59 - “Are We Succeeding In God's Eyes” Numbers 34-36

"If you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides." Numbers 34. Israel must drive out the Canaanites or they will be driven out themselves.  The Israelites could still stay in the Promised Land with barbs in their eyes and bristles in their sides.  We may succeed in the eyes of this world that we live in, but are we succeeding in God's eyes, God's commands?  We cannot allow evil to take root in our spiritual communities, in our churches, without dealing with it.  We must always start with ourselves. 

PHOTO:  Standing with my community walking through this unspeakable hand-wrought beauty.  Thinking about how much I want to succeed in the eyes of the world and have not.  Yearning with all within to live for God and His Story---not for promised lands.

58 - “May I Be Taken With Who You are and Whose I Am” Numbers 32-33

  

"Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— not one, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.  And.  The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.  He is a holy God who demands our attention that we might follow fully.  

If you sin against the Lord,

you may be sure of this---

your sins will find you out.

Numbers 32:23

If I am stuck in sin, not because I "will" it but because I am unholy, then help me wander better than this.  Wholeheartedly.  With Wonder.  Because of You.  For You are hold and I am not.

PHOTO: It's the dawn of a brand new day. May I be more "taken" with Who You are and Whose I am than any thing! 

57 - "Falling Forward. Fully Following." Numbers 30-31

                                                     

    Orders to divide up the land:  Check.

The people numbered:  Check.

Ready to enter a pagan land: Check.

So, what is their first MO to enter hostile territory.

A Battle Plan? 

No, it's

W.O.R.S.H.I.P.

Daily. Weekly. Monthly. Yearly.

Take your religion with you into the place where you are going

and live to worship. “He shall not break his word." Numbers 30:2.  Every word that comes out must be true.  I caught a few words that slipped today.  Not accurate.  No laws here though.  Grace for the lips. 

No man can do it well before a Holy God.  They stayed on the wilderness path for four decades.  May your time be short in following fully a Holy God.  Where do I need to repent, turn around, forsake, lay down?

"They refused to walk the narrow road of belief that welcomes exposure of failure and conflict, knowing that God has a plan to overcome them."  God righted our wrongs once and for all.  And now forever.  Always righting our wrongs.  Always drawing us to Himself.

Thank you for exposing us for who we are----Whose we are.  Fully Yours, this day and forward.  Falling.  Fully.  Following.

PHOTO:  I looked over this city and wept.  How much more God looks over our world today and weeps. 

56 - "The Blood of Martyrs Spilt" Numbers 28-29

All these burnt offerings in Numbers 28 signify lives lived right burning in holy love for Him. They are counted, divided, settled. Now, prepare for war. No, here are the ordinances of worship. Take your God with you in all your life's offerings. Daily. Weekly. Monthly. He carries you. 

My Dear Children, So many have walked this road before us. The blood of martyrs spilt. Ancient paths. Here is a new generation of men in Numbers 28. And they are concerned about walking with God in the midst of great difficulties and unsettling wars. They made daily sacrifices. Continual burnt offerings. 

Moses was genuine. 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 sacrifice has been paid. Our duty, our privilege, our life is to pray always, in everything, the good and the bad. Offer up your solemn hearts to God this day; let Him hear your praises ring through the skies. 

Serve Him today with the best that you have, like the best wine poured out. It's a memorial of the blood of the martyrs. Poured out as drink offerings to God. Like our friend, Cyd, in Afghanistan. Murdered. For doing God's work there. May we reach down deep today to offer all to our God. Numbers 28:1-8.

PHOTO: Standing here in Israel, looking over the roads where so many have walked before us. They knew!

55 - “Make Your Endeavors for the Rising Generations” Numbers 26-27

 God let every male over 20 years old wander for 40 years and die. 603,548. Gone. They never looked deep enough inside to see what was terribly wrong in their own hearts. Caleb and Joshua walked away from a wildersness—-what did they see that half a million people did not see. Divine Power. Hope. Move forward and occupy. Numbers 26:65. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself 

                                                      

This is scary to me.  Numbers 26:65 ~ God let them die in the wilderness --- every male over 20 years of age.  Wandering for 40 years.  They died.  All 603,548.  Numbered. Gone.  Forgotten. But wait, Caleb and Joshua walked away from this wilderness.  Can we look at how they all lived their wilderness lives? What did Caleb and Joshua see in the wilderness---same thing as half a million dead people. Yes, they all said it is a land flowing with milk and honey.  But, the people said: No hope---we can't defeat the giants. Only Caleb and Joshua believed there was Someone bigger than what they saw. All the while---Numbers 13:30. Presumption on the part of the wanderers! "They never looked deep enough inside to see what was terribly wrong in their own hearts." 66 LL. But, Caleb and Joshua found Divine Power in their wilderness to believe for greater things than living as grasshoppers. Let's move forward and occupy.  Shouldn't we do the same in our impossible wilderness?  

I love the call of the next chapter to pray for future generations.  Matthew Henry puts it this way: "We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had signalized himself by his courage in fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith and sincerity in witnessing against the report of the evil spies."  Oh, God, appoint us to find this Spirit of Grace to raise up the next generations to whom you have entrusted us.  Numbers 27:16

PRAYER FROM PSALMS
Psalm 78:1-3
Dear God, 
Incline your ears to our words; 
Open our mouths; 
Lead us to utter things we have heard and known---what our father told us; 
Stop us from hiding them from our children;
Help us tell the next generation of Your Glorious Deeds 
Your Divine Power, and the wonders You have done for us.  Amen and Amen.

54 - “Stand When New Heights To Be Scaled; New Depths To Be Fathomed” Numbers 23-25

  Barrett was about 4 when I shared with him Numbers 23:19---God isn't like us. We were riding in a blue van. God won't ever let us down, son. He is unchangeable and we are changing like the sun, up and down and gone.  Fickle people that can be drawn to deceit and our own plans in the whif of a plan. "God is not a man, that he might lie, or a son of man, that he might change his mind."  And Barrett's response---"Well, mommy, is he a woman?" 

"Stand! when there are new heights to be scaled, new depths to be fathomed." Adam Clarke.  It is the glory of God that he doesn't change.  It is the glory of man that we always do.  "Eternity shall be one mighty progress to all except the Eternal." H. Melvill.  Am I making good progress?  Am I allowing God to really change me this day?

53 - “The Great Divide” Numbers 21-22

                            

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.

52 - “Treat God As Holy” Numbers 19-20

 

Do we do the same thing?

The miraculous supply of water which started at Raphidim continued.  Yet, Moses and Aaron both doubted the power and strength and supply of their God.  “Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”  Numbers 20:18

Do we do the same thing?
Moses & Aaron just did the same thing the Israelites had been doing.
They were commanded to speak to the rock and God's hand would act.
They smitted the rock twice.  
Do we think we have to protect God's power, God's reputation, God's decisions? In the event that God does not act.
May we speak the words God gives in relationships and even in the rocks of life.

PHOTO: Speak as you walk through life. Don't strike just speak when you are called to.

51 - “They Forgot What They Read” Numbers 16-18

#51 The whole 2 million people in the community forgot what they just read. Numbers 16. Forgot the feeling of the ocean floor they just crossed. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                                

The whole community wailed all night long. Numbers 16. What!?!  Two million people wailing for the sake of food. 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.

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

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

50 - "Make Us Like Caleb---Holy Heat, Noble Daring" Numbers 14-15

#50 Caleb means “all heart.” A spirit of holy heat, noble daring. May God stir the heart of the un-Caleb people we live with. (Spurgeon). #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                   

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. 

If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword"?  . . . And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” But no ... there was one with "another spirit" and a "rough name." Caleb. The meaning of his name is "dog" but the significance is "All Heart." Caleb, a servant of God, followed Him fully. Numbers 14:24. Nothing lukewarm about this white-hot brave heart. A spirit of "holy heat, of noble daring," said Spurgeon. Spurgeon went on to say that there are those un-Caleb like people in our lives we share our very life and love "but no effort on your part can stir the frozen current of their soul." Not so, with this noble dog called Caleb. May we all learn today to be a Caleb and "follow fully" and plead with God to thaw the frozen currents of our own souls and those we love.           

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:  

49 - "Return, O Lord, to the Ten Thousand Thousands" Numbers 12-13

"Return, O LORD, to the ten thousand thousands."  Return, O LORD, to us, ten thousand thousands across this spacious land of ours who call upon Your Name today.  May we press in hard and humble to find You in our million midst. 

O God, help us today to trust not like a Hobab but like a Humble Traveler in this story of ours.  The brother of Moses' wife planted his feet firm like a toddler spouting:  "I will not go.  I will depart to my own land to my kindred."  Moses pleads with him:  "Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the LORD has promised good..." 

Hobab:  "I WILL NOT GO."  Numbers 10:30. And they moved on in Numbers 12.

Sometimes, we'll invite people into our lives and they just won't come with us.  Even family.  I think the problem lies with me when, actually, the problem is their own heart.  Their problem is not me, it's God.  I'm just an agent at the ticket station.  May we let God use us as He will and not play the Holy Spirit in people's lives. 

I need to find my own Rest this day.  "Rest with us, God.  Stay with us." 

"For without You, what am I to myself but the Leader of my own destruction?" Augustine

Return, O God, to us all. 13:30 - Caleb quieted the people because Caleb had a quiet heart.  Oh to live amidst the noise in quietness and confidence.  Isaiah 30:15

The people complained in their wilderness.  Do I allow my circumstances to reveal what I am really saying about what God has done or not done? 

Oh Father, I desire to find that quiet life where the noise people make in my ears will not affect me.  Where the damage people do to my soul will not destroy me.  Where the distance people create will not define me.  God, Thank You for quieting my soul.  Psalm 123

PHOTO:  My good friend, the art teacher, painted this picture in 15 minutes in Chapel.  She actually painted it vertically then turned it horizontally when she was finished.  So poignant.  Jesus paid a price for us to truly live.  I must learn to live.  Live that quiet life apart from the noise.  

48 - "Never Live on Old Manna" Numbers 10-11

#48 Never try to live on old manna or replace it for better. Nor seek help in Egypt. “All must come from Jesus or you are undone.” Spurgeon #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                         

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

47 - "Courage to Move Quickly and Settle Down Fully" Numbers 8-9

The cloud lifted and it was God's command to set out.

The cloud settled and it was God's command to settle down and rest. 

The movement

The settling are both called

The Command of God. 

This was God's will for them. 

This was their calling. 

And the same this day. 

God's movement in our lives belongs

To His Will for us. 

It may be quick 

like Jonah or years like Joseph. 

It is not for us to say. 

It is there for us to follow. 

God's Will and our surrender. 

DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ALL OF US IN THESE 10,000 MOMENTS.  Give us courage to move when the cloud lifts and rest when the dust settles. 

PHOTO:  The clouds lifting and here I wonder about all these wanderings.

46 - "Audible Words From The Living God" Numbers 7

#47 The Lord matched their magnanimous offerings with his very own Audible Voice. Buechner says: If I see you, I experience you as an object in space. If I hear you, you bring me into the innermost secrets of who you are. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                          

In Numbers 7, every tribe brought magnanimous multiple offerings alike to dedicate the altar.  Whether the tribe was large or small, they brought the same equal weight, equal size, to show their acceptance by God was not based on the quantity of their sins but the quality of the sacrifice. 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.

45 - "Putting God's Name on Every Face You Meet" Numbers 5-6

#45 Put God's Name on every face you meet. Numbers 6:24-26. The Lord bless you and keep you. Covers all your work here on earth. No conditions. May God lift His Face on you: a gracious movement of God toward you.

                                                          

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 word

44 - "The World Recognizes Us As Returnable" Numbers 3-4

#59 Every man carried out his work as assigned but never looked into his own heart. Numbers 4:49. They did what was right in their own eyes. 

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.

Remember us, O God.

And may we remember what we have done.

They all were counted.
Divine Providence. 
Each carried out a plan. 
Do I know that plan for my life?

"At the Lord’s command through Moses, 

each was assigned his work

and told what to carry." 

Numbers 4:49
God has a Divine Plan for my life.  May I find the stone to carry and not look at anyone else's stone---such an issue for me.  May I hear Your Divine Voice saying this is the way, walk in it.  May I know Your Divine Will for the next step of faith.  And by Your Divine Power, I will take it.

"And that's the story of their numbering."  Every man did what was commanded.  Every man carried out his work.  Every man died in the wilderness. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. "They never looked deep enough inside to see what was terribly wrong in their own hearts."  66LL

PHOTO:  Brookie with her kids in Thailand---what the world calls returnables. Never. They knew the love of God. Brooke looked into her own heart. She found God in the most beautiful of ways. 

  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.

43 - "Moses Was A Prince in A Grant. Press On." Numbers 1-2

#43 Moses was a prince in a grant. Marshalled in rank and file. Moveable. Pitch your tent and pressd on. Pressing on for the prize of Christ Himself and that future state of ours. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

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:  Church of the Martyrs in Rome.  May we all pitch according to the standards set.  For His Glory

42 - “Holiness Is Relational Energy More Concerned with Others…” Leviticus 26-27

Hey Kids, "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.

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.

PHOTO:  MiMi walking Zeke to 2nd grade. I absolutely loved walking you to school. One of my favorite things. Then Bristol and I would take the twins for an hour walk to the playground.  

41 - "No Higher Calling Than Servant" Leviticus 24-25

Dear Servants, That's what God calls you.  I remember taking you on a ferry across the waters in Galveston.  You'd hold the bread up for the seagulls to sweep you off your feet with a catch from your hand.  I'll find that pic someday.  You were 3 and 4, and 6.  You were adorable to me more than I can say.  But to Him.  You are everything.  You are His servant.  "They are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God." Lev. 25:55

PHOTO: In the Hill Country for Christmas 2023. 

40 - "A Call to Holiness Individually and Collectively" Leviticus 22-23

 #54 In the midst of the OT offerings, there is a “call to holiness,” that is lifted central in the lives of every Israelite and their community. Same for us: a call to holiness individually and collectively in America. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

         

There is a principle in Leviticus 22:32 that is lifted high in the central life of the Israelites in the midst of the offerings. We are called to holiness. Individually. Collectively. A call to rest. A call to worship. How blessed are the people who worship you! O LORD, Psalm 89:15. They experience your favor. The festivals. Holy times. Feasts.  To honor the name of our God.  Not appointed by man but sanctified to be a holy day by God.  Observed not just by the priests but by all of the people.  The people withdrew from the affairs and the business of the world.  They knew what it meant to have a holy day.  We know not.  "The sabbath of the Lord in our homes will be our beauty, strength, and safety; it will sanctify, edify, and glorify each of us. May we rest from sin and follow you."  Henry.  

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.

PHOTO: It's the spot where I learned some really hard news. Our rest is in God alone. 

39 - "Counterfeit Holiness" Leviticus 19-21

 

 "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.

38 "I Am Undone" Leviticus 16-18

                         

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?

Oh kids, 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 the work of the Lord.  

And done to serving God.  For God's Glory!

But, Matthew 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. Signed: your Grandmother Meme

37 - "The Invincible, Immutable, Incomprehensible God" Leviticus 14-15

                                                        

Old Testament laws. Rules! You all didn't like all the silly rules we had in our family back in the day. Like you have to wear a collared shirt to church. And at school, you couldn't dance. Sounds so weird today.

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.

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.

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

So, 2 Corinthians 4:18.  Fix our eyes on what is Unseen, not on this earth.

PHOTO:  My prayer for these two. Look today for The Unseen. He is with you.

36 - "Name Your Sin" Leviticus 11-13

                                               

"You must distinguish between the unclean and the clean." Leviticus 11:47.  Name the sin that separates us from God.  

"The toughest part of My plan, the part that is costliest to God, is to make me holy." 66 LL. 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, O God, to distinguish between good and evil.  Make us a holy people. 

PHOTO: Church of the Martyrs. A holy moment standing here knowing the stories of holy people. 

35 - "Hold Your Peace" Leviticus 9-10

#35 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord. Aaron remained silent. Aaron held his peace. Lost boy of his boys in that fire. 

                                                               

 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown. Lev 9:24. Fire. That visible token of God being present for them. And their visible humble response of falling face down. May we all fall face forward. ‘

This is the same Aaron who held his words in front of the idolatrous Israelites.  
This time, Aaron holds his words for his God.  Submission.  Trust.  Love.

“‘Among those who approach me
I will be proved holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.’” Leviticus 10:3

And. Aaron remained silent. 
And. Aaron held his peace.
Both of his boys.  Lost.

I surely don't ever want to see someone I love lost forever.  May I be more concerned for my own relationship before You; submission to Your Holy Will.  More than what I think should happen.  More than demands that things turn out right.  You long for redemption for all.  May we continue to give grace and peace and prayers and love to all we meet this day, all days.  "For the sake of our prayers," change us all.

PHOTO: The desert.  Places where they decided to sin in their hearts and build sand castles to other gods.  Even castles crumble. 

34 - "Found Waiting in Wonder" Leviticus 7-8

                       

#34 Look before us at your very steps. May we be found waiting and watching.

The Lord said to Moses, Bring Aaron and his sons and gather the entire assembly to commission Aaron as a priest.  Lev 8:2. Wash and dress them: Tunics. Sashes. Robed. Ephods. Breastpieces. Turbans. Gold Plated. Anointing Oil.  What a sight to see!  Spellbound by the ceremonial honor.  Should be that way but it's not what we've seen here on earth. All we can do is deal with our own stuff.  May you be found waiting in wonder, and leading your families for the favor of our God. 

The occasion of sin is great in all our lives. Therefore, all these offerings. But today, it's our very lives. "Fear always, and pray always, that we may be kept from sin. Also we should look before us at every step. The true Christian daily pleads guilty before God." M. Henry. No more burnt offerings. We are alive in him and He dwells within. 

This is all about the servants that God brought out of Egypt.  Leviticus 25:55.  The law of Moses honored the Sabbath Day---a day designed for worship and reading and hearing the Law.  A day and a way to know God deeper.  Now, they institute a sabbatical year, every seven.  Now, they institute a jubilee year, after seven sabbatical years.  Return to your possessions, your bargains, your lands, your loves.  Free and with no encumbrance around your neck, around your soul.  And Who restores us to this kind of freedom?  The Redeemer Who lives.  Who ever lives for you and for me.  So what will I do with this Sabbath Day?  Consider it holy as unto the Lord. Adore Him!

PHOTO:  The little ones at church. May we all treat the Sabbath as holy. Rest. #adore #read #listen #study #worship

33 “Redeeming Grace” Leviticus 5-6

  #46 Think about redeeming grace for the secret sins and the sins against humanity. Nothing can snatch us out of his redeeming grace. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

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. 

We will sin in this day.

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

DEAR GOD, 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

32 - "Unintentional Sin Needs 'a Savior Too" Leviticus 1-3

#32 Our daily offerings—-is it fulfilling to just check off the box? Our validation in life is that we answer God’s invitation. Leviticus 1:17. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                              

Dear Ones, I open the book of Leviticus 4:27 and it's about all these sin offerings and I struggle through the words.  But I don't struggle through the truth.  If we sin unintentionally, it still does not clear us of the sin.  We can plead ignorance all we want.  Unintentional sins need a Savior, too.  We must own up to our own.  We must learn to hate sin whether we are surprised by it or full-faced embrace the evil.  May we all value knowing Christ more than knowing comfort in what we want to do.  We can sin with our Bible wide open.  May the Word find a place in all our hearts today.

                                            

The Israelites are stuck at the base of Mount Sinai through this entire book.  What offering do they bring to Christ in the completed tabernacle?  Blessing.  Obedience.  Sacrifice.  Fast Forward to today.  What offering do we bring?  Our very selves.   

God called Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting: Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them. Whole burnt offerings. "The general design of these laws is plain. The sacrifices typified Christ; they also shadowed out the believer's duty, character, privilege, and communion with God. There is scarcely any thing spoken of the Lord Jesus in Scripture which has not also a reference to his people."   

Leviticus…These offerings.

Our daily privilege. 

Pleasing to whom?

Fulfilling that we checked off the box? No. 

Validating that we answered God's invite? 

"An aroma pleasing to the Lord."   Leviticus 1:17. 

Is it enough for me that I do in obscurity what my God has called me to do? Called me to be?  Faithful servants. Offering sacrifices of a broken-heart.  

PHOTO:  We are all born with sin in our hearts. We are all wayward. We all need a Savior. And this little fella is going to walk uprightly and deal uprightly and live uprightly.  He is on such a good path on his Mom and Dad's knee.