“‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle." “And I sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, ‘Let me pass through your land; I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬, ‭26‬-‭27‬ 

It seems odd for Moses to offer terms of peace to Sihon when the Lord told Moses that He had “given Sihon into your hand." This is an OT Biblical picture of how the Lord will sovereignly harden the hearts of an adversary to pursue conflict in order to glorify His name and  promote His people. There are numerous Biblical examples of the Lord using creative conflict to further his kingdom: hardening of Pharoah's heart to resist releasing Israel (Exodus 7-8), causing the Philistines to unknowingly pick a fight with Samson regarding his betrothed wife (Judges 14:4), rebuking King Asa for forming a military alliance with Syria when the Lord wanted to defeat them (2 Chron 16:7).

The Lord caused Sihon to gather into an army outside the protection of their fortified cities in order to make it easier for Israel to defeat them. Romans 12:18 gives the Elect their default strategy, "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” We must recognize that conflict and persecution is part of the sovereign plan: "These things [regarding coming trials] I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world [for you and through you].” (John 16:33, see also John 15:18-25). Pursing peace should never devolve into pursuing passivity out of fear of conflict. We can walk in the Lord's victory when men rise up against us despite our best efforts to live in peace because the Lord is sovereign over both peace and conflict. “If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing [to defeat you]; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.” (Isaiah 54:17 NIV) "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me,” Says the Lord. (Is 54:17). "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." (Ps 34:19).  May we walk in HIs peace today as the Lord uses creative conflict to build His kingdom.

“The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.” Proverbs‬ ‭8‬:‭22‬-‭23‬

Wisdom is described as something that existed from the beginning and is the prized possession of the Lord. We know that the Lord Jesus Christ was the Word of God from the beginning. (John 1:1-2) Wisdom is part of the Word of God and it something that we can possess, indeed that we are encouraged to possess. Most people confuse the accumulation of knowledge (even Bible knowledge) and human experience (even Christian experience) with God's wisdom. God's wisdom is infinite, timeless and perfect, while human wisdom is limited, situational and flawed, which is why we need divine guidance in each of life's complexities. We may have encountered a circumstance many times in the past and know at a human level how to handle that circumstance. We have human wisdom based on human experience.

We perceive God's wisdom by the Holy Spirit and often (although not always) it is the opposite of what human wisdom and experience would say is right. We are actually in a stronger position to make wise decisions when we lack experience precisely because we must seek the Lord and wise counsel rather than rely on human wisdom. The Elect are designed to walk by faith in the wisdom of God by the power of the Holy Spirit in every circumstance regardless of our past experiences. The reason for caution is that human wisdom often feels right in the moment, but many times will create huge unforeseen problems in the future. God's wisdom often feels like a loss in the moment, but will yield huge unforeseen blessings in the future. The Lord purposefully conceals HIs wisdom in a package that looks unpleasant as a means to test our submission to His divine will.

Proverbs 3:5-6 perfectly describes our strategy: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding [based on experience]; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  Verse 7 is not as well known, and carries a direct warning:  "Do not be wise  in your own eyes [with human wisdom]; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. Verse 8 contains a promise: "It [God's wisdom] will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones."  Health and strong bones are a long term result of a pattern of good decisions and right behaviors. James 3:14-17 describes the evil which we must depart from: “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." Human wisdom is based on pride, envy, and self-seeking which is the devil's playground. May the Lord help us to grow in wisdom through the power of the Holy Spirit in all we do today.

Ask and it will be given to you. . . . How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! — Matthew 7:7, 11  

Awareness of God’s presence is a key part of developing spiritual receptivity; the supernatural ability to interact with and receive from God by faith. Every child of God is endued with spiritual awareness when they are born again. We are born again by fixing our eyes on Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But few develop this awareness toward a growing spiritual receptivity.  Oswald Chambers shows us how to make progress: "Fix your mind on the idea that God is there. Once your thoughts are settled on this line, it becomes as easy as breathing to recall that your heavenly Father is behind everything that happens. Even when perplexities and difficulties press in on you, remembering the “much more” of your Father comes naturally and without effort."  

The heart leads the mind to pursue thoughts, ideas, and desires in the direction it is looking. Since the mind has a habit of thinking this way, changing means a change in the eyes. The goal is to train the eyes of our heart to be looking at Christ to meet every need. We can receive all that we need when the eyes of our heart [faith] are looking at Christ. It is helpful to reflect in each circumstance where we are looking with the eyes of our heart.  Our emotions are a clue (although not definitive) as to where the eyes of our heart are looking. If the eyes of our heart are looking to ourselves and our resources (money, property, effort, relationships) then anxiety and fear of their loss or failure will be our lot. If perhaps we are convinced that our resources are sufficient, then pride in our resources will be the result. Isaiah 26:3 teaches what happens when the eyes of heart are fixed up the Lord:  "You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed [steadfast] on You, Because he trusts in You."  The causal relationship is clear: heart trusts, is looking to the Lord, then the mind naturally is fixed upon and rests in Him.
May the Lord help us to keep our eyes upon the Lord in everything we do today.

“Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭7‬:‭39‬ 

We have an inner voice: the thoughts of our mind and the expressions of our heart and we have an outer voice with which we communicate with others. The Lord is interested in sanctifying both our inner voice and our outer public voice but it is the inner voice that is far more important. Kindness, gentleness and etiquette will ensure there is always some gap between our inner voice and outer voice. It is not wrong to notice or be aware of brokenness; Jesus is keenly aware of the sin of both the Pharisee and the woman, it's what we do with these insights that matters. When there is a large gap between our inner world and our outer world, the Bible calls it hypocrisy. Jesus says in Luke 12:1 "...“Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Leaven is a metaphor of sin, something that elevates and puffs up with pride. "“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish (actions people see in our public world), but inside (what people do not see in our private world) they are full of extortion and self-indulgence." (Mat 23:25) 

The work of the Holy Spirit reveals these inner thoughts and motivations so that we can be cleansed on the inside of the cup and dish, a metaphor of repentance in our inner, private world. Jesus is revealing in a very public manner the Pharisee’s inner world, his lack of love, respect and compassion. The Pharisee disrespected Jesus by not offering water for His feet, a kiss (on both cheeks) for a greeting, and anointing oil for his head, which were common acts of Middle Eastern hospitality for an honored guest. The Pharisee was saying something by these omissions, both to Jesus, his other guests and likely to his fellow Pharisees not in attendance, about his real feelings. His message: Jesus is not loved or respected; he's being surveilled to find a fault.

The Lord arranged a perfect fault for the Pharisee to find but it was in his own heart and not in Jesus or this woman who was a well-known sinner. We should not despair when we experience these corrections, rather we should rejoice because it is a sign of Fatherly love. We know what the Lord reveals, he heals, if we are willing to repent. The mature saint will have more in common with the Pharisee than the notorious sinner so we will experience many a "Simon (to hear), I have something to say to you" moments. May we rejoice today as the Lord bids us to cleanse our cup and dish that we might be vessels of honor “useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (2 Tim 2:21)

“‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’ ””Numbers‬ ‭19‬:‭20‬, ‭22‬ 

The laws for purification are so exacting and the penalty so severe (capital punishment) to show the incredible holiness of God and the holiness of His tabernacle. No one unclean may even enter his presence on pain of death. Only a clean priest can cleanse others to enable them to enter the presence of God. What happens to the nation of Israel when there is not one priest who is clean who can administer the rite of cleansing?  Israel would be forever lost. This is the cause for prophet Isaiah's cry of horror when he saw the holiness of God, “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.”  (Isaiah 6:5) Only a holy angel cleansing his mouth with a red hot coal from heaven's altar could take away his sin. (Isaiah 6:7)

Purification is also the cause for the devout Jew separating himself from gentiles who had no knowledge of the purification laws so would most certainly be unclean. Even a touch from something that a gentile or non-practicing Jew had touched would make Israel unclean and unable to come to the Temple.  How could they possibly eat together or visit an unclean person's house?  "And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him (Jesus) eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, “How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” (Mark 2:16) The religious leaders were right regarding the purification laws and wrong by not recognizing the only clean high priest God had sent to cleanse Israel from their sin. "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."  Hebrews 10:22

“And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.” Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬

I love being reminded in this text that the Lord sovereignly uses a political decree from the Roman emperor to create the necessity for Mary and Joseph to travel to their ancestral homeland at the perfect time for Jesus to be born. It wasn't a perfect time in regards to comfort or convenience for Mary and Joseph, given her advanced stage of pregnancy. The timing couldn't be worse for Mary and modern medicine would strongly recommend against such exertion to ensure the safety of mother and baby. Yet this arduous journey was the Lord's will as captured in ancient prophecy hundreds of years earlier. (Isaiah 7:14, Micah 4:2) Surely the Lord cares about the safety of His only begotten Son, the incarnate Christ. Jesus was even from the womb "a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief”. (Isaiah 53:3)

Jesus clearly states the path to salvation, “Enter by the narrow ( gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) “Narrow" and "difficult" refers to a gate that is difficult to enter, a way constrained by pressure, symbolizing the challenging path of discipleship and righteousness that leads to life, in contrast to the wide and easy path that leads to destruction. It’s pretty clear what path most of the American church is on. Many of the Elect, though, are currently experiencing the opposite of comfortable and easy as the Lord prepares them for the difficult days ahead. It's not that the Elect seek out hardship but, like Mary and Joseph, it is sovereignly woven into the fabric of God's plan for their lives. The Lord regularly asks His Elect to do the hard thing, the risky thing, the inconvenient thing in order to fulfill His perfect will. May the Lord be our comfort, and encouragement and strength today as He prepares us for the difficult days ahead.

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭8‬ ‭

Here is an open invitation to experience the Lord's goodness in the midst of the seasons of life. If we are drained by life's challenges, we can taste the goodness of God to refresh our weary hearts least we faint along the way. If we are excited by life's successes, we can taste the joys of heaven through praise and thanksgiving least our soul become intoxicated with the pleasures of this world. We can taste and see the Lord is good every day, all day and so learn to abide in Christ all the time. John 15:4 says "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me." The branch doesn't say "the sun is shining today so I don't need to abide in the vine or I'm bearing much fruit so I don't need to abide in the vine. I've got this figured out". The branch just stays connected to the vine, receiving vital support, no matter the season. We learn the secrets, develop the skills, to learn to abide through life's many twists and turns. It is helpful to identify the circumstances where we find it hard to abide and ask the Lord for a strategy, a plan to help us abide in that circumstance. May the Lord help us grow in our ability to taste and see that the Lord is good in everything we do today.

“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.” Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭18‬

Here we see the most valuable thing in the Kingdom--a broken and contrite heart. The world values a proud and self-exalting heart. The world says pride is good and we see it everywhere in sports, business, politics and academia. The proud boast in their accomplishments and seek to draw attention to themselves The famous boxer Muhammed Ali known for his bravado captures the world's philosophy perfectly when he said "It's not bragging if you can back it up." Another famous boast from Ali "I am the greatest". No qualifier to narrow the range; just in-your-face, unreserved self-exaltation. The world loved it and showered Ali with fame and fortune. Psalm 10:4 points to the problem with human pride "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts." Pride is the deadly enemy to the spiritual life because it takes the focus off of Christ. Pride makes us always think about ourselves. Pride is not limited to success but it can also be found in an intense focus on our failures and short-comings. The goal is think less about ourselves and more on Christ and His people. The one who truly is the greatest, the Lord Jesus Christ, never boasted in Himself or made attempts to draw attention to Himself. Jesus always pointed to the Father (John 5:19, John 12:49). The Holy Spirit always pointed to and testified about Christ (John 15:26). Psalm 34:18 describes the work of the Holy Spirit to move someone from brokenness to contribution. A broken heart doesn't automatically lead to humility. it can easily lead to anger, resentment and pride. Contrite means "Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent." The Lord goes to great lengths to produce a contrite, humble heart in His Elect. Much of our testing has elements that produce humility and we would be wise to yield to it. May we "...humble yourselves (don't fight against the humiliation) under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (let God be our defender and vindication)" (1 Peter 5:6) in all we do today.

“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord.” ‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭25‬:‭2‬

To give the promise land a sabbath rest every 50 years required great faith and trust in Yahweh. It was to show the absolute sovereignty of the Lord over His land in whom the Israelites were tenants. ‘"The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with Me." Lev 25:23 In the natural, the Sabbath year would have profound economic and social consequences. Crops would not be sold for income, farm laborers would not earn a wage, contracts to sell crops could not be fulfilled, the priest would receive no tithe, and the king no tax. The nation could become vulnerable to enemies because of economic weakness. It takes faith to follow God in this full stop. The Lord's commands are impossible to accomplish in our flesh. Many times God's commands don't make sense to us until much later. Sometimes we never understand the reasons for God's commands. It's easy to forget that the Lord promises to help us to obey, to make the impossible possible.

During the time of the Babylonian exile, the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed the exile would last 70 years. (Jeremiah 25:11-12) The seventy years was meant as discipline corresponding to the number of times that the tribes of Judah and Benjamin had neglected to obey the "Sabbath year”. This commandment had apparently gone unobserved for 490 years (from the time of Israel's occupancy of Canaan following the exodus from Egypt, to the beginning of the Babylonian exile), so the Lord sovereignly gave the land seventy years of rest during the exile. (2 Chronicles 36:20-21) Even the good kings (David, the early years of Solomon, Uzziah, Josiah, Hezekiah, Jotham…) as well as the evil kings disobeyed the sabbath year command. The pressure must have been incredible to ignore this very clear and detailed command by the predominantly agricultural kingdom of Judah. 490 years is a long time and it's easy to think that the Lord wasn't serious about this particularly onerous command. It appeared as if it didn't matter - until judgment fell. We live in a time where in our society we see the effects of long term disobedience at every level.

The world has reached the tipping point and judgment is falling. The false prophets are proclaiming all is well; "just keep being patriotic, just keep supporting the right political candidates, just keep being compliant church goers. They tell us that God is merciful and will overlook the generations of rampant rebellion. 'They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ When there is no peace. ' (Jeremiah 6:14) May the Elect arise by faith today to obey the Lord even when it doesn't make sense and when it is not popular.

“And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.” Mark‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬ 

You can tell a lot about a person by what makes them angry. It reveals their values and priorities. Anger is a natural response to something that offends our values and sense of justice. There were at least five times when the Bible explicitly says Jesus was angry
1. Let the Little Children Come to Me (Mark 10:14–16) 
2. The “Cleansing” of the Temple (Matthew 21; Mark 11; Luke 21) 
3. Sickness (Mark 1:41) 
4. Death (John 11:33) 
and in this text over the hardness of the religious leaders' hearts. The Bible doesn't say we can't ever be angry, which would be quite impossible because anger is an emotion built into us all who are made like God who can be angry.

The Bible says deal with your anger quickly and with wisdom. Quoting Psalms 4:4-5, Paul writes, “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.” Ephesians 4:26 In others words, it's ok to be angry but don't sin in the midst of your anger by staying angry. We've all met people who are constantly angry with everyone, even at strangers who have done them no harm. It's not just that we tend to act rashly and harshly when we are angry, it's that it affects our relationship with the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 warns us about the fruits of unguarded anger which include physical fighting, verbal fighting (quarreling), malice (harboring a desire to do harm), bitterness (long term resentments) and clamor (noisy uproar). Apostle Paul warns of the inevitable result "And do not grieve (causing distress or emotional pain) the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Mark 3 shows that hardness of heart grieves Jesus, and Ephesians 4 tells us that the fruits of unguarded and unbounded anger grieve the Holy Spirit. May the Lord give us His wisdom and strength today to guard our hearts in world full of evil and injustice.

What are you dreading? You are not a coward; whatever it is, you’re going to face it. Yet you still have a feeling of dread. Build on God’s promise. Say with confidence, “In this moment, in my present mind- set, the Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” 
Oswald Chambers. 

The opposite of faith is fear, the opposite of hope is dread. Dread is a type of low-grade, deep-seated fear because it is amorphous, without specific shape. It is a feeling of impending doom. The great danger of living in the end times is that we know that there will be cataclysmic events, both man-made, devil-made and God-made. We thus can have a sense of dread instead of a sense of hope and faith. Hope by definition means a future expectation of God's favor which is the opposite of a sense of impending doom. Fear left unattended is debilitating because we are quite literally not in our right mind.

Fear takes us out of our logical and analytical mind (cerebral cortex) and puts us into our more primitive mind that thinks emotionally, fight or flight (limbic/amygdala). Fear prevents analytical processing so we can't make logical decisions. Fear also wars against our inner peace that is essential in order to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and we are unable to make Spirit-led decisions. Most people just try to push dread out of their minds through diversions like entertainment and vacations (think happy thoughts) but Chambers gives the Biblical way to combat dread. Focus on the promises of God to never leave us nor forsake us (think Biblical thoughts). Our great Keeper will see us through every trial and every tribulation, including the Great Tribulation. May we join with the Psalmist today to boldly declare "The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalms 118:6)

“Then He said, 'To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.'” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭30‬-‭32‬. 

Sometimes we see the great gap between where we are and where the Bible says we ought to be and it can feel overwhelming. We think "how can I ever produce that kind of fruit in my life?" We want to throw out everything and start fresh. And yes, there are times where we just need make big efforts to throw out actions and mindsets that are rotten fruit but most times we shouldn't throw it out, we should take little actions to grow it out. The mustard seed parable shows us the way to start with some small action based on faith, start doing it, and then let it grow over time and repetition.

If, for example, we have an antagonist who troubles us to such a degree that we struggle to not despise them, then we can start with a little act of kindness, a little prayer for their progress toward righteousness, a little private praise that the Lord has created them for a purpose. Or we can take a little step toward a more disciplined life or victory over an unproductive habit and trust the Lord to help us grow in tue fruit of self-control. That little mustard seed of faith, once planted, can now grow into the largest plant in our garden. "Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin..." Zechariah 4:10 NLT. May the Lord help us plant mustard seeds of faith in little acts of obedience today.

“Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.””Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭18‬-‭20‬

This text describes the challenges of the presence of God - it is awesome and produces a fear of God. We so desperately need the fear of God yet it is...fearful. We don't like fear and seek to avoid it or at least experience fear in controlled doses (rollercoasters, sky diving, horror movies/novels, apocalyptic information). We don't get to control the dose when we engage with God. We never know what He will say and how we will experience Him.

Chambers had a great quote a while back that puts is succinctly, "Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life– gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life." Gracious is the right adjective for uncertainty with God because we must trust that God's only goal is our growth and progress. He never wants to inflict needless terror for a sadistic reason. The devil is the terrorist who uses fear as a weapon of control and destruction. The thunderings, the lighting, sound of the trumpet, smoke and earthquakes are all tools to instruct Israel about the holiness and power of God. Humans are visual and experiential learners when it comes to spiritual things. Most people have difficultiy with abstract concepts and need tangible demonstrations to truly grasp spiritual things. "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in [demonstration of] power." 1 Corinthians 4:20 Sadly, only a few actually push past the need for control to experience God. May the Lord help us walk in the gracious uncertainty of the Holy Spirit in all we do today.

“And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land.” Exodus‬ ‭4‬:‭9‬ 

The two signs given to Moses for the Israelites symbolized God's power and authority to deliver them from slavery. The first sign, where Moses' staff turned into a serpent, represented God's control over evil, while the second sign, involving Moses' leprous hand, symbolized healing and redemption from sin and affliction. The third sign (and every subsequent plague) was meant to show the Lord's superiority over all the gods of Egypt.

The public relations firm working with the Egyptian pharaohs had successfully built up a god-like mystique. The core of the Egyptian propaganda campaign was that Pharaoh is a god-man with the divine right of kings to rule all of Egypt, including the people of Israel. What's worse, most of Israel had grown up in this Egyptian culture and completely believed in their gods and their god-man leader Pharaoh. When Moses was confronted about his credentials to be a ruler and judge over Israel ("Who made you ruler and judge over us?" Exodus 2:14), it wasn't just a rhetorical question, "Who are you?" but a question of whether he had the legitimacy of the Egyptian divine right of kings to rule because Moses was Hebrew and not Egyptian.

We see the prophet, Isaiah, many years later directly attack the wrong perceptions that the Jews had about Egypt: "The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit. (Isaiah 31:3 ESV). The Lord gave Moses three supernatural signs to boldly authenticate that "I AM" is who has sent Moses and has given him legitimacy. We likewise have been sent by the great I AM and have all the power and resources of heaven to give us legitimacy to preach the gospel of the Kingdom (Matthew 28:16-20). May we walk with boldness today knowing the Lord has sent us to preach a message of deliverance from the slavery of sin and to set the captives free.

“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Moses said, "Who am I?" because he realizes that he does not have the ability to fulfill the great calling as Israel's deliverer. God responds with "I AM who" will go before you and cause you to succeed where you have failed in the past. The Lord is the great initiator, the great pursuer of His people and His purpose. It was the Lord who arranged the encounter at the burning bush. It was the Lord who had already spoken to Aaron, Moses' older brother to begin the journey to find Moses in Midian. It was the Lord who had prepared Israel's hearts to now be ready to follower their deliverer when prior to they were resistant ("Who made you ruler and judge over us?” Exodus 2:14). When we say, "Who am I?”, The Lord says "I AM who." May we rejoice today that the great "I AM" has gone before us to enable us to succeed in every good work.

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” Job‬ ‭42‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You”  describes the difference between information and revelation. We may have a lot of information about God but it takes revelation to know God personally, intimately. Biblical revelation is when God reveals something to us. The greatest gift we can receive is God revealing something about Himself. It's why the angels around God's throne cry to each other, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord". (Isaiah 6:3) Crying out, "Holy" isn't part of the Angel's job description so that they must do it, it is a reflexive reaction to what they are seeing.

lt's like a sports fan saying to their buddy, "wow! did you see that incredible play. Unbelievable! I've never seen anything like it." The joy of exclamation isn't forced but automatic because of the extra-ordinary things they beheld. The angels are continually crying, “Holy" because God is continually revealing more glory to them. The angels (and every other created being) would be torched if God revealed all His glory at one time. Revelation of God is the essence of true worship. The more revelation about God the more fluent and authentic our worship. There is a second revelation that immediately follows a revelation of God. It’s the revelation about ourselves. After God speaks, Job describes himself as "vile" and expresses humility by saying, "I lay my hand over my mouth." (Job 40:4–5) We need both a revelation of God's holiness and a revelation about our lack of holiness to gain true repentance and true humility.

The prophet Isaiah, like Job, was a very godly man in his day but after seeing the revelation of the throne of God he says, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5) The Lord never leaves us long is in this state of self-loathing least we despair. "And he (angel) touched my mouth with it (live coal from the altar), and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” (Isaiah 6:7) May the Lord give us a fresh revelation of Himself today that we might live upright and holy lives amongst this evil generation.

"Jesus has prayed for nothing less than absolute oneness with him. Some of us are far from this state of oneness, but we can be sure that, because Jesus has prayed that it may be so, God won’t leave us alone until it is." Chamber's quote summarizes why I'm so confident that the Lord will see all the Elect through. Jesus cannot and will not fail in His purpose-not one time. To do so would make Him imperfect and not divine. The Lord has made the Elect's salvation an issue of His divine nature. The statement "God won't leave us alone until [His purpose] is completed”. This is not just doctrinally correct, I've found it true experientially. As a pastor now for over 25 years, I've witnessed so many Elect test out the John 17:21 prayer by attempting to walk away, to go back to the life they had before Christ. They can make the decision to walk away but they can never actually get away from Christ. Make-believers can walk away, can fall away, but by definition, the Elect are those who demonstrate the perseverance of the saints to turn back (repent). The reason they turn back is because Christ brings them back.

The good Shepherd is relentless. He will move heaven and earth to save one of His lost sheep. I have watched the Lord create the most amazing circumstances to compel one of His prodigals to return Home. The prodigal Elect (and there are plenty) always come to their senses and say "How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you," (Luke 15:17-18). We will have the privilege to watch the Lord do miracles to bring His prodigals home in this season of sifting and shaking. Our faith is not in them, or ourselves, but in Christ alone. May we walk by faith and not by sight as we trust the Lord to finish the work He has begun in our loved ones.

"The cross is the doorway through which every member of humanity can enter into the life of God. Through the resurrection, our Lord has the right to give eternal life to all. By the ascension, our Lord enters heaven and keeps the door open for humanity.”
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest - May 17 

Jesus lived His entire public ministry with the power of the Holy Spirit but, as Chambers points out, there were two distinct phases divided by the mount of transfiguration where the glory of the Lord was released and He had fellowship with God the Father, Moses (Law), and Elijah (prophets). We need these supernatural encounters with God to elevate to a new level in our spiritual lives. Living in this fallen world is spiritually and physically draining. We need our daily times of seeking God and finding comfort and direction from His Word and the presence of the Holy Spirit. But then the Lord will occasionally orchestrate special experiences whereby we are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and given special revelation to enable us to go to the next level. We don't insist that we have these special experiences before we will go further but we simply yield and linger when the Lord sovereignly orchestrates them.

The cross, the resurrection, and the ascension were all essential for fallen humanity to be reconciled to God and Jesus was made ready beforehand by supernatural preparation. Peter used his witness of the transfiguration many years later as evidence against those who claimed that the gospel was a merely a fable, a made up story. "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory (impartation) when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”  2 Peter 1:16-18

So shall the Elect be given all we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3). May the Lord strengthen and equip us today that we might bring glory to Him in everything we do.

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭20‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬

In parable of the workers in the vineyard, the landowner intentionally has the last workers paid first so the earlier workers will see what everyone receives. The point of the parable is not really about wages or fairness in business. It’s about God’s kingdom and grace. This parable is similar to the debate about retributive justice in the book of Job where the three friends insist that Job's calamities are the result of hidden sin. Humans have an innate sense of fairness and want our system of justice enforced, unless of course, we want mercy for ourselves or our loved ones.

The Lord describes how our sense of justice (which is good) can get us in a bind when we watch God's dealings with others, especially those we find disagreeable. The workers who labored all day expected more because they worked longer. When they saw the late workers receive a full day’s wage, they became resentful. Jesus uses this to expose how people can become jealous when others receive God’s generosity and mercy. When we feel that resentment arising (and it will), it is helpful to practice rejoicing in the goodness of God in our lives. May we give praise today because the Lord has saved us, a wretched sinner, who rightly deserved eternity in hell but instead He has shown us His favor all of our days.

"The only thing that allows us to enjoy the disagreeable is the bright enthusiasm of the life of the Son of God. If we get into the habit of saying, “Lord, I am delighted to obey you in this matter,” the Son of God will come to the forefront, and we will glorify him by revealing his life.” Oswald Chambers

This quote captures the essence of not just enduring a difficult season but to actually enjoy it. We've all had to endure disagreeable things and, like being forced by Mom to eat something we dislike because "it's good for you!", we do it with a grimace. We do it because we must but we hate every bite so we do it slowly and reluctantly with an expression showing our disapproval. This is certainly one level of obedience and it's far better than disobedience but it is not God's highest goal for our lives. We all know the prudish and joyless puritan caricture the world loves to describe those who follow Christ - miserably righteous. Chambers captures the essence of how to walk through disagreeable circumstances so we aren't miserably righteous.

We say to God (and ourselves), "I am delighted to obey you in this matter" as we do the (disagreeable) will of God. Delight means great pleasure and satisfaction which is the opposite of painful duty. Our delight isn't in what's disagreeable, that wouldn't be authentic or true. We are not trying to use a mental technique to trick ourselves into liking something we obviously do not like. Rather our delight is in doing the disagreeable thing with God and for God. Jesus gives us the way to delight in obeying in John 15:10-11 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." It's abiding in God's love that we delight in and that is an easy thing to do becaue the Lord's presence is always delight-full. May the Lord refresh us in HIs love today as we go through a most disagreeable time before the return of Christ.

“But if you will not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?” But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭43‬:‭5‬-‭7‬

Jacob is the inheritor of the promise to Abraham, but he's also considered a prophet, meaning he hears from God and speaks for God. But here, Jacob is not sensing what God is doing in his life and the Lord doesn’t speak to him directly about it until after Jacob was already traveling down to Egypt (Genesis 46:4). Why doesn't the Lord tell Jacob in this chapter while he is anguishing over the decision to send his son Benjamin with his brothers to Egypt? The answer is that the process is the point, not the end goal, or we could say the journey is what is important not the destination. The Lord wanted Jacob and his sons (including Joseph) to go through the process of wrestling with the trial to develop character.

It's taken me quite a long time to adjust to how the Lord values the journey. I've often asked the Lord "Why didn't you show me sooner?" "Why the circuitous route when a direct path would have been so much easier?" "Why does this have to be so difficult?" The answer to these questions and many others like them is the Lord is the God of the journey, the God of the Highway called Holy. Like a master personal trainer, He arranges the perfect exercise to bring about the growth he desires. May we walk by faith today knowing the Lord has His hand on every area of lives to bring us to a deeper place, a better place with Him.

The Lord made humans as emotional creatures, and as much as we like to think we are completely rational and analytical, emotions are always part of the equation. It takes wisdom to sort through those emotions and come away with the will of the Lord. Jacob and his sons need restoration, reconciliation and repentance and the Lord will use the difficult decisions resulting from the famine to move them in the right direction. Judah needed the opportunity to step up to be a leader in his family by taking responsibility for Benjamin's safety because it was Judah who had come up with the plan to sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Genesis 37). Joseph needed to prove his brothers' character to trust them with his identity. If the Lord told Jacob the entire plan, then he would have acted differently about sending Benjamin and would have likely shared this information with his sons. Everyone would have been in a different mental and emotional state.

“And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭41‬:‭41‬-‭42‬. 

I often revise the adverb, suddenly, to be a noun, ”suddenlies”, for events that quickly and decisively change our circumstances so that we now must address unforeseen challenges. “Suddenlies" are tests of faith and character orchestrated by God. The "suddenly” in this passage is a positive one where Joseph came into Pharaoh's presence and was asked to do an impossible task - to interpret a dream - after no other Egyptian wise man or advisor could do so. Joseph was able to interpret Pharaoh's dream not because he studied for years or had extensive experience of dream interpretation (the Bible tells of only four other times when he did: twice for personal dreams, then the baker's and the cup bearer’s dreams). God uniquely gifted Joseph to interpret this Pharaoh’s particular dream, for this very moment in history.
The word destiny describes a predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control. Genuine faith carries with it a sense of destiny, that our lives are valuable and important and under the sovereign control of God. A reflective life gives us the ability to look back and see the hand of God orchestrating our experiences such that we are uniquely equipped for the challenges we presently face. The story of Joseph is one of the greatest “suddenlies" in human history; from prison to the palace, from prisoner to prime minister; it was a complete turn around. Joseph was asked to effectively run one of the most powerful nations on earth with no experience, a clouded past, and no apparent ability in public administration.
The Lord is the God of the turn around, who qualifies the unqualified, and promotes the least likely. Jesus' resurrection is the greatest "suddenly" in human history and we get to play a part in the grande finale of His sudden return. May we live with a sense of destiny that the Lord is using us to build His Kingdom today.

“And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker. So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.” Genesis‬ ‭40‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ 

The arrest and detainment of two high ranking officials sets the stage for Joseph's eventual release, but for Joseph it's just another day at the office. His conduct is consistent and gracious ("he served them"). We discover that Joseph is in the "club-fed”, the prison for prisoners with status. Potiphar, Joseph’s boss, is the captain of the guard. His position likely involved overseeing the security of the palace and managing the state police and the prison system where Joseph is now working. Potiphar could have easily had Joseph executed for his alleged crime of molesting his wife but instead he puts him in the cozy part of the prison and allows (perhaps enables) him to be promoted because he knows Joseph is innocent but wants to avoid further scandal. Potiphar surely knows his wife's character and he knows Joseph’s character, but one of them has to go because the accusation was serious and his wife made it widely known in the household.

So off Joseph goes to Jail. It's completely unfair but it's also part of Joseph's spiritual training. Our human sense of fair play is one of the ways we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and it’s a key part of the Elect's training because God's justice is sure but, as it is tied to His mercy, it is rarely swift (Psalms 103:8). One of the frequent stops along the Highway called Holy is Unfairness University and, sometimes for an advanced degree. We should rejoice because it is a sign of His special favor and future exaltation. "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." (Galatians 6:9) Joseph's time for reaping, literally and figuratively, is drawing nigh, but for now he must not grow wearing of doing good. Joseph passed his test and may the Lord enable us to pass our test(s), as we watch for the "glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ". (Titus 2:13)

“This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.”Genesis‬ ‭37‬:2-3

The Bible makes special mention of an incident when Joseph was sent to work with His brothers tending the flock. More likely, as is the case with most little brothers, Joseph was serving his brothers in menial tasks while they tended the flock. The goal was to learn the family business. Zilpah (Leah) and Bilhah (Rachel) were concubines whose role was to be handmaid to the wives. Bilhah's sons are Dan and Naphtali, while Zilpah's sons are Gad and Asher. It makes sense that Joseph would work with Dan and Naphtali since he would naturally be was raised in Bilhah's tent after the death of his mother Rachel when he was 9 years old. These sons were naturally closer to each other because there is always a family hierarchy amongst the children, usually by age, but in this case, also by the status of the mother in the clan.

In this case, Joseph brought a bad (some versions evil, vile) report about his brothers. The underlying Hebrew suggests that Joseph didn't criticize their work so much as tell Jacob of his older sons' dubious reputation amongst the locals. This would be of special interest to Jacob because he was a guest amongst these people and remembers the near disaster at Shechem (Gen 34). The rest of the Biblical narrative supports this idea as it details the ungodly behavior of Jacob's sons. But Joseph broke a cardinal rule about tattling on older brothers (especially being 2nd youngest) and paid the price with their intense (murderous) resentment.

Jacob only made matters worse by so obviously favoring Joseph with special colorful coat and likely other privileges. But the incident introduces Joseph to be of uncommon character and insight from a young age, willing to go against the grain to walk in integrity. The Lord especially arranged that Joseph would grow in tact, wisdom and humility through the many trials he would face. It is encouraging to read in the life of Joseph how the Lord redeems (and brings justice to) relational conflict and the many setbacks to help him grow into His divine calling. Nothing is wasted, no senseless pain. May we rest in God's sovereign power to redeem our past and use it for His glory.

"The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life.” 
- Oswald Chambers

“for we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

The world values common sense and knowledge but faith always requires a level of uncertainty, a level of danger, a level of sacrifice of what is precious and a level of hearing God's voice and obeying. All these elements of faith are built up over time in smaller tests until we are ready for the defining test(s) of our lives. Those tests may look like interruptions in our lives, but from God’s perspective they are part of the road that we walk in Him. “The instant we abandon ourselves to God, he begins to fill our life with constant surprises,” Chambers continues. God often calls us to do works which are insensible to our minds. Growing faith, like growing muscle, requires resistance. Peter clued us into this when he wrote, “12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13