Author: tracy

 

 

Acts 2:22

Why is it significant that one of the names of God is “man”? We have spent half of the year looking at God’s character, His power, His might, His love, His Lordship,… the list is long. “Man” seems so out of character for God. “Man” is beneath God, because He is above all, knows all, sees all, is everywhere, created everything and God is our King. But it is true, God became “man” in Jesus.

God becoming “man” was completely His idea, part of His plan. He knew that the only way we could be in relationship with Him was for our sin debt to be paid, and He knew that the only way we could pay our debt would be with our lives, our own blood poured out as payment. He wanted relationship with us so deeply, He decided to make another way for our debt to be paid. He left His perfect home in heaven and came to earth so He could die in our place. His blameless perfection was the only substitute valuable enough and pure enough to take our place. There was no other option for us. Jesus lived on this earth just as you and I do, and He died a tortuous, humiliating death to cover the cost of our sin because He wanted to buy us back out of our death sentence. He chose to become man.

God becoming “man” is the best gift we have ever been given. God trading His life for mine/ours is the most meaningful, rich, costly, and selfless gift I can imagine. Never will there be another gift more valuable. It is valuable because He gave His own life for you and me, and didn’t have to do it. He could have let us live and die on our own. If He had chosen to leave us on our own, the first time we sinned, our relationship with Him would have been over. We couldn’t have been in His perfect presence again with sin separating us. Because He loves us and desires relationship with us so desperately, He gifted us a replacement for our payment of sin so we could be washed clean and still be able to commune with Him. I am amazed at His gift.

God becoming “man” is pure grace and generosity. We do not deserve His payment for our sin. No one is good enough to make the cut on our own. God’s love is different than our love. His is so enormous, so full, so rich and completely unconditional, He was willing to pay whatever it cost Him to buy us back. He knew He was the only perfect payment, the only possible replacement and He was willing to lavish us with exactly what we didn’t deserve.

 

The only reason for God to take on the name “man” was to save us and wash us clean so we could have relationship with Him. This name of God reminds me of His enormous love for us, His willingness to give up His only Son, His grace because I am so undeserving of His gift, and His perfect knowledge because He knew we would need to see His actual life on earth to be able to believe His plan. This name of God might be the most humble name He has. It stops me in my tracks to fall face down in His presence in gratitude to Him.

John 7:38

I made a mistake! I underlined the wrong passage to write on today as I was highlighting my assignments for this month. Jacob wrote on this passage yesterday and explained beautifully our necessity for Living Water. As I was preparing this week for this post, the Spirit lead me in a different direction from what Jacob covered. Since I discovered my mistake too late in the day to rewrite, I present “Living Water” take two…

 

As I think about God and try to describe His three persons, I have an easier time knowing and listing functions of Jesus and God than I do the Holy Spirit. As I pray and think, I give God credit for creation and being the Sovereign Father, Leader and Protector of people, especially in the Old Testament. Jesus is my Savior. He came to earth as a human, lived like we live and then gave His life on the cross to pay the price for my sin. The Holy Spirit seems more mysterious and maybe has less tangible traits than Jesus or God. Today the character trait of God’s we are looking at is “Living Water” and in our verse, Jesus tells us He is speaking of the Holy Spirit when He says Living Water. So I thought today we should look at some of the functions of the Spirit written about in the Bible so we can more easily recognize Him and His work in our lives.

 

John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirit teaches us and helps us remember the things we have already learned about God. He is our helper and counselor as we are trying to learn Gods ways and put them into practice in our daily lives.

John 16:7-8 say that the Spirit convicts the world of sin. He is the One who “speaks” in our minds to let us know when we are thinking wrongly about an issue or making a self-serving choice. He is the One who points to righteousness so we know what is right and wrong.

1 Cor 3:16 tells us that God’s Spirit dwells in us. This verse is maybe where some of that “mystery” comes in. It is very hard to explain this “dwelling” unless you have experienced it yourself. I can confidently attest to the fact that I notice His dwelling in me more when I am watching for it and listening for His voice. When I am not seeking Him, He seems much more quiet.

1 Cor 2:10-11 says that the Spirit is a source of wisdom in our lives. Because He dwells in us and He is God’s Spirit, He knows the thoughts of God and reveals those thoughts to us when we believe in Him.

Acts 1:8 says that “we will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on us”. In Eph 1:17-20 Paul explains the Spirit’s power more clearly by telling us that the power we receive from Him is the same as the mighty strength He used to raise Jesus from the dead and seated Him at the right hand of the Father in heaven. This is a very tangible explanation of the Spirit’s power!

John 16:13 proclaims that the Holy Spirit is the called the “Spirit of Truth”. “When the Spirit comes, He will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on His own but will He will only speak what He hears. He will glorify Me (Jesus) because it is from Me (Jesus) that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine (Jesus), which is why I (Jesus) said that the Spirit will receive from Me what He will make known to you.

1 Cor 12:7-11 lets us know that our spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit. We are all given wisdom, knowledge and power and then verses 9 and 10 give more specific gifts that the Spirit gifts to people. Verse 11 says that “The Spirit alone decides which gift each person should have”.

A few weeks ago we looked at Rom 8:26-27, explaining that the Spirit is our intercessor. You can look back at Apr 29 if you want to read over that again.

Eph 1:13 lets us know that the Holy Spirit is a seal in our lives. The term “seal” may not be very familiar to us, but as we look more closely it is actually a beautiful promise that I would like to close with this morning. The Holy Spirit is our mark/seal of adoption as God’s children. “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.”

 

After looking at all of these verses and their meanings, the term “Three in One” (that we hear so often describing God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit), seems to make much more sense. I was struck as I thought through these verses how perfectly each One of the Three has specific functions, but that they all work from the same truth and knowledge. They all work together to the same end. My mind will never comprehend this relationship or personhood fully, and I’ll never have words to articulate God while on this earth, but reading God’s word and thinking through His word pictures helps me understand a little bit more than I did before I started this morning. Thank you Holy Spirit for dwelling in me, teaching me, convicting me, giving me wisdom, giving me power, being perfect truth in my life, being my intercessor, and for marking me with Your seal as one of God’s children!

 

 

Psalm 139

 

Would you describe yourself as a person that is an open book? Are you quick to share yourself with others, do you make friends easily, finding connecting points with just about everyone you meet? Or do you find that you hold your thoughts and opinions tighter? Do you need to be with longtime friends to open up and share your emotions? I think that all of us are a little bit different and feel comfortable at different levels of friendship with others. No matter where you find yourself on the spectrum, there are times when we don’t let people get too close because we are afraid that they will discover something about us that they don’t like. We are scared that too much honesty on our part will bring judgement or changed opinions of us. Let’s be honest, we all like to control our reputations and our personas. We like to present the good and downplay the ugly.

But with God, there is no “presenting” for us to do. God already knows EVERYTHING about us. He watched as we were being formed in our mother’s wombs. Every day of our lives was recorded in His book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. He knows when we sit or stand, when we travel or are home. He knows our thoughts and He knows what we are going to say before we even say it. If we went to the heavens He would be there, if we went to the farthest oceans He would still be there to guide us and support us. Darkness cannot hide us from Him, we can never escape His presence. He knows and loves us completely and He still accepts us. God is with us through every situation and in every trial…guiding, loving and protecting us. His love is so different than the love we are capable of. We are mostly only able to love with conditions and expectations. God’s love is vast, all encompassing, ever present, generous, sacrificial, lavish, helpful, perfect, overflowing, unconditional and mighty.  David says, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them, they outnumber the grains of the sand”.

The beginning of Ps 139 starts with David saying. “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.” Then David finishes this chapter with, “ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” David knew just as we do that God knows everything about us. So he asked God to point out the areas where David was lacking or choosing his own thoughts over God’s thoughts. It takes some maturity and a lot of trust to ask the One who knows every thought you have and every motive in your heart to examine your heart and point out any offenses. The truth is that God is already there, He already knows and sees all, but sometimes we act like children and pretend that we are keeping things from Him. We tell ourselves that our thoughts are private and only known to us. Isn’t that the only way we can live with ourselves some times? Maybe it’s time to get real about what God knows. Maybe today we should focus all day on how aware we are that He knows everything. We could ask God to point out to us where we are not being honest with ourselves, where we are trying to cover and hide our messes. Are you brave enough to ask Him to point out your offenses today?

 

(If you are too scared, maybe go back to the end of the second paragraph and reread the ways that he loves us. The purpose for His pointing out offenses to us is so that we can change for good, not so he can zap or punish us. He loves us and wants the best for us. Him turning a blind eye and letting us continue on a sinful path doesn’t help us. He knows this and loves us too much to let us lie to ourselves if we are seeking His truth.)

 

 

Job 16:20-21, Is 53:12, Rom 8:26

Has the definition of what you need changed in the past month? Are you seeing that some of the things you thought were most important in life are less so after living without them for over a month? Have your priorities changed with less activity and busyness filling your time?

I have been thinking a lot lately about what is important to me. I have had a more honest look at how I spend my time with less on my schedule. This length of time with life changed so drastically has put a magnifying glass on my choices. I’d love to report that all is well and that my priorities are well defined by now, but I’m still smack dab in the mire of the process. God is gently showing me that some of the things I was telling myself were important to me, are actually not. Some of this new truth is freeing. Projects that I had previously been telling myself I wanted to do if only I had the time aren’t getting done. I am finding that time was never the issue. I just don’t really WANT to do them. It’s good to get to the truth on these things so there is less weighing on my mind. I can let them go, knowing that they really are not that high on my priority list. But there are other issues, when the truth is revealed that honestly are making me sad. I’m disappointed that my prayer time hasn’t increased drastically with more free time. There isn’t much that I would name more valuable in life than time spending with God. Before this SAH order, I would have told you that I would spend more time in prayer if I had it, and now I see that while my number of days in prayer per week have increased, the amount of time I spend in prayer hasn’t grown like I thought it would. I am disappointed with the truth that I have failed to fulfill my own expectations.

I am realizing that I don’t know my heart as well as I thought I did. I am able to lie to myself and make myself believe my own lies. This scares me. I need real truth. I need someone who knows perfect truth about every detail of me to bring that truth to my conscious mind. Prayer, petition or entreaty in favor of another… this is the definition of “intercessor”, earnest or humble request on my behalf. This is one of God’s characteristics, a name He calls Himself. Romans tells us that the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. He prays for us when we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. When we are unable to see the truth about ourselves. When our hearts are earnest in prayer but aiming at the wrong thing, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. God knows we need help. He knows how little of Him we are able to comprehend, He knows how weak we are and how far we will miss the mark trying to live like Him in this world. He loves us so deeply that He is willing to help us when we can’t even articulate what we need.

Intercession becomes even more meaningful when we remember that God knows us completely and intimately. He says in the Psalms that He knit us together in our mother’s wombs. He knows everything about us like when we sit and when we stand, when we travel or when we are at home. He knows our thoughts and everything we do. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. He knows each of us personally and the Holy Sprit is petitioning in our favor. He is on our side, working for our best interest. He knows everything about us, our situations, and our circumstances. He is personally making humble requests on our behalf.  Job tells us that he pours out his tears to God knowing that he needs someone to mediate between God and himself. He recognized his need for intercession before the Holy Spirit had been given to people. I’m amazed at his self-awareness and the concepts he was able to verbalize because of the circumstances in his life. We have the privilege and gift of the Holy Spirit at any second in time and don’t have to wish for a mediator or intercessor like Job did.

 

So what is God revealing to you in this time? Are you giving God the chance to show you truth?

 

Jude 24

 

The book of Jude was written by Jesus’ brother Jude, who was a leader in the early church. This book was written as a warning against false teaching. At this point in history it seems that people were opposing the incarnation of Christ and the call to Christian ethics, so Jude spoke to the importance of the relationship between true doctrine and right conduct. In these short 25 verses, Jude points out that there are ungodly people that have wormed their way into churches and profess that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. He goes on to say that all through out the Bible there are examples of how God dealt with people who chose to not stay faithful to His instruction. In verse 12 he says that these people are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck us, and that they are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. He goes on to say in verse 16 that these people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want. Then he tells us in verse 19 that these people are the ones who are creating divisions in the church and that they follow their natural instincts because they do not have God’s spirit in them. Then in verse 20 Jude starts his instruction to believers. “You must build each other up in your most holy faith, pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, and await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will bring you eternal life. In this way you will keep yourselves safe in God’s love.” Jude closes his letter with the blessing, promise and declaration of verses 24 and 25. “Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time!”

We can see the same type of issues in our society today. We are often challenged in our faith and drawn to take advantage of God’s mercy. Temptation is never far away because there are people everywhere who don’t have the Spirit of God in them. Did you notice the instructions God left us in verse 20 to combat these people and their propositions? Build each other up in our faith, pray for each other and await God’s mercy. These instructions are so practical! Right now, most of us have the gift of time, so we actually can search out ways to build each other up that would be meaningful. We have more time now than ever to spend lifting others to God in prayer. Waiting on God’s return feels more comforting than usual with all that is going on in the world right now.

Look again at verse 24. “All glory to God who is able to keep you from falling away.” How are we so loved and so blessed that God offers to keep us from falling away from Him to false teachers? He loves us so deeply that He protects our hearts and minds when we commit to following Him, and He tells us how we can re-enforce our commitment to Him through building each other up in faith, praying for each other and waiting on Him. The most beautiful gift, to me, is that He promises to bring us with great joy to heaven with Him, without a single fault! I can hardly wrap my head around this promise when I know what is in my heart, and how I behave, and how often I choose other things over God. I don’t deserve the gifts in this promise. I am so far from “without a single fault” and I am powerless to present myself any other way to God. He knew this would be the case for every single one of us. He wanted so much to be with us for eternity because of His huge love for us, that He made a plan that caused Him to pay the price for our sin instead of us having to do it for ourselves. He took the punishment for our wrong, so we could be presented without a single fault. I have known this truth since I was 4 years old, and I still can’t really grasp the full reality of this plan or the completion of it. I don’t know all that God knows and I am not the same kind of love that He is. But I have seen His personal love for me in so many tangible ways, that I know whether I can understand all of it or not, that His plan is real and true. I don’t have words to describe my gratefulness inside. I hope this morning, that each of us takes a few minutes to try to express our awareness and esteem for our loving Father and the good good gifts He provides.

 

 

Isaiah 30:18, Nehemiah 9:17

In this culture and time, people are doers, fixers, problem solvers. When we face an issue, we research, plan and figure out what needs to be done to fix the problem. We help each other by doing tasks that require more time, skill or brainpower than our loved one, friend, or coworker has for a given situation. Sometimes we just provide a different perspective which helps others view the issue from a different lens, and enlightens a better solution than was previously obvious. We solve problems by implementing our time and our talents. Many times our love and care are shown by doing.

…Until we face something we cannot solve. I feel like we can all concur that we are at just that point. We can’t do much to change the situation the world is in today. Yes we all have our personal parts to play by following directions from the CDC, but by in large, we are helpless to make a real difference in the midst of this pandemic. We cannot stop it or change it’s effects. We hate not being in control. We don’t like the unsettled feelings we face because it has become obvious that we are mostly helpless against this virus today, and if we honestly look back over our lives we have faced other sets of circumstances that have caused these same helpless feelings and loss of control. This is helplessness brings us to the place where we are forced to look outside of ourselves for help and hope. Isaiah 30:18 tells us, “So the Lord must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” Nehemiah 9:17 says, “You are a God of forgiveness, gracious, and merciful, slow to become angry and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon your people.”

God won’t insert Himself in our hearts and minds. That’s not how He operates. He loves us too much to choose for us. He waits for us to recognize Him. He waits for us to realize how much we need Him. He waits for us to come to Him so He can show us His love and compassion, His Grace, His mercy, and His unfailing love. If we come to Him, He will not abandon us. These promises and characteristics of His are like gifts of gold to us. They comfort us, bring peace to our lives and change our focus from our selves and our fears to His gifts of grace. He doesn’t promise us He will remove the pain or the causes of fear, but He does promise to never leave us, and to love us perfectly through whatever we have to walk through.

I have loved the past few months of looking into the scriptures that describe God’s many names. The circumstances of these last few months have made these posts more meaningful and more precious than previous times I have studied through God’s names. The Bible says that God’s word is “living and active” and I sense that His word is more applicable, healing and comforting for a lot of us now than maybe other times in our lives. Circumstances change our outlook and our thoughts. I am praying that soaking in the names of God, over these next few months overrides our human thoughts, fears and reality. I am so grateful that God nudged BJ to choose this topic of study for this portion of the year. I don’t think BJ had any idea what these months would hold for all of us when he chose this, but God did. God knew what we would be facing, and how our hearts would react to these circumstances. I am so grateful for the daily reminders of who God is. I need the reminders of His perfection, His grace, His faithfulness and His unfailing love. When I focus on Him, I see the world differently than when I sit with my own thoughts. He is waiting for us to come to Him for help, hope and whatever else you are carrying this morning.

James 1:17

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

With our world changing so drastically recently, this verse is a soothing balm to my soul. When fear is all around us and we are tempted to be sucked in to its pull, we have Gods words and promises to steady us and bring perspective to every situation. He never changes even when it feels like everything else in our world is changing. He is not surprised by a virus, school closings, changes in travel plans, sickness or anything else we may be facing. He is still sovereign, All-knowing, with each of us every second of every day and the Giver of whatever is good and perfect.

As a reminder of who God is and some of what He has done for us, let’s look at a few of His gifts to us listed in the Bible. In Romans, Paul tells us that our salvation is given as a free gift, and also God is credited with giving us everything. In Corinthians, God tells us about the spiritual gifts He gives to all of us, and He is praised for giving us victory over the grave. Hebrews tells us that God gave us the Holy Spirit as a gift. Psalms talks about Gods word being a gift of light for us. Isaiah foretells Christ being given to all mankind. Matthew tells us that our Heavenly Father gives good gifts, and Luke tells us that Christ’s body was given for us. The book of John tells us that God’s peace is a gift to us. In Acts, God gave people power, and in 1 Timothy the Bible says God richly gives us all we need. James tells us that He is the giver of wisdom when we ask for it. I realize that we know all of these things, but sometimes when our circumstances feel upside-down, looking at a list of Gods gifts brings peace and comfort.

We have a heavenly Father. He knows exactly what each and every one is us is facing every minute of every day and night. He is the same as he was last week, last year, a hundred years ago, during Bible times, and when He created the universe. He is faithful, trustworthy, loving, perfect, above all, mighty, the ultimate healer, our protector, our strong tower, peace, and generous! We are His prized possessions. When our minds drift or race to fear and the worst that our world has to offer, can we change our thoughts and set our minds on His words in this verse today?

Maybe our fear and worry are more deep-seeded than being scared of a virus and it’s repercussions. Maybe we are struggling to trust that God is who He says He is. Maybe we don’t yet know, or haven’t experienced His trustworthiness in a tough personal situation. I think that hard things in our lives force us to get real with what we truly believe. I think it is okay to have questions and seek His personal response to our individual circumstances. When we are seeking Him, we actually see His action, recognize His voice, and experience His care. I promise that if you are looking to find Him, He will not keep Himself hidden. So I’ll close with His words, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

 

 

Gen 31:42

I’m going to be honest. As I read through this passage, I’m stumped. Nothing jumps right out as the obvious teaching I am supposed to grasp from the name of God in this verse. So I look farther back to get more context, I read the entire chapter. I now understand the story better but I am still not clear on the meaning of the “fear of Isaac”. I can’t find where this term is used again in the Bible accept for later in this chapter in vs 53 where it is used the same way as in vs 42.  I don’t find vs 53 to be  any more clarifying than vs 42. I think on the phrase literally for a few days and the life of Isaac, earlier in Genesis. I can string together some ideas about what Isaac experienced with God in his lifetime, but I am still unclear if I am on the right track or not. I decided to look into some writings of people much more studied than me to see what they discovered and interpreted about this name of God.

Jacob uses the phrase “fear of Isaac” as he is talking to his Uncle Laban. If you remember, Jacob went to Laban to seek a wife, and Laban cheated him at just about every turn. Laban had him work for seven years to earn Rachel and then tricked him at the wedding and actually gave Jacob Rachel’s sister Leah instead. Jacob worked for another seven years to earn Rachel, finally get her in marriage. Then Laban kept changing the rules on the “wages” of livestock that Jacob was managing for him. Laban changed the rules when he saw that Jacob was growing wealthy instead of himself. Every time Laban changed the rules, God changed the outcome to benefit Jacob. After Jacob’s time with Laban had been served and Laban’s wealth had grown under Jacob’s care, God told Jacob it was time to leave Laban and his land and go back to his home country with his wives, children and livestock. Jacob knew that Laban wouldn’t want him to leave because Jacob was making Laban wealthier every day, so he packed up his family secretly and headed for home when Laban was out of town. When Laban returned home and discovered Jacob had left, he gathered up a posse and pursued Jacob. The night before Laban reached Jacob, God came to Laban in a dream and told him, “I’m warning you, leave Jacob alone!” Laban tells Jacob that he shouldn’t have left without warning and that Jacob missed out on all of his goodbye parties and send offs, Jacob knows Laban is lying and they get into a fight. The argument culminates in vs 41 with Jacob saying, “For twenty years I slaved in your house! I worked for 14 years earning your two daughters and then six more years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times! In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side-the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac-you would have sent me away empty handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work. That is why He appeared to you last night and rebuked you.”

Laban had taken advantage of Jacob, but God overruled. Jacob using the phrase “fear of Isaac” was a reminder to Laban that Jacob was being divinely protected. Fear is also a feature of respect. Those who fear God have more regard for Him than for anyone else. To fear Him is to hold Him in such high regard that all other relationships pale in comparison. This fear is actually an expression of devotion to Him, the awe and reverence kind of fear. “The fear of Isaac is our Fear as well. Because Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead, He has eliminated the terror of punishment for sin so that we can love God above all. This is fear of the Lord.” Dr John Koessler

 

 

Is. 28:5-“Then at last the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will himself be Israel’s glorious crown. He will be the pride and joy of the remnant of his people.”

Is. 62:3- “The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see-a splendid crown in the hand of God.”

Webster defines “royal diadem” as a crown that is worn especially by a king as a symbol of royalty. The difference between a royal diadem and a crown is that a crown is a reward of victory or a mark of honor while a diadem is an ornamental headband worn as a badge of royalty. So if we apply this meaning to Is 28:5 we see that God himself is our king, royalty for us, our pride and joy! While He has done everything to earn victory and honor, this phrase, royal diadem, means that He is royalty because of who He is, not because of what He has done. He is inherently royal. “King of kings” royalty is what defines Him. So who are we to be given the Creator of the universe, the Beginning and the End as our personal king? What have we done to deserve Perfection as our royalty? Why do we get to have the Almighty as our very own pride and joy? The answer is that He loves us so much that He wants us to have this. We don’t deserve any of it. We cannot earn our way into His kingdom, we are not good enough to be chosen by Him and we cannot buy our spot in His kingdom. We only have to accept His gift. We need to recognize that we cannot be in His presence because of our sin. Our sin separates us from Him because he is perfect and holy. We have to be washed clean to be in His kingdom. He was the only blameless option to pay the price for our sin. He willingly completed the only plan that would pay the price for us, removing our sin from our record so we could be with Him. This is amazing love that takes our place in death so we can have life with Him! Is this not extravagant enough?

Our Father’s love so greatly exceeds what is reasonable that He goes on in Is. 62:3 to say that He holds us in his hand for all to see. He has named us His splendid crown, His royal diadem. When He gifts us eternal life, He makes us His. His kingdom is given His name and heritage. We are so precious to Him that He gives us His royalty.

This morning, are we remembering Who’s we are? Before starting the day, can we think about Who’s hand we are held in because we are so precious to Him? Think about the “family” you have been adopted into. Are our fears valid based on our heritage in God? You are a splendid crown in the hand of God!

 

 

Joshua 5:15

When I think about armies, all I am familiar with is the US Army. I am embarrassed to say that my knowledge of the US Army is very elementary. I’ve read books, seen movies and known a few people who have served so I have a basic understanding of some of the training a person must go through to become a part of the Army, but I can’t list the order of ranks properly without using Google. I do know that each rank requires individuals to know and accomplish a list of criteria before they can be considered for the next rank. Each rank brings more respect because more skill, training, discipline and experience are required to earn the next rank.

In our verse today, Joshua is the leader, the commander of Israel. The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for 40 years, being cared for and fed by God. As the time arrived for them to go into the new land that God had promised them 40 years earlier, God had them celebrate Passover together. The very next day, the Israelites began to eat unleavened bread and roasted grain harvested from the promised land. No manna appeared on that first day and it was never seen again. Joshua was so filled with awe for God after these events that he fell face down to the ground in reverence and said to God, “ I am at your command, what do you want your servant to do?” Joshua 5:15 says, “The Commander of the Lord’s Army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told. (Removing one’s shoes was a cultural way of showing respect)

Joshua had a high earthly rank. He was the leader of an entire country. He had tough orders and was assigned a long tour of duty. He was supposed to keep God’s people faithful to God’s ways while they were wondering through a desert without homes or regular food, basically waiting for a generation of Israelites to die off. Joshua was faithful in leading God’s people for over 40 years in extremely hard conditions. He accomplished his mission. Even though Joshua was Israel’s leader, he was outranked by God. God was and is the absolute leader! Joshua recognized this and was so overcome with awe and respect for God that he fell on his face before God. Have you ever been there? Have you ever literally fallen on your face before God because of who He is?

The Commander of the Lord’s Army, the ultimate and absolute leader of every living thing deserves all of our respect, reverence and awe. In our attitudes and actions we should be recognizing God’s power, authority and His deep love for us. Our response to God should be like Joshua’s, “I am yours, what do You want me to do?”  I am wondering today if you can think back over your life and remember a time where God undeniably changed your personal circumstances. Can you name a time when He intervened and caused the outcome to change for you? See, I think we have to be looking for His work in our lives. If we aren’t paying attention, we can miss His handy-work. He loves us and wants His best for us. He is willing to enter our lives to protect and rescue us, and sometimes to change, shape and mold us to be more like Him. Some of His work doesn’t feel fun or even productive at the time, but as we walk through the teaching and get to the other side of His shaping we can see that He is building our character, growing us and making us look more like He does.  The best part is that His work is perfection! He will never aim us in the wrong direction or lead us to something that is not good for us. He is perfectly trustworthy and completely looking out for our good. We can find this nowhere else in life. Even those who love us best will miss direct or guide with ulterior motives every now and again. I am in awe of God’s love, perfection, trustworthiness, and willingness to work in my messy heart. I’m asking Him to help me stay willing to “be His and seek out what he wants me to do”.