Bibledoorajar: What Moses Wanted

     Moses went up Mt. Sinai twice. The first time as he came down, he was filled with anger at what he saw the people doing (golden calf incident),  and he threw down the tablets of stone. I  personally think Moses had become fully aware that the laws given by God totally revealed man's inability to keep them.  He decided more of God was what was needed. On his second trip up Sinai his emphasis was entirely different. Basically, he said to God that He(God) knew all about him (Moses) and he asked if he could know more of Him (see God's glory). What had God shown Moses up there before? He had revealed His Name. He had revealed His Law. He had revealed His character. These were to be the proof of His holiness and worthiness. But these also brought judgement and death.  But this time, Moses asked if he could see more of the God of the Name, the Law, and Pristine Character. God told Moses that no one could look on His perfection and live. But He would do a great thing to help Moses know Him nevertheless. He told Moses that there was a place nearby God where He would put Moses. He was to be nestled IN the cleft of the ROCK and be covered by God's hand as He passed by. Talk about a different RESULT!!! Moses came down the mountain with the tablets and his face shone gloriously. His aim for the tablets was different. His intent was to place them in the ark in the Most Holy Place. Interestingly enough, Moses did not even realize that his face was glowing, but the people saw it and knew. Their "view" of God was also elevated by this event!!! And so it is, even today, that when we can see the glory on the faces of Christians hidden in the Rock our faith is elevated. It is not so much what these Christians do for God, but the solace and peace they seem to have gained from being hidden with Him.
      This week our minister said that he wanted us to focus on elevating our worship during these next months even as the world elevates its worldly approach to the holidays. Perhaps one way to do that would be to meditate on the safety from the death of the law that we have been given as God has placed us in the cleft of the Rock. Let's see if anyone can see our shining faces and thus honor and worship our God. Meditate of John 14: 9ff. and let your heart sing. Have a great week.
    

Bibledoorajar: Love Never Fails

This week has been a week of the Father renewing within me the principle that love never fails. It did not fail Aaron when he did not meet the challenge of being a bridge builder to God for the people at the golden calf incident. But the love of God shown brightly as Moses reminded Him that Aaron and the people were His and that they needed Him. God's love swelled toward them and the Holy Spirit led Moses to record this about the high priest who had failures. It is referred to as the Aaronic blessing and can be found in Numbers 6.

The LORD bless you and keep you: The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26 RSV) 

In this prayer we see an Aaron who is much more in tune with the God of Israel than before. He asked the Lord to see the people with respect and give them blessings. He asked Him to guard the people and keep them safe. He asked the Lord to let the people sense his loving expressions on His face for them and to illuminate their lives with His presence. He asked Him to give them a protection that they would not want to run from. And lastly to set them in a place where they would feel totally safe.
     Yesterday in Bible class the teacher shared a film about how one evolutionist found the Creator God by studying some of the marvelous intricacies He has provided for particular species. These provisions spoke of how intentional and specific God is with His creation. The Holy Spirit overwhelmed me with God's goodness and spoke to my heart: "never again question that 'love never fails'. Thank you Father for all you do for us. Today may we see your many facets of love shining on us and see how much you love us and bless us. May the loving work of our High Priest of our confession shine brightly within as we find the power to share love even as He.

Bibledoorajar: Are You Being Served?

Aaron was High Priest of Israel but oh how he failed Israel when the talk of the calf erupted. Where was the sacred influence he could have had on the misled people? Could he have not called them back to the system of worship that God had placed with he and the Levites? Could he have not reminded them of the awesomeness of their God and the benefits they enjoyed? Could he not have acted from the dignified position of his office? But maybe that was the trouble, his dignity was from an office and was not personal. The writer of Hebrews makes it plain that our Redeemer's mediation and His person is so great that the glory of the most noble angels wains in comparison. Set your heart on these verses:



  "Being so much better than the angels inasmuch as he hath inherited a more excellent name than they"   Hebrews 1: 4

" For unto which of the angels said He ever, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" Hebrews 1: 5





"and let all the angels of God worship him."  Hebrews 1:6      AMEN

Bibledoorajar: WRATH

The Fathet got really mad; He was so mad He told Moses that the people were not worth it. He
planned to start a new line that descended from Moses. No grace for those who had no interest in His
will.
It is good to remember that God 's grace goes with His will. The blessings fall on the cup held
up open and the one up side down, but only oneis filled.

  "Here's my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord.
   Come and fill this longing in my soul"
                              CeCe Winans

Bibledoorajar: The Wages of Sin are Death

      Moses came down from being with the Father and he was shocked at what he saw. Down went the tablets that were imprinted with the finger of God only to be broken in two. So rampant was the revelry associated with the idol worship that the high priest Aaron was unable to come up with a good explanation of what happened,  But the Bible indicates he had something to do with the nakedness of the people. About 3000 people did not seem to care what Moses thought. But then they heard this: Who is on Elohim's side? All who are, come to me. And praise God the Levites, set aside by God, came forward. But the 3000 remained callous. Moses told the Levites, every man, to put a sword by his side and go from gate to gate slaying brothers, companions and neighbors. This was possible because the Levites had chosen to follow Moses' instructions to consecrate themselves to Elohim over relatives and friends that day.
      In Revelation Jesus tells the church at Thyatira this: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My will until the end, to him I will give power over the nations 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'--as I also have received from My Father." Rev. 2:26 ff.  A time is coming when the church who has remained consecrated and has enjoyed moving in grace and the fruits of the Spirit will no longer turn the other cheek. They will rule with rods of iron with Jesus among the nations. Grace will be supplanted with justice. Now is the time to spread the Good News to all we know. Pray that many will take you seriously.

Bibledoorajar: Slippery Slopes

785: The number of years between the 1232 canonization of Saint Anthony of Padua and the day a great-grandmother in Brazil learned that the Anthony statue she had been praying to was, in fact, an action figure version of Elrond, a half-elvven character from The Lord of    the Rings.
                      That's Outrageous! By the Numbers, Reader's Digest, May, 2017

"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,,,"(Exodus 32)

There are blessings that are immediate and for which we humans can be immediately grateful. However, when the blessings are slow to come and demand patience, faithfulness and self-control, it is harder for we humans to take. Most scholars do not think the Israelites were wanting to replace God; they wanted to replace their mediator. He was just too slow. Thus began their journey down the slippery slope of ill advised behavior: loss of self-control and mob thinking. It's outrageous that a golden calf "just popped out" but it happened. That's the trouble with slippery slopes and the human  need for immediacy. When the disciples could not even stay awake to pray for their Lord who was soon going to have to give his life for them, we got a taste of our weaknesses even under grace. And yet, the Father gave us the Holy Spirit who humbly says he can help us produce wonderful fruit as we wait for present and long-term blessings. Shall we not honor Him more?

"Patience is greater than power; and he who rules his own spirit is greater than one who captures a city."(Proverbs 16:32)

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, generosity, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, humility and SELF-CONTROL..." (Galatians 5)

For the blessings of the Bible which mean TOTAL increase, physically, spiritually and mentally, it seems worth a wait to me. How about you?

Bibledoorajar: Perfection Interrupted

"... so that we may present every person perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28).

"Therefore, be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect!" (Matthew 5:48)

     The Israelites had started on the pathway of what God calls perfection. That is, they had agreed to follow in God's heart steps. They agreed to look far off into the future and complete their obedience with good results. They would stay true to God. But the story of the golden calf revealed that their desire to stay on the pathway was short-lived. To stray so far off the pathway leads to what God calls His wrath. For a person or people who do not love God and honor His ways must sooner or later have that drawn to their attention. His love leads to a wrath that sends a clear message that the pathway has been abandoned and that trouble is in the future. Perfect is not 100 percent in behavior, but it is 100 percent in heart attitude. When convicted, we scurry back to the path. We resume pursuit of the goal.
     The Israelites abandoned God and His Man, Moses, less than five months after they sang God's praises. Their pathway was obscured with thoughts of Egypt and her gods. But Moses.... Thank God for Moses. When God had to honor His wrath, Moses was not afraid to talk to Him about the situation even though he, too, had been so seriously wronged.
When God said to Moses, "now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them." The moment was solemn.  God no longer called them His people but referred to them as thy people to Moses. The heart of God and the heart of the people were completely out of sync. For God, to get off the pathway once on it was a form of rebellion. Yielding to God was completely gone; they now yielded to sin. This is what they had to say just five months before...
"The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my god, and I will prepare Him an habitation: my father is God and I will exalt Him(Ex. 15)". Now they seemed to not know where God or Moses was. But Moses. Thank God for Moses. His heart interceded.
     Thank God that Jesus intercedes for us. He has provided the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints and build up the body. We live in perilous times. We need to be listening closely. Is our heart telling us we are still on the right pathway? Are we in danger of God's wrath? Every minute of every day is a choice.