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God is the source of healing!

Numbers 19-21

Have you ever noticed that a lot of medical symbols include a snake wrapped around a staff?  The one with two snakes wrapped around it is called “The Caduceus of Hermes”; the one with one snake wrapped around it “The Staff of Asclepius”.  Both of these are tied to Greek mythology but it is believed that Asclepius was a physician who practiced in Greece sometime around 1200 BC and is described in Homer’s Iliad.  He eventually came to be worshipped as Asclepius the Greek god of Healing.

I’ve read a little about this on line and, for some reason, very little credence, or at least prominence, is given to the notion that the origin of the symbol of the snake on the staff came from our story here in Numbers 21:8-9 of the bronze serpent on a pole that saved all who were bitten by the “fiery serpents” sent among the people by God for their rebellious spirit.  Yet the date of Israel’s wandering is around 1400 BC, some 200 years before this Asclepius chap.

Do you notice how mankind continues to create false gods to whom they can give credit for the actions of the one true God?  You see, if man creates a god then man can control that god and have him do and be whatever he wants; instead of a puppet on a string you get a god on a string.  Let’s be straight about something, all healing has its source in the one true God.  Even if it comes from the mind of man it is simply man understanding how the creator put things together and using the mind God gave him to do it.

As a point of fact, a cult rose up around this snake/staff symbol which they called Nehushtan.  This cult remained among the Israelites until king Hezekiah destroyed it some 600 years later.

2 Kings 18:4

“He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan).”

Hezekiah was a godly man.  In the first year of his reign he had all the false gods struck down.  I saw an interesting quote about Hezekiah in “Every man in the Bible” Richards, L. (1999) which I believe can give us our lesson for today.

HEZEKIAH: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY

Hezekiah was a godly person whose zeal for worship led to a national revival. The priority he placed on worship was evident from his first year as king. His personal blessings and the deliverance of his nation were both rooted in Hezekiah’s passion for worshiping God. We have much to learn from Hezekiah.

•  Hezekiah motivates us to make worship a priority in our own lives. Both private and corporate worship have an essential role in any transforming relationship with the Lord.

•  Hezekiah encourages us to expect God to answer prayer. God answered Hezekiah’s prayers for his nation and for personal well being in wonderful ways.

•  Hezekiah reminds us that God’s blessings are rooted in His grace, not our goodness. Hezekiah’s pride that God would answer his prayers was misplaced, and that was his primary fault.

•  Hezekiah shows us the significance of being always responsive to God’s Word. As Hezekiah was committed to follow the precepts of Scripture and the words of God’s prophets, so are we to be committed to doing God’s Word today.

Have a blessed day guys!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Revel in your role within the body of Christ!

Numbers 16-18

Today we read about another rebellion within the Israelite camp.  It won’t be the last.

Korah was part of the Kohathites clan.  This was a clan within the Levite family.  It was this group that was tasked with carrying the “most holy things” from the tabernacle.  They were, however, excluded from the priesthood which belonged to the descendants of Aaron, Moses brother.  When I say “priesthood” I mean that they were excluded from offering the sacrifices before the Lord.

Now understand that they are part of the Levite family which means that they have been set apart from the rest of the congregation to do holy work before the Lord.  Korah and his family are already special but evidently they aren’t special enough; they want the limelight.  So they  build up their rebellion and find a couple Reubenites, who, being the descendents of Jacobs first born son Reuben, resent that the tribe of Judah has been give the prerogatives of the first born.  Each of the members of this rebellion desire a more honored place among the Israelites and they focus their discontent on Moses and Aaron claiming that they have wrongly usurped the roles of priesthood and leadership that ought to be theirs.

The problem is that while they may think they are in rebellion against Moses and Aaron, it is God who put them in their positions and so they are actually rebelling against God.  This is a really bad idea!  The 250 guys who want to be able to offer the sacrifice before the Lord are burned up and the Reubenites and their families, and Korah and his family are swallowed up by the earth.

God has made each one of us for a purpose and He has placed us where He wants us.  This doesn’t mean that He won’t move us to another place or another role but we must have a heart that wishes to do His will instead of seeking honor and glory for ourselves.  Look at the hearts of Moses and Aaron verses the hearts of those in rebellion.    Those in rebellion are focused on themselves to the exclusion of others.  Moses and Aaron fall on their knees begging God to spare the congregation.  The hearts of Moses and Aaron have grown into the hearts of servants who exhibit the heart of Christ.  They pursue God’s will, not their own.

I’ve seen similar behavior in our churches today.  Some grip against the leadership within the church and will at times feel like they should be in charge rather than those who in fact have leadership positions.  We need to be careful here.  People in leadership can be wrong.  They can also be the wrong person for the job.  As brothers in Christ we should search for God’s will when selecting leadership.  When we feel a desire to confront leadership, however, we better search our own hearts first.  Is our desire coming from a self-centered place?  Is it coming from a place of resentment and jealousy?  If it isn’t coming from a place of sacrificial love and of obedience to God then watch out!  If God put one of His servants in a position of leadership and you oppose them out of a wrong motive you could be looking at some big hurt!

As always, it comes down to attitude.  When we deny ourselves, our self-centeredness, and approach things with a humble and servant heart we will be okay.  When we focus on ourselves and take action in an attitude of self-centeredness, anger, and jealousy we are in the wrong and can expect some discipline.

Fellas, let us not attempt to elevate ourselves.  Let us come before God with a thankful and humble heart.  Let us take on with joy the task our Lord has given each of us in the body of Christ.    You have already been set apart as a special person in Him.  Rejoice in that for that’s pretty good; don’t you think?

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Don't forget to obey God!

“Your Children Shall Suffer for Your Faithlessness”

Numbers 14-15

Wow!  Numbers 14 has always fascinated me.  God brought His Chosen People to the Promised Land and because they lacked faith in His ability to fulfill His promise they were ready to stone Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua and return to slavery in Egypt.  Listen to what Moses and company said to the congregation:

Numbers 14:7-9

“…’The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.’”

It is actually after they say this that the congregation is ready to stone them, but Moses and Aaron actually fall on their knees to beg God NOT to wipe these ingrates off the face of the Earth.  Talk about a Christ-like attitude!  Somebody tried to stone me I’m afraid I would be saying “Yep!  That’s right!  Zap’em Lord!  Fry’em up real good!”  I’m trying to be more like Christ, but Moses and Aaron are clearly ahead of me in their spiritual growth at this point.

God asks a rhetorical question here:

Numbers 14:11

“How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?”

Years ago the Lord was clearly leading me to take a particular action.  Doing so would have required leaving many people I cared about behind and striking off in a new direction.  I didn’t go.  What followed was many years of spiritual drought; a dry, withered sojourning, distant from God and in the opposite direction of where He intended me to be.  There are consequences for “despising God”; for not believing in Him; for not going where He sends you.

Here the Israelites who were counted in the census of age 20 and up were condemned to live and die in the wilderness, distant from where God intended them to be.  For 40 years they would wander, only Caleb and Joshua of the current generation would see the Promised Land.  But what of their children?  They will suffer for their father’s rebellion.

Numbers 14:32-33

“But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.  And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.”

I think we often read of the Israelites grumbling and disobedience and think of them as an example to the lost when really they are an example to the saved; to His Chosen People.  I don’t know about you but I don’t discipline other people’s children.  I may disapprove of their behavior but they are not my children.  My child I discipline because I love her and I want the best for her.  I have told her more than once that if I didn’t love her, as she occasionally accuses me, I wouldn’t care what she did.  It is only because I love her that I care and discipline.

So what is God telling us here?  He is telling us that to ignore His commandments and directions is to choose a spiritual desert and to condemn your children to wander it with you.  Ouch!  I don’t know about you but one of the ways I disobey God is to allow myself to get too busy to “hear” Him.  If I get busy I find I don’t have time to be in His word and in prayer.  If I don’t listen I can’t hear; if I can’t hear I can’t be held responsible for not obeying right?  My daughter pulls that one on me all the time.  It doesn’t work.  I keep escalating until I get her attention.  God does the same.

I remember watching Ronald Reagan back in the day when he would go to the helicopter on the White House lawn and reporters would be shouting questions to him.  He would put his hand to his ear and mouth “I can’t hear you” with a “I’m really sorry” look on his face and a shrug of his shoulders.  Many thought he would do this when he didn’t want to answer a question.  I don’t know if that is true or not but I’ve tried that one too when I thought the Lord was leading me to do something I didn’t want to do.

Sometimes, if I did hear Him, I would think to myself, “Well this is serious, I’d better pray about this and seek the council of others.”  That’s pretty funny isn’t it?  I’m going to pray about what God is asking me to do and seek the council of others.  Who answers prayer? God!  Is the council of others about what God wants me to do more accurate than what God tells me directly?  Yep, I’m a child!

When I tell my daughter to do something I expect her to stop what she is doing and do it.  It doesn’t work out that way.  Often I will find that she has delayed in doing what I’ve told her to do; which means it wasn’t done.  “But Dad, I was doing something else at the time.  I was going to get to it; you just didn’t give me enough time!”

God is not fooled.  As I’ve heard a number of pastors say “Delayed obedience is disobedience!”  Fellas, let’s stop fooling ourselves.  Let’s start listening to what God has to say to us by reading our Bibles and praying every day.  Don’t put off what He tells you to do.  Do it right away.  Your children are depending on you!

One last thought; in Numbers 15:37-41 God tells the people to place tassels on the corners of their garments.  The tassels were to have a cord of blue on them.  Here’s why God ordered the tassels:

Numbers 15:39-40

“And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.

When my wife and I went to choose our wedding rings we saw a pair that had the cross etched into the band.  We decided those were the rings for us because we realized that our marriage wasn’t simply a commitment between the two people but three; God was the third party.  The cross on the ring was meant to remind us that God had to be at the center of our marriage.  Believe me when I say we have had our moments of severe disagreement but divorce has never been an option.  The ring didn’t make that so, but it is a helpful reminder.

You might want to consider some kind of reminder in your life about who you are.  You are not a lost person.  You are one of God’s chosen people.  Some kind of memory tool might be helpful be it a ring, a bracelet, a tattoo.  Okay, I’m just joking about the tattoo but you can get creative here.  Do what you need to so that you will keep your eyes on Him and obey!

Have a great day brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

This isn't you is it? Man up!

Self-Destructive Discontent

Numbers 11-13

While reading today’s passage I was struck by the similarity between the Chosen People of old and the Chosen People of today.  God freed the Israelites from bondage, protected them, fed them with manna from Heaven, and traveled with them as they journeyed to the Promised Land.  After a while God’s provision doesn’t seem good enough.  They grumble against God and Moses saying they had it pretty good back in Egyptian slavery.  Moses, the pastor of this group, is overwhelmed by their complaining and desires death over continuing in this state.  God’s response was to call in men to share the burden.

I see this in the congregations of today; grumbling and pleading for blessings as if the ones they have already received are insufficient.  I see pastors overwhelmed with the whining; “feed me, feed me”.  Far too few men have stepped up to share the burden.  As we approach the Promised Land do we find God’s provision sufficient?  When God asks us to do something do we respond with the complaint that it is too difficult; that it can’t be done?

As we continue reading about the travels and travails of the Chosen People of old remember that these aren’t the lost.  These are not people who have no relationship with God.  These are people who know God, were chosen by God, who walk with God and yet they doubt His power, love, and protection.  These people are us!

God didn’t take them from Egypt to Canaan in the blink of an eye because He had to grow them up along the way.  The same is true of us.  We need to continue to grow in our faith before arriving in the Promised Land.  If we don’t want to continue to wander in the wilderness we’d better grow up sooner rather than later.  Is God’s provision for you enough?  Are you grateful for all He has done for you?  Do you doubt His power, love, and protection?  As the verse says:

Romans 8:31b

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

The grumbling and complaining in the camp robbed the Israelites of their joy in the Lord.  It damaged their relationship with God and resulted in some painful consequences.  When we do the same we are not hurting God, we are hurting ourselves; we damage our relationship with Him and lose the joy we ought to feel in the blessings He has already given us.  When God tells us to do a thing and we think about the obstacles instead of His power we are taking the long road to spiritual maturity.  Let’s stop hurting ourselves!  Let’s start rejoicing in God’s provision.  Let’s look at everything that God tells us to do as a great adventure!  Like Caleb let us say “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it!” (Numbers 13:30)

Step up and help your pastor carry the burden.  Obey God.  Rejoice in His provision!

Have a blessed day guys!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

I wouldn't want to walk with out a guide!

Walk With a Mentor

Numbers 8-10

In Numbers 10:29-32 we read that Moses wanted to keep his brother-in-law with him as he traveled to the Promised Land.  If you’ll remember Moses’ father-in-law joined him shortly after bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.  He found Moses attempting to settle every dispute of the people on his own.  Moses was stuck in a chair from morning to night adjudicating.  Jethro, here called Reuel, gave Moses some sound advice.  He told him to delegate.  This most certainly made Moses’ life much better and he was wise to accept his father-in-laws suggestion.

There are some who think that Hobab may actually be Jethro, but I’m not buying it.  It is likely that Jethro had passed away and his son Hobab took his place as the family patriarch.  The point here is that Hobab had knowledge that Moses did not.  He knew where to camp in the wilderness.  That’s pretty valuable stuff and Moses wanted access to it.

Here is Moses, conversing with God on a regular basis and yet he is not too proud to ask for help from those that have knowledge he needs to be effective as a leader.  Moses asked a mentor to help him.  We can learn a lot here guys.  I don’t care how old you are, or how much you know, there is always someone that can offer you knowledge that you don’t already possess.  Too often we let our age or our misconception of manhood get in the way of learning and growing.  I can learn from a younger man.  I can learn from someone who never finished the 3^rd grade.

Fellas, I’d like to encourage you to look for a mentor or at least an accountability partner.  There is much we can learn from each other and we certainly need help keeping ourselves on the straight and narrow.  Beyond that I suspect each of us could learn something from our Fathers, Father-in-Laws, Brothers, and Brother-in-Laws if we only took the time to find out.  I can just hear some of you now “You don’t know my brother-in-law!  He is such a Goober!”  That may be, but Goober might be able to teach you a thing or two about maintaining your automobile or where to get a good deal on a steak.

Letting someone know that you would like to learn something from them is a good way to build a solid relationship and who knows, in the process you just might get the chance to tell them about Jesus.  If Moses thought it was a good idea I’ll bet you and I would benefit from it too!

May God bless you and keep you brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Bring your best!

Numbers 7

Fellas, I have to admit that I struggled a little bit today as I attempted to divine what God would have me write about today’s Bible reading.  He finally laid upon my heart an understanding of how amazing it is that God of the Universe, God the Creator would choose to live among the Israelites.  Of course, it is even more amazing that He would come in human form and, in full humanity, walk among us and die for us; but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Today we see a picture of the proper response to God setting up residence with His people.  The tabernacle has been built to specification, anointed and consecrated.  Now was time to bring offerings; and the leaders of the tribes brought their very best.  This is a long way from the group that had decided that a golden calf had brought them out of Egypt while Moses met with God on the mountain top.

The Israelites had grown a great deal and had begun to understand how Holy God is.  God had molded His people to bring them to this point.  As we will find out latter, they still had a long way to go, but for now they understood that they needed to honor the gift of God’s presence with their very best.

Have you grown to that point?  God of the Universe, Creator of Heaven and Earth called you to Him, died for you, and wrote your name in the Lambs Book of Life.  What has been your response to His presence in your life?  Is it business as usual or are you bringing your very best?

My daughter is an only child.  She is the only granddaughter on my wife’s side of the family and the only granddaughter on my side of the family within driving distance of my parents.  This kid really does get just about everything she wants.  I have to work very hard to help her see her blessings and I’m afraid I’m failing.  She has so much but because she obtained it with little effort it is of little value.  Once she gets something she desires it is of little interest and she is off desiring something else.  She is rarely satisfied for long.

I’m afraid we, as grown men, can be guilty of the same thing when it comes to the fact that God lives within us.  We can take Him for granted.  “Yup, I’ve got the God thing happening but what I really want is…”  We can fall on our knees and beg and plead with our heavenly Papa to please give us this and please give us that.  Once we have it we are not satisfied and it’s on to the next thing that we think will make us happy.

How do you show your heavenly Papa your thankfulness?  Do you show up on Sunday?  Is that it?  How much time do you spend with Him in prayer and in His Word?  When you walk in this world as His adopted son do you do your best so you reflect well on your father? Or do you just “get by”?  Do you bring Him your tithes and your talents?  Are you being a good steward of your spouse, children, job, and possessions? Everything you are and have comes from Him.  Do you acknowledge this in any way, or even a half hearted way?

Guys, if you don’t you aren’t hurting Him; you are hurting yourself.  If you aren’t acknowledging Him in all that you do you are missing the blessing.  Bring God your best so you will understand how blessed you really are!

Have a blessed day!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!