Moses Strikes The Rock

(Numbers 20:12) Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

Poor Moses! He went through an awful lot of trouble leading Israel. He put up with an awful lot of complaining and rebellion. Finally he lost his temper and lost his own opportunity to enter the promised land.

What are we supposed to learn from Moses' experience?

1) We need to believe God and act according to that belief.
God said that Moses failed because, "you did not believe me." Perhaps he didn't believe that speaking to the rock would be enough - he thought he needed to beat it a few times. Perhaps he didn't believe that this was enough of a rebuke to the people or enough vindication of himself and Aaron. At any rate, he did NOT do what God told him to do.

2) Our primary objective in every situation should be to exalt God as Holy.
It is very easy for us to think the situations we face are about us. They are not. We are all about glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. When Moses went after the rock he seems to have had a "I'll show you rebels a thing or two about who the prophet is..." attitude. In other words, he seemed more concerned about his own glory than God's.

So we feel bad about Moses, realizing that we are vulnerable to the same failures.

On the other hand we need to remember that actually arriving in Caanan was not the ultimate blessing. Moses still went to heaven. Many years later he communes with Jesus and Elijah on the mount of transfiguration. (Matthew 17:2-3) Moses was shut out of an earthly blessing, but he still had his heavenly reward.

Serving God is serious business. God will not be slighted.

The Seminar

I just returned home from a three day seminar at Baptist Church Planters in Elyria, Ohio. The speaker was Dr. Kevin Bauder, president of Central Baptist Seminary in Plymouth, MN. The topic was "Ecclesiastical Separation."

Don't say, "Ewwww!" Separation is really about Fellowship. This was a great seminar and we had great fellowship for those three days!

Dr. Bauder gave two axioms at the start.

Axiom #1 – Unity is always a function of that which unites.
Unity is a by-product of something else. In the Church, that something is belief in and loyalty to the Gospel.

Axiom #2 – Fellowship is what is held in common.
Quality of the fellowship is always determined by what you hold in common. If we have limited agreement - our level of fellowship will also be limited. The more substantial our agreement, the deeper our fellowship.

I am refreshed and exhausted. Now I need to dig out my office and catch up on my work.

Sleep Well!

(Psalms 4:8) I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
(Psalms 127:2) It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.

I think God built night into the world and built the need for sleep into our human bodies so that we could see our helplessness and be humbled before Him.

Sleep is a lesson in trust. You cannot protect yourself while you are asleep. You cannot run from danger or fight an attacker. You are blissfully asleep and essentially helpless. To do anything in your own behalf you need to wake up.

Because we need to sleep, we see our limitations. We cannot concentrate on anything for an indefinite period of time. We become fatigued. Our mind begins to falter. We can only continue after we recover through sleep. God is infinite. God is omnipotent. His knowledge of everything is exhaustive. His concentration never flags. We need to trust in Him. We can trust in Him.

(Psalms 121:2-7) My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul

Quietness versus Silence

(Psalms 46:10) Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

I am prejudiced toward action, but I need to spend time being quiet, knowing that God is acting for Himself. I need to be quiet and think about God - study His word - approach Him in prayer.

My hotel room is quiet... just the sound of the heater/air conditioner. White noise - they call it. I can also hear faint traffic sounds outside. Occasionally I hear a door open or close in the hallway - now some voices. (I'm not sure I ever experience perfect silence, since I have a perpetual ringing in my ears that keeps me company even when everything else is quiet. But even that tinnitus is a sort of white noise - a tintinnabulation like a chorus of Spring peepers.)

But it is quiet anyway. Quiet does not require silence. Quiet is the absence of distractions. If I turned on the TV - I would find that distracting. The communication coming from the TV would compete for my attention.

There are other kinds of noise. The computer I am using is on the hotel network - so I could access any number of things - e-mails, news sites, comics sites, U-Tube, God Tube, Facebook, etc. These things are not bad in their place, but if I let them intrude into my quiet they become noise - and they interfere.

Quiet can wear me out, but I need the quiet - some of it everyday.
I need the quiet for my Bible reading... otherwise I can't concentrate.
I need the quiet for my prayer time... so I can focus on God, His word, and His will for my life.

(Psalms 46:10) Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

The Sparrows

I went grocery shopping today through the season's first flurry of snow. There is barely enough snow to recognize - you would think it was just a sprinkle of rain. It is pretty cold... not quite freezing, but there's a promise of cold days coming.

As I wheeled my cart out to the parking lot I noticed a few sparrows sheltering under my truck. One was fluffed up with its head under its feathers in a perfect ball, just behind my rear tire. All the birds moved out when I started unloading my groceries, but they didn't go far. They went to the cart rack in the next parking space and puffed up there. As I walked around the truck to get to the passenger side, all but one popped up and hopped off.

The one that was left stayed in a tight ball of downy feathers while I looked it over from three feet away. When I spoke to it, it raised its head and looked at me from one sleepy eye. Then, deciding I was no threat, it snuggled back down and ignored me.

I don't have much use for sparrows - but these were cute! I'm glad to know they are under God's care.

(Matthew 10:28-31) And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Glorious Mornings With God

(Lamentations 3:22-23) Through the LORD’S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Everyday I fail the Lord in one way or another. I either do something I shouldn't or I fail to do something I should. I sin in my thoughts or with my tongue. I sleep when I should be awake. I think of myself when I should be thinking of my Lord.

The burden of my sinful imperfections is great, but I am not overwhelmed because God's mercy and compassion are new every morning! Great is His Faithfulness!

I love the morning - the early morning - the crack of dawn. The day is new. It is washed clean and new possibilities stretch out in front of me.

Instead of being burdened with the failures of yesterday, I am lifted up by God's grace for this new day. Today I can apply the lessons from yesterday. The traps I fell into yesterday can be avoided today. Because of my pain in yesterday's failures I will call out to God early in the morning - "do not lead me into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one."

God is so great and so good! Even when I do all that I should do, I will be but an unworthy servant! But He loves me anyway and works in my life. Today is a new day with God. With God all things are possible.

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.
As Thou hast been, Thou always will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided.
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Praise God for yet another day to serve Him!

Book Review: This Little Church Stayed Home

I just finished this book by Gary E. Gilley. The full title is "This Little Church Stayed Home: A faithful church in deceptive times."

This is a great read for someone like me who believes the Bible is the authoritative word of God and that the Church is the creation of Jesus Christ and subject to His Own design requirements. We do not "do church" according to our own whims and fancies. We are the church and we obey God's instructions about form and function.

In his previous book, "This Little Church Went To Market," Gilley detailed issues with the way the "market driven" church had developed. In this book, he takes on the postmodern emerging church movement. I think his criticisms in both cases are clear, well documented and more than fair. Gilley does not impugn his target's motives - just their theology.

Nevertheless, I get the feeling Gilley is frustrated - or maybe I am reading my own frustration into his words. Why are so many prominent Christians so willing to turn a blind eye to such glaring errors? How can anyone be happy with Christianity that is only a worldly philosophy dressed in religious clothes? How can people declare their fealty to the Bible as God's Word while using it and abusing it in ways that undercut its authority?

While this book sounds many important warnings to true believers, I don't think it focuses enough on "a faithful church in deceptive times." It outlines important basic doctrines of Scripture and the Church, but does not do much to highlight the churches that are truly faithful to these doctrines.

Faithful churches can thrive. Small churches can be vibrant. Persecuted churches are often the purest. Sound churches can grow. Gilley implies these things, but doesn't give much time to developing them. I wish he would.