Led by God

Do you need to know which way to go next? Are you confused about where you need to be?

I was reading Numbers 10 this morning and was reminded that God led the people of Israel in three ways—all obvious—and all by Him.  

1. The priest blew a silver trumpet when it was time to break camp and get ready to leave.  It was the signal for the Levites to take down the tabernacle.  Jesus is our high priest—he will blow the trumpet for us. 

2. The cloud lifted from over the camp. This cloud covered the Israelites as they traveled. It warmed them, cooled, them, protected them, and led them. The cloud is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  He lives inside us (followers of Jesus) and teaches, corrects, and leads us.  

3. The ark of the covenant led the Israelites and told them where to stop.  This is a picture of God the Father—the ark carried His presence. It was HIS presence that led them.  He still leads us and tells us where to stop.  

These were obvious signs—and they led the Israelites. When the cloud covered the camp and the ark of the covenant resided in the tabernacle, it was time to rest and hear God. But when the trumpet blew and the cloud lifted and the ark led the way, it was time to move!

God hasn’t changed. He still leads in obvious ways—but we have to be tuned in to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has promised that the Spirit will lead us. Jesus is a lamp for our path and trumpets the way He IS the way, truth and life. God goes before us, comes behind us, and has his hand on us. He wants us to know the way! Ask for his leading. And ask him to make it as obvious for you as he did for the Israelites. Throw your full weight of dependence on him. LISTEN to him!

Wait!  Did you think those were YOUR thoughts to move on??  Maybe you need to check if it’s your thoughts—or the trumpet sounding!!

“The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in [everything that you do] from this time forth and forever.”  

Psalm 121:8 AMP

Tunnel Vision

Years ago, God showed me how easily I can get tunnel vision. I think it’s one of the biggest ways Satan is working in our culture today.  

God told us, “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9. 

When we don’t go to God to get his perspective on a situation, we’ll have tunnel vision. We focus on our limited perspective—the part we can see. And from that telescopic view, we form an opinion. It becomes an opinion—not based on the WHOLE truth—but on a small puzzle piece of the puzzle. God wants us to rise above our circumstances and see it the way He sees it!

Let’s ask God today if we have tunnel vision.  We just might be surprised.

God is Serious about Sin!!

God is very serious about sin. He’s told us how to live and when we violate His instructions, there are consequences—sometimes swift and painful.  

Don’t think so?  There were two sons of Aaron who’d just been ordained as priests, Nadab and Abihu. The first 7 chapters of Leviticus were their instructions. And then they were ordained. But their first acts as priests were in complete disobedience. They brought unholy fire—from the wrong source and done the wrong way—into the tabernacle. God sent fire from heaven to destroy them. Someone has said that their ordination lasted longer than their profession as priests. 

Do you think God just treated sin that seriously in the Old Testament?  Consider Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. They sold property with the intent of giving some of the proceeds to the newly established church. It wasn’t wrong to keep some of the money for themselves…but they lied and pretended to bring ALL of the profit when they’d kept a portion. God revealed the deception to Peter and then God struck both Ananias and his wife dead. 

When God says to obey him, he’s serious. He has drawn boundaries to protect us. It’s just like we do as parents—we tell our kids not to play in the street. Why? To spoil their fun? NO!! To protect them. God’s purpose is the same. He wants us to obey so we don’t step out of his protection and into the arms of Satan who wants to destroy us. 

God is still serious about sin. We have to be in the Word of God to know how to agree with God. It’s his guidebook, his instructions, his HELP in navigating this life. Throughout the Bible, he tells us, “You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy.” Holiness isn’t perfection—it’s living a life set apart—set apart to obey him.  The good news is he’s given us his Spirit to guide us, teach us, help us, comfort us, and correct us. 

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  I John 1:9 NLT

The Wrong Yoke

How many things are you doing that you aren’t called to do? Are you weighed down with the expectations of others? Are you in places of ministry or work that “don’t fit?” Do you feel burdened?

Now I get that we’ll all do some things to help the body of Christ operate smoothly—things we may not feel “called” to do. It’s a way to serve others; to help. That’s not what I’m taking about here. Are you consistently burdened with what everyone else thinks you “should” do? Do you have trouble telling people no? Do you always step into positions because there’s an empty spot and no one else is filling it? Those things become burdens. We’re stepping into positions that are not ours, they don’t fit, and they weigh us down. 

You will never feel less fulfilled than when you step into someone else’s yoke. It’s a yoke that’s not fitted for you. It’s a burden.You’ll begin to dread the future and lose hope. 

You know when you’re doing what God has called you to do.  It’s easy, fun, energizing, manageable, and it makes you feel creative and fulfilled. You lose track of time when you’re doing it because you enjoy it so much!

Remember: God’s yoke is easy and light!

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  

Matthew 11:28-30

The Elders

40 days. How did it get so bad so quickly? The elders had just been on the mountain with God. They saw Him. They ate with Him! They ATE with GOD!!

I can’t help but think of Saul of Tarsus. He met Jesus in a blinding light on the road to Damascus—and he was never the same! Why weren’t these elders changed just as dramatically after meeting with God?

As my cousin pointed out, these elders had been slaves. They had a slave mentality. In fact, God had allowed Moses to be adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter so he wouldn’t grow up with a slave mentality—He knew a slave wouldn’t be able to lead slaves out of Egypt. So Moses grew up in the palace understanding royal protocol.   

Moses told the people that Aaron & Hur were in charge while he went back up the mountain to get instructions from God. He was gone 40 days. In less than 40 days, the people decided Moses wasn’t coming back and they asked Aaron to build them a god to lead them. They brought their gold jewelry and Aaron crafted a golden calf. And they worshiped it in the biggest, wildest, most debased party (sex orgy) there had ever been.  

How did they go from eating with God to a sex orgy in less than 40 days? 

Forty days is a symbol of testing. These people didn’t pass the test. But remember Jesus? He was tested for 40 days in the wilderness—but he passed the test because of his dependence on his Father. 

The elders’ meal with God was a covenant meal. Our covenant with God begins at salvation—when we choose to follow Jesus. I think this story is a warning to us. We can just as easily fall into depraved sin if we don’t meet with God consistently and trust Him. If you remember, the people had been afraid at their first meeting with God. They told Moses to meet with God and tell them what He said. So even though they ate a covenant meal with God…they weren’t meeting with God. And their first response when fear set in was to create another god and have a wild, perverted Mardi Gras. 

Are we meeting with God daily? If we’re not, we may just as easily choose a wild party over God. 

Working from Rest

Rest is probably the #1 thing people crave today and yet the least possessed commodity.  In the beginning, God worked for 6 days creating all that exists and declared the 7th day for rest.  On the 6th day, God created man.  So the first full day of man's existence was spent in rest and then he worked the next 6 days. God rested after His work...and man worked from his rest.  That is grace.

That's something we need to understand--how to work from our rest.  But first, we have to REST.  Webster describes rest as:  freedom from activity or labor, state of motionless or inactivity, repose, peace of mind or spirit.

When is the last time you stopped all activity and were motionless?  When is the last time you enjoyed peace of mind or spirit?  If you couldn't come up with a quick reply to those two questions, you seriously need to stop...and rest.  Without guilt!!  It's Satan's plan to keep us so busy and going in such circular motions that we are exhausted and don't even have the energy to spend time with God or our families.  Rest is also a weapon to fight the enemy.  When we're "at rest," it proves to the enemy we don't fear him.  Philippians 1:28.  I think resting is like a tithe of your time to God.

Do whatever you need to do.  Hire a babysitter, escape to your favorite spot, make some coffee, get alone with God and find that peace of spirit and mind.  Rest your body, soul, and spirit.  Be still. 

Rest.  I give you permission.

"Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Matthew 11:28-29

The Holiness of God

There are moments in my life when I’m confronted with the holiness of God, and all I can do is fall on my face!!

The children of Israel came into God’s presence at Mt. Sinai and afterwards they told Moses that they never wanted to do that again. It was terrifying. Isaiah saw God in his temple and declared God’s holiness and his own uncleanness. Saul met God on the road to Damascus and fell to the ground. John saw a vision of Jesus and passed out!

I don’t think we know what we’d actually do in God’s physical presence. I think it will be utterly and completely overwhelming and we’ll be awestruck. I think we’ll be consumed with God’s holiness. We’ll know the vast difference between us and Him. We won’t be standing and demanding anything. We will fall on our faces before our holy God. 

We need to begin practicing being in the presence of a holy God—now.