Wow!!!

I have been on a schedule of reading through the Bible in a year as recommended by My Pastor Wade. I must confess I have never done this before. It was my guilty secret. I just couldn’t get through Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy. I would give up by then. But with our new, and might I add wonderful technology, my Bible on my cell phone has broken it up into manageable pieces weaving Psalms and Proverbs with New Testament passages and Old Testament passages. And I am getting along with this plan just fine. My cell phone even reminds me every day to do my Bible reading. Is this a great thing or what?

One thing has struck me with a “WOW” as I am going through Numbers. It is the numbers of sacrifices required of God’s people. I mean on this certain day for this certain week at this certain time of year; sacrifice 13 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, and 1 goat for a sin offering. On the second day: 12 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 3: 11 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 4: 10 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 5: 9 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 6: 8 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 7: 7 bulls, 2 rams, 14 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. Day 8: 1 bull, 1 ram, 7 male lambs, 1 goat for a sin offering. And this is just offerings for one of the many yearly appointed calendar events.

What astounds me is the sheer number of animals required to be killed and offered for the atonement for the people’s sins. And then when it is coupled with the New Testament account of the crucifixion of Christ as a final replacement for sin’s atonement, I can only humbly bow in thanks for His sacrifice for my sins.  

  

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Hebrew 10:11-14




To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen. Rev.1:5-7

Thanks be to Jesus the Christ my Savior and Redeemer and the atonement for my sin.

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus

WOW

Can’t wait to sing with the choir on Easter Sunday!!!

It Is Time to Be Careful

My nephew says he already doesn’t like 2015. Hey, it’s only been three months. He has had some struggles and disappointments this year but there are still 9 months left. 

When I heard he said that it surprised me. I thought 2015 had been alright for me so far. I feel like I’ve finally come out from under a cloud while climbing out of a slippery deep pit with all my skin peeled off and raw nerves exposed. The last decade has been kind of awful. I’m beginning to feel like the Children of Israel when they entered the Promised Land after years in the wilderness. I’m beginning to feel like the end of the book of Job instead of the beginning.

But I realized I’m in a very dangerous place. This place of ease. This place of no imminent vulnerability. This place of not needing to rely on God for every minute of the day.

Moses had something to say to the people before they crossed over into the easy land “flowing with milk and honey”.

Deuteronomy 8:11- 18

But this is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.  For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!  Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.  Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! He fed you with manna in the wilderness. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good.  He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’  Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful.

Yes, this goes for me too. Be careful. Don’t forget to depend on the Lord. Even when things are now going my way and I don’t need anything, remember why. God has given me everything I need. He brought me through the worst time of my life. I came out of it with my faith in Him stronger and my dependence greater. I was broken hearted and shattered and He put me back together. I was terrified of the future and He gave me strength to face the next day. I was stripped of everything that I thought gave me security and He comforted and protected me. He did all of this because of His great love for me, little old unimportant me. He did this so that I can never say, “I did this with my own strength and energy.” He did this for me with His strength and power. And He sustains me daily with this authority. Remember this. Don’t get so comfortable that I think I don’t need Him just as much as I needed Him in the worst of times.

Yes, it’s time for me to be careful.

Yes, it’s time to remember from where my strength comes.

Yes, it’s time, more than ever before, to depend on my Lord and savior Jesus Christ; the God who sustains.

All Nations Praise the Lord

As a country, we have gone through a lot in our brief history. We have fought for religious freedom from our very beginning. We have fought for freedom from oppression outside of our country and even for racial freedom among ourselves. As I watched on TV part of “The Freedom March” from Selma, Alabama I realized how we have overcome 50 years’ worth of obstacles for racial freedom. But I was telling another woman of a different race that in the past fifty years we have come so far and yet there is still room for improvement for all races of our nation’s citizens to be accepted. She said she wondered if this will ever actually happen. I replied as long as humans are involved it won’t. And she agreed.

But if we, as a nation, will humble ourselves before the God who made us and praise Him, He will inhabit our nation. If we, as a nation, with hold the truths of the Bible as our truth standard (as we did in the beginning of our nation); we will be blessed by God. 

As people were walking across the historic bridge I was praying for this miracle of races just getting along with each other for our nation and the world. But I didn’t just pray for “world peace” like a Miss America contestant. I know that if humans get in the way we will never get there. But there will be a Day of unity. We will all come together in agreement as we bow before God. We all will have to admit that God is the God of creation and therefore Lord of all. We will have to admit His truth is, was, and always will be the only truth. I remembered these verses:

Praise the LORD, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD! Psalm 117

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Rev. 15:3-4

Someday we will all get along; every race, every diversity, and every world government. Every people group will come together and worship our Lord God in unity and agreement of who He is. Until then we’ll struggle with our little steps toward harmony and agreement. We will disagree with what should and should not “under God” be a part of our nation’s history and world’s history

.

Christians will harken to the eternal truth of the Bible.

Non-Christians will harken to present popular truth.

WE won’t get there on our own.

It’s not “We shall overcome.”

It’s HE shall overcome!

Why Didn’t Someone Tell Them?

I was on vacation in Washington D.C. last week. It was some of the coldest days on record there. At one point I was standing in line for a White House Tour. My sister, Lisa, had done some awesome work getting us the tour. Evidently you have to contact your senator and fill out forms and have a background check 30 days in advance. And so here we were in line (my sister, my niece, and I) shivering in spite of all our layers and boots and heavy coats.

Beside us in line was a little family dressed quite inappropriately for the weather. They told us they were so excited to meet the President and even though it was cold they wanted to look their best. The mother had on a silk pantsuit and the teen girl, and little girl had on lace dresses, nothing on their legs and sandals and heels. The dad had on new jeans, and new cowboy boots, with a new jacket. They said they had driven all the way from their small ranch in Texas to see the President. They had stayed at cheap motels on the trip as a way to afford seeing the President. The dad was in the middle of changing jobs because the ranch wasn’t providing the income they hoped but they were going to see the President! They had walked several blocks in this weather after finding out the directions but it was all going to be worth it when they met the President.

I don’t know if they were misinformed, or ignorant, or hadn’t read or received the information about touring the White House but the tour doesn’t include meeting the President. The whole time I kept thinking, “Why didn’t someone tell them?” Their senator’s secretary could have explained this in all the contact times to set up the tour. Their friends could have helped them understand the documents sent about the tour. All along their way at all the stops they made someone could have clarified what would happen on the tour. The person at the hotel registration desk in D.C. could have told them they were not dressed for the weather and shouldn’t walk all those blocks to the White House but should take a cab at least. No one told them they were wrong in thinking they would meet the President. They didn’t find out until they were actually there. Really, why didn’t someone tell them?

It made me think of that Day when we all stand before God. For some God will say, “Welcome in my faithful servant.” And to some God will say, “You cannot stay with Me, I don’t know you.”

And to the latter people, it may be quite a shock. Matthew 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that Day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’

All that work. All that effort. All that expense. A whole life misspent in ignorance, and misinformation, and following a path that does not lead to heaven.

If, in heaven, I am allowed to see this conversation and interchange between the unsaved man and God I don’t think I will say,

“Why didn’t someone tell them?”

because

that someone could be me!