85 - “Trusting in Deep Loss” Deuteronomy 16-19, Luke 2

 

"Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the Lord your God hates." Deut 16:21 - Worshipping other gods.  What is it that we do with this one life of ours?  What set-ups have I placed before my God?  What have I done with the kind of bewilderment Moses must have hinted at in his feet not touching promised ground.  The beautiful point in all of Moses' last sermon is that he looked life square in the eye and looked right past Promised Lands into the eyes of God.  He begged to enter his dream.  He let it go.  Not in just a second or passing thought.  He let decades of dashed dreams disintegrate.  Moses learned to trust in deepest of loss.  May we live our dreams like Moses did.  With open hands, open hearts.  

84 - “Get God’s Words Deep Inside of You” Deuteronomy 13-15

 

Deuteronomy 11:18 - "Get the words deep inside of you."  Deut 13:4 - "God is testing you.  Hold on to Him for dear life." Cling only to Him and His Word---let everything else slip through your fingers.  I thought all yesterday about Deut 8 - God led you on this road for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you and showing us what's in our heart whether we will obey Him or not---my sin has so surprised me today.  Wonder if Moses continually dealt with sin over not entering the Promised Land.  He seems to have dealt with his disappointment in such a beautiful way!  Moses knows this is his last sermon forever.  He's been with these people for 40 years. God tells him they won't make it after he dies. How does this pastor deal with their unresponsive hearts?  He is looking into their faces. No one has ever seen their own face. Listen when others speak who read your face every day.  66 Love Letters:  "I brought you out of something bad to bring you into something good before you experience that something good. Then, your love is sustained by confidence in My Character, not by enjoyment of current blessings."  He brought us out to bring us in - Deut 6:23. Moses last words send a message that even in his own disappointment, Moses never stopped looking to God Who did things differently than Moses wanted. Moses sang His Praises even while disappointed:  "Through It All, I've Learned to Trust in Jesus."  What am I doing with my disappointments in life?

PHOTO: A Grandmother with her 5 grandkids. May they all get His Word deep in their hearts.

83 - ”My Eyes Saw His Outstretched Arms To Me” Deuteronomy 10-12

 

It was not your children who saw the discipline of the LORD:
His Majesty
His Mighty Hand
His Outstretched Arms.
No, it wasn't your children, No.

It was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done." Deuteronomy 11:7

And what will you do with this God of yours?
What will you take away and live forever?
Can we ever ever be the same? No.
How He has overwhelmed us.
Walking floors of oceans.
40-year old shoes.
Miracles!!!

OH!  That I remember all those times you have Outstretched your Arms for me, for my family, for my friends.  I have seen You with my eyes---and may the Gospel ring true today in my life because of it.

PHOTO: I Stood Here. Right Where I Am. And I Knew. It IS His Outstretched Arms to Me Here. 

82 - “Understand This - It’s Not Because of Your Righteousness” Deuteronomy 9

82 It was not because of how good they were that God gave them the land. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

  

Deuteronomy 9:6 - “Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess.”

Deuteronomy 10:13 - "Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I'm commanding you today—live a good life."  I'm seeing more and more in my thoughts and actions how I long to walk on the road that I think is a good one.  One lane filled with successful ministry. A diverging path filled with faithful friends.  A highway of children obedient to the truth. A road full of success.  I don't want to not be noticed. What am I dealing with? Ambition?  Do I want to be noticed more by my God than by my world?  Because one Truth that is all over today's reading is that God is crossing the River before we do to take care of us and invite us to follow.  But, the Truth is, it is not because of how good we are (Deut 9:6).

PHOTO: Rock Lake Ranch. 

81 - “Truth Rises Up When We Know” Deuteronomy 8

       81 When we come to know what is in our hearts, the truth rises up—-the Power and Patience and Presence of God, and our total dependence on Him. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                                                

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 40 years! The journey was less than 15 days in distance. What happened? Deuteronomy 8:2.  What's the point here? How do we live like this? God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Held Ezri at 2 weeks old and wondered this very same thought.  Will she soon discover that man does not live by bread but by every Word out of the mouth of God.

God had the power to make it a very brief journey in the wilderness. And the same with "change" in our own lives. But how else is character formed? Overnight? How else can we come to see ourselves for who we really are? A C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good." They had to try awful hard in a wilderness---so do we. And what does it reveal? Humility and dependence or self-knowledge and arrogance. When we come "to know what is in our heart," that knowledge rises up---that's what the word "to know" means in the Hebrew. The truth rises up in our hearts of the Power and Patience and Presence of God---and our total dependence on Him.

PHOTO: Our total dependence on Him to move our mountains that we may “know.”

80 - “We Pass On What Is On Our Hearts” Deuteronomy 6

 

The Lord heard when the Israelites spoke to Moses.

The Lord hears when I speak this day to my leaders.

Oh! That our hearts would be inclined to fear God and 

keep His Commands always, so that it may go well with us.

Deut 5:28-29

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength.

These 10 commandments are to be on your heart.

Talk about them 

when you sit at home

when you walk along the road

when you lie down

when you get up.  

Write them on the doorframes of our homes.

Deut 6:4-6

And here is the secret for living and loving.

PHOTO:  It's a secret place I go to when I'm really in trouble. It's actually the campus where I work. God hears me here.  Yet, he hears me if I'm in my closet, in my bed, in my car.  Talk, Bev.

79 - “Take Care” Deut 4-5, Mark 15

 

Take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord, He answered.  Deut 4:9-10

78 - “Final Destination: Heaven Not Horeb. Demand nothing Here. Expect Everything There.” Deut 1-3

            

God knows your going and coming in your wilderness. Deut 2:7. He knows.

I am stunned that Moses knew he wouldn't enter the land of Canaan, the promised land. Yet! Moses carried on. And he encouraged the people he led saying: "The LORD your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you." Deut 1:30. This is Moses' last sermon and he knows it. And Moses still does not falter. He faces his grave disappointment with dependence.

Larry Crabb said it this way:  "Demand nothing here.  Expect everything there.
Surrender all rights to justice, to loving treatment from others, to fulfilling ministry,
to all the good things of this life and you will be given tastes of the good things to come.
That is how you taste the LORD and discover that He is good.  
It is those tastes that fill you with sustaining hope until you're welcomed to the banquet."

Moses' final destination was heaven not Horeb, an eternal home not an earthly one. His view of success did not include the conquest of Canaan. His ministry was to people not places. So, he kept on keeping on. Just like that young servant in Mark 5:36---keep on believing no matter what the circumstances show. There is an untold unseen unfolding Story.

"There is no better evidence and earnest of God's favor than His putting His Law in our hearts." Psalm 147:19.

PHOTO:  It's a tree in the wilderness outside of my window.  And in this wilderness in which I sit, God orchestrates my story.  I no longer live for success but for Him! 

77 - “Live for God not for Promised Lands” 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.

76 - “Your Sins Will Find You Out” Numbers 32-33, Mark 14

 

"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

DEAR GOD, PLEASE CHANGE ME FIRST IN ONE OF THESE 10,000 MOMENTS THIS DAY:  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

75 - “Consider the End of Your Sin” Numbers 31

 

Could their eyes believe what they saw?  Dazzling whiteness. Whiter than any bleach. And there before them --- Moses and Elijah! Makes me think of C.S. Lewis' words: No man knows how bad he is until he tries real hard to be good. How could they live in this moment juxtaposed next to an ambitious moment to be the best and request to sit next to Jesus.  It's something I wonder about a lot.  If I have made nothing of myself---or God has not made much---whose terms am I on?  Can I live in the wonder and awe of the dazzling whiteness of my life?  That's enough.  It's not about the turmoil; it's all about the "white as snow." 

Moses cared more about these people than about the Promised Land. He spoke the truth constrained by the Love of God. Ought we not do the same? Carry the cares of our world for the spiritual success of those we love.

 

"If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it." The Israelites fell back to old ways of making life work for them. Moses fell forward on God. Will we strain ahead today with his Energy so powerfully at work within. 

PHOTO:  Stood overlooking this creek. Snow falling. Perceiving my end.

74 - “Falling. Forward. Fully. Following.” Numbers 30

 

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 and weeps.  

73 - “A Prescribed Offering —- the Wilderness” Numbers 29, Mark 13

 

They are in their fourth decade of learning dependence on God in a wilderness.  All of these prescribed offerings are for their dependence.  Do they think they would have learned to trust God if they were living comfortable lives.  Do we?   Are we slackard or stirred up?  Is their true holiness in the way we move and breathe and live toward our family and friends. A holy convocation. Numbers 29:12. The only way that there is holiness...true repentance accompanies our wilderness walk. 

We know the fate of these followers who are attempting serious offerings, one after another.  All of our sobriety and sincerity could amount to little.  Wondering if a demanding spirit pervaded their heart?  After all I've done for you, God ---umpteen offerings---and you treat me like this.  Do we say the same?

I was treated poorly today and something in me rose up to protect myself---shouldn't have to put up with this.  But Someone was stronger in me to move me in compassion.  Only God.  May we learn a little deeper dependence in this situation we face---whatever it is---for His Glory and for the Rising Generations whom we touch every single day.

PHOTO: A prescribed offering for your dependence. 

72 - “If God Answered Your Prayers Would It Change The World or Change You” Numbers 27-28

 #72 If God answered all your prayers today, would it change the world or change you? Moses could no longer enter the Promised Land so he prayed, not for himself, but for the appointment of a worthy successor. Numbers 27:12-17. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                       

"If God answered all your prayers today, would it change the world or change you"?  

Moses, in a pivotal moment in his life, chose a benevolent, humanitarian prayer. Not for himself.  But for his world.  The pious leader would no longer cross the Jordan River and enter the confines of the privileged Promised Land. Numbers 27:12-17.  No, he would die on the Moabitic range of perilous mountains. All because...Moses struck the rock at Meribah and didn't treat God as holy.  With humility and meekness, Moses embraced the Divine Edict and "evinced the spirit of genuine patriotism in his fervent prayers for the appointment of a worthy and competent successor." Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible.  

I am beyond belief in reading this. Moses could walk to the tip of one of the mountain ranges and grab an eyeful of the Promised Land he couldn't enter. Did Moses live for the promise of entering the Promised Land?  Or, did Moses simply profoundly live for God.  What about you?  What do you live for today?  


 

71 - “Half of a Million People Never Looked Deep Enough in their Hearts” Numbers 25-26, Mark 12

#71 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.

70 - “The Angel Drew The Line” Numbers 22-24, Mark 11

#70 It’s A Beautiful Thing when the Angel draws the line and God stands in our way and we look within and God opens our eyes. Numbers 22:31 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                     

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. 

69 - "We Do The Same Thing" Numbers 19-21

#69 Moses and Aaron just did the same thing the one million Israelites had been doing. Do we think we have to protect God's reputation? Speak as you walk through life. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                              

                            

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.

68 - "Two Against 1 Million---Find God's Presence Your Home" Numbers 18

#68 Moses and Aaron against one million people. How do you know in your heart God brought you to this place and one million people do not know? #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Two against a million.  Moses!  Aaron!  How did you know so deep in your heart that it was God Who had brought you to this place.  And the other million didn't know:  "Why have you, Moses, brought the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness that we should die here, both we and our cattle."  It's no place for anyone to live! 

So, what does Moses and Aaron do? They fall on their faces before God.

When the multitudes are against us, may we find Your Presence our home.

Aaron took his ministry seriously.
Don't be high minded of your leadership but fear.
Fear God and do his work.
The people under Aaron in Numbers 18
complained of all their problems and peril
in drawing near to God.
What about this? What about that?
God says---the priests will help you.
The priests have been given a great charge.
"The greater the trust of work and power that is committed to us,
the greater danger there is of betraying that trust." M.Henry

PHOTO: Looking out my classroom on a dreary day.  We all face wilderness wanderings.  How did Moses and Aaron push through and a million other people did not?  What were Moses and Aaron so convinced of?  This I know, they knew that they were thoroughly loved by God so they didn't need a million voices to approve of what they were doing.  

67 “What Does My Happiness Depend On?” Numbers 17

 #67 Does my happiness depend on others treating me well and things going my way? Numbers 17 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Moses responds to these 251 men with faith and passion, looking to God.  I keep thinking about Moses being a stutterer not wanting to speak with anyone but on this day leading 2 million.  And Aaron, unable to control his own kids, much less a crowd.  What happened to Moses and Aaron in their wilderness experiences?  How did they find such courage, such faith?  Moses' and Aaron's hard life in the wilderness exposed their failures and they lived a broken repentant life  What happened to the others in this story?  66 Love Letters:  "With no thought that their thinking might be wrong, they assumed that their happiness depended on others relating yto them well and on life treating them well."  And they claimed the right to define what "well" meant.  So...what is going on inside of me as others relate poorly to me?  And what is going on inside of me as life treats me not so well?  Is there a war waging? 

66 - “They Forgot What They Read” Numbers 16

#66 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. 

65 - “Make us like Caleb—-Holy Heat, Noble Daring” Numbers 14-15

#65 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

                                                                 

“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. 

PHOTO:  The road.  The road we are all on.  Sometimes wilderness; sometimes extravagance.  No matter.  Are we "all heart" in this life we are living?

64 - “Never Live on Old Manna” Numbers 11

#64 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

63 - “God’s Movement in Our Lives Belongs to Him—Not for Us To Say; There for Us to Follow” Numnbers 8-10

 #63 God’s movement in our lives belongs to Him and 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. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                              

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. 

The cloud of Yahweh was over them by day, when they set forward from the camp. When the ark went forward, Moses said, “Rise up, Yahweh, and let your enemies be scattered! Let those who hate you flee before you!” When it rested, he said, “Return, Yahweh, to the ten thousand of the thousands of Israel.  Rise up, o my soul!

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. 

PHOTO:  The clouds lifting and here I wonder about all these wanderings. We are moving back home today. Rest when the dust settles.

62 “Audible Words from the Living God” Numbers 7, Mark 7

#62 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.

61 - “Put God’s Name on Every Face” Numbers 6

#61 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. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                          

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

60 - "God's Will Is To Find Freedom To Be Holy Not Freedom from your Problems" Numbers 5

#60 God’s will is for me to become holy not to solve all my problems. Moses led 2 million on a trip of joy that should have taken 11 days not 40 years. Concerned more with comfort than holiness. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

God's Will in the wilderness was for the Israelites to find freedom to be holy.

Not freedom from their problems.  

There are friends and family who are hoping for a change in my life, for the better.  But, I'm here to report a dip, a breach, a patch that I hit that I do not know how I can recover.  I'm not here to protect the reputation of our Good God.  I'm here to do His Will and I must keep on repenting of wanting things to go better.  They're not in terms of this world, this life.  But then again, I read Numbers and my mind boggles at Aaron and what he faced.  His oldest son---dead.  People don't talk about things like this.  Killed because Nadab and the younger son Abihu refused to live God's way in the wilderness.  They died in a strange accident.  What did Aaron think of his parenting?  What did he say to himself to move through this?  Cause he sure did move well through it.  So, I go this day to a String of Pearls from 66 Love Letters and string them for you:  "You will experience terrible failure and crushing conflict on the road that leads to where I'm taking you, but it is the right road even when it feels like it's killing you...No matter how well organized and well intentioned you are---you will run into trouble...The road that exposes you will lead to the life you want, the life God gives you...God is here not to solve your problems and make your lives comfortable...Never underestimate the energy (and badly misunderstand the nature of unholiness) in the human heart...Moses prepares the people for a trip of joy that would have taken 11 days had they taken Leviticus to heart and concerned themselves more with holiness than comfort."  Oh my word! 11 days! They had to learn their lesson 1,327 times in 14,600 days. May it never be! 

Numbers 5:5 The people of Israel did exactly what God had commanded through Moses.  Who did they do it for?  

PHOTO:  Wilderness. Just 11 days away. Took 40 years. #freestockphotos

59 - “The Rest of the Story” Numbers 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. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                  

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.  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

God forbid that we do what is right in our own eyes.  We think, sometimes, that we are doing so well.  Not so!  Are we open to looking deep down to see what is "terribly wrong" in our hearts, in our ways of relating, in our active minds?  Come LORD Jesus, may we be satisfied only with You.

PHOTO: A blatant photo of the static sun.  Open our eyes to see.

58 - “The World Recognizes Some as Returnable” Numbers 3

#59 Step into your calling even if the world might recognize you as returnable. Numbers 3:34. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

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." Numbers 3:34.  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.

PHOTO:  A Roman mural on our Latin class trip to Rome.  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.

57 - “Moses Was A Prince in a Grant. Press On.” Numbers 1-2

      #57 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.  May we all pitch according to the standards set.  For His Glory

56 - "So What's The Point of All These Laws?" Leviticus 26-27

#56 So what’s the point of Leviticus. The laws were written for our instruction. So what did I learn that applies to my society? “Rest.” May we find true rest in God, not in the tangibles of life.  #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself                                                   

                                                                    

"These are the comm andments which Yahweh commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai." Lev 27:26. Given for their joy. Manifested in holy love.  

And so the book of Leviticus ends.  And you have to always ask yourself as you read your Bible:  So, what's the point?  Here it is:  all these kinds of laws were directed toward Israel's society not ours. The laws we just read are culturally specific.  Yet, Paul wrote in the NT that "the laws were written for our instruction" and they are "useful.  So, as we close this book of laws, we ask:  What did I just learn from all of these laws about how God wants me to truly live and about how he wants my society to truly live.  And the word I walk away with is "rest."  It's real rest that I long for.  And Sabbath rest. May I find true rest in Him, not in the tangibles of life. 

PHOTO:  Roman ruins.  Civilizations built and destroyed.  A manifest of courage.  Holy Love.  Holy Rest.  

55 - "The Sacrifices Shadow Our Privilege" Leviticus 23-25

#55 We put God on trial every time we evaluate if He is good. God is not on trial; we are. God is the Judge. Humble your soul. Come to Him first all day long. Leviticus 23:27. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                           

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. 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.

Lev 9:36 Offerings are no small things. If we love Him, the offerings of our life will pour out.

Perfect in Beauty is the Godf who pours out of the Israelites when they follow in their wilderness and are not distant from God. Gratitude and offerings to God are not boxes to be checked off. There’s something wrong inside of us if life doesn’t flow out. 

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. The Israelites were looking forward. We have equal standing with Peter. 2 Peter 1:3. Given all things that pertain to life and godliness. It is incomprehensible that we can partake of His Divine Nature. 

Remembering a quote from John Wesley: “ Insead of giving thanks, one is tempted 

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.

54 - “A Call to Holiness Individually & Collectively Leviticus 22

 #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.  

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

53 - "When Did It Become Okay To Work Harder To Be Holy" Leviticus 20-21

#53 When did it become okay to work harder to be holy?” Leviticus 19:1 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself 

 "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.

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

#52 Am I more concerned about my relationship with God than I am with these rough circumstances trapping me in? #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

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

#51 Spiritual leprosy causes us to distance ourselves from our enemies and those who disagree but we must treat them as friends. How? #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

                                                                     

Matthew Henry says: If we apply this to the spiritual leprosy of sin, it means 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 have 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.