Using pastel colors

 I discovered this week that I tend to use brighter colors on my cards, which surprised me.  I know that sounds silly ... that I could not discern my own tendencies ... but it just had not dawned on me that this was the case until I decided to try to do a card for the current Retro Rubber Challenge Blog.  The current challenge is to make a card using pastels, and here is my entry:

I had some pastel green paper with small white dots that I used for the background.  I wanted something that would look nice along with the pink with pale green dots that served as the background for the Bible verse stamp I used.  The stamp is from 1998 so it certainly qualifies for that challenge!  I also used a stamp inside that says "From my heart to yours".  It is a 2007 stamp.

The Best of the best

Numbers 18:12 All the best of the oil and all the best of the wine and of the grain, the first fruits of what they give to the Lord, I give to you.

The priests, as those whose job was to lead the people in worship, were to receive the best of the best of the offerings the people brought.  It was a sign of how special the calling to ministry was in God's sight.  They were representing the people before God.  It was no small responsibility they carried, and to receive the best of the people’s tithe certainly indicates that.  But even the priests were to give a tithe of what they received back to God – a tithe of the tithe (see 18:26 that says "When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord's offering") – so God still received the best of the best!  God deserves my very best – my best of my best.

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.

Why justice?

Today is the last day for me to read in the book of Numbers and it contained a potent lesson for me.

Numbers 35:34 Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.

This verse comes at the end of a chapter in which the Israelites were reminded of principles for fair judgment of crime, and it struck me that the main reason to have a fair and equitable justice system was because of God’s presence in the land.  As I watch my own country struggle over the justice system I see the same principle at work.  As God is eliminated from our lives as individuals and as a nation, justice becomes more and more polluted and ineffective.  

Although this is very true, even more importantly for me personally is the potent reminder to me of the need to keep myself clean and undefiled by sin and worldly influences.  God lives in me and His dwelling place should be holy.  Why were the Israelites to be careful not to defile the land where they lived?  For no other reason than because the Lord lived among them!  Why should I keep myself pure?  There may be reasons of physical and/or spiritual health, but they are secondary to the fact that God is in me. 

Barbs and thorns

Numbers 33:55  But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides.  They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.

This warning to the Israelites reminds me of the same principle I see at work in my spiritual and personal life.  The less-than-desirable traits and habits, and sins, that I do not work to get rid of, those are often the things that give me the most trouble.  When I allow my bad habit to stay around, when I don’t work to “drive it out” I keep having trouble with that very thing.  I cannot allow those things to remain.  They will continue to hamper my spiritual growth, not to speak of those physical things that can cause me trouble.  I want to become more and more like Christ in every aspect of my life and those barbs and thorns can retard that progression.

It's not always convenient

Numbers 32:16-17  We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children.  But we will arm ourselves for battle and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place.

This is a beautiful example of commitment.  The tribes of Reuben and Gad were ready (and able) to settle down in their permanent locations, but they also had a commitment to the rest of the Israelites to help them get possession of the Promised Land, so they chose to put their own desires aside until their other commitment was completed.  They were ready to settle in and be comfortable, but they chose to arm themselves for battle instead, for the good of the whole group.  They had to consciously and deliberately make that decision and although it was undoubtedly a difficult one to make, in the end they received the inheritance they wanted all along (see 32:33-42), but with the satisfaction of knowing all of what God had done to help the other tribes of Israel obtain their land.  Unfortunately, I see in myself the weakness of often being unwilling to set aside my own interests, my own agenda of activities, in order to participate in bringing blessing to others.  I have that tendency to be self-seeking and when that appears, I have to battle the temptation.  If I am willing to accept the challenge of being committed to assisting others, God will bring me the ultimate blessing of providing what I want and need.  It is not always convenient to follow God’s perfect plan but it is always satisfying and beneficial in the end.

Pleasing Prayer

Numbers 28:2c …as an aroma pleasing to me.

This phrase is repeated over and over again in the passages that describe the number of and frequency of the offerings the Israelites were to make to the Lord every year.  They  had daily (morning and evening), weekly, monthly, and yearly offerings.  From other scriptures we know that the pleasing aroma of those offerings was a symbol of prayer, which reminds me of how often God wants me to be in a prayerful position.  Does that mean prayer is to be a legalistic, regulated activity?  Why so many offerings/prayers?  I think the secret is in this phrase which is repeated so many times throughout the books of Leviticus and Numbers in the listing of the laws concerning those offerings.  God sees my communication with Him as something pleasant, something to be frequent and sweet.  He likes to have that frequent communication with His people.  It is pleasing to Him.

The Spirit of Leadership

Numbers 27:18 Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.

Moses knew he would die soon and that the Israelites would need a strong and competent leader in his place.  Joshua is the man God chose for Moses to commission.  What I like best about this verse is the recognition of the special gift Joshua had.  The spirit of leadership was in him.  Not everyone has the spirit of leadership, and it is usually easy to see whether it is present or not.  Lots of leaders do not have it and it shows!  But having the spirit of leadership will make one’s acts of leadership so much more beneficial and meaningful for the followers.  If I am going to lead in anything, I want it to be because God has put the spirit of leadership in me and because others can see that in me.  When I was in high school I remember several times when teachers noted that I was NOT a leader, and even in college I did not show signs of having that spirit of leadership.  God did not have plans for me to be in leadership at that time of my life and so the spirit of leadership was not evident in me.  In more recent years, however, I have had several experiences of leadership and at those times, it was apparent to me as well as to others that God had put that spirit within me for that task.  I would not want to have to lead unless the spirit of leadership was recognizable in me.

Total, Committed, Determined Obedience

Numbers 24:13  Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord…

This statement of determination strikes me as particularly powerful and meaningful because it is the second time Balaam made almost the same declaration to Balak’s representatives (see 22:18).  In the two times he covered the whole “gamut” of what he could decide to do or not do:  the first time he could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of God, and the second time he could not do anything of his own accord, be it good or bad, to go beyond that command.  Big, little, good, or bad, it all had to fall within what Balaam knew were his boundaries of action.  He knew that even all the riches he could potentially gain were not worth disobedience to God.  I hope I can learn to follow that clearly defined path of obedience in my own life.  It is something I can see myself having been learning for many years now, slowly, bit by bit.  Total, committed, determined obedience is my only path to peace and a clear conscience in my life. 

My Gifts to Ministers

Numbers 18:7b I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.

The opportunities I have to serve God in some way are each one a gift from God to me.  They are my opportunity to show my love for God and appreciation for His care and for my salvation.  The priestly service was one in which the priest served as intercessor between God and the people, and this was a gift from God as well.  In an earlier verse (v.2) the Lord told Aaron that the others of the tribe of Levi who were not serving as priests were also a gift to him and the other priests.  As their gift, those Levites would minister to the priests while they performed their duties in the tabernacle.  The term “gift” implies something pleasant, not an imposition on the receiver of the gift.  The duty of ministry to those who are in spiritual leadership and the “gift” of prayer for others is a gift God has given me.  This sheds a whole new light on my ministry to, and prayer for, others.  Whatever I can do to encourage and support spiritual leaders will be a part of what God has called me to do as a member of the “royal priesthood” of believers.  (This reminds me of an earlier post from Numbers 8... same principles reflected earlier.  I think God is reminding me of an important principle for my retirement years!)

When I Grow Up...

Numbers 14:9 And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them.  Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us.  Do not be afraid of them.

Joshua and Caleb saw the very same things the other ten spies saw when they went into the land of Canaan, but they had a totally different vision.  They all saw the strength of the inhabitants but Joshua and Caleb’s vision saw the possibility of victory over them. They saw the presence of God that the others missed.  They had no way of knowing (no more than the other ten did) how the inhabitants would be defeated but their confidence in God’s power gave them an entirely different outlook on the situation.  This event in Numbers reminded of something I have been thinking about lately.  There is quite a contrast between the optimism of a man or woman who puts their faith and trust in the Almighty God, their Heavenly Father, and the pessimism of the one who worries and frets over things because they either won’t or don’t know how to trust God in all things.  For me, although I am normally fairly optimistic, I have had to practice trusting God in order to learn to do it automatically.  As I watched my mother grow weak physically and mentally before her death, I could see how that practice paid off in the end of her life.  Even when she could not consciously make the decision to trust God, she kept on doing so in spite of her fears because she had made it a habit for so many years.  I want to be like that when I “grow up.”  I want to have automatic faith-based optimism.

Craving for What?

Numbers 11:34 The place was named Kibroth Hattuvah [“Graves of Craving”] because there they buried people who had craved other food.

I would hate to think that I would be remembered after my burial as one who “craved after food,” one whose main reason to be remembered was something so puny as what I wanted to eat, rather than being remembered for, say, something I did or something I was as a person.  These Israelites actually had not only craved meat (v.4-6) but all the food they had eaten as slaves, not even free men.  How easily I forget the blessing of my present circumstances when faced with the “delights” of my previous slavery!  “The heart is deceitful above all things…”

Retirement IS in the Bible!

Numbers 8:26 They minister to their brothers in the tent of meeting by keeping guard, but they shall do no service.

Retirement is in the Bible!  I have always heard it said that there is no retirement in the Bible, but it is there!  

I had never noticed this before, but according to the verses immediately preceding this one, the Levites, who were the chosen ones to serve as priests in the tabernacle, were to serve from age 25 to age 50, at which time they were to “retire.”  However, their retirement was not to be completely without responsibility.  Their retirement was to be spent keeping guard and keeping guard was regarded as a ministry to the other priests.   

This got me to thinking about retirement in general and my own retirement in particular.  First of all, I see that retirement is not “the end” of work.  It is merely a change of responsibility.  These priests were still capable of doing something; it just was not the same something they had been doing previously!  And so it is with my own retirement.  I may not be doing the same thing I was doing during my younger years, but God has something for me to do in these later years.  I have struggled in these early years of retirement, thinking of all the things I have done to serve the Lord in the past and have at times felt frustrated because I do not feel able to do much of those same things (I am getting older!).  But this verse reminds me that it is not a matter of my not having a role to play … I have a different role to play now.   

That begs the question: WHAT is that new task for me to fulfill?  The answer is right there in this verse as well.  The retired priests ministered to their brothers by “keeping guard.”  I do not see this as my indication that I should become a security guard at the church!  Then how do I “keep guard?”  PRAYER is my answer.  I can help protect the church, its leaders and its members and its ministries, by praying.   It is my new responsibility and in keeping that responsibility I will be ministering to those for whom I am praying.

Minstering to others can happen in many forms, one of which is prayer (and granted, that is probably the most important form), but my ministry to others can be my focus in other areas of my activity as well.  I am beginning to see that my interest in paper crafts such as card-making can also be a ministry to others.

Here's to a productive retirement ministry!

Blessing and the Name of God

Numbers 6:24-27  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.  So they shall put my name on the Israelites and I will bless them.

This blessing is so beautiful!  It is very comforting and calming to me when I hear it said over the congregation at the end of a church service.  All by itself it has beauty and meaning, but I was struck with the last sentence in v.27.  In declaring the blessing on the Israelites, the priest was placing the name of God on the people and that brought the blessing of God on them.  When this blessing is prayed over me the name of God is on me!  It invokes the blessing on God on me as well!  This realization has added a new level of depth and meaning to hearing that blessing and has made it all the more beautiful.  It also makes me realize the importance of blessing others since I am now a part of the “royal priesthood,” according to I Peter 2:9: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  I need to be more mindful of my opportunities to bless others.

Assignments

Numbers 4:49a At the Lord’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.

Here is yet another reminder of the importance of details to God.  Not only were the Levites assigned the work they were to do, but were even told what to carry!  Nothing would be haphazard.  No item from the tabernacle could be lost or left behind if each carried what he was assigned to carry.  Moses gave the orders to the Levites, but the commands were actually coming from the Lord.  Every individual had his assigned task of either serving or carrying (according to the wording of the English Standard Version).  If each one was faithful to his assigned task, every task was accomplished and nothing was lost or left behind.  It makes me think about my own life and the tasks I have for “serving or carrying.”  God is orchestrating everything in my life, even the smallest details, but He is depending on me to be faithful so that my share of His work in the world gets done, and gets done correctly.  This makes me all the more determined to do what He has called me to do, and I pray regularly that I will be able to “stick with it” to do my job faithfully and completely.

Counted in the Desert

Leviticus is done, but now I am reading in Numbers and it is equally challenging!  But I read somewhere that the Jewish title for the book of Numbers is "In the Wilderness" so I have had anticipation to see what God has to say to me in this book.  I am not disappointed on this first day!

Numbers 1:19 And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai.

“Desert” or “wilderness” (as some versions put it) conjures up a picture of barrenness and dryness, to me.  A desert is nothing but the same thing from horizon to horizon, a dismal place where nothing is new or exciting, where everything appears to be dead.  So the phrase in this verse that says Moses counted the people in the desert brings a spark of newness and life that I was not expecting.  Counting the Children of Israel brings a picture of potential … possibilities must be there for the future. Every person mattered.  They were counted even though they were in the middle of the desert.  The desert must not be the end of it all.  And that is my reminder that no matter how dismal things may look to me at any given time, even in my slowing down with age, everything is being “counted,” being noticed by God.  I matter to God no matter what my circumstances may seem to be; I am counted.  I won’t always be in the desert.