Mixing Faith With Hearing

Exodus 32-33:23

Today the following passage became real and alive to me:

Hebrews 4:1-3 NIV  Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.  (2)  For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.  (3)  Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, "They shall never enter my rest.'" And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.

Although a little off-center of cloaks and favor, with today’s Old Testament passage, I better understand the passage about missing God’s rest if faith is not combined with God’s Word. In the desert, Israel heard and saw the works of God, yet, when they didn’t get their quick fix, their spiritual fast food, they quickly took off the accessories that went with their “cloaks” of favor and turned them into an idol, a golden calf.   The making of idols is an effect of a cause, unbelief.

Mark Twain said, “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society,” which is truly stated but is not true.  Clothes cover up and give the appearance of what the man is trying to convey to society; however, God sees the heart. It is possible, having some familiarity and experience with human nature, which is man’s behavior outside the influence of the Holy Spirit, the clothes given to Israel by the Egyptians right before the Exodus, caused the wearers to believe their outside appearance in their newly acquired finery, made them who they were, gave them their favor with God, and so acted accordingly.  Maybe they coveted after the garments that were being made for Aaron and his sons and wanted to compete with God, Hmmm.

What do I need to do to make sure I mix what I’ve heard, what I’ve read, what I’m Blogging about now with faith and fail to enter my rest?

In the reading of a New Testament passage, once more something I’ve read over and over again, was seen in a different light:

Matthew 26:69-75 NIV  Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said.  (70)  But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said.  (71)  Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth."  (72)  He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!"  (73)  After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away."  (74)  Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed.  (75)  Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Once you’ve been with Jesus, whether you deny Him or not, whether you open your mouth or not, whether you call down curses of denial or not, whether you sit or stand, people know you have been with Jesus.  

Am I Reading and Willing Despite Being Able

Exodus 30:11-31:18

As today’s Old Testament reading goes through what God requires in his Tabernacle, what to make, how to make it and by whom, I was going to focus on something I read in Psalms because I couldn’t connect anything about Favor or Covering, but then I did.  God, in His Favor, and within the Covering of His people, gave “gifts” to some craftsman, Bezalel, son of Uri, and Oholiab son of Ahisamach., and other “gifted” craftsman;  however Bazalel was the leader and Oholiab, his assistant.  But there was an organizational hierarchy, a chain of command.

Although we may desire someone’s position or think we can do better, it is appointed leadership who must take their instructions from God, to the letter, or face the consequences.  More times than not we look at those in charge and declare we can do better, but can we.  And even if we can do better, are we willing to accept the responsibility for getting it wrong if we don’t follow directions.  Not only do we have to be “gifted” in an area, we also must be willing to do what needs to be done even if we don’t get the recognition.  The Tabernacle is almost always called Moses’ tabernacle even though Moses did not do any of the building or construction.  In reality it was God’s doing, His structure, but it is still called even today, Moses’ Tabernacle. 

Am I willing, in my pursuits and work, ready, willing and able to give up the Glory to someone else?  I can make all kinds of posturing and say, well I’d do it for God, I give Him all the glory.  Yet it reality, if I cannot let another man get the recognition, someone who I can see, am I really in my heart ready to give up recognition to someone, God, who I cannot see? 

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And now on to what I picked up in my reading of Psalms:

Psalms 32:5-7  NIV  Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah (6)  Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.  (7)  You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Godliness does not equate to sin-less-ness or guiltlessness.  How often have I used the word “godly” to describe someone especially relating to their character and integrity?  It appears I am wrong.  The term “godly” is usually used by me or others to defend someone from a charge or accusation, “They couldn’t do that because they are godly folks.”  Looks like I have some rethinking and reevaluating to do.

Reading through the Bible and searching for “Truth” always shakes up bad and erroneous thinking.  

Does the Outside Match the Inside?

Exodus 29-30:10

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In this passage we are told of the ceremony and the sacrifices and the offerings that are to accompany Aaron’s ordination into the Priesthood.  The instructions for sanctifying the alter and the tabernacle also included ceremony and specific instructions for the seven day ceremony, as well as what Aaron and his sons were to do every day at the beginning of each day.  So many things, so much stuff, all this was needed to stand before a Holy God so the High Priest and the helpers would not get wiped out.  The work involved, the animals, the noise, the smells the time needed to insure the presence of a Holy God would not wipe out the sinful men standing before Him.  All this was “covering” to cover sin and sinful people even though those sinful folks were the Favored ones. 

Today, the Great Sacrificial Lamb was slain for us so the work, the arduous work of keeping pure, on the outside, while staying dirty on the inside, does not have to be done day in and day out.  Our covering, our Cloak, is the Son Of God’s blood which we are seen through.  The work we must now do is accept the Son and allow the Holy Spirit, by act of our will and yielding ourselves to the Spirit, to do the Cleansing on the inside, through Love.  It all begins with meeting our Sacrificial Lamb at the cross, allowing His shed blood to pour over us as a cover, and then getting up and going out into the world filed on the inside with the Holy Spirit who continuously cleans repairs, restores and sanctifies.

When Jesus uttered these words,

Matthew 23:25-29 NLT  "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy--full of greed and self-indulgence!  (26)  You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too.  (27)  "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs--beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity.  (28)  Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.  (29)  "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed …”

He wasn’t insulting them; He was telling them their true state.  The laws they followed, the offerings and sacrifices made in the Temple, the sacrificial meals they partook of, if they were of the priestly order, only cleaned the outside, it only kept their cloaks, their covering clean.  Inside was vile, putrid, and smelly. I have been reading that passage wrong for years.  I too will be vile, putrid and smelly if I don’t allow the Holy Spirit inside of me to do the work of cleansing the inside of the Temple, my body.    

Work'in Our Assignment

Exodus 28:1-43

Even within community of Favored people, God still assigns positions and He also assigns Cloaks for each position which He clearly gives instructions on how that “cloak” should be designed. To the untrained or to those who are not using discernment by reading the entire context of these instructions, it would appear God was showing favor to a specific family or group.

Within a community of faith there are roles or “gifts” that are given but they are not for self-edification nor are they to place one person over another. Just like every part of a clocks movement is necessary in order for that clock with many parts to work as a clock, so the “Body of Christ,” the people God has placed His Favor upon, each person must use their gift wearing the cloak God has designed for them within the purpose God has called them to. How we use those gifts and what we do with them will be called into question by the One who gave them.  Like the model on the catwalk, we must learn how to “work it” when we walk down the runway in whatever cloak we have been assigned to wear.  

God Is In The Details of Our Lives

God is in Our Stuff

Exodus 23-27:21

In the New Living Translation, we come across a lot of “You must nots…” in the texts.  “You must nots” are only told when the propensity to Must do abounds.  However, within the multitude of must nots lie three conspicuous musts and they have to do with celebrations, Festival of Unleavened Bread (Passover) and the two Harvest Festivals (One at the beginning and the other at the end), Party Time. And the other “must dos” belong to building things.  God is a God of joy, celebration, hope and resurrection (bringing back dead things – dead people – dead relationships to life). 

God is also a God of protection when we follow His Words, in other words when we are obedient.   He, God, is also a jealous God and not willing to share the people who wear his clock of Favor with anyone or anything else.  No rabbit’s feet, no crossing fingers and toes, no relying on our own strength, wisdom and cunning.  God’s counsel is the only counsel we should seek and that counsel is found in His one and only book, The Bible, The Word, His Son, and Jesus Christ. 

I’ve heard this statement,” The devil is in the details,” hundreds of times.  But that is somewhat true.  The Devil is in the details of worrying, doubt, and fear.  However, God is in the little bitty details of building our lives.  He is in the details of the things that add value to His people of Favor.  Thus the Cloak of His Favor never wears out, it only appreciates in value and never depreciates. 

When we read about what went into the building of the Tabernacle, God never asked Moses for his opinion, He gave Moses instructions.  Remember Moses was trained in all the arts and wisdom of the Egyptians.   Within those arts and wisdom was the mathematical knowledge and sciences that laid the foundation of the Egyptians building projects: Pyramids, Tombs and Great Buildings.  Moses knew a thing or two about building and construction.  No matter how much we are trained in any given task, God knows more.  

It's God's Law: Shalom

Exodus 21:22-23:13

Just because we have been tapped by God to be shown throughout the world that we have His Favor, doesn’t mean we can walk around and not take into consideration everyone else around us.  Value, God sets down His values for life, limb and property and expects, us, His people, those He has covered under the Cloak of His Favor; mirror the same values He has.

We are to go about our daily business thinking of others and being aware of how our actions, or non action, can harm others.  It’s called due diligence.  And when we error, we are to compensate.  Just saying sorry doesn’t cut it with God we must make the injured party whole. 

Making someone whole is one of the many facets of the Hebrew word for Peace, Shalom. Without restitution there is no peace and if you fail at what is required by God, you are a peace breaker.

From Vine’s Complete Expository of Old Testament Words,

A. Nouns.

shalom (H7965), "peace; completeness; welfare; health." The root is a common Semitic root with the meaning "peace" in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic.

Shalom is a very important term in the Old Testament and has maintained its place in Mishnaic, rabbinic, and Modern Hebrew. In Israel today, people greet the newcomer and each other with the words mah shlomka, ("what is your peace," "how are you doing,") and they ask about the "peace" ("well-being") of one's family.

The use of shalom is frequent (237 times) and varied in its semantic range. The first two occurrences in Genesis already indicate the changes in meaning: "And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace [shalom in the sense of "in tranquility," "at ease," "unconcerned"]; thou shalt be buried in a good old age" (Gen 15:15); and "that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace [shalom with the meaning of "unharmed" and "unhurt"]..." (Gen 26:29). Yet, both uses are essentially the same, as they express the root meaning of "to be whole." The phrase ish shelomi ("friend of my peace") in Psa 41:9, "Yea, mine own familiar friend [literally, "friend of my peace"], in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me" (cf. Jer 20:10), signifies a state in which one can feel at ease, comfortable with someone. The relationship is one of harmony and wholeness, which is the opposite of the state of strife and war: "I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war" (Psa 120:7). Shalom as a harmonious state of the soul and mind encourages the development of the faculties and powers. The state of being at ease is experienced both externally and internally. In Hebrew it finds expression in the phrase beshalom ("in peace"): "I will both lay me down in peace [beshalom], and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety" (Psa 4:8).

B. Verbs.

shalem (H7999), "to be complete, be sound." This verb occurs 103 times. The word signifies "to be complete" in 1Ki 9:25 : "So he finished the house."

Another verb, shalam, means "to make peace": "When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Pro 16:7).

C. Adjective.

shalem (H8003), "complete; perfect." This word is found in Gen 15:16 with the meaning of not quite "complete": "But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." The word means "perfect" in Deu 25:15.

Now a question for me, am I a person of Shalom, do I diligently operate in Shalem , and do I work at making others Shalem just like my Father, God?

Meeting With God

Exodus 19:16-21:21

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud covered the mountain. A trumpet gave out a very loud blast. Everyone in the camp trembled with fear. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God. They stood at the foot of the mountain.

(Exodus 19:16-17 NIrV)

Getting our Cloak of Favor doesn’t seem to be based on our “righteousness” but on God Himself and His desires.  But there is an action on our part after we receive that cloak, obedience to His Word. Arrogance (an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumption) is what happens when we think we are all that and a bag of chips and that is God's peoples stumbling block. We believe there is something within us that makes us great but it is not.  It is Favor, God's Favor.  It is our fellowship with God that is predicated on our obedience and not our relationship or Favor.

It is our obedience to the laws of God, that precedes our specific blessings because the Word says the rain falls on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45; Psalm 145:9),so it is our obedience to the general instructions,or Word of God, and then the specific personal Words God speaks into our lives that proceed our blessings. This past Sunday (Jan 31, 2010), I heard a message on Cause and Effect, basically stated God created the Universe to work based on Cause and Effect and He, God, is the first cause.  Then effects within themselves become a cause. So it is Cause – Effect—Cause.  

Trying to Study and get this down “pat” is impossible so the only hope, my only hope is to meditate on God’s Word and have it become a part of me so I’m not trying to think of what comes next.