52 - "Become Holy or Figure This Life Out" Leviticus 18

Fragmented.

And sitting right in the midst of Beauty.

Am I more concerned about my relationship with God than I am with this rough patch that I've hit. So fragmented.  God was so focused in these verses in telling them to do things the right way before they could enter His Presence.  He sends a message to the grieving Aaron of how to come into His Presence.  Of course, Aaron wanted the Knowledge of the Truth.  Don't repeat the same mistake your boys did. No Aaron.  He found a way in the midst of his own grief to pursue his God.

How do you let go and let God be God? Aaron found a way in the midst of heartwrenching grief. I'm having trouble giving up my rights over a situation that I have identified as "not right." And it probably is "not right."  But it really is not "right" when I look at where I am and declare that God wants to give me joy---and I've not dealt with what is overtaking me, my own unholiness. He says in Lev 18:29 "I am the Lord, your God."

Beth Moore said at Passion that when we fight the wrong fight, "it has two fists---ego and control."  I'm so bent on being right.  Wanting not to lose control.  Why am I not longing for holiness more?  Using God to get me where I want to go.  God, please do this, do that, do this. May I fix my eyes on my relationship with a Holy God and open these fists of mine. "You want me to be holy in any situation more than You want me to figure out what to do to improve any situation."  66LL

PHOTO:  This sunset took my breath away as I drove home from Houston.  I jumped out the car to snap the shot.  There is something really bothering me.  Hard to shake.  Fragmented.  Come, Lord Jesus, in all this Beauty. 

51 - “Don’t Withdraw. Count Them As Friends.” Leviticus 17

  

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.  

As far as the east is from the west. That’s how far our sin has been removed from us.

The word “count” is an accounting term. Don’t keep count.,

PHOTO: An ocean where my tears have fallen and my thoughts ha ve sunk to the bottom.  Couinting it all joy. 

50 - “All Done, Out of Love for God” Leviticus 14-16

#50 All Done! All the regulations done. Done out of love for God. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                 

                                                       

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?
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 serving You.  For Your Glory!

PHOTO:  Undone.  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 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.  

49 - “Don’t Live Nurtured in Your Accomplishments and Possessions” Leviticus 12-14

#49 The Israelites were looking forward. We no longer look backwards. We have Him here. Partakers of the Divine Nature. God is engineering all things. Don’t be nurtured in accomplishments, achievements, and possessions. Give Thanks. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself 

                                                               

Old Testament laws.  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. Don't be so nearsighted that you are blind."  We have Him here.  Chan spoke 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:

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.

PHOTO:  Taken at Passion Conference as Francis Chan spoke about 2 Corinthians 4:18.  Fix our eyes on what is Unseen, not on this earth.

48 - “A Holy Fire Came Down—-He Lost Both of His Boys” Leviticus 9-11

#48 Fire came out from the presence of the Lord. Aaron remained silent. Aaron held his peace. Lost boy of his boys in that fire.  #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                               

 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. 

47 - “Be Found Waiting and Looking At Every Step” Leviticus 7-8

#47 Look before us at your very steps. May we be found waiting and watching. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself 

                                                          

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 we be found waiting in wonder, leading our 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. 

46 - “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

45 - “What Is My Worst Problem” Leviticus 3-4

#45 Leviticus reveals what is most wrong in our lives that blocks our joy.  Holiness.  We want God to solve our problems but we have a worst problem—-distance from God. Don’t keep your distance. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

 

Leviticus 3:16 - "...Fixed rules down through the generations..." How can they possibly remember all of this as it wasn't written down in a book for them to review daily. Loved the last line of Love Letters: "Leviticus reveals what's most wrong with you that blocks your joy." What is it???? Holiness---"The toughest part of My Plan is to make you holy. You want me to solve your problems, but you don't know what your worst problem is. You don't yet realize that distance from Me is the most lethal problem you have." I will hold that word--- "distance" ---close to my thoughts and heart this day. How do I distance myself from friend and foe? Do I distance my thoughts and worries and decisions from my God? The nearness of God is my good (Psalm 73:28), not distance. So what does that look like this day?

PHOTO: The desert they lived in. The sand castles they built. Even castles crumble.

44 - “Unintentional Sin Needs A Savior” Leviticus 1, 2

#44 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

                                            

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.   

I open the book of Leviticus and it's about all these sin offerings and I struggle through the words.  But I don't struggle through the truth.  Even if the sin is unintentional, 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.

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.              Jerusalem circa 2010.

43 - “Live Curved In on Yourself and You Live from Birth to Death—-Larger Story Here” Exodus 40

#43 Lives “curved in” (Augustine) on ourselves will focus on the smaller story of our lives from our birth to death—-and we will misunderstand everything that matters. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                       

Exodus 40:36 "If the Cloud did not lift, the Israelites wouldn't set out." They were stiffnecked at times but they followed a God they did not see nor hear. I've thought a lot about the quote in the chapter "How This Book Can Speak to You"...When we focus on the smaller story of our lives from our natural birth to natural death, we'll misunderstand everything that matters.  "Things that feel awful to you will be seen as nothing other than tragedies to reverse if possible, endure if necessary, and at all costs prevent from happening again."  Lives "curved in" on ourselves. As we close Exodus, what have you thought about as you read this book? What did God stir in your heart? For me, I'm so longing to "let go" of what currently eats at me and find His Rest. Exodus 17:6 "I'm going to be present for you." And Exodus 33:14 "My Presence goes with you and I will give you Rest." How can I find that Rest in the midst of relational and health and financial problems? As it says in 66 Love Letters, am I more interested in being rescued from my pain and problems than being rescued from the Kingdom of Darkness?

PHOTO: In our litle village … Am I living birth to death?

42 - “The Divine Light and Fire Overpowers the Strongest Heads” Exodus 38-39, Matthew 26

#42 The Divine light and fire then and now will overpower the strongest heads and hearts. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Exodus 40:34.  And the shechinah "took up its rest forever" in Christ, the fullness of the godhead in a Person.  "The divine light and fire, let forth in their full strength, will overpower the strongest heads and the purest hearts." M. Henry.  That indeed is good news.  The Forerunner invites us this day to come boldly to His "mercy-seat." The true Tabernacle filled with the Glory of God.  We can know Him, His Glory.  May His Goodness overpower our strong wills this very day.  

The sacred sanctuary...Moses breathes a sign of relief that all the work of all the designers is done just perfectly.  Used to be they would follow the pillar of light and fire by night.  Now, the shechinah glory entered through and passed into the most holy place, the presence-chamber.  God made Himself visible through light and fire.  Well, we know.  Dazzling light and dreadful fire.  And, we now know what Moses could not do.  Through Jesus, the forerunner, we have been invited to draw near and approach, even boldly, the mercy seat.  This place was made with hands.  Our place is no longer made with hands for God Himself is the true tabernacle and in Him dwells all the fulness of the godhead.  It is truly amazing.  We are invited to come boldly today and always and forever.  Amen. 

PHOTO:  A church I visited once. Nestled in the mountains.  Cannot imagine the glory of God filling a tabernacle. And beyond all we can imagine, He is the Tabernacle.  God provided a way to be with us.  Not through a building. He Himself is our life, our peace, our rest.  

41 - “Stirred Up In A Wilderness” Exodus 35-37, Matthew 25

#41 God put in their hearts to work and it stirred them up in a wilderness. Exodus 35:34. What an exact work ethic! Do we approach our tasks this way? A debt of love not a debt of labor. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                             

What zeal!  What work ethic!  What thoroughness! Do we approach our tasks this way, knowing it is for God?  Wonder why.  They brought so much to build the temple that Moses had to restrain them to stop. Exodus 36:6.  Moses could have kept the profits in his back pocket, his back neighborhood. Could have stored it up, in a wilderness, for the next job. No, The Lord put in their hearts to work, and it stirred them up.  Exodus 35:34 - God put in their hearts to teach how to perform like this.  I mean, who had ever built a tabernacle before?  And the wilderness is not exactly where the best supplies could be found.  Never the mind, they set about to do their exact work.  Whatever God has stirred in our hearts, may we run to do the work out of a debt of love not labor.  Here it is.  The visible testimony of their love of God.  And one day that Love walked this earth, the Living Word.  Word made flesh, and He still tabernacles among us.  

One quote keeps stirring in my heart.  As these craftsmen worked their labor of love, as I work out my labor this very day, may we all hear together that One Thing that a man in a wilderness longs for----"not relief from the misery, although that would be nice, but Hope---Hope of intimacy and Meaning, and Joy forever, in relationship with God." Larry Crabb.  It's a man-made tabernacle but God lives there.  And He tabernacles today inviting us into a deeper relationship with Him than we had yesterday.  May we never stay the same but move on in this wilderness.

Matthew 25:21- "You have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.  Enter into the joy of your Master."

Matthew 25:25 - "So, I was afraid..."  The servant did nothing with what he was entrusted. The Redeemer had given him just a little.  The servant should have, at least, invested the one talent given to him by the One who owned him.  Do I live afraid to take the risk with the investment of what God has given to me?   The Parable of the Talents does not imply that by improving our talents, our abilities, our resources, we are then entitled to Divine Grace.  We are all called to be servants of our Redeemer promoting ourselves---No!---promoting His Glory.  There's a Grander Story here than just our story.  We are constrained by the Love of Christ, controlled by His Love, to live no longer for ourselves.  Am I willing to take a risk to invest in Eternity?  These words come to mind again this week:

"Faith as I'm growing to understand it more, is about looking beyond my circumstances to a person. To have faith in better circumstances, even in God creating better circumstances, is not true faith. I want to be the kind of man who can watch every dream go down in flames and still yearn to be intimately involved in kingdom living, intimately involved with my Friend the King, and still be willing to take another risk just because it delights Him for me to do so. And my flesh shivers to think about it."    Shattered Dreams

PHOTO: Solomon's temple in all of its beauty.  Credit:  Flickr Commons. University of Oregon Archives. No copyright. 

40 - “God is Merciful When We Are Swindled” Exodus 34

#40 God is merciful when people tell us what’s wrong with us; when our friends swindle us; and when we are the self-swindlers. He is making sure that we know that. Exodus 34:6. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself 

                                                                    

Exodus 34:6 God says that He is merciful when people here don't cut us any slack; He is slow to anger even when people tell us what's wrong with us; He is Gracious when others are curt, short, and unkind; He is steadfast in His Love when our friends swindle us; He is faithful when we become self swindlers.  The Lord made sure that Moses knew that.  Passed before Moses and Proclaimed!  And Jesus made sure that His followers knew that whoever does the will of God, you have a relationship with the Holy One.  Holiness---is that what grasps me this day?  Or is it about proving that I am right; vindicating myself; standing up for myself.  Oh God, have mercy on us all.  Holiness is the cry of our heart.  May I be more concerned about how I treat others than how they treat me.

PHOTO:  This preschooler has her whole life in front of her. May all of those younger than we are know that God is merciful whatever is happening to you. 

39 - “I Will Give You Rest” Exodus 33

#39 Tuck this thought under your pillow Tonight: “I will give you Rest.” Exodus 33:14. Sleep in peace. Rest in Him not in solving perplexities, not in connecting with a person or place. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                          

 

"My Presence shall go with you; and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:14.  The original Hebrew left off "with you."  Moses, along with each of us, needs confirmation if this is a promise for the person or the people.  God assures.  He will give rest in the midst of pressing perplexities and he will give rest to the present people, then and today.  I could live with this verse tucked in the pillow of my heart every night.  Sweet dreams.  Sleep in peace knowing His Presence comes; His Rest is real.  Am I really finding rest from the demands of my day as the sun closes Sunday.  What does it look like in my life to be at rest?

PHOTO:  It's the place where I go to pray day in, day out.  The place where I work.  My Rest is in Him not in solving perplexities, not in connecting with a person or place.  

38 - “Who Is On God’s Side? Seek the Favor of God” Exodus 31-32

#38 Turn back to the finger of God written in His Word and hang on tight. Ask and Seek the favor of God in your perplexing difficulties This Day. Exodus 32:11 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                       

Do we merge our beliefs with our our families, our neighbors, our community? 

Or, do we stand for what is right?

Aaron gave in to the peer pressure in the camp.  
All right.  You can default to your old way of making idols and
call it something special---call it God.  But it is not!

"Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said,  Who is on the LORD's side?" Exodus 32:26.  "I am the LORD, Who makes you holy." Exodus 31:13

Dear Children of God, Moses asked the question:  

Why God?  Why would your anger burn against the people you have brought out of Egypt with great power and your mighty hand?  Exo 32:11. Some people on this earth might just say that it is with evil intentions that you bring us to a better place only to allow us to sometimes suffer and live life with great difficulties and even wipe us out.  Why God?  All we can do is turn back to the finger of God written in His Word and hang on tight. Exo 31:18. And seek the favor of the Lord, our God. Exo 32:11.  God will bring justice.

PHOTO: Standing on the Florida shore as God  loses down another day. Do our thoughts win? Turn back to the finger of God..

37 - “All In. Attendance At The Throne” Exodfus 29-30, Matthew 24

 #37 There I will meet with you and speak with you. Exodus 29:42. A new covenant. Here on This Day, I will meet with you and speak with you. To this very day, Christ lives to make intercession for His Church. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Every morning. Every evening. A lamb offered upon the altar. Continual intercession. To this day. Christ lives to make intercession for His church. Every. Single. Day. “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." Exodus 29:44-46. Must we offer to God the sacrifices of our praise and prayer? Daily. Every morning. Every evening. "All in" in attendance at the Throne of Grace. He is waiting, listening, welcoming, loving. Ever making intercession for you and for me.

There I will meet with you and speak to you.
The old covenant.
Dependent on offerings.
But One was made on your behalf.
Here I will meet you and speak with you.

A new covenant.
He is Here not There.
So what's the point for my life this day?
Changes everything this Word of God.
So if He is Here, can I live like this?

Exodus 29:42 - "There I will meet you and speak to you; 

There also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be my glory."  

He used to be There.  

Now He is Here with us.  

May we find Him.

Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.  Matthew 24:12.  

Isn't that our world today---such decline of morality, true religion.  

So much love grown cold.  

May we be vigilant...watch and wait for He is coming back for me, for you.  

PHOTO: A dad saying goodbye to his son. This dad prayed every evening, every morning. Passed on his life.

36 - “Keep Your Lamps Burning Bright” Exodus 27-28, Matthew 23

#36 Make much of the tabernacle—-keep your lamps burning bright. Eternal flames. Do not be fixed on this world. The Gospel is a Person not a Place. Exodus 27:21 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                           

Keep the lamps burning for the Lord.
God led them there by Light.
God is there.
He is alive.
The Temple recognizes the God who is there.
We are The Temple today.
What God said is still alive.
And I am still here.
Eternal flames burn bright to say
Our God is Alive in me.
And He leads me out every single day.
Keep your lamps burning bright.

Exodus 27:21 -  From evening to morning, it's a lasting ordinance for the generations to come---keep the lamps burning before the Lord.  

Moses went up into the cloud to receive the specific instructions about building the tabernacle.  What he saw in the cloud no one knows.  He is instructed to face-to-face deliver instructions to his people.  It is a tabernacle state.  No continuing city for we are all strangers in this world.  The "church privileges are movable goods" and we are all traveling together to a better country.  We should never be fixed in this world.  The Gospel is a person not a place. The tabernacle points to Him.  Make much of the tabernacle and what we are to do in God's House (Jeremiah 11:15) and bring the offerings. Tell the Israelites and tell today's church to bring me an offering. Exodus 25:1.  Their very lives. 

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:  “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.  So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.  They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see."  Matthew 23:2-5. Keep the lamps burning bright for Him.

PHOTO:  Duomo di Milano, Italy

35 - "Face Life Honestly" Exodus 24-26

#35 Look through the clear lens of the Word of God and listen to the 66 books. Face yourself honestly —- it will do you more good than anything else.

                                                            

Larry Crabb has studied psychology for like half a century. So when he says I've concluded this about life, I kind of really want to listen to someone who has seen a whole lot more than most. "I’ve concluded one thing: If you face yourself honestly, if you look through a clear lens at your life in this world, hearing God speak to you in the sixty-six love letters that make up the Bible, it will do you more good than anything else." Face myself honestly. Look through that clear lens of The Word. And Listen!

"And the Lord spoke to Moses ... "

Moses went into the midst of the cloud for a very long time.  

Moses experiences utterances too deep for words.

Moses descends and speaks only the things which God told him to specifically say to the children of Israel. 

Never before.

No house had ever existed for God.

This tabernacle, erected by Moses, will be a token of the Presence of God.

Right there smack dab next to their tents in the middle of a wilderness.

No more will they need to ask if God is with them?  He will be right there.

And the tabernacle will move with the tents.

This sacred place made with human hands are simply a "figure of the true." Heb 9:24

And one-day, today, there will be "a gospel-church pitched" by the Lord not by man.

And Christ will enter the Most Holy Place by His Own Blood,

obtaining Eternal Redemption for you and for me.  Heb. 9:12.

No more will we need to ask if God is with us.  He is right here.

Scripture interprets Scripture.

PHOTO: The beauty of a California sunset.   

34 - “The Grand Demand of Love” Exodus 21-23, Matthew 22

  #34 God’s words interpret us 2,000 years later for we are bound by an amazing debt to respond. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

His Voice. The Third Moon after walking on the ocean floor. God speaks and we must listen. Had there ever been an occasion from the beginning of the world that God made Himself known like this? His tone. His Words. his Voice. God spoke all these words ---the law of the ten commandments. These words will interpret us 2,000+ years later. We are bound by an amazing debt to respond. What will we do with this God. Exodus 22:31. Be holy for My Sake. 

Tell the people of Israel, the people of America: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall bemy treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak, Moses. No words to explain. No words compare all He has given us. A revelation of what's truly in our hearts and if we will obey Him. 

Never in history has God chosen to speak like He did through giving Ten Commandments that envelop the intentions and thoughts and motives and demands of our lives. The "Grand Demand of Love" springs from obedience.  And to obey, may we have no other idols before---none in heaven; none in earth. God was before everything and we owe him everything.  God still speaks to us through His Providential hand, our consciences, His written Word but only two tablets once!  And we all have defaced the tablets.  And we get ourselves in messes. We all have clean slates for the grand demand.  Keep on loving each other.

Are we listening to the Word of God?  So many admonitions to pay attention.  God sent an angel in Exodus 23:20:  "See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared.  Pay attention to Him and listen to what he says.

Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land." Exodus 23:30. And this is for us. Listen. Little by little God is working. 

WHO is willing to come to the wedding feast dressed in righteousness?  Don't miss it!
Matthew 22:14  "Many get invited; only a few make it."  Strange Story Line.  One of the biggest days of your life and they don't want to share it with you?  Yet, those who did come didn't really care either---just came for a handout.

WHO is willing to take a look at what he is doing with his money?
"Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his." 

WHO is willing to believe that God is able to move into our lives this day just like He did for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob?
Matt. 22:33 - HE is the God of the Living, I AM the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, and my God this very day.  It's not I WAS but I AM!

WHO is willing to serious look at the stirrings of your idolatrous heart?
Matt. 22: 37 -40  Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.'...'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them." 

PHOTO:  It's a quiet spot looking out over a huge valley of life.  God is looking out, into hearts.  Bearing us on eagle's wings.  Never leaving us to ourselves in this wilderness of life.

  

33 - “Name Your Idols—-God Has Come to Instill a Deep Reverence in You” Exodus 19-20

 #33 God wrote the Ten Commandments not to make us feel guilty but to lift us up to Himself. God wants to write his law on our hearts. We want to write it on our to-do lists. Exodus 20:20. Don’t be afraid. God has come to instill a deep and reverent awe within you. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Not Even A Likeness of An Idol

Not Twitter or Facebook or Ministry or Children

My friend, Larry, once told me that God had Moses write the Ten Commandments, "not to beat you down into self-hatred over never getting it right, but rather to lift you up into the liberating experience of looking bad in the presence of love." We are fully known, accepted, and loved even in the midst. Sinful Sinners. Glorious Messes.

We will, day-in day-out, feel hungrier for something other than God in our lives, at times.                    We'll never fully depend on Him and Him Alone!  So many signposts tell us we are off the tracks.  Do we listen?  Or do we rationalize?  Someone close to me said this week that going to church doesn't make you a Christian and that's oh so true. Since the pandemic hit, there are so many, many Christians who have not returned to church. The context of the conversation was about my father who never darkened the door of a church in his lifetime.  If you don't want Jesus here on earth, do you want him in the afterlife? My dad had a strong sense of morality from what I saw.  Does your morality save you?  No, but where did that morality come from?  10 Commandments draw us up and that makes us want to worship.  

Moses writes the 10 Commandments not to make us feel guilty about the do's and don'ts.                      God gives us This Word to free us up. Exodus 20:20 Moses spoke: Don’t be afraid. God has come to test you and instill a deep and reverent awe within you so that you won’t sin.”

God called Moses to walk up a sinful mountain. He had a big errand for the messenger Moses. The Maker of Heaven & Earth and all above and all below called out to a proud people who were not walking in holiness. God wanted to write His Law on their Hearts; we want to write His Law on our To-Do lists. 

This solemn sermon served this church in a wilderness resounding "to convince the Israelites (and our lives too) of their guilt, and to show that they could not stand in judgment before God by their own obedience. In the law, the sinner discovers what he ought to be, what he is, and what he wants." Matthew Henry. The sermon trumped the law. "In drawing near to God, we must never forget his Holiness and Greatness, nor our own meanness and pollution." MH We are a mean people.

The Israelites were not aware of their own sins ... and God spoke.  No one had ever heard anything like these Two Tablets of Truth. Sounds like God wrote to this day, as our own sins so deface our hearts, nd we do not name what we are doing. We don't name the idols that we wrestle with: Social Media. Children. Ministry. Success. Money. Recognition. Good Things. Anything in the heaven or anything beneath the earth ... or under the sea, anything that flashes the likeness of an idol and detaches us from our Maker. 

Let the manna rain down and expose our own hearts and name what we are doing under the sun that keeps us from a genuine Hunger and Thirst for God.

PHOTO: @FREECHRISTIMAGES.COM Copywright free.

32 - “Hidden Manna Every Single Day” Exodus 17-18, Matthew 21

#32 Do we know God’s Presence only when things go right? God rains down hidden manna every single day of our lives. Exodus 17:7  #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                  

From Rain Clouds Fall Manna

From Lips Fall Teaching Like Rain - Deut 32:2

Just as Jethro's words meant something to Moses, I met a couple of friends exactly six years ago, and their words have fallen on me, gripped me so, changed my life. How does that happen? I had spent much of my life denying the evil within me, denying the pain I feel just about every day. I had given over to way-too-many thoughts that I couldn't see God's Power in six miscarriages and rape and loss of finances and loss of ministry and loss of friends and I could go on and on. When things go wrong, there's that entitlement within me that says I need a break, deserve better. Enough, LORD. Here are these Israelites in that kind of a boat. God hears their grumblings, mine too ~ Exodus 16:9. He gives them manna---40 years worth. They couldn't horde it, couldn't hold it over. He forced them to go to sleep at night and trust that it would rain down the next day. He forces you and me to go to sleep this night and trust His Good Hand. Forces us to rest physically and spiritually.

Today, we may be doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing.  Then, in the twinkling of a blink, trouble knocks on our story.  A phone call comes.  An unexpected word from work.  And it happened to the Israelites when they pitched tent in a new town.  No water there.  And the grumbling commenced.  So, they default to stoning Moses with words and threats.  They would rather be back in Egypt with food and water than trusting God in the middle of a desert. Back in Egypt where God could take their life there but not here.  But This Providence has designed, allowed, charted cisterns that men fall into; wilderness that have dried up full; and friends who forget you in the dungeons of life.  Discontent makes us look larger on that past of ours and lesser in the present moment.  What is this that God will do here for us today---what is it?  

"Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." Exodus 16:4

And we must answer the same question that the Israelites faced in Exodus 17:7 "Is the LORD among us?"

Do we know His Presence only when things go right? He gives us the manna of His Word every single day of our lives to make our souls well. The comfort of the Spirit of God is Hidden Manna ~ Rev 2:17 ~ for you and me. 

Matthew 21:9 - "Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the Highest!"  And when He entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is This?" The point is that a king would come riding upon a horse when he was bent on war; 

but he came riding upon an ass for he was coming in peace. 
This action of Jesus is a sign that He was not the warrior figure men dreamed of, 
but the Prince of Peace. No one saw it that way at that time, not even the disciples...
They were looking for the Messiah of their own dreams and their own wishful thinking.  William Barclay

Do I look this day for the Messiah of my own dreams, my own wishful thinking?  
Or do I embrace The Deliverer Who Has Come to Save Me and Set Me Free?

PHOTO:  The clouds 2,000 years later.

31 - “God Is Never More Present than in My Harrowing Problems” Exodus 15-16, Matthew 20

#31 God is never more present than in the depths of our problems. So, what is stealing my joy? Exodus 15:2, 5.

                                                                  

"Singing is as much the language of holy joy as praying is of holy desire" Matthew Henry

Pharaoh and his army hurled into the sea.  The best of the best.  All because of our Defense.  The Lord is a warrior.  The deep waters have covered them and they sank to the depths of the sea. Exodus 15:2, 5.  And that meant, this.  They could walk on dry ground across a piled-up sea.  God is never more Present than in the depths of our problems, if we walk by faith.  I remember a moment stopping at a 7-11 with 3 sick kids, very sick kids.  A homeless person, on his way out the door, grabbed something out of the filthy trash can holding what no one wanted.  He big gulped and I big gasped.  And at that very moment, a beautiful butterfly landed on three-year-old Barrett's arm and perched for a few seconds.  The dichotomy of the moment of our deep waters sunk into this mom's heart.  God is taking care of us.  

I hold dear in my heart words that Larry spoke about this exodus. "The Exodus from Egypt is a picture of my being rescued from the Kingdom of Darkness, but I'm more interested in being rescued from my pain and problems. I think I'm entitled to things going well for me, or at least better than they are."

What is most wrong in me that blocks my joy like Moses and Miriam belting out this Exodus 15 Song of Deliverance. My God has delivered me! There is NOTHING NO ONE like Him. Exodus 15:11 

Exodus 15:19 For the horse of proud Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 

I walked on dry land this weekend. Only God could have brought this one unknown girl to me, a messenger, an exhibit of His Grace poured over me. 

Exodus 15 is complete victory. I mean every one of Pharoah's household and horde and horsemen became a fugacious thought---No More! No More Bondage! One of the commentaries says, h.e.r.e., we are told how it was celebrated: "Those that were to hold their peace while the deliverance was in working. The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent. You must hold their peace now that it was wrought." Their oppressors are dead lying upon the shore of the seas, covered in the quake. Sing now Moses and Miriam. You have believed your God. Sing upon a "sea of glass" (Rev 15:2), this Red Sea. We cannot conjure up praise; it springs from delivered hearts who carry much. We all wrestle with suffering and shame and sorrows. He is our song!

Wind blows whichever way God wills. John 3:8

Waters pile up, stand up like a heap. Exodus 15:8

Choicest chosen captains buried in the glass of sea. Exodus 15:4.

Down into the depths like a stone, No! like lead. Exodus 15:5

Guided. Gripped. Grasped. Greatness.

The Song ushered them into a new wilderness of no water...until Elim.

Isn't that just like life? Ups and Downs. 

We do not know what tomorrow holds. Feast maybe famine.

We don't live from circumstance to circumstance to prove God's Goodness.

He provides even in our wilderness.

All throughout Scripture, it is the same question … “What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”  Matthew 20:21

Mark says it was the 2 brothers who asked.  Matthew says the mama asked for superior positions, right smack dab next to the heart of the King.  They thought Jesus would establish a Kingdom on earth.  So, why not ask for first dibs on the highest position in the land. 

What drives these people to pursue ambition? 
What drive my very own ambition as I approach sunset years?
Why did they want positions far above their peers?
Did the mom really think she could just ask and Jesus would nod "yes."

If I have love and great ambition for the Kingdom, I still have ambition.  Noisy clanging cymbals.

PHOTO: 

What really blocks my joy?

What do I really want?

30 - “God Leads By the Longest Road” Exodus 13-14, Matthew 19

 #30 Do we live on God’s terms or our own terms? When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them through the shortest way lest they might change their minds. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. Exodus 13:17.  For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea."  Sometimes it is in the closet of the wilderness where God leads us.  Not the surest safest shortest route.  But the way that is close to His Heart.  The right way.  The will of God.  Who am I to question His way.  It's always the best way in light of eternity. 

God makes all things new to those He calls to Himself.  But that dreadful night, all were asked to come to God's terms, not their own terms.  Same for the day that we live for---we shall answer the greatest question ever asked of us.  May we live for God's terms not Bev's.  And the scene is this:  Three days and three nights in the horror by darkness.  Yet, the light broke a far more terrible calamity----their first-born struck by a plague that reached from the heights of the castles to the depths of the dungeons.  No one was exempt.  And that's how it will be on The Last Day.  May we live on God's terms this day.  

PHOTO: Breed's long road. Unbelievable but we live by faith not by circumstances. 

29 - ”Waiting On A Promise for 430 Years” Exodus 11-12

 #29  No difference between princes and paupers. So, bow low to your Maker. God is doing something new here after 430 years. Exodus 12:1. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Pharoah sat defiantly in a dalliance of darkness. 

Blithe nonchalance.

Egypt sat beleaguered bewildered brooding.

Ineffable woebegone.

Pharaoh asks Moses to plead for him before his God.
Pray for us Moses. 
And why will you not pray for yourself, Pharaoh?
Why will you not obey the Voice of the
Right where we sit this moment.
Can you not pray?’

This history is amazing.  God led them all the way here. 

And the same to you and to me. He is leading you to the place where you are today. Pray. All blessings come through the shedding and sprinkling of blood.  God is doing something new here as he delivered this people, and you and me.  The blood will be a sign that their houses will be passed over, delivered by the blood of the lamb. Exodus 12:12-13 ... “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. God have mercy on us if we find any idols in our hands---may we let go.  I am the Lord.  The passover.

No difference between princes and paupers.
All will give account before God.
Each face must bend low before their Maker.
What has this hardness of heart brought but pyrrhic loss.

God is doing something new here. Exodus 12:1
The first month of this new year. And its ours too.
But t.h.i.s. suffering is unspeakable sempiternal.
Angels slew the Egyptians 's firstborn.
We scarcely can handle our firstborn leaving the nest,
Much less a midnight massacre stealing our boy.
It is a harbinger, a messenger with news of that future Day.
An earnest of difference between God's followers and His enemies.
May our day, this day, not be indifferent or dismissive or forgetful of our God.
For you see, 
That Angel of the Lord, when destroying every firstborn called by a given name,
That Angel would pass over the houses marked by The Blood of the Lamb.

Passover.  Do not pass me by.
This bucolic event occurred 430 years from the Promise made to Abraham.
Are we too busy to wait on the Promises of God?
Their hosts brought them out. Exodus 12:50
Wondering what the Israelites thought of those hosts who lingered long.
Wondering what I say by my words & testimony of God lingering long.
We join this day all those who have praised God and kept the Passover.
O God, have mercy on us all! 

PHOTO: 
Image:  www.freechristimages.

28 - “The Finger of God Writes Your Story So Live Today” Exodus 8-10, Matthew 18

#28 To live for this life bows our head to the temporal not the eternal. Exodus 9:3. You cannot live every day for one gold medal. Submit not knowing the outcome. The finger of God writes your story. Exodus 8:19.  But the Pharaoh still didn’t feel the wrongs in his “person.” 

                             

Behold, the Hand of the Lord was even on the cattle.  And all the mean cattle of the Israelites lived, while the mean cattle of Egypt died.  Providence cared.  Pharaoh hardened his heart. And Providence hardened it furthermore.  To live for this life only bows our heads to the temporal not the eternal.  My kids are professional athletes. They will tell you—-you can't live your life every day for one gold medal.  Live to give. My oldest son said: You can't always be first but you can live your best. God's Hand is over all we are.  Will we submit not knowing the outcome.  

Pharaoh didn't feel the plagues in his person. Now, he must feel them in his heart. Exo 9:15. All he can reply to so gracious a God is "tomorrow." I'll put this off so I'm not obligated to you today. But ...

Set your eyes on this day to live! Most people live for when they graduate, or when they marry, or when they buy a house, or have a kid. Do't wait for that day. Live today.  Behold, the Hand of the Lord was even on the cattle.  Exodus 9:3.  And all the mean cattle of the Israelites lived, while the mean cattle of Egypt died.  Providence cared.  Pharaoh hardened his heart. And Providence hardened it furthermore.  Nothing like that to live so evil on this earth. 

This is the Finger of God. Exodus 9:19 

PHOTO:  Sometimes, the finger of God signs the skies. 

27 - “Do We Love Success More Than God?” Exodus 5-7, Matthew 17

#27 Do we love success more than God? What about better circumstances? Moses’ thoughts in Exodus 5:23: “From the moment I spoke in Your Name, things have gotten worse.” How many times in a day do we think: if I do the right thing, then life is going to get better? #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself.        

                                    

There were some places in Moses' heart where Moses loved success more than he loved God. Exodus 5:23 seems to be one of those places: "From the moment I spoke in your Name, things have gotten worse."  What does rescue look like? As I have become older, ahem, more mature, my definitions of Christianity are changing. I wonder if we miss being rescued a lot because we don't recognize it is actually God. I wonder how many times in our day that we think if we do the right thing, then life is going to get better. It may not...it didn't for Joseph not until he was 30 or so...

And a father in Matthew 17:14-15 sees the power of God in his affliction. And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before Jesus, said, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly."  What anguish of soul for a Dad to watch his son t.o.r.m.e.n.t.e.d. physically by demons. LORD, will you do anything?  Jesus replies in 17:21: With a tiny grain of faith, say to your mountain: 'Move Forward,' and it will move!  Nothing will be impossible for you.  

The disciples just didn't get "it," did they?  (17:20) - 'You're not yet taking God seriously," said Jesus. "The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, you would tell this mountain, 'Move!' and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle." 

What circumstances riddle my soul this day?  Will faith be found among us?  The Kingdom is near!  I can wrestle with a Good God just like these disciples wrestled to find faith.  "I can live to give and not to grasp.  I can bring a taste of heaven to earth."  66 LL. 

A Son of Adam, bothered by Satan, not only spiritually (like us all) but also physically.  Followers of Christ, not able to do anything about it.  Do the things of God rest on our hearts with deep conviction? What am I truly convinced of? How can the Truth be instrumental in our own hands of becoming faith in others? By our tiny faith, we will draw out from others the people God intended for them to be. 

26 - “God Trumps Moses With His Power” Exodus 4

#26 God trumped Moses with His Power—-Who made your mouth, Moses? Go. And God Himself will be with your words, Exodus 4:11-12

                                                                   

Do I really know that the Lord is concerned about me and sees everything that I am going through? Exodus 4:33.  May I know that deep down where it really counts.

It appears in our celebrity society that the most talented get the positions of importance; the most gifted climb to the top.  In God's economy what counts is that He gives us the power to face whatever comes our way.  "Moses continued backward to the work God designed him for; there was mch of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in him.  We must not judge of men by the readiness of their discourse.  A great deal of wisdom and true worth may be with a slow tongue." Matthew Henry Commentary.

"Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go...” Exodus 4:11

This statesman.  

Claims to be no orator.  

Called to be God's mouthpiece.  

Acts 7:22, mighty in Word.  Straight to the purposes of God.  

Deut 32:2 distilled like dew to my thirsty soul.  

So, go.  And do the Word.

And the river turns to blood ...

A sign ...

A miracle ...

I AM with your mouth. Behold, they will not believe me.

I relate too much to this statement. 

"They won't listen to my voice."

What if people don't?

Does feedback validate you?

Exodus 4:5 - Oh, that I may believe that this God of Moses, God Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob---He appeared to them. He is speaking to me! And I believe God---it's me that I have a problem with. So God delivers to Moses a couple of miracles. Doesn't happen often in the Bible that a man can perform this kind of thing. Rods turned to snakes. Hands turned to lepers. Rivers turned to blood. 

Yet Moses discredits himself. His teaching was like rain falling on thirsty souls, distilled as the dew (Deut 32:2). His weighty words were mighty, yet slow, stammering. So, God---can you find another "fit" for this errand? "Send someone else." Exodus 4:14. So how did God grab his attention, get his heart? God trumps Moses with His Power. "Who has made man's mouth? Exodus 4:11. And God overwhelms Moses and me this very day with His Grace and Kindness in Exodus 4:12 ~ "Now, therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." I don't think there are any words left for me to say. God promised His Presence to Moses' mouth. I'm sobbing over here. May we repent from our foolish ways

PHOTO:  Melt our hearts, like snow in soon spring.  

25 - “Answer Him By Heart” Exodus 3

#25 Can you answer him by heart when he calls your name: “Here I am.” Exodus 3:4 

                                                                    

Moses saw a burning bush but no humans kindling that fire.

Moses heard a booming voice but no face turning over words.
Moses saw no living Being but One burning in that white hot bush.
And that Being called Moses by name.
And that Prince called back by heart.
"Here I Am" replied Moses. Exodus 3:4
The Prince was found in the moment.
Right where he should be.
Am I?

 I AM THAT I AM.  Exodus 3:14. 

Self-perpetuating life. 

Self existent. 

Always the same. 

Incomprehensible. 

Faithful. 

There is none besides Me. 

All have being in Me. 

All wholly dependent, whether we know it or not. 

Holy dependent. 

Resolve to be holy not to try to figure everything out. 

I read the story of Moses and the Burning Bush to Barrett when he was 4 (here he is at 4).

I asked him what he thought Moses was feeling when he saw Someone in a burning bush.

Barrett replied:  Moses was feeling really good!

Barrett---do you think Moses was scared?  

No. No.

To not think about "fear" in that walk-up was beyond me.  

I knew I had a child who thought differently than I.  

When you are exactly where you are supposed to be --- that's a good thing. 

Do not fear, Bev. Know the Voice so you can call back to Him by heart.

Love that 4-year-old kid in this photo. 

PHOTO: December 1985.  4-year-ol Barrett.  2 1/2 year-old-Brooke.  10-month old Blair.

May they know the Voice so they can answer by heart:  Here I am. 

24 - “God Sees and Understands” Exodus 1-2

#24 God remembers to listen to our every moment. He sees and understands everything we face. Genesis 2:24 

                             

The Providential Hand of God.  Just at the peak of Pharaoh's outrageous act to declare the execution of every Hebrew child born male.  Such a cruel act.  This Pharaoh forgot all about Joseph.  Feared the Jews would be too much for him to handle.  Thought they might just start a rebellion against him, against the Egyptians. So this unwarranted horrific act against all Hebrews.  Just at that moment in time.  A deliverer is born.  No match for Pharaoh.  Our God.

And a momma named Jochebed trusts God with this new life within her.  And she puts her little boy in a basket headed down river because Providence led her to do so. Can you imagine carrying a child for 9 months not knowing whether they would be a girl living in your household or a boy buried in a grave.  No sonograms.  Nine months of trusting God.  This baby boy was born to Moses' parents in their old age. They already had Miriam and Aaron.  Maybe this child was a surprise.

Moses is seen floating in a basket in the reeds of the Nile. Exo 2:5.

Moses is seen sitting by a well in Midian. Exodus 3:15

Obscure. Unheard. Sovereign Moment. 

Gossamer of Grace. 

Exodus 2:24 - 

God listened

God remembered

God saw

God understood...

Before I read today's readings, I asked God if He could send me anyone who understood my feelings right now with wrestling with letting my son go. My firstborn got married. I'm sobbing over here---just a mess of a mom. He's married. He just spent an hour with us before they left for a reception in California. He offered to fly me on his miles to San Francisco, California for his reception this weekend. I'm sobbing over here. I feel like I've lost my son. I don't know how to explain it. Does anyone understand? The only time I felt this way was the day I dropped him off for college. I cried all the way back from Nebraska. I guess it's allowing God to put closure on a chapter. Am I holding on it too tight? Yes. This was what we raised him to do. Cling to his wife not his Momma. I opened and read the Word and came to this verse...my God is listening and He understands. I'm struggling...and it's over something really good! He was just the greatest kid to me!

So … Take care to be servants of Christ and not servants of men and this world. Exodus 1:8 says that Egypt forgot about Joseph. All that good done in prison. Joseph meant nothing to the new king and Egypt became like a prison.  "Our great care should be to serve God, and to please him who is not unrighteous to forget our work and labour of love." Who am I serving?

PHOTO:  A place I go to where I think about this Providential God who listens and remembers and sees and understands.