Graves' This and That

   While working on a Bible study for Wednesday night from Seamless by Angie Smith, I note that she asked about the tunic that Jesus wore and the four guards haggling over the clothing.  Imagine with me, the very Son of God hanging there, dying for sins which He did not commit, getting to see and hear the haggling over His clothing with no one caring that He was dying as a innocent victim.   I loved the truth stated in the description of the garment, it was seamless.   Only the High Priest wore a seamless garment.  It was woven in one piece.  The guards haggled for the clothing, and divvied them up among themselves, but the tunic was taken and kept in one piece.  This was a fulfillment of Scripture from Psalm 22:18.  The High Priest dressed in his tunic/robe entered the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement.  He stood before the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat, the lid, covering the Ark.  He offered a bl...

  I had the privilege of being reared by a daddy "whose word was his bond".  I wonder if God ever wearies of the lies we tell ourselves,  the lies that we hide in and believe, and the lies we tell others?   I hate it that as I listen to others and to myself and my inner speakings that I have to "frisk" what is being said.  An old friend of mine often said, "Talk is cheap!"  It is for sure!  Does God ever weary of our words without obedience?  Psalm 51:6 is one of my favorite prayers for myself and others for whom I am praying. David in his confession and repentance in Psalm 51: "Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; You teach me wisdom in the inmost place."  The inner part of us is the really real us...vulnerable and transparent without games of let's pretend and let's play-like.  To live a duplicitous life-style keeps me from being a whole and healthy individual. I am like Humpty Dumpty, in broken pieces!   Our games destro...

I have always been enamored with one who is willing to be used of God to change the course of history or the times.  I think of William Wilberforce, a hero, who stood against the governmental powers of Great Britain to abolish slavery.  One cannot ignore the Martin Luther Kings, or the Lincolns who have stood and were willing to voice their refusals to continue a mindset that enslaved man, woman, and children.  Today, in the reading of Numbers 9-10, God has been so angry with the Israelites that He  commands Moses to let Him alone "to destroy them and to blot out their name from under heaven".  Moses "fell prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights ...I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord."  9:13.  "But again the Lord listened to me".   That is some powerful and lengthy intercession for his brother, Aaron, and the million or so people.  God uses our prayers to bring His will and His purpose from the heavens to affect us he...

  As I blog this morning, "Standing on the Promises" is playing in the background. I come to another promise in my reading found in Deuteronomy 7:9: "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commands." Moses knows that he will be leaving the people and that he will not enter the Promised Land.  As a good parent and leader, he is restating all that God has spoken to him so that the people will know how to walk in obedience in the new land that they are entering. Those years of parenting and being in the classroom bring to mind that most of the time is spent in reminding, remembering, reteaching, and constant modeling.  Each new instruction is usually built upon the foundation of an already learned process.  As a Christ follower, I get to be willing to allow Truth from God's Word and what I believe about God to be the foundation in my life,and wi...

  I decided that I had enough of Numbers with the priest's clothing, and some details that I think of as details for "Them" of that time period .  As I read the Word of God, I want to be sensitive to the Truth that God has for me "now" so that I can walk it out and my daily living and be nourished in my faith walk.  I remember having three growing boys who loved the outdoors and the 8 acres that they could roam, and THEY were predators/menace to some creatures in nature.  As they ventured outside, there was ALWAYS the "Be careful", "Misuse of a pellet gun can cause the loss of eyesight", or please "Watch out for snakes (water moccasins) in the bay head. "   Moving into the city, meant more boundaries, especially as they were out in a car....with other guys...with a girl.  Need I say more?  It was best in our thoughts for them to earn trust appropriate for their ages then hand them trust, and then have to snatch it back when and i...

What'cha packin? has become a question today in regards to "carrying heat"/licensed to carry/guns.  As I was thinking today about a packed suitcase being crammed with all that I think I may ever need, my luggage morphed into a metaphor for my life.  Because I have experienced a major loss this last month, thousands of questions have come to the heart and mind about life with the focus that life is short and death is inevitable, more than likely.  Even though ole Sol did not finish well considering all that God has lavished on him, he has done some solid writing in the Proverbs and with a clear heart and mind.  He suggests numerous items for needful navigating this life from Proverbs 4:  "I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths." "Hold on to instruction , do not let it go."  "Pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words ." " Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  "Get wis...

I remember an ole quote of my sage Grandmother, "Once a task has begun, do not leave it until it is done."  I wished I did not have to report that I have two sweaters, and one Afghan lying around in process, which need completion.  They have each been on the needles for years. Ugh! Someday... Psalm 138 is a psalm written by David.  Hear David's heart as he exuberantly praises God, "Thank you!  Everything in me says, "Thank you!" Angels listen as I sing my thanks.  I kneel in worship facing your holy temple and say it again: "Thank you!" Thank you for your love, thank you for your faithfulness.  Most holy is your name, most holy is your word.  The moment I called out, you stepped in; you made my life large with strength."   (From the Message) David is an ole guy with whom you and I can identify: flawed, fragile, finite, yet, thankful.  I love his transparency.  He experiences great victories, great moral defeats, and even what you and I...

Restoration is a major theme in Scripture.  The Psamist in 126 gives us the picture of the returning exiles from Babylon led by the Priest, Ezra.  This psalm is one which may have been sung on the way "up" to Jerusalem to begin the work and worship of the Lord. It is referred to as a song of ascents. I love the second and third verses for I can almost hear their laughter and their songs of joy as they are traveling.  They long to see the day when the rest of the exiles would be returning.   Note their request in verses 4-6: "Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev (desert).  Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.  He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him."  For them, they have a yearning to see the land being sown, alive, and harvests coming forth.  They want to see Jerusalem alive again with the hustle and bustle of peoples.  The land around Jerusal...

Tomorrow, the 22nd, will be one month since David went home to be with the Lord.  I am so grateful to have had 48 years to have loved him.  Very grateful that I saw the ravages of graft versus host disease for the last three years or I would have hung on to him even harder before releasing him. Dang it, I miss him today! I am grateful for all who loved and honored him with the celebration service.  I wonder? Just mullin'.  I saw David as very private about his emotions.  I saw him as being very practical, black and white in his thinking, and very servant-hearted toward others.  As a little guy, he was constantly under my feet, and I knew then that God had given him a heart to serve others, but I was not wise enough to know how and when.  He was also a cool-head in a crisis.  I recall the time that his younger brother and he had been throwing ice water on one another in the shower, it was Drew's turn to retaliate.  He did as David was in the...

OK, so yesterday it was a donkey who spoke, which is MOST unusual.  I reminded you that God can and will use anyone or anything in order to accomplish HIS plan and purpose for His own.  Today, it is Balaam, the sorcerer/fortune-teller who will speak.  I will only focus on two  of his oracles to the king of Moab, Balak, about God and the Israelites.   Balaam has been hired for strategy information.  King Balak also wants him to "curse" the Israelites in the process.  As the king takes Balaam to several locations to view the hordes of Israelites encamped in the distance, Balaam keeps speaking a blessing over the Israelites.  Please keep in mind that God is Sovereign and is in total control, regardless of what a situation looks like or feels like!  Hear the crux of Balaam's oracle in Numbers 23:19-20, "God is not a man, that He should lie, not a son of man, that He should change His mind.  Does He speak and not fulfill?  I have recei...

You have heard the ole reply, "When pigs fly" or "When hell freezes over!" to suggest the impossibility of a happening.  Today in Numbers 22, a donkey speaks.  A reminder that God will use whatever and whomever to intervene and bring about His plan and purpose.     You will have to check out the backstory of Numbers 22 and Balaam.  Balaam is more of a ancient fortune-teller who would give his "divination" and then is well- paid for the information. He feigns to be a God worshiper.  Israel is prepared to take more land to enter Moab.  Their reputation has scared the very wits out of the occupants of the land.  The king of Moab decides to hire Balaam for his "insight" and "divination" to develop a strategy against Israel.  Balaam is on his donkey riding to meet with the king, Balak.  God is angry that Balaam has given his disclaimer that "I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God" eve...

When the people heard the judgment against them by God, they "mourned bitterly".  They confessed their sin and DECIDED they would go up to the place that the Lord had promised.  Moses warned them of their defeat and they would be going without Moses, the cloud, or the Ark of the Covenant.  This phrase caught my attention, "Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up.." Numbers 14:44  The word picture for presumption is to swell in the Hebrew language.  Presumption is always arrogance/PRIDE.  In the battle, they were beaten to a pulp by the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in the hill country.  I would think with the judgment against them by God and being beaten to a bloody pulp would have spoken volumes to the Israelites.  I wonder? Am I ever that stubborn/mulish? Human nature probably hasn't changed much from 1277 BC-2017AD.  Chapter 16 picked up with the same insolent attitude prevalent as some leaders raised up against Moses...

The book of Numbers is replete with several unnamed emotionally negative thespians.  The drama is exhausting.  God said of Moses: "Now Moses was a very humble man , more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."  Numbers 12:3.  In the previous chapter, he has endured the jealousy and envy of his own brother and sister.  Miriam was stricken with leprosy for her envy yet Moses prayed for her and she was healed.  I wonder? What disease and color would we have every time we have been envious of another?  I do not wear white or green very well since I am so light skinned!  God has directed Moses to send out 12 spies, one from each tribe.  They are checking out the land where they are going.  They spend 40 days looking at the people, the cities, the fortification, the terrain, and the produce.  The spies return and give their report: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!  Here ...

Poor Moses!  Numbers 11 is a continuing litany of complaints.  This could be a page out of most of prayer journals with our demands and whines.  Imagine with me if our whines and complaints had been included in the Sacred Text for all to read.  Or do we keep our whines to ourselves?  I wish! You wish, also, if you have to hear them repeatedly, even from someone you love!  It seems the "rabble" (Some of the Israelites had in-bred with the Egyptians and were scorned by the Israelites.)  and the Israelites had joined together in their "wailing" of  "no meat".  The meat being fish.  Wonder how many fish swim around in the sand and heat of a desert?  Mamas had fried, baked, ground, stewed,or sauteed the manna that God had provided. Being weary of the manna, their voices are now filled with rebellion toward the Lord with their comments, "Why did we leave Egypt?". Moses is so bewildered that he brings his very legitimate complaint to G...

Oh my! The Hebrews have probably been encamped for a long season and now they are up and moving.  "Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD , and when He heard them His anger was aroused."  I wonder is there someplace special we can go to complain where an ALL-KNOWING, EVER-PRESENT,ALL-SEEING AND ALL-HEARING GOD cannot hear our complaints?  God's anger was so aroused that He allowed fire to burn among and "consume some of the outskirts of the camp."  I get it, the people are weary, they desire something more than the manna to eat.  It may have been called the food of the angels, but in Hebrew, it means, "What is it?"  Reading Exodus and Numbers, it has been a long 40 years of whining, complaining, ungratefulness, and occasionally, some rejoicing. I remind you again that Moses and Aaron are hearing the complaints from among a million or so people.   Complaining/murmuring is the Hebrew picture of mourning.  Not a...

In the closing of Numbers 9, instructions are given as to when the Tribes were to pack up and go and when they were to unpack and stay in a location.  Remember, they are moving about a 600,000 people and that is only those 20 years of age and above....no count of those below 20 years of age.  I remember trying to get 5 in the car, packed, and ready to go...no tv in the car either, was a minor feat. Not to even mention, the arguing of the three.  So in fact, they are moving about a million people, their animals, and their belongings!  Excedrin headache? The cloud was their Divine Guide. The cloud was the map reader!  As long as the cloud stayed over the Tabernacle, they stayed in the area.  When the cloud lifted, the Tribes knew it was time to move.  What a visual!   As a Christ follower, we have a Divine Guide who indwells us, the Holy Spirit.  He indwells us to "teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." ...

The book of Numbers opens with the census taken by Moses of each Tribe, and then one begins to see the encampment of each Tribe around the Tabernacle. Too bad for you if you did not like the location of your tent!  Now Moses begins to assign the burdens of the Tabernacle to be carried by cart, on their animals, or on their backs.   As I thought of their assignments, I again said, "Thank You, Lord that You chose for me to live at this time."  You can bet that no one had a weight problem in those days with the transporting of the items and most of the people walking.  I have read of a lot of complaining throughout their trip, but I did not read of any Tribe that whined about the burden they were assigned.  Let's face it, some burdens, we carry with joy and also tiredness: children/family, marriage, mates, and the home.  These are primary assignments to which I think that Matthew 11:30 speaks "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." He is gracious to ...

  Every other year or so, I decide to skip the book of Leviticus in the Bible.  Details can be so overwhelming.   Leviticus is the REMINDER that the once and for all transaction on Calvary by our Lord for you and me took care of all our sins.  Oh the blood of Jesus which cleanses us from all our sins!  Grateful! I quickly run to Numbers, the story of Israel's preparation to enter the land promised to them...FINALLY.  This first generation is finishing up their added wanderings of 40 years for their unbelief. The Lord was so angered by their unbelief and disobedience that He vowed that no one over the age of 20 would go into the Promised Land.  (40 in Scripture is always the number signifying testing or trials.) Presently, God has given Moses the placement of each Tribe's encampment around the Tent of Meeting. They are in four divisions shaped like a quadrangle around the Tent of Meeting.  Each camp is "under his standard with the banner...

  I know that the Cross Church, a church plant of our church in another location,  has a major challenge in setting up worship at the school where they meet each Sunday, but what I read from Exodus 38-40, those people also had major challenges in setting up to worship.  My mind and heart run to Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi where some of my loved ones have a ministry, Evangelism Partnership International.  I have a list of 155 of the new "churches"  who gather to worship in buildings which they made bricks and constructed, in schools,  in sheds, under trees, and under a mango tree.  The majority of the "churches" meet under trees. The summers are very hot and the winters are coolish and rainy.  Of course, we have the privilege of meeting to worship in heated, air conditioned, and in solid comfort of well- constructed buildings.  The statement from Scripture quickly grabs my mind, "To whom much is given; much is required."  Luke 12:48b...

The phrase which caught my eye in Exodus 36:6-7 "And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work."  I just betcha few pastors have ever had to ask the members of the body of Christ to be restrained in their giving!  I don't know if I have heard of anyone giving so much that they were asked to not give for whatever period of time.  This passage from Exodus 36 is about collecting materials, gold, silver, talent, etc from the Hebrews for the building of the Tabernacle.   More than enough can refer to a plethora of items we possess from money, talents, our spiritual gifts, our time, our prayers, our service to others.  You name it! I love it that there is finally a positive  reading about this "stiff-necked" group .  This same whining, complaining, murmuring, and rebellious group set up to bring all their "talents and treasures" together.  Amazing what can be accomplished wh...

I am in Exodus 33 this morning.  God has told Moses that He will send an angel before him and his people to drive out those inhabiting the lands which God has given to the Hebrews.  BUT He has affirmed to Moses that He is NOT going with them "because you (the Hebrews) are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you (the Hebrews) on the way." For their disobedience at Mt. Sinai, the people were already disciplined with a plague because of the worship of the golden calf.  This is NOT the first time that the people who constantly whined, grumbled, murmured, and were rebellious are referenced to as "stiff-necked". The people heard that report and they began to mourn.  Moses intercedes for the people, and God chooses to go with them only because of His pleasure with Moses.   I am an only child because of medical reasons of my parents and I do enjoy some times going it alone.  In those times of going it alone, I know that Father God is present with me. Bu...

Yelp,we are that point in Exodus to view more of the flaws of the Hebrews who have been enslaved in Egypt. (Hopefully, I am willing to check out my own flaws.) Exodus 32.  Moses is up at Mt. Sinai for some 40 days, receiving the Ten Commandments, written on stone by God. The people are fearful that Moses had been gone too long.They are accustomed to being enslaved so they decide to celebrate.  No problem until, the priest, Aaron, and brother of Moses encourages the people to remove all their gold, and he decides to make a golden calf to worship. Hand-carved by Him!  The calf had been worshiped in Egypt and was called the Apis Bull.  Bull symbolic of strength and power. The people had seen tha t idol/icon and maybe had even taken part in the worship.   Don't you love Aaron's take on how the bull came about as he was reporting to an angry Moses when he came down the mountain? You need to check out Exodus 32 to get all the back-story.  Aaron actually told Mo...

   In my reading this morning, I was not ready to press the role of the priest and his clothing from Exodus. So here I am in the Psalms.  Ps. 125:1-2 "Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds His people both now and forevermore." There is more than enough activity going on in our world to presently cause me to shake and quake full-time but I am selective about those things that rattle my cage.  My old strongholds where I allowed the evil one to nest or hole up have been in the area of fear.  Fear never sets up residence alone, it always brings other "back-up" emotions which are grounded in pride: insecurity, competing, comparing, and controlling just to name a few other negative emotions. I continue in process to tear down the lies and strongholds which once nested without much resistance from me.  2 Corinthians 10:3-5. ...

DETAILS!!  I can drown when I walk into Charming Charlies or Hobby Lobby with all my senses totally exploding.  I am more of a big-picture "Let's get this done and move on" person.  Oh, how I need and have needed, especially when I was an educator in the classroom, those "beloveds" who exuded details and brought me to the reality, Here is how to accomplish.  Right now as I am wandering through the details of the Tabernacle and its design in Exodus 25-40, I want to know what it means to me in 2017.  Obviously, I can't answer all of that, but I am grateful that my Heavenly Father is the God of details especially when it has to do with THIS lady, her family, friends, and prayer concerns.  I cry out to God, the One who in Psalm 138:8 promises through David, the shepherd-King: "The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O LORD, endures forever--do not abandon the works of YOUR hands."  Promise made; Promise Kept.  His purpose and promis...