THE SABBATH—FOR OUR GOOD AND GOD’S GLORY!

Posted on December 17, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Who doesn’t love a great chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A?!

Chick-fil-A is an American fast food restaurant chain and the largest chain specializing in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A operates 3,059 restaurants across 48 states, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company also has operations in Canada, and previously had restaurants in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The chain also provides catering services. They offer many discounts for local sports, church events, and other non-profits as a way to give back to the community they serve.  Chick-fil-A calls its specialty the “original chicken sandwich”. The sandwich is simply a piece of deep-fried breaded boneless chicken breast served on a toasted bun with two slices of dill pickle, or with lettuce, tomato, and cheese.

Many of the company’s values are influenced by the Christian religious beliefs of its late founder, S. Truett Cathy (1921–2014), a devout Southern Baptist. Reflecting a commitment to “honoring the Sabbath”, all Chick-fil-A restaurants are closed for business on Sundays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day.  Cathy said “Our decision to close on Sunday was our way of honoring God and of directing our attention to things that mattered more than our business.”

The company’s official statement of corporate purpose says that the business exists “To glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us. To have a positive influence on all who come in contact with Chick-fil-A”.  It has been proven that honoring God by keeping the Sabbath holy along with allowing employees a day of rest from their labors, has been pleasing to God as all glory was given to God for Chick-fil-A’s success.  Chick-fil-A continues to rise above the competition who sell chicken as their specialty and are open seven days a week. In other words, Chick-fil-A does in six days what the others try to do in seven.  So, in our world, it has been proven by Cathy’s company that to continue “honoring the sabbath and keeping it holy” is still for our good and God’s glory!   

Exodus 35 is where it all began—with God’s commandment— “For six days, work; but on the seventh day, observe a holy rest.”

Exodus 35

Sabbath Regulations

Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a day of sabbath rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”

Materials for the Tabernacle

4 Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

10 “All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the Lord has commanded: 11 the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; 12 the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; 13 the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; 14 the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; 16 the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; 17 the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; 18 the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; 19 the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

20 Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the Lord for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. 22 All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. 24 Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. 25 Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. 26 And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. 29 All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the Lord freewill offerings for all the work the Lord through Moses had commanded them to do.

Bezalel and Oholiab

30 Then Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35 He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God calls. God equips. God sends. God fills the souls of men and women whose hearts are willing and obedient with His Holy Spirit.  God could have most certainly waved His hand over the wilderness sojourners to provide a tent of meeting for Himself; but instead He chose men and women with special skills, wisdom, and abilities to not only do the work but teach others the work.  God is teaching His People how to give Him glory in all areas of their lives!  It’s not about the task itself; it’s about God.  It is God who is inviting us to JOIN Him in His work!  What an awesome opportunity!  THIS is what the “willing people” throughout this passage are driven by—God’s invitation!

God knows that when we see Him work in and through us, equipping us, teaching us through discovery learning, (as we educators call it); that we will not soon forget how much God does for our good as we give Him the glory!  It is in doing the tasks that we see the glory of God at work!

We learn that we can do nothing of significance without God leading and equipping us; providing all we need to accomplish His will and plan with His purpose. God always has purpose and that purpose is unique to every man and women He has created.  With God, ordinary people do extraordinary works!

We learn that our willing obedience to God gives us more understanding and insight about God.  We learn that God knows that sometimes the obedient enjoy doing what God wants so much, they forget to rest and just be with God.  So, God, who also rested on the seventh day after creating the whole world in the previous six days; commands that we do the same. 

God is God. We are not God.  The Psalmist tells us that holy rest includes being still and letting go of all that is between God and us;

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 (Read the whole psalm!)

Jesus taught this same truth to His followers;

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”—Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30

Our response to God’s command is to come and rest from our labors, taking one Sabbath day each week, coming before our holy God, seeking to be made holy by Him. Why is this necessary, even today?  For our own good!  God knows exactly what we need when we need it.  We must take time to be still.  Being still in Psalm 46 means letting go of all that concerns us so that we can give our full, undivided attention to God. It is in this response that we know God more! It is a time to freely worship God and give thanks for all He has provided.  And it is a holy time to give back a portion of what God has given to us willingly.  It is time for God to do in us what we cannot do for ourselves—make us holy.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

Just ask the chicken sandwich maker!

Lord,

You call us to come to you then you equip us to accomplish your uniquely created purpose in each one of us.  You are amazing in all your ways.  Your love and compassion for us is sometimes beyond our understanding—but I am grateful for your relentless love, mercy, and grace!  Thank you for saving my soul by your willing sacrifice.  I offer my life back to you willingly as an offering to you today.  Lead me, Lord with your agenda, through every detail of today. May your glory be seen in me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS –SECOND EDITION

Posted on December 16, 2024 by randscallawayffm

A special speaker was coming to our church that Sunday!  I remember it so well!  I was a younger mom, working as a public-school teacher, volunteering to teach Sunday School, and then played the piano for worship as any good pastor’s wife was expected to be and do! (A story for another time.)  I looked forward to talking with this man who I had admired for years for his wisdom and compassionate love for others.  He was going to stay in our home.  Although that meant more preparation; we were elated to host him so we could have some one-on-one time with him before sharing him with the rest of the congregation.  It was a busy time with many details to accomplish as we prepared for his coming. 

The women of the church took over the after-church meal that rivaled all other meals provided in the past!  They were so excited for his coming to be with us that the women planned a meal of their best recipes.  All was going according to plan until I decided to “help” in the kitchen along with all my other tasks as host. I saw an older woman struggling to bring in her dish.  I quickly took the huge dish of roast prepared beautifully from her.  Then I tripped. The hot dish slid out of my hand and splattered all over the floor in a big mess of ruined meat.  We both just looked at each other in shock.  I was mortified and I wanted to cry.  But she smiled, looked into my eyes, and quickly helped me recover by forgiving me with words that brought me back to the main reason to celebrate that day of worship of God with learning from God through this man of God.  She said; “It’s only meat, the best is yet to come, hearing God speak today through His servant!”  In other words, let’s keep our attention on God for this is why we came.

God’s People tripped up, fell back to old habits of idol worship learned well while in bondage as slaves in Egypt.  They sinned aggressively against God by sidelining God. Aaron, second in charge, fearful for what the people might do to him, gave in to their wishes.  Aaron took gold from donated jewelry, melted the gold down, and then molded a golden calf to appease the people who were used to being able to see and touch their gods.  They forgot Who rescued them and brought them out of slavery. They forgot who they should be worshipping who provided daily manna with good water to drink each day of their lives on their journey. They forgot why they are on this journey in the first place—to be led by God to the land He promised to give them. They forgot God.

God knew what was happening as His finger was craving out the Ten Commandments that included, “You shall have no other gods before me,” as one of the Ten non-negotiable commandments of God.  This miracle of God’s hand on Moses’ tablets was happening at the same time as His people were in direct disobedience of this very command. God is angry.  This is a very bad day.  Evil seems to be winning while Moses is communing with God.  The Enemy is crafty and knows when and how to trip us up when we least expect it! God warns Moses of the ways of evil.

God sent Moses back down the mountain to address and confront the people.  However, Moses being with God, learning from God, with knowing God’s heart; felt the anger within him that was in God.  The more we know God; our hearts begin to beat like the heart of God. What breaks God’s heart; breaks our hearts.  What happened next?  Moses saw and heard the evil, ungodly, unholy acts of the very people God led through the Red Sea and his anger welled up inside him. In anger, Moses threw down the first set of tablets, written by the finger of God, and they broke into pieces!

But God forgave Moses. God provided punishment and consequences for those who directly and rebelliously sinned against Him. God forgave the people.  “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning,” The Psalmist will write later.  Psalm 30:5

God told Moses to prepare another set of stone tablets to replace what was broken in anger.  God is giving His people another chance to know Him, worship Him, and learn who He really is with all He wants to provide for them.  God is jealous.  But not like we think of jealousy today.  God desires greatly to pour out His blessings of all that is good over us.  But if we decide, (and it is a decision), to turn our allegiance and focused attention to the Enemy who wants to destroy us, or to anything other than God; it breaks His heart.  God is jealous for our full attention because He is always at work on our behalf!  And what breaks the heart of God will always break the heart of one who knows God.

Exodus 34

The New Stone Tablets

The Lord said to Moses, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain. 3 No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”

4 So Moses chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones and went up Mount Sinai early in the morning, as the Lord had commanded him; and he carried the two stone tablets in his hands. 5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped. 9 “Lord,” he said, “if I have found favor in your eyes, then let the Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as your inheritance.”

10 Then the Lord said: “I am making a covenant with you. Before all your people I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you. 11 Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.

17 “Do not make any idols.

18“Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt.

19 “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. 20 Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons.

“No one is to appear before me empty-handed.

21 “Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest.

22 “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the firstfruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. 23 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. 24 I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God.

25 “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.

26 “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God.

“Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

27 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.

The Radiant Face of Moses

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND? 

By the grace of God, Moses achieved his purposes: God promised to go with the people, God showed Moses a glimpse of His glory, and God forgave the sins of the nation. Moses could return to the camp with the second tablets of the law and tell the people God had forgiven their sins.  Would the people be grateful for the forgiveness of God?  Would they follow the conditions of the Covenant made between God and His People?  Will they be tripped up later by their enemies?  Some will not listen and some will follow. Stay tuned. 

The Glory of God—

Moses had been fasting and praying in the presence of God for eighty days, and he had seen a glimpse of God’s glory (see also 2 Cor. 3:7–18). Is it any wonder that he had a shining face? He didn’t realize that he had “absorbed” some of the glory and was reflecting it from his countenance. Because of this glory, the people were afraid to come near him, but he summoned them to come and they talked as before.  Moses was still Moses but he was being transformed by God and it showed on his face!  This happens to all new believers in Jesus who decide to take time to be with God each day.  Our faces will show the glory of God reflecting from us.  Our behaviors will also transform to demonstrate the glorious love of God in us!

Paul applied Moses’ experience to Christians who by faith see the glory of Jesus Christ in the Word and experience a spiritual transformation (2 Cor. 3:17, 18). This is why as believers of Jesus seeking Him first and only as our guide and example for living ; read the Bible and let it soak into our being!  When a child of God looks into the Word of God and sees the Son of God, he or she is transformed by the Spirit of God into the image of God for the glory of God!  Yes!  It’s all about God—not us.

Lord,

Thank you for the memories of tripping up but finding forgiveness in you.  We are not perfect but we are certainly perfectly forgiven.  We don’t deserve your love and sacrifice for our sins; but I am grateful, so very grateful you met our need and did not give up on us.  Thank you for teaching us today of your compassionate love for us.  You are all we need to live in eternity with you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, for Your glory, Amen

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MOVING ON WITH GOD

Posted on December 15, 2024 by randscallawayffm

In the months after God called Randy and I to be leaders in ministry of His church; we sought the Lord diligently.  We asked God to lead us, teach us, and give us all He knew we would need for this new journey of leaving what we once knew—public school teaching—to move on to the more challenging work that God had for us while not knowing exactly where God would lead us next.What we did have was the Hope of Heaven living in us which provided the benefits of a loving Father who answered our prayers of need.

Now, many years later, after many growing experiences through trials and testimonies of God’s goodness; we are in a new season of moving with God at His command.  There is still some molding and shaping that God still needs to do to make us all He created us to be and then do.  We know that.  So, we still seek the Lord daily for His will to be done in every aspect of our lives.  What we have learned over the years is that like Moses, if God isn’t going with us then we do not want to go!                

Exodus 33

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Leave this place, you and the people you brought up out of Egypt, and go up to the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ 2 I will send an angel before you and drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.”

4 When the people heard these distressing words, they began to mourn and no one put on any ornaments. 5 For the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.’” 6 So the Israelites stripped off their ornaments at Mount Horeb.

The Tent of Meeting

7 Now Moses used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some distance away, calling it the “tent of meeting.” Anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting outside the camp. 8 And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents, watching Moses until he entered the tent. 9 As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at the entrance, while the Lord spoke with Moses. 10 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. 11 The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.”

14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

21 Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God is a Friend to Moses.  Moses’ relationship with God is sacred and holy.  But it is also a relationship where Moses is confident enough to speak to God as a Friend who presents the human perspective of God’s created because He knows God can do anything.  Moses does not like to see His Friend angry. 

For Moses, there is no one like God and there never has been anyone like God. Moses not only hears from God as a prophet would with the assignment of passing God’s message to the people; but their relationship is so much more than the work.  Moses and God enjoy their conversations, though convicting and very hard at times. God, as a friend, enjoys being with Moses.

God enjoys being a Friend as well as our Father.  God loves us with a love that is beyond human love.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17

Consider God as Friend.  God, the Father, sent Jesus, His Son to earth seek and to save the lost.  Jesus was not sent as God’s assistant manager with clipboard in hand to make a checklist of the sins of the world. God already knew them.  God already knows our sins.  We know our sins, too, if we stop to admit our sins—and confess them.  

Let’s recap:  God’s Son Jesus came in the form of infant, born to a virgin and her espoused husband who were also friends of God—devoted friends of faith who believed what God said and did what He directed them to do!  Jesus grew “in stature and wisdom” in His Jewish community and went with other young boys to synagogue school.  As an adult, Jesus made friends among those who began to realize who He was, believe in what He said and followed his teachings from God.  Jesus accepted all who came to Him with a need. Sometimes He went to the needy.  God led him to the wilderness to be tested as he fasted and prayed to His Father.  Jesus defeated the Enemy in the desert with God’s Word of Truth. 

Jesus then began his directed mission of seeking, saving, and healing the brokenhearted and setting the captives free from their own demons. His final act on earth was to willing lay down his life in the place of punishment for our sins.  Jesus, who knew no sin in his life was the perfect sacrifice for all the sins of the world. 

Jesus also gathered a dozen ordinary men, some unschooled, some who caught fish for a living, a business manager, and one who was a tax collector who took copious notes!  They all became friends as followed Jesus and learned from Him.  Jesus was their friend and their Master Teacher; until one of them sold Jesus out to His accusers, the religious who were jealous of him. They were not friends of Jesus and did not want to be! But Jesus, Son of God, became a Friend to each one who believed, loved, and followed Him. 

Jesus explains this Friendship and intimate Relationship with these beautiful words:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” John 15:9-17

Jesus becomes our Friend when we acknowledge who He is with what He did to remove our sins.  Jesus gives us a new life of freedom that our old way of living did not provide.  God who knew all believers would need help after Jesus ascended back to heaven sent a Helper, God’s Holy Spirit, to be a part of our being, living with us, to guide us to all Truth in a world constantly tempted by the Deceiver.  

Real friends want to spend time with each other, can’t wait to talk to each other, and go to places that friends enjoy together.  Real friends share honestly and openly with each other. Real friends love each other.

God/Jesus/Holy Spirit, the Three-in-One, desires to be a real Friend to us, One who never leaves us or forgets us. God is ready to pour out His blessings over those who love Him and keep His commands for their good and His glory. God, as our Friend, is always for us, not against us, so He is always at work on our behalf so we can become all He created us to be.  God is always with us.  Yes, there is no like our God!

Lord,

Thank you for being our Friend as well as our Savior and Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen       

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

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I CAN SEE AND HEAR YOU!

Posted on December 14, 2024 by randscallawayffm

As a former public-school teacher, I can readily and easily relate to the scene in Exodus 32.  I totally get it! When a teacher is summoned to the door of the classroom; our eyes are directed away from our students to the person who has interrupted the lesson.  As soon as we answer the door, no, even while we are walking to the door; our students who have lost eye contact with us think we as teachers no longer see them—or hear them! 

Talking rises to a new decibel.  Some will leave their tasks and decide to play, and others will pull out all their finely tuned tricks of misbehaving with rapid fire.  All this happens in nanoseconds as the teacher deals with the person at the door.  Even if it is the principle at the door; it does not matter to those who are left unsupervised—or so they think!

The principle, Moses, leaves God’s People in the care of Aaron, the assistant principle while he goes up the mountain to get God’s instructions. God’s seminar of detailed directions is taking forty days and night because it includes God’s Laws given with purpose so that the people will know HE is God and God alone. 

However, since Moses’ eyes are diverted away from “his students” and focused on God, the creator of all life; mischief beyond his imagination ensues.  Aaron can’t handle the peer pressure as he has never been in a situation like this so he caves to the wishes of the people led by selfish desires to only follow what they can see and touch—made by human hands.

God’s Rescued are doing exactly what He, Himself, told His people not to do.  God commanded them as they gathered at the base of the mountain; “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” Exodus 20:4 This command was number three of the non-negotiable Ten!  But while Moses is away, this is exactly what the people do.

While concluding the seminar; God informs Moses of what the people are doing while they are together on the mountaintop. Nothing escapes the notice and attention of God!  (You might say, as many say of teachers; he does have eyes in the back of his head!)

While Moses is engrossed in God’s seminar to learn from Him all he needs to know to tell God’s rescued and redeemed people how to love God back with how to love and treat each other—the people misbehave in ungodly ways and will have to pay the consequences of their sins against God.

Exodus 32

The Golden Calf

When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.”

2 Aaron answered them, “Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, “These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”

5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord.” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’

9 “I have seen these people,” the Lord said to Moses, “and they are a stiff-necked people. 10 Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

11 But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God. “Lord,” he said, “why should your anger burn against your people, whom you brought out of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people. 13 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self: ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’” 14 Then the Lord relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.

15 Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets.

17 When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, “There is the sound of war in the camp.”

18 Moses replied:

“It is not the sound of victory,
    it is not the sound of defeat;
    it is the sound of singing that I hear.”

19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 And he took the calf the people had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it.

21 He said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?”

22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”

25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.” And all the Levites rallied to him.

27 Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then Moses said, “You have been set apart to the Lord today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.”

30 The next day Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

31 So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”

33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. 34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

35 And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

“O you, of little faith” says Jesus to His disciples who are in training.  When our attention is fully on God; we are in awe of God with a healthy fear of the One who is able to do anything in heaven and earth for our good and His glory.  God is the One and Only God who provided the Way (Jesus, His Son) to be redeem us from our sins and selfishness to be reconciled back to God!  When our eyes are diverted from the Teacher; we miss His glory and goodness at work all around us.  And when we miss seeing and hearing God at work; our faith is weakened.  When our faith grows weak; our resolve to love God back in grateful praise and to love each other like He loves us is in danger of being prey for the Enemy of God.  It’s an age-old problem in our broken world with God.

The Master Teacher, Jesus taught a “hands-on seminar” his students never forgot because they told it to us so we would never forget the desire of God coupled with all the power of God used by God to rescue us.

“Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” Matthew 14:25-32

Are you crying?  I am—tears of gratitude!  I have been the disciple who didn’t even get out of the boat and I have been the disciple who took the risk to miraculously walk with Jesus while led to do a new thing for the Lord that I could not do without Him.  What I have learned is that it is not the task but our faith of obedience that God is teaching.  “One to three—eyes on Me,” I used to say to my students.  This is the same message God is teaching us daily!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace…

When Jesus reaches out His hand to rescue us—get a grip and don’t let go of the hand who wants to save us from drowning in the desires of the world around us.  God’s eyes of compassion are always on us. “God with us”, Immanuel, taught us this truth when He walked the earth to “seek and to save the lost.”  Look up and live!  Focus on the One who holds our best in His heart. May we truly believe and place all our hope and faith in the One who loves you and I most. 

Then go and tell, living as redeemed people who long to share where the Bread of Life who feeds and fully satisfies our hunger can be found.  Enjoy quenching your thirst with the Living Water from the well of God that never runs dry! 

Lord,

Thank you for rescuing me from my own sins of self along with the effects of sin of others.  Thank you for teaching me Your Word that encourages us to remain faithful to you who is faithful to us always. Thank you for coming down, as Moses did, to reconnect us to You who is Truth.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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WHERE GOD GUIDES; GOD PROVIDES

Posted on December 13, 2024 by randscallawayffm

We broke ground on the property our small congregation of about a hundred people had purchased with a loan and fundraisers.  We were renting a building for church and were anxious to avoid rental costs in the future with owning our own building dedicated to God for His glory and for our outreach to a community closer to where most of us lived.  I remember my grandpa, elder and worship leader, gathering shovels for the pastor and other elders to ceremoniously turn over the soil on our new property, dedicating it to God.  We rejoiced as we gathered in a large circle while imagining what God would do next to provide a building for us in the near future.  I was in junior high at the time.  This moment in time was impressive to me.  It will always be a vivid memory of the dedication of ordinary people, willingly used of God to do extraordinary, miraculous God-sized projects.

We prayed for just right place and God guided us to this property in a place near crossroads heavily traveled.  Many more gatherings at the altar, seeking God’s guidance and provision would occur over the next few years as we dreamed of God’s building.  My grandpa, a competent carpenter by trade, was chosen to oversee the structure from the inside out and outside in.  He donated all his time and labor to this project. I watched him work and saw the joy he had in perfecting each task.  Grandpa knew people in construction and was able to keep costs down by seeking skillful people who would donate some of their labor for this new church.  In the meantime, the congregation did want they could to raise the money needed for a down payment that would secure a loan for the rest of the building. 

It just so happened that my timid, widowed grandma, my dad’s mom, worked for a wealthy woman as her household manager.  This oil baroness loved Grandma but avoided talk of her faith as she was not a believer.  The wealthy woman’s lawyer visited often and was also impressed with Grandma’s faith and work ethic.  One day, Grandma felt led by God to tell them what her church was doing.  “What do you need?”  was their response!  Grandma was anxiously surprised by their asking and told them about God’s building plan with the need.  The lawyer worked out a loan that was more than generous as well as timely!  God provided the funds needed to build!   

There is a lot more to this story, but you get the picture and I enjoyed telling you a portion of the story of God’s provision that occurred from 1965-1969.  The completed building appraised later (in that time) for about $100,000 but it was built for about $25,000!  It still stands today and is used for God’s purpose—worship of God, learning about God, while serving the people of the community.

God guided; God provided.  God leads Moses to His choice of craftsmen, gifted by Him to do all that He has commanded His people to do.  Let’s listen in…

Exodus 31

Bezalel and Oholiab

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. 6 Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you: 7 the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— 8 the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, 9 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand— 10 and also the woven garments, both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests, 11 and the anointing oil and fragrant incense for the Holy Place. They are to make them just as I commanded you.”

The Sabbath

12 Then the Lord said to Moses, 13 “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the Lord, who makes you holy.

14 “‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it is to be put to death; those who do any work on that day must be cut off from their people. 15 For six days work is to be done, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day is to be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

18 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God enjoys gifting people with all they need to accomplish His Plan and purpose for each one of our lives. God provides all for our good and His glory. The sooner we understand how God works, the sooner we can see the benefits while enjoying His work in and through us!  God gives us purpose! There is no one like our God!

The prophet Jeremiah proclaims this truth later as God’s People are exiled while suffering from another bondage.  In Jeremiah’s God-led letter to the exiles we learn why it is written;

“This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets and all the other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.(This was after King Jehoiachin and the queen mother, the court officials and the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the skilled workers and the artisans had gone into exile from Jerusalem.)” Jeremiah 29:1-2

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7

In other words, God is in control and His plan will prevail. God is relentless in accomplishing His Plan—just look at Jesus!  God’s compassions for His People do not fail.  His love for all who believe never fails!  Truth.

Within this next text of Jeremiah, of which we often only quote the popular portion, gives us a look at the bigger picture;

“This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:10-14

Jeremiah offered hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.  One of the first steps in turning tragedy and trials into triumph is to accept the situation courageously and put ourselves into the hands of a loving God, who makes no mistakes.  The Jews, God’s Chosen People since before Moses easily could have waged constant warfare against their idolatrous Gentile captors, but Jeremiah instructed them to strive to get along with the Babylonians. The exiles were to be peacemakers, not troublemakers, and they were to pray sincerely for their enemies; the same message that God spoke through Jesus and his disciples! (Matt. 5:43–48; 1 Tim. 2:1–3; Titus 3:1-2). It was possible to be good Jews even in a pagan land.  Mm, food for thought, right?  Is it possible to be good believers in Jesus in the pagan world around us?  Yes, absolutely!

Jesus is our Hope of eternal life with God.  Jesus, God Son, was sent to earth centuries later to speak on a mountain top to thousands who would gather to hear the same message of hope—the outcome of God’s love, mercy, and grace.  Here are some portions of His teachings;

  • “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:8-12
  • “Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10
  • “Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles (unbelievers) seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:31-33
  • “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

In every situation, God’s people have the responsibility to seek the Lord, pray, and ask Him to fulfill His promises, for the Word and prayer go together (Acts 6:4). And we are responsible for observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy for God is holy. This is another commanding provision for our good and His glory! 

Whether it’s for building the tabernacle in the Old Testament, building the church in the New Testament, or building our lives and ministries today, the Holy Spirit of God must equip us and enable us to do the work!

“Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy”—

It’s so unfortunate that the scribes and Pharisees added thirty-nine forbidden acts to this commandment so that observing the Sabbath became a burden instead of a blessing (Mark 2:23—3:5).  Jesus rebuked the rules, not the Sabbath.  The practices of the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Sabbath revealed their hard hearts of unholy in view of a perfectly Holy God.  Distasteful to the heart of God!  The Sabbath was meant for the good of mankind, made in God’s own image, to rest after six days of labor for the purpose of being refreshed while praising and thanking God for all He has done.  It’s pretty simple when you think about it.  We must protect this time with God for it is in these moments that God reveals Himself to us.  Psalm 46

God Guides—God Provides.  Seek God and He will be found—His promise!

Lord,

Thank you for all you have done to bring us to a greater understanding of who you are with all you have provided since the beginning!  We were created to love and worship you because of your great love for us.  Your greatest desire is for us to love You back with sincere heart.  I do love and believe what you say to be true.  I will spend the rest of my life telling of your great love for us. 

In Jesus Name, for Your glory, Amen

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HOW DO WE SMELL TO GOD?

Posted on December 12, 2024 by randscallawayffm

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”Ephesians 5:1-2

Sweet Smelling or Stinky? 

We’ve all experienced it.  Some people lift our spirits as soon as they walk into a room.  The light in their eyes with a smile that involves their whole face makes us smile in response.  I have been in tedious meetings of decision making where you could cut the tension with a knife.  Then a person who has doused themselves with the fragrance of Christ settles the discussion and calms all minds with the peace of Christ that oozes from them.

We’ve all had the opposite experience, too. We are about to settle an issue or complete the details of a project when a person walks in with a sour look, sarcastic comments, with a stinky outlook on life itself.  We call them “wet blankets” who put out the fires of enthusiasm with the hearts of those who want to make a difference in this life for God.  Wet blankets can suck the air from our lungs leaving us questioning with gaping mouths, empty of responses. 

Why does Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering? How can we “smell” better?

Paul’s analogy of Jesus being a fragrant offering, refers to this passage, Exodus 30.  Moses’ instructions from God were very specific and each command had significance then and now.  During the days of appointed priests, beginning with Aaron and his sons, and on through the Levitical generational line; offerings had to be given for the forgiveness of sins. There were also offerings of peace, as well as burnt offerings and guilt offerings. Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because it alludes back to the sacrifices offered in the temple in his time.  But the procedures began with Moses. 

God’s People had to offer a variety of sin offerings to be forgiven of their sins. While this was only temporary and never fully did away with sin, it was a precursor to the ultimate Sacrifice, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate offering to the Father for the forgiveness of sins. The Lord offered Himself to redeem mankind from our sins. This is why Paul calls Jesus a fragrant offering because Jesus was indeed a pleasing fragrance to God, the Father.  And because of Jesus we can boldly go to the throne of God and meet with Him.  We can commune with Him in prayer.  We build our relationship with God, provided by Jesus, by listening to God.  How well we listen, trust, and obey God will determine the “scented fragrance” we give off when we walk into a room!

God begins training Moses to train His People in their new relationship with God. Burning incense is often a picture of prayer. “Let my prayer be set before You as incense,” David prayed (Psalm 141:2), and John, disciple of Jesus, saw the elders in heaven with “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints” (Revelation 5:8; see Revelation 8:3-4). Whenever the priest burned the incense, it was a call to the people for a time of prayer (Luke 1:8–10).  These instructions were still carried out in the days Jesus walked the earth.  God created all the sweet smells and tells us how to use what He has created to remind us of His Holiness.  Only God is Holy God. 

Exodus 30

The Altar of Incense

“Make an altar of acacia wood for burning incense. 2 It is to be square, a cubit long and a cubit wide, and two cubits high—its horns of one piece with it. 3 Overlay the top and all the sides and the horns with pure gold, and make a gold molding around it. 4 Make two gold rings for the altar below the molding—two on each of the opposite sides—to hold the poles used to carry it. 5 Make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you.

7 “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 He must burn incense again when he lights the lamps at twilight so incense will burn regularly before the Lord for the generations to come. 9 Do not offer on this altar any other incense or any burnt offering or grain offering, and do not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.”

Atonement Money

11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. 13 Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. 14 All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. 15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. 16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

Basin for Washing

17 Then the Lord said to Moses, 18 “Make a bronze basin, with its bronze stand, for washing. Place it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it. 19 Aaron and his sons are to wash their hands and feet with water from it. 20 Whenever they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water so that they will not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by presenting a food offering to the Lord, 21 they shall wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants for the generations to come.”

Anointing Oil

22 Then the Lord said to Moses, 23 “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus, 24 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil. 25 Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. 26 Then use it to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law, 27 the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, 28 the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. 29 You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.

30 “Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. 32 Do not pour it on anyone else’s body and do not make any other oil using the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. 33 Whoever makes perfume like it and puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from their people.’”

Incense

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal amounts, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer. It is to be salted and pure and sacred. 36 Grind some of it to powder and place it in front of the ark of the covenant law in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 Do not make any incense with this formula for yourselves; consider it holy to the Lord. 38 Whoever makes incense like it to enjoy its fragrance must be cut off from their people.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

So, I’m wondering—who are we today?  Sweet smelling or stinky? 

The better question might be, how do we “smell” to God?  When we offer our lives to God in total surrender, it’s a fragrant aroma to God and to others.  When we say, “Yes, Lord, I want to do your will, not mine,” it pleases God. It is also a fragrant aroma to others when they see our trust in God as we surrender our way and follow His path.  As we’ve watched other believers surrender themselves to Christ and His plan for them, we’ve been able to enjoy the fragrant aroma of their surrender!

We live in a world that desperately needs Christ. We can either sit back, expecting someone else to share the gospel, or we can follow His command in Matthew 28:18-20 to go and make disciples of Jesus with His sweet aroma emanating from us. Are we willing to make Jesus Christ known to those around us? Sharing Christ with others is a fragrant aroma to God and to those who hear the gospel and accept it. But, as Paul reminds us, not all will like the aroma.  God wants us to be a fragrant aroma to the world, pointing others to Christ. Are we?

As we bathe this morning to clean up the outside, may we think about who we will represent from the inside out to all we encounter others. As we dress ourselves, may we remember—

“…as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12

Most people are drawn to Jesus in us as His fragrance wafts gently and lovingly from us when we clothe ourselves in His ways. 

Lord,

Anoint us this day the sweet smells of your love, mercy, and grace.  Let the beauty of all you are be seen in me.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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SERIOUSLY AND COMPLETELY UNTO GOD

Posted on December 11, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Believers in Jesus today are baptized in front of the congregation. It is a grand and moving celebration to see a person once lost in sin declare openly to the church family of their new faith in Jesus!  I pray that we also consider the seriousness of this public act of the declaration of their new allegiance to Jesus as our Savior.  Repenting to Jesus in His Name of our sins is the spiritual cleansing of our hearts, minds, and souls from the inside out and reconciles (connects) us to God our Father.  Our sins, not in part, but the whole, are removed from us!  Then God’s Holy Spirit comes to live in us!  Baptism, whether splashed or dunked under water from a tub dedicated and consecrated to God, is the profession of our new dedication to following Jesus as Lord!

When Aaron and his sons were washed with water, it was symbolic of an inner complete cleansing from God who commanded it to be done at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for all to see. God was indeed showing His people how to repent of their sins—through His chosen, set apart, ordained and consecrated priests who would carry the sins of the people to God for atonement.  Aaron and his sons didn’t have to be bathed all over again; all they had to do was cleanse their hands and feet at the laver. “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean,” said Jesus (John 13:10). Those who have trusted Christ have experienced this inward cleansing from the Lord (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

We learn more about God as we study how God taught His People who were once enslaved but now set free to know Him more with how to worship Him alone.  God declared in the closing of this detailed lesson of the consecration of lives for Him with the reminder; “They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.”

Exodus 29

Consecration of the Priests

“This is what you are to do to consecrate them, so they may serve me as priests: Take a young bull and two rams without defect. 2 And from the finest wheat flour make round loaves without yeast, thick loaves without yeast and with olive oil mixed in, and thin loaves without yeast and brushed with olive oil. 3 Put them in a basket and present them along with the bull and the two rams. 4 Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water. 5 Take the garments and dress Aaron with the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod itself and the breastpiece. Fasten the ephod on him by its skillfully woven waistband. 6 Put the turban on his head and attach the sacred emblem to the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil and anoint him by pouring it on his head. 8 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics 9 and fasten caps on them. Then tie sashes on Aaron and his sons. The priesthood is theirs by a lasting ordinance.

“Then you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.

10 “Bring the bull to the front of the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 11 Slaughter it in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 12 Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar. 13 Then take all the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the altar. 14 But burn the bull’s flesh and its hide and its intestines outside the camp. It is a sin offering.

15 “Take one of the rams, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 16 Slaughter it and take the blood and splash it against the sides of the altar. 17 Cut the ram into pieces and wash the internal organs and the legs, putting them with the head and the other pieces. 18 Then burn the entire ram on the altar. It is a burnt offering to the Lord, a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.

19 “Take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on its head. 20 Slaughter it, take some of its blood and put it on the lobes of the right ears of Aaron and his sons, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. Then splash blood against the sides of the altar. 21 And take some blood from the altar and some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his garments and on his sons and their garments. Then he and his sons and their garments will be consecrated.

22 “Take from this ram the fat, the fat tail, the fat on the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, both kidneys with the fat on them, and the right thigh. (This is the ram for the ordination.) 23 From the basket of bread made without yeast, which is before the Lord, take one round loaf, one thick loaf with olive oil mixed in, and one thin loaf. 24 Put all these in the hands of Aaron and his sons and have them wave them before the Lord as a wave offering. 25 Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar along with the burnt offering for a pleasing aroma to the Lord, a food offering presented to the Lord. 26 After you take the breast of the ram for Aaron’s ordination, wave it before the Lord as a wave offering, and it will be your share.

27 “Consecrate those parts of the ordination ram that belong to Aaron and his sons: the breast that was waved and the thigh that was presented. 28 This is always to be the perpetual share from the Israelites for Aaron and his sons. It is the contribution the Israelites are to make to the Lord from their fellowship offerings.

29 “Aaron’s sacred garments will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. 30 The son who succeeds him as priest and comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place is to wear them seven days.

31 “Take the ram for the ordination and cook the meat in a sacred place. 32 At the entrance to the tent of meeting, Aaron and his sons are to eat the meat of the ram and the bread that is in the basket. 33 They are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred. 34 And if any of the meat of the ordination ram or any bread is left over till morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten, because it is sacred.

35 “Do for Aaron and his sons everything I have commanded you, taking seven days to ordain them. 36 Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it. 37 For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy.

38 “This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. 40 With the first lamb offer a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil from pressed olives, and a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering. 41 Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning—a pleasing aroma, a food offering presented to the Lord.

42 “For the generations to come this burnt offering is to be made regularly at the entrance to the tent of meeting, before the Lord. There I will meet you and speak to you; 43 there also I will meet with the Israelites, and the place will be consecrated by my glory.

44 “So I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar and will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. 45 Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. 46 They will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the Lord their God.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Since Jesus came and did all the work to save us and set us free as redeemed from confessed sins; I sometimes wonder if God made it too easy for us?  Are we so hardhearted and insolent that He had to “dumb down” access to Him?  To come to repentance and ask Jesus to forgive us is easy—no bulls or lambs to slaughter, no ceremonial unleavened bread to burn, no waving of anything before the Lord—only the giving up what we think we own for what He want to give us—entry to the throne of God, through Jesus, with the promise of eternal life! 

But does the ease of coming to Jesus cause us to be less respectful, resolved, with less than glorious awe for all that God did to save us?  Jesus did all the work!  We are beckoned to come to Him, repent to Him as Savior who “took away the sins of the world” and then follow in His ways.  Ah, but the following part—that’s what separates us from the world.  Learning to follow Jesus is the more difficult part and will test the resolve of our faith and trust in our Savior who wants to be Lord and who is Lord of all! 

The significance of consecration and anointing—

In Scripture, the wearing of garments is a picture of the character and life of the believer. We are to lay aside the “filthy garments” of the old life and wear the beautiful “garments of grace” provided by the Lord.  Paul writes to the Colossians about what our new garments of grace look like;

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:12-17 (Read also Ephesians 4:17–32 and the rest of Colossians 3 to get the full picture.)

What we lose and gain in the transaction of redemption:  Christ has taken away our dirty rags and given us a robe of righteousness that He purchased for us on the cross (Isaiah 61:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). Jesus dresses us appropriately holy to meet our Holy God!  And we stand in awe of Him who loved us so much He sent His Son to come down from heaven to save us.  Wow.

Warren Wiersbe pulls it all together for us;

“Moses poured the oil on his brother’s head, which meant it ran down his beard and therefore bathed all the stones on the breastplate. Those who trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have received an anointing of the Spirit of God. In 1 John 2:20, 27, John’s emphasis is on the teaching ministry of the Spirit in guiding the believer into the truth of the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22, Paul’s emphasis is on encouragement and stability: we have been anointed and sealed by the Spirit, and the Spirit is the “down payment” of future glory (Ephesians 1:14). If God has anointed us, sealed us, and given us a foretaste of heaven, then why should we despair or feel that He will ever desert us?” —Wiersbe Study Bible 

He won’t.  He is the Lord God!

Lord,

Thank you for your blessed assurance that flows through our hearts this morning of your everlasting, unchanging love for us. You are always a million steps ahead of us.  I stand in awe of all you are, what you have done since the beginning of creation, and all you will do in eternity for those who believe in You as Savior and Lord.  I believe. 

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD’S DESIGN FOR PRIESTHOOD

Posted on December 10, 2024 by randscallawayffm

Pastors today are spokespersons for God. Pastors, Evangelists, Bible Teachers and Missionaries, are called of God for His specific purposes in all kinds of places.  When God calls and we answer, “Yes, Lord, I’m listening,” as young Samuel did with a heart for God when he first heard the Lord; God begins his unique work to set apart and equip His chosen and called from the congregation of believers. God knows exactly what each called out person will need to fulfill the work God has for them to do. It occurs to me, because I was called of God for a special work for “such a time” that the moment of answering the Call of God; a deeper burden for lost souls without God is placed on our shoulders—just as it was with God’s Son, Jesus.   

The Israelites will not only build a special place to meet with God; God is now choosing a generation of priests to enter the Holy of Holies within this structure on special days designed by God for the atonement of sins.  These chosen men are to be set apart and made holy by God. They’re work will be to seek God’s wisdom in decision making for the nation. Upon listening to God; they are the spokespersons who will rely what God says to the people.

But it doesn’t stop there. God also wants His priest to be dressed in such a way that the Israelites will know who they are and Who they represent.  God, Himself, designed their clothing with distinct significance to remind the people where they came from with knowledge, conviction, awe and reverence for Who they love, worship, and serve.  So, God’s priests will be dressed in very specific ways.  These significant garments will remind the Israelites of their heritage as decedents of Jacob’s twelve sons—The Twelve Tribes of Israel.  We are reminded that Jacob was called Israel by God for a reason as his family would birth a new nation in a new land, a promise made from God to Abraham!  After being rescued from the bondage of slavery to Egypt; it is now time to form this new nation of Israel.

Who will lead them?  God is now setting apart Aaron and his sons, (and generations to come) to be God’s chosen men who will be dressed and equipped by God to bear the sins of the people on their shoulders as they go into the Holy of Holies to meet with God and ask for atonement (forgiveness with restitution) of those sins. It was God design that the nation be led by His designated priests.  As we study the Old Testament priesthood, we will see significant parallels between the work of the Israel’s priests in the past and the ministry of “the holy priests” in the church today. 

Exodus 28

The Priestly Garments

“Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. 2 Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron to give him dignity and honor. 3 Tell all the skilled workers to whom I have given wisdom in such matters that they are to make garments for Aaron, for his , so he may serve me as priest. 4 These are the garments they are to make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a woven tunic, a turban and a sash. They are to make these sacred garments for your brother Aaron and his sons, so they may serve me as priests. 5 Have them use gold, and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and fine linen.

The Ephod

6 “Make the ephod of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen—the work of skilled hands. 7 It is to have two shoulder pieces attached to two of its corners, so it can be fastened. 8 Its skillfully woven waistband is to be like it—of one piece with the ephod and made with gold, and with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and with finely twisted linen.

9 “Take two onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel 10 in the order of their birth—six names on one stone and the remaining six on the other. 11 Engrave the names of the sons of Israel on the two stones the way a gem cutter engraves a seal. Then mount the stones in gold filigree settings 12 and fasten them on the shoulder pieces of the ephod as memorial stones for the sons of Israel. Aaron is to bear the names on his shoulders as a memorial before the Lord. 13 Make gold filigree settings 14 and two braided chains of pure gold, like a rope, and attach the chains to the settings.

The Breastpiece

15 “Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; 18 the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; 19 the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; 20 the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

22 “For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.

29 “Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the Lord. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.

Other Priestly Garments

31 “Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth, 32 with an opening for the head in its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening, so that it will not tear. 33 Make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. 34 The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. 35 Aaron must wear it when he ministers. The sound of the bells will be heard when he enters the Holy Place before the Lord and when he comes out, so that he will not die.

36 “Make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: holy to the Lord. 37 Fasten a blue cord to it to attach it to the turban; it is to be on the front of the turban. 38 It will be on Aaron’s forehead, and he will bear the guilt involved in the sacred gifts the Israelites consecrate, whatever their gifts may be. It will be on Aaron’s forehead continually so that they will be acceptable to the Lord.

39 “Weave the tunic of fine linen and make the turban of fine linen. The sash is to be the work of an embroiderer. 40 Make tunics, sashes and caps for Aaron’s sons to give them dignity and honor. 41 After you put these clothes on your brother Aaron and his sons, anoint and ordain them. Consecrate them so they may serve me as priests.

42 “Make linen undergarments as a covering for the body, reaching from the waist to the thigh. 43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the tent of meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die.

“This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Let’s begin by defining “consecration”.  Consecration is the transfer of a person or a thing to the sacred sphere for a special purpose or service. The word consecration literally means “association with the sacred”. Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. The origin of the word comes from the Latin stem consecrat, which means dedicated, devoted, and sacred. A synonym for consecration is sanctification; its antonym is desecration.

God instructed Aaron and his sons to become the first temple priests. These priests ministered to the people’s spiritual needs and represented them before God.  Priests became mediators between God and the people. The priest carried God’s wisdom to the people and the people’s needs to God.  Directed by God to Moses in their forty days and nights together on the mountaintop; Aaron and his sons will be set apart to meet with God on behalf of the people.  God not only gave Moses the design for the traveling Temple and the special place within this structure to meet with Him once a year for the atonement of sins; He gave Moses the design and significance of the garments they must wear.  It wasn’t the garments that made the priests holy, it was God.

“I am the Lord, Your God.  Worship God alone. There shall be no other gods before Me” are the leading commandments God gave to His People who had lived in a land of many gods for centuries. God Chosen priests through Aaron and succeeding generations are being set apart to teach and consistently remind God’s people of their allegiance to God alone, the One who redeemed them!  To magnify a holy God, Israel had to be a holy people, and that’s why God chose Aaron and his sons.  The task of the priests (Aaron’s family) and later the Levites (the families of Kohath, Gershon, and Merari) were to serve in the tabernacle and represent the people before God. The priests were also to represent God to the people by teaching them the law and helping them to obey it. (See also Leviticus 10:8–11; Deuteronomy 33:10; Malachi 2:7). 

But over the centuries, the priests forgot God as fell into pride with attempts to be God. This ushered in a Darkness that permeated the world. God fell silent for over 400 years. The nation of Israel, because of their priests’ pride and power seeking, felt captive again.  Many were ready to give up but there were some who were still devoted and clung to the words of the prophets of God who spoke of a Messiah who would come and take away the sins of the world and set them free once more. 

The Promise was fulfilled in Jesus, God’s Son, the Messiah sent to seek and to save the lost. God chose to send His Son in the form of infant to be born to a virgin who was chosen because of her dedication to God.  Her espoused husband was also dedicated to God and chosen to lead them.  God called them for a specific task and they were pleased and happy to answer yes—no matter what people would say in their community. 

God sent His One and Only Son to earth, to be His Light in dark world of self, falling for evil’s work to destroy all the God created within us—the very people made in His own image.  But God’s Enemy could not and would not destroy what God had created for His purpose, to be set apart and consecrated as a human on earth to be sacred and perfectly holy.  Jesus, became High Priest, who was above all other priests, who not only represented God—He was God. 

Jesus, our High Priest forever, carried all the sins of the world on His shoulders as he hung on the cross of punishment and humiliation that we all deserve but did not have to endure.  Jesus endured it all, paid it all, so that we could be set completely free from all our sins, sins to be remembered no more, along with the Hope of eternal life forever with Him!  No other human priest on earth could do that—only Jesus!

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16

Believe and be saved!

Lord,

Thank you for leading us to see your glory at work through all generations!  You are God. there is no one else like You. You have proven Yourself thoroughly from Genesis to Revelation!  I believe. I’m listening. I wait on You daily with expectant Hope.  I love you with all my heart, mind, and soul.  I praise you with all that is in me for saving my soul and making me whole. I thank you for tough times that build my faith with resolve.  Thank you for opportunities to tell your story of redemption so others will know. Thank you for helping us come out of the darkness into the Light of Your love, mercy, and grace. To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE ALTAR OF BRONZE!

Posted on December 9, 2024 by randscallawayffm

My dad was the superb griller of all that can be cooked over charcoal on the back patio.  He worked hard to get all the meat just right; not too pink and not to overcooked, but just right.  I wouldn’t be surprised if dad prayed over his grill as it cooked so our food would be blessed by the Lord as perfect to eat!  My dad was indeed a perfectionist!

We had all kinds of grills over the years of my growing up as dad was always on a search of the “best one”—“the one and only”! Companies who made them such as Coleman, Weber, and others tried to make each new model better than the summer before; but it all came down to this:  Will it last? Will it hold up to a summer of cooking over charcoals?  Will the grill hold up to weather and not rust?  Will the extreme temperatures of a fire in a box be contained safely?  Will our food be cooked well or be charred beyond recognition as a burnt offering?  I am smiling at the last question, because there was a time, The Griller was distracted by joining in a yard game, and our meat was burned to a crispy black substance.  He called it his “burnt offering” but we ate cheese sandwiches instead that day.

God designed a grill beyond all other grills!  He instructs Moses to build an altar that will be the place where real burnt offerings of sacrificial animals will be made by the priests as the way to atone for the sins of God’s People.  The awesome smell of meat cooking that we love is also pleasing to God; as sweet incense to Him because it means even more to God, people bringing their unblemished lambs to sacrifice for their sins! 

The altar of sacrifice will last as it is mostly made of bronze!  All the cooking utensils will be made of bronze.  The grate and grill plate is bronze.  Everything will be overlayed in bronze.  Yes, God designed His altar to be practical, movable, and built to last on the wilderness journey.  This altar is a holy place that will serve to cover over sins of people and will gain them entry in the courtyard of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord.  But only the yearly designated priest will enter the holy of holies where God meets with man for the final act of atonement.  It will be the anointed and called of God work of Aaron and his descendants to be the priests who will keep the oil lamps burning to signify God’s Presence with them always. 

God is teaching the wilderness wanderers who He is with how to worship Him in Truth.

Exodus 27

The Altar of Burnt Offering

“Build an altar of acacia wood, three cubits high; it is to be square, five cubits long and five cubits wide. 2 Make a horn at each of the four corners, so that the horns and the altar are of one piece, and overlay the altar with bronze. 3 Make all its utensils of bronze—its pots to remove the ashes, and its shovels, sprinkling bowls, meat forks and firepans. 4 Make a grating for it, a bronze network, and make a bronze ring at each of the four corners of the network. 5 Put it under the ledge of the altar so that it is halfway up the altar. 6 Make poles of acacia wood for the altar and overlay them with bronze. 7 The poles are to be inserted into the rings so they will be on two sides of the altar when it is carried. 8 Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.

The Courtyard

9 “Make a courtyard for the tabernacle. The south side shall be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains of finely twisted linen, 10 with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts. 11 The north side shall also be a hundred cubits long and is to have curtains, with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.

12 “The west end of the courtyard shall be fifty cubits wide and have curtains, with ten posts and ten bases. 13 On the east end, toward the sunrise, the courtyard shall also be fifty cubits wide. 14 Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, 15 and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.

16 “For the entrance to the courtyard, provide a curtain twenty cubits long, of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer—with four posts and four bases. 17 All the posts around the courtyard are to have silver bands and hooks, and bronze bases. 18 The courtyard shall be a hundred cubits long and fifty cubits wide, with curtains of finely twisted linen five cubits high, and with bronze bases. 19 All the other articles used in the service of the tabernacle, whatever their function, including all the tent pegs for it and those for the courtyard, are to be of bronze.

Oil for the Lampstand

20 “Command the Israelites to bring you clear oil of pressed olives for the light so that the lamps may be kept burning. 21 In the tent of meeting, outside the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law, Aaron and his sons are to keep the lamps burning before the Lord from evening till morning. This is to be a lasting ordinance among the Israelites for the generations to come.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Today, we only need Jesus. Jesus was, is and always will be Savior and Lord, the One without sin, who didn’t just cover our sins, He removed them—”as far as the east is from the west”— “to be remembered no more”!  Yes, Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross, taking all the sins of the world, yours and mine, upon his shoulders to die in our place of punishment once and for all and then rising again in resurrection power negates the need to bring lambs to a priest for burning on an altar.

All Scripture points to Jesus as the once and for all sacrifice that takes away the sins of the world.  God’s Plan, from the beginning, was to lead all people of all nations to Him.  This Plan will be fulfilled in Jesus.  Jesus, who is God in flesh, came down to seek and to save all who believe in Him, restoring a right and holy relationship with God.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. The curtains designed with purpose by God for a holy place to meet with Him for that time and place and held in honor for generations to come will be ripped from top to bottom in two pieces when Jesus breathed his last breath on the cross.  The final work to redeem all who believe in Jesus will be accomplished.  All who believe in Jesus gain entry to God!

Warren Wiersbe provides proof through God’s Word that helps us to understand the significance of then and now—

“Preachers and evangelists sometimes invite people in their congregations to “come to the altar,” but there are no longer altars on earth that are ordained of God or acceptable to God. Why? Because the death of Jesus Christ took care of the sin problem once and for all (Hebrews 9:25–28). No more sacrifices can be or should be offered. The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is a reminder of His sacrifice, not a repeat of His sacrifice.

The only “altar” believers have today is Jesus Christ Himself, who bears on His glorified body the wounds of the cross (Luke 24:39; John 20:20; Hebrews 13:10).

As a holy priesthood, we “offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). We present to Him our bodies (Romans 12:1, 2), our material wealth (Philippians 4:18), praise and good works (Hebrews 13:15, 16), and a broken heart (Psalm 51:17). —Wiersbe Study Bible

As believers in Jesus who is the Light of the World, we keep His light burning and shining with us that is reflected to a world desperate for a Savior and Lord. All believers in Jesus are called of God as His “royal priesthood;” now designated to point the world to Jesus who reconciles (reconnects) all who believe to God!  (2 Corinthians 5:18).

Notice there was only one entrance to the courtyard enclosure and therefore only one way to get to the altar of God.  God’s design until Jesus.  Jesus claimed to be the only door (John 10:9) and the only way to God (John 14:6), which explains why Peter said, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  God’s fulfillment of His Plan to redeem the world.

In today’s pluralistic society, many people like to think that every way is acceptable to God, but that attitude leads to death (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; Matthew 7:13–27).

As we move along in our study of God’s People learning how to worship God on their journey to the Promised Land; may we be ever mindful of the truth that Jesus was with God as part of God, waiting to fulfill God’s complete plan to redeem the whole world.  God is not finished with us until we see Him face to face in all of His glory! 

One God. One Savior. One Lord. One Holy Spirit. Worship God alone in sprit and in truth.

Lord,

We are learning more about you as we read about the journey you took your people on through the wilderness.  Sometimes we wander and we need your guidance to bring us closer to you and what you desire for us.  Thank you for cleansing our hearts, renewing our minds, and restoring the joy of your salvation in us as we daily look to you for guidance for each new day.  I love you, Lord.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE TRAVEL-READY TENT OF MEETING

Posted on December 8, 2024 by randscallawayffm

If you watch old movies, (the really old ones) that depict the beginning of populating the country west of the Thirteen original colonies, you have seen episodes of traveling preachers who come to town and set up a huge tent of poles and canvas.  The tent had no floor and no sides.  It merely covered a place of ground secured from a local farmer or rancher.  Inside the tent was usually a wood platform for the preacher to speak above the crowd who would gather.  The platform also served as an altar for these preachers who were fiery in delivery with a passion for sinners to be saved and the infirmed to be healed.  The outside world believed until proven otherwise.  It depended on the character of the preacher when he left the platform and walked among the people for a few days before leaving for the next town.  His life proved who he followed as Lord.

Back “in the old days,” a preacher with his traveling church, was the only preaching and teaching most little towns and communities had.  If there was a church in town, the building was also used as the school and town hall.  Most attenders were hungry for listening to God’s Word spoken.  To others it was the “circus” that had come to town.  Attending was better than herding livestock for a time. 

My dad used to tell me of tent meetings that would come to his community.  As a young, curious boy, living on a farm, he and his brother used to go near the tent, peek inside and watch the boisterous worship and loud preachers with a few people in congregation filled with the spirit, who might even get up and run around yelling in a “spiritual language” no one else could understand.  Some, however were seriously saved by God’s grace in Jesus Name through repentance of their sins.  Lives were changed. 

But some were snookered to giving as much of their limited funds as possible to the traveling false preachers of ill repute. 

We praise God for those who were saved by grace.  We praise God for the integrity of Billy Graham, who began with a tent ministry progressed to filling whole colosseums in major cities!  God called this young man to show the Light of Jesus to the world, no matter what it took!  Billy answered and obeyed. God blessed.  Billy Graham was one who you could trust to tell the Truth!  The Graham team would also train pastors and teachers in each city and community to receive the lost no found and “make disciples, baptizing them in Jesus Name”!

Moses now has been given instructions from God who designed a portable sanctuary that was built in carry with them through their wilderness journey.  Tabernacle (mishkan), was first mentioned in the Torah, (Genesis to Deuteronomy) in Exodus 25.  Mishkan comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to dwell;” the tabernacle was considered to be the earthly dwelling place of God. In Exodus 25:8-9, God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites to build a mikdash (sanctuary) where God may dwell, specifying exactly how the tabernacle should be designed.  More proof that God delights in all the details of our lives! 

God designed the first Tent Tabernacle!  Imagine God designing our homes, churches or businesses with such details!  God’s plan for His Tabernacle was filled with significance and meaning.  God’s Tent of Meeting or Tent of Congregation as it is also called; was also built for travel but beautifully sustainable for God to meet with His People who He loved.  Notice all the specific tasks to be done by skilled workers who were specifically gifted by God to accomplish.  God, who created the world in six days could have made this for His people; but He chose to accomplish this with His people; “humans made in His own image”!  Camp on that thought…

Exodus 26

The Tabernacle

26 “Make the tabernacle with ten curtains of finely twisted linen and blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim woven into them by a skilled worker. 2 All the curtains are to be the same size—twenty-eight cubits long and four cubits wide. 3 Join five of the curtains together, and do the same with the other five. 4 Make loops of blue material along the edge of the end curtain in one set, and do the same with the end curtain in the other set. 5 Make fifty loops on one curtain and fifty loops on the end curtain of the other set, with the loops opposite each other. 6 Then make fifty gold clasps and use them to fasten the curtains together so that the tabernacle is a unit.

7 “Make curtains of goat hair for the tent over the tabernacle—eleven altogether. 8 All eleven curtains are to be the same size—thirty cubits long and four cubits wide. 9 Join five of the curtains together into one set and the other six into another set. Fold the sixth curtain double at the front of the tent. 10 Make fifty loops along the edge of the end curtain in one set and also along the edge of the end curtain in the other set. 11 Then make fifty bronze clasps and put them in the loops to fasten the tent together as a unit. 12 As for the additional length of the tent curtains, the half curtain that is left over is to hang down at the rear of the tabernacle. 13 The tent curtains will be a cubit longer on both sides; what is left will hang over the sides of the tabernacle so as to cover it. 14 Make for the tent a covering of ram skins dyed red, and over that a covering of the other durable leather.

15 “Make upright frames of acacia wood for the tabernacle. 16 Each frame is to be ten cubits long and a cubit and a half wide, 17 with two projections set parallel to each other. Make all the frames of the tabernacle in this way. 18 Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle 19 and make forty silver bases to go under them—two bases for each frame, one under each projection. 20 For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames 21 and forty silver bases—two under each frame. 22 Make six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle, 23 and make two frames for the corners at the far end. 24 At these two corners they must be double from the bottom all the way to the top and fitted into a single ring; both shall be like that. 25 So there will be eight frames and sixteen silver bases—two under each frame.

26 “Also make crossbars of acacia wood: five for the frames on one side of the tabernacle, 27 five for those on the other side, and five for the frames on the west, at the far end of the tabernacle. 28 The center crossbar is to extend from end to end at the middle of the frames. 29 Overlay the frames with gold and make gold rings to hold the crossbars. Also overlay the crossbars with gold.

30 “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.

31 “Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim woven into it by a skilled worker. 32 Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. 33 Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. 34 Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place. 35 Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side.

36 “For the entrance to the tent make a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen—the work of an embroiderer. 37 Make gold hooks for this curtain and five posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold. And cast five bronze bases for them.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God does not require our “tent of meetings” or churches to look like this today.  And we are glad!  What God is doing for His people then was to remind the people that all they took from the Egyptians, at His command, was now to be used for a place of indwelling for His people to enjoy God’s Presence while giving God the glory for redeeming them!  This traveling tent of meeting will also be used as a place to confess sins with the promise of atonement for those sins.  A perfect, without blemish animal is chosen to be that sacrifice. It will be killed on an altar outside the tent.  Then the shed blood of the lamb will be used to “cover” the repented sins of the people.  It was the work of the chosen priest to ceremonial atonement of sins.  Throughout the Bible, God provides ways for his people to have fellowship with him.  The diligence and care with which the Israelites built the tent of meeting demonstrated their reverence for God.

Significance of the Details–

  • Detailed instructions for making the ark, the table, and the lampstand demonstrated his transcendence above the common everyday features of the world. 
  • The ark’s portable nature represented God’s desire to be with the Israelites wherever they traveled.
  • The ark of the covenant was a rectangular box containing the trio of the most precious Hebrew artifacts: a gold jar of unspoiled manna, Aaron’s walking stick that had budded long after it was cut, and the precious stone tablets that had felt the engraving finger of God.
  • Two cherubim of gold, with outstretched wings, faced each other and looked down on the golden lid with the mercy seat on the lid. They represented the majesty of Jehovah watching over the law and the needs of the people.
  • The ark symbolized God’s provision (the manna), God’s power (the staff), God’s precepts (the commandments), and, most of all, God’s presence.
  • During the temple era, the high priest would be granted a once-a-year audience with the ark. After offering personal sacrifices of repentance, he would enter the Most Holy Place with, according to legend, a rope tied to his ankle lest he perish from seeing and being in the presence of God and need to be pulled out.

Max Lucado parallels the old covenant with the new covenant provided by the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, as the once and for all sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the world!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“A twenty-six-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather two thousand years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here. If you know everything in the Bible, return here. We all need the reminder. The heart of the human problem is the heart of the human. And God’s treatment is prescribed in John 3:16.

He loves. He gave. We believe. We live.

The words are to Scripture what the Mississippi River is to America—an entryway into the heartland. Believe or dismiss them, embrace or reject them, any serious consideration of Christ must include them. Would a British historian dismiss the Magna Carta? Egyptologists overlook the Rosetta stone? Could you ponder the words of Christ and never immerse yourself in John 3:16?

The verse is an alphabet of grace, a table of contents to the Christian hope, each word a safe-deposit box of jewels. Read it again, slowly, and aloud, and note the word that snatches your attention. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God so loved the world . . .  We’d expect an anger-fueled God. One who punishes the world, recycles the world, forsakes the world . . . but loves the world?

The world? This world? Heartbreakers, hope-snatchers, and dream-dousers prowl this orb. Dictators rage. Abusers inflict. Reverends think they deserve the title. But God loves. And he loves the world so much he gave his . . . Declarations? Rules? Dicta? Edicts?

No. The heart-stilling, mind-bending, deal-making-or-breaking claim of John 3:16 is this: God gave his Son . . . his only Son. No abstract ideas but a flesh-wrapped divinity. Scripture equates Jesus with God. God, then, gave himself. Why? So that whoever believes in him shall not perish.” –Lucado, Max Lucado’s Encouraging Word Bible

Lord

From the beginning, you wanted to be with us, love us, guide us to what is better—Your very best.  And you provide for us on our journey to get where you are, and at the same time you are where we are, counting the hairs on our heads!  God, there is no one like you who cares so much and loves so greatly that you would give your One and Only Son in sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus, there is no one else who would willingly go to hell and back so that I can live forever with you.  There are not enough words to express how amazing you are; but I will not stop trying to thank you and praise with what I do have in my vocabulary—without ceasing!

In Jesus Name, for our good and your glory, Amen!

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