PERSISTING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

There’s a lot going on in our world today. We turn on the news, and it is all centered around conflict. Conflicts abroad, nationally, and domestically, those right here close to home, sometime right in our homes.

We seem to be a people of conflict. Not just here in our nation, but the entire world over. We’re not the only nation that experiences conflict. Maybe ours are just a little more exposed because of our media. It seems like everywhere we turn there’s conflict, disagreement, waring going on. We can’t read the news, read our emails, or look at social media without seeing conflict. In our homes, in our public, in our schools, in our churches, in our workplaces. They may be disguised as news, but the bottom line for us people in this world is conflict. Clashing opinions and viewpoints held about nearly every topic from weather to sports, to you name it, make for a difficult people.

Now conflict is not just reserved for nonbelievers. We believers can also be a difficult people. Not me, you say? Good, I say! But I for one, am a firm follower of Christ and I can be downright difficult. Full disclosure (confession). The Lord’s been checking me on that recently.

You know how when you hear something in the Word that then everything you read and see thereafter seems to align with what you first heard? That’s called the Holy Spirit aworkin.

I heard a verse I had never taken notice of before. Daniel 10, specifically verse 13, but the whole of the Chapter sets it up. Chapter 10 records Daniel’s last vision and Chapter 10 tells us of Daniel’s state of mind at the time. It says that Daniel had been in mourning for three weeks (note three weeks is 21 days, we’ll get back to this). He mourned, lamented and fasted over concern for his people. The spiritual apathy of the time, which resulted in a delay of the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, caused him to engage in deep intercessory prayer. The spiritual condition of his people caused him to engage in spiritual warfare. Hm…

Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia. Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”
Daniel 10:11-14

Spiritual warfare.

Daniel engaged. The angel engaged. Michael engaged. Believers are to engage. I’m to engage. You’re to engage. But there are rules of engagement. The ROEs are commands and directives specific to God’s mission.

This is what we will be exploring in depth in the next couple of weeks. Conflict, warfare, where it’s fought, how it’s fought, our role as believers in the fight and the rules of engagement.

Read this week Daniel Chapter 10, Nahum 1:7, and 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Ephesians 6:10-20. As you read, ask the Lord to show you something, to reveal His Word to you.

We’ve been on the threshing floor the last couple of weeks and now we move on to the altar to be built there.

We read that in order to stop the plague on his people, King David had to set up an altar on Araunah’s threshing floor.  Araunah had offered the threshing floor to King David free of charge. Not only the threshing floor, but also the oxen for the burnt offering, the sledges, and the ox yokes for wood.  Araunah was giving it all to the King — the land, his business, his equipment, his tools, all free of charge.  This was a valuable operation, and a future means of income that Araunah was offering to the King.  He was willing to give everything he had to the King. We see though that King David insisted on paying full price. 

For I will not offer to the Lord my God  burnt offerings that cost me nothing.
2 Samuel 24:24

King David would not offer to his King that which cost him nothing.  He would not offer to his God something that had been given free of charge to him.  Why not?  Because it would not have been an offering.  It takes nothing to give something that was given to you.  It takes sacrifice to offer something that came at a price.

These verses remind me so much of another King.  One who gave everything free of charge to us, and at the same time paid everything He had for us. 

Jesus gave his life as an offering for mine, for yours.  It came at a price.  It cost me nothing.  It cost Him everything.  It cost me nothing.  He descended the throne and came to live among us.  It cost me nothing.  He was despised and rejected.  It cost me nothing.  He was beaten and abused.  It cost me nothing. He was crucified.  It cost me nothing.  He was separated from His Father.  It cost me nothing.  Jesus paid the full price for all my sin, forever and ever.  It cost me nothing.

Araunah was giving all that he had for free.  King David insisted on paying for it.  Jesus did both with His life.

King David was to set up an altar to the Lord.  What is an altar?  A place where offerings and sacrifices are made and laid!

In order for something to be a sacrifice to God it should cost us, the worshiper, something.  Giving of our time, our resources, our efforts, would be a sacrifice.  Giving God only what is easy, only the extras, or only what has been given to us, does not honor Him.

King David refused to let his offering be cheap or easy.  He refused to let his offering cost him nothing.  If it costs nothing, it is not an offering.  My offering, my giving, my sacrifice, must cost me something.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1

There’s the cost.  We are to offer ourselves — like Araunah — lock, stock, and barrel.  Everything we are — our hearts, our souls, our minds, our strength.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

Loving the Lord, living daily in His ways, being obedient to Him, following Him when we don’t know the plan, following Him when we do know the plan, following Him when it’s hard, following Him when it’s frightening, offering, giving, sacrificing our own way for His way, all comes at a price.

For I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.
2 Samuel 24:24

Our King purchased us with His life.  What will we offer Him?  What is our offering?  What are we taking to the altar?  Are we taking things that cost us nothing, or things that cost us everything? Are we laying down all we have, ourselves, or holding something back?

Jesus Have It All
Jeremy Riddle

Jesus, have my heart, my will, my soul
Jesus, have my hopes, my dreams, my world
With joy, I lay it down
With joy, I cast my crowns
Jesus, have it all

To You, I bring my praise, my lips, my song
A living sacrifice as one reborn
Your life is now my own
Your will is what I want
Jesus, have it all
Jesus, have it all

Jesus, have it all
To You belongs the glory
The praise of all the world
Jesus, have it all

Jesus, have it all
All blessing and all honor
All majesty and awe
Jesus, have it all

Jesus, have Your church, Your love, Your bride
The joy for which You freely gave Your life
Radiant in white
Washed and purified
Jesus, have us all

Jesus, have Your worth, Your due, Your sum
The praise of every nation, tribe, and tongue
Let all that has been made
Glorify Your name
Jesus, have it all

Have all my days
Take all my life
Have it all,
Yes, all my days
And all my life
Have it all,

Oh Jesus, have it all
Oh Jesus, have it all
King Jesus, have it all

We pick up where we left off last week on the threshing floor on Mount Moriah.  A literal place with significant historical and spiritual symbolism.  This threshing floor owned by Araunah (also known as Ornan the Jebusite) on Mount Moriah, Jerusalem, is the same threshing floor believed to be the spot Abraham offered Isaac, which later became the site of Solomon’s temple, and then Herod’s temple in Christ’s time, and which is currently occupied by the Moslem shrine — the Dome of the Rock also known as the Temple Mount.  It is also believed that this same site, Araunah’s threshing floor, will be the location of the Temple in the Tribulation and then finally the millennial temple.  Yes, the Old Testament is relevant today!

As I think of the threshing floor, a word comes to mind. Sanctification.  The connection in my theologically untrained mind is the separation.  Threshing involves setting apart, separating, changing the natural form of the wheat into a useable form, and discarding the unusable parts.  In the sanctification process, we are set apart, separated from sin, and transformed and changed into something God can use, and our sin is discarded.  The new (useable) has come, the old (unusable) has gone.  Think about your life for a minute.  Has your heart been on the threshing floor?  Are you being changed, transformed?  Have you been separated from some sin(s) like the wheat from the chaff?  Trampled on the threshing floor?  Through that process do you see yourself becoming more and more like Jesus? 

 I want to point out one more thing before we get to my new favorite verse.  This threshing floor passage we are studying, 2 Samuel 24, is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 21.  This event was significant enough for two different people to write about it and for it to be placed in two different books of the Bible.  Remember, repeated things are important things in The Word of God. 

In the 2 Samuel 24 rendition the author says that after David bought the threshing floor, built an altar and gave offerings He prayed to the Lord for the land, the Lord was receptive and the plague on Israel ended.  We have a little more detail from Ezra’s account in 1 Chronicles.  Both books tell us the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah (Ornan), but Ezra’s depiction in Chronicles is so very visual, look:

David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem.   So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground.

Wow.  We can see that in our mind’s eye.  Can you just imagine that?  Knowing that your sin caused pain for your people and watching as the angel of the Lord struck them down for your sin’s sake?  What a terrifying and yet dramatic sight it must have been to see the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, sword drawn, ready to strike the death blow to David’s beloved Jerusalem.  We may not have seen the sword drawn angel of the Lord, but we have all either experienced it or caused others to.

Does this visual cause us to want to deal with the sin in our lives?  I hope.  How do we do that? How did David deal with his sin?  He fell “…into the Lord’s hands because his mercies are very great…”.   Isn’t that an incredibly beautiful verse?  I’m reminded of Jeremiah’s lament:

I will never forget this awful time,
as I grieve over my loss.
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:
The faithful love of the LORD never ends!
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3:20-23

In our times of brokenness, rebellion, pride, and sin, our God is a merciful God.  Praise! Praise! Praise! Only by His mercy are we separated unto Him.  Only by His mercy is the drawn sword held.   Yes, the threshing floor is a place of separation, but just as it separates us from something – sin, it separates us unto someone – God! 

Just like King David, we deserve punishment, but God does the opposite, He blesses us.  Why does He do that?  Because He loves us.  God’s love and mercy are inseparable.   They go hand in hand.  We can’t have mercy without God’s love and we can’t have God’s love without His mercy. 

Instead of punishing us for our sin, God showed us the ultimate act of love and mercy, He sent His Son.  David’s people were punished for his sin.  Jesus was punished for our sin.  David’s people took on his sin.  Jesus took on our sin.  Just like the sword was withdrawn from Israel, the sword of death has also been withdrawn from believers.  I don’t know about you, but that’s a HALLELUJAH moment for me!

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…

Who shall separate us form the love of Christ…

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1, 35, 37–39

That is earth-shaking, life-changing, profoundness.  Think on it.  Don’t rush past it.  Linger in it.

Once again, I didn’t get to my new favorite verse.   Next week! In the meantime, read over again 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, and Romans 8.  Meditate on it and ask the Lord to connect the dots in your mind and heart.  He will. 

As we open The Word, although I shouldn’t be, I am amazed by I AM! I love how He points out nuggets of His Word to make us go hmm?   When we open the Word and quiet our hearts (that’s the hard part) it is almost like we can see the finger of God underlining what He wants us to know.    Remember the bouncing ball? That happened in 2 Samuel and I now have a new favorite verse:

“No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.  ”2 Samuel 24:24

 Let’s look at the context of this verse for a minute.  Here we have David who has sinned against the Lord by taking a census.  Although warned against taking such action, David was not unlike us, he did it anyway.   (This census was not God-ordained as with the census taken by Moses.) Nonetheless, the census revealed that there were 800,000 soldiers in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.  David was King, Commander-In-Chief, Head Honcho, The Big Kahuna of 1,300,000 fighting men.  The results were staggering for a shepherd boy who had been on the run a lot of his life. His fighting men represented more than the population of many popular cities in the US, and three-quarters of the population of the State of West Virginia.  With this many men behind you, it’s easy to see how one who does not guard his heart could get a big head, rely on self and fall into the sin trap.  The sole impetus of this census was David’s pride, full stop.  Spurgeon tells us:

Pride lies at the root of all sin.
If people were not arrogant, they would not be disobedient.

 Ouch. 

King David, all on his own took an ill-advised census.  After the census (the sin), 2 Samuel 24:10 tells us that “David’s conscience troubled him after…”.  Notice that the King’s conscience was not “troubled” until after he had taken the census of the troops, after the sin was committed.  Up until then he thought it was a good idea. Unfortunately, that’s often when we’re “troubled” by sin too.  But, then the King did what we’re too called to do when we realize our sin, He repented and admitted his foolishness. 

Here’s the sticky part, just because we repent and are forgiven doesn’t mean we don’t have to walk through the consequences of our sin, our disobedience.  And many times, like King David, our sin has consequences for those around us.  Our sin can often create a plague for the people we’re close to as well, can’t it?   When David saw the consequences of his sin laid upon his people, David sought forgiveness.  Through Gad, a prophet and one of King David’s close advisors, he was directed to set up an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah.  The place where God stopped the plague of the “destroying angel.”  A threshing floor seems an unlikely place to reconcile sin, or does it? 

 The threshing floor is a place where harvested wheat is broken down and separated from the useless chaff.  It’s a hard flat surface.  Sheaves or bundles of wheat are laid out on this surface, and it is repeatedly trampled by cows or oxen.  If livestock are not available, humans would beat the sheaves with sticks to break the wheat apart.  Then a fork, called a winnowing fork, would be used to throw this trampled mishmash into the air.  The wind would catch the chaff, the useless stuff, and it would blow away leaving only the good stuff, the useable stuff on the floor.  The threshing floor is a place of separation.  The good stuff from the bad.  The useful from the useless.  The fruitful from the fruitless.  The useful wheat is gathered, and the useless chaff is burned.  Close your eyes and picture this physical process. 

The threshing floor was not just a literal place on top of Mount Moriah, but it is also symbolic of a spiritual process, a spiritual separation.  John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:12 that Jesus will come to separate the wheat from the chaff.  That separation is done on the threshing floor.  The wheat is gathered into the barn, and the chaff will burn with a fire that never goes out.  Think on that a bit in light of the physical process that takes place on the threshing floor.  The grain is gathered the chaff is charred.  This is judgment. 

Three thousand years later, the threshing process looks a little different, it has been modernized.   We now use fancy farm equipment.  Combine harvesters reap, thresh and clean all in one swipe.  Although the process has changed, it has the same effect.  Separation. 

Jesus calls our hearts to the threshing floor.  When we surrender to Him, the Holy Spirit begins working in our hearts, separating out the chaff, our sin.  This process never stops.  Sometimes we may feel like our hearts are being trampled by oxen or we’ve been through a combine harvester, it can be a very painful process, however, the reaping, the threshing and the cleaning are required.  The removal of sin from our hearts is necessary in order to glean the good fruit whether by threshing floor or harvester. 

Where is your heart in this process?  Is the threshing process currently taking place in order to remove some sin, known or unknown to you, to deal with your pride?  Is there a particularly difficult stalk of wheat that you’re wrestling with?  Is Jesus trying to separate you from that chaff?  Will you allow the threshing?  Will you surrender to the process? 

NOTE:  There are so many lessons in 2 Samuel 24, that I never did get to my new favorite verse!  Now that you have the context, tune in next week.  In the meantime, read, study and meditate on 2 Samuel 24. 

I’ve been stepping in and out of Proverb 4:23 – Guard my heart above all else for it is the source of life – for the last few months.  In fact, in December (blog from 17^th), I was studying how to “guard my heart” and taking lessons from Mary’s guarded heart. 

In a rabbit-hole kind of way I found myself back at this verse again, and the Lord spoke another teaching (conviction) into Proverb 4:23 through Psalm 19.  We know that scripture interprets scripture.  As Isaiah suggests, we are to learn line upon line and precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:9-10).  And as Brother Paul taught us, we are to use the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:13). I absolutely love the way the Lord has interconnected all of His Holy Word. Scripture begets scripture.  And Proverb 4:23 beget Psalm 19.

Now all of 19 speaks of ways to guard our hearts, but I’m zeroing in on verse 14, with lead ins in 12-13:

Who can discern his own errors?
Cleanse me from my hidden faults. (vs. 12)

Keep Your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless
and cleansed of great transgression. (vs. 13)

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (vs. 14)

When we look on these verses, we can probably all agree that 12 and 13 are vital to a guarded heart.  We know that sin (errors, faults, transgressions) is the separator.  It divided us from our Holy God.  Remember, our Holy God cannot even look upon sin.  He would not be able to look upon us either except that Jesus exchanged his righteousness for ours and gave us Status.  Read verses 12 and 13 again.  What do they say?  They say cleanse me from the sins I don’t know about – whether hidden, suppressed, or sins I didn’t realize were sins.  And then it says keep me from willful sins – help me to yield not unto temptation, turn from evil and wickedness (anything not of God), go the opposite way, empower me to resist from what I know is wrong.  Being aware of sin, hidden or willful, is vital to a guarded heart.

Something else vital to a guarded heart is found in verse 14.  It’s not just about ensuring that our hearts are free from sin (what’s out of our hearts), but it’s also about the meditation of our hearts (what’s in our hearts).  Why is that important?  The phrase before that tells us – the words of my mouth.  Verse 14 is saying the meditations of our hearts determines the words from our lips.  Take a minute to think about the words from your lips in the last hour, day, week.  Think about those conversations with family, friends, co-workers, acquaintances, strangers.  It’s an Ugh! for me, maybe you too?

So, let’s figure this out together.  Let’s read over verse 14 again: 

May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (vs. 14)

Now again, slowly, carefully, and incrementally:

May the words of my mouth

Read it over and over until it speaks to you, until thoughts start bubbling up, until questions start coming to mind.  Until prays start ascending.

The word “may” means possibility, permission – perhaps a prayer, it expresses hope.  We know what “words” are, right? They are something we say.  We can speak in many different ways, but “words” come from our “mouth.”   Say this phrase again.  This is first person, my.  This is personal.  The Psalmist, King David, is praying about the words that come from his own mouth.  When you say it, it is your prayer, your request, your hope pertaining to the words of your mouth.

and the meditation of my heart

And now King David turns to the meat.  Again, this phrase is first person.  It is personal.  It is his prayer, his request.  And now, it is about the meditation of his heart.  So, let’s check out “meditation.”  There are 20 uses of the word meditate or meditation used in the Bible.  And there are 9 different words used for it.  The Hebrew word for “meditation” in verse 14 is used only one time in the Bible.  That word is higgayon.  Higgayon means a murmuring sound, i.e. a musical notation. Similar to the Italian word affettuoso which is used as a musical direction which means tender, affectionate expression.

In verse 14, “meditation” refers to the joining of spoken confession (words of my mouth) and inner rumination (deep thought, chewing, thinking, what is in our deepest heart).  What we meditate on in our hearts will be reflected in the words that we speak.  Let’s move on, we will come back to this.

be pleasing in Your sight,

In essence, our words and our hearts must align in order to be pleasing.  Our private thought-life must harmonize with verbal testimony if worship is to be acceptable before the Lord, in His sight.

Then King David, the man after God’s own heart finalizes his prayer by proclaiming, acknowledging, and laying claim to the One who can answer his heart prayer.

O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

David’s prayer is that the meditations of his heart will be reflected in his words and bring glory to God.  That too should be our prayer.  That God would balance our inner thoughts and our outer sounds.

Higgayon tells us that God hears every chord struck, every word uttered, and every thought entertained. And although we know that we believers are to grow and produce fruit to cultivate a heart that speaks God-honoring words from the lips, we also know that without this prayer, we cannot do it.

So, what is the murmur of your heart?  What is your heart saying that comes out your lips?  Is it a song of joy, peace, encouragement, love?  Are we taking steps to guard our hearts so that the meditation, the whisper, the song of our heart, the sound of our heart is tender, affectionate and approved by God.  What song would your lips sing?

It was a night of vigil in honor of the Lord, because he would bring them out of the land of Egypt.  This same night is in honor of the Lord, a night vigil for all the Israelites throughout their generations.  Exodus 12:42

We’re familiar with the events that precipitated this “night of vigil.” You will remember that the Lord had enacted 9 plagues in an attempt to get the Egyptians’ attention and to reveal Himself to the Israelites as well.  This tenth plague, the horrifying death by the “destroyer” of all firstborns not under the “distinguishing mark” of the blood of the Lamb, had prompted a previously immovable Pharaoh to practically push the Israelites out of Egypt, at least for a minute. 

As the “destroyer” moved among the land, as instructed, the Israelites sheltered under the blood of the lamb, they held vigil, kept watch.  The Hebrew word here for vigil, encompasses the Lord’s watchfulness as the “destroyer” to protect His people, and the people’s obligation to watchfulness as the “destroyer” moved throughout the land. 

“It was a night of vigil…”

 But the beauty of this phrase is actually demonstrated in Exodus 12:52:

On that same day the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt according to their military divisions. 

The beauty is not in the movement, or the going out, although that is beautiful.  When I read it, I see the beauty in “On that same day…” On that same day, the day following the night of vigil, the Lord kept His promises to the Israelites:

I will bring you out…I will rescue you…I will redeem you…I will take you as my people, and I will be your God…I will bring you to the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…Exodus 5:6-9

The Lord enacted a plan, set in motion before time began.  The Lord enacted His plan on a date certain, “on that same day.” The day reserved by the Lord to carry out the redemption of His people.  God’s people, unbeknownst to them had a reservation to come out into the wilderness.  They had a divine appointment, a prearranged time to leave captivity and go to meet their Lord and it happened to be the very last day of year 430 of captivity.  Wow!

You know that it is no different for us, right?  Before time began God knew us, had a plan for us, and recorded a divine appointment for us.  Before time began, God had a reservation for rescue for all His people.  Only this time instead of spreading the blood of the lamb over the lentils, the Blood of the Lamb was poured over our hearts.  The blood of the lamb over the lentils ensured the “destroyer” did not enter.  The Blood of the Lamb poured over our hearts ensures that we are not destroyed in our sin.   

Jesus’s birth was a divine appointment:

But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of Woman, born under the law…Galatians 4:4

Jesus’s death was a divine appointment:

Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him. 
Acts 2:23

We each have a divine appointment.  We each have a rescue reservation, a time for salvation, however, just like the Israelites, we have to keep the appointment.   The Israelites came to their rescue appointment a weak and humble people.  We must do the same. 

How do we know that we each have a divine appointment? He told us so. 

Your eyes saw me when I was formless; All my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.  Psalm 139:16

Keep your divine appointment, it was made before your first breath was taken.  It is a time set aside just for you by God to fulfill every promise He’s ever made.  If you miss this appointment the consequences are eternal. 

Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.   The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.  2 Peter 3:8-9

The Lord is waiting for all to show up for the appointment.  Have you kept your appointment?  Remember, this rescue reservation has been made just for you.  A date certain, a time prescribed before the beginning of time.  The Lord is ready and willing; in fact He is eager for you to show up at the divine appointment set just for you for your salvation. 

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.   For with your heart, you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.  Romans 10:9-10

The Israelites were a people who knew a little bit about the wilderness – -mentally, spiritually and physically.  About dry, arid, uninhabited, uninhabitable, empty, desolate places – they lived it.  We often think of their wilderness journey beginning upon their release, but their wilderness journey actually started nearly 430 years before their release.  Captivity was the start of their wilderness journey although some would argue they lived a wilderness life starting in the Garden. 

We know where this particular wilderness began.  The famine in which Joseph metered out the food and seed which eventually saw all of Egypt enslaved to Pharaoh, resulted in the Israelites prospering, flourishing, and growing in number. 

Then a new king came to the throne who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.  He told his people, “These Israelites are becoming a threat to us because there are so many of them…” So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves and put brutal slave drivers over them hoping to wear them down under heavy burdens.” Exodus 1:8-9, 11

Then the tables turned. The Israelites became the enslaved. Eventually God led the Israelites along a route through a wilderness toward the Red Sea. 

Physically, they were enslaved to Egypt.  They lived in Goshen but under the rule of Pharaoh, a ruthless, brutal, God-denying, god-worshiping “king.”  The Israelites were enslaved to Pharaoh and all Egypt under wilderness conditions. 

The Egyptians literally lived their lives on the backs of the Israelites.  The Israelites were emotionally and mentally defeated.  They were crushed, helpless, and their lives depended on their submission to the Egyptians.  Living in a constant state of fear and emptiness, the Israelites were living in mental wilderness conditions. 

As with any enslaver the goal is to assimilate the enslaved, to break the will and the spirit of the captives.  Egypt had many gods and the Israelites were often forced to endorse or even embrace those idols.  Furthermore, we know that they were prohibited from fully worshipping the One True God by offering sacrifices.  Unable to wholly worship their God alone, the Israelites were living in spiritual wilderness conditions. 

This is what the Israelites’ wilderness looked like.  What does your wilderness look like?  Are you living on the edge of the wilderness?

Are you physically enslaved?  Maybe in an un-Godly relationship, a job, a building, a house, finances, children, an ailment, or some other “thing”?  Are you living in wilderness conditions?

Are you mentally enslaved?  Maybe it’s a mindset, an attitude, an addiction to drugs, alcohol, porn, food, spending, or toxic people?  Are you living in wilderness conditions?

Are you spiritually enslaved? Maybe you are embracing idols, far from God, not fully committed, lacking total submission, rejecting the call to offer a living sacrifice? Are you living in wilderness conditions?

Just like the Israelites, our wilderness journey began long before our own enslavement.  The wilderness journey of man began about 6,000 years ago in the Garden.  When Eve “took some of the fruit and ate it; she also gave some of it to her husband and he ate it” our enslavement to sin began and our journey to the edge of wilderness started.  Enslavement to anything (physical, mental, spiritual), anything that holds us captive creates a wilderness in our lives. 

But, again, just like the Israelites, we have been released from captivity and its wilderness consequences.   But, again, just like the Israelites, we must choose whether or not we will leave Egypt when called out.  Not merely being called out of the wilderness, but when we’re called into Christ. 

Freedom is only possible through the power of Christ.  The One who can break every chain of bondage and transforms us from glory to glory through the process of wilderness experiences. 

 To God Be The Glory!

I have status.  You know, standing, station, prestige, prominence, position, all that and a bag of chips.  And guess what?  You do too if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, repented of your sins and follow His ways.  If you’ve done that then you have what everybody in the world really wants, tries to fill, chases after and works so hard for — an endorsement, right standing, approval, acceptance, you have status!

He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 
2 Corinthians 5:21

What gives us status?  Righteousness.  Righteousness is a little tricky to fully comprehend, at least for me.  Righteousness asks our minds to accept something that is hard to accept.  The more I think about it, the harder it is for me to lock in on.  Not because righteousness itself is so hard to understand, but because it is so hard for my human mind to fathom the why and the how of it.

Righteousness is God acting consistently with his own character to rescue sinners while remaining morally perfect.  In other words, it is the saving status granted to believers who are in Christ by a perfect God.  Believers have status, our status is righteous.  We have been made right with God by Jesus Christ.  There is no higher status in all the world and beyond this world than finding ourselves righteous because of a perfect God.

Deuteronomy 32:4 tells us that God is a God of faithfulness, without iniquity, righteous and upright is He.  The human standard for righteousness is God’s perfection in every attribute, every attitude, every behavior, and every word.  That standard seems unattainable and it is on our own.  That standard is too high for me or you to obtain.  Only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit could we ever be found righteous.

Think of it this way, Jesus traded his perfect righteousness for our sin, on the cross.  It blows the mind when you really think about it.  Jesus took on our sin and gave us his righteousness so that one day we could stand before God and God would not see our sin.  When God looks at us he doesn’t see all the wrong we have done, or the right we should have done.  He doesn’t see the many times we’ve missed the mark or spoken out of turn.  He doesn’t see every misstep, the times we lied, cheated, stole, hurt and abused others and ourselves.  He cannot see our sin because believers are covered in righteousness.  When God looks at us, He sees the Holy righteousness of Jesus Christ because of the exchange made on the cross. Don’t move on too quickly, chew on that for a minute. When God looks at us, He sees the Holy righteousness of Jesus Christ because of the exchange made on the cross.

We are made right(eous) with God because of what Jesus did on the cross.  Why is this important?  Habakkuk 1:13 tells us:  “your eyes are to pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.”  Do you see what happened?

On the cross Jesus was treated as a sinner, even though he was perfect, holy and true, and at the cross I am treated as if I was righteous, I am given status even though I’m not perfect, not holy and not true.  Jesus made a trade.  He traded down so that I could be lifted up.  He took on my sin; the sin I should bear and gave me His righteousness.

Jesus took on my filthy rags so that when God looks at me He now only sees me dressed in robes of righteousness.  Because of what Jesus did, God doesn’t have to look away from me.  He can now look at me full on.  And when He does He no longer sees a sinner, He sees one made righteous with the precious blood of His Son Jesus Christ. 

I now have status.  You know, standing, station, prestige, prominence, position, all that and a bag of chips. And guess what?  You do too if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.

Thank You, Jesus!

Like many others who are reading through the Bible this year, I’ve been reading in Genesis. The beginning.  Man, oh, man, what an epic story.  And then there’s Exodus!  I have been reading the history of the patriarchs in Genesis, and next up came Jacob. 

Jacob was Isaac and Rebekah’s son.  You might remember how Jacob, at his mother’s prompting, deceitfully stole his brother Esau’s blessing.  Jacob ended up on the lam, sent away by his mother and father to spare him the wrath of his brother and to ensure he didn’t marry a Hethite woman.  Jacob ended up at Bethel where he wrestled with God and God declared: “All the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.” And then he moved eastward toward Haran.

As he came upon a well in a field, he encountered three men waiting to water their sheep, and there he inquired about his Uncle Laban.  They knew Laban and in fact pointed out that his daughter, Rachel, was approaching to water her flocks.  As a skilled shepherd himself,  Jacob wanted to know why they waited to water their flocks when there was good daylight grazing still to be had and why shouldn’t they water their flocks and then return them to graze.  Fair question. They responded:

We can’t until all the flocks have been gathered and the stone is rolled from the well’s opening.  Then we will water the sheep.
Genesis 29:8

Wow!  This may sound crazy, but when I read that I thought that was probably one of the coolest verses I’d read in the Bible.  I underlined and even brought out the “big yellow” to highlight the verse.  I don’t want to ever forget the words nor the sense of profoundness I had when reading it.  Again, this is one of those verses I’ve read often (Genesis is one of my fav), but this time those words spoke aloud.

Now, I know this is about sheep, and nothing else.  It is not prophecy, and I definitely don’t want to read something into this verse that God did not intend, but if you are even vaguely familiar with the New Testament you may have had some of the same thoughts when you read it, you may have connected some symbolism in this verse too.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  Jesus gathers His flock.  Jesus removes the stone of separation.  Jesus provides living water.

But this verse also made me think of 2 Peter 3:9:

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

Just as the shepherds were waiting for everyone to get there before they opened the well – before they rolled the stone away — the Lord, in his infinite patience, mercy and love, is waiting, purposefully extending the time of grace so that everyone will gather to permanently drink from the Living Water.

As the shepherds gather at the well, Christ is gathering His flock of believers.

He protects his flock like a shepherd; he gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them in the fold of his garment. He gently leads those that are nursing. Isaiah 40:11

As the stone is rolled away from the mouth of the well, Christ is removing sin’s barrier.

Looking up, they noticed that the stone – which was very large – had been rolled away.  Mark 16:4

As the flock is watered, Christ is providing living water.

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
John 7:37-38

Believers are gathered, all sins have been removed, and we have been , and forever will be, refreshed by the waters of life.

For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:17

Amen.

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and keep his commands, as it is today.”  1 Kings 8:61

When I read this, I thought it would be a great verse-of-the-year.  You know, one to memorize, to focus and meditate on. A govern your life by kind-of-verse, a top goal for 2026 verse.

These words from 1 Kings were spoken by King Solomon.  Remember him?    We know him as prosperous, wise, and peaceful.  The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon writer.  In addition to poetry, he was also a gifted builder chosen by the Lord to build His Temple.  He had a knack for business and had quite the foreign policy.  He reigned over Israel during what was considered the Golden Age. Cue the roses and sunshine. Stop!

His wholehearted devotion to God, the devotion he exhibited and spoke to his people of early on in his reign began to wane and although he started out quite devoted to God, throughout his reign and in his final years He began to stray more and more from God.  Just like the rest of us, his straying began because He was not wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord, He did not walk in his statutes and He directly defied God’s Word, reminding us that lack of devotion leads to disobedience.

Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Deuteronomy 7:3

King Solomon’s women choices may have been good for his foreign policy but they were not good for his soul He married about 700 royal brides (this was part of his foreign policy) and had about 300 concubines. These foreign brides introduced idol worship to the King and his people. King Solomon forgot that God’s statutes always have a purpose and are always for our protection and edification. Always.

“Be wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord our God to walk in his statutes and keep his commands, as it is today.”  1 Kings 8:61

So, what is “wholeheartedly devoted?”  What does that mean?  What does that look like?  How do we accomplish that?

The Hebrew word for “wholeheartedly” or “wholly devoted” is shalem.  Looks familiar doesn’t it?  That’s because it is.  The word shalem means complete, whole, full, perfect, at peace.  It comes from the same root word as shalom, and carries the undertones of peace that flow from wholeness, a wholeness that can only come from God.

A shalem heart is an undivided heart.  It is a heart oriented entirely toward faithfulness.  It urges all people at all times toward undivided loyalty to God.  Wholehearted devotion is about faithfulness.  It is about commitment to the Lord.  That kind of devotion compels us to live and obey, to walk and to keep his statutes.  At this stage of Solomon’s life, it was not all about opulence.  At this stage of his life, King Solomon wanted faithful people.  Not halfway committed people – not just faithful and obedient to God when they felt like it or when it was convenient but fully committed.  No excuses.

It was King Solomon’s desire for God’s people back then and it is still God’s desire for His people today, total commitment.  Total commitment does not mean perfection, it is simply fully setting our hearts on God – undivided, wholehearted commitment to God that is lived out in obedience to Him.

So, in 2026 I think our prayer should be for God to help us to be faithful, wholly devoted, committed people.  To follow the example of King Solomon in his early reign.  To be a people striving to faithfully, wholeheartedly live and obey, to be a people who walk and keep His Word.