God makes beautiful things...

Exodus 28:2 says "make sacred garments for Aaron that are glorious and beautiful" (NLT, italics are mine.)

As I read chapter 28 I was continually struck by how God loves beautiful things, and Aaron's clothing to be worn during his priestly service, is a great example of this. Throughout the chapter we see that "skilled craftsmen" (vs. 3) are to make these clothes and that they are to use materials that are only fitting for royalty, for service, for God: fine linen cloth, purple, blue and scarlet thread, onyx and a myriad of other precious stones, gold filigree, pure gold thread and gold bells. These items are to be "skillfully embroidered" (vs. 6) and they are to be used "with great skill and care" (vs. 15) so that all these items, whether for Aaron or for his son, are to be "glorious and beautiful" (vs. 40). God loves beautiful, set apart things; and he especially loves these things when they are used while representing His people before His presence!

Throughout chapter 28 Aaron was continually reminded that he was to be dressed this certain way so that, ultimately, he might "represent the people of Israel" (vs. 12, 21, 29) before the Most Holy God. The two onyx stones on his ephod had engraved on them "the names of the tribes of Israel" (vs. 9) so that as Aaron carried these names on his shoulders they served "as a constant reminder" of who he represents when he goes before the Lord. Thus, whether it was the onyx stones, or the four rows of gemstones or the gold medallion worn on his forehead he was representing the sinful people of Israel before the Holy God so that "the Lord will accept his people" (vs. 38).

As I reflected on these two truths, that God loves beautiful things and that Aaron represented the sinful nation of Israel to a Holy God, I thought how true this is still for us today!

First, God loves beautiful things, especially his people who are made in His image (Gen. 1:27)! He loved us enough to come into this broken world and to search for the lost sheep of Israel (Mt. 15:24 and Luke 15:1-7) and to be the light to all Gentiles (Isaiah 49:6, Luke 2:32 and Acts 26:23)...you and me!

And when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior then we are the image-bearers of Christ who are called to the ministry of being his ambassadors to those in this broken and sinful world which needs to be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:11-21)!

May we remember that God makes "beautiful things out of the dust, out of us"; and may our lives, and our words, "be life/Let my words be truth/I don't wanna say a word/Unless it points the world back to You" (Gungor's song "Beautiful Things" can be seen here and Hawk Nelson's song "Words" can be seen by clicking here).

Stand still and watch? Or, get moving and walk through?

As I was reading Exodus 13-15 this morning I was challenged by Moses' exhortation to his fellow Israelites to always remember how the Lord rescued them from Egypt with "the power of his mighty hand" (13:3). As a matter of fact, he mentions this fact four times (vss. 3, 9, 14, 16 in the NLT)! Clearly, Moses wanted the people to know it was God who was going to deliver them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians!

Even more interesting to me was how this was all said before they had even left Egypt! It's only that we read in vs. 17 "when Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road..." The Israelites hadn't even left and yet Moses was already preparing them to know and remember that it was the LORD who was going to do the delivering.

Interesting too how Moses stressed the importance of teaching these truths to the future generations, "the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders" (Psalm 78:4). In two separate, but related places (vss. 8 and 14), Moses tells the Israelites that there will be plenty of opportunities for the Israelites to explain to their children all the details surrounding the events of the Passover and the deliverance from Egypt. Clearly, God's covenant community is already living out Deuteronomy 6:4-9 where they are exhorted to tell their children God's commands as they are "at home" and "on the road" and "when you are going to bed and when you are getting up."

And speaking of the deliverance of Egypt, when crisis strikes isn't it amazing how quickly they forget about God's mighty hand and how he will deliver them from Egypt!? "As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them. They cried out to the Lord..." (14:10) and then they grumbled at Moses, "why did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness? Weren't there enough graves for us in Egypt?" (vs. 11) Whether he told them four times, or fourteen times, you wonder if they would've remembered that God was going to deliver them through "the power of his mighty hand"!?

And then I sense the Holy Spirit say to me, "how often have you known the strength and power and might of the LORD and yet you forget when trials come?" Ah yes, I'm just as guilty as the Israelites! Many of us are!

What probably struck me the most this morning though was the difference in response between Moses and God during this crisis. On the one hand Moses, no doubt speaking in great faith, said to the people in 15:13, "don't be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today." How true this statement is to our own thoughts and actions. Many times I have thought to myself, "let's wait and see how the Lord will provide." In theory and practice there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with that. After all, we see countless scriptures like Psalm 27:14 that says "wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

But on the other hand we see the LORD's immediate words to Moses in 15:15, "why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving! Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through..."

Hmm, interesting...Moses says to stand still and watch...God says to get moving and walk!? How do we reconcile this different approach? Probably, too often, we do nothing in the spiritual guise of "standing still and watching" in faith when in actuality it is really paralysis caused by fear. The better option is to always follow where the Lord leads, "to get moving and walk through" whatever might be going on.

Obviously there is wisdom in "being still and knowing God" (Psalm 46:10) as we pray and seek His face for direction on what to do next. But there also comes a time when actions have to be taken, knowing that God, who promises "to never leave us nor forsake us" (Heb. 13:5; Mt. 28:20; Psalm 23 and Jn. 10:11ff) is guiding us and strengthening us with "the power of his mighty hand" (Ex. 13:3).

Who will you be like this year?

As I have done our Daily Walk Bible (DWB) reading thus far this year I have been encouraged and challenged by what scripture has to say about some of the Biblical characters. For example:

*“When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord. Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock” (Genesis 4:3-4).

*“After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch lived in close fellowship with God for another 300 years…walking in close fellowship with God” (5:22-24).

*“Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God” (6:9).

“And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith” (15:6).

“Jesus called out to them (Simon and Andrew), “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him” (Matthew 4:19-20).

When I offer to God my time, talents and treasures am I like Cain and only offering some of myself? Or am I like Abel and offering the best of what I have?

On a daily basis, am I “remaining” or “abiding” in Christ (John 15) and thus walking in close fellowship like Enoch and Noah?

Like Abram, when faced with the uncertainty of the future am I showing my faith in God and in his sovereign plan and will for my life and the life of our church?

Am I willing to follow Christ at once, thereby counting the cost of being his disciple, and doing what He calls me to do?

All these, and many more, are the people in Scripture who are inspiring me to ask tough questions of my life and faith. How about you? Who are you reading about and how are you being challenged and encouraged today in your Christian faith?

No matter where you are in life, even if you are in the pit of despair or in prison like Joseph, the Lord will be with you and will show you “his faithful love” (Gen. 39:21).

Happy New Year!

In my excitement and anticipation of starting again the Daily Walk Bible reading program I’ve been thinking a lot about the New Year, 2013. The beginning of the year, as we all know, is a great time for reflection on the past so to better plan and live for God’s glory in the future. To that end, I share these 10 questions, from Dr. Donald Whitney, to consider as we start the New Year.

“Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. “Consider your ways!” (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.

            Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It’s so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we’re going and where we should be going.

1. What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What’s the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What’s the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What’s the most important way you will, by God’s grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

In 2013, may we stop and “consider our ways.” God bless you in this New Year!