Trust and Obey

From the song, “Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”

Swindoll says, “Numbers tells the story of a tragic pilgrimage where people who knew better didn’t do better and suffered the consequences.”  An 11 day journey stretched into 38 years because the Israelites failed to obey God when he told them to go in and occupy the land of Canaan.  They did not trust God to give them what He had promised. God was very angry with his people. Again, Moses interceded for them and again, God answered Moses’ prayer and spared them.  But He told them that all the people who were 20 years old or older would die before the Israelites could enter Canaan, all except Joshua and Caleb who had trusted God and urged the people to obey Him.

The people mourned because of God’s words.  The next morning they got up and decided to enter Canaan after all. Moses warned them not to go.  It was too late for them to obey God and go in.  They went anyway, but the Amalekites and Canaanites defeated them because they took matters into their own hands rather than obeying God.  

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron.  They were jealous of Moses’ authority and leadership position, and they accused Moses and Aaron of exalting themselves.  Moses and Aaron appealed to God.  The next day God caused an earthquake to swallow up the rebels and their families and fire to consume some of the rebels’ followers.  God takes sin very seriously.

The Israelites came to Kadesh in the desert of Zin and there was no water for them to drink. They complained to Moses and Aaron as usual.  Moses and Aaron took the problem to God, and God pointed out a rock.  He told Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock in front of the people.  Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, but they disobeyed God’s instructions.  Moses didn’t speak to the rock; he hit it twice with his staff instead.  And Moses said to the gathered crowd, “Listen, you rebels, must WE bring you water out of this rock?”  Moses was planning to take credit for what God was going to do.  God was very displeased.  Many acts of obedience do not make up for any act of disobedience.  God did not allow Moses and Aaron to enter the promised land as punishment.  Leaders are held to a stricter standard because they are role models, and their punishment serves as an example for others.  It doesn’t matter who we are or what we have done for God or what excuses we have; God always expects obedience.  No one is exempt!

Father, may we always trust and obey You.  Amen.

A Majority Report and a Minority Report

“They gave Moses this account…”, Number 13:27a

As the Israelites drew near to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, God instructed Moses to send 12 men, one from each tribe, to spy out the land and bring back a report.  The men were chosen, and they spent 40 days traveling throughout Canaan. When they returned, they brought a cluster of grapes so large two men carried it on a pole between them. All twelve men agreed that it was a very fertile land. Numbers 13:27, “They gave Moses this account:  ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey [as God had promised them].  Here is its fruit.”  So far, so good.

Ten of the spies reported that there were many people there and that the cities were fortified.  They said that the men of Canaan were so large that they felt like grasshoppers beside them.  The majority report concluded that the Israelites would be unable to take over the land they had seen.  These men operated out of fear, and this fear spread to all the Israelites.  They had left their all powerful God out of the equation.

Joshua and Caleb took God into consideration and gave a minority report.  Numbers 13:30, “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it.’”

What can we do when we are faced with what appears to be an overwhelming challenge?  Does it help to turn away in fear?  Fear limits our lives, putting constraints on our actions and preventing us from expanding our lives.  2 Timothy 1:7 in the NASB tells us, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline.”  Who do you suppose wants us to cower with fear?

Probably you have heard the saying, “God and I are a majority.”  It is true.  With God on your side, you can venture forth with courage--which is doing whatever even though you are afraid--and become victorious over the giants of challenge in your life.  We can either quake with fear and draw back or trust God and march forward.  Which will you choose?

Elizabeth Cheney wrote,

Said the robin to the sparrow,

"I should really like to know

Why these anxious human beings

rush about and worry so."

Said the sparrow to the robin,

"Friend, I think that it must be

That they have no Heavenly Father

such as cares for you and me."

Dear God, thank You that you are a Heavenly Father Who cares for each of Your creatures including me.  Amen.

The Strong Should Help the Weak

"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves."  Romans 15:1

     My pastor Mat wrote me,  "Once when I was dealing with a difficult person, my father-in-law encouraged me with these words,  "It's the job of the strong to take care of the weak."  His words made Mat feel that his father-in-law understood his situation and that, in that case, Mat was the stronger party.  As such, this behooved him to be patient and caring toward the other person.  God has given us strength and wisdom and other resources to use in helping others.  What a joy to have this perspective on what otherwise might be tedious, trying situations.
     There is a great example of the stronger helping the weaker in Numbers 12.  Moses' brother and sister, Aaron and Miriam, began to criticize Moses.  They talked against him because of his Cushite wife and his position of leadership among the Israelites.  Number 12:2 tells us that they said,  "Has the Lord spoken only through Moses....Hasn't he also spoken through us?"  They were jealous of Moses.  Numbers 12:2 also tells us that the Lord heard what they said.  We can hide nothing from God.  He hears every word we speak, sees every action we take, and knows even our every thoughts.
     God was not pleased with Aaron and Miriam.  He came down and visited them in a pillar of cloud and defended His servant Moses.  When God left, Miriam's skin had become leprous.  Aaron quickly apologized to Moses for what they had said and begged him to help his sister.  If you had been Moses, what would you have done?  Moses could certainly have said,  "That will hush you two up.  She's getting just what she deserves."  But Moses had great strength of character.  He cried out to God on Miriam's behalf, asking Him to heal her, and God did.  When we are the stronger party in a situation, God wants us to help the weaker person as Moses did.
     We all like to be the strong one, able to give needed assistance.  But the truth of the matter is we are sometimes the weaker one, needing assistance and understanding.  How deeply we should appreciate the strength, patience, help, and encouragement of those who have come along side us and lifted us up and spurred us on!  May we be grateful for those helpers when we are the weaker, needy one, and may we pass along that helping attitude toward others when we are the stronger one.

Father, how we thank You for helping us so many times in our weaknesses.  We thank You for all those people who were Your channels to give us assistance and encouragement.  May we seek to help others, kindly and patiently, in their times of weakness.  Amen.

Offerings

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

In Leviticus God gave the Israelites laws including the ten commandments and instructions about various feast days and offerings which were to be made.  The whole Jewish sacrificial system pointed to Jesus and the sacrifice He made for the sins of everyone in the world when He died on the cross.  “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. “  Hebrews 7:27

Many of the instructions God gave the Israelites in Leviticus applied to them at that time.  The ten commandments are still valid guidelines for us today, but the sacrifice Christ made on the cross has an eternal application for all people.  He gave himself so that those who choose to do so may take Him as Savior and become God’s children.  Because of what Jesus has done for us, we have forgiveness of sins, peace and power in this life, and a future home in heaven.  

Jesus has given Himself for us and to us.  Our appropriate response is for us to, in turn, give ourselves wholly to Him, placing everything we have and everything we are completely in His hands.  Christina Georgina Rossetti wrote:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Have you given Him your heart?

Father, you gave your only Son for me.  Lord Jesus, Savior, you died a torturous, humiliating death for me.  Precious Holy Spirit, constant companion, you live in my heart and guide and empower and comfort me.  For all you, my God, have given me, I give you my heart.  Amen.

Jesus Loves You and Me

"I praise you because I am wonderfully and fearfully made."  Psalm 139:14a

I went to a dog show in Ft. Payne, Alabama.  It wasn't a show for professional handlers, although one trainer and his dogs put on an impressive performance.  But I was more fascinated by the variety of dogs and the looks of pride and affection on the faces of the dogs' owners.  There were dachshunds, poodles, beagles, border collies, labs, and dogs of many other breeds as well as some dogs with a probable mixture of ancestors.  There were long haired dogs and short haired dogs of all sizes and ages, from puppies to old timers with gray hairs in their muzzles.  They came in different colors--black, brown, reddish, golden, white, and all sorts of mixed colors.  And I thought how we have a God of infinite variety.

One dog was carried in a sling, and another was rolled in a baby stroller.  Most were on leashes.  Regardless of their mode of transportation, the look on the owner's face told you that each dog was super special and very greatly loved.

Our God has also made people in different sizes, shapes, and colors.  He has made each one of us super special, and He looks at us with tremendous love and overwhelming affection.  I hope you will bask in how much He loves you and how special He thinks you are.

Father, it is so true, as the song says, that "Jesus loves me.  This I know.  For the Bible tells me so."  Thank You.  Thank You.  Thank You!  Amen.

The Aroma of Christ

"When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.'  Acts 4:13

Moses went back to Mt. Sinai, and God wrote the Ten Commandments on two more stone tablets.  He gave the Israelites a second chance to obey Him.  Have you ever needed a second, or third, or fourth, or fiftieth chance?  Do you know anyone right now to whom you might give another chance?  The Christian life is a matter of beginning again over and over.  When we sin, if we repent, God forgives us and wipes our slate clean, giving us a brand new beginning.  What a gracious, merciful Heavenly Father we have!  May we be as gracious and merciful to the people in our lives!

Moses asked God if he could see His glory.  God didn't allow Moses to see His face, but He hid Moses in a cleft of a rock and passed by, partially revealing His glory.  Moses wanted to be as close to God as he could possibly be, to see God more clearly than he had ever seen Him before.  Is this one of your goals--to become as close to God as you possibly can and to know Him better and better?

When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the two new copies of the Ten Commandments, "his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord."  Acts 4:13 tells us this concerning a time when Peter and John were brought before the Jewish authorities to be questioned, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  II Corinthians 2:15,  "For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing."

At a conference the attendees had free time in the afternoon, and one of the men elected to visit a rose garden in the vicinity.  When the attendees came back together for the session that night, one of them said, "I know where you have been.  You visited the rose garden this afternoon.  I can still smell the roses."

Does God's glory shine through us as it did through Moses after he had spent time with God?  Do people see a difference in our lives because we have been with Jesus?  Is there the sweet aroma of Christ in our lives wherever we go and whatever we do?

Father, may people sense a difference in our lives because we belong to You.  Amen.

Our Mediator

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men...."  I Timothy 2:5-6a.

The Israelites had vowed that they would obey God on several occasions.  But, before Moses had come back down the mountain, they asked Aaron to build them an idol.  Aaron didn't hesitate.  He told the people to bring him their gold earrings, which they did.  Scripture says,  "He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool.  Exodus 32:4a.  Yet when Moses confronted him, Aaron blamed the people as though he had no choice in the matter, saying, "You know how prone these people are to evil.  They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us.....So I told them, "Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off."  Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire and out came this calf.'"  Exodus 32:22b-23a, 24.  That's not exactly the way it happened.  Aaron yielded to the temptation to change the truth in an attempt to make himself look better. From time to time we face that same temptation.  Do we always tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth regardless of the consequences?
     Moses was so angry about the idol that he broke the stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments.  Yet when God threatened to destroy the people, Moses interceded for his fellow Israelites.  Moses acknowledged the immensity of their sin but asked God to forgive them.  So God relented and did not destroy the people.
     We, too, have a Mediator who asks God to forgive our sins.  I John 1:1b says,  "We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the Righteous One."  My husband, John, was a lawyer, and this was  one of his favorite verses, because an advocate is someone who pleads our case.  John won some of his cases and lost some of them, but he was convinced that Jesus would never lose his case, nor ours.

Father, thank You that Your Son, our Savior, intercedes for us on the grounds that He has already paid the penalty for all our sins.  Thank You for forgiving us because of His sacrifice.  Amen.