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.