Search This Blog

Monday, March 18, 2024

78 - “The Real Conflict is Within” Joshua 7-10

                                                      

The conflicts in the Promised Land begin.  But the real conflict is within them and you and me.  Within.  66 Love Letters:  "Loving Me and becoming holy requires that you realize there is an enemy within you who will cause you more trouble than all the enemies outside you, than even the devil."  Are we fighting the right battles? Fight the good fight.  Finish the race.  Keep the faith.  2 Tim 4:7.  Do we hate what is opposed to God?  I've so been surprised this week at the tone of my voice in dealing with some issues with students---I've so wanted to make my point with grace.  Not right with God. 

Joshua's men couldn't defeat Ai.  Was Joshua concerned for God's reputation or his own?  "Maybe we should have stayed on the east side of the Jordan," said Joshua.  God says: "Get up!  Why are you groveling?"  Purify your people.  Purify yourself.  Praise God that His Holy Spirit does that for us. He is so Good!  I've been groveling today over an incident.  But I've been at war in my heart over the injustice and distance that it caused in my kid.  But what about dealing with the fray of my own heart?  I've been so concerned about what this will look like to others rather than trusting God to accomplish His plan of Love through this most difficult situation.  And His Plan of Love requires "hating everything in you that is opposed to Me, everything about you that wants someone or something besides Me to have first place in your life.  You'll need help discerning what that is."  I've finally found a couple of trusted friends who help me discern what really is going on inside of me.  Do you know how you come across?  Do you know what you leave people with?  It will involve "exhausting battle and humbling failure" to wage that war.  May you find help in discerning His Plan of Love for you.  Make sure you are fighting the right battles. Achan preferred "blessings to battle."  Fight the good fight. Finish your race.  Keep the faith.

One beautiful thing is that it is all about living in the moment---not living for Promised Lands but living for Another Land.
 Living for the Living Word. And Joshua read every word of the law to his people. Joshua 8:35. Every word.  

PHOTO:  Flying 34,000 feet above tonight.  Oh the beauty!  Thinking about Plan A for my life.  And it will always involve "reading the Word."

77 - "Cross the Jordan on Dry Ground" Joshua 4-6

                                                

Now, the undaunting Joshua leads Israel to cross the Jordan River on dry ground. He saw it happen once before. And that same God is with Joshua and the men from the 12 tribes. 

 “Be strong and very courageous.

Joshua saunters in faith across the floor of the Jordan---the place where his Redeemer will be baptized.  No way for Joshua to know that.  The only history they have is of Moses and Egypt and the Red Sea.  And a very Present God with Moses ---     Who will now be with Joshua.  A Very Present Power promising His Presence and Strength. 

Mark the occasion.
"What do these stones mean?" Joshua 4:21. Tell your children when they ask:
Symbols of twin promises:
Your God is all powerful.
Your God is to be feared.

The stones. 
Recognize how strong God's rescuing Hand is.
Recognize your need to hold God in solemn reverence always. 

PHOTO:  Looking down from 34,000 feet to the rivers and oceans. Parting the Jordan River in my mind and seeing the tribes of faith crossing from one bank to the other. When you are smack dab in the middle of the crossing, There is nowhere else to go but to Trust. 

77 - Monday

Sunday, March 17, 2024

76 - "Signs of God's Presence" Joshua 3; Psalm 105

                                                     
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of His presence. 


God speaks.
It may be in the humdrum of life 

or it may be in hurts that pierce our hearts and make our blood run cold.
God speaks.

"And the reason that His Words are Impossible to Capture in Human Language is, of course, that they are ultimately always Incarnate Words. They are words fleshed out in the everydayness, no less than in the crises of our own experience." (Buechner). 

Whether you heard him in the humdrum or hurts of this day, keep your eyes open for Him.  
What sign was His Presence to you this day

Saturday, March 16, 2024

75 - "God Is With You Wherever You Go" Joshua 1-2


                                                       

Dear Friends,  “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful whatever you have inherited. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” How can we grasp an ironclad hold on this?  Don't stay discouraged.  God is with you!  God immediately said all of this to Joshua, after the death of Moses, What confidence God placed in this young man who will replace the friend of God, Moses. And here is the Promise to Joshua---this is how you can know that God will use you. And an undaunted Joshua receives this calling as he witnesses the death of the unabated man who ran everything and the promise of God unearthed in minutes. 

What I see in the Book of Joshua:  The severity of what is wrong in the hearts of the Israelites and in my own heart is real. But Oh! The Wonder of a Beautiful God moving through history, our story, to move us into holiness. Oh! The enormity of what He is doing in our lives. “Be strong and very courageous."           So, right where you are fixed with all emotion and involvement and commitment and confusion---God is with you in the midst of your mess.  But make no mistake, you’re a beautiful mess. And, you are all deeply loved!  These little ones in this photo. I hope you know in deep places how God is with you every step of the way when you read this someday and I'm gone. You are so loved by God more than any person in the world. He is With You!   

PHOTO: A family gathering in Spicewood Springs

Friday, March 15, 2024

DEUTERONOMY - Take-Aways

WILDERNESS
Moses knew he would not enter the land of Canaan, the Promised Land. Yet! Moses carried on. And he encouraged the people he led saying: "The Lord your God Who goes before you, will Himself fight for you." Deut 1:30. Can I fling everything in my hand, in my heart, upward to Heaven in my wilderness?  How the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 40 years! The journey was less than 15 days in distance.

LEADERSHIP
Moses destination was heaven not Horeb. His ministry was to people not a place. Moses understood far more than any other living person.  You must not demand that to find success, to see God's Hand move, to attain fulfillment, that you should enter a Promised Land. Moses looked right through the promised land into the eyes of God. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon [your life], from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." Deut 11:11-12.

IDOLATRY
"You shall not make for yourselves the likeness of anything in the heavens, in the earth, under the earth, even under the waters." Deuteronomy 5:8.  No likeness of anything.  Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates." Deut 16:21 - Worshipping other gods.  What is it that we do with this one life of ours?" What I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven.  Nor is it beyond the sea.  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." Deuteronomy 30:11-14. 

COVENANT
Deut 29:11-14. "You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God"... I hope all the words you've ever heard help you to truly live. 
When you call to mind what you have done . . .Return to the LORD your God.
Obey His Voice  with all your heart and soul . . .Then, the LORD will restore you and have mercy on you and gather you. Deut 30:2-3 
And these words will not be idle words to you. They are your very life. Deuteronomy 32:47. 
And those are the words of Moses.

74 - "Oh! Eternal Word of God" Deuteronomy 31-34

“Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you." Deut 31:26.

 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark." Nothing more important to love and Obey.  One verse that has meant the world to me ...  Deut 32:47. And these words will not be idle words to you. They are your very life. And those are the words of Moses. May our words be filled with life. 

It is Moses' last sermon. The last words of one of the greatest men who followed God. Take the Word with you. Nothing more important.  The Eternal Word of God.  Written for Moses.  Written for you and for me.  This very day, forward.  Leaning forward on the Word of God.  

Thursday, March 14, 2024

73 - "How Can We Live Out This Blessing?" Deuteronomy 28-30

What would it be like to have been there and hear this blessing from God.
Standing on Mount Gerizim to bless the people:
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.
No Moses.  No Aaron.  

Blessed shall you be in the city & blessed shall you be in the country.
Blessed shall be the offspring of your body,
and the produce of the ground,
the increase of your herd,
Blessed shall be all your flock,
Blessed shall be your basket and your bowl.
Blessed shall you be when you come in & blessed when you go out.

We must ask ourselves every time we read the Word of God: "What's the point?"  

Here, blessings shout out from the top of one glorious mountain followed by curses delivered from the peak of doom mountain. 

Wherever we go in life---
dwelling in the country or the city, 
leading our little ones, 
gathering our food for the day,
working hard at what we do,
living life whether it is coming in or going out.

Wherever we go...
Wherever you are, there is a blessing that can rest upon you---if we follow God.
Doesn't mean that everything will work our way, no!
Means that everything will be considered and cared, 
re-directed or re-created by the Providential Hand of God.
Take Courage.  The Good Hand of God is on you to bless you today and always.

Deut 28:3-6

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven.  Nor is it beyond the sea.  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. Deut 29:11-14. I hope all the words you've ever heard help you to truly live. 
When you call to mind what you have done . . .
Return to the LORD your God
Obey His Voice  with all your heart and soul . . .
Then, the LORD will restore you and have mercy on you and gather you. 
Deut 30:2-3

PHOTO:A blessing from the mountaintop.  How can we live this out is the real question.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

72 - "Even The Rocks are Listening" Deuteronomy 24-27

“See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”  Joshua 24:27.  The last words of Joshua---do not follow foreign gods.  Even the rocks have heard your testimony.  Joshua's face was set like a flint determined to guide the people to the Captain of their Soul and no other.  

"When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster.  Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones."  Deut 27:3  So, what does these verses mean?  What are all those verses written to us for?  Our deep calling.  Our deep encouragement.  Our deep knowledge of the truth.  Our deep freedom.  Go write down what you know; what you need to remember; what you need to live by.  Put it up.  Memorials of the Word.  The Living Word! 






Tuesday, March 12, 2024

71 - “No Plan B” Deuteronomy 20-23

                               

Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy Deut 23:14. God's heart. To make us holy people. Only His plan. Whatever that means for my day, my life. No Plan B.

Monday, March 11, 2024

70 - “Trusting In Deep Loss” Deuteronomy 16-19

                                                       

"Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates." Deut 16:21 - Worshipping other gods.  What is it that we do with this one life of ours?  What set-ups have I placed before my God?  What have I done with the kind of bewilderment Moses must have hinted at in his feet not touching promised ground.  The beautiful point in all of Moses' last sermon is that he looked life square in the eye and looked right past Promised Lands into the eyes of God.  He begged to enter his dream.  He let it go.  Not in just a second or passing thought.  He let decades of dreams dashed disintegrate.  Moses learned to trust in deepest of loss.  May we live our dreams like Moses did.  With open hands, open hearts.  

Sunday, March 10, 2024

69 - “Nothing Else Clings to Your Hand” Deuteronomy 11-15

                                                          

A spiral galaxy millions of light years away.
A Present God very near in our midst.
From Canaan to the Present.
Adopted as His own.
Called to be holy.
Chosen.

In Deut 14:1-2, Moses recants three distinguishing privileges: 
ADOPTED AS HIS SON~
"You are the sons of the LORD, your God," because you need a father.
CALLED TO BE HOLY ~  
"You are a people holy to the LORD, your God," because you are not.
CHOSEN BY GRACE ~
"The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His Treasured Possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth," not because of who you are, because of His Grace all over you.

"Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul." Matthew Henry.

Take Care ~
Lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and ... "your eye look grudgingly" ...  Deut 15:9.  What a haunting thought.  Unworthy thoughts.  Oh God!

LOVE Deut 11:2 “You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge " You have seen God's Hand. 

KNOW DEEPLY Deut 11:12 The Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on what He gives ... from the beginning even to the end of the year.

BEWARE Deyt 11:14 Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. 

IMPRESS Deut 11:18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand. You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 

CLING Deut 13:4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. Deut 13:17 Nothing else shall cling to your hand 

REST Deut 12:8 You have not as yet come to a resting place. 

Do we know a rest in the midst of harsh circumstances, unsolved dilemmas, broken relationships?  We will never be fully at rest in this life---that's heaven---but we can enter a rest we know not!  


Saturday, March 9, 2024

68 - “Remember the Terrible and Wonderful” Deuteronomy 11

                                                     

Here is Moses recounting some of the terrible and wonderful works their eyes have seen. May we never forget what our eyes have seen. Think back on it now. Look at where you have walked. Remember the terrible and wonderful! We should be the better person for having lived through it dependent on God.

And now, you are going over to possess a land that drinks by the rain from heaven. Lives that soak up the Living Waters poured down from Above. People whom the LORD cares for! "The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon [your life], from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." Deut 11:11-12. 

May your hearts be full of this Word.
May your eyes be fixed on this Word.
May your tongues be full of this Word.
Deut 11:18.

COME BOLDLY:  Timeless Prayers
Father, may we never forget where we have come from, what we have seen with our own eyes.  May we treasure this Living Word that has already changed us.  Rain down on us this day.  Torrents of grace in all that we do.  

PHOTO:  Standing in a little rain, watching the thunder clouds roll in.  Thinking about this conversation I had with a friend:  "Ask yourself: 'What's not happening that needs to happen.' Dread is the old man hating no 'return on his investment.'  When it is all right that others don't love you back, then you are glad to see them, and you are different." So let go, Bev.  Let go of having anyone have to love you and respond to you. Let go. And here comes the rain!

Friday, March 8, 2024

67 - “Knowledge Arises In Our Hearts” Deuteronomy 8-10

                                                        

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 40 years! The journey was less than 15 days in distance. What happened? Deuteronomy 8:2.  What's the point here? How do we live like this? God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Held Ezri at 2 weeks old and wondered this very same thought.  Will she soon discover that man does not live by bread but by every Word out of the mouth of God.

God had the power to make it a very brief journey in the wilderness. And the same with "change" in our own lives. But how else is character formed? Overnight? How else can we come to see ourselves for who we really are? A C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good." They had to try awful hard in a wilderness---so do we. And what does it reveal? Humility and dependence or self-knowledge and arrogance. When we come "to know what is in our heart," that knowledge rises up---that's what the word "to know" means in the Hebrew. The truth rises up in our hearts of the Power and Patience and Presence of God---and our total dependence on Him.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

66 - “Secret to Raising Children” Deuteronomy 4-7

                                                          

You shall not make for yourselves the likeness of anything in the heavens, in the earth, under the earth, even under the waters.  No likeness of anything.  Moses understood this one far more than any living person.  You must not demand that to find success, to see God's Hand move, to attain fulfillment that you should enter the Promised Land.  Moses "let go" of his heart's desire.  No likeness of serving anything except his God.  What is God telling me to "let go" of this day?  Can I fling everything in my hand, in my heart upward to Heaven? 

What is on your heart --- Deuteronomy 6:6 ---- is what you will pass on to your children and friends. It is the whole secret to raising children. 

Frederick Buechner put it this way: "People are so apt to drift along on the surface of their lives, not really seeing or hearing or feeling very much because most of the time they are little more than half alive, the rest of the time dazed, dreaming, or detached."  These Ten Commandments, this Law of Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, this Law of Love will be broken again and again.  We don't need to be punished for messing up.  God came  to destroy sin not to punish us for sinning.  No one can keep all of these commandments day in/day out.  May our commitment be to surrender not to self-improvement.

PHOTO: On our way to Seattle

Wednesday, March 6, 2024

65 - “Moses’ Final Destination was Heaven not Horeb—-Demand Nothing Here/ Expect Everything There” Deuteronomy 1-3

                                                         

God knows your going and coming in your wilderness. Deut 2:7. He knows.
I am stunned that Moses knew he wouldn't enter the land of Canaan, the promised land. Yet! Moses carried on. And he encouraged the people he led saying: "The LORD your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you." Deut 1:30. This is Moses' last sermon and he knows it. And Moses still does not falter. He faces his grave disappointment with dependence.

Larry Crabb said it this way:  "Demand nothing here.  Expect everything there.
Surrender all rights to justice, to loving treatment from others, to fulfilling ministry,
to all the good things of this life and you will be given tastes of the good things to come.
That is how you taste the LORD and discover that He is good.  
It is those tastes that fill you with sustaining hope until you're welcomed to the banquet."

Moses' final destination was heaven not Horeb, an eternal home not an earthly one. His view of success did not include the conquest of Canaan. His ministry was to people not places. So, he kept on keeping on. Just like that young servant in Mark 5:36---keep on believing no matter what the circumstances show. There is an untold unseen unfolding Story.

"There is no better evidence and earnest of God's favor than His putting His Law in our hearts." Psalm 147:19.

PHOTO:  It's a tree in the wilderness outside of my window.  And in this wilderness in which I sit, God orchestrates my story.  I no longer live for success but for Him! 

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

64 - “God Calls Us to New Places, New Towns, New Friends” Numbers 33-36

 .                                               

This is a new place for them. 
Not a wilderness but still it must be occupied. 
There will be wilderness moments even in lush fields and within palace walls. Numbers 36:13 

Forty Years of wrestle in a wilderness is about to come to an abrupt halt into a land flowing with the likes of what they have not known. God calls us all to new places. New places in towns. New places in relationships. New places in learning to love. Removed from one Wilderness to another place that holds a wilderness, too. 
No exemptions. 
Only we have the teaching of the full Word of God to walk in. We have the power of the Mighty Hand of God to enable us to do what we are called to do. "These are the commandments through Moses to the people of Israel by the Jordan River at Jericho." God is with you in this. They must move to occupy this new place. May we do the same in what we face, by His Unending Grace, by His All-Knowing Power.

God sees the spot you're in; 
He knows the patch you must maneuver; 
His heart is toward you in Full Compassion in your removal. 
Occupy. 

PRAYER FROM PSALMS

"Teach us to number our days, that we might present to you a heart of Wisdom." Psalm 90:12
"Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know. Psalm 39:4

Monday, March 4, 2024

NUMBERS Take-Aways

FAMILY - All these sacrifices shadow our privilege of having a relationship with God. All these laws, these words spoken, protect and provide and prepare the family of God. Numbers 6:24-26 blessing the family where it counts. Put God’s name on the people so all will see and believe.

HEARING GOD’S VOICE - Numb 7:8-9. Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with God but it was the audible Voice of God that Moses heard first. Frederick Buechner writes: ‘The Bible uses hearing, not seeing, as the predominant image for the way human beings know God. They can only listen to time for the sound of God—-in the good times and bad times of their own lives for the words God is addressing to, of all people, them.”

COVENANT - God guides these people to the Promised Land by caring and loving them in every detail the whole way. Forty years. God set His Love on them. Steadfast Love. Numbers 14:18. The people moved with the visible overshadowing cloud and fire by nights. 

WILDERNESS - Homeless. A place of testing. No exemptions here. Accompanied by the Almighty. It was symbolic of God’s presence with them. And God stayed with rebellious people. In Numbers 14:1-3, the whole community wailed all night long. If only … . Never live on old manna. All these stories written down as warnings 1Cor 10:11-12…be careful that you don’t fall for the counterfeit holiness. 

LEADERSHIP - Here is a pivotal moment in Moses’ life—-Numbers 27:12-17—he will die on the Moabite range of mountains and never set foot in the Promised Land because Moses did not treat God as holy. Moses embraces God’s edict and fervently prays for the appointment of his successor.  Moses didn’t live for the temporal Promised Land. Moses profoundly lived for the Eternal God.  Moses cared more about the people than the promise. He didn’t demand a different ending to his journey. When things go right and when things go wrong, be like Caleb: Follow Fully. 

63 - “When Things Go Wrong, Follow Fully” Numbers 30-32

                                        

Moses cared more about these people than about the Promised Land. He spoke the truth constrained by the Love of God. Ought we not do the same? Carry the cares of our world for the spiritual success of those we love. "If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it." The Israelites fell back to old ways of making life work for them. Moses fell forward on God. Will we strain ahead today with his Energy so powerfully at work within. 

Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? Numbers 32:7.  When things get tough, do we try to find a better path?  What about illness?  Do we demand that another journey be found?  Oh God, help me to see that this story of mine is Yours.

There was no one like Caleb who followed fully.  May that be the theme of our lives.  When things go right, things go wrong: Follow Fully.

And God decided they would not enter the promised land because --- they did not fully follow, did not fall forward, did not follow fully.  

PHOTO: Sat on these rocks in Dallas thinking about all the things gone wrong.  My success is not up to me.  My story is up to God!

Sunday, March 3, 2024

62 - "Moses Disqualified Himself" Numbers 28-29


                                                               

Appoint someone else.  Moses disqualified himself.  I have no defense before The Almighty.  Moses and Aaron both didn't treat God as holy before the congregation of believers.  Just like the eleven limp forward to fulfill the Great Commission, Moses tips his hat to another.  May we not miss what God has for us this day, this chapter of our lives.  Our God is no respecter of persons.  Just take a deeper look at Mark 8, the feeding of the 4,000, primarily Gentiles.  He is the Bread of Life for all of us, even today in our divided nation, two Americas.  And the overtones of This Wonder for Gentiles and Jews and Whites and Blacks requires all to see in this Person who sits in front of them on a grass knoll that He Himself is God.  And what will we do with that today?  

These people with whom you are dealing---I brought them up and out of the Land of Egypt, just like you.  Live rightly.  Live just.  Live fully.  

Please change me in one of these 10,000 moments. You brought us to this place. You will do us good here. You will bring us out. Help me honor you here in this lonely place. 

PHOTO: The moon outside my window. Little movement in my life. Empower me to trust in the dark. Even when my moon stands in silence. 

Saturday, March 2, 2024

61 - "Do I Live for the Promised Land or Do I Live for God?" Numbers 25-27

                   

"If God answered all your prayers today, would it change the world or change you"?  

Moses, in a pivotal moment in his life, chose a benevolent, humanitarian prayer. Not for himself.  But for his world.  The pious leader would no longer cross the Jordan River and enter the confines of the privileged Promised Land. Numbers 27:12-17.  No, he would die on the Moabitic range of perilous mountains. All because...Moses struck the rock at Meribah and didn't treat God as holy.  With humility and meekness, Moses embraced the Divine Edict and "evinced the spirit of genuine patriotism in his fervent prayers for the appointment of a worthy and competent successor." Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.  


I am beyond belief in reading this. Moses could walk to the tip of one of the mountain ranges and grab an eyeful of the Promised Land he couldn't enter. Did Moses live for the promise of entering the Promised Land?  Or, did Moses simply profoundly live for God.  What about you?  What do you live for today?  


 

Friday, March 1, 2024

60 - "The Line Was Drawn by an Angel" Numbers 21-24

                           

The line was drawn by an angel of the Lord. God opposed him. Stood in his way.  

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown." Numbers 22:31.

It was the Great Divide that stopped me in my tracks.  Balaam counted the donkey as an adversary.  It is our Best Friend that meets us where we are, exposes us for who we are, and stands in our way.  When God opens our eyes, we see our sin and name it for the rebellion it is,  It's a Beautiful Thing when we are crossed, when a line is drawn, and God stands in our way.

PHOTO: The other side of my Great Divide. 

Thursday, February 29, 2024

60 - "Counterfeit Holiness" Numbers 17-20

                                                             

It's the work of heaven.

No man planted seeds; no man watered the grass; no man tended the flowers; no man grew anything.

"Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds." Numbers 17:8

The only prince of the 12 tribes who budded, blossomed, and produced fruit.  Not at the hand of man.  Moses couldn't make a stick grow overnight with such a trichotomy.  They don't exist together on a branch.  And the Israelites saw that it was a miracle.  A calling that produced fruit that only God can do.  Are we patient in our own pursuits, knowing God is producing fruit in our endeavors for Him. It is the blessing of heaven.  

 "Do not desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’”  Think about the priests in Jesus' day.  "All the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor” (Matt. 27:1-2).  They took counsel.  The error of the chief priests and Pharisees has been perpetuated and refined from Leviticus to this century. This error has to do with a false perception of holiness.  What does holiness really look like?  The chief priests?  Counterfeit holiness. What about today.  Are we a holy people?  God is most concerned about making us holy. Is that my major concern in any given matter?  Are we dealing with the Truth.

PHOTO:  It's the view outside my classroom window as I think about counterfeit idols.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

59 - "One Million Wailing All Night Long" Numbers 14-20; Psalm 95

                                                      

The whole community wailed all night long. Numbers 14:1-3. What!?!  One million people wailing for the sake of safety. A collective cry. All but two: Joshua and Caleb. I look around every day and hear the ways people talk to each other, talk about others, talk to themselves. Where are the Joshua's and Caleb's. If it is true that God is on our side, and it is true, then what does Josh and Caleb know that we don't know in our hearts. Two million people "missed" the grace of God.  forgot what they just read.- You shall die if  you defile God's tabernacle.  He is a Holy God.  Serious Business of Heaven.  And we are no longer under law. We live under grace. 

Yes! Ezekiel 27 - Dry Bones can be made alive in this new covenant.  Dry bones crossed this ocean, walked its floor. And most of them never really came to life, did they? 

Fast Forward to our dry bones. God crushed this curse into which we were born.  We can love and live alive to God and dead to sin. We are slaves to righteousness not sin. Either moving toward God or away from Him.  CS Lewis in The Weight of Glory calls it:  immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.  

This debt of ours is paid. We defile the Tabernacle we live in every day. All the frays of our heart are  covered with a Blanket of Grace. 

It's the work of heaven.

No man planted seeds; no man watered the grass; no man tended the flowers; no man grew anything.

"Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds." Numbers 17:8

The only prince of the 12 tribes who budded, blossomed, and produced fruit.  Not at the hand of man.  Moses couldn't make a stick grow overnight with such a trichotomy.  They don't exist together on a branch.  And the Israelites saw that it was a miracle.  A calling that produced fruit that only God can do.  Are we patient in our own pursuits, knowing God is producing fruit in our endeavors for Him. It is the blessing of heaven.  

PHOTO:  Stunned. Seared. Sent. Thinking about how we can cross this Atlantic Ocean by walking its floor and not believe God. 

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

58 - “Never Live on Old Manna” Numbers 11-13

 

The rabble!
Craving other things.
Numbers 11:4-6.
"If only we had . . . "
"We remember . . . "
"But now . . . "
Lost my appetite
Never see anything but manna.

Here's the truth . . .
"Never try to live on old manna, 
(and never try to replace it for better),
nor seek help in Egypt.
All must come from Jesus or thou are undone."  Charles Spurgeon

Old Testament laws.  We are no longer under the law.  They were looking forward and we no longer look backwards.  We are partakers of the Divine Nature.  Francis Chan said:  "We have obtained equal standing with everyone---like Peter."  Given all things that pertain to life and godliness. II Peter 1:3.  For that very reason.  Give it all up.  Make every effort.  Knowledge.  Self Control.  Steadfast.  Godliness.  Love.  "Don't be so nearsighted that you are blind."  We have Him here.  When Chan spoke tonight about looking at things Unseen.  What are we really looking at every day?  The warp or the woof?  Or the Invincible, Immutable, Incomprehensible God?

Father, it is incomprehensible that we can partake of your Divine Nature.  The Israelites looked forward and thought they'd give anything to be at that place.  You are Here.  Invade my day, this moment, with your Holy Presence.

PHOTO:  Taken at Passion as Francis Chan spoke about 2 Corinthians 4:18.  Fix our eyes on what is Unseen, not on this earth.z

Monday, February 26, 2024

`57 - “Hearing Brings Me to your Innermost Secret Place” Numbers 7-10

 

Every tribe brought magnanimous multiple offerings alike to dedicate the altar.  Silver plates; shekels numbering in the hundreds; sprinkling bowls galore; sacrificial livestock proud.  And the Lord matched this grandeur with his very own Voice.  Audible words from The Living Word.

If I cannot see you and can only hear you, you exist for me not in space but in time where hearing happens. If I see you and can walk around you, I experience you as an object—-I can inspect you from all angles. Buechener says something of “extraordinary importance occurs when I more fully take you into myself by hearing you. “Hearing you speak brings me by the most direct of all routes something of the innermost secret of who you are.”

Buechner, Frederick Whistling in the Dark

PHOTO:  I heard an audible Voice one day as I walked this very beach.  A young lady stopped my stroll and said:  "I came up to this beach to read my Bible.  And God just told me to stop you and tell you that this thing you are going through is from Him.  He is with you.  You are going to be okay."  She could have never known.  I faced the biggest crisis, the Greatest Divide, of my life.  And matching the grandeur of the skies and sea, I heard an audible Voice from a mouthpiece of God. More than a match.

Sunday, February 25, 2024

56 - “Put God’s Name on a Face” Numbers 6

 

This.  The words to bless your people, to put God's name on their faces.

Say this.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His Face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His Face toward you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:24-26.

The blessing is for every journey of life.
Israel prepares to leave Mt. Sinai and journey through a wilderness.
It's the story of our lives. 
"Bless us where it counts" - the word "bless" covers all the work here.  No conditions attached:  both physical and spiritual health.
"Keep us safe" - the word "keep" focuses on concerns for safety in our travels.  God will shelter us well.
"God's Face" - the word "Face" - The Light of God contrasts the darkness not far from our view.  We will see so much darkness.  May we see the Shining Face of God on all we meet on this journey.
"Lifting Up" - the word "Lifting Up" is a gracious movement of God toward us; and it's God gracious moving through us.  Lift up your Light and shine on this world here.  And give us all peace.  And God says:  "I will bless these people." 
"Put God's Name on the people" - the word "putting God's name on" comes supremely by means of the Word of God.  May we wear God's Name so that all we meet will see and believe.  And may we put the Name of God on every face we see.
For all our days.  

PHOTO: Our church. At The Arboretum. Putting God's words on these people. 

Saturday, February 24, 2024

55 - "The World Recognizes Us As Returnable" Numbers 3-5

Numbered.  Assigned.  Appointed.  

The total tribe of Levi is in place.  The able-bodied soldiers ready.  The organization is impeccable.  "The Merarites were but 6200 in all, and yet of these there were 3200 serviceable men, that is, more than half."  Soldiers were called at 20.  Ministers were called at 30---an honor for those more in the prime of life. May we step into our calling even when the world may recognize us as returnable. 

One commentary said that "the least of the tribes had almost four times as many able men as the Levites, and some of them more than eight times as many.  And the application for today is that there are way more of those engaged in the service of this world and warring after their flesh than those who are devoted to the service of God and fighting the good fight of faith." Matthew Henry Commentary.  The road is truly narrow and the followers are few.  Walk the narrow road.

PHOTO:  A Roman mural on our Latin class trip to Rome.  I cannot fathom mustering 600,000+ and yet, they fight the good fight with less than their neighbors.  And they maintain order.  And this is phenomenal.  And this is God.

Friday, February 23, 2024

LEVITICUS - Take-Aways

FAMILY: All these sacrifices foreshadow our privilege of having a relationship with God. The Israelites were looking forward. Fast Forward to Today. We have equal standing with Peter. (Cross Ref) 2 Peter 1:3. We have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. Incomprehensible to be pursued and invited into God’s family. Look at all the false gods coming after the Israelites.

HOLINESS: All these laws, these spoken words protect and provide and prepare the Israelite family to know who Jesus is. The law leads us to Christ.  Christ came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17. The Israelites are stuck at the base of Mt. Sinai. What offering do they bring to God? Obedience. Sacrifice. What offering do we bring to God? Our very selves. I struggle through the multitudinous details of the sin offerings—-how could they even remember—- but there is no struggle with the Truth that only comes from God, not these counterfeit gods. Lev 26:11 God will walk with and among. May we long for holiness more than longing to improve, change, reverse circumstances. God is the One who makes us holy. Lev 19:1 21:8. Long for Him. We read this book no longer under the Law. They were—-and look how they lived. Look at the Sabbath of these people. They treat it as holy, do we?  Look at our every day, do we profane the moments by not living in them.  Humble your soul. Lev 23:27. Offer the first fruits of your life. Turn to God first thing. Everything else is counterfeit. 

OFFERINGS: Psalm 50:2 Perfect in Beauty is the God who pours out of the Israelites when they follow in their wilderness and are not distant from God. Gratitude and offerings to God are not boxes to be checked off. There’s something wrong inside of us if life and love doesn’t flow out.
This theme of offerings is all about Jesus being the only Way. Lev 9:36. Offerings are no small things in their day. 

LOVE:
If we love Him, the offerings pour out. 
Lev 16:34 and all the preparations were done out of love for God. Am I taking care of my business?
"These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." Lev 27:26. Given for their joy. Manifested in holy love.  

Leviticus made me want to put first things first. Made me want to bend the knee to the Lamb of God—-the scapegoat foreshadowed in Leviticus 16. The picture of Jesus. The Forerunner. I John 4:10. A Redeemer comes.




54 - Leviticus 26-27; Numbers 1-2

"I'll set up my residence in your neighborhood." Lev 26:11 MSG. If we surrender, He is our neighbor. Oh!  

If we confess our sins...wait, when was the last time I repented of sin?  About 15 minutes ago.  I went into the living room to my husband to ask his forgiveness for being very rude to him, but you know what happened?  I sinned again right there cause I didn't like his response.  We have the awesome privilege of going into the Holy of Holies and living no longer curved in.  Repentance isn't just asking someone to forgive me but it's turning from it.  

66 Love Letters: "Think of holiness as relational energy that is more concerned with another's well-being than our own. Think of unholiness as perverted relational energy that is more concerned with our well-being than another's."  

So, as we close the Book of Leviticus, what would holiness look like as we relate to our spouse today?  What would it look like as we relate to our children?  What does it look like this day as we relate to our world?  My prayer for all of us as we end this book is Colossians 1:29:  As you face and embrace some really hard things, may you struggle well with "His Energy that so powerfully works in you." 

So what does the Book of Leviticus stir in you? "These are the commandments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." Lev 27:26. 

Given for their joy. Manifested in holy love.  


Look at the Sabbath of these people.  They treat it as holy, do we?  Look at our day, do we profane the moments by not living in them.  Being present before a God Who Sees, and before what is really happening while my soul stirs.  Humble your soul. Lev 23:27. Offer the first fruits of your life. Turn to God first thing when you have a problem. Come to Him first thing when you awake. 

All these sacrifices shadow our privilege of having a relationship with God. 
All these laws, these words spoken protect and provide and prepare the family of God.
The Israelites are stuck at the base of Mt. Sinai. What offering do they bring to God? Obedience. Sacrifice. What offering do we bring to God? Our very selves. I struggle through the words of the sin offerings but there is no struggle through the truth—-we need a Savior. We can sin with our Bibles wide open.
Lev 9:36 Offerings are no small things. If we love Him, the offerings of our life will pour out.
Perfect in Beauty is the Godf who pours out of the Israelites when they follow in their wilderness and are not distant from God. Gratitude and offerings to God are not boxes to be checked off. There’s something wrong inside of us if life doesn’t flow out. 
This theme of offerings is all about Jesus being the only Way. 
The core message of Leviticus is to make us holy to enter His Presence.
May we long for holiness more than longing to improve, change, reverse circumstances. Make us a holy people. 
We are no longer under the Law. The Israelites were looking forward. We have equal standing with Peter. 2 Peter 1:3. Given all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is incomprehensible that we can partake of His Divine Nature. 
Remembering a quote from John Wesley: “ Insead of giving thanks, one is tempted 


Father, it is incomprehensible that we can partake of your Divine Nature.  The Israelites looked forward and thought they'd give anything to be at that place.  You are Here.  Invade my day, this moment, with your Holy Presence.

God spoke to Moses & Aaron. He talked to them! 
And He did to me today in the midst.
When you enter the land
I am giving you to possess, put this in your house . . .
Leviticus 14:34

First Thought:  get rid of it!  God is the one engineering ordaining all things. 
"Instead of Giving Thanks, one is tempted toward and nurtured in 
accomplishments, achievements, and possessions. 
It is a world in which no wonders are enacted, no transformations noticed." 
John Wesley

Lev 16:34 and all the preparations were done out of love for God. Am I taking care of my business?
God is the One who makes us holy. Lev 19:1 21:8 When did it become OK to work harder to be holy?
We are not under this law like the Chief Priests in Jesus’ day believed. The ones who crucified him.




And so the book of Leviticus ends.  And you have to always ask yourself as you read your Bible:  So, what's the point?  Here it is:  all these kinds of laws were directed toward Israel's society not ours. The laws we just read are culturally specific.  Yet, Paul wrote in the NT that "the laws were written for our instruction" and they are "useful.  So, as we close this book of laws, we ask:  What did I just learn from all of these laws about how God wants me to truly live and about how he wants my society to truly live.  And the word I walk away with is "rest."  It's real rest that I long for.  And Sabbath rest. May I find true rest in Him, not in the tangibles of life. 

Someone said Moses wasn't a geographer, he was a prince in a grant.  Mustered up hundreds of thousands of Israelites.  Marshalled in rank and file, right into squadrons by Divine Appointment.  And the followers, all 600,000+ pitched according to the standards.  Unbelievable!   The Israelites did everything the Lord commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each of them with their clan and family." Numbers 2:34 !.  So, what's the point here?  It's our state in this world---moveable.  We pitch our tents and press through no continuing city.  May we live as fellow-pilgrims pressing on for the prize of Christ Himself and that future state of ours.  Pitch together. Press onward.

PHOTO:  Stumbled upon this beautiful place as I walked 10,000 steps today. Turned a corner. There it was. And There. God setting up His residence.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

53 - “Humble Your Soul” Leviticus 23-25

                                                    

We put God on trial every time we evaluate if He is good---what He has done that works for us or against us.  God is not on trial; we are.  God is the Judge.  "Humble your soul." Lev 23:27.  Offer the first-fruits of your life.  Turn to God first thing when you have a problem.  Come to Him first thing when you awake.  Pray to Him first thing when you sit down to eat.    C.S. Lewis wrote:  "You can’t get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first."  Are we living by the first things?  Look at the Sabbath of these people.  They treat it as holy, do we?  Look at our day, do we profane the moments by not living in them.  Being present before a God Who Sees, and before what is really happening while my soul stirs.  Humble your soul. Lev 23:27. Offer the first fruits of your life. Turn to God first thing when you have a problem. Come to Him first thing when you awake. 

All these sacrifices shadow our privilege of having a relationship with God. 
All these laws, these words spoken protect and provide and prepare the family of God.
The Israelites are stuck at the base of Mt. Sinai. What offering do they bring to God? Obedience. Sacrifice. What offering do we bring to God? Our very selves. I struggle through the words of the sin offerings but there is no struggle through the truth—-we need a Savior. We can sin with our Bibles wide open.
Lev 9:36 Offerings are no small things. If we love Him, the offerings of our life will pour out.
Perfect in Beauty is the Godf who pours out of the Israelites when they follow in their wilderness and are not distant from God. Gratitude and offerings to God are not boxes to be checked off. There’s something wrong inside of us if life doesn’t flow out. 
This theme of offerings is all about Jesus being the only Way. 
The core message of Leviticus is to make us holy to enter His Presence.
May we long for holiness more than longing to improve, change, reverse circumstances. Make us a holy people. 
We are no longer under the Law. The Israelites were looking forward. We have equal standing with Peter. 2 Peter 1:3. Given all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is incomprehensible that we can partake of His Divine Nature. 
Remembering a quote from John Wesley: “ Insead of giving thanks, one is tempted 


Father, it is incomprehensible that we can partake of your Divine Nature.  The Israelites looked forward and thought they'd give anything to be at that place.  You are Here.  Invade my day, this moment, with your Holy Presence.

God spoke to Moses & Aaron. He talked to them! 
And He did to me today in the midst.
When you enter the land
I am giving you to possess, put this in your house . . .
Leviticus 14:34

First Thought:  get rid of it!  God is the one engineering ordaining all things. 
"Instead of Giving Thanks, one is tempted toward and nurtured in 
accomplishments, achievements, and possessions. 
It is a world in which no wonders are enacted, no transformations noticed." 
John Wesley

Lev 16:34 and all the preparations were done out of love for God. Am I taking care of my business?
God is the One who makes us holy. Lev 19:1 21:8 When did it become OK to work harder to be holy?
We are not under this law like the Chief Priests in Jesus’ day believed. The ones who crucified him.

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

52 - “Counterfeit Holiness” Leviticus 19-22

 

 "Do not desecrate my sanctuary. I am the Lord, who makes you holy.’”  Think about the priests in Jesus' day.  "All the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death; and they bound Him, and led Him away, and delivered Him up to Pilate the governor” (Matt. 27:1-2).  They took counsel.  The error of the chief priests and Pharisees has been perpetuated and refined from Leviticus to this century. This error has to do with a false perception of holiness.  What does holiness really look like?  The chief priests?  Counterfeit holiness. What about today.  Are we a holy people?  God is most concerned about making us holy. Is that my major concern in any given matter?  Are we dealing with the Truth?

When did it become OKAY to work harder to be holy?
Be holy. Leviticus 19:1
How do we do that?
Am I asking the right question?
Do I fear the One Who will ask the right questions?
God is the One Who makes us holy.
Leviticus 21:8
Where did we LEARN that we could work harder to become holier?  
Why do we think we can deny what is really happening within our souls?  
When did it become all right to distance ourselves to live for this world?  
What in life can make us holy apart from You?  
Make us a holy people, unto Yourself!

PHOTO: Browning's sanctuary. You shall know the truth and it will make you free. And God will make you holy.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

51 - “Undone” Leviticus 15-18

                         

The priests couldn't heal. All these regulations. How could they even remember. 

"And it was done."
As commanded by the Lord.
Leviticus 16:34.
All the preparations, done out of love for God.
All the regulations, done out of honor for God.
And what about my life?
Is it done?
Or am I undone?

DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ME IN ONE OF THESE 10,000 MOMENTS, because I do not want to stay where I am.  I want this day to pass and I will be a little different in righteousness than I was yesterday.  May I live undone to myself.  And done to serving You.  For Your Glory!

PHOTO:  Undone.  But, Henry says: If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, 
it intimates that when we withdraw from those who walk disorderly, 
we must not count them as enemies, but admonish them as brothers. 

And I just love that thought.  The leprosy of sin---I've been made to feel that way.  Like a leper.  May I never count them as my enemy but treat them as a friend---and a friend gives admonishments, too.  

PHOTO:  Undone.

Monday, February 19, 2024

50 - “The Invincible, Immutable, Incomprehensible God” Leviticus 12-14

                                                        

Old Testament laws.  We are no longer under the law.  They were looking forward and we no longer look backwards.  We are partakers of the Divine Nature.  Francis Chan said tonight:  "We have obtained equal standing with everyone---like Peter."  Given all things that pertain to life and godliness. II Peter 1:3.  For that very reason.  Give it all up.  Make every effort.  Knowledge.  Self Control.  Steadfast.  Godliness.  Love.  "Don't be so nearsighted that you are blind."  We have Him here.  When Chan spoke tonight about looking at things Unseen.  What are we really looking at every day?  The warp or the woof?  Or the Invincible, Immutable, Incomprehensible God?

Father, it is incomprehensible that we can partake of your Divine Nature.  The Israelites looked forward and thought they'd give anything to be at that place.  You are Here.  Invade my day, this moment, with your Holy Presence.
God spoke to Moses & Aaron. He talked to them! 
And He did to me today in the midst.
When you enter the land
I am giving you to possess, put this in your house . . .
Leviticus 14:34

First Thought:  get rid of it!  God is the one engineering ordaining all things. 
"Instead of Giving Thanks, one is tempted toward and nurtured in 
accomplishments, achievements, and possessions. 
It is a world in which no wonders are enacted, no transformations noticed." 
John Wesley

If God has ordained for you to possess the good, the bad, the ugly ,,,, 
God will enable you to persevere in your possessions.

PHOTO:  Taken at Passion Conference as Francis Chan spoke about 2 Corinthians 4:18.  Fix our eyes on what is Unseen, not on this earth.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

49 - "Name Your Sin" Leviticus 10-11

"You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean." Leviticus 11:47.  Name the sin that separates us from God.  God ever lives to make us holy. All these regulations!  They couldn't enter the Presence of God "as is."  This theme of offerings is all about how Jesus is the only Way.  The core message of Leviticus is to make us  holy.  May we distinguish between all the things we deal with.  May we long for holiness as much as our next breath.  May I desire to be holy in my current situation more than I want to figure out what to do to improve it, change it, eradicate it.  Help us to distinguish between good and evil.  Make us a holy people. 

PHOTO: Church of the Martyrs in Rome. A holy moment standing here knowing the stories of holy people. Ordinary people who took a stand on their faith, their God.  Willing to be murdered for Truth.  Unbelievable.  You should read about The Church of the Martyrs. 

Saturday, February 17, 2024

48 - "Distance from God is Our Problem" Leviticus 8-9

Life moves so fast.
Traveling 70mph on a country road.
Thinking about distance.

The Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai to tell the Israelites that they needed to bring their "oblations" to God in the wilderness.  Don't wait until you get to the Promised Land.  The wilderness.  So what am I waiting for---things to get better?  This offering is no small thing here. If we love Him, the offerings of our life will pour out. Leviticus 9:36. "Solemn acts of religious worship are not things which we may do or not do at our pleasure; it is at our peril if we omit them." Matthew Henry.

Gratitude and gifts to God are not boxes to be checked off.  There's something wrong inside of us if it doesn't flow. What is at the root of why we don't offer ourselves, our day, our family, our ministries to God.  We are blind to see what the most lethal problem really is.  Why are we so lethargic in our disciplines?  Lawrence Crabb says:  "Distance from God" is responsible for every problem we have.  He talks about how we assume that we are doing just fine while we run off trying to make our lives work. 

I know what it feels like to be stiffarmed.  What about the distance I've created because I don't think God is fair, or kind, or generous?  What will I do about distance from God if I recognize it?

Perfect in Beauty are you God Who pours out of pearls. Psalm 50:2. Thank you for what you are doing in our lives to break up this running of our lives on separate tracks.  Thank you that you will never stop pursuing us, even when we are distant. 

PHOTO:  Buena Vista, Colorado. Snapped out of my car window as I reflect on how fast life passed me by.  Four adult children sitting next to me.  Wives.  Husbands.  Doesn't look like I thought it would.  Help me to make it what You want it to be.  

Matthew Henry

Lawrence Crabb

Friday, February 16, 2024

47 - "If A Soul Sins" Leviticus 5-7

                                               

We will sin in this day.

Sitting on this tiny island today thinking about my sins and Redeeming Grace that sets me free of what grabs me. No one, Nothing can snatch me out of His Hand. And we have an Advocate. 

Here. They offer sacrifices for their sins. 
For secret sins. 
For sins against humanity. 

"If a soul sins ..." Leviticus 5:1

Change us in one of our 10,000 Moments today and always. That we may find you in our weaknesses, in our sins. 

PHOTO: Quarries Lake, ATX