Last week, we read in Deuteronomy 28 about the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience that God laid out for His people. It was a stark reminder that God is serious about our obedience...and He should be. His people are intended to reflect His nature, His name, His glory.
I couldn't help but notice that the section on curses was much longer than the section on blessings. Maybe that's because God knew Israel (and all people after them) would seem to be disobedient more often than they were obedient. But don't miss it...God comes back to blessing in chapter 30. Knowing that His people will turn from Him and rebel against Him, He promises that when they repent He will forgive them and bless them. He will restore and prosper them. And not just a little - "abundantly"!
How many of us love to quote Jeremiah 29:11? "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future." I love that verse. But you know what I love even more about that verse? It's God speaking to His people during their exile. They have rebelled and failed miserably as the people of God and He is drawing them back. He is faithful when we are not. He gives grace when we least deserve it. He is generous when we have nothing to offer in return. He is our God and He loves us and is eager to bless us. May that compel us to a life of obedience for His glory!
-holly
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Discerning God's Call
After David suggested on Sunday that we each ask God if He wants us to support local disciple making by moving to East Lake/Gate City, I began to do that on Monday. As I talked with God about this I had to first get past my fears and doubts. After sharing those with Him, I then put them aside the best I could, reminding myself that in the past when God has called me to a mission or ministry He has given me the peace and joy to go with the calling. So I ask the question, “How do I know if You are calling me to this?” “What can I do discern You will?” I then seem to hear: “Those I send, I’ve already prepared. Look at My servant Moses.” God prepared Moses before He called him by raising him in pharaoh’s court. As a child he played in the palace. He experienced the humanity of pharaoh and knew he was only a man; not a god nor divine in any way; a man with great power but still only a man. Moses also had a love for his people. He had maintained his relationship with his people, God’s people, even though he was living in pharaoh’s household. He killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite. He tried to convince two Israelites not fight with each other. God prepare Moses for the times the Israelites would gripe and complain and turn against him by putting a love for them in his heart. There are probably other preparations that God made in Moses that I’m not aware of but He prepared him long before He called him.
Monday night I again came to God with my question. “How do I know if You are calling me to this?” The next response I seem to hear was: “To those I call I give the vision. Look at My servant Moses.” When God called Moses He didn’t say, “I want you to leave your flocks, your home, your family and go to Egypt.” What He said was, “I’ve heard My people’s cry and I want you to go and get them and bring them to Me.” God doesn’t send someone to a place; He sends them to a vision. So going is not about going to a place but about seeing God’s vision for His people in that place.
By not means do I think I have the final answer yet. But I believe God has given me guidance for my discerning of His will so I thought I’d share that with you.
Monday night I again came to God with my question. “How do I know if You are calling me to this?” The next response I seem to hear was: “To those I call I give the vision. Look at My servant Moses.” When God called Moses He didn’t say, “I want you to leave your flocks, your home, your family and go to Egypt.” What He said was, “I’ve heard My people’s cry and I want you to go and get them and bring them to Me.” God doesn’t send someone to a place; He sends them to a vision. So going is not about going to a place but about seeing God’s vision for His people in that place.
By not means do I think I have the final answer yet. But I believe God has given me guidance for my discerning of His will so I thought I’d share that with you.
Monday, March 8, 2010
What is my Egypt?
In Numbers the Israelites stand at the edge of the Promised Land. The land God has promised to them for generations, the fulfillment of a promise made to their patriarch Abraham. To get them to this point God has done nothing short of astonishing miracle after astonishing miracle. He has made His presence known to them in a cloud and in fire. They can see His presence with their own eyes. So they stand, an army ready to enter the land...and they lose their faith. They get scared. They forget God's grace and His faithfulness. They even cry out that they want to go back to Egypt, the land of their slavery.
So what is my Egypt? What do I choose over God's promises? What looks safe and secure but is nothing but shackles and chains? When I take my eyes off God and start to panic, what do I turn to even though God has freed me from it? Is it my house? Maybe my job or the paycheck that comes with it? Is it feeling safe in my gated community or knowing my child is getting a great education in an adorable school that looks like a castle? A lot of the times it's the dreams, the vision I have of a "nice life" with summers spent at the pool, fall spent at football games, and life spent enjoying one event after another. These are Egypt to me. At one point they make me feel safe and secure and then I look again and realize they may be the very things that enslave me. The very things that I cling to instead of clinging tightly to my God. The very things that make me swallow hard when I think of giving them up.
But wouldn't I give it all up...every bit of it to see God's glory in my life? The house, the job, the dream are worthless without Him. They are fading, corroding, disintegrating right in front of my eyes. Only His glory is forever.
God, please please show me how to live this short day in light of an eternal tomorrow. I want my life to count. Don't let me waste it. You are worth it.
-holly
So what is my Egypt? What do I choose over God's promises? What looks safe and secure but is nothing but shackles and chains? When I take my eyes off God and start to panic, what do I turn to even though God has freed me from it? Is it my house? Maybe my job or the paycheck that comes with it? Is it feeling safe in my gated community or knowing my child is getting a great education in an adorable school that looks like a castle? A lot of the times it's the dreams, the vision I have of a "nice life" with summers spent at the pool, fall spent at football games, and life spent enjoying one event after another. These are Egypt to me. At one point they make me feel safe and secure and then I look again and realize they may be the very things that enslave me. The very things that I cling to instead of clinging tightly to my God. The very things that make me swallow hard when I think of giving them up.
But wouldn't I give it all up...every bit of it to see God's glory in my life? The house, the job, the dream are worthless without Him. They are fading, corroding, disintegrating right in front of my eyes. Only His glory is forever.
God, please please show me how to live this short day in light of an eternal tomorrow. I want my life to count. Don't let me waste it. You are worth it.
-holly
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Answer to Job's Suffering
Here's one of my greatest pet peeves: "When I get to heaven, the first thing I'm gonna do is ask God ________ !"
Doubtful. I bet Job had that thought though. He clearly didn't understand why he was suffering, why his friends were allowed to go on and on about some secret sin that didn't exist, why God wasn't vindicating him. But when God finally revealed Himself to Job (as He will do when we meet Him in heaven), Job was stunned to silence. Then God revealed more about Himself and Job said
"I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted...Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I do not know...I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You"
I'm actually comforted to know that the God of the universe does not owe me an explanation for anything, but if I seek Him, He will reveal Himself to me. He doesn't answer with why...He answers with Who. May that be enough for me.
Doubtful. I bet Job had that thought though. He clearly didn't understand why he was suffering, why his friends were allowed to go on and on about some secret sin that didn't exist, why God wasn't vindicating him. But when God finally revealed Himself to Job (as He will do when we meet Him in heaven), Job was stunned to silence. Then God revealed more about Himself and Job said
"I know that You can do all things and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted...Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I do not know...I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You"
I'm actually comforted to know that the God of the universe does not owe me an explanation for anything, but if I seek Him, He will reveal Himself to me. He doesn't answer with why...He answers with Who. May that be enough for me.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Preparing to Worship
One thing I noticed today as I was reading. In Gen 35:2 Jacob is beginning to "get it", he is starting to understand that the God who has been "following him around wherever he goes" has a plan. It is starting to dawn on him that because God is the one who has protected him, guided him and blessed him and He is the one that Jacob should be worshipping. So he gives instructions to his entire household and all who are with him to prepare themselves to enter into God's presence. He tells them 3 things to do. These 3 things are also good guidance for us as we prepare to daily enter into God's presence and worship Him.
1. Put away the foreign gods: What are those things in our lives that we give most importance to? What are the ideas and attitudes that we bow to each day? Anything that separates us from God, anything that keeps us from complete surrender to the One True God must be put away.
2. Purify yourselves: We have been given the opportunity to do just this through the sacrifice of Jesus. He has offered the perfect sacrifice and through repentance we can be purified, made clean in God's sight.
3. Change your garments: Change on the outside represents the change on the inside. When we put away the foreign gods and repent, we are transformed on the inside. Then our outward appearance, actions, and words will change to reflect the inward change.
Jacob was beginning to understand that walking with God makes us different, makes us better, makes us happier, makes us more like His Son. Let's enjoy the walk.
1. Put away the foreign gods: What are those things in our lives that we give most importance to? What are the ideas and attitudes that we bow to each day? Anything that separates us from God, anything that keeps us from complete surrender to the One True God must be put away.
2. Purify yourselves: We have been given the opportunity to do just this through the sacrifice of Jesus. He has offered the perfect sacrifice and through repentance we can be purified, made clean in God's sight.
3. Change your garments: Change on the outside represents the change on the inside. When we put away the foreign gods and repent, we are transformed on the inside. Then our outward appearance, actions, and words will change to reflect the inward change.
Jacob was beginning to understand that walking with God makes us different, makes us better, makes us happier, makes us more like His Son. Let's enjoy the walk.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Order of Melchizedek
In today's reading we see Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High. Abram gave him a tenth of everything that he won when he recovered Lot from being captured. Abram recognized Melchizedek, as the priest that he was, and gave him the tithe (10%) as a blessing to the Lord. We see Melchizedek mentioned in Psalm 110:4 and Jesus is called a priest after the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews Chapters 5 - 7.
A priest is one who does not take the glory of men to himself but serves both men and God as a mediator between them. And we have a Great High Priest (1 John 2: 1-2) who is ever before the throne of God lifting up our needs and seeking our forgiveness; not through the blood of goats and lambs but through the offering of Himself as the one pure and perfect sacrifice. Therefore our hope in not in our ability to be perfect but in Jesus who perfectly covers our sin with His righteousness. What a wonderful Savior, what a glorious Priest, what an awesome Friend, what a loving God!
A priest is one who does not take the glory of men to himself but serves both men and God as a mediator between them. And we have a Great High Priest (1 John 2: 1-2) who is ever before the throne of God lifting up our needs and seeking our forgiveness; not through the blood of goats and lambs but through the offering of Himself as the one pure and perfect sacrifice. Therefore our hope in not in our ability to be perfect but in Jesus who perfectly covers our sin with His righteousness. What a wonderful Savior, what a glorious Priest, what an awesome Friend, what a loving God!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
The Beginning of Evil
Wow what a great start on our reading and discussion!
Billy Graham wrote a book called Angels that I used as a foundation to create a study about angels. The study is 22 questions that we want to know about angels. How does this fit into the discussion? The serpent in the garden was Satan. The term serpent and/or dragon is used throughout the Bible to refer to Satan. I don't know if it was Satan disguised as a serpent, or embodied in a serpent or exactly what physical form Eve saw.
The short version is: God create angels and mankind and they were both good. Because of God’s love He gave us free will, He didn’t create robots. Along with Michael, Satan (Lucifer) may have been one of the two archangels. Ezek. 28: 12 – 17 tells of Lucifer’s beauty. Isaiah 14: 11- 15 tells of Lucifer’s pride in desiring to be God. He led a rebellion against God, lost the battle and was thrown out of heaven. 1/3 of the angels joined him in this rebellion; Rev 12: 3 – 4. From that point on Satan’s goal has been to keep mankind from knowing and loving God.
The difference between angels and mankind is that, Satan sinned by his choice, his free will. No one else tempted him. His own pride caused him to sin. Mankind was tempted by Satan into sin. It did not come from within but was produced by the lies of Satan. But because of God's love for us He gave Jesus - the One who is above the angels and all created things - as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The Glorious creator was give for the humble creation and through Him we become joint heirs with Him in His heavenly home.
We live in both a physical and spiritual world. Angels (both good and bad) are part of that spiritual world. We have an impact on the spiritual world through our prayers, our obedience and our resistance to Satan. The spiritual world has an impact on our lives as the battle rages, but we do not need to fear. He who is for us is greater - much greater than he who is against us.
If you would like to see more details the study is posted at:
http://www.pamnoelstudio.com/Angels%20-%20expanded%20study.pdf
The above starts with Question 16.
Billy Graham wrote a book called Angels that I used as a foundation to create a study about angels. The study is 22 questions that we want to know about angels. How does this fit into the discussion? The serpent in the garden was Satan. The term serpent and/or dragon is used throughout the Bible to refer to Satan. I don't know if it was Satan disguised as a serpent, or embodied in a serpent or exactly what physical form Eve saw.
The short version is: God create angels and mankind and they were both good. Because of God’s love He gave us free will, He didn’t create robots. Along with Michael, Satan (Lucifer) may have been one of the two archangels. Ezek. 28: 12 – 17 tells of Lucifer’s beauty. Isaiah 14: 11- 15 tells of Lucifer’s pride in desiring to be God. He led a rebellion against God, lost the battle and was thrown out of heaven. 1/3 of the angels joined him in this rebellion; Rev 12: 3 – 4. From that point on Satan’s goal has been to keep mankind from knowing and loving God.
The difference between angels and mankind is that, Satan sinned by his choice, his free will. No one else tempted him. His own pride caused him to sin. Mankind was tempted by Satan into sin. It did not come from within but was produced by the lies of Satan. But because of God's love for us He gave Jesus - the One who is above the angels and all created things - as a sacrifice for the sin of mankind. The Glorious creator was give for the humble creation and through Him we become joint heirs with Him in His heavenly home.
We live in both a physical and spiritual world. Angels (both good and bad) are part of that spiritual world. We have an impact on the spiritual world through our prayers, our obedience and our resistance to Satan. The spiritual world has an impact on our lives as the battle rages, but we do not need to fear. He who is for us is greater - much greater than he who is against us.
If you would like to see more details the study is posted at:
http://www.pamnoelstudio.com/Angels%20-%20expanded%20study.pdf
The above starts with Question 16.
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