SHARING WITH THE LEAST

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel, son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts - to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers. So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded."

Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the Lord had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning.

So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done."

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary."

And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.

Exodus 35:30-35, 36:1-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotional, we saw how the people of Israel were expected to give willingly in response to God’s expectations, providing materials needed for the construction of the tabernacle and its accessories.

Today, we look at the closing verses of Exodus, chapter 35 and the opening seven verses of chapter 36, where we find the Israelite people responding so strongly to the Lord’s command that there was an overwhelming abundance of materials donated. The scriptures tell us that they gave "more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded to be done".

And so Moses, their leader, issued the following order:

"No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary."

Friends, this passage is an illustration of what can happen when the people of God come together in the spirit of obedient giving, giving to God what He has first freely given us. We see that instead of having to worry about whether or not you might get what’s needed to achieve God’s purposes, you can find yourself ending up with a bounty.

It’s this truth that has led me to this thought.

God has given this world enough to solve every single social woe we see. All we need to do is give back what He has provided to help those who are less fortunate.

Need a snapshot of troubles in the world today that should sicken our hearts?

Here are some statistics from World Vision, a Christian organization at ground zero in the places where people have the greatest needs:

- A child dies every 3 seconds because of extreme poverty and disease.

- Some 900 million people in the world live in extreme poverty, living on less than $2 a day.

- 593 million children in the world live in multi-dimensional poverty which means they lack basic necessities like clean water or nutrition.

- And even in a nation as affluent as the United States of America, 12.5 percent of its people live in poverty.

To try and resolve these issues, World Vision has proposed a rather interesting solution to defeat the world hunger problem. They did some math and found that if every person in the world who was not impoverished would donate a one-time gift of 75 cents, then there would be more than enough money available to completely eradicate poverty and starvation while stemming the death rate from illness, many of which are completely treatable.

The reality of things is that our God has lavished abundant blessings on His creation and He didn’t intend for us to selfishly keep all those blessings to ourselves. Rather, He expects us to take what He has provided and seek ways to help others whenever and wherever possible. Our Savior Jesus validated this when He said the following:

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.”

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.'”

"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.'" Matthew 25:31-40

Friends, could Jesus be any clearer about our obligation to care for the least of His disciples, those who are in His family and considered brothers and sisters?

His Father, our God has blessed most of us with more than we could ever ask for and more than we really need. Unfortunately, it can be easy to get entrapped in a materialism that the world fully endorses. This can lead us to blur the line between what we want and what we really need.

Jesus helps bring that line back into the proper focus with a perspective that is different.

For He expects us to willingly WANT to help those in NEED.

After all, how can we live in grandeur and with a clear conscience when so many live in squalor, staring down death that is completely preventable?

My brothers and sisters, are you willing to consider what you can do to help someone who needs assistance, someone who is down and out, whether it’s in your community, nation, or world?

And can you see how much joy you can experience, knowing that you were obedient to Jesus desire that you help the least, blessing them richly for their welfare and His honor and glory?

The Lord has given us all that’s needed to radically change our world for the better with the real potential to save lives. Now, it’s time for us to do it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

GIVE WILLINGLY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, "These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death. Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day."

Moses said to the whole Israelite community, "This is what the Lord has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.”

"All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded: the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests."

Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord.

Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or hides of sea cows brought them. Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.

Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair.

The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense.

All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

Exodus 35:1-29

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In the opening verses of Exodus, chapter 35, we find Moses giving the Israelites a call to action regarding the commandments he had received from the Lord. After a brief reminder about observing the Sabbath, Moses begins to discuss God’s directions regarding the construction of the tabernacle, the making of the items that would be within the place of worship, and the articles that the priests would wear.

You’ll recall that God had given Moses very specific directions for all this during the first Israel’s leader went before him, spending forty days and nights on Mount Sinai. There, the Lord provided a detailed oral blueprint for building the tabernacle and its components, not only for the present but the future as well. And of interest, those specifications would later come into play when God’s temple was built in Jerusalem, just multiplied since that permanent structure would obviously be much larger than the portable worship place the Israelites would build while in the wilderness.

Well, before anything could be built or made, materials would be needed and God had given Moses the following instructions for getting these supplies:

"Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give."

This was a “Reader’s Digest abbreviated” statement from a more lengthy statement from that first visit Moses made. As a refresher, here’s what God said then:

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive the offering for Me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

“Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.” Exodus 25:1-9

Note that in both of these scripture excerpts, the Lord wants offerings only from those “whose heart prompts them to give”. From this, I believe there are some key points regarding giving that applied not just to the days of the Old Testament Israelites but to believers today as well.

First, those who give to the Lord should be willing to do so.

In today’s passage, we find God saying this:

"From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece."

“Everyone who is willing.”

These four words resonate in these verses for being willing to give is far different than the feeling that you’re giving because you have to. It’s a giving not driven by compulsion but rather the working and moving of the Holy Spirit within the heart of the believer, a working and moving that leads them to gladly offer the Lord what He desires. They delight in doing anything that would be pleasing to Him.

Need an example of what this looks like. Here’s another scripture passage from First Chronicles where we find these words from David, a man who had a reputation of being after God’s heart:

"O Lord our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building You a temple for Your holy name, it comes from Your hand, and all of it belongs to You. I know, my God, that You test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly Your people who are here have given to You. O Lord, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of Your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to You." 1 Chronicles 29:16-18

This passage leads me to a second point about giving:

Everything we have comes from God and belongs to Him.

Unfortunately, too often we tend to cling to the things we have as if everything we own is ours but the truth is that we wouldn’t have anything without God’s mighty, generous provision. And so when we consider all that we have, we need to realize that we only have it because He has given it to us.

Therefore, when our Lord calls us to give, He is only asking us to give back some of what He gave us.

Here’s the final point for today:

We can (and should) give more than just material things.

Note in our scripture passage for today that God called on His people to use the talents that He had blessed them with to take the materials and make the things He commanded. Whether they were a builder or a spinner of yarn or linen, they were expected to use whatever specialized skill they had to accomplish what God wanted.

We need to know that there are other things we can give God outside of material things and beyond talents, here are some other things we should consider, things that everyone can do.

We can share our time with someone.

God gives all of us twenty-four hours each, every day. We need to invest that time wisely, giving it to our Lord and others He wants us to serve.

We can share encouragement with others.

Who doesn’t like a “pick-me-up” from someone?

Anyone can say a kind or complimentary word to someone and we should seek to do this within every opportunity God provides. Sometimes you’ll never know how much it can boost and improve the way a person is feeling in their life.

We can love unconditionally.

It doesn’t cost anything to love your neighbor as yourself as Jesus commanded (Mark 12:31) and this should come naturally for any believer. For before they love anyone else, they should first love God with all their heart and mind and soul and strength, also commanded by Jesus (Mark 12:30). When it’s done in that order, the love of God saturates a Christian to the point where any love they share isn’t really their love but His.

Given this, we know the Lord loves unconditionally. We can too through Him.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, when it comes right down to it, there’s really no reason or excuse why any believer is unable to give when it comes right down to it. Every single person has something they can contribute to make to honor God and His Kingdom work here on earth or make a difference in the life of another.

With this, some closing questions for self reflection:

How would God grade me on the matter of giving?

Am I actively seeking opportunities to give to others?

Do I willingly and willfully seek to use the gifts that God has given me to further His kingdom and glorify His name?

Do I truly see that everything I have really belongs to God for it has come straight from His hand?

Let me finish this by saying that there’s no such thing as a perfect giver. Each day gives us a chance to be better at it and we’ll always improve when we seek to emulate our Savior Jesus who showed us exactly what sacrificial giving looks like. For He didn’t hold onto His life but rather freely surrendered it in order to bring us salvation.

Jesus was willing to give up everything in obedience to His Father’s calling. Today, He sits at God’s right hand in authority over all Heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18-20, 1 Peter 3:22).

As His disciples, we need to follow His example when God calls us to give for one day we will inhabit a mansion that Jesus has prepared for us (John 14:2-6). When we do, none of us will take anything from this world along for the ride so in the here and now, let’s all give, doing so willingly and cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

REFLECTING AND PROJECTING THE LORD'S LIGHT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord.

When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them.

Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. But whenever he entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

Exodus 34:29-35

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

On his second visit to God, traveling back up to the top of Mount Sinai, Moses spent an additional forty days and nights as God rewrote His commandments on two new stone tablets.

Why did they need to be redone?

Because as we saw earlier in this book, Moses smashed the first ones after coming down from his first extended time with God (also 40 days and nights) and witnessing the Israelites worshipping a false god in the form of a golden calf.

But that was then and in today’s scripture, we see a completely different scene as Moses descends the mountain and returns to the Israelite camp. For we read where his face, which was filled with anger after his first descent, was now "radiant because he had spoken with the Lord." And although Moses "was not aware" of it, his brother Aaron and the other Israelites quickly noticed it as he approached.

How did they respond to this sight and Moses; illuminated face?

The scriptures tell us that "they were afraid to come near him" but after "Moses called to them", "Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back” so he could speak to them. When they did, Moses told the people of Israel "all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai" and, then after finishing, "put a veil over his face."

From that point on, Israel’s God-appointed leader would wear the veil until he went into the Lord's presence to speak with Him but each time he emerged from a meeting with the Almighty, his face would once again shine radiantly as he conveyed to the people what God commanded. Then once finished, Moses would once again cover his face with the veil until he went to see the Lord again.

Friends, this passage shows us the awesome impact that God has on any believer who would choose to obey, trust, and believe in Him. For truly, when anyone is fully committed to living every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day for the Lord, then they can’t help but reflect His radiance toward others. Consider these words of our Savior Jesus, during His Sermon on the Mount:

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16

Before we can let our light shine we have to have the Lord’s Light within us and we gain that Light when we place our faith and trust in Him and receive the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. When this happens, when we dedicate ourselves to God and fully invest ourselves in communion with the Spirit, the power of that communion allows divine light to radiate from us to everything around and others can’t help but notice.

Need an example?

Several years ago, I was blessed with the privilege to sing a solo at my church, performing the song, "Your Grace Still Amazes Me’ by Phillips, Craig and Dean. I don’t know if you have ever heard it before but it’s incredible song about the wonder of God’s mercy and love for us, even though we are sinners who fall short of His glory (Romans 3:23). It truly is an amazing grace that should bring us to our knees in a spirit of praise and thanksgiving.

As I sang this song, my soul opened as the Holy Spirit sang through me as He does any time I get a chance to perform. The same thing happens when I sit down with my laptop and compose these daily messages. In both cases, it never ceases to amaze me how many people will tell me how they were incredibly blessed by the sung song or written message from the Word. It’s a powerful testimony to the strength of the Holy Spirit working through us to impact the lives of others when we are fully open to letting Him do so.

Or in other words, when we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in carrying out what God calls us to do in obedience, the Lord’s radiance will shine on those you serve and they, in turn, become blessed.

In regard to receiving God’s Light in our lives, there are several other scripture passages we should look at.

In the Psalms, we read where His radiance was received from His instruction. Consider these words from the 19th Psalm:

"The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." Psalm 19:8

When we know and trust in God’s guidance to us, responding to it with willing obedience and producing the righteousness He expects, His radiant commands will then fill our eyes with His holy Light.

The Bible also tells us that we receive radiance when we look to God, similar to what Moses experienced. Look at this from the 34th Psalm:

"I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame." Psalm 34:4-5

When we persistently look toward God, we will find ourselves radiant because we are looking into the One who defines radiance. And with the forgiveness and mercy He brings to us through His love, we need not be ashamed for He and He alone is able to cast our sins into the mighty sea of forgetfulness (Micah 7:19).

My brothers and sisters, let’s recommit ourselves to be the light of the world, turning to the Lord each and every day while dedicating time to Him in full communion with His Holy Spirit. There, let us seek His commands for our lives so to be able to reflect His awesome, beautiful light onto all that we see. For when Jesus told us to let our light shine, He wasn’t talking about just any light but THE LIGHT that only comes from Him, the One who IS the Light as well as the Truth and the Life (John 14:16).

Today and every day, let’s give thanks to God for His radiance, the radiance that He passed onto His servant leader Moses, the radiance that He passes onto believers like us today so we be empowered to let His Light shine in all that we do in His holy name.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com 

EASY AS 1, 2, 3

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"O Lord, if I have found favor in Your eyes," he said, "then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance."

Then the Lord said: "I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.”

"Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.”

"Do not make cast idols.”

"Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.”

"The first offspring of every womb belongs to Me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.”

"No one is to appear before me empty-handed.”

"Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.”

"Celebrate the Feast of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.”

"Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to Me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Feast remain until morning.”

"Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.”

"Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:9-28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Earlier in the Book of Exodus, we saw where God’s people had broken their covenant with Him when they decided to worship a golden calf crafted from their jewelry by Aaron, a clear act of idolatry and in direct violation of God’s commandments to have no other gods before Him.

While they were doing this, Moses was spending forty days and with the Lord on Mount Sinai, receiving not only instruction and direction on God’s expectations for the way the Israelites were to live but also directions for the construction of the tabernacle and all its components needed for proper worship. Once his meeting with God had ended, you’ll remember that Moses descended the mountain and as he came into the camp and witnessed how his fellow Hebrews had abandoned God, he became so enraged that he smashed the two stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments with His finger.

This put the Israelites firmly in the crosshairs of God’s judgment but as we see in our passage today, the Lord was ready and willing to give His people a second chance after hearing this from Moses:

"O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance."

Notice here that there are three key steps used by Moses to repair the fractured relationship between the Israelites and God.

First, there was confession as Moses admitted to God that the people of Israel were stiff-necked.

Indeed, the Israelites chose their own desire to worship an idol over God’s demand to not do so and it was this blatant, intentional disobedience that got them into trouble. Fortunately, their God was a merciful God and so repentance would get them out of it.

This brings to mind some words we find from John’s first letter in the New Testament:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8-9

In our scripture passage, Moses had confessed the sins of the Israelites. He then took the second step toward repairing the damaged relationship with God.

He sought forgiveness.

For after admitting his people were stubborn in their disobedience, Moses asked God to "forgive our wickedness and our sin." Let’s return to the words from First John:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:8-9

Moses didn’t attempt to cover up the sinfulness of the people. Rather, he openly professed it before God, seeking His forgiveness and purifying from their unrighteousness. This action displayed a turning back to God for His grace and in seeing this, God did forgive His people and took steps to reestablish His covenant with them.

This led to God giving His people a second chance, something He didn’t have to do by any means but He willingly chose to display His awesome compassion and pardon, honoring the promises He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prior.

Now, there was one final step that Moses took that needs to be considered right along with confession and seeking forgiveness. For we see Moses display the quality of surrender before his Lord. We see it through his words as He says this to God:

“Take us as Your inheritance."

In other words, Moses is asking the Lord to possess them because they belonged to Him.

It’s important for us to remember that when someone surrenders themselves to God, their life stops being about themselves but rather the Lord they are surrendering themselves to. It was the attitude we see prominent in Jesus who displayed in its purest, most perfect form, surrendering Himself for us and dying in the cross of Calvary to pay the price for our sins.

Friends, what an awesome, blessed assurance we have knowing that we don’t just serve a God of second chances but a forgiving Heavenly Father, a divine and holy Parent who never stops showing us that His faithfulness is great and His mercies are truly new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

If you need to fix your relationship with God, follow the lead of Moses.

First confess your sin, then seek His forgiveness, and finally surrender yourself to Him.

It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

EXPERIENCING AND RESPONDING TO GOD'S GLORY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."

And the Lord said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But," he said, "you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live."

Then the Lord said, "There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see my back; but My face must not be seen.”

The Lord said to Moses, "Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to Me there on top of the mountain. No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain."

So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands.

Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

Exodus 33:18-23, 34:1-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Every day in the United States, there are roughly 10.000 babies born. That’s 10,000 living children who have been developing within their mothers’ wombs for nine months as God has been carefully crafting every part of them and preparing them to eventually serve Him and others.

When these babies emerge through their respective birth passages, they will emerge into a new world different than the one they had lived in over the prior nine months. And although they are born into uncertainty as to what their future lives might encompass, there is one certainty they will carry with them from the very beginning. For in and of itself, their birth and introduction to life outside the womb fully represents the very glory of God, and it’s this same glory, the glory of God that we find Moses looking for in our passage today.

Now, you’ll recall in yesterday’s message that Moses had found favor with God because he trusted Him, relied on Him, and wanted to know Him better. In other words, Moses hungered for God and in return for this devotion, God promised that His presence would be with Moses and the Israelites as they finished off their journey to the Promised Land, the land said to be flowing with milk and honey.

As we turn to today’s passage, here’s what we find God saying to Moses after he asks to see His glory:

"I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But, you cannot see My face, for no one may see Me and live."

"There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand and you will see my back; but My face must not be seen.”

Here we see where God accepts Moses’ request, agreeing to pass before him and show His glory but with some conditions. For Moses would need to be concealed from looking into the face of God for this would bring his death.

Before that happened, the Lord had something He wanted Moses to do first, saying:

"Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to Me there on top of the mountain.”

This was the second time that God would be writing His commandments on stone tablets. For you’ll recall that after the first instance, Moses smashed the two original ones after coming down Mount Sinai and witnessing the sinful idol-worshipping behavior of the Israelites.

Well, we read where Moses did as the Lord commanded and "chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones" before going "up Mount Sinai early in the morning." Once back on the mountain, scripture tells us that "the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him”, proclaiming the following:

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

With this, the Lord had done what He promised, as He always does, showing Moses His glory.

How did Moses respond?

The scriptures tell us that he "bowed to the ground at once and worshiped."

Friends, whether it’s in the birth of thousands of babies this day or any other, whether it’s in the wonder of a cloudless night where every star and some planets are visible, whether it’s in the beauty and grandeur of setting or rising sun, or whether it’s in any number of other countless amazing things we witness each and every day in creation, our Lord is always putting His glory on display for us to witness it, a truth affirmed in this verse from the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans:

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  v.20

In response to this, let’s not let a single day go by where we don’t emulate the response of Moses, bowing down and worshiping our glorious, magnificent Creator God.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

KNOW, SEEK, AND RELY ON THE LORD...AND HIM ALONE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Moses said to the Lord, "You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but you have not let me know whom You will send with me. You have said, 'I know you by name and you have found favor with Me.' If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You. Remember that this nation is Your people."

The Lord replied, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Then Moses said to Him, "If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

And the Lord said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

Exodus 33:12-17

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One of my favorite classic praise and worship songs was done by the group Sonicflood and was titled, "I Want To Know You."

The chorus goes like this:

I want to know You

I want to hear Your voice

I want to know You more

I want to touch You

I want to see Your face

I want to know You more

As I read today’s passage from chapter 33 of the Book of Exodus, I couldn’t help but think about this song in reference to how Moses feels toward God.

In this passage, we find Moses once again in conversation with the Lord and concerned about moving forward from Mount Sinai toward Canaan without His divine help. For we find Moses say to the Lord:

"You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,' but You have not let me know whom You will send with me."

These are words from a man who trusts and believes that Israel will only succeed with God by their side. Moses had watched God deliver Israel from Egypt and the Amalekites, each time rescuing them from impending danger. He knew there was still much ahead and potential threats lying in wait and so he feared what might happen if God was absent from His people.

Through his words, we see an important character trait in Moses that all believers need to adopt, a genuine, heartfelt reliance on God.

After this, Moses continues to speak, repeating words that God had said about him:

“I know you by name and you have found favor with Me."

The first words here are important for to “know someone by name” is to be familiar with them. God chose Moses to lead the Israelites and knew him better than he knew himself. This was a great assurance for him as it should be for all those who place their hope and trust in the Lord.

The second thing we see here is that Moses knew God had found favor in Him. In other words, Moses knew that God was pleased with him and the way he was serving obediently.

Then, Moses says this:

"If You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways so I may know You and continue to find favor with You."

Moses knew that he couldn’t succeed in leading the Israelite people toward achieving God’s will without the help of his Lord. And so he humbles himself before God, wanting to know Him more and seeking His instruction so he could continue to live in the favor of his Lord.

In sum, Moses wasn’t willing to be satisfied with where he was in his relationship with God.

He wanted to know Him more.

He wanted to learn more of His ways.

And he wanted God to live in a way that pleased Him, in a way that would gain His favor.

Friends, isn’t this what we all should be striving for as believers each and every day?

Moses gives us a blueprint to follow so we will always look to grow in our relationship with the Lord within every day that He blessed us with. Since none of us are perfect, we can never perfectly know Him and so there’s always room to be in better relation with God today than we were yesterday.

Back to the scriptures where we find God responding to the wonderful words of Moses.

First, we find Him making this promise:

"My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Now, Moses could have accepted this and been content as it was directed toward him personally. But he was not one who was selfish. Rather, he was inclined to think about his brothers and sisters, those God had given him to lead. And so we find him saying this to the Lord:

"If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"

Notice here how Moses asks for God’s presence and His pleasure to be with all of the Israelites, not just himself. The main point Moses was making with the Lord was that the only way that Israel could be safe as they continued their journey to the Promised Land was in their Lord was with them. They couldn’t be successful on their own without Him and it was Him being with them, His people, that would distinguish them from any other people.

How did the Lord respond to Moses’ unselfish plea?

We read where he blesses him and the Israelites saying:

"I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name."

We should see here that God didn’t agree to go because He was pleased with the people of Israel. Rather, He complied because Moses had earned His favor and that favor then spilled over onto the people he was leading.

Indeed, with the leadership of Moses and him facilitating the presence of God, the people of Israel had hope.

Before we close for today, let’s look at this lesson as it applies to our lives, using several self reflecting questions to see how we measure up to the spirit of Moses we see in these verses:

- Do I have a heartfelt reliance on God?

- Do I seek to know God intimately? Do I set aside time to meet with Him every day?

- Am I always intentional in my efforts to live in God’s favor, careful to make sure my thoughts, words, and behavior is pleasing to Him? Do I make obedience to His Word and way a priority in my life?

- Am I ever hungry to know God more, to have a stronger relationship with Him? Do I thirst for teaching from Him, His Word, and His Spirit?

- Am I eager to comply with the will of my Lord, putting my own desires second?

Friends, these questions are important because in Moses, we catch an important glimpse into what God is looking for in us. The good news is that we can achieve all this and more because indeed, our Lord is ever with us providing His perfect strength, His perfect Word, His perfect will, and His perfect self.

When we stay yoked to Him, we will accomplish all He has purposed us for and be prepared for the day when we will see Him face to face, living with Him forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

DO YOU HAVE A "TENT OF MEETING"?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp.

And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses.

Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent.

The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Exodus 33:7-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

During his time with God at the top of Mount Sinai, Moses had received specific instructions for the construction of the tabernacle but until it was built, he needed a place to continue building his relationship with God as Israel’s leader.

And so we see in our scripture passage today where Moses would "take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away." He called it the "tent of meeting" and it would be the place for “anyone” who was “inquiring of the Lord" to go.

In other words, it was a place outside of the hustle and bustle of the camp activities where one could seek quiet time with the Lord.

In these verses from Exodus, chapter 33, we read where there was a common progression of events each time when Moses would go to the tent.

First, when the people saw him going to the tent, they would rise and stand “at the entrances to their tents”, watching their leader “until he entered the tent”.

Then, as Moses went into the tent, we read where a “pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance while the Lord spoke with Moses". If this sounds familiar, it’s the same thing that happened at the top of Mount Sinai when Moses met with the Lord there.

Finally, when the people saw the “pillar of cloud” descend on the tent of meeting, they all stood and responded in a spirit of worship, “each at the entrance” to their tent. This was because their God was not only with Moses but in their presence.

There’s one other important point here for we are reminded of the special relationship that Moses had with the Lord God Almighty, a relationship validated by these words found in verses 11 of this passage where we’re told that “the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend."

My brothers and sisters, the good news for us today is that God wants to have the same relationship with us. He longs for us to commune with Him each and every day, enjoying our dedicated attention and devotion to Him.

Moses willingly and willfully showed the importance of entering into the presence of God to seek His guidance and to get to know Him more. He set aside a special place to do this, a place away from any distractions, and in doing so, provided us an example for what we should do as well.

For we need to establish our own “tent of meeting”, a quiet, isolated place where we can just be present with the Lord and Him alone for it’s in that setting that we can best develop our own special relationship with Him, child to Father.

Friends, over the past several messages, we have seen two very distinct sides of our God.

On one hand, we have seen Him seethe against disobedience, disrespect and sin, punishing and even destroying those who choose to reject Him.

And yet on the other hand, we see a God who is willing to befriend those who serve Him in obedience and turn their very lives over to Him, those willing to set aside time to share fellowship with Him while fully submitting to His will. It’s this side of our Lord that wants to have a relationship with us that is intimate and open, one that is life sustaining and not life ending.

It’s the side of Him that we should always work to be on.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.