Moses The Leader Part Two

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I want us to think about Moses just before he died. The Lord told him and Joshua how the children of Israel would be. Deuteronomy 31:16 says, “…this people will rise up and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners…they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.”
 
Then the Lord instructed Moses to write a song and teach it to them. Then He inaugurated Joshua. Verse 23 He told him, “…Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
 
Moses gave them a final blessing in chapter 33. Then he went up to Mount Nebo. The Lord showed him all the land. 34:4 says, “…I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not cross over there.”
 
Verse 7 says, “Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.” Verse 10 says, “But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”
 
What can we learn from Moses? He endured the complaining of the children of Israel and their rebellion forty years! One time he reacted in his flesh and openly disobeyed the Lord. That disobedience caused him to forfeit God’s promise to take them into the promised land.
 
The fleshly reactions of others are not an excuse for us to react in our flesh. The Lord has called us to walk in progressive sanctification. We are not to go backwards into our old man manifestations, but forwards as new creations in Christ.
 
2 Timothy 1: 9 says, “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
 
Ephesians 5:15-19 says to walk circumspectly, redeem the time, understand what the will of the Lord is, be filled with the Spirit, and make melody in our heart to the Lord.” May we honor and glorify Him in all that we say and do. We are His witnesses for this time in our history – let us be about His business.

Moses The Leader

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I have just spent three books reading about Moses as the leader of the children of Israel. At the end of Deuteronomy, he was 120 years old. He had three sets of 40 years. The last 40 was about the exodus of the children of Israel. The number of men, 20 years and above, was an army of 603,550.
However, when Moses sent 12 spies into the promised land, 10 came back with a bad report. Numbers 14:36-37 says, “Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made ALL the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord.”
Verse 33 was God’s pronouncement on all those who were the original 603,550. It says, “And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness.”
The children of Israel were on the edge of going into the promised land. They forfeited it because of their complaining. The result was wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
Moses endured a lot of flak as he led the children of Israel through the wilderness. In Numbers 14 the Lord was ready to wipe everyone out and start all over with just Moses. Verses 19-20 are the results of Moses’ intercession.
They say, “Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. Then the Lord said: I have pardoned, according to your word.”
That was then, this is now. It is our time to intercede for our nation and the nations of the world. Complaining displeases the Lord (Numbers 11:1). Intentional intercession is the call of the day. We, of the nations, are in dire straits. There is only One who can intervene.

The ‘Do Not’s’ Part Two

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Here is a well known double ‘do not’ in Ephesians 4:26. “Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” If you go to bed angry, you will get up angry. It is a heart issue that needs to be resolved with forgiveness.
 
The 10 commandments are a list of do nots. They are character monitors. The beatitudes help us understand the Lord’s way, so they are the ‘do’s to follow.
 
Psalm 19:7 says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.” Verses 8-11 continue to speak of the power of His word worked into our lives: rejoicing the heart, enlightening the eyes, they produce the fear of the Lord, explain His judgments. They are more desirable than all riches, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. They warn us.
 
Therefore it is essential that we make the daily reading of His word our priority. It is not enough to just read, but to observe so we can implement His instruction. His word is applicable to every aspect of our lives.
 
I’m proofing “Victorious Living: more than a conqueror.” Last night I read this: as we work His word into the fabric of our heart, it secures us when faced with strife. Strife is an evil invitation to enter the fray. Do not let that happen. Immediately arm your mind with truth.
 
We have the resources. We are not left without recourse. The Holy Spirit will lead us into the truth we need to navigate successfully through today’s challenges. Trust Him and follow with a humble heart.

The ‘Do Nots’

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When I was reading in Exodus a verse jumped out that I investigated. Exodus 23:8 says, “And you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the discerning and perverts the words of the righteous.”
I looked it up in several commentary’s but it didn’t give the sense I was looking for. I asked one of my pastors to research it for me in his commentaries. Then he gave me his bottom line which nailed it for me.
There should be NO price that causes us to distort the truth. Psalm 15:1 asks the question of who can abide in God’s tabernacle. Verse 2 says, “He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.”
When I was reading in Ecclesiastes I found another verse that underlines the verse in Exodus. Ecclesiastes 7:7 says, “…a bribe debases the heart.” The Amplified says, “…a bribe destroys the understanding and judgment.”
The Bible is full of instructions that will keep us from perverting truth by going our own way. His words of truth lead us into truth and wisdom through His way.
Here is another warning verse. Ecclesiastes 10:1 says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor.”
Ignoring the ‘do nots’ will ruin our testimony. It is essential to intentionally read God’s word daily to gain wisdom. The Holy Spirit leads us in our reading. I have never taken a bribe, but I have ignored some ‘do nots’ and have suffered the consequences. The path of disobedience is hard, but the path of obedience is strewn with grace.

Details Part Two

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The Lord sees the whole picture of our lives. Nothing escapes His notice. Talk about detail, Luke 12:7 says that He knows the number of hairs on our head.
 
Psalm 56:8 says, “You number my wanderings; put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book?
 
Psalm 139 is a great reminder of how attentive the Lord is to us. Verses 2-4 say, “You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.”
 
Verses 17-18 say, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with You.”
 
I would like you to see yourself putting a small handful of sand in the palm of your hand and try counting them in your mind. Yet He thinks of us more than ALL the sands of the sea. The Lord is thinking about you constantly.
 
Here is another great truth to remember. 1 Chronicles 28:9 Amplified says, “…For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts…”
 
God’s word is powerful enough to split between our thoughts and intentions and discern our true motives. As we follow the details of His word for progressive sanctification, He will reveal the hidden lies in our heart that influence our thought process, help us course-correct, and lead us into His experiential truth that will set us free.

Details

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I finished reading the book of Exodus. I am always amazed at how detailed the Lord’s instructions were for Moses. He followed them in explicable exactness.
 
There was minute detail given in the craftsmanship of the articles made for the tabernacle, the priestly garments, and all the other intricate parts in the structural pieces of the tabernacle. Nothing was left out of the instructions.
 
Genesis 2:7 says that God made man out of the dust. We are also made in His image. Every detail of our lives was known before He formed us in the womb. He knows every thought before we think it.
 
Our God is a God of explicit detail.
 
I am a retired accountant. Details were the largest part of my work week. If I was off on a 18 column spreadsheet, I had to find it. Errors could not be glossed over.
 
The Lord has given us the Bible. It is our detailed manual for living victoriously. We can’t ignore it and expect to live in His abundance. If we gloss over it, the ‘errors’ in our heart will be ignored. His word is our course-corrector. He gave it to us to be our daily sustenance, our hope–our very life’s breath.
 
Luke 4:4 Amplified says, “And Jesus replied to him, It is written, Man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but by every word and expression of God.” We live by eating from the Living Lord through His word.
 
John 15:1-8 is about abiding, or as the Amplified says vitally united with Him. Verse 5 needs to be in the forefront of our walk. The Amplified says, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”
 
Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.”
 

Dwelling In His Presence Part Two

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In Exodus 33:3 the Lord told the children of Israel that He would not go with them into the land. In verse 12 Moses said to the Lord, “…You have not let me know whom You will send with me…”
 
Verse 13 is a great verse that we can adapt for our own prayer. It says, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight…”
 
Verse 14 was the Lord’s response, “…My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Verses 15-16 are Moses’ statement of faith. “Then he said to Him, If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.”
 
The Lord answered Moses that He would do as he asked, because he had found grace, and He knew His name. That must have thrilled Moses’ heart because his next words in verse 18 says, “…Please show me Your glory.”
 
The Lord said that He would make all His goodness pass before him, but that he could not see His face. Then in verses 22-23 He said, “So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”
 
I smile as I read those verses. That was a tangible experience for Moses. Yet, this side of the cross, the Lord’s Presence is always with us. The breath we breathe is filled with His Presence.
 
We never have to ask Him to be with us because He is. However, there is a tangible place in His Presence through intimate communion. It is Heart to heart connection. It is His breath upon our unveiled face. His whispered words of love are like warm oil that flow over our heart. It is that secret communion of a Friend speaking to a friend. There is nothing on this earth that can rival it. Psalm 73:25 says, “Whom have I in heaven but You, and there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.”

Dwelling In His Presence

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I love Exodus 33. There are key verses in this chapter that I like to visit often. Back up to chapter 32. Moses had been with the Lord on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights.
 
As he came down there was the sound of celebration. While he was gone, Aaron had listened to the people. They were impatient at Moses’ delay. They said to Aaron in verse 1, “…Come, make us gods that shall go before us…for as this Moses…we do not know what has become of him.”
 
Aaron had them bring him their golden earrings. From them he fashioned a golden calf. When Moses saw it he threw the two tablets of stone done and broke them.
 
Moses burned their calf in the fire, ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made them drink it. When he confronted his brother, Aaron lied. Verse 24 says, “…I cast it (the gold earrings) into the fire, and this calf came out.”
 
In verse 32 Moses interceded for the people. He confessed what they had done, and asked the Lord to forgive them. If the Lord wouldn’t forgive them, then Moses asked that his name would be blotted out of God’s book.
 
Exodus 33:2 said that God would send His angel before them, but in verse 3 He said, “…for I will not go up in your midst, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
 
Now that I have set the scene for you, let’s go to verses 7-11. Moses would go into the tabernacle of meeting and meet with God. Joshua would go with him. Where were the rest? Standing in front of their tents watching.
 
Verse 9 says, “And it came to pass, when Moses entered the tabernacle, that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses.”
 
Verse 11 says, “So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua…did not depart from the tabernacle.”
 
No wonder the Lord chose Joshua to lead the people after Moses died. He was a young man who loved to dwell in the Lord’s presence.

Precious Stones Part Two

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Here is a new song:
 
Song of a Diamond
 
In the deep part of the earth there lies unnoticed a diamond in the rough. No one knows it is there but the God of all things who created it for His glory.
 
It’s dark and bulky not suitable in any way. Though the Craftsman who holds it sees the splendor He will give it. He takes His tool and begins to chip away the debris that hides the beauty.
 
One cut after another reveals the true purpose of this obscure form. Through patience, oh the patience required to release all that it is to be.
 
Even so this Great Creator sees us in our mother’s womb. He waits until the day we will make up His precious jewels and be a diamond tiara in His hands.
 
Oh the patience. Oh the patience required to be all He has called us to be.
 
We are all diamonds in the rough that the Lord mined from the earth of bondage to sin. He set us free to walk in His purposes. Our progressive sanctification comes as we mine truths from His word and apply them to our hearts.
 
John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” John 8:31-32 says, “…if you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
 
The truth that sets us free is experiential truth. It is truth that we have accepted, walk in, and practice daily. Truth comes from the sword of the word that splits between our flesh and our spirit. It discerns our true intentions. It also splits the chains of self effort and sets us free to obey from the heart.
 

Precious Stones

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Exodus 28:15-30 outlined the design for the breastplate of judgment. It is very detailed. I was thinking about it. There were to be four rows of three precious stones. Where did the precious stones come from?
 
They were captives in Egypt. When they left, their neighbors gave them articles of silver, gold, and clothing. Then they were in the wilderness, crossed over in the Red Sea, crossed over the Jordan.
 
I’ve seen precious stones in the rough in Costa Rica, and in Brazil. They were mined. This caused me to go back to a VBS chorus. ‘He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine…’
 
God gave Moses the instructions up on the mountain. He was there 40 days and 40 nights. The instructions are intricate. Just the ephod and breastplate are an amazing piece of clothing.
 
I want to remind you that the foundations of the New Jerusalem are laid with precious stones. A quick list shows that eight are the same stones as in the breastplate.
 
I have said all this to take you to Malachi 3:16-17. “Then those who feared the Lord, spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, on the day that I make them My jewels…”
 
These verses are a reminder that how we speak to others should come from a heart that fears the Lord and meditates on His name. He listens. The things we say are written in a book.
 
1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”