Favor with God and man

S - Proverbs 3:3-4 "Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,And so find favor and high esteem. In the sight of God and man."
O -  The bible says that mercy and truth are key characters for a person to have favor with God and man. It doesn't bring favor only to God but also to man. Mercy and truth in the inward life, having both not only one character displays the favored life.  Samuel and Jesus both were label with this characterization "favor with God and man". It is important to live this way.
A - Character check up. Do I walk daily with these 2 in my inward life. Do I display it when situations come about? How do people see me? How do God see you? I know my heart has to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit because many times when situations arise I sense there is a check of truth or mercy. I have to be aware  and not let my  human nature take over because when it does, it not be best way to go.
P - Holy Spirit  work on my life in the area of truth and mercy. I want my life to be a product label "favor with God and man". Guide my life and change my heart so it can honor God.

When He Moves, We Move

Scripture:

Exodus 40:36

Throughout all their journeys whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the sons of Israel would set out;

Observation:

In Exodus 40 God lays out the directions and details for setting up the tabernacle. It doesn't sound like a quick and easy job. There was a great amount of effort that needed to go into making sure everything was as God commanded, after all, this was the place that the glory of the Lord was going to fill! However, when ever God moved, so did his people, and so did the tabernacle. All this time and effort by the people were spent setting up the tabernacle, only to have to move it when God's presence was lifted. Sometimes in our own lives we put in all this effort to build something, whether its a ministry, relationship, direction, etc. only to find that later God's presence is moving somewhere else. I think the temptation can sometimes be that we become so satisfied with what "we" build, that when we see God going in a different/new direction we have a hard time moving on. Israel could see a physical manifestation of God's presence in the cloud and could see when the cloud was taken up, meaning when to go, and when it was not taken up, when to stay (Num. 9:15-23). Moses and the people of Israel were dependent on the presence of God leading them to the promised land.

Application:

I like to try new things and I'm always wanting to go somewhere, anywhere even if I'm not sure if God's presence is in it. However, I can also be stubborn, especially if I've put a lot of effort and time in to something and then it changes. I need to rely on God's presence for guidance rather then my emotions or efforts. I don't want to go ahead of His presence and I definitely don't want to fall behind.

Prayer:

Father I pray that I would be like Israel, that when I see you moving, I would move, and when I see you staying that I would stay. I pray that my obedience would be based on where your presence is, not on any of my efforts or desires.

I'm of Great Worth

TITLE: The Value of My Soul
DATE: January 10, 2011, Thursday

SCRIPTURE: Exodus 38:24, “The total gold from the wave offering used for all the work on the sanctuary was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the sanctuary shekel.” (Also see, 38:27; 39:14)

OBSERVATION: Moses’ Tabernacle was of enormous worth. Gold was used in almost all the furniture of the sanctuary. The weight of the gold totaled 2,000 pounds. At today’s market value, it was worth exceeds $32,000,000. Silver was used as the base for each of the 100 posts around the tabernacle. Each base weighed 40 pounds. 4 tons or 8,000 pounds were totally used. Today’s value: $2,000,000. 12 precious jewels of great worth decked the priest’s garment signifying each tribe. Altogether, the construction was probably worth close to $40 million dollars. Why so much extravagance for a structure built in the desert for only God and Israel to see?

APPLICATION: I get up each morning grateful for living in our new home. What if I woke to one worth 40 times more in value? God has provided even more for me. I am of enormous worth to God and He has expended a great price to provide my salvation, the spiritual home I live in every day. The tabernacle represents the provision of and price for my salvation. It doesn’t matter what others think or see about the value of the price paid. It is primarily to satisfy God’s demand and my benefit. What a great salvation! What a great value God has placed on my life.

PRAYER: “Open my eyes to the enormity of my salvation and the inestimable value of my soul.”

Abortion

Picture of a late term abortion (7months)

I hesitated to post this picture. It's so repulsive and grotesque. It's much easier to post a picture of a fetus in the womb. It's easier to turn a blind eye or look the other way.

Several weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with this one thought. There are defenseless babies being murdered and I am doing nothing to stop it. I couldn't go back to sleep.  My previous post talks of the "Brokeness of God". God can't turn off the TV. He can't post a better picture. Look at this picture and let it sink in.  This is what He has seen.....50 million times (without turning a blind eye to one of them).  

S- Ezekiel 16:21 Must you also slaughter my children by sacrificing them to idols?

O- God was sickened by the children of Israel sacrificing their children to molech. Not ALL parents were doing this. If all people did this there wouldn't be any nation left, yet God held ALL of Israel accountable for the slaughter.

A- We look at this as very inhuman and archaic. We don't think there are any people that sacrifice their children to a god, yet in America, 50 million children have been slaughtered in the womb and the god that they slaughter their children to is mammon. Most do it because they feel the child will be an inconvenience. They feel a baby would get in the way of their pursuit of money and success.

P- It seems like such a big giant. I don't know what to do about this issue. Please forgive me for not standing up for those that can't stand up for themselves. God please forgive us for our selfishness and the innocent blood that has been spilled on this land.


 "Two labels: "wanted" and "unwanted". One label affords full human rights, the other is a death sentence. It's genocide by definition."

Get Some REST!

S: Exodus 35:2 “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.”

O: Put to death? Pretty excessive, don’t you think? Seems like the Lord was serious about this one. His rules and commands are for our benefit so it seems that the Lord wanted to protect His people and getting rest was incredibly important.

A: In personality assessments, I come out as an “achiever” which means I get things done but the downside is that I live with a constant restlessness in my spirit that I’m not doing enough. Looking back on my life, I used to operate with such intensity that every few months, my body would crash and I’d be bedridden for a few days til my system recuperated. Then, I’d get back to business and hit the pavement running again. I didn’t know how to rest and relax. I was always on the go and didn’t know how to pace myself. Now, with a husband and almost 3 kids to care for, I don’t have the luxury of crashing for a few days so I'm forced to pace myself. I have greater discipline to eat healthy, exercise and rest. I was just reflecting on what I imagined my life to be at age 35. I always saw myself being immersed in business, traveling the world, accomplishing great things, etc. I never saw myself as I am today….a wife, a minister, and a mother, yet I am the most fulfilled than I have ever been in life. I'm absolutely amazed at how God can transform lives and how our dreams are nothing compared to what He sees in us.

P: Father, I'm in awe of you. You have captured my heart and changed my life....and continue to change my life in ways that I would never imagine. My heart is full of joy and happiness because I'm your child and I'm secure in your love for me! There's no one like you.

There is no "Me" in ministry!

S- Acts 11:¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. ²⁰ Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

²² News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. ²³ When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. ²⁴ He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

O- It is amazing that the devil tried to stop what God was doing by sending persecution to the early church and new churches were started accidentally by Christians fleeing for their lives and sharing their faith with the people they met at their new location. This happened in Antioch and the church later became one of the bigger churches in the early movement of Christianity.

Barnabas was sent to help the church and he could have taken the attitude that this church was not a real church and/or these disciples are not real disciples because they do not operate how we operate in Jerusalem or because they were not getting the teachings that were sactioned by the other church "ministers." Instead, he recognized that God was at work in their lives and encouraged them to "remain" true to God. He realized that ministry wasn't about him at all but about recognizing what God was already doing and coming along side of it. He realized that he wasn't bringing the Kingdom of God to Antioch but rather the Kingdom of God brought him there.

Then there was a lot of fruit and most people would be tempted to take credit for it and try to continue to build it up so they can report back to other how great the work that they built up by themselves has become. However, the first thing that Barnabas did was leave the fruit behind and sought out Saul so he could train and equip him to do ministry as well. Barnabas knew that the work God was doing in Antioch started before him and would continue after him so he needed to train others to lead and to do what he did for the church.

In order for us to be successful in ministry for the long haul we need to learn from the example of Barnabas and recognize what God is already doing, being faithful with the work He has for us, and to raise up other to take over for us.

A- I want to follow the example of Barnabas and to be able to recognize what God is doing around me and to be open to new ways that God could be moving and instead of trying to teach people how I served God I need to encourage them to remain in the relationship that God has already started in them and teach them how to continue that successfully. I also need to raise up others who will be able to continue the work that God has called me to do and to invite them along in the ministry opportunities that God has opened up for me.

P- Lord, please help me to follow Barnabas' example and to minister the way you want us to. Also please help me to have the humility to be realize that the fruit around me is always from you and not from me. Finally, please place people on my heart that I can invite along as I minister and allow me to pour my life into them like Barnabas pour his life into other.

Exodus 24

S- ex 24:12-16

O- God called moses to the mountain so he could spend time with him. Then moses spent six days there waiting for God to call him before God spoke to him. Then he entered the cloud of God and waited 40 days for all of the instructions he needed to lead the people.

God knew moses' schedule and he knew how many responsibilities were waiting for him yet he still made moses wait for him. How many people would have grown impatient and gave up before that 7th day? How many people would have spent a little time in God's presence and left before God gave them everything they needed?

In our american culture we can get so caught up in our schedule that they control us rather than us being in control of our schedules. God wants us to be responsible leaders that people can rely on, however he also wants us to spend time with him. To just to get stuff and leave by to fellowship with him. He is willing to hold back instructions from us some times so that we will dig deeper into His prescence and/or start to enjoy being there at the feet of our father and not make our relationship only and assignments and tasks.

A- I believe God wants me to increase my prayer time with Him this year. Not only to hear his voice more clearly or for the results in my life but because for some reason He likes spending time with me and He wants me to like spending time with Him just as much. I hope to have the patience that moses had and the willingness to spend as much time as it takes in prayer until God thinks I'm ready to receive the instructions he has for me. I also hope to stay in his presence for as long as he wants me to so I can get everything I need from Him and not just what I think is enough or what others might consider enough.

P- Father thank you for wanting to spend time with me. Please help me never to take that for granted. Please help me to want to spend time with you so much that I don't even need to get anything out of it but getting to sit at your feet which I wouldn't be able to do if Jesus didn't die for us. Please give me the patience and commitment moses had to wait on you for as long as it takes and please allow me to spend as much time in your Glory this year as I can.