And also the relatives

I Chronicles 13:40 And also their relatives … came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules an don oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep …

Chapter 12 is full of information about David’s fighting men, their great soldiering abilities and readiness for battle.  Verse 2 tells us the “mighty men” were gifted ambidextrous warriors; verse 8 says they were experts with determination and strength even on their faces and that they were fast and sure-footed.  By the end of the chapter, I felt rather intimidated by the strength, bravery, and readiness of this great army around David.  I felt that way UNTIL I noticed who else is listed at the very end of the chapter.  Not everyone could be a strong and fearsome warrior in the fighting army.  Their supportive relatives had an equally vital role to play.  They are the ones who made it possible for the army to be battle-ready.  They came by the droves, by every means available, bringing food for these “might men” and the army.  Their role was as important as that of the mighty men and the rest of the army.  How encouraging to know that even if I am not a “mighty man” with special skills or abilities, I can have a supportive role in the accomplishments of those who are more actively engaged in the fight.

Our security and stability

As I have read through the books of Kings and Chronicles in the Old Testament this time around in my chronological reading of the Bible, I decided to note the names of the kings as they took to their thrones (as you see in my sample picture) and as I have done so I have seen more than ever before the difference that following God made (and makes), even in the life of a nation.  On this page, for example, there is the name of one king for the nation of Judah, which is a nation that obeyed God's laws and worshiped Him only.  On the other hand, during the reign of that one king in Judah, in the nation of Israel there were four different kings.  For every one of those kings there is the statement that they did not walk in the ways of the Lord and did evil in the sight of the Lord.  It has been my vivid reminder that there are always consequences to our decisions to either obey and worship God or not to do so.  This is true in our personal lives but also true in a nation's life.  It reminds me to pray for our nation and its leaders as well as for our populace.  If we do not follow God's principles of living, who knows how long we can remain secure and stable? 

My Knight in Shining Armor

Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like God … who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.

When reading the final words of Moses before his death, I must admit these words not only captured my attention, they captured my imagination.  I feel almost fixated on them right now!  Picture the classic dream of any young woman, that of being rescued, swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor riding a white horse.  That is exactly what popped into my mind when I read this verse.  I am in need of help and when I call out, my Knight in Shining Armor comes galloping across the heavens in all His majesty to rescue me.  It is such a comfort to know how much God will do for me any time, any circumstance, whenever I call out for His help.  God is my KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR.

The shout of a king

Numbers 23:21 The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them.

This is part of the Moabite prophet Balaam’s prophecy to his Moabite king Balak concerning the children of Israel who where camped nearby.  It is particularly powerful, seeing as this was a prophet of the enemy who nonetheless heard a message from God Himself.  Aside from that, what caught my attention even more is the phrase “the shout of a king is among them” .  It speaks to me yet again of the victory we have when God is with us as our Guide and Jesus is our Savior.  As the people of God, we have the shout of a victorious King among us.  As a following verse says, “there is  no enchantment against [the people of God’ and no divination against [them].” (v.23)  There is only victory over our enemies that want to destroy our souls.

The difference the Spirit makes

Numbers 11:28 Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!

I see several lessons to myself in this event recorded in this episode:

1. Joshua, as a young leader-in-making, is the one talking to Moses here.  He is still brash, unable to tolerate any opposition to his opinion and leadership, but here he learns a new and valuable lesson about leadership … a higher tolerance level.

2. Moses’ humility in his leadership is evidenced here.  He was secure in his position and did not allow insignificant things to intimidate what he knew was God’s call on his life for leadership, so having Eldad and Medad prophesying did not worry him.

3. Moses recognized the value of the presence of God’s Spirit in people.  He knew that that holy presence could and would make a difference in how people lived and handled life.  He understood the difference it could make in his leadership of those people in they were in tune with the Spirit of God along with him.

What is the source?

Genesis 2:9; 3:6 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.

God made trees for two main reasons: to be a source of enjoyment for their beauty, and to be a good source of nourishment as food.  He intended them for only good things yet in the account of the fall of mankind into sin, we see the enemy of God use those very same things in his temptation of Eve.  What a vivid reminder to me at the start of a new year that even good things can be used to sin against God.  By adding one short phrase in Genesis 3:6, Eve sinned.  Look: “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food [italics mine], and that it was a delight to the eyes, [notice the similarity to 2:9?] and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise [where did that come from?]…”  I pray that I will be discerning as to the source of every idea that comes to me so I can sort them out and not fall prey as Eve did to false sources.

My beauty

I Peter 3:4 Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

I have never felt beautiful and have often joked that my beauty is just well-hidden from view.  In a more serious sense, however, aside from the jest, this verse tells me that what God sees as most beautiful, most precious, about me is indeed emanating from within me.  My true character, honed by my Savior’s work of grace and mercy in my heart and in my spirit, is my gentle and quiet spirit.  That gentleness and quietness is like Jesus’ spirit, displayed for all to see in His life on earth.  The beauty of that way of life is the imperishable beauty and it is what I most want people to see and to remember about me when I am no longer living on this earth.

PEACE is my calling

I Corinthians 7:15b God has called you to peace.

I am beginning to see peace in a new way.  Earlier this year I had been struck by the realization that I never have to ask God for peace ... it is a part of my “package” of benefits from salvation.  Peace is also a fruit of the Spirit of God Who lives in me as a child of God.  In this verse I see that it is part of God’s calling on my life.  The context of this verse shows me that His calling comes in spite of any circumstances, good or bad.  There is no question about God’s intention that every child of God have peace!  He gifts us with it, He grows it in us as a fruit, and He calls us to it.  It is there for my benefit and for my … peace.

Christ is all

I Corinthians 1:30 … you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption …

I think it is easy for me to forget that all I am as a Christian woman is centered in Jesus.  I would not be what I am, who I am, today were it not for what He has done in my life.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and make Him Lord of our lives, all we are centers on Him.  He is, as this verse says, our wisdom.  He enables us to determine how to use the knowledge we have.  He becomes our righteousness.  He forgives our sin and views us as spiritually clean.  He is our sanctification.  We are made holy in His sight, and set apart from the sinful world, dedicated to Him.  He is our redemption.  Through Him we are no longer enslaved to sin or its eternal punishment.  It is all wrapped up in Christ Jesus.

Christ is all I need, 

Christ is all I need,

All that I need.

Cause for celebration

Luke 15:10 … there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

Scripture tells us that the angels marvel over what God has done out of love and mercy for man.  They cannot understand in the same way as we, as sinful people, understand, but here we are told that they celebrate our repentance.  It is really special to know that when I, as a six-year-old child accepted Christ, the angels in heaven celebrated!  I was important enough to cause that celebration!  It has been said that if I were the only sinner on earth, Jesus still would have been willing to die for me and the fact that the angels celebrate over just one repentance confirms that for me.  It is invigorating spiritually to know how important my salvation is to God, to Jesus, and to the angels.  The angels are so focused on glorifying God that what I do in response to Him is pleasing to all of heaven and is cause for celebration.

I am satisfied

Matthew 14:20 And they all ate and were satisfied.

As I was reading the accounts in Matthew, Mark and in Luke of the feeding of the thousands this morning, I was struck by the phrase appearing in all three accounts,” They all ate and were satisfied.”  When Jesus miraculously multiplied the food available for the crowds, they did not just get enough to tide them over until they could get their own food.  They had enough to be satisfied.  That gives me the impression there was no lingering need or desire for more than what they got.  It made me think of the many times I have found myself feeling so satisfied, so fulfilled by what God has provided for me spiritually.  My relationship to God through Jesus has given me fulfillment that I do not see in many around me who are struggling with life.  It is not that I have “arrived” to some kind of perfection, or have a life without its challenges.  No, it is the fact that I have found satisfaction in knowing God and living close to Him.   I want more, but not because of not having had enough of God.  I have eaten and am satisfied.  All who ate were satisfied.

Fair judgment

John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world , and people loved the darkness rather than the light …

Why is God’s judgment to punish sin fait?  Isn’t he a just God and not willing for anyone to perish eternally?  The answer is right here in Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.  The LIGHT is available for all to use, but if a person loves darkness more than light, and chooses to use his darkness instead of that light, then he faces the consequences.  It is judgment on him but not because he was ignorant.  Rather, the light was available and he just did not take advantage of that light.  For me, this statement in this verse eliminates any concern that there is somehow something unfair about God’s punishment of sin.

Be strong and work

Haggai 2:4b-5 “Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, “and work.  For I am with you,” declares the Lord Almighty.  “This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my spirit remains among you.  Do not fear.”

This is yet another reminder from the Lord to His people that He plans to keep His promises to them.  It does not mean that everything will be easy.  He says to be strong and to work.  This implies the existence of potential weakness and potential laziness.  But His promise is that if they will “bite the bullet” and do what has to be done, they will have two results: 1) God’s presence for courage and strength, and 2) good and successful end results.  Just in case there is fear in facing the challenges, God also reminds them of His continuing presence and that they need not be afraid.  This is a great reminder to me that I can do whatever God directs me into if I will be strong and courageous and diligent to do the work.

Vindication

Ezekiel 36:23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name … and the nations will know that I am the Lord when I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

 I looked up the word “vindicate” in the dictionary because it is not a word we use very often in our daily language and I am glad I did so because it gave me much more food for thought as I meditated on this verse.  To vindicate means to clear, as from an accusation, to justify, or to defend against opposition, or to assert one’s right to a possession.  What great understanding as to what God is telling His people here!  He is accused, even in our day, of being an unloving or harsh dictator and His goal is to clear His name from such an accusation by saving people from sin and wickedness.  By His powerful actions of salvation and provision and His miraculous ways of rescuing people from spiritual and physical danger He is defending Himself to man and to Satan, and He is asserting His right to His children and to His holy name.  When I see God at work in my own life or in the lives of those around me, I am seeing God vindicate His great name.  And when I reach heaven, whether at death or at Jesus’ Second Coming, God will have vindicated His holiness completely, without question, for eternity.  And, as Ezekiel reminds us in just about every chapter of the book at least one time, then the nations will know that He is the Lord.  He has done, is doing, and will continue to do everything He can to convince people to worship Him and Him alone.

Forgiveness is certain, sin forgotten

Ezekiel 18:22-23 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.  Because of the things he has done, he will live.  Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? Declares the Sovereign Lord.  Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

The paragraph in which these verses are found begins with God’s statement that when a wicked person turns away from their wicked ways and begins obeying God’s ways, they find life.  It is after they have turned to God that their offenses are forgiven and forgotten.  Because of their turning from sin to God they will live, and that is the thing they have done that gives them life.  God wants that turning to happen in every person.  It is His desire to see that.  He created us and does not want any of us to be lost to Him, but it depends on our turning.  As soon as the turning occurs, so does the life and with it, the offenses are forgiven and forgotten.

Or, as a following verse (18:28) says:

God's plan for me

Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Then you will call on my and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

I have never really put the thoughts in the first verse of these three together with the next two until I read them this time, for some reason.  I had always thought of verse 11 in terms of the planning of the future of my life, in terms of my vocation, my wealth, my experiences.  But when I read that verse with the following ones I realize the plans God has for me are more intimate to me even than those “big” plans.  The plans of my prosperity that will bring me hope are God’s plans to hear my prayers and to be near to me in every situation.  When I trust Him, when I call to Him for help, when I seek Him and turn to Him, I am fulfilling His plans for me.

Like a tree

Jeremiah 17:7-8 Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

The picture of the tree by the water is one of my favorites from scripture to describe how God wants to work in my life, making it a life of productivity and faith.  That is the blessing God wants to give me in this life on earth if I will trust Him.  If I am “planted” near Him, I will have courage (“I will not fear”) and consistency (my “leaves will always be green”).  I will have peace (“no worries in a year of drought”) and productivity (“never fail to bear fruit”).  These blessings will only come in relation to how far I send out my roots to get the living water I need and if I have planted myself near  the streams of living water, I will never need to worry about growing dry.

The desert shall rejoice

As I meditated on my Bible reading this morning in Isaiah 35, I found the word pictures of what God promises in any restoration He does in one's life to be so powerful that I could not adequately speak of it or even picture it in my own words or art, but I think the picture says it all, so I am leaving it at that for today, with grateful heart to Him for His loving kindness to me in His provision of salvation and restoration.

My desert rejoices today.

Press on

Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on the acknowledge him.  As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.

Even if we do not see the benefit right away, if we put God in His rightful place in our lives, we will eventually find it was worth the effort of having done so.  The rain during the cold months does not cause the grass to grow right away, but the seeds in the soil need that water in order to germinate for the next season, when the warmer spring rain actually brings about the growth we can see.  There are times in our lives when we have to “hang on” in anticipation of blessing (growth) even if we cannot see it or experience it yet.  Something is happening, though, because God is preparing us for our next step of growth.  So we press on to acknowledge Him anyway, because “as surely as the sun rises,” that growth will come and we will reap the blessing of it, no matter how long or slow that process seems to be taking.

Just in time

II Kings 8:5 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.  Gehazi said,” This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”

This incident reminds me of the perfect timing of God in our lives.  So many times events seem to be coincidences but God uses those “coincidences” as tools to enhance the impact of the lesson He wants us to learn.  This women “just happened” to arrive at the palace to make her appeal to the king just when the king needed to see the evidence of the truth of what Gahazi was telling him.  Her appearance was a way of cementing the truth of the power of God to the king.  Her timely arrival was also God’s way of providing for her need, as seen in the next verse, when the king assigned an official to take care of her need without much effort from her in making her appeal.  So they both benefited from the timely interaction.  If that is not proof of how God’s timing is perfect, no other would be!  God is working every event to do His will for me, just as Romans 8:28 says!