Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

GRUMBLING 101

Posted on February 15, 2025 by randscallawayffm

We learn much about human nature by following the Israelites across the desert wilderness. We learn how to grumble consistently and continually when they feel fear or loss of their basic needs. Here is what we have learned:

At the first hint of trouble; Grumble first then Blame the leader.
When things of life are not going our way; Grumble firsts then Blame the leader.
When life’s circumstances become challenging and too hard for us; Grumble louder then Blame the leader.

How to Grumble until God hears it, too:

Assume the leader does not know how unhappy we are.
Allow anger over the situation to give you the arrogant fury to point out to the leader all the ways you are unhappy.
Do not offer a solution. (Because we don’t have a plan!) That’s the leader’s job to take care of us and all our problems with solutions that will make us happy again.
Point out all the leader’s inadequacies and failures as the final blow for attention to our needs.

We use these grumbling fine-tuned and practiced often techniques to get what we want like a crying infant who doesn’t know what they really need. We don’t care about the leader much less care about what the leader wants; we want our needs met now! All Godly given gifts are laid aside. Leaders lose their minds over the grumbling as they are human, too! Sin wins when we grumble, complain, and demand our own way.

But God knows. He always knows what is truly in our hearts. Our grumblings and dissatisfactions are heard and seen. We have God’s attention and focus on the situation but not in the way that will be good for us. God will intervene but not in the way we assumed He would or should. Our leaders who follow God become merely collateral damage to our desires and demands. Our human sin nature is harsh and full of hate. God is love—the opposite of hate.

Numbers 20

Water From the Rock

In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

²Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! ⁴Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

⁶Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. ⁷The Lord said to Moses, ⁸“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹²But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

¹³These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.

Edom Denies Israel Passage

¹⁴Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying:

“This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come on us. ¹⁵Our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors, ¹⁶but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.

“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. ¹⁷Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

¹⁸But Edom answered:

“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.”

¹⁹The Israelites replied:

“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”

²⁰Again they answered:

“You may not pass through.”

Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. ²¹Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them.

The Death of Aaron

²²The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. ²³At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²⁴“Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. ²⁵Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. ²⁶Remove Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there.”

²⁷Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. ²⁸Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, ²⁹and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Upon reading our passage slowing and prayerfully, we realize that in the midst of leading God’s people; Moses’ dear sister Miriam as died. Moses and Aaron are probably mourning her loss as the Israelites come at them with angry grumbling over the water situation. Moses goes to God. God intervenes and tells Moses exactly what to do to get water for the people. But, although being a great leader for God, Moses is also an imperfect human. Moses claims the glory for the water, with a bit of bitterness thrown it for the grumblers—just for good measure. “You want water—you got water!”

We can easily sit here and judge Moses over this incident and gloat over the consequences of his sinful act of arrogance against God—or we can learn from it. If we pause to reflect, we might vividly remember our own responses when we were pushed into a corner. Did we emerge from being pushed around in a godly manner? Did we come out fighting from places of hurt, despair, and the agony over loss? Did we retaliate with; “People, you don’t know what I’m going through right now, leave me alone!” Or did we fall on our faces before God seeking His wisdom; doing exactly what He said without our personal editorials? Yeah, I didn’t think so. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!” (Romans 3:23) We must believe and repent of our sins.

God’s verdict was swift and probably the ultimate blow to Moses’ temporary burst of arrogance and anger, behaviors not normal for Moses being the “most humbled man on the earth.” But it happened; this was God’s response: Moses’ generation will not set foot in the Promised Land. Aaron will pass on his God given leadership to his son.

God continued to be in control as he led his people, even to the extent of denying the leaders, Moses and Aaron, entrance into the promised land. When the people entered the land without these great men, God showed that his power does not depend on any dynamic leader. Every step of faith depends on God alone.

May we learn to lovingly, willingly, obediently respond to God with;

I trust you, Lord. I trust you with my life because you are Life.
You are not only my Savior but you are my Lord!
I believe and accept Your Lordship.
Forgive me of my sins as I forgive others who sinned against me.
I believe that nothing comes to me that hasn’t passed through you.
I am grateful for all you have done, are doing, and will do in and through my life!
Truly this glimpse into the past generates strength for the future.
Jesus, you are my hope. Remain in me and I will remain in you.
Thank you for never changes in your love and care for me/us.
Thank you for always being with us, guiding each step we take.

Prayer like Jesus taught us before doing anything else;

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matthew 6:9-13)

In Jesus Name, for our good and God’s glory, Amen

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CLEANSING OF THE DEAD

Posted on February 14, 2025 by randscallawayffm

Most of us, in our country, are shielded from preparing a body for burial. We leave it up to trained professionals who come and take lifeless bodies from hospital beds, private homes, vehicle accidents, or from places of business. Whenever and wherever death occurs, these people know exactly what to do and do it quickly, quietly, and reverently in most cases. Funeral home employees also know how to provide a comforting environment for the mourners of loved ones who have passed from this life to the next. Randy and I have worked with funeral home providers in our past pastoral ministries. There are many details that command certain practices to be done legally and reverently in the cleansing, dressing, and preparing of bodies for burial. This is all done behind the scenes so that mourners are comforted. “Blessed are the mourners…for they shall be comforted.”

But what if you are in the middle of the desert wilderness? What then? God provides the details; God always knows what lies ahead for His people and has the answer. God knows exactly what they will need to know when death occurs in the camp. God directs them with purpose. That’s how God works!

The regulations about “clean and unclean” are spelled out in detail in Leviticus 11–15, telling the Israelites what they could eat, how they should deal with bodily discharges and infections, and what to do about dead bodies. Certainly, there was a hygienic purpose behind these laws, but there was also a spiritual purpose: to teach the Israelites the difference between holiness and sin and to encourage them to walk in holiness.

Numbers 19

The Water of Cleansing

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²“This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. ³Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. ⁴Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. ⁵While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines. ⁶The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. ⁷After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. ⁸The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

⁹“A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. ¹⁰The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.

¹¹“Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. ¹²They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. ¹³If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.

¹⁴“This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, ¹⁵and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

¹⁶“Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

¹⁷“For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. ¹⁸Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. ¹⁹The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. ²⁰But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean. ²¹This is a lasting ordinance for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. ²²Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

First of all, be grateful to God for providing trained morticians when death occurs in our families! I respect those who have been trained to help others through this time of loss.

Could Eleazar have been the first mortician? God appointed him to be involved in the process for sure. Because of their involvement with a dead body, Eleazar and the man assisting him were considered ceremonially unclean and had to wash themselves and their clothing before returning to the camp in the evening. A man ceremonially clean gathered up the ashes into a container and placed it in a clean place outside the camp, accessible to the people. He too had to wash before he could return to the camp.

It was a very serious offense if a defiled person refused to be purified, because defiled people defiled the camp. God’s presence dwelt in the tabernacle and He walked among the people; therefore, the camp had to be kept holy.

The church today doesn’t worry about external ritual uncleanness, but we should take to heart the lesson of this chapter; God wants us to be a holy people. Does that mean we must be perfect to enter the church doors? No, Jesus says come to Me, just as you are, with a promise; I will set you free from the chains of your sins that bind you and hold you down.

When we seek Jesus, repent in His Name, giving ourselves to Him; Jesus changes everything about us from head to toe. We may have come to Him as the “walking dead” but Jesus gives “new life in Him.” We are new creations who are born again! By the power of God’s Holy Spirit living in us; we begin to think, speak, and respond in a new and different way—like Jesus!

Jesus says to come as you are; but we will not stay as we are. It is His Will and Plan to take us on new adventures with His love, mercy, and grace lessons coming along on the journey. Jesus purpose is to save us from our walking dead lives that lead nowhere! Instead, we come alive in Christ who saved us and set us free—for eternity!

The dead cannot cleanse themselves. Jesus is the One and Only who washes away our sins and makes us holy before God. Jesus also taught us that as forgiveness is freely given too us, we must freely give forgiveness to others and tell them what we know and have in Jesus.

Let us pause to prayerfully reflect—

When we come to Jesus wherever we are or even at church gatherings; are we seeking God’s holiness? Are we consistently yielding to His purification process in us? Are we ready to rise from the ashes of death and defeat to be purified instead by the lessons of those ashes, be cleansed in the Living Waters, and rise with Him in victory?

“For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:9-14

Come alive in Christ!

Lord,

Cleanse my heart and wash it clean from all impurities. Renew my mind and transform my daily responses and actions. Refresh my soul with your new, tender mercies for today’s part of the journey. Restore the joy of your salvation that is always at work within me. I love you, Lord, with all my heart, all my mind, and all my soul. I trust you with my life because you are Life!

In Jesus Name, Amen

By Your spirit I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me
In Your name I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King, is resurrecting me

(Elevation Worship, Songwriters: Christopher Brown / Mack Brock / Matthews Thabo Ntele / Steven Furtick / Wade Joye/Resurrecting lyrics © Essential Music Publishing)

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TITHING—ON PURPOSE FOR PURPOSE

Posted on February 13, 2025 by randscallawayffm

I grew up in the mid “1900’s”! Yes, seems ancient when we say it, right? I was in upper elementary school when our church dedicated themselves to a building project that would be beyond their means as a congregation. But they felt God’s leading and timing to move our growing congregation from their current rented space to building their own space. This congregation tithed faithfully on purpose for God’s purpose and plan.

Our church people didn’t know all the details, as it was obvious by all the discussions that they did know God was leading and trusted in His plan to move forward. But the tithes and offerings beyond their tithes just wouldn’t be enough to buy the land and begin to build—at least “on paper”. Other forms of revenue were sought and miraculous plans of finance began to happen as they trusted in God. As a fifth grader, I was impressed by their faith—all the kids were! I saw my faith and resolve to be a part of this grow within me as a young believer!

One Sunday, our passionate pastor gave ALL ages in the congregation a new challenge. “I’m going to give each of you one dollar to invest in your own project and ask that you trust God with the results. Bring what you make as an offering to the Lord to help build His new sanctuary where He will be praised and the lost will find salvation.” I was ALL in! Most were all in! We lined up to receive our dollar then we prayed at the altar asking God to lead each one. Later mom and dad talked about what they would do. As I stared at the dollar bill in my hand; my mom suggested that she could teach me how to make fudge to sell. Perfect! We went to the store, bought all the ingredients needed, to make our first batch. (In the 1900’s a dollar went a long way!)

I remember this as if it were yesterday. When the first batch of fudge cooled, I individually wrap the cut squares and put them in my lunch box. I took the pieces to school and opened my “fudge store” before school began for the day. I sold out in just minutes. Two days later, I invested in more ingredients, made, and wrapped the fudge and sold it all the next day. Who can resist fresh fudge? Apparently, nobody! My dollar turned into one hundred dollars for the building fund offering. That might not sound like much today; but back then is was significant and began a journey of building my rock solid faith in God who provides and loves a cheerful giver who is grateful for all He has provided.

In our passage today, Aaron’s job description is made clear by our God! God spoke expressly to Aaron making it clear that it was the responsibility of the priests to minister in the tabernacle and protect it from defilement, and it was the responsibility of the Levites to assist the priests in their tabernacle ministry. God described Aaron’s work as a gift from Him! Camp on that idea for a moment.

The Body of Christ who had the faith of mustard seeds; praised God a few years later in a new building dedicated to God and His holy work of reconciling people to Him. Tithing on purpose for God’s purpose was embedded in the DNA of this growing congregation. The care and management of the building was taken care of by our tithing and offerings. The pastor’s salary was enough for him to be full time in service. Needs of the people within and those from the streets were helped along with offerings for others in the service of the Lord. Our pastor also tithed from his salary as an example to the people in his care. Our church was not perfect, no church of imperfect people is, but they were faith-filled witnesses to what God can do when we trust and obey His leading and affected all other areas of our lives!

God’s people would tithe the “first fruits” of their possessions. The Levites would tithe from what was given to them an offering to God for the work of the tabernacle. This is God’s plan of tithing on purpose for purpose.

Numbers 18

Duties of Priests and Levites

The Lord said to Aaron, “You, your sons and your family are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood. ²Bring your fellow Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your sons minister before the tent of the covenant law. ³They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the duties of the tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar. Otherwise both they and you will die. ⁴They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the tent of meeting—all the work at the tent—and no one else may come near where you are.

⁵“You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. ⁶I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you, dedicated to the Lord to do the work at the tent of meeting. ⁷But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death.”

Offerings for Priests and Levites

⁸Then the Lord said to Aaron, “I myself have put you in charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites give me I give to you and your sons as your portion, your perpetual share. ⁹You are to have the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part belongs to you and your sons. ¹⁰Eat it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as holy.

¹¹“This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

¹²“I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest. ¹³All the land’s firstfruits that they bring to the Lord will be yours. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.

¹⁴“Everything in Israel that is devoted to the Lord is yours. ¹⁵The first offspring of every womb, both human and animal, that is offered to the Lord is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of unclean animals. ¹⁶When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.

¹⁷“But you must not redeem the firstborn of a cow, a sheep or a goat; they are holy. Splash their blood against the altar and burn their fat as a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁸Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right thigh are yours. ¹⁹Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the Lord I give to you and your sons and daughters as your perpetual share. It is an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord for both you and your offspring.”

²⁰The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.

²¹“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting. ²²From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. ²³It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. ²⁴Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

²⁵The Lord said to Moses, ²⁶“Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. ²⁷Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress. ²⁸In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. ²⁹You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’

³⁰“Say to the Levites: ‘When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress. ³¹You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages for your work at the tent of meeting. ³²By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not die.’”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Where we worship God must be consider holy and acceptable to God and must be cared for with respect to God. Jesus, His Son, is now the Head of the Body of Christ called church. We tithe and give offerings beyond our tithes on purpose for God’s purpose so others will know, believe and be saved for eternity. “Who we really are, what is most important to us, with who we believe in faith are most often revealed in our check ledgers.” (Said a pastor once who got my attention!)

God’s plan of tithing takes care of the all needs of His people who He has appointed, anointed, dedicated, and consecrated for His work of rescue of those lost in the darkness of sin. God held Aaron and his sons responsible for offenses committed against the sanctuary and the priesthood. God’s “gift” to Aaron was to be the leader of priests and came with great responsibilities. Everything rises or falls with leadership, and Aaron was the leader of the priestly family. He was accountable to God for what happened at the sanctuary. Food offerings fed the priests family. However, whoever in the priestly family ate of the sacrifices given to God had to be ceremonially clean and treat the food with reverence, because it had been sanctified by being presented to God.

The Levites were given the tithes which the people brought to God’s sanctuary, for 10 percent of the produce belonged to the Lord. The Levites in turn were to take a tithe of what they received, offer it to the Lord, and give it to the high priest. The principle of tithing on purpose for God’s purpose here is clear and is emphasized often in Scripture: Those who serve the Lord and His people should be supported from the material blessings God gives His people. “The laborer is worthy of his wages,” said Jesus. See Luke 10:7; Matthew 10:10). Paul taught the new churches; “The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel”, 1 Cor. 9:14. Paul further explained this principle in Galatians 6:6–10; Philippians 4:10–19; and 1 Timothy 5:17-18. God expected the Levites to tithe what they received and share it with the high priest. Some paid workers today feel that this is not necessary that they tithe; “for all I have belongs to the Lord and all I do is for Him.” But their thinking doesn’t make sense. The Levites were serving God fulltime, yet they tithed what they received. Malachi, the prophet of God, will later tell God’s people of the consequences of “robbing God” in their lack of obedience to give! (Malachi 3)

“Tithing isn’t necessarily a legalistic practice, for Abraham and Jacob tithed centuries before the law was given (Gen. 14:20; 28:22). If the Israelites under the old covenant could give 10 percent of their income (produce) to the Lord, can Christians under the new covenant do less? For us, tithing is just the beginning! If we grasp the meaning of 2 Corinthians 8–9, we’ll practice “grace giving” and go far beyond the tithe.”—Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Making fudge, and later Christmas wreathes to sell in the neighborhood, taught me valuable life lessons about “giving unto the Lord.” ALL the profits of this Dollar Bill project were given and laid on the altar by each participant. There were so many God’s blessings poured out over His church; that there is not enough time to tell of them all! But know this: God loves to give and loves a cheerful giver by His example!

Lord,

Thank you for my parents, grandparents, mentors, and other leaders who loved and followed you in front of me! I am blessed to have see your glory at work then and even more blessed to see your glory at work in your church now! To you be the glory!

In Jesus Name, Amen

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,
All your money, talents, time, and love;
Consecrate them all upon the altar,
While your Savior from above speaks sweetly,

Trust Me, try Me, prove Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and see
If a blessing, unmeasured blessing,
I will not pour out on thee.

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GOD’S NOT BLUFFING!

Posted on February 12, 2025 by randscallawayffm

Let’s pause to recap. As we “march” through the wilderness with the Israelites we wonder; When will the they get it?! When will they believe that God will always do what He says He will do? Come on people, when will they stop grumbling about who is in charge with what they must do to get where God is leading them? When will they believe in God’s care and protection? When they were hungry God delivered food from the heavens quicker than Door Dash! When they complained about what was on the table to eat, God graciously delivered quail to spice up the menu. When they were thirsty, God led Moses to fresh water. God was with them day and night, guiding them like a loving father would over rough terrain and level ground on the journey.

But they didn’t like being told what to do. Like a loving, watchful Father; God disciplined His children, teaching them His ways in all areas of their lives, “so all would go well with them.” God gave them His Law of Commands to protect them from their own selfish ways that would lead them to trouble. God was teaching them through the Law how much He loved them and wanted to guide them faithfully. God warned, Don’t fall for idols and do not make them. Idols do not speak and have no value—Worship Me who speaks wisdom to you because of My love for you! Have respect for all things I have made holy for you says the God of details for He knows what lies ahead of them. If you do not, God tells them, you will be punished to remind you not to rebel against Me. Sin has consequences. I want you to learn and grow in my love!

God promised a land “flowing with milk and honey” that would produce crops beyond their dreams. Then God led them there. However, there were, (and will always be with any group of people) those I call the “yeah, but” people. Ten out of the Twelve who scouted out the land said, no way, baby, it’s too dangerous. We will die!

From experience as a leader, trying faithfully to lead people, yeah-buts are exhausting. But Moses being “the most humble man on earth” (Numbers 15) was patient and even stood in the gap for them before God as the yeah-buts attacked his leadership as well as Aaron’s, with also calling God’s bluff on many occasions. Yikes! Don’t mess with God!

We must pause in our wonderings to ask better questions; When will we truly trust God in all circumstances—without first complaining? When will we truly believe, without saying, “yeah, but,” to what God says He will do?

Numbers 17

The Budding of Aaron’s Staff

The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. ³On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. ⁴Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. ⁵The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”

⁶So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them. ⁷Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.

⁸The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. ⁹Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.

¹⁰The Lord said to Moses, “Put back Aaron’s staff in front of the ark of the covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die.” ¹¹Moses did just as the Lord commanded him.

¹²The Israelites said to Moses, “We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! ¹³Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the Lord will die. Are we all going to die?”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God chosen leaders deserve our respect and support, even during trying times. We must not take part in a rebellion or gossip against a leader—EVER! Throughout God’s Word, God tells us to avoid grumbling and complaining. But many of us do not. We blame leaders for not enough people coming to church on any given Sunday and then when hundreds do come, we complain about the too crowded parking lot! We complain if the worship team is too soft or too loud. We complain that the sermon is too long and made us feel guilty. Or we complain that the sermon just “didn’t feed” us. God sees our hearts and hears our “yeah-buts” and oh frineds, how it must break his heart. God is everywhere and goes everywhere with us. If we do not walk into the worship center seeking God, with our focus on God; it is less likely we will see His glory at work or hear is Word of Truth and apply to our lives.

Consider this: Are we a staff of God that blossoms with the fruits of His Holy Spirit—or just a stick in the mud? Prayerfully ponder. If we seek God; we will find Him, as He promised. But if you look hard enough and long enough, with eyes of discontent; we’ll find something to complain about easily, it’s in our sin nature.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).

Max Lucado writes;

“This is more than a silver-lining attitude, more than seeing the cup as half full rather than half empty. This is an admission that unseen favorable forces populate and direct the affairs of humanity. When we see as God wants us to see, we see heaven’s hand in the midst of sickness, Jesus working on a troubled youth, the Holy Spirit comforting a broken heart. We see, not what is seen, but what is unseen. We see with faith and not flesh, and since faith begets hope, we of all people are hope filled. For we know there is more to life than what meets the eye.”—Lucado Encouraging Word Study Bible

Trust God, He’s not bluffing. Believe and Follow what He says. Believe in His Son, Jesus who became The Way to reconnect (reconcile) to God, our Father who so loved the world. Believe in Jesus who was, is and always will be the Truth among the “yeah, buts” who opposed Him. Believe in Life—the eternal life—that was provided all because of Jesus’ sacrifice. Continue to trust God when the way is rough and the future less bright than you want. Rely on God’s Holy Spirit—promised and delivered to us upon our believing in Jesus. Allow Him to guide us and help us see and know Truth.

Stay loyal to our great Leader, who surely knows the way home.

Lord,

Help us.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I just want to speak the Name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
‘Cause I know there is peace within Your presence
I speak Jesus

I just want to speak the Name of Jesus
‘Til ev’ry dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom
I speak Jesus

Your Name is power, Your Name is healing
Your Name is life
Break every stronghold, shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire

I just want to speak the Name of Jesus
Over fear and all anxiety
To every soul held captive by depression
I speak Jesus

Shout Jesus from the mountains, and Jesus in the streets
Jesus in the darkness over every enemy
Jesus for my family, I speak the holy Name of Jesus…

(“I Speak Jesus,” Vineyard Worship)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Moses | Leave a comment

OPPOSITION AND CONTEMPT

Posted on February 11, 2025 by randscallawayffm

The sons of Korah were Levites of the Koathite clan. If we go back to Numbers 4, we remember that the three branches of the Levites– Koathites, Merarites, and Gershonites, were put in charge of breaking down and setting up the Tabernacle whenever the Israelites moved from place to place during their wilderness wanderings. Of those three branches, it was the Koathites who had the most sacred duties. They were to carry the ark of the covenant itself, along with plates and bowls and lamps and incense burners, and all the other most holy things. It was serious business, so much so that God gave Moses a special warning about the Koathites:

“The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Let not the tribe of the clans of the Kohathites be destroyed from among the Levites, but deal thus with them, that they may live and not die when they come near to the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in and appoint them each to his task and to his burden, but they shall not go in to look on the holy things even for a moment, lest they die.” (Numbers 4:17-20)

It was privileged, holy work. But it was also hard work, for unlike the poles and the curtains of the Tabernacle, which could all be loaded up on ox carts, the most holy things all had to be carried by hand. Add to that the emotional burden and stress of knowing you could be struck dead on the spot if you did it the wrong way. And then, multiply that by forty years of being in the desert. Being a Koathite was hard work.

At one point, the Koathites apparently cracked under the strain. In Numbers 16, we read that a Koathite named Korah, along with his friends Dathan and Abiram, rose up against Moses and Aaron. Notice the reaction from Moses (and Aaron) to this angry opposition.

Numbers 16

Korah, Dathan and Abiram

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent ²and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. ³They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”

⁴When Moses heard this, he fell facedown. ⁵Then he said to Korah and all his followers: “In the morning the Lord will show who belongs to him and who is holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will cause to come near him. ⁶You, Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers ⁷and tomorrow put burning coals and incense in them before the Lord. The man the Lord chooses will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!”

⁸Moses also said to Korah, “Now listen, you Levites! ⁹Isn’t it enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite community and brought you near himself to do the work at the Lord’s tabernacle and to stand before the community and minister to them? ¹⁰He has brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to get the priesthood too. ¹¹It is against the Lord that you and all your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble against him?”

¹²Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, “We will not come! ¹³Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? And now you also want to lord it over us! ¹⁴Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Do you want to treat these men like slaves? No, we will not come!”

¹⁵Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

¹⁶Moses said to Korah, “You and all your followers are to appear before the Lord tomorrow—you and they and Aaron. ¹⁷Each man is to take his censer and put incense in it—250 censers in all—and present it before the Lord. You and Aaron are to present your censers also.” ¹⁸So each of them took his censer, put burning coals and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ¹⁹When Korah had gathered all his followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the tent of meeting, the glory of the Lord appeared to the entire assembly. ²⁰The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ²¹“Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.”

²²But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, “O God, the God who gives breath to all living things, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?”

²³Then the Lord said to Moses, ²⁴“Say to the assembly, ‘Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.’”

²⁵Moses got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. ²⁶He warned the assembly, “Move back from the tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will be swept away because of all their sins.” ²⁷So they moved away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their tents.

²⁸Then Moses said, “This is how you will know that the Lord has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: ²⁹If these men die a natural death and suffer the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. ³⁰But if the Lord brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the realm of the dead, then you will know that these men have treated the Lord with contempt.”

³¹As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart ³²and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. ³³They went down alive into the realm of the dead, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. ³⁴At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, “The earth is going to swallow us too!”

³⁵And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense.

³⁶The Lord said to Moses, ³⁷“Tell Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, to remove the censers from the charred remains and scatter the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy— ³⁸the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were presented before the Lord and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the Israelites.”

³⁹So Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been burned to death, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, ⁴⁰as the Lord directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the Lord, or he would become like Korah and his followers.

⁴¹The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴²But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵“Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

⁴⁶Then Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put incense in it, along with burning coals from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the Lord; the plague has started.” ⁴⁷So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. ⁴⁸He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. ⁴⁹But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. ⁵⁰Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the tent of meeting, for the plague had stopped.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God appointed and anointed these men with specific, holy work that was sacred to God. The work came with a warning label with the instructions: “follow the instructions; lest you die.” As a Koahite, Korah was closer to the holy things than anyone else. Korah’s clan cared for the Ark and the altar and all the Tabernacle furnishings. And maybe that was part of the problem. Familiarity breeds contempt, and proximity to sacred things breeds pride and, God help us, indifference.

We read how Korah, along with Dathan, Abiram, and all the others who joined in the rebellion were destroyed for their disobedience and disrespect for Moses and Aaron along with their contempt for God and the work given to them! The ground literally opened up and swallowed them. It’s fitting that Korah was swallowed by the earth. Envy, pride, entitlement—those are all things of the world. And like Korah, the world can swallow us alive, too!

Korah wanted to feel more important and sought to be who Moses was called of God to do. Many leaders fall for this because of the constant tempting by God’s fallen angel, Satan, who was kicked out of heaven because he wanted to be God. Since Adam and Eve, our real Enemy floats these thoughts of pride, envy and arrogance with contempt for God over our heads in subtle to not so subtle ways. And most often, these traits appear in God’s church built on the blood of Jesus Christ. We seen it or be have been the one who opposed the holy! God help us!

Whenever we hear complaining and rebelling among God’s people, there’s usually a “stated reason” and a “hidden reason.” Korah’s public complaint was that Moses and Aaron were “running things” and not giving the people opportunity for input. He wanted more democracy in the camp. The hidden reason was that Korah wanted the Levites to have the same privileges as Aaron and his sons. Korah wasn’t satisfied to be assisting the priests; he wanted to be a priest.

God knew. Moses is told how God will handle the opposition.

Notice Moses and Aaron’s first response to the cruel, arrogant words of opposition from Korah; “The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?” Nothing stings worse than when a brother attacks your very soul given to God.

Godly leaders fall facedown, humbled before God, seeking God’s help. Be wary of those who do not.

The selfish desire for greatness and authority is a common theme in Scripture, yet the most important place in the Christ believer’s life is the place of God’s choice, the place He’s prepared for us and prepared us to fill. The important thing isn’t status but faithfulness, doing the work God wants us to do. Sweet peace envelopes all who are doing what God wants us to be and do.

Moses intercedes for the rebellious! Moses and Aaron, being true leaders, immediately fell on their faces before the Lord and interceded for the nation—just like Jesus interceded for us today! It is just like Jesus, who died and rose again for our sins, to continue to seek and to save the lost through His committed followers! It is God’s two part assigned work, authorized from God, first be reconciled to God by repenting our sins to Jesus, His Son! The second part of our assignment is to help others be reconciled to God through Jesus, too! Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21;

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”—Paul to the church

THE REST OF THE STORY…

God Word reveals a subtle redemption story. The sons of Korah found their way back into humble service of God. A close look at 1 Chronicles 6 reveals that Samuel, the prophet who anointed Saul and David, was a Koathite (1 Chronicles 6:31-38). And a few generations later, when the tabernacle was replaced by the Temple, the Korathites became its doorkeepers (1 Chronicles 9:19-21). Finally, they could lay down the burden of caring for the most holy things. Once the ark had a place to rest, so did the sons of Korah. Read Psalm 84 to get a glimpse of contentment and rest in the house of the Lord: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!” It took some time, but the Korahites apparently learned to praise God for the role they were given. God gave them rest from carrying their burdens. When they laid down their resentments, they took up their instruments and praised God!

“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts. Remove all that is not of you. Renew our minds, transform our thinking to be more like you. Refresh our souls with your new mercies. Restore the joy of your salvation at work with us that also give us peace as we trust and obey you.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, Faith, God, Moses, numbers | Leave a comment

NEW LAND—SAME COMMANDS

Posted on February 10, 2025 by randscallawayffm

So, we traditionally watched the Super Bowl last night. I am always amazed at all the “pregame” stuff that happens before playing this anticipated game of the year that decides the champion team in the football world. There were so many interviews presented to let us know the importance of the game ahead with and what it means to those interviewed. We can predict what they will say because the questions are the same with every game; but we watch anyway. Media digs into every part of the players and coaches lives as they pursue “good stories” that will keep watchers attentive. Media works hard to present each player as deserving to win to prize!

The “pregame” also present all reminders of past Super Bowl games with their heroes, and their outcomes. Past football players, now “expert” announcers, presented more than necessary information (maybe that’s just me) with their “talk” of all the previous stats of previous players of this popular game. There were many pregame shows, pregame commentaries, pregame food prep, pregame gambling, along with pregame celebrations—all before entering the field of play!

But the most important pregame activity of all would be the pregame passionate talk from the Head Coach to his players as they gathered around him in the locker room. The Head Coach, alongside the Quarterback, focuses his team to put their full attention on the game they are about to play. He reminds them of all they have learned to this point and of all the experiences they have had that has led them to this one moment in time—to play in the Super Bowl!

In today’s passage, the Lord is now “coaching” His people, through his quarterback, Moses. God reminds them of all He previously commanded them to be and do concerning offerings of atonement for their sins—in a new land. When they enter the promised land, sins will follow; for they are human. God had provided ways to be forgiven. “Remember how to atone for your sins as an offering pleasing to the Lord”, the Head Coach commands. Focus on Me. I am the Lord, your God. I will still lead you. Trust Me. Obey Me. Stick to the basics.

Numbers 15

Supplementary Offerings

The Lord said to Moses, ²“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘After you enter the land I am giving you as a home ³and you present to the Lord food offerings from the herd or the flock, as an aroma pleasing to the Lord—whether burnt offerings or sacrifices, for special vows or freewill offerings or festival offerings— ⁴then the person who brings an offering shall present to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of olive oil. ⁵With each lamb for the burnt offering or the sacrifice, prepare a quarter of a hin of wine as a drink offering.

⁶“‘With a ram prepare a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with a third of a hin of olive oil, ⁷and a third of a hin of wine as a drink offering. Offer it as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.

⁸“‘When you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, for a special vow or a fellowship offering to the Lord, ⁹bring with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with half a hin of olive oil, ¹⁰and also bring half a hin of wine as a drink offering. This will be a food offering, an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Each bull or ram, each lamb or young goat, is to be prepared in this manner. ¹²Do this for each one, for as many as you prepare.

¹³“‘Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when they present a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord. ¹⁴For the generations to come, whenever a foreigner or anyone else living among you presents a food offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, they must do exactly as you do. ¹⁵The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: ¹⁶The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’”

¹⁷The Lord said to Moses, ¹⁸“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you ¹⁹and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the Lord. ²⁰Present a loaf from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. ²¹Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the Lord from the first of your ground meal.

Offerings for Unintentional Sins

²²“‘Now if you as a community unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the Lord gave Moses— ²³any of the Lord’s commands to you through him, from the day the Lord gave them and continuing through the generations to come— ²⁴and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it, then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an aroma pleasing to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink offering, and a male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have presented to the Lord for their wrong a food offering and a sin offering. ²⁶The whole Israelite community and the foreigners residing among them will be forgiven, because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.

²⁷“‘But if just one person sins unintentionally, that person must bring a year-old female goat for a sin offering. ²⁸The priest is to make atonement before the Lord for the one who erred by sinning unintentionally, and when atonement has been made, that person will be forgiven. ²⁹One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether a native-born Israelite or a foreigner residing among you.

³⁰“‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the Lord and must be cut off from the people of Israel. ³¹Because they have despised the Lord’s word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.’”

The Sabbath-Breaker Put to Death

³²While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. ³³Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, ³⁴and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. ³⁵Then the Lord said to Moses, “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp.” ³⁶So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Tassels on Garments

³⁷The Lord said to Moses, ³⁸“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. ³⁹You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. ⁴⁰Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. ⁴¹I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.’”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Trust the One who is faithful to us and delivered us from the bondage of our sins. Obey the One who forgave us of all our repented sins and put our feet on solid ground. Our faith is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!

Listen the Jesus, our coach, who has walked where we walk now and has experienced all the hurt, betrayal, and torture that we might face along with the compassionate love of friends and family. He is the true expert of how to live this life on His playing field of love, mercy, and grace! He gave His very life for us and then rose from death to defeat it once and for all! He is our hope, our reason for living, and our Way into the promised land of heaven! He knows us by name and gives us power to overcome all the temporary things of this earth. Because of Jesus we are heaven bound and no longer bonded to earth. This world is not our home, it is only the pregame activities with God helping us until we fall into the arms of Jesus, our Savior and Lord!

Consider this final thought…On their wilderness journey, God still pointed his people toward the promised land, even after their rebellion in the desert. (See yesterday’s offering devotion, Numbers 14) God did not give up on His people. God has a purpose, and He will fulfill it. God has a plan for each life He has created. Follow Him without grumbling; it will make the ride a lot more enjoyable!

If you don’t think Jesus doesn’t know how you “feel” in those dark moments as you sit in your desert wilderness of wondering what to do next; think again. Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness, fasting and praying, while evil attacked him with temptations meant to distract Jesus’ focus and dishonor His Father. The Son of God overcame these temptations with the Word of God. We can do the same as our Coach taught us to be and do! God never fails. God’s Word is Truth. Jesus was the Word who came down and moved into the neighborhood of humanity to verify Truth. Jesus was, is and always will be the Way to Truth that leads to eternal Life. Jesus is Truth. Trust Truth.

Oh Lord,

Thank you for coaching us in our lives today with constant reminders of Your glorious ways! Thank you, dear Jesus, for saving our souls. Thank you, Holy Spirit for guiding us to all that is true! Thank you, ThreeInOne for always being with us. I am yours and You are mine. May the Lord be continually praised!

In Jesus Name, Amen! Yes!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Moses | 1 Comment

WHY, LORD? IT’S JUST TOO HARD!

Posted on February 9, 2025 by randscallawayffm

As humans when faced with an expected, overwhelming roadblock on the journey of life; we most often respond first with what is happening and why is this happening. We want life explained in full! If we there isn’t an explanation; we invent one! We humans are analyzers and fixers and we want our troubles fixed as soon as possible! But when we become “stuck between a rock and hard place,” with seemingly no place to go without causing more trouble; we freeze. We stop dead in our tracks when trials challenge our very existence.

We suddenly don’t know where to turn, left or right, back or forward. The options are slim. It’s like walking a tight rope at times. You must tediously move forward, trying to maintain your balance, because looking back with an effort to turn around will be worse and you will most likely fall to your death!

It’s especially hard when you have been assigned to be the leader of the group. You can be the most Godly, smart, wise, methodical, practical, loving, selfless, Spirit-led person among the group; but when those you are leading are gripped with fear of unknown outcomes of known challenges; fear drives a rebellion that immediately seeps in and trust is gone.

WHY? Why do we have to go through? Why must we live like this? Why doesn’t the Lord fix this? Why, why, why? Upon the report of those sent out to “scout” the land and hearing there would be battles to overtake the land of “milk and honey” promised by God to them; the Israelites rebelled. Moses and Aaron succumb to the pressure of the thousands now turning against them—and God! Ooh, let’s see what happens next…

Numbers 14

The People Rebel

14 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. ²All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! ³Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ⁴And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

⁵Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. ⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes ⁷and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. ⁸If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. ⁹Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

¹⁰But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? ¹²I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

¹³Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. ¹⁴And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. ¹⁵If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, ¹⁶‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

¹⁷“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: ¹⁸‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ ¹⁹In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

²⁰The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. ²¹Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, ²²not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— ²³not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. ²⁴But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. ²⁵Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

²⁶The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷“How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. ²⁸So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: ²⁹In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. ³¹As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. ³²But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. ³⁴For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ ³⁵I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”

³⁶So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— ³⁷these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. ³⁸Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.

³⁹When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. ⁴⁰Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!”

⁴¹But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! ⁴²Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, ⁴³for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”

⁴⁴Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. ⁴⁵Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Rebellion against Moses and Aaron, their leaders was rebellion against God. Rebellion against God comes in many forms but begins with grumbling and complaining with an entitled attitude. People say things like; “God, you owe this to us.” “Why are having trouble?” “Did God promise this land only to lead us to death?” “If our leaders don’t do what we want, we’ll just get new leaders.” “We were better off in Egypt as slaves to our oppressors!” “I rather die in Egypt than in this wilderness—in fact, kill me now in this desert!”

YIKES, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR!

All the complaints of God’s rebellious people became what God used to seal their fate. “All the Israelites grumbled…” Their whining and grumbling against God, wailing in fear and dismay, demanding their own way, while putting undue pressure on God’s leaders, Moses and Aaron, all weirdly became “prayers” that God indeed answered!

“I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home… As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected…” The final blow… “For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.”

Oh, be careful little eyes what you see, Oh be careful little ears what you hear,

Oh be careful little mouth what you say, For the Father up above is looking down in love…

So, be careful little eyes what you see, little ears what you hear, little tongues what you say, little hands what you do, little feet where you go, little hearts who you trust, and be careful little minds what you think…(the rest of verses in this Sunday School song.)

THE BRIGHT SPOTS IN THE REBELLION—CALEB AND JOSHUA!

Even though it was ten against two; Caleb and Joshua stood their ground. They became the “rocks” in these hard discussions that moved the heart of God! God knew their hearts. God knows all our hearts! God is always on the lookout, searching for hearts who are fully committed to Him. Both young men are being “groomed” by God as future leaders. “Of the men who went to explore the land, only Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh survived.” God will equip Joshua and Caleb to lead His people into the Promised Land!

PEOPLE MOURNED GOD’S JUDGEMENT; BUT STILL REBELLED!

When Moses told the people what God said, they “mourned over their sins.” But they continued to rebel! They decided to carry on business as usual and go into the land without God’s leading, protection or provision despite Moses’ warning! What were they thinking, we ask? Let’s ask ourselves. We sometime do the same in our daily walk. Ok, Lord, I shouldn’t have said or done that and I’m sorry—that I got caught. And because you love me, surely you won’t discipline me is most often our presumption. So, more likely, through lack of remorse, we do it again. So, “don’t judge lest you be judged,” Jesus tells us. (Matthew 7:1)

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul preaches. (Romans 3:23) But please read what comes next: “and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:24-26

The only Way to remove sin is confession to Jesus. We cannot merely decide to “be better” or “be good.” Only God is good. Only Jesus can save us from our sins and our rebellious ways. God gave us help! It is God’s Holy Spirit who then comes to reside with power within our being, and helps us transform into all God created us to be then do for our good and His glory! We cannot do this alone apart from God! We need His help.

When we humbly admit we need God; God gives us all we need. When we fully and committedly believe that Jesus died for our sins and rose to give us the hope of eternal life a transformation of God in us occurs. Our hearts are cleansed; our minds renewed with less presumptions and assumptions of our own small thinking; our spirits refreshed by His new mercies; and the joy of His salvation flourishes as we yield to Him daily as an offering of worship. Only then we will bear the fruits of His Holy Spirit…see Galatians 5 for the list of new behaviors that will begin to happen on our journey. We will also begin to see ourselves asking God what HE wants; more than demanding God to do what we want.

Our response trust and obey God. Our obedience to God demonstrates our real love for God. Real faith stops asking why.

Lord,

When I am perplexed, you are my Rock! Thank you for reminding us of our own dangerous rebellion against You. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us and make life hard for us. Lead us away from all temptations, especially thinking we are entitled or better than others. Deliver us from evil, the real enemy of our hearts. May Your will be done in all the details of today.

In Jesus Name, Amen

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PERSPECTIVE

Posted on February 8, 2025 by randscallawayffm

I was a science teacher for a time in the last season of my public teaching career. God led me to this fascinating work then equipped my own feelings of inadequacies with gifts of encouragement and the joy of learning new things! Hired by the Department of Defense, it allowed opportunities to teach in ways that suited my style of helping kids learn—more doing and less lecture! The curriculum was designed carefully and specifically by other teachers for the sole purpose of taking the fear of learning science, technology, engineering, and math from fifth graders.

Many kids (and teachers) think that this area of learning is beyond their abilities to learn and just could not see themselves doing the work of scientists and engineers. So, our work was to change their minds so that more students would be drawn to STEM instead being driven away from it—all because of their own fears. The reasons this program was created by the military leaders and supported by the Department of Defense was for their own workforce. The military needed more people to fill the now and future vacancies in science, tech, engineering, and math so they readily supported STARBASE—a program meant to encourage students to pursue more education related to STEM so they could be contributors in our world!

This program was freely offered to all schools in the area. We were located on an Air Guard base, located by the airport, that gave us a building of operation where students and their teachers. Some teacher in the beginning were skeptical at first but after the first few minutes of seeing their students readily engage and observing the fun they were having in DOING STEM activities; they were sold! Another benefit of the program was to see students tagged as trouble makers be so drawn in that they forgot to cause trouble, which amazed their teachers!

Our goals were met and exceeded as a team. We replaced the fear with fun, innovative hands-on experiences that totally changed their perspective. Using less lecture and more “now, you do it” activities; we introduced them to all they could do and accomplish now and later! They soon discovered that what they first thought about world of STEM as being unreachable and unconquerable was now in their grasp! Perspectives can be changed by trusting the Teacher who cares for them and wants the best for them.

Twelve men went to spy out Canaan,
(Ten were bad, two were good)
What do you think they saw in Canaan?
(Ten were bad, two were good)
Some saw giants, big and tall!
Some saw grapes in clusters fall,
Some saw God was in it all.
(Ten were bad, two were good).

If you are a “lifer,” one who grew up in church, you will remember this Sunday School song. You also probably sang the song instead of reading it…And now this chorus is probably stuck in your head! But it summarizes the story we are about to read. One man from each of the twelve tribes was sent out by Moses to check out their new home—the land God promised to them over the generations since Abraham—“a land flowing with milk and honey”! They were sent and they went. They came back with two perspectives of thinking: We can’t. We can. Read on…see what happens in the next couple of chapters on the journey!

Numbers 13

Exploring Canaan

13 The Lord said to Moses, ²“Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”

³So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. ⁴These are their names:

from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur; ⁵from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; ⁶from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;⁷from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; ⁸from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; ⁹from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; ¹⁰from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; ¹¹from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; ¹²from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; ¹³from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; ¹⁴from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; ¹⁵from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki.

¹⁶These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

¹⁷When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. ¹⁸See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. ¹⁹What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? ²⁰How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

²¹So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. ²²They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) ²³When they reached the Valley of Eshkol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. ²⁴That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. ²⁵At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

Report on the Exploration

²⁶They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. ²⁸But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. ²⁹The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.”

³⁰Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

³¹But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” ³²And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. ³³We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Our human evaluation of any situation or circumstance is skewed until we seek the viewpoint and perspective of God. If God is our Master Teacher; we trust our Teacher as the One who can do anything that is needed on earth to fulfill His plan and purpose. If we trust only in our own abilities and what we have on hand at any given moment; our perspective is small and our purpose for living life weakened. If we trust only what we see, we will “play it safe” avoiding the learning adventures God has planned for each one of us. It’s all in our view of things—our perspective. Twelve went out to check out the Promised Land. Only two came back thrilled and ready to move in! Trust has everything to do with our perspective.

Jesus came to change the view of the religious, the skeptics, and even the oppressive government leaders who forgot God and opposed Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus came down from His throne in heaven and walked the earth, seeking to save the lost without God. Jesus was a “breath of fresh air” with new ways to think about real life to the oppressed, sick, crippled, blind, deaf, and lost. Jesus changed the perspective of God in everyone He met. (See Matthew 5-7 for more!)

And we are so glad He did! What a magnificent Plan of God to send His Son to help us see life in view of how God sees life and all He has created with purpose. Jesus changed everything when He came and at the same time fulfilled the Law that God gave the Israelites centuries earlier. Our God was, is and always will be—amazing, generous, and forever faithful in His love and care of us. Believe in His Son, Jesus and we begin to understand more of His Higher thinking Perspective with Purpose, designed by God for us. Jesus died to save us and lives to receive us into His Kingdom! It’s freely offered and within our grasp!

Our response? It’s all up to us! If only we could see life from His point of view and trust what He says. If only we could immediately obey when He speaks to us through His Word and Holy Spirit who lives in us. If only we could drive out all our human fears with His relentless love. If only we could truly think, say, and behave in ways that reflect who we say we really believe. Pause to pray. Be still and know God more. Let go of what we want and take hold of all God wants to give to us and do through us. Live with expectant hope now for Jesus is coming back soon—He promised! God delivers on His promises.

Lord,

Wow, the memories that you place in our hearts that connect the dots of our learning, growing, and transforming in ways that change our perspective of thinking even today are always amazing! Thank you for daily reminders of how rescue me, cleanse and renew my mind. Thank you for allowing me to understand from your viewpoint with a longing to know more! You are God. I trust you, dear Jesus. I give you my life because you are Life to me! Thank you for your gifts of joy and peace when I change my mind!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLED

Posted on February 7, 2025 by randscallawayffm

“The Lord mocks the mockers but is gracious to the humble.” Proverbs 3:34(The wisdom book of Proverbs is full of warnings against pride and arrogance.)

“Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.’ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time…” 1 Peter 5:5-6

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:1-10

The root cause of every war, internal and external, is rebellion against God. The sin of pride, thinking we know what is best, begins the rebellion. Pride spreads throughout our being like cancer. Pride breeds more sins such as jealousy, greed, and arrogance—all unholy behaviors and not of God. Our relationship with God and others is hindered. God seems to be at a distance from us. Why? God and sin do not occupy the same space. We must confess our sins with a humbled, sincere heart.

When we confess; God will draw near, cleanse us, and forgive us; and the wars will cease! We will not be at war with God, so we will not be at war with ourselves. This means we will not be at war with others.

Numbers 12

Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. ²“Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.

³(Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

⁴At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam, “Come out to the tent of meeting, all three of you.” So the three of them went out. ⁵Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud; he stood at the entrance to the tent and summoned Aaron and Miriam. When the two of them stepped forward, ⁶he said, “Listen to my words:

“When there is a prophet among you,
    I, the Lord, reveal myself to them in visions,
    I speak to them in dreams.
⁷But this is not true of my servant Moses;
    he is faithful in all my house.
⁸With him I speak face to face,
    clearly and not in riddles;
    he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
    to speak against my servant Moses?”

⁹The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he left them.

¹⁰When the cloud lifted from above the tent, Miriam’s skin was leprous—it became as white as snow. Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had a defiling skin disease, ¹¹and he said to Moses, “Please, my lord, I ask you not to hold against us the sin we have so foolishly committed. ¹²Do not let her be like a stillborn infant coming from its mother’s womb with its flesh half eaten away.”

¹³So Moses cried out to the Lord, “Please, God, heal her!”

¹⁴The Lord replied to Moses, “If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days? Confine her outside the camp for seven days; after that she can be brought back.” ¹⁵So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back.

¹⁶After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Moses was the most humble man on the planet! By his response to the attack on his leadership by his brother Aaron and his sister, Mirium we learn to respond in ways God would be pleased!

Moses was the victim of needless gossip within his own family. “You hurt the ones you love most” is true. When gossip and sarcastic criticism by family members that you trust “throw shade on you,” (as they say these days), in betrayal; it is excruciatingly painful. We don’t expect it, so we are shocked. Being a humble man, Moses sought the Lord often. The Lord heard the gossip and was angered. Moses didn’t respond to his accusers; but allowed God to take care of it.
Jealousy caused Aaron and Miriam to speak out against Moses. God told them, however, that he spoke directly and openly with Moses. As a result, Aaron and Miriam received God’s judgment. A lack of contentment often leads to the problem of jealousy. Even though their words were against Moses, their words were in rebellion to God. Moses response? Moses stood with them and became their advocate before God.
Moses forgave his brother and sister and did not hold their sin against them.

WHO did for us what Moses did for his siblings? Jesus, of course! Moses’ example of humility and forgiveness became the precursor for what Jesus will do centuries later for all of us. The most powerful words delivered by Jesus who humbly hung on a cross publicly to pay for our sins were; “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are do.” Luke 23:34 Because of Jesus, we are forgiven and made whole.

Pause to pray, reflect, evaluate, and respond humbly to God. Are you jealous of someone’s name, position, authority, or possessions? Are you envious of others’ families? Do you gossip to make yourself feel better about yourself? Are you being betrayed by gossip? Whatever the circumstance or wherever you are in your faith journey; Ask God to show you how you can be content with the things that really matter—Jesus’ love and forgiveness as Savior and Lord. Ask God to end the war within you. (See Romans 10—Moses is mentioned by Paul!) And I will do the same.

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Paul, Romans 10-9-10

Lord,

Cleanse our hearts completely. Remove all that does not belong there. Renew our minds, change our thinking from satisfying self to seeking Your holy ways. Refresh our souls with your new, tender mercies for today. As we humbly seek you with listening ears and opened eyes; restore the joy of you in us and us in you. I’m yours. You are indeed everything we need! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen

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GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINING

Posted on February 6, 2025 by randscallawayffm

“Wasn’t that the best burger in the world that we had back at the Egyptian Burger Palace?!” “AND, we have never had fish that tasted so good since leaving that part of the country!” “The home we lived in twenty years ago was by far the best place to live—better than this tent!” “Why can’t we have what we had?” “We are not a maximum comfort.” “This desert is too hot and dusty.” “I didn’t sign up for this trip!” “And, just how many times can we eat this manna from heaven that takes no effort on our part to collect each day?!” “Waah…” “I want to go back to where the fish was free—slavery, torture, and bondage wasn’t so bad…”

Wait, what now? What did you just say to Me? God is not pleased with grumbling and complaining. In fact, complaining on the journey will delay the trip and cause irreparable damages in some instances to the Chosen. God who is longsuffering in his compassion for His people, sends a warning fire outside the camp, but will then provide some meat for the journey to go with their manna. Our God is relentlessly faithful—even when we are not.

Grumbling to and about the God who created us, wants the best for us, provides all we need and more and who protects and rescues us from our enemies is dishonored with every word of complaint, worry, overthinking, grumbling, and distain from us over temporary circumstances. We either trust God or we don’t. What we truly believe about God is reflected in what we think, say, and do in challenging circumsstances. There’s no way around it—we just can’t hide it—God knows our hearts!

Numbers 11

Fire From the Lord

Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them, his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. ²When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down. ³So that place was called Taberah, because fire from the Lord had burned among them.

Quail From the Lord

⁴The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ⁶But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”

⁷The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. ⁸The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

¹⁰Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹²Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their ancestors? ¹³Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

¹⁶The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.

¹⁸“Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. ¹⁹You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, ²⁰but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

²¹But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²²Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

²³The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.”

²⁴So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke with him, and he took some of the power of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but did not do so again.

²⁶However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

²⁹But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

³¹Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. ³²All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers. Then they spread them out all around the camp. ³³But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

³⁵From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Moses was the first to hear the whiny wailings of God’s People. “Can’t you do something, Moses?” “Where’s the beef?” “We want meat!” “Go tell God what we want!”

Moses response? “Just kill me now, God!”

The Middle Man Moses heard it all. Having been a pastor’s wife and a leader in ministry myself, I easily and readily feel the pain of Moses who is grieved over the grumblings of the people in his care. Moses is frustrated, so painfully frustrated in fact, that he does indeed go to God, like the people said to do; but Moses has very different questions for God. God had holy, profound answers that helped Moses beyond his humanness. “Gather 70 elders who will stand with you.” “I will speak and pour out the power of my spirit over them.” Wow! Let that sink in…

“I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered,
I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered,
I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered,
That’s why I trust Him, that’s why I trust Him…”

Can you hear “Trust in God” by Elevation Worship playing in the background of this story of God in our lives?

I ponder this often. Many of us in the God’s church jump to conclusions and ask the wrong questions of leaders and of God. We approach problems with human first attempts of blame, explain, and reframe. We want to first place blame it on someone—even God, Himself! We want circumstances, pain, troubles and even death explained so we surmise, assume, and presume answers with our limited human brains. When all else fails; we reframe the situation so that it fits into our own understanding of what life should be in our estimation and evaluation. Yikes. And then we grumble when these tactics don’t satisfy our need to know. Ugh. Humbled again.

How about humbly asking God what HE wants? (Pause, reflect, repent, ask, be still and listen.) How about asking God what He wants us to learn, know, and apply to our lives as we trust and obey Him? How about trusting God no matter what is happening around us? Moses is the leader of hundreds of thousands of people who goes immediately to God for answers. God heard and He answered—in power! That’s how God works on our behalf!

Do not read into what I am about to say with political fervor. It is not my intent to make a political statement but to express a mournful, spiritual concern over our behaviors as believers that grieved my heart in this decade. Our worldwide Covid Calamity tested our faith, resolve, trust, and most of all, our witness to a world in need of a Savior. I was disappointed and heartbroken observing and hearing distasteful, unbiblical comments from believers of Jesus—attenders, part of the Body of Christ, called church. Instead of showing compassion for all people, obeying those in authority; we grumbled and whined over the situation of restrictions placed upon us for our own protection! We took sides and fought with each other rudely over how to minister to people in ways to keep covid from spreading in efforts to keep people safe. As church leaders, we heard it all, along with “if you just had enough faith…you would let us do what we want to do.” And like Moses, we might have mumbled, “just kill me, now, Lord.”

Through it all, many of us missed great opportunities to show the love of God through Jesus’ example to a dying world—both physically and spiritually. But many of us, instead, proved to the world that church is not for them. Where is the love? People are still seeking.

The people who complain the most about God and their spiritual leaders end up coming to those leaders for help! How gracious Moses was to intercede on their behalf, and how like our Lord Jesus Christ, when from the cross He prayed; “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). More than once when Israel sinned, it was the intercession of Moses that stayed God’s hand of judgment. On one occasion, Moses even offered to die so that Israel might be spared (Exodus 32:30–35). Isn’t this what Jesus did for us? Die in our place? (The answer is yes.)

How tragic it is when professed believers in churches crave substitutes from the world instead of desiring the heavenly manna of the Word of God (Matthew 4:4; John 6:66–69). It isn’t always enemies outside the local church who do the damage but counterfeiters who get inside the church fellowship (Acts 20:28–30; 3 John 9–11). These intruders might march with the church crowd and act like they are God’s people, but they don’t have an appetite for spiritual things, and eventually their true allegiance is revealed (1 John 2:18, 19). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” in living our lives. So, be careful in judging and especially in critcizing. Jesus taught, “we must take the log from our own eye before taking the splinter from another’s eye” in criticism and sarcastic judgement. This deed blocks our view of God.

So, we learn that it is a serious mistake to complain against the Lord, attack His servants, and ask for “religious substitutes” that satisfy our fleshly desires. These murmurers in Israel were eventually judged by God and used by Paul as a warning to the churches today (1 Corinthians 10:10). “Do all things without complaining and disputing” (Philippians 2:14). An unthankful heart makes it easier for people to commit all kinds of sins (Romans 1:21). Gratitude deflects our grumpy attitude.

Few experiences discourage God’s servants more than people criticizing them unjustly and complaining about the blessings the Lord has given. I’ve heard it said by an elder; “Want a better pastor? Pray for him/her.”

“The Lord had warned Israel that the way they treated the daily manna would be a test of their obedience to His Word. In rejecting the manna, Israel really rejected the Lord, and it was this rebellious attitude that invited the judgment of God. This reminds us that the way we treat God’s Word is the way we treat the Lord Himself. To ignore the Word, treat it carelessly, or willfully disobey it is to ask for the discipline of God (Hebrews 12:5–11). Instead of feeding on the things of the world that bring death, let’s cultivate an appetite for the holy Word of God (Job 23:12; Psalm 1:1; Jeremiah 15:16; Matthew 4:4; Luke 10:38–42; 1 Peter 2:1–3).”—Warren Wiersbe, Wiersbe Study Bible

Lord, God of Heaven and Earth,

Help us. Lead us. Bless us and keep us; may your face shine on us and be gracious to us; and may the Lord turn your face toward us and give us peace. Thank you, Lord.

In Jesus Name, for our good and Your Glory, Amen

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bible, Faith, God, Jesus, Moses | Leave a comment

Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus)

GRUMBLING 101

CLEANSING OF THE DEAD

TITHING—ON PURPOSE FOR PURPOSE

GOD’S NOT BLUFFING!

OPPOSITION AND CONTEMPT

NEW LAND—SAME COMMANDS

WHY, LORD? IT’S JUST TOO HARD!

PERSPECTIVE

GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLED

GRUMBLING AND COMPLAINING

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