Day 72: Pharisees

Matthew 23:1-36; Numbers 22:41-23:26; Songs 3:6-5:1

The Pharisees didn’t get it.  They taught one thing but did another; they focused on the minute details of the law, but didn’t love.  They wanted to outwardly appear great, humble, religious, but in their hearts they did not resemble Jesus.  Soulfire is a perfect example of what the Pharisees would not have do:  serving dinner to anyone who walks through the door with no expectations or strings attached.  It is awesome to be able to give to people something that seems so simple and yet presented so much of who Christ is. And why were they held accountable for the actions of all their ancestors?  Because the fulfillment of everything their ancestors fought against was staring them in the face and they refused to see it.  There are moments when I can be the Pharisee:  when I judge, condemn, hold lofty expectations, try to seem better than the rest.  I pray that God would cure me of this, and help me to live humbly and do everything out of my love for Jesus.

Whether Songs is looked at literally or metaphorically, the truth is that the man, or God, knows his woman, or church intimately.  There are nothing hidden, nothing unknown, and nothing unappreciated.  God knows all my faults, sins, insecurities, and yet he loves me anyway. I pray that we would be everything that he created us to be; that we would pursue righteousness, goodness, gentleness, patience, peace, kindness, and love.  That we would love others as God has loved us.

Day 71: Searching

Matthew 22:23-46; Numbers 22:1-40; Songs 2:8-3:5

The Lord's commandments are life and breath to my soul.  My first pursuit in life is to love God with everything I am and have.  The beauty of that is, that if I allow that love to flow from me to God and then receive his abundant love in return, the other commandment is simply an outpouring of the first.  Loving others just becomes an extension of loving God.  I think the fact that Jesus summed up the entire law and prophets in two sentences demonstrates exactly what Jesus is all about.  He isn’t about specific rules or practices.  He isn’t about making salvation more complicated.  He isn’t about being pious, competitive, or selfish.  He is about complete surrender and commitment.  He is also about putting God and others above me.

The story of Balaam means something really specific for many.  Some of us have a temper, that is not secret to God or us.  The sad reality is, that we often take out our anger on people that don't deserve that kind of treatment. The more I am in the Word, the less I feel a pull of temptation and sin, like anger and jealousy.

When her husband is gone, the woman of Songs searches all night, in every place she can in order to find him.  When he is lost, gone, absent, she doesn’t just roll over and give up, she pursues him.  He is too valuable to not treat with great love and search for fervently.  Then when he is found, she doesn’t scold or condemn for his waywardness, she simply loves him because he is found.  There is great grace in her actions.  If I look at this in a metaphorical standpoint, with the bride being me, the church, and the man being God, then the story holds a unique perspective.  Whenever I feel alone, like God isn't there, rather than giving up, I need to pursue The Lord, searching everywhere possible, not giving up because it feels he has left.  There is too much at stake, too much to love, to just let go.  Instead, I must continue my search until I find God again and then hold him tight, not in anger but in life-giving love.  If you feel like God is far away, don't get angry at him and just give up. Pursue him. He is there, we just need to look in the right places.

Day 70: The Long Way

Matthew 22:1-22; Numbers 21; Songs 1:1-2:7

The competitive nature inside of me, as well as my selfishness, makes it hard to truly understand Jesus’ stories about the kingdom of heaven.  Those who show up last still get the same thing?  The good and bad are brought to the feast?  Many are invited, but only a few are chosen?  In many ways, I want to be the best Christian possible so that people can see me and say, “Wow, what an awesome woman of God!”  But that is SO incorrect!  That is so blasphemous!  It cannot and should not be about who I am, but who God is.  God does not and will not love me more just because I do all the right things, nor will he love me less if I make mistakes.  The Lord loves me so much just because that is what he does.  I pray that God helps us to learn that faith in Jesus is not about us, but about God.
 
Along the way around Edom, the Israelites got impatient with God and started to complain.  They had just finished being blessed by God, and still they grumbled about the distance, the food, and anything else.  God sometimes takes us what we view as “the long way around.” But really, it is just his way of leading us to the promised land.  I believe that that is just as true today as it was then.

In Song of Songs, the love of her man is greater than any other material pleasure (like wine).  That is such an incredible truth.  Having the love of Austin is second only to the love of The Lord.  The verse about her brothers and working in the vineyard is interesting.  First, it reveals that she has baggage, a past, a history.  It isn’t necessarily a disgraceful one in this case, but it has changed her.  She was too busy focusing on the realities of life to concern herself with her physical aspects.  However, that does not change how the man feels.  It is like Austin says, he doesn’t care how I look in the morning, what matters is that he gets to wake up next to me.  The woman feels like she isn’t anything special, but to her husband, she is the only one that matters.  I think that is something that our culture is missing:  that a man feels like his wife is special, unique, and beautiful in her own way.  With the standard being set by models, us normal people have a harder time keeping the attention of those we love.

Day 69: Young and Old

Matthew 21:28-46; Numbers 19-20; Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14

It is interesting that the in the story about the older and younger sons provides such excellent parallels to people entering the kingdom.  What I think stands out the most to me is that the one son was able to change his mind and be obedient (and receive salvation).  It was a choice and just because he said “no,” didn’t mean he was done for, but instead, Christ shows that people can change their minds.  What is meant by “later” is unclear.  Would “later” in terms of reality of going to heaven or not mean before death or after?  That is a question theologians can wrestle with until they are blue in the face, but for me, it isn’t important.  What is important is that he ultimately was obedient to the call for his life and accepted it.

Solomon say that being young is exciting, with lots of opportunities.  However, if I choose to live my life for excitement and personal pleasure, then by the time I am old, I will have nothing to show for my time.  If I focus on God now, while I am young, then throughout my life I can have meaning and purpose.  I won’t have material possessions to show for it, necessarily, but those things don’t matter in eternity.  What I will have is the joy that comes with serving God.

Day 68: Working

Matthew 21:1-27; Numbers 17-18; Ecclesiastes 11:1-8

God is very specific about the work of the people in the Old Testament.  Each person had a job, each clan and tribe had a responsibility, and they needed to do that one thing and nothing else.  I think that comes back to the notion that The Lord created each person with a gift, a calling, a purpose, and it is good for them to fulfill it rather than chasing something they will not succeed in.

God always provides.  He told the Levites that they would not be getting any land.  I’m sure they were at first worried how they would feed and support themselves, but then God told them of his plan to provide for them through the offerings of the people.  God may not always give us what we expect, but he does give us what we need.

Keep working hard at everything: my career, my marriage, and spreading God’s love.  It might just pay off.  Is there a guarantee?  Always, but I may not see it or know it.  Thank God for his love, provisions, and guidance.

Day 67: Judgment of and by Believers

Numbers 12; Ecclesiastes 8, Matthew 20:17-34; Numbers 15-16; Ecclesiastes 9:13-10:20

No matter how I live my life, no matter how a believer lives their life, we are going to face criticism.  The best people often receive the greatest judgment from the world.  There is this double standard that the world sets:  they say, no, I’m a terrible person, but since you are a believer, you better be perfect.  And these people will try their hardest to tear people down.  A recent celebrity situation is Tim Tebow.  He seems to me like the real deal.  I believe he is a genuine believer, sold out to God, and in a situation to share the love of Christ with millions.  His team is tearing him down and throwing him under the bus for things that are mostly likely only true of themselves.  So how does a person deal with this kind of thing?  Prayer and faith that the Lord’s will be done.  The truth is, God called out Miriam and Aaron in scripture and judged them for their words, it was not up to Moses to do it.  And as I sit here thinking about all the people in the world who pass judgment on one another, I can’t help but think of myself, just the other day, passing judgment on some people.  Who am I to criticize and judge others? May the Lord forgive me!  Thank God for showing me how wretched I can be and how much I need his mercy.  It is true that often the greatest criticism in this world comes from the mouths and hearts of Christians.   May God help us to leave that attitude behind and adopt a loving, accepting, humble attitude.  We cannot know everything and we are just as guilty of sins as any other person on this planet.  May Jesus' example teach us humility and destroy our pride and selfishness.  If we desire deep in our hearts to be honored in heaven, we must devote ourselves to serving others and putting everyone else before us here on earth.

In Matthew, even when Jesus tells the disciples the future, what will happen to him, and then his promise comes true, the disciples are still afraid and still doubt.  So why would God tell us the future if we won’t believe him anyway?

How many times in the New Testament does the “crowd” get in the way of people following Jesus or being healed?  A lot.  The truth is, it is often the people of God who, instead of helping bring those people and leading them to Christ, they are blocking their view, telling them to be quiet, ignoring them completely.  That is not what we were put on earth to do.

The fact that a man was killed for collecting firewood on the Sabbath seems harsh, but I think there is more to it than that.  God is a just God, and he would not condemn a person for unjust reasons.  My guess is that this man, more than just picking up some sticks, was struggling a lot with his faith and perhaps thought that the laws of God were worthless or not applicable to him.  He would have to have deliberately acted in such a way and therefore, did his action on purpose.  In his mind, he was probably irritated with God and God’s laws, and would have been a terrible influence on his family and God’s people if he continued.

God gives each person a responsibility, a calling, a gift.  My role is not to be a musician, a public figure, or some other thing.  My role is to be a teacher of young people.  I am so blessed to know my calling and be in my perfect position so young in life.  Some people, spend 25 years in the wrong job until they finally decide to pursue what is in their hearts.  God is  so good to care so much to make each person fit for something perfect.  I pray that no matter where God leads you in life, that you would be faithful and glorifying to God.  I pray that we would be supportive of others.

Moses and Aaron demonstrate the power of prayer.  When they are faced with persecution, judgment, destruction, uncertainty, they immediately pray.  What a powerful tool!  May this teach us to pray as an immediate response to any hardship.

Wisdom is so important, it is greater than any other strength.  However, even a small thing can ruin all the work of the wise, so it is best to try and fix the little things before they become a disaster.  We need help to right our sins now, while they are still just a “leaky roof” so that they do not eventually cause our whole “house” to cave in.  God alone has the wisdom and knowledge and love to make us spiritually mature, and I thank him for teaching us.

Day 66: In the Desert and Experiencing God

Matthew 20:1-16; Numbers 11 

The people of Israel are like people today.  They had such a blessing before them—manna appeared every morning—and yet they wanted to trade that back in for the food they had in captivity.  Sin is like the food of the Egyptians:  people will trade the good things they have (family, career, faith) for some momentary pleasure.  God was providing each and every day for their needs and they stopped seeing it as a blessing and saw it as a curse instead.  On top of they, they lack faith in what God is capable of doing.   It seems so ridiculous considering all the amazing things they had seen—but even today, after Jesus has performed his amazing miracles, I still doubt what God can do sometimes.  No matter what we need to trust The Lord will fulfill his purpose in our life.

The other thing that is interesting about this situation, is the authority given to the 70 leaders.  They began to speak like prophets, but only that one time.  Those moments of being touched by the Holy Spirit are powerful and many people have talked about the extreme responses of people.  However, the Bible says it only happened that one time.  Those spiritual highs are not a constant occurrence.  I shouldn’t be expecting huge moments every time I go to church, and neither should the rest of the faith community.  Just like Moses had to come down the mountain to face reality, spiritual moments don’t happen all the time, but when God chooses.  That is one thing Austin and I have always been  cautious about:  not encouraging false spiritual highs. That's not where most of our lives exist and we can't necessarily depend on them to get us through.   However, I don’t want to be self-righteous about that either, so if I am wrong, I pray that God would reveal that truth to me.

And finally, Moses’ reply about them being worried what it would do to him is interesting.  Just because someone else has an amazing spiritual gift, does not mean that I am no longer worthwhile or necessary for the kingdom.  God uses all of us.

Day 65: The Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 19:16-30; Numbers 13-14; Ecclesiastes 9:1-12

There is a lot to learn from this rich young ruler and Jesus’ discussion.  First, the ruler is deceived thinking that he has to do some good thing in order to have eternal life.  Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  This is something that many people do not understand or at least do not follow.  Then the young man asks “which ones” he must obey out of the commandments.  What I think is most interesting is that Jesus doesn’t respond with some word about “you can’t just pick!” No, instead, Jesus lists a few of the commands that the young ruler has followed.  But the ruler seems to understand that there is more to it than that; he must have felt a hole in his soul and knew that doing those things was not enough because he pursues his question again.  Materialism, that is the sin that separated this young man from salvation, and Jesus knew it.  This young man probably knew, deep down, what he had to do to be saved, but perhaps he was hoping for validation of his lifestyle from Jesus.  And that is something God's word does NOT give: validation for a lifestyle that values anything more than God himself.

In Numbers, the report of the men sent to Canaan disturbed the crowd, and that is probably to be expected.  God told these people that they would inherit the land, but how were they to do so when such strong people remained there?  But instead of bowing their heads in prayer and lifting up their hearts in worship to see what the Lord had planned, they started shouting irrational plans, fears, and doubts.  They did not trust in God’s power or plan.  They had not even experienced any hardship yet and they were ready to give up and disobey.

Obedience to God is so important.  When I obey the Lord, I know that I am trusting in his voice in my heart.  God does try to lead us and guide us by the promptings of our hearts, but so often we ignore them.  We wait until we feel more comfortable, rather than just acting right away.

Children suffer from the choices and sins of their parents.  The children of the Israelites had to wander for 40 years in the desert because their parents refused to trust in the Lord.  It is true that children are affected by their parents’ decisions, even years down the line.

Anything can happen to any of us.  Life sometimes is unfair, sometimes it is hard, sometimes it doesn’t make sense.  We need to realize that such things happen and it doesn’t mean that God hates us or is trying to punish us; it doesn’t mean that we've done something wrong; that is just life. The message I kind of get from Ecclesiastes is: do your best and try your hardest to have joy.  That’s it.  Simplifies a lot of life.

Day 64: Wisdom from Solomon

Matthew 19:1-15; Numbers 9-10; Ecclesiastes 7

God directed the Israelites with a cloud; he did not tell them where they were going or when they would leave or how long they would stay—they had to trust and simply follow.  How hard that must have been:  to simply follow with no justification.  But isn’t the same true today?  We don’t necessarily know the reasons or the time frame of what we are doing or where God is leading us, but we should follow faithfully anyway.  Why should we just follow God? Because he isn't limited by the present. He knows how things are going to work out and he loves us so much, he wants to lead us to good things.

Lots of good stuff from Solomon:

A good reputation at the time of death is better than loving care at birth.  At the beginning of life, we don’t have to work hard—people take care of babies and children and there are few worries (most of the time).  Most people would say that being a child is the best or easiest part of life, in fact, I’ve said it before myself.  However, Solomon has a different idea.  It is more rewarding to have a good reputation when you end your life because it shows perseverance through trials, integrity in questionable times, honesty when it was tempting to lie.  Building of character and faith through life is not easy but it is far better than an easy, untested life.

“A sensible person mourns.”  I am an emotional person, I think that is in part because God created me to really care.  This reminds me that it is good to feel, good to cry, good to hurt, rather than being fake and not caring.

Good stuff!  “Only fools get angry quickly and hold a grudge.”  I need help remembering this sometimes!

And it isn’t wise to ask “Why is everything worse than it used to be?” Perhaps this means that we should not live in the past, or compare our current struggles with past struggles. We should be growing in our faith, which means that we can handle more difficult trials the more we go through. Instead of asking God, "why is this happening to me," we need to be asking him "how will this help me?"
 
What is interesting about Ecclesiastes is that it often surprises me.  It says don’t destroy myself by being too good…perfection?  Trying to be “too good” will destroy me.  I am a perfectionist and I know that seeking perfection is dangerous and it so important not to seek something that isn’t possible or worthwhile.  I cannot be perfect in anything, and so to pursue it means that I am not pursing my Lord.

Don’t ask the advice or listen to the words of everyone.  The truth is not everyone supports what I do or who I am, and I will only cause myself heartache and frustration by listening to everyone’s opinion of me.  I need to focus on the word of God and his voice in my heart.

Day 63: What's the Point of Earthly Wealth?

Matthew 18:18-35; Numbers 7-8; Ecclesiastes 6

Forgiveness and mercy are given, undeserved, to me; I should bestow the same blanketing forgiveness and mercy to others.  There are people in my life that I had struggled to forgive. But the more I realize just how often and fully God has forgiven me, I can't help but think that not passing on that gift is very selfish of me.

Over and over, Solomon bemoans the value of earthly wealth:  God can give me everything I want, but that doesn’t mean my life is fulfilling.  Perhaps that is what God’s doing with our situation. We were in a pretty big house, but weren't any happier. Now that we are in a smaller house, we have already been able to have bible study, and as soon as the kitchen is done, we will have lots of family dinners here. But it wasn't more money and more square footage that has made us happy--it has actually been less! Unfortunately, that is not what society teaches us: we are a society of more, better, bigger. Just look at TVs. they kept getting bigger and bigger, then they went to flat-screen-awesomeness, then they got bigger and bigger, then higher definition so that you can see the pores on the actors faces, then 3D, and...well, I'm not sure what's coming next. The point is, does a 27 inch regular TV suffice? Yep, it would. But because our culture was bigger and better, we keep replacing the old with the new. As followers of The Lord, we need to be careful about that. The only thing we need more of in our lives is God. 

I pray that God would help us to not to want excess stuff.  May the Lord help us to trust in his provisions as all we need.  God is so good to us and he deserves praise for all he is to us.  May we learn to listen to him and his word, and work to remove sins from our hearts and life so that we may live and be more like Jesus.

Day 62: Stop Talking, Start Listening

Matthew 18:1-17; Numbers 5-6; Ecclesiastes 5

Humility, trust, faith—believing like a child, that is how to get into the kingdom of heaven.  God does not like sin, selfishness, and cruelty.  The world is in for trouble because of all the ways it causes people to sin.  The over-sexualized culture, the rewards for hate, the perks of cheating with money, all these things are temptations and easy to fall into.  I pray that believers would be holy and set apart, so that that we do not fall into sin.

It is best to listen in worship, not to talk.  So often I lift words in my heart to God: I want to say things, make promises, and instead, during worship, I need to quiet my spirit so that I can listen to his life-giving voice.  If I talk too much I might say the wrong things, make promises I can’t keep, or allow obsessions to build up.  But if I quiet my spirit, then God can pour out his love and message to me. What if our worship was more listening than talking?  What would be gain?

It is interesting that money does nothing for a person but leave them sleepless and give them friends that don’t care about them.  It is better to have less money.  Scripture talks a lot about how money is really quite a trap. It doesn't have to be and there are a lot of very wealthy people who honor The Lord with it, as well as a lot of very poor people who are able to serve The Lord with the little that they have. We need to use money for God's glory, rather than allowing money to use us for its own glory.

Day 61: Enough Faith

Matthew 17; Numbers 2-3; Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:16

Sometimes I feel like I don’t have enough faith.  Sometimes I, along with other believers, doubt God's provision and will for our lives.  It is such a sad thing that we would do so, considering all he has done for generations before.  However, doubt is normal, natural. We doubt things we see (that chocolate cake doesn't REALLY have that many calories...). But, it also makes me so sad to think of all the people living in darkness, in the past and future because they did not know or understand God. Believes have faith and sometimes falter, but we still can believe in God's promises; those that have never or don't believe in Jesus Christ  must go through life hopeless. I know that I don’t fully comprehend all that God is and can do, nor will I ever.  But, I'm thankful for the promises God gives.

Jesus paid taxes because he didn’t want to cause trouble. Christians should follow the rules of the land in order to be a good example.  This includes not trying to cheat the systems—paying taxes, being honest about responsibilities, not lying about free stuff, not getting upset about things—these things would show us to be inconsistent in our walk of faith and love.
 
Solomon is clear in Ecclesiastes that overwork and collecting wealth and stuff is meaningless, especially if we are not sharing it with friends.  It is better to have peace and a little bit than to have a lot and be miserable.  What I find interesting is that even thousands of years later, the world can still be a miserable place for many to live.  There is injustice and harm done to people everywhere.  Solomon notes that God has a time and place for everything and at some point he will judge everyone.  All a person has to do is look around to see how terrible humans are to know that we need a Savior.
 
I'm so thankful for my family and friends.  I'm blessed to have a husband that is the best friend a person could ask for, and a brother who is a wonderful friend too.  If each of us looks around, we can find something or someone to be thankful, and I hope and pray that we continue to lift up praises to God, not just for those people he has given us, but for who he is. God deserves all the glory and praise that we can give, and even more than that.  I pray that our lives would reflect the love and grace that he has so generously bestowed upon us.

Day 60: Better Perspective

Matthew 16; Numbers 1-2; Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

How can people forget about God's miracles?  And yet, I do.  I forget all the ways he has come through for me in the past and sometimes lack trust in what he is going to do in the future.  I’m sure it is frustrating, dealing with forgetful humans.

My faith in Jesus needs to be about what I know to be true, not about what other people say.  Jesus built his church on the rock—I suppose “the rock” could actually be Peter, or it could be what Peter said about Jesus being the Messiah. The church is built on the faith that Peter had. He was definitely a major leader in starting the church and without his faith the church at that early time may have looked a lot different; it might have changed the look of it even today.

There are seasons, times, in life—some of them are enjoyable and some of them are not.  When going through these different times, God puts questions in our hearts about why am we here, or when it will end, or what got us here. I can try my hardest to figure it out, but Solomon states that we cannot understand these things.  All we can do is try to enjoy the life and the moment we have been given.  That is hard in the midst of difficulties or during the mundane moments of life.  But I want to enjoy life!  Even the moments that seem pointless, boring, difficult; may we have a better perspective so that we can recognize needs and work to fill them with the gifts God has given us.  In that way we will be serving our purpose, furthering the Lord's kingdom, and enjoying each moment in life.

Day 59: Words for Protection

Matthew 15:21-39; Leviticus 26-27; Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26 

The stories of Jesus feeding the thousands is amazing and has some significance beyond God doing the amazing.  The disciples gave Jesus all the food they had—even though it wasn’t much—and in his hands it blessed many.  If I give Jesus all I have—my heart, time, gifts, money—in his hands he will use it to bless people and bring glory to his kingdom.  God likes to do things in a way that makes us rely on his power. If there had been a grocery store there, it would have not produced a miracle. Instead, the disciples had to rely completely on God to do an amazing thing. When we get to the end of our ropes, I think God wants to use those opportunities to show his power. When we have none, he gets to step in an do everything. I think he likes to do that.

The list of blessings that God will give if people only obey him is tremendous.  He will provide sustenance for their bodies so much that they will never go hungry.  He will keep them safe from attacks of enemies—enemies of humans or of sin.  Not only will he  keep them safe, but he will help to attack and destroy those things that are evil in the world, not matter how big a problem or how evil it is.  And God will live among his people, in close communion, sharing in life.  How could a person choose anything else?  The warnings for disobeying the Lord are incredibly descriptive and terrible.  One of the sad things is that God doesn’t just say “if you rebel” and then finish, but he knows that humans will not just rebel and then turn back to God, but they will keep sinning, again and again and again.  Each of these images could have modern significance.  The fact that the dead bodies will be piled on top of their idols—I just imagine people being killed by something they worshipped like drugs, alcohol, materialism, sexual diseases.  It is true:  when people turn from God, they are destroyed by those things that God forbids.  It isn’t that God is trying to keep people from having fun, but protecting them from the things that will destroy them.

But, God is a God of redemption and of unlimited love.  No person is too far gone to turn back and be saved.  That he promises and what an amazing promise!

This passage says the best thing I can do on earth is to enjoy eating, drinking, and working.  And I think this is more than just enjoying the buffets and punching the clock.  I think it is about eating with people, sharing lives and stories over food prepared with kindness and care.  I think drinking is not about getting drunk, but enjoying the special things in life, and taking time to relax and unwind.  And working is not about earning the money, but making a difference—those are the things that Solomon said were what God put us on earth to do.

Day 58: Common Sense

Matthew 15:1-20; Leviticus 24-25; Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

This first passage about the Pharisees is all about obedience to God, rather than serving ourselves through convenience.  God set the rules in his word, he teaches us through Jesus how to live and love and worship.  Just thinking about God or performing rituals out of habit does not mean that we are truly worshipping or obeying The Lord.  I pray that churches everywhere would take a look at the way they are doing things and get back to the heart of obedience and worship to God.  It is the terrible things that come from my heart that make me unfit, unprepared for worship; it is not the clothes I wear or the church I go to or anything else.

The stoning to death of the man in Leviticus seems harsh, but the reality is, that is what will happen to a person who turns their back on God anyway.  They will die, in body and in spirit. It is terrifying to think about all the people who have, in this present generation as well as generations before, cursed God or refused to follow him.  I cannot imagine the pain and anger God must feel at being rejected, as well as the pain it must feel to be punished by God. I think people don't like to focus on the "God of Justice" but just on the "God of Love." The reality is that God is a God of lifting up right and destroying wrong. Now, obviously I'm not for stoning people to death who sin, because I would be in that line! Jesus has come to give me second and third and fourth...chances. He took the punishment that was meant for me, so that I can attempt to live me life blamelessly for God.

What an interesting concept:  the year of the great celebration and freedom.  God is giving an opportunity to keep things balanced and protect his people.  If the people obey God, it is not that he shows favoritism, but his laws and teachings are often common sense—people will prosper if they heed them.  The Lord also promises to provide if we are not greedy.  I have seen that to be true in my own life—when I give, when I am not worried about my stuff, God provides just what we need (and even more sometimes).  This is the nature of not harvesting on the 7th day or during the year of celebration:  The Lord will provide out of the abundance of the previous year.

A wise man in Ecclesiastes says “nothing makes sense!”?  It seems contradictory, but when I think about the things that humans do here on earth, it is like we plan on living forever, that we can keep our wealth into eternity, and some think that their souls do not matter.  The truth is, that doesn’t make sense.

Day 57: Lady of The Lord

Matthew 14:22-36; Leviticus 22-23; Proverbs 31

The wind and the waves will come, and if I am brave enough to have faith, I need to realize that that means I have to face them head-on.  If we don’t have faith that we can make it through, that Jesus really loves us, we will be swallowed up, we will sink.

Proverbs 31 has long been one of my favorites.  A wife is the most precious gift a man can find.  A truly good wife never lets her husband down, and gladly serves him with her own hands.  Here it says she makes clothes, but for me, it would be dinner.  Sometimes I get tired of cooking for Austin, but this as an opportunity to serve him.  Do I need to go “across the sea” to get food?  Not literally, sometimes cooking feels like that, but perhaps I need to try a little harder to get healthy, local, organic food.  We need to be willing to work hard for things, not just wimp out because I’m tired.  The woman in this chapter is very domestic; she takes on a lot of the jobs that today’s society takes for granted.  I want to be able to serve in this way.  Help me to persevere in finding, growing, and cooking good food, as well as producing things for my family.  If I can be a wife (and someday a mom) that is able to put food on the table from our own garden, sew or crochet things for my children to wear, then I will feel like I'm doing my God-given job. For some women this sounds like torture, and that's ok. Each of us is different, with different gifts, desires, and dreams. My dream is to be a godly wife, mother, teacher, and friend.

Day 56: Just Enough

Proverbs 29; Matthew 14:1-21; Leviticus 20-21; Proverbs 30 

There are a couple of verses about rulers:  they need to rule with justice and if they are dishonest or take bribes, they will bring a nation to ruin.  We need to pray for the leaders of this nation, and I pray that the poor or dishonest would not be reelected, but that the good and hardworking and just would win.  I hope that these leaders would be courageous, wise, and lead with justice.  They need to care about the poor, the orphans and widows, those that lack no support from elsewhere.

This verse is an excellent verse to memorize for those moments where we have the choice to get angry:  “A person with a quick temper stirs up arguments and commits a lot of sins.”  A spirit of gentleness rather than anger is what we should be cultivating because angry people fall into sin more easily.

The story of Herod and his niece is all about not listening to others for direction because often they will lead you astray.  The girl could have had anything she wanted and instead of thinking about her future, her own wellbeing, she listened to an outside source that did not care about her, but had her own agenda.  And it ended up being incredibly destructive.  John lost his life because this girl didn't think for herself. People have to learn to think for themselves! This is just an example of how terrible it can be if we don't.

Jesus, after hearing about John's death, wanted to be alone, to pray or mourn, but he didn’t stay wallowing in his own sadness because he saw the incredible need around him.  He spent some time by himself, but then moved forward and blessed others.Sometimes I get so caught up in my own problems that I forget about the incredible struggles of some of the people around me.

I love this proverb:  “There are two things, Lord, I want you to do for me before I die:  Make me absolutely honest and don’t let me be too poor or too rich.  Give me just what I need.  If I have too much to eat, I might forget about you; if I don’t have enough, I might steal and disgrace your name.”  Shouldn’t that be my prayer also?  This is so true. When people have too much, they don't need God, and when they have too little, they might resort to stealing. Talk about breaking the bad of greed and materialism with this prayer!

Day 55: Years to Harvest

Matthew 13:24-58; Leviticus 19

I love the image of the pearl and the treasure.  A person does not have enough to keep everything they have and purchase the field or pearl; first they must sell everything in order to afford it.  A person who wants to be saved can’t have the things of this world as well as the beauty of Jesus in their heart.  There is not room to fully serve the Lord.

All the law and the prophets can be summed up by Jesus’ great words: Love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.  The commands of the Old Testament are beautiful at times, because they talk about leaving grain and grapes for the poor, not to make fun of a deaf or blind person, correct those that need correcting, but don’t hold grudges or be angry.  The more I read these things, the more I realize how prevalent they are in society.  But it all really comes down to loving God and loving others. I hope that God takes hold of the hearts of believers and helps us to see how to really live.  At the same time, I pray that God takes hold of the hearts of those that have not accepted him and help them to understand that God is the only thing that can satisfy.

Faith is a huge factor and sometimes underestimated:  plant a tree and wait until the 5th year to harvest from it!   I’m not a farmer, but that kind of seems crazy.  The point of course is, that God will provide but a person must have faith and patience that he will provide in his timing.  There are people out there who are struggling to be patient, and God isn't concerned about the time it takes, but the timing of his plan. Sometimes people are going to have to wait longer for answers to their prayers than they thought. But, God will not disappoint us, we just have to use those times of waiting to focus on The Lord and grow in our faith.

Day 54: Thorns

Matthew 13:1-23; Leviticus 17-18; Proverbs 27:13-27; Proverbs 28

I think one of the most common faith situations in the country right now is the seeds falling among thorn bushes.  People, often young people, say they are into faith, they want to believe in Jesus, and maybe they even accept him as Lord of their life, but they live in situations that choke their faith.  They choose to stay where they were before and their friends, lifestyle, choices, all hinder their spiritual growth.  Another common situation, as God knew there would be, is the seeds scorched by the sun.  People just have a hard time enduring the struggles in life and it makes them feel that they cannot believe.  Now, I know I speak out of ignorance in that area—I don’t know what it is like to really struggle, but considering how the divorce rate is climbing, people do not endure.  I suppose that all the New Age religions, which I think could be represented by the birds in the story, are also really prevalent.  So, all that being said, the whole story is totally relevant in every way, as Jesus intended that it should be.

I think it is really interesting the explanation of why Jesus uses stories.  It is because if you tell people flat out what is expected, required, desired, or needed from or for them, they won’t listen.  But, Jesus explains all those things using a story, people listen and remember the story and eventually the heart of it gets to them. Those that hear the word, produce even more than what was sewn—that is the power of the Holy Spirit.

In these passages it talks about immorality. The sexual immorality causes the society to become disgusting to God.  It becomes “sick”—and I’m assuming that means diseased.  I think about all the sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, etc., and it is no wonder that God warns against sexual immorality.  And God cannot stand the prayers of anyone who disobeys his Law or does immoral things.  When I pray, I need to be sincere and willing to change my broken ways.  If I confess what is in my heart and truly choose to turn from it, God will hear and I know he will help.  But, if I just go through the motions, that is not pleasing to The Lord. He wants are devotion from the core of our being.  So much of the word is about caring for others.  Sometimes I lack patience in loving on others and I struggle with sin.  I often do not treat people or even my own husband with the kindness and gentleness that they need and deserve.  God wants people how love him whole heartedly and run from the immorality and sin in their lives. This is kind of like the seeds: people may want to follow Jesus, but they are choked out by all the sin. We have got to get out of the thorns!

So much of this Proverb talks about living right, not taking shortcuts, and treating people the right way.  People’s lives would be so much better if they did these things!

Day 53: Abraham & God's Timing

Matthew 7; Exodus 37-38; Proverbs 17

The Lord will test us, but not to see how bad we are.  God's testing is to prove what we are made of and is an opportunity to purify us, remove the bad stuff, and make us better.  In those times of trials, he will provide—just like on the mountain where Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, God orchestrated the perfect plan.  The Lord was testing Abraham, all the while making sure that there would be a ram to take the place of his son.  All this happened in God's timing:  Abraham didn’t know where he was going exactly, and he certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.  But God showed himself so loving and Abraham so faithful in a time where it must have felt so dark.

Matthew 12:22-50; Leviticus 15-16; Proverbs 27:1-12

Our words show what is in our hearts.  When I think about what I have said, there are times when I’m proud of myself, and other times when I am embarrassed and ashamed.  May the Lord help us to think before we speak and act.  May we learn to choose only words and deeds that are pleasing to God and productive for the kingdom.

The reality is that Jesus' spirit is everywhere, who he is and the truth of God have been preached from the beginning of time, but there have been many who have hardened their hearts.  I pray for those people that I know—I pray that they would not harden their hearts, but be willing to explore the gospel and truth of Jesus.

We cannot brag about tomorrow—especially in light of some of our situations. I've had family members get laid off and lose jobs in the last few months, and that is stuff that is hard to plan for or handle. I'm thankful that my family finds comfort and incredible peace in The Lord.   God has a wonderful plan in store for all of us, through lay-offs, downsizing, and hardships.

Day 53: Faith for Provisions, $, Plans

Matthew 6:19-34; Exodus 35-36; Proverbs 16

All believers need to protect ourselves from pursuing the wrong things, things that can be destroyed, things that cause darkness, money that distracts, or things that cause worry.  God has helped me over these last several years to minimize my worrying.  God can help each of us overcome our struggles.  I feel as though I have more faith in God and his promises the more time I spend with him.  I am trying to take each day at a time and trusting in his blessings.  God can use the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and minds and teach us to protect ourselves against things that do not have an eternal purpose.
  
From Exodus, I think one reason why the Sabbath is so important is that it requires faith that God will provide on that day.  For the Israelites, to trust that they did not have to plow or harvest everyday just to provide—because God  promised he would.  It is to fight against materialism and greed by not working to accumulate treasures on earth.  And when the people started giving, the amounts grew so excessive that Moses had to command them to stop!  That is how God provides! Why do we think it would work any differently today?

In the area of giving, God doesn't reject any gift from any person, as long as it is not brought because of pride or force.  The Israelites knew The Lord wanted them to bring what they had to honor him and they did—they used their skills for his service and gave their earthly valuables too.  They were obedient!  I pray that in my own life, in all of our lives,  we are obedient in our giving.  I have been reluctant and slow to do it in the past; I hope that we can learn to overcome our hesitancy and lack of faith in the area of our finances.

In this life, people make plans.  Lots of people make plans—but many  times, God had a different one.  We don’t always understand why The Lord chooses the plan he does, but when we finally see the result, it is a wonderful thing.  If we look back on how things have worked out--long term hindsight--we can often see just how beautifully things work out. Why do we fail to trust God in our current chaotic life?

Some great things from this proverb:  Being prideful that I can never fall into a certain sin will surely take me there.  Instead, if I am humble and recognize the depravity that lurks in my own heart, I can be wise and avoid such calamities.  And, controlling my temper is better than being a hero that captures a city.  I don’t know the full implications of that, but if simply controlling myself is better than being a big hero, then I need to focus on control.  Good stuff to learn.

Day 52: The Veil That Hides Our Face

Matthew 6:1-18; Exodus 33-34; Proverbs 15

Our audience is God.  Our goal should be to please him, not the world, not the people around us.  Help us to be humble, truly humble, in our hearts and not try to show off.  Humility—what is it?  What does it look like?  The Israelites took off their jewelry and mourned.  They removed the things that had distracted them before, they removed things that were concerning their outward appearance so they could focus inward.  Humility can take a lot of different forms. But I think part of it is ridding ourselves of the outward distractions and focusing on the condition of our heart. Seeing how much we need Jesus and living in that way.

Moses wanted to know God's plans, he wanted God to go with the people.  It is almost if he would rather trade The Lord's presence for peace—but, to be with God is better than avoiding troubles and tribulations.  What an interesting concept.  God is so good, that to sin against him is terrible.  Sin is a very destructive thing—it causes pain for generation after generation.  I hope that we would learn to win the fight against sin and the devil.  I pray that we would not be beaten down by our struggles, but would, with the power of the Holy Spirit, rise up above them and overcome them.  I pray that Christ followers everywhere would not compromise—that they would obey the Lord completely and destroy all things that lead to sin.

Why would Moses cover his face?  After spending time with the Lord, Moses’ face was radiant—and as with everything in the Bible, I believe there is relevance for today.  I believe that after incredible moments with God, believers’ lives are radiant.  But again, why would he cover it?  Is it because we cannot be radiant all the time?  That Moses didn’t want to be distracting because of the incredible presence of God that he was projecting?  Perhaps it didn’t have as much to do with Moses, but with the guilty, imperfect, stubborn people.  They could not handle even the reflection of God's glory.  Perhaps it has to do with the Holy Spirit and showing what the Holy Spirit is like in (on) a person before the Holy Spirit was ever given to the people.  When I come and meet with God in prayer and worship, his light reflects upon me and (I hope) that I shine brightly with your brilliance.  But, like religious fervor and emotion, the light faded overtime and was only renewed after meeting again with God.  Spirituality is a lot like that too; it follows the ups and downs of life.  The veil could also have to do with the mask people wear to cover up their God-given glory.  We go around covering ourselves, our faith, our true identity—but when we meet with God, we don’t have to wear a veil or mask, he knows our true selves. God sees our hearts.  He knows what trouble, sin, and wickedness resides there.  But he can also see the goodness, the compassion, the potential, and the Holy Spirit—all of which are the most powerful.

This verse is interesting:  The Lord hates evil thoughts, but kind words please him.  God hates evil thoughts, but this verse seems to accept that those evil thoughts will happen, but if we take those things and speak goodness and kind words instead of the evil we are thinking, that makes him proud.   We don’t have to be perfect through and through for God to accept us and be proud of us, but we just need to continue on the path that leads to life.

Day 51: Getting Rid of Sin & Loving Enemies

Matthew 5:21-48; Exodus 30-32; Proverbs 14

In my faith life, it is not always about the big stuff.  Little things like being friends with people that are hard to like, or keeping my thoughts pure, or controlling my anger—these little things can make a big difference.  The standard is Jesus and that is what I need to be pursuing.

The Israelites in Exodus believed that something had happened to Moses; they put their faith more in him rather tha God.  And so when he didn’t return right away or do as expected, they turned to something else for comfort.  And Aaron, instead of standing up for right in his position of honor, caved to the will of the people.  People often put their trust in other people. People are going to let us down. That is just a fact. God won't. That is also a fact.

Love and pray for my enemies. How can I love them?  How can I pray for them?  How can I care for people who do such terrible things?  And how can humans be so destructive? It is because Satan and sin are slippery and sneaky and our culture and has been lead to believe that certain actions are ok.  We need a total transformation of our culture: our views on sex, money, love, success, power, all need to change. We need a re-forming of our belief  on how destructive prostitution, sex trafficking, and pornography really are. We need to rethink what love actually is and means. We need to redefine what our culture labels as 'success.'  Some of his is so destructive and could cause terrible things for the future of our country.  It has to be stopped.  People need to return to the truths of God's word so that our country is not destroyed by sin.

Sometimes scripture is hard to understand, like how could these men run through camp killing their neighbors after they had all sinned?  I don’t understand how they could do such a thing or how God could command such a thing.  In Matthew it talks about cutting out my eye if it causes me to sin, and perhaps this is the same concept  These people performed a terrible sin, and so they were being cut out of the community  Had they just been scolded, God knew that things would have gotten worse. These Levites obeyed God above their love for their families—that is true obedience.  We need to take sin seriously. No, I seriously doubt God will every ask us to kill our neighbors. But, we need to obey The Lord more than anything else and remove sin from our lives as completely as possible.

Lord, I pray that when future storms hit that Austin and I would have wisdom to keep our family together.  I pray that we will avoid foolishness, stupidity, and sin.  Give us wisdom to see the truth, to help people, and to try and reach out to them.  Give me patience and love for Austin so that I can serve him and love him the way he needs.  Lord, help us to be cautious concerning our future and our decisions, to pay attention and know where we are headed, to make wise decisions and live right.
Lord, help us to remember that it is smart to be patient, but stupid to lose our temper.  I pray that we are kind and gentle, self-controlled and wise.  Teach us to be more like Jesus.