, He was still in ultimate authority…they were its managers but He was the owner.  He had every right to withhold…creating a boundary…It was His garden.  And when they chose to step beyond that boundary and into the margin He’s commanded them not to enter, they rebelled against the most important declaration He’d made in the entire creation process:  I Am Sovereign’ Breathe, p. 104.

We cannot live our lives in chronic activity trying to balance an impossible schedule, a life without boundaries.  When our activities are hurried, stressed and frazzled we have lost the perspective of our gardens.  We have demanded authority over too much and are losing control of everything.  The joy and blessings meant for us to harvest from our gardens are slipping between the very fingers that are clinging too tightly.  ‘Overloading of anything is often what we do when we forget who God is’ Breathe, p. 109.

God has created a life for each of us and given us authority over things He has chosen.  His desire is to walk with us through the beautifully created gardens, and live with an awareness of boundaries He has placed around us.  We must take the time to walk with Him, make the decision to live within these boundaries, and harvest the blessings from Him while He is being God.  We must say no to some things in order to say yes to God in all things. 

The Great and the Terrible

“We were slaves of …, but the LORD brought us out…with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders – great and terrible…But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised…” De 6:21-23.

As last weekend drew to a close I noticed that Bruce had been very quiet on Sunday. We had enjoyed a wonderful weekend with my mother and our youngest daughter at the beach. The ride home seemed to be a little quieter than usual, and it seemed he had some things on his mind. I know this is a challenging time for Bruce as he waits to see what God has in store for his vocation in the future. The past year has been full of testing and resting…repairing and restoring…wondering and worshipping, a time of the great and the terrible. What is God doing? When will His plan be revealed? What does the future hold? How will this all play out? Bruce’s mind and heart during this time have been on the Lord, who blesses those who hope and trust in Him. After a quiet day of consideration, the Lord focused Bruce’s mind and heart on the blessings of where he is now. As Bruce heard an airplane overhead he was overcome with gratitude that he was not on that plane. As the evening hours marched on his heart was thankful that he wasn’t in some hotel getting ready for a grueling week ahead. He had been a slave to his work schedule for many years, and God brought him out of those terrible circumstances. Like the Israelites, God brought Bruce out to bring him in to intimacy with the Father. He brought him out to bring him in to rest and time to serve Him. He brought him out of despair to bring him in to delight. There is a future land for Bruce to conquer but only in the Lord’s perfect timing and strength.

We have all been slaves to something, and some of us are still slaves to many things. We are slaves to fear because of that medical diagnosis. We are slaves to money no matter how much we have. We are slaves to bitterness that splinters our fellowship with God. We are slaves to our schedule that we should be master over, not mastered by. We can be confident that Jesus will eventually deal with us on whatever enslaves us. We were never meant to live in slavery, because Christ came to set us free. Before our eyes, the Lord will orchestrate our deliverance from our enslavement through certain situations…some great…some terrible. After we have been rescued we must always recall how enslaved we were and the freedom in which we find ourselves. ‘The whole point of remembering their slavery was to help them automatically become conscious of their current state of freedom. Relief was meant to sweep over their souls as they thought back to the shackles that had once threatened them to dusty walls and barren posts. A spring of gratitude would well up inside them because now they were liberated’ Breathe, p. 93-94.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” Gal 5:1.

Let There Be

“And God said, ‘Let there be…’ God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” Genesis 1.

 I never knew until this morning that there was such correlation and connection between the elements of creation for certain days. My commentary states that the first 3 days of creation were days of forming habitats for God’s future inhabitants. He formed day/night... water/dry ground…vegetation. The last 3 days were for filling His creation with its inhabitants…sun/moon for the day and night…birds/fish for the heavens and seas…man/woman for the land and to enjoy creation. Then God looked over His Creation, giving certain authorities to each inhabitant, according to their own habitat. Then on the 7th day God made a bold statement through His creation of rest. This statement says that while we are giving authority over many things in the world that He created for us, He is the sovereign authority over everything in our lives. We are to rest in His authority and wisdom for the flow of our lives. Why is this important to me this morning?

Because today is the beginning of my Sabbath, my 7th day resting in His authority and purpose over my life. Today I begin my inhabitance of a new land that God began creating two years ago. It is a land of opportunity and abundance…a land of newness and adventure. Over two years ago God began creating and orchestrating events that would lead up to my employment with On Eagles Wings Ministries. God required me to wait for several years following my time as caregiver for my family members. I can now see as I stand beside Him in our Sabbath all of the ways He orchestrated days 1-6 for my new land. I can clearly see from the 7th day view the things He did during certain times that had to be done in a certain way…a certain order…certain timing...days 1-6. Where I now stand wouldn’t have happened without His calculated creation of things and situations leading to this very moment. The best part of this all is that I kept my hands off of it. I saw His leadings and whether I agreed or not, I trusted Him for the journey. I wasn’t perfect in my attitude, nor was I convinced in the destination. The one thing to which I held tightly was the truth that anything God created for me would be so much better than what I would have manufactured.

We must all believe wholly in our hearts that we are future inhabitants of what God is creating on our behalf. We might not be able to see or understand what God is forming, but we can be confident that we will be the recipients of His best. God is speaking ‘Let there be…’ in all of our lives and if we keep our hands off of the situation, and our eyes to the Lord it will be very good. God is still creating and there is still a divine order of events, circumstances and situations that must occur to get to our Sabbath day.

You can trust Him completely for your future land of ‘Let there be…'

Remember Well

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

You would think no one would need a reminder to remember their slavery to something…to anything …to everything.  God knew that the tendency of His freed people would be to glamorize their past which they did over and over again.  The very life their begged God to deliver them from was the life they now longed for.  ‘We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic’ Numbers 11:15.  How had they lost so much perspective that they felt it had cost them nothing?  The truth of the matter was it had cost them everything.  Their lives were not their own, and their days were mastered by another.  The answer is because enslaved people tend to see life through their lack instead of their abundance.  God’s entire journey through the wilderness was to take the slavery mentality out of His people.  Without transforming their mind they would always have a propensity towards slavery.  I love the question Priscilla Shirer asked this morning in my Bible Study.  ‘What good is a free person who still has Egypt in their heart?’

What good was it when I quit overspending but secretly envied others?  What good is it for the woman who gives up drugs but takes a drink?  What good is it for the man who returns to his marriage but continues to text the other woman?  There is no good in returning to Egypt.  I can look at my life and know in my heart seasons of slavery and seasons of freedom by my behavior and attitude towards others. I believe Priscilla Shirer lays it out beautifully between living in slavery to something and walking in freedom through Christ.

‘Slaves hoard while free people give generously.  Slaves live fearfully while free people live lovingly.  Slaves live with closed fists while free people live with open hands.  Slaves live from a posture of lack while those who are free live from a posture of gratitude.  Slaves live from a position of deficiency while free people live with a holy expectation.  Slaves believe they don’t have enough but free people believe that whatever they lack God is going to graciously, miraculously and abundantly provide in His timing’ Breathe video.

We must remember that the very God who delivered us from what ensnared us is the same God who will provide for us in all seasons.  Through our challenges He seeks to remove Egypt and replace it with a freedom mentality.  If we are going to remember, let us remember how miserable our captivity was.  If we are going to remember, let us remember what it really cost us.  If we are going to remember, let us remember that in Christ all things are possible if we truly believe.  If we are going to remember, let us remember that we already are victorious in some things because of what Christ did in all things. 

"But do not be afraid... remember well what the Lord your God did" De 7:18.

 

Within the Cloud

“When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD.  For six years sow…prune…and gather…But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest…Do not sow…or prune…or reap…or harvest” Leviticus 25:2.

When I read this passage today I immediately thought of my children.  For many years, motherhood was the land God gave me, which required my investment of heart, mind and soul for their growth.  For years I tried to sow Godly principles into their lives, and lovingly disciplined them when necessary.  I gathered their hugs and kisses, reaped the benefits of their love, and harvested the daily blessings of raising them.  Then one day I looked up and realized that I was in my sabbath season.  They are all adults now and it is my time to rest from that land.  But that is easier said than done since I still have a heart for the land where babies need holding…hearts need restoring…little minds need molding.  But seasons are temporary and the yield of the land is seasonal.  One of the most difficult things is to keep our hands off of something from which God has given us rest.  We are not to interfere with the seventh day rest, but are to enjoy eating from the fruit of the land in which we live.  So much happens in the 6 days of work leading up to the day of rest.  But it is nothing in comparison to the seventh day sabbath, that season when God removes past responsibilities to speak something new into our lives.

Spiritually speaking our lives are similarly lived as Moses’ experience.  He was called to come up to the top of Mount Sinai.  For six days there were clouds…no visibility…complete silence.  Then on the seventh day Moses experienced the presence of God.  ‘For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud’ Exodus 24:16.  It was on the seventh day, the sabbath, when Moses finally heard God’s voice and experienced His presence.  On the seventh day is when God spoke about things that increased holiness...obedience...righteousness.  It would be a requirement for His children as they journeyed to the Promised Land.

When God calls us to a new place we must be positioned to receive the new land.  While we can be sentimental about the old, we must be ignited and excited about the new!   God will speak new truths into our spirit when we meet Him on the mountain.  It is in the sabbath rest that God’s glory will be seen, and His plan for our lives will be revealed. 

ELM - Coming Up Empty

“‘Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.’ Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none” Exodus 16:26-27.

If any of you feel too busy…too exhausted…too discouraged…too anything I give you the story of the children of Israel. They were rescued from slavery and began a new life in the favor of God. He heard their cries, delivered them from oppression and liberated them from their despair. He developed a way to feed them, but gave them specific instructions on how to gather the food. The children were directed to gather the provision daily, with the command to garner a double portion on the 6th day. God gave them specific instructions to resist gathering on the 7th day, for His 6th day provision would be enough to carry them through their 7th day needs. 
 

What was the motivation of God prohibiting the 7th day gathering? I believe it was to show there would be times when we couldn’t generate a certain provision on our own. It would be a season where no matter how we reach out…what we attempt to accomplish… what outcome we try to manipulate …we will come up empty just like those Israelites who wandered around looking to gather 7th day provision. I believe the other motivation of God was to show the importance of trusting and resting in Him during the empty seasons. What if we are in a season that God meant for rest…our spiritual Sabbath…but instead of resting our focus is producing, achieving and striving? Could it be that our only obligation in the 7th day season is trusting in the 6th day provision? Priscilla Shirer, author of Breathe, writes: ‘What if we are so busy trying to gather our own manna that we don’t even recognize or acknowledge the 6th day manna that God has provided? We must be confident that He is the God of the 6th day', p 41.

If you find yourself in a season where something is lacking…hope in light of a diagnosis…peace because of a rebellious child…love and companionship because of a departed loved one…please take comfort in our God of the 6th day. He has given us everything we need in advance to walk out our 7th day, but it is in Him alone. If we go searching for comforts apart from Him we will come up empty just like the Israelites did. We must be thankful for our 6th day provision, and confident in His 7th day impartation. Whatever you lack in this season God has already set it aside in a previous season. Just reach out and gather from the One who is gathering you.

Removing Egypt

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” Gal 5:1.

I never get tired of considering the exodus of the children of God.  Their mistreatment was brutal, and their lives were not their own.  Their misery was unsurpassable, and their futures were bleak.   As God sat enthroned, His children stood enslaved…as God heard their cries, His children sought His deliverance…as God rose to take action, His children were ready to be rescued.  Then on a day like no other the pounding of the irons became silent…the taskmasters became absent…the freedom became apparent.  God’s children vowed if they ever received their freedom they would never forget their slavery.  And yet… it only took a journey into the desert where boredom and the mundane set in.  Their cries for deliverance were replaced with their grumblings of discontentment.  The very freedom for which they prayed was replaced with minds bent on entitlement and hearts bent on selfishness.  They wanted more than freedom…they wanted the desert on their terms.  Suddenly, they begin to glamourize the very slavery from which they were rescued.  And there we have human nature.

‘The Israelites had lived in slavery so long that their inclination was to live like they were still in bondage.  They had become accustomed to enslavement as a lifestyle…God knew that even with freedom as an everyday reality, they would always revert to bondage of some sort.  The reality is – for them and for us – that once slavery has been internalized, the mind remains in bondage even when the body is free…He knew, for them to be truly free, He would need to do more than just take them out of Egypt; He also needed to take the Egypt out of them’ Breathe, Priscilla Shirer, p. 25.

We’ve all been there.  God has set us free in one area and we pick up the chains in another area.  God has given us rest in one set of circumstances, and we make things difficult in another situation.  Why can’t we rest?  Why don’t we give ourselves the Sabbath blessing that God even gave Himself?  I realize this morning that our Sabbath rest, rest at any time from toiling, striving, worrying, etc… is an act of worship.  That’s right!   Resting in God…being still…recognizing our freedom in Him is an act of worship.  Resting from anything that imprisons us communicates to God that we trust Him with our time and future …it demonstrates that we give our bodies to Him as an offering…it shows our confidence that He will replace our mindset with transformation and renewal.  Whatever situation holds you captive this morning will continue to if you don’t make intentional efforts to practice rest, and to learn to walk in your freedom. 

‘So on the seventh day He rested from all his work.  And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done’ Gen 2:2.  Nothing we create aside from resting in Him will ever be as perfect as what He creates for us.  God made the day of rest holy so that makes our rest a time of worship to Him.

If We Must Reign...

 “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being” Matthew 6:19-21.

Yesterday I watched a sermon on www.idisciple.org, an on-line Christian website that personalizes and delivers daily spiritual content from over 200 authors & speakers.  During the sermon the pastor told a story I loved that reminded me of our passage this morning.  I will paraphrase this story for you, confident that you will be blessed.

There was a kingdom where the law only allowed the chosen king to serve for one year.  At the end of the year the king was sent off to spend the rest of his days on an island to protect the new king.  This king was more clever than any other king, because from the day he was crowned he began transferring resources over to the island where he would eventually live.  By the time the king was called to that island he had set up a wonderful life.  This king could have sat on the throne for his year, and enjoyed anything he wanted, but chose to forego the present short-term comforts.  He had every right as king to demand this or pursue that, but his eyes were on the distant island.  He understood that to sacrifice things during his temporary reign would mean to receive things in his final home.

We live in an earthly kingdom that beckons our selfishness…demands our attention…and lures us to hang tightly onto things we have.  We build our little kingdoms and crown ourselves as kings gathering…hoarding…protecting.  On earth we stockpile our time and our resources, withholding our mercies and compassions.  We all tend to be hoarders of something because we are pursuers of so much down here.  When we are asked to deny ourselves and follow Christ it is to live in the future fullness of God.  Our Father wants us to invest in another kingdom, a lasting kingdom and a kingdom where the streets are paved with significance.  His goal is to transfer every one of us from the kingdom we create to the kingdom He created. 

So if we must reign, let us reign with a focus on our future island, an island where our final dwelling place will be full of rewards and blessings.  God never created us to hoard the things of this world but to walk this journey with our arms empty and our hearts full.

Walking Into Webs

‘Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth’ Colossians 3:1-2.

One of the routes I walk in the mornings seems to be a better work out than other places.  It is a neighborhood with steep inclines and provides a great workout for my heart and body.  Along this route there is a stretch of sidewalk lined with trees on each side that meet at the top creating an archway.  I love when I turn that corner and see that view, however my arms shoot up in the air as I walk down that path.  I have learned the hard way that if I do not hold up my arms and out in front I will end up with spider webs in my face.  By lifting my hands the webs don’t stand a chance.  The same is true when we lift our hands in prayer as we walk through this life. 

We can go through life walking into earthly web after earthly web…the lure of money or power… the web of deceit and pride…the sticky mess of bitterness and envy.  With comparisons and measurements around every corner how do we ensure a heart bent on purity, love and contentment with where we are?   We raise our hands in prayer…we lift our eyes to the Lord…we bend our knees to the ground. 

When we see things that trigger jealously and envy we should immediately thank God for the blessings we have.  When we become weary of chasing acceptance and approval we are to remember that God loved us to the level of sacrificing His child.  When we feel prideful we should visualize the perfect and sinless Lamb of God climbing up on a tree for you and for me.  When we have this kind of heart while walking out our paths, our faces will reflect His glory instead of being covered in earthly webs. 

And On the Seventh Day...

“By the seventh day God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done (Gen. 2:2).”

This morning in my Bible Study it was brought to my attention something I had never considered before.  I grew up in a very strict home in regard to what we were allowed to do on Sundays.  Daddy had grown up with even stricter views of Sabbath rest including no movies, no card games, no dancing, etc… Growing up I had more of a Sabbath view of stopping certain things which carried over into my adulthood.  Abraham Joshua Heschel, a twentieth-century Jewish rabbi and author, has turned this inside out this morning with his commentary on Sabbath rest.  His view is that God was still creating on the seventh day for the universe was incomplete.  He talks about the world still needing one more creation which was essential in its completion…menuha.  The Hebrew translation for this word is tranquility, serenity, peace and repose.  After six days of creation, God created rest.  He knew it was essential to show us the importance of this blessing.  We view it as taking away something …time…fun… accomplishments while God views it as adding something…rest, peace, fellowship.

I was asked to recall a time when I experienced a new sense of tranquility, serenity and peace in my life by entering in God’s ‘seventh day’…His rest.  It was for certain in 2006 when I began going more deeply with God.  When I began making Him my priority each and every morning, getting into His word, and making time for prayer is when my seventh day began.  You see, like the universe, I lacked completion.  My spiritual week only had six days which cycled for years in striving and toiling when I was never meant to.  I was living in a cycle of incompletion instead of experiencing the complete rest in my Father.  He created that ‘Sabbath living’ for us to live out continuously.  With seven being the number of perfection in the Bible it is no coincidence that day was chosen for rest.  Without rest and relaxation we are incomplete.  Apart from pursuing our seventh day rest we are imperfect in our peace and serenity. God created what only He could give us…peace, tranquility and serenity.  It is up to us to add that day of the week to our spiritual calendar.  First God created it…now He invites us to receive it.

‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest’ Matthew 11:28.

Addicted to Slavery

“Don’t ever forget that you were slaves in Egypt and God, your God, got you out of there in a powerful show of strength. That’s why God, your God, commands you to observe the day of Sabbath rest” De 5:15.

I started an amazing Bible Study that you and I desperately need…a Bible Study with its principle seemingly easy, but walking it out is impossible left to our own devices.  Breathe by Priscilla Shirer speaks to the age old principle of resting on the Sabbath.  Somewhere along the way we have adopted a narrow view.  Let’s revisit the ancient days and understand the principle behind the Sabbath.  It wasn’t in full about a day of the week, and it wasn’t about God wanting to hog the spotlight for a 24 hour period.  The Sabbath principle was an attitude…a way in which His children were supposed to approach life …a principle for freedom.  It was a tangible way for God to draw boundaries in the hearts and minds of His children.  The Hebrew word for Sabbath is Shabbat which means to cease, stop, pause and come to an end.  The Ten Commandments were boundaries that God drew to ensure that His children didn’t become enslaved to something else once He freed them. 

Why is it that God brings freedom into our lives in one area only for us to become enslaved in another area?  Left to our flesh, our inclination would be to one-up God’s freedom with another form of enslavement …to busy ourselves where God has freed up space…to be drawn to overdo and overthink things.  Many of the things where God has brought us freedom are things He originally gave us as blessings.  We have been given our children but we obsess about their health, their schooling, and their appearances…Lord, give us a Sabbath in those relationships.  The Lord has blessed us with a job, but we become workaholics…Father, give me Sabbath away from my toiling.  God gives us a loving partner, but we obsess whether they still find us attractive…Lord, give us Sabbath in our heart.  One of the statements from Priscilla this morning is a great question to ask ourselves.  ‘Are we so addicted to striving that we cannot even enjoy relaxation?’  She follows up with a powerful warning about not living in the boundaries of God.  ‘Anything we have been given to enjoy outside of the boundaries in which it was designed to flourish will cause chaos, catastrophe, destruction and disaster’ Breathe.   We must stop worrying about everything...we must cease the busyness of our hands... we must pause and relax in the love and freedom God has given us...and most importantly we must come to an end of ourselves.

Galatians 5:1 states that ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.’