Message: If we read the word of God and follow it, our lives will be able to withstand the storms that come against it because we are grounded in Christ with a solid foundation. This does not stop the storms from coming, nor does it mean we won’t feel the pressure of the wind and the rain. It means that our lives will not fall apart from the pressure as long as our foundation is built on him.

Command: Obedience is the key. We won’t be sustained through the storms just by knowing what the word says. We have to walk out the obedience in order to become pressure tested. In my mind I thought about pressure treated wood and the importance of building a house with wood that can withstand weather without warping.

Promise: The promise here is that if our lives are built on God’s foundation it will not collapse under pressure. Our obedience doesn’t keep the storm away, but it does keep our house standing firm.

Warning: If we DON’T walk out in obedience to the word of God we will not be able to withstand the pressures of the storm and we won’t have a firm foundation to stand on in times of trouble.

Application: I literally heard the lyrics from the bridge of the song “Firm Foundation” as I read this. “Storms came, winds blew, my house was built on you. I’m safe with you, I’m gonna make it through.”

Lord Jesus, thank you for the simplicity of this message to remind me that I can’t simply pick and choose my obedience. Thank you that my time with you is building a firm foundation that will sustain me through whatever comes my way. Thank you Lord that the storm I face are of no surprise to you, and you are strategically preparing me for exactly what I will need. Help me Lord to heed the importance of NOT skipping steps that you have ordered for me because I will need each step as part of my foundation without weak or missing pieces.

Message: After reading in Matthew 5 yesterday about how our good attitudes are like salt and light to the world, chapter 6 is all about how our spiritual disciplines are not for show. We are not supposed to put ourselves on display for the good things we do or the spiritual disciplines we commit ourselves to. When we do this our motives are all wrong so our hearts are not impacted with change. Instead we become image-obsessed.

Command: Don’t be image obsessed. We are living for an audience of one and God is looking at my heart and not the image I am displaying to lie to myself or others.

Promise: God sees what I do in secret and he rewards openly.

Warning: God also s

Application: Lord Jesus! Please help me live for your approval only. That my actions would be authentic and not to project image for anyone else. Help me to be FAR more concerned with what you see

Message: I have always kind of looked at Matthew chapter 5 in segments even when reading the whole thing. We know the first eleven verses as the “Be Attitudes” from the sermon on the mount. Then verse 12 begins by telling us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. This is also a very well known passages of scripture, but today I saw the significance of these two passages together. Not as different thoughts but as one fluid thought. Jesus was encouraging them (and us) that the struggles we go through become a blessing when we are in Christ because God fulfills what we need out of each struggle. We are blessed when we mourn because we will be comforted. We are blessed when we hunger and thirst after righteousness because we will be filled. We are blessed when we are persecuted for his sake because our reward is in heaven. But then he tells us we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. In the context of what we just read before that it reminds me that while we are going through all of the things described in the be attitudes-  people are watching and observing our responses. My response will either look like everyone else’s or my responses will stand out and contrast as different from the norm.

Command: Be salt and light to the world. We aren’t trying to blend into the culture around us.

Promise: God will be there for every struggle. The struggles make us grow and mature, and he rewards us when we stay faithful, and people will glorify God when they see our good works.

Warning: Apart from Christ we have none of these blessings and our suffering has no reward!

Application: For me this is a reminder to keep my attitude in check. Nobody enjoys suffering but we all tolerate suffering a little but better when we know there is a hope and that our suffering is not in vain. Lord Jesus, please help me to check my heart and attitude when I want to complain and when I want to avenge myself or respond negatively to the pressure around me.

Message: The things that Satan tested Jesus with in Matthew 4 were a complete manipulation of what  already belonged to Jesus.  He spoke like a negotiator with Jesus making offers like an imposter claiming authority that he didn’t have. He also manipulated by trying to provoke Jesus into using his legitimate power and authority  in an illegitimate way to benefit himself. While Jesus had every right to do any of the things Satan was proposing, it would have derailed the plan of redemption completely. 

Command: Don’t be tempted to use or demand our God given rights or the promises of God to promote or fulfill ourselves, when we should be using those gifts to benefit others. Jesus used all of his power and authority for the good of others, and the father exalted him. Not once did Jesus ever use his power or authority for his own gain or comfort.

Promise: The bible is full of all kinds of promises and those promises come along with commands of obedience and responsibility. Our obedience (not our demands) are what release those promises and legitimize our God given authority. God himself recognizes the obedience in his time and in his way and he rewards us and promotes us for our obedience.

Warning: When we demand or use the authority God has given us to benefit ourselves, promote ourselves, or make ourselves more comfortable, we abuse it’s purpose. Authority and rewards are not for us to demand or take, but for God to give as our reward for our obedience.

Application: Lord Jesus, please show me the areas of my heart where I have tried to manipulate or demand my own way. When I have even prayed manipulative prayers with selfish motives disguised as obedience or purity. Help  me to leverage what you have given me for the benefit of others and allow you to bless my obedience.

Message: John the Baptist preached a message to repent and be baptized. What really stood out to me in this was chapter was that he was calling out the Pharisees who believed that they were the exception  because they were the children of Abraham. Although they truly were of the lineage of Abraham, they were deceived in thinking that they were exempt from repentance. The point seemed to be further proven when Jesus came to John to be baptized. He would have been the only one exempt from repentance, but yet he submitted himself to be baptized by John.

Command: Repent and be baptized.

Promise: Repentance brings both salvation and freedom and the promise in Matthew 3 was that Jesus would baptize with a new kind of baptism. The baptism of fire.

Warning: Deception keeps me from recognizing my need for repentance. Like the Pharisees, I can easily be deceived into living a life of religion rather than an authentic life of constant repentance and change.

Application: The safeguard against deception and religion is constant self-evaluation, reading the word and prayer. When I am not reading or praying my mind becomes calloused and religious living forms. I justify my position in comparisons with people who appear to be worse-off than I. My compassion for others dwindles and my pride increases. The remedy for this is to read the word without a motive and allow the word to read me. I need to evaluate myself and challenge the excuses that want to rise up.

Lord Jesus, expose the calloused areas of my heart where I mask my issues with a form of religion instead.

Message: The message I saw clearly in Genesis 2 was that God created man to partner with him in all that he created. I saw a huge shift in the way God created things from chapter 1 to chapter 2. In chapter 1 he spoke things into existence and it was so. Scripture doesn’t tell us specifically, but it sounds so immediate. Then there is a noticeable change in wording in chapter 2 when it says that “God planted a garden”. He didn’t just speak it so, and I couldn’t help but picture God standing in the dirt carefully planting things that wouldn’t pop up instantaneously but would grow over time and with care. Further on it says that he caused trees to grow out of the ground. I wonder how long all of that took? Here is what peaked my interest. Verse 7 tells us that he formed the man and breathed life into his nostrils and he became a living being. THEN beginning verse 8 we see that God planted the garden and caused trees to grow etc. and THEN after all of that and after creating all of the rivers verse 15 tells us that he “took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it.” I don’t know where he had the man stashed before he grew all the trees and the garden, but after God put him in the garden that became his purpose. But God didn’t want him to do it alone so took his rib bone and from him created a beautiful partner. After that he created all of the animals (from the ground ) and let the man name them all. To me this all SCREAMS partnership.

Command: The command I see in this is to work in partnership with God in what he is doing in me and around me. He is the creator and it is our job to do the caretaking work to nourish and cultivate what HE has created.

Promise: The promise I see here is that what we cultivate and take care of will grow and flourish.

Warning: If the promise is that what we cultivate and take care of will grow and flourish, the opposite is also true. If we don’t cultivate and nourish the things that God placed in our care it will not be fruitful and will overgrow or die in our negligence.

Application: This really causes me to think about the things that are in my care and evaluate how they are doing. I see a pattern in myself to kind of juggle my responsibilities so there are times when I am very on top of one area, but I kind of allow others to go on cruise-control for a while as I put extra energy in other places. This also reminds me of how important it is to make sure I am not taking on responsibilities that I shouldn’t be taking. Learning to say “no” has been difficult, and before anyone labels that as kind of a “beautiful flaw” I have to also consider that some of that might even come out of a prideful place. I might be taking on things I shouldn’t because I have an attitude that I might do a better job. Regardless of the motive, I need to list the things in my life that I am responsible for and ask myself the hard questions for each thing. Being busy does not necessarily mean we are being fruitful. When I evaluate the fruit of each thing it is easier to rule out what might be “good” but not “fruitful”.

Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the things I have treated with an “auto-pilot” mindset and help me to prioritize and eliminate things properly. Thank you for the privilege that you created us to actually partner with you- and forgive me for the times I have overstepped my place and acted like I was in charge or somehow in the place to tell you how to do things.

Message: The overall message  I pulled from Genesis 1 is that God created everything with thought, creativity and organization. He divided the darkness and the light. He separated the water, the land, and the air. He created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night and he created the stars as indicators that give us the ability to measure and manage time. He created animals “by their kind” but he created man in his own “likeness”. This scripture fascinated me the most because I couldn’t help but notice the difference between the animals of the own kind was such a distinct difference from us being made in his likeness. This alone causes me to think about the attributes of God that he shared with us. His creativity is the very first thing we learn about him in Genesis, but also his order.

Command: The overall command I pull from here is for order. When God spoke creation into existence he not only did it with order and intention, but he also created an order for us to follow because we were made in his image, and order is part of who he is.

Promise: The promise I pulled from this is that what God speaks into existence comes to pass. We can count on it. Everything that he called into existence in Genesis he called “good”.

Warning: The warning I pulled from this is simply the chaos that ensues when we don’t follow God’s order.

Application:  For me the order is a big one. There are areas of my life that are disciplined, but I have a strong pull toward the chaos of procrastination. When I waste time I can’t get it back and it adds more chaos and stress to my life. There are plenty of hardships that I can’t avoid, but I can be responsible for the way I manage my time so that I will be in a better position to take on the unexpected things that show up.

Lord Jesus, please show me the areas of my life that are out of order and help me make up an intentional plan to bring order to the areas that are lacking discipline. Help me to honor you by living a life with order, and help me to represent you well knowing I am made in your image.

Paul wrote to the church at Philippi while in prison. He encouraged a life of righteousness and unity within the body of Christ, but he acknowledged that the gospel was being preached by some with pure motives, some with motives of envy and jealousy and some with motives of rivalry. His attitude was that regardless of the motive behind it, the gospel message was advancing. Paul even acknowledged that his imprisonment was giving confidence to believers and was bringing more visibility to the gospel message as well. I thought about this in the context of today’s culture, and it challenged me to shift my focus away from division and disagreement- even among the body of Christ. This is not to say that we shouldn’t challenge each other in our motives, but we can’t get hung up on disagreements to the point of division. Paul celebrated that the gospel was being preached and spread even with the motives of imperfection, and even as he sat in prison wrongfully. What wrong has been done to us that we can use as a platform or an opportunity for the gospel? We can actively and hopefully pursue our deliverance (as Paul was doing) while also maximizing the opportunity to spread the gospel. If we are consumed with the wrong that is done to us our hearts will be polluted, and we will miss these opportunities. What I really pulled from this is that the spread of the gospel has very little to do with our circumstances and more to do with our focus. There will always be trouble, hardship, and disagreement but that can’t be our focus. If we focus on those things we will be tempted to wait to move when our troubles are gone. That time is never so our priority needs to be the gospel and just watch what happens to our circumstances as we advance God’s kingdom.

Proverbs 2 reminds us that if we seek out wisdom as fervently as we do wealth, we will not only have the protection and the favor of God, but the very wisdom that we have stored up in our hearts will lead us on paths of righteousness. As I read this it occurred to me that if we choose wisdom and are in the habit of reading, meditating on it and walking in it, we will find less opportunities that we will need God to rescue us from situations. Although there will always be opposition, most of the trouble we find ourselves in stems from unwise decisions we made that opened opportunities and paths to trouble and hardship. We are often our own adversary because even if we know what the wise choice is, we easily sabotage ourselves by listening to our impatience or our flesh that demands instant gratification. When we do this, we are aware of wisdom, but we have to deceive ourselves by justifying an unwise choice. We may talk ourselves into believing we found a shortcut to success, or we say things like “just this one time”.  As much as we would like to blame the devil for every bad influence, our own flesh is responsible for more than we would like to believe. It surprised me to read in Revelation that during the period of time that the devil is locked away and has no influence on the earth, there are so many who will still not turn and repent. How could this be and how do believers backslide? I believe this has everything to do with our habits and discipline. No matter how much we know, our discipline (or lack of) is what determines our reality. If we are in the habit of following our flesh, we will hear that voice louder and will allow our appetites and emotions to lead us, but if we discipline ourselves with wisdom, we will hear the voice of wisdom louder and be able to overcome the voice and the pull of our flesh. The more often we deny our flesh, the easier it becomes. This is why the verses 5 and 6 advise that we seek it out like silver, and search for it like hidden treasure. When we do, we will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. When this happens, we will value it even above the desires of the flesh and it will be like a shield of protection for us. I’ll never forget the day my daughter expressed her love in a way that only a 3-year-old could comprehend when she told her daddy “I love you more than candy!”. Because even at the age of three, her flesh was pulling on her in the form of a strong sweet tooth, and she was well aware of it. She valued sweets so much that the only comparison she could think of for love was candy. At this age money, or “silver” meant nothing to her because her pursuit was for the sweet things. This desire got her into all kinds of trouble as a toddler. She chased after it so persistently that I often found her in dangerous places climbing furniture to get into high cabinets. She once got Nestlee Quick chocolate powder up her nose because she had taken the giant Costco sized can and tried to tilt it toward her mouth to sneak a taste. The giant can of powder weighed so much that when she tipped it the powder came rushing at her like an avalanche. As innocent as this all sounds, this is a perfect example of our pursuits when we are not ruled by wisdom. Fortunately, my daughter is all grown up now, and she still loves sweets, but her desire for them no longer rules her behavior. As she grew up and matured she learned to allow wisdom to lead her. This is how our maturity in Christ should look. As we grow and mature, we should be led more and more by the voice of wisdom and we quiet the childish and selfish voice of our flesh.

Proverbs 31 is a chapter that intimidates women all over because of its description of a virtuous wife. This chapter is not written directly to women. In fact, it is a recitation that King Lemuel learned from his mother, and the first 9 verses are King Lemuel reciting the standards necessary to be a good king. As I pondered this it occurred to me that his mother probably groomed him to be king when he was just a little boy by teaching him these recitations so that he would always remember it. This is similar in purpose and approach to teaching our children to memorize scripture. The capable wife described in the remainder of Proverbs 31 is an example of the kind of woman he needed to find as a wife of a king. Both the king and his wife are held at a higher standard because of their leadership, influence, and responsibility to lead the people. The woman described in this chapter has so much influence that her husband is honored because of her. Reading this chapter can easily give the impression that a woman who is domesticated and loves to cook, sew, and work hard in the field is the ideal woman, but what I really got out of reading this is that she is a woman who does not waste time on idle things, and she works hard planning and preparing well for her family. She doesn’t waste time or resources and she plans and prepares ahead so that her family is prepared for season changes and emergencies. Obviously, this translates very differently for our times. The kinds of things a woman did to prepare her home were much different than what we do. Sewing clothes and making blankets to survive a harsh winter were absolutely necessary in those times, where women now only sew as a hobby or business unless she lives on a homestead. The tipping point of this whole thing for me was at the end when it says that she will be praised by her husband, her children and the works of her own hands. It suddenly occurred to me that King Lemuel was doing this very thing. The woman he described was a picture of his own mother teaching, influencing and preparing him as a young boy to be a good king. It would all come full circle in his own life because she not only taught him his whole life how to be a good king, but she prepared him to find the kind of wife he needed to be his partner. She would be the woman who would prepare his own future son to be king, and she would be the voice of wisdom in his ear as he led the people, so she needed to be virtuous, wise, and honorable. Proverbs 31 is not a tough, unattainable standard on women. It is a call to excellence for both men and women, and an incredible picture of partnership in living with excellence and raising children with honor. This life of excellence prepares them to be honorable leaders that continue the circle by training their own children with excellence so that this continues with each generation.

In Galatians 6 Paul encourages those who live obedient and Spirit-led lives to come alongside other believers that have been caught in wrongdoing and restore them with a gentle spirit. This is a tough topic because we can’t accomplish this by simply pointing out the sin in someone’s life. They probably already know they are in sin and are drowning and suffocating in it. We need to empower them to repent and change by pointing them to Jesus, but this can only be done in love. It’s not enough to simply say we love them. This is something we have to walk out, but if we are prideful or feel like we are superior to those who are stuck in sin, we will not be able to operate in love. No matter how true our words are, or how much scriptural evidence we have to point out their sin, we will not be able to reach their heart unless we ourselves are humble and in check. This is why Paul reminds them (and us) of the importance of watching out for ourselves so that we aren’t tempted. The danger is not necessarily that we will fall into the same sin, but if we are prideful or feeling superior, we might blindly walk into other sin and justify it by comparing ourselves to others. Paul encourages them (and us) to carry one another’s burdens because the weight of sin threatens to crush those who are caught in it. If we are not helping them carry the load, we might be in danger of adding to the weight of their sin and crushing them with our judgment and our disapproval. When believers lovingly walk with those who are entangled in sin and lead them out by empowering them, they are fulfilling the purpose of the church. This is what Jesus did when he removed the weight of our sin from us. When we truly understand his love for us, we are free to repent and change without the crushing weight of guilt and judgment. When we change, we are free to empower others to change- as long as our change doesn’t deceive us into a prideful state of thinking we accomplished this on our own.

In Numbers 22 the king of Moab saw the size of Israel camped near them and was terrified. He knew he couldn’t fight against them, and he feared that they would devour the land because of their enormous population. He summoned a man named Balaam to curse them for hire, but after an encounter with God he told the king’s servants to go back to their land because God has refused to let him go with them. The king was relentless and sent higher up servants. Balaam consulted God again and since the answer was still no and the king was not giving up, God told Balaam to go with them to speak God’s words, but not to do anything. When Balaam tried to go with them, he was opposed by God but didn’t realize it. His donkey saw the angel of the Lord with a sword drawn and he moved off the path three times, but Balaam kept beating the donkey until God opened the donkey’s mouth and allowed him to speak. I have always been amused by this story and why it seems that Balaam doesn’t act surprised when the donkey speaks to him. Maybe they left that part out of the story, but after the donkey questioned Balaam he reminded him of his years of faithfulness and asked him why he didn’t trust him when he moved from the path. God also questioned Balaam in the same way, and he told him that had the donkey proceeded, Balaam would have been killed and the donkey would have lived. The donkey saved Balaam’s life by opposing him. This had me thinking of all the times I thought opposition was coming against me, but realized later that it was designed to divert my direction. There are faithful godly people in my life that are for my good, so if they are questioning my plans or appear to be in opposition, I really need to listen to what they have to say because they might be seeing something I am blind to see. Proverbs reminds us that there is safety in the council of many. Especially God-fearing people who are hearing from God.

I also thought about the fact that God’s promise to bless Israel could not be thwarted by any other plans to curse them. Those who try to curse those who are blessed by God will find themselves opposed by God himself. This was all going on while the camp of Israel slept soundly in the wilderness completely unaware of the threat that lurked and the protection of God that halted it all. When we are obediently surrendered to God, He keeps the promises that are in his word. We have no idea how many plans have been made with the intent to curse us that God has opposed and stopped while we sleep soundly and unaware.

One last thing I pulled from this is that we also have to be careful that we don’t allow ourselves to curse someone who is blessed by God because we will also find ourselves in opposition with God Himself! Curses are not just magical spells or black magic divinations. The bible tells us that rebellion is the spirit of witchcraft, and this includes a rebellious attitude towards someone that causes us to speak out against them. If we take this further if we speak out in an attitude of disrespect and rebellion toward leaders, we are in danger of opposing God because God established authority. Even authority figures that we disagree with. Our negative mouth in opposition to authorities in our lives put us in opposition with God. It’s ok to have questions but we need to be praying for our leaders and taking our concerns to a higher authority by appealing to God. If we actually did this we would not only see change, but we would also have a heart change ourselves.

Chapter 13 is the final chapter and the end to Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth. He tells them “this is my third time coming to you” and he quotes from Deuteronomy “every fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” He reminds them that he warned them when he was there physically (the painful visit), and again in writing and now he is warning them a third time to repent and turn from their sin. He warns them that if he comes to see them in person again, he will not be lenient and will use the full capacity of his authority. What I found interesting is that using his God given authority was Paul’s proof to them of Christ working in him. This was his answer and response to those who were questioning whether he was a legitimate apostle. This made me recognize that when we are in a place of rebellion, we tend to question anyone who tries to correct us. Even when we know better. We will focus on their flaws and pull them apart as an attempt to justify our rebellion and minimize the authority of anyone who would dare correct us. In our minds, if we can invalidate or discredit the one exposing us or calling us out on our sin, we can justify ignoring their warnings. By finding their flaws, or even fabricating them in our own minds, we can shut off the guilt or the obligation to change, by equating their flaws or perceived flaws with our sin and rebellion and justifying our sin as merely a shortcoming. We excuse ourselves from changing by pretending we are working on it. Our minds are very crafty!! As I read this it occurred to me that this is exactly why the false apostles had such an influence on the church in questioning Paul’s legitimacy. The church knew Paul was their authority because he brought them the gospel and established them as a church, but as they were pulled into sin, they needed to quiet the guilt inside themselves by discrediting the authoritative voice that was calling them to repentance.

I love the wisdom of Paul’s next response when he told them to test themselves by examining themselves. There is no test more true than actually examining ourselves. In order to pass this test we have to identify the work that needs to be done in our own hearts. To fail this test is to look past the things we need to change. For me personally, this is what wakes me up when I realize I am just coasting through. Even when we have eliminated the big obvious sin issues, there should always be something we are working through. Not the same issues that we are ignoring and saying we are working through, but new things that God reveals to our hearts as we walk with him in deeper levels. Today this reminds me to test myself to see what I am ignoring. If I am playing the comparison game or trying to invalidate or discredit someone else I am probably trying to quiet the guilt of my own disobedience.

In 2 Corinthians 10 Paul is still receiving backlash and accusations from the false apostles and teachers and they are still influencing part of the church at Corinth. Paul’s approach at first is to appeal to them with humility by greeting them with a humble appeal approach “by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ” but he immediately finishes his sentence with an ironically aggressive challenge of “don’t make me come down there” by answering back to their accusation of him being ‘weighty and powerful in his letters, but weak in presence and despicable in public speaking’. No doubt those were hurtful words, but in his defensiveness, he tries to set the record straight by saying “I who am humble among you in person but bold when I am absent. I beg you that when I am present, I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who believe we are behaving in an unspiritual way.”  This is where he reminds them (and us) and probably even himself that we fight with spiritual weapons and not physical worldly weapons.

I can’t help but contrast Paul’s approach with what we just read about Moses when his authority was challenged in Numbers. Moses fell face down in humility in front of them all and then he spoke the words of God in boldness to challenge them. He didn’t defend himself. He simply told them “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to him.” This placed all it all on God and proved his confidence in God that he would handle it. Paul called himself ‘humble’, but then he powered up and defended himself. He even made a point of threatening them with his plans to challenge the false apostles and teachers as if to make a point to prove to them that he wasn’t ‘weak in person’. He was just holding back because he was being humble. This is ironic and I’m not making accusations against the apostle Paul, but he was human just like the rest of us and just like we learn so much from his strengths, we can also learn from his weaknesses too. He obviously knew that humility was the right approach, but like all of us, he probably struggled with it. It’s hard not to defend yourself in the face of false accusations. Pride rises up and we want so badly to make it right, but God tells us that vengeance belongs to Him. Like Moses, if we humble ourselves and point people to God, He will be our defender, and if necessary, he will take vengeance on our behalf. This has been a struggle of my own. I can’t stand to be misunderstood or misinterpreted. I can’t stand it when people try to speak what they believe I am thinking. I want so badly to defend myself but without the Holy Spirit my defensive words fall on deaf ears and make me look even more desperate. I need the humility to allow God to speak to my heart (because who knows, some of their words just might be partially accurate and I might need to adjust something) but what is not accurate God will set right in his timing.

In Numbers 17 Paul is following God’s instructions to take a staff from a leader of each tribe with their names on them and place them in the tent of meeting so God can show the people who is chosen to be the priest. Not because they didn’t already know that Aaron was chosen, but because there had been a rebellion that actually started way back when Miriam & Aaron got jealous over Moses and challenged his position. God quickly put them in their place and they repented immediately when Miriam suddenly started showing signs of leprosy. In chapter 16 a Levite named Korah along with 2 other men started another rebellion with 250 prominent leaders of Israel. They accused Moses of appointing himself and they said “Everyone in the entire community is holy and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” The response from Moses proved exactly why he was chosen by God. He fell facedown on the ground (because he was a very humble man) and he boldly told them “Tomorrow morning the Lord will reveal who belongs to Him”. At this point God wanted to destroy the entire community but Moses and Aaron pleaded with God, so he only destroyed the 250 leaders and all that belonged to them. Moses said to Korah and all of Israel. “This is how you will know that the Lord sent me… If the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all that belongs to them then you will know that these men have despised the Lord” Instantly the ground opened up and swallowed them all and their belongings. The people cried and fled in fear, but the next day the entire community complained against Moses and Aaron again accusing them of killing the Lord’s people. Once again, God was ready to destroy the entire community but Moses sent Aaron to quickly take his firepan of incense and make atonement for the people. A plague had already started among the people and by the time atonement was made 14, 700 of them died and the rest were spared because of the sacrifice made for them. This takes us to chapter 17 when God told them to bring the staffs in so he could show them who he had appointed. Moses had told them the one God chose would sprout. The next morning when they went back to the tent of meeting Aaron’s staff had not only sprouted leaves, but it sprouted flowers and almonds as well.

What I really pulled from this, first of all was the humility of Moses. His responses were always a posture of humility by getting facedown on the ground when he was accused. I don’t know about anyone else, but the response I get when falsely accused is usually defensive. I have to work hard to crucify my flesh to have a humble response. The next thing I noticed was that in his humility, Moses was not timid or quiet. He was actually very bold because at that point he had already humbled himself first. From the posture of humility, he was able to hear God, and God gave him the words to speak. What would happen if we responded out of humility first, and allowed God to speak to us? Moses spoke God’s words with boldness and authority and because the people were really rebelling against God, they recognized that authority they saw in Moses and rebelled against that too. They had no idea that through this whole ordeal Moses was the one pleading for their lives. We have all been on both sides of this so the bottom line here is that humility will keep our heads on straight so we can actually hear from God. Pride leads to rebellion and corrupted vision. Humility doesn’t mean timid. It is our posture before God so that we can lay aside our pride and our opinions to hear His voice and speak it out boldly and confidently.

In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul had restored his relationship with the church at Corinth and was moving on back to the regular business of things. One of these things was the collection he had requested of all the churches that they were going to bring to the church at Jerusalem in their time of need. Paul was bragging on the church of Macedonia because in their own poverty and need they were so eager to be part of the generosity that they collected more money than anyone else and were so grateful to give it. Meanwhile, the church at Corinth had been so caught up in all of their drama that they hadn’t collected anything at all. Paul was reminding them that this collection was going to be hand-delivered by trusted men from the churches that were going to visit the church in Jerusalem. Paul also used an example from the Old Testament of how the needs in the body of Christ should look by quoting Exodus when manna came down from heaven. Those who collected more had just enough and those who collected less had just enough. Nobody was lacking and nobody had a stockpile. Paul reminded them that he wasn’t looking for them to give to the point of their own poverty, but to give during their time of surplus knowing that when they are in a time of need their needs will also be met.

As I read through this, I couldn’t help but raise the question of why the church of Macedonia was so generous and joyful even in poverty, but the church at Corinth was dragging their feet to contribute even though they were doing well financially. It hit me that our spiritual condition has everything to do with our level of generosity. When we are in a place of sin and are far from God we become selfishly consumed and focused on our own needs, wants and desires.  In this state of mind, we tend to be more closed fisted with our giving because we start taking on the mentality that we have to take care of our own selves because we believe nobody else will. Unfortunately, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy because in our sin and rebellion, we are not surrendered to God so we become our own source (and a very lousy one) but somehow, we also become prideful of this illusion in our own minds that our own hard work is providing for ourselves.  Since the the promises of God’s favor come with surrender, we are no longer walking in his favor. Sometimes it’s just the grace of God keeping us afloat, but in our pride and ignorance we credit our “success” to our own hard work until we hit disaster and we either become humbled or we dig further into our own pride mess. These are just my own thoughts, but I have noticed that when we doubt God’s favor and blessing in our lives, it’s often because we either know we are not surrendered, or because we misunderstand what it means to live in a place of surrender. The promises of God all come with surrender and obedience. If we are not walking in obedience, we tend to believe we are being punished for messing up when the reality is that God is more interested in our surrender that our perfection. Our obedience comes from the place of surrender, even if we mess that up too. God is after our surrender and his favor comes when our pride is set aside and we follow after him. “God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 If you struggle with believing God is for you, check your level of surrender. Does God have the right to run your life, or are you still large and in charge? “Commit your activities to the Lord and your plans will be achieved.” Proverbs 16:3

Chapter 7 shows the very emotionally vulnerable and human side of Paul once again as he expresses his deep grief and turmoil from having to confront them about their sin and bring correction. He tells them that he doesn’t regret it, even though he said that he did regret it because of the pain it caused them both because it eventually brought repentance. He had been speaking a lot about the comfort he received from Titus over the past few chapters, and he finally explains why in chapter 7. After Paul’s confrontation there was a deep relational fracture between he and the church. He felt the weight of the unresolved conflict even though he knew that his confrontation and correction was right and necessary. This is healthy even though it’s painful because it shows that his correction was truly motivated by love. Paul was broken and full of grief as he sat in the unresolved state, and this is when he began writing this letter we call “2 Corinthians” trying desperately to repair his relationship with the church.  When Titus came to them, he was able to act as a buffer between them and Paul. Because of this repentance came to the church and they were able to share with Titus their love and affection towards Paul as their spiritual father. When Titus came back to Paul, he was able to share those conversations with Paul and it brought peace to his broken heart since he had been carrying the weight of that unresolved conflict. This chapter felt so relatable to me. We have all had to have hard conversations and confrontations. These conversations only go well when they are done in love, but the hard thing about love is it comes with all the grief and pain because love isn’t love without this vulnerability. Nobody likes to be corrected, so confrontations feel a lot like rejection or disapproval even when they are done in love. A broken person often perceives the correction this way and it can even delay their response to own and repent of their issues if they become defensive. Titus was a safe person to buffer between Paul and the church and repentance was achieved and the relationship was repaired. Sometimes we have an opportunity to be that buffer person and we may not realize what we have been thrown into. We have to be careful that we don’t take sides with people when they are emotional so that we are able to be a buffer to them for their good and for the good of their relationships. Whether we find ourselves in need of a difficult conversation, or we realize we are in the middle of someone else’s conflict, we have to be very careful in our discernment when emotions are involved. What we say and how we respond matters and we can either help repair, like Titus did or we can cause damage and possibly harden someone from their repentance if we speak to appease an emotional person.

In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul is talking about our bodies before and after eternity. He refers to our current bodies as weak, naked, and as temporary “tents” and he refers to our eternal bodies as dwelling places and as buildings. This took my mind back to John 14 when Jesus told his disciples that he was going to prepare a place for them (and us) and he said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions” or as some versions translate it “In my father’s house are many dwelling places.” It occurred to me that he is probably talking about our permanent eternal heavenly bodies, and not so much an empty structure that we will go to and from.  These are just my own thoughts pondering this as I read because I know that we are all so ignorant in our understanding of eternity. I get excited thinking about all that God has prepared for us in heaven that we could never even imagine. God, the master creator made this earth, and it was perfect before sin came in and destroyed it, so if this earth, in its broken state can be this beautiful, I can’t even fathom what awaits us in eternity! I like to imagine some of the most beautiful places here on earth that I would love to visit, and then think about the fact that heaven will be that much more beautiful, and we will have an eternity to discover and explore it all without the limitations we have on this earth. If you have ever imagined Heaven as a boring place with floating clouds holding fat baby angels with harps you have completely underestimated the creativity of our God!

Another parallel I found with John 14 is that after Jesus talked about the mansions in heaven, he also gave the disciples the promise of the Holy Spirit. He told them that he was leaving, but that it was good that he was leaving because he was leaving them (and us) with another “comforter” and some versions translate this as “the advocate” which is the Holy Spirit. The world can’t see or know him but verse 25 says he is the Spirit of truth, and he will teach us and remind us of the things Jesus said. In 2 Corinthians 5 Paul goes from talking about our bodies being temporary dwelling places that will be solid structures in heaven, and then he tells them (and us) that Jesus left the Holy Spirit as a pledge or a “down payment”. When I read this, I wondered how I hadn’t noticed before that Paul described the Holy Spirit as a “down payment”. As I thought about this in terms of us being the bride of Christ, I also realized that us receiving the Holy Spirit as a pledge is a lot like a bride receiving her engagement ring. While the groom prepares financially to provide for her, and she prepares a wedding. They are committed to each other and preparing for a life together much like we are committed to Jesus and preparing for a life of eternity with Him.

In chapter 4 Paul brings everything back to the gospel as he always does. He encourages the church at Corinth not to give up on the ministry they had been given, even in the face of all the opposition they had just gone through, and despite the false teachers and apostles that tried to come in, take over and divide their church. In verse 2 he said, “Instead we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God’s message, but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in God’s sight by an open display of truth.” By confronting all the issues in the church head on when Paul had come for his “painful visit”, they had exposed the tactics of the enemy and shed light on the truth so now they were all with a clear conscience because the truth exposed always disarms the plots and plans of the enemy.

Paul reminds them (and us) how important it is that we share the gospel so that people have an opportunity to see it, because Satan is working hard to keep the gospel “veiled” to the eyes of unbelievers and he is also working hard to deceive believers into a false and distorted gospel as well. He will use all kinds of things to distract us and shift our focus if not in division like he tried to do at the church of Corinth, he will occupy our minds with our own selves, our own desires, and our own problems so that we are so inwardly focused that we are not effectively sharing the gospel.

In verse 7 Paul compares us to fragile, common clay jars with treasure hidden inside “so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.” Like these clay pots, our ordinary, fragile, frail, and weak human bodies are intended to keep us humble so that we remember that the treasure inside us (the powerful gift of the Holy Spirit packed with all the spiritual gifts, miracles, wisdom and truth) comes from God and not ourselves. Otherwise, we might become prideful and make it about ourselves. Paul reminds us again that like Jesus, we have to die to our flesh every day because we have the promise that we will also be raised to life with Jesus. We can’t raise to life without first dying to ourselves. Paul encourages us not to give up under pressure, under persecution and especially under our own personal struggle to crucify our flesh on a daily basis because as much as we feel the pain of telling our flesh no, and the persecution and pressure of a world that doesn’t understand us, this pain and suffering is all only temporary in comparison to eternity.