Whatever God Says

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Numbers 23-25

Balaam made some mistakes. He should never had been in Balak’s presence in the first place. He disobeyed God, and as a result had to endure three tests he wouldn’t have had to face had he stayed put. But, dear ones, there is a precious lesson here I don’t want us to miss.

Remember Balak was dangling great wealth in front of Balaam if he’d only put a curse on Israel for him. I think some people might wonder why Balaam didn’t just throw out a meaningless string of words that sounded like a curse. That could have made him a rich man, and it would have appeased Barak.

Plus, Barak was a king. If he didn’t like what Balaam said, or if Balaam refused to say the words it could have meant Balaam’s death. So there’s that.

Balaam put himself in a difficult position. But here’s what spoke to me today:

Earlier Balaam had tweaked God’s Words. (see chapter 22). He edited what God told him to say to Balak’s representatives which opened the door for trouble. Then, after meeting the angel of God on the road, Balaam faced Barak with a renewed determination to surrender to the Words of God no matter the outcome.

Balak said: Curse Israel
God said: Bless Israel

So when Barak heard a blessing instead of a curse, he was livid. Balaam’s reply to the king was:

“Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?” (23:12) Then again, “Didn’t I tell you, whatever the Lord says I must do?” (23:26) And, “I will say whatever the Lord says.” (24:13)

Side note: I love how God gently restored Balaam kind of like he did Peter after Peter denied even knowing Jesus. Both men sinned by what they said or didn’t say. So God gave them repeated opportunities to speak the truth. God is so good!

What changed Balaam from being someone who could misquote Gods Words, into a man totally surrendered to the integrity of God’s Words? I believe it was that personal encounter with the angel of the Lord, AKA the pre-incarnate Jesus.

Let me ask all of us: How seriously do we consider the Words of God, those written in the precious Book we hold in our hands? I think we need to ask ourselves if we tend to omit certain verses that offend us. Do any of us change the meaning of the text in order for it to fit our skewed world-view, or the popular opinions of the day?

Or do we consider whose Words these are. Balaam asked, “Shouldn’t I say exactly the words the Lord puts in my mouth?” Shouldn’t we echo that and say, “Shouldn’t I say exactly the words the Lord has put into print in the pages of the Bible?” Those ARE God’s Words!

Another side note: I knew a woman who told me “God told me I was going to live in this apartment complex.” Years later and never having lived there she said, “God told me I was going to live in this high-rise.” Friend, beware of anything that starts out with “God told me” if what follows is not Scripture. Just beware.

I believe if we have an encounter with the living Lord, the way Balaam encountered Him on the road, we will also have a renewed respect for God’s Word, and a determination to let God’s Words speak for themselves.

Consider Psalm 19:14:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

May the words of our mouths be God’s Words, used exactly the way God said them. May we meditate on the Words of God as found in Scripture and not on someone’s opinions on the meaning of those words.

If we, like Balaam determine to “say whatever the Lord says,” according to Scripture, our words will be acceptable to God, and His Word will never return void.

All The Difference

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Numbers 11

I laughed out loud as I usually do when reading this chapter. The Israelites are complaining. I know, shocker. This time they are sitting outside their tents wailing because they are tired of the manna God had graciously provided for them to eat every day.

I guess we’re not the first generation that thinks they need to put their emotions on public display. Take a selfie and post it on social media. Or just sit outside your tent so everyone can see you cry the ugly cry. Clicks and likes the Old Testament way.

The sound of thousands of people boo-booing must have grated on Moses’ last nerve because we read how he talked to God about it:

“WHY ME? What have I done for you to treat ME like this? Did I give birth to them? I can’t carry them myself. It’s too much for me!” Do you sense a pattern here?

I’m pretty sure most, if not all of us have a tendency to think like Moses here. “Why me?” seems to be our first response to hardship, too.

Now here comes the LOL moment. Moses says to God, “If this is how you’re going to treat me, JUST KILL ME NOW!”

I find that hilarious every time. Moses is whining about the whining of the Jews. Doesn’t that make them all whiners?

The Jews: “I’m sick of manna. I had it good in Egypt. I want meat.”

Moses: “I’m being treated unfairly. I’m sick of their complaining. I can’t take this.”

Once again the sin of self lifts its ugly head. It’s amazing God didn’t answer Moses’ plea and just wipe them all out in one felled swoop.

But God is slow to anger, with love overflowing, gracious beyond belief. Aren’t you glad?

As long as we are focused on ourselves we will be miserable, too. This fallen world comes with all kinds of trials big and small. Instead of thinking, “Me,” think “You.”

What do YOU want me to do, Lord? How can YOU use this for YOUR glory? How can YOU be seen in and through this situation as I submit to YOUR will?

It will make all the difference. Because God makes all the difference!

Bitter Water

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Numbers 5

Modern feminism has made us hyper-sensitive to the roles of men and women. “Equality!” they cry. They see misogyny in the eyes of every male. So I imagine if your sympathies lie with the feminists, you went ballistic as you read this chapter.

“You mean if some jerk gets jealous of his wife – even without reason – he could take her before the church and force her to drink dirty water that could cause her to blow up like a balloon, in great pain, and maybe leave her unable to ever have children? He’s jealous… and she pays?”

I know. It’s awful if that’s what you get out of reading these verses. But is that really what we see here?

Notice this is a ceremony of a husband who recognizes HIS sin of jealousy. He brings a sacrifice to the priest to atone for HIS sin. Hearing his wife’s public declaration of her innocence, then watching her drink the cursed liquid without having all those horrible things happening to her, was proof that his jealousy was unwarranted, and he is right to confess his sin in order to be forgiven.

Do I think even one innocent woman suffered those physical ailments as a result of drinking the disgusting water? No.

Do you know why I’m 100% sure of that? Because God commanded a jealous husband to confess his sin in this way. And God doesn’t make mistakes.

Yes, more than likely there were women who had affairs, and maybe they did suffer the harmful effects of the bitter water. Scripture doesn’t say one way or the other. But I am looking at the innocent woman and the seemingly unfair treatment of her.

God is not a misogynist. In fact, I see a God who gave dignity to a women unjustly accuse You don’t treat women like that and expect God to be ok with it. This jealous husband who may have wanted to humiliate his wife, was publicly humiliated himself. His jealously was a sin everyone could see. He needed to repent of that sin.

If you were upset by what you read in Numbers 5, go back and read it again. This time remember the character of God, and see if you don’t recognize his love and mercy for both the man who needed to repent, and his wife who needed to be exonerated.

It’s in there.

They Did Everything. It’s a Miracle

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Numbers 1-2

God organized the Jewish people in a very specific manner. There were boundaries. You heard me boundaries. But I digress.

Each family unit was assigned their place within the nation. They knew where they were to pitch their tents, and where they were to get in line when they moved. I got to wondering what that looked like with thousands of tents pitched around the bigger tabernacle tent. Then I thought about what it must have been like to see them all pack up and move out.

I mean, the 600,000 number is the number of men who were of the age to serve in the army. So we are talking about maybe 2 million people counting women, children, and men too young or too old to be considered army-ready.

That’s a lot of people. Wouldn’t it be like trying to herd kittens? The word chaos comes to mind.

I’m a visual learner so I tried to picture what 2 million people would look like. I live close to Jacksonville, but their population in only 1,038,787. That’s not even close to the number of Jews we read about in the book of Numbers. And I thought Jacksonville was a big city.

I’ve never been to Houston but there are 2,435,715 residents there. I wonder what it would take to organize all of them to do what the Jewish nation did there in the wilderness.

I mean, I live on an island off the coast of Georgia with a population of a mere 16,800. Let me tell you what hurricane evacuation looks like here. Where’s Moses when you need him?

But here is what stood out to me as I read these numbers. The Jews did everything the Lord commanded Moses. They didn’t go rogue. They didn’t argue, or think they had a better plan. They listened. And they obeyed.

And because they did, God was able to miraculously lead them to the Promised Land. It wasn’t the organization. It wasn’t the leadership. It wasn’t even Moses. The people surrendered to the will of God.

The lesson? God can do amazing things in our lives when we submit our wills, when we humble ourselves and obey His Word. Every time we think we have a better idea, or for some reason simply ignore His Word, we just may be stopping God from doing something amazing.

They did everything God commanded through Moses. I think if we, if the Church stopped telling God what He ought to be doing, or tweaking the Word to say what we want it to say, and simply obeyed what He commands through His written Word, we would see miracles. We would see people come to Jesus. We would see lives changed, starting with our own.

Let’s open our Bibles and let God tell us His will. Let Him tell us what to do, where to go, when to go and what to say. Let’s do everything that God commands.

Then hold onto your hats. It will be miraculous.

The Fabric of My Life

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Leviticus 11-13

I learned something today. The CSB uses the words, “warp,” and “weft” and I don’t remember hearing those words before. Google tells me they refer to the woven threads in fabric. One is the horizontal threads, the other the verticals ones. (The NIV uses the words “one side or the other.” The ESV says “warp and woof.” Whatever. It all speaks to me today.)

If there was a question about mold or disease on a piece of fabric, the priest evidently examined it closely enough to consider each thread. Sometimes a good washing took care of the problem Sometimes a diseased patch had to be cut from the rest of the cloth and destroyed. Sometimes the whole garment had to be burned. (lots of spiritual imagery there if you think about it).

But what occurred to me is that the spot in question was not ignored, dismissed, or pushed aside to be addressed at a later date, no matter how simple or drastic the treatment it required.

Looking at these chapters as a picture of Jesus helps me appreciate the cross even more. I can be assured that when Jesus examines my heart He doesn’t do a quick look-over. He carefully touches every thread in the fabric of my life, and deals with the microscopic disease of sin that, if left there would grow and contaminate my life.

Jesus absolutely took care of my “big” sins there on the cross. But He also dug deeper and died for the unclean thought, the unclean attitude, the little shift away from His Holiness. Now, when I am convicted at the first sign of disease, I can repent and know God forgives and cleanses me before that thought or attitude or shift begins to grow.

I thank God for a conscience, for conviction that addresses the uncleanness of the warp and weft in the fabric of my life. Those are signs of God’s loving, gentle. and personal care of my life to save me from a world of hurt later on if those things are left untreated.

May I – may you – allow God to cleanse us at the first sign of sin. The disease of sin is never stagnate. It either spreads left unchecked, or it is stopped by God’s hand. One leads to contamination. The other to holiness.

Let’s choose holiness.

The Facts of the Presence

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Exodus 39-40

The tangible, unmistakable Presence of God stayed with the Jews by way of a cloud by day, and pillar of fire at night. They had only to look toward the tabernacle, and there He was! How amazing is that? They saw with their own eyes the evidence that God was right there, leading and protecting them every step of the way.

I find myself wishing I could see God’s Presence with my eyes, too. Yet I happily exchange the physical signs of His Presence over the tabernacle, for the privilege of having His Presence in me, guiding and protecting me.

Yes, I have to use eyes of faith. But it doesn’t make His Presence less real.

I think one thing we Christians get wrong is the idea that we can and should feel the Presence. I’m not sure there are any verses that say that exactly. I could be wrong and would love if you would set me straight if that’s the case.

I think we’re wrong to pray for the Presence when God says He never leaves us. How insulting is that for us to say, “Holy Spirit come into our midst” when He’s saying, “Hello! Didn’t I promise I’d be here?” What makes us think the Holy Spirit needs our invitation when He’s the one inviting us to come to Him?

One thing I see in these verses is the fact that the Jews didn’t feel the Presence. We place so much emphasis on our emotions, I think we miss something precious. The Jews recognized the Presence even if they didn’t get that fuzzy feeling. Their assurance of the Presence didn’t depend on their feelings, but rather the fact that God was there regardless of how they felt. The cloud was there. The fire was there. The Presence was a fact.

It still is, if you are a Christian. Didn’t Jesus say He will be with us to the end of the age? Didn’t He say, “never will I leave or forsake you?”

Those are the facts. When we accept the grace of God, the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit takes up residence. He doesn’t go on vacation. He doesn’t leave for a minute to run an errand. His Presence is in us even when we find it hard to smile, even when we’re facing the biggest challenge of our life. The Presence is with us 24/7.

That’s the precious truth I think we sometimes miss. You might argue, “But I don’t feel Him.” And I will give you the good news: You don’t have to! You don’t have to manufacture a euphoric feeling to know the Presence. In fact, that feeling is not the litmus test. The litmus test is the character of God. Either He is true to His word, or He isn’t. Either His Spirit is in you as a Christian, or He’s not.

Even if you can’t “feel” Him, the precious reality is you can know He’s there anyway, leading, protecting, loving on you every minute. Hold on to the truth of it. Use those eyes of faith and rest in the reality. His Presence is with you!

That’s a fact.

God Speaks

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Exodus 36-39

I could have saved Moses a lot of ink if I had been writing these chapters:

“And Bezalel did everything God commanded.”

We read the detailed instructions God gave for the making of the Tabernacle, then we read the details of how Bezalel and his men followed the detailed instructions. Piece by piece. Stitch by stitch. Yawn!

But wait. These are God’s words. He didn’t just get wordy here. There’s a reason for every syllable.

So I sat here wondering what God wants me to know about Bazelel’s careful adherence to God’s blueprint.

Every morning I begin my quiet time reading an excerpt from an AW Tozer sermon. (Mornings with Tozer, complied by Gerald B. Smith; Moody Publishers; 1991, 2008). Today, January 30, he shared an experience he had with a well-meaning brother who tried to correct Tozer’s interpretation of something Paul said. I’ll let Tozer tell it in his own words:

“One gentleman has written saying that I have it all wrong, and that Paul did not mean what I had said he meant as I applied Paul’s statement to everyday life.
I took time to write a reply: ‘When it comes to saying what he meant, Paul’s batting average has been pretty good up to now. So I will string along with what Paul plainly, clearly said.'”

He goes on to say he figured he really didn’t need someone who has decided the Bible doesn’t mean what it says to “straighten him out” about what the Bible says.

So when I read how Bezalel followed God’s instructions without wondering what they meant, I am challenged to do the same. I think God is a pretty good communicator. If He says something – He means it.

I think the Church is in trouble because we waste so much time trying to interpret what God meant instead of hearing what He said. We think we have to interpret His words through the lens of culture, or tradition, or perceived enlightenment, so we tweak the words God spoke to mean what we want them to mean. That’s a recipe for the disaster I think we are seeing.

I love reading commentaries and other blogs, listening to sermons, being part of Bible studies and talking about Scripture with friends. I write this blog full of my interpretation of Scripture. But I would encourage us all to put all of those in the “opinion category.” And, if I or anyone tweaks God words to fit an agenda or to claim we know what was “meant” other than what it says… place it in the “deleted category.”

I believe there is a time to put away our commentaries, turn off our TV’s, close down our Google Apps, stop reading blogs, and open God’s Word.

Do you think you can’t understand Scripture without the help of Kay Arthur, John MacArthur, Dr. Jeremiah, your pastor or Sunday School teacher? Then you aren’t giving the Holy Spirit the credit He deserves. I agree you can’t understand your denominational theology, or the trend of the day without looking to the interpretations of others. But don’t tell me God can’t give you understanding of His Word.

Let’s fashion our lives and opinions like Bezalel fashioned the Tabernacle – on the Word of God. Read the Bible for yourself. Pray and ask God for understanding. Read it again. Find other verses that speak about what you are reading in the Bible. Let the Bible speak for itself. Let God speak for Himself.

Right there, in those precious pages, is where God speaks. The question is, are you listening?

Well-Dressed Sinners

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Exodus 28-29

I will admit I don’t totally understand all the symbolism in these chapters about the priesthood. But I accept the fact it all points to Jesus. So today, as I read I was first of all struck by what must have been the beauty of Aaron’s priestly garments.

From the turban with the gold medallion, to the engraved precious stones, down to the hem of his robe, every inch was a work of art. The colors, the gold, the embroidery work made this a one-of-a-kind garment, costly in both money and man-hours to create it according to God’s instructions.

If I were Aaron I’d be afraid I’d mess it up by either spilling my coffee or stepping on the hem and ripping it. I think of a nervous bride on her wedding day, wanting to present a perfect image to her husband. No pressure.

But then, and this is the second thing that stood out to me as I read these chapters today, God told Moses to take some of the blood from the sacrificed animal and throw it on that priceless garment! Blood. You know you can’t get blood stains out. We’re talking permanent blood stains on that beautiful, perfect, clean robe!

And here’s where I see Jesus. It wasn’t about the robe. It was about the blood. It was always about the blood. It still is.

Sometimes I think we put on our priestly robes – church attendance, good deeds, good intentions – and think we’re golden. We think we are fit for service. We think we please God. But without the blood, we are nothing more than well-dressed sinners.

My prayer is that today, we will begin by not only being sprinkled, but washed in the blood of Jesus. May we lay our sins at the foot of the cross and wear the stains of Jesus’ blood proudly and loudly. Never forget the blood that washes our sins. Never forget that without the blood there is no forgiveness.

Thank God for the blood!

The Lord is my Banner

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Exodus 16-18

Sports enthusiasts are gearing up for the 2026 Winder Olympics in Italy. In just a couple weeks, hundreds of athletes who have sacrificed, trained, pushed themselves beyond their limits, will be competing under the banner of a country they identify with, a country they will represent on the world’s stage.

You won’t have to guess what country they are competing for. They will be wearing the colors of that nation’s flag. They will be holding or walking behind a very large banner with the name of that country printed proudly for all the world to see.

One of the names of God, given by Moses, is The Lord is my Banner. “Let there be no mistake,” Moses is saying, “God is our everything. He is the One for whom we fight, the One who has our loyalty, the One we identify with and honor.”

I have to ask myself what is written on my banner. Could it be my own name? Maybe the name of my family, or my career. Might “VICTIM” be displayed, or “HEALTH AND WEALTH?”

The questions I’m asking myself are, who or what has the majority of my attention, the bulk of my effort, the focus of my life? Is God my everything, or just another thing? If I am identified with The Lord, do I honor Him with my words and actions? Do I represent Him on the world’s stage with honesty and integrity?

I want to display The Lord is my Banner loudly and proudly, understanding that means I represent Him on the job, in my family, with my thoughts and in every choice I make.

People are going to be watching the Olympic athletes both on and off the competition field. They are going to be judging countries by the performance and behavior of the athletes wearing their colors. Will they measure up to the expectations of the country under whose banner they compete? Will they enhance the reputation of that country, or will they be a black mark against it?

People watch you, too, both in church and outside the walls of your church. They will be judging God by your performance and behavior. I pray we who call ourselves Christians, who march behind the The Lord is my Banner, will represent the Lord in a manner worthy of Him.

Let’s pray for each other, as we together proudly display The Lord is my Banner.

Pharaoh’s Hard Heart

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Exodus 7-12

I know there are people who get stuck on the fact that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. “How fair is that?” they ask. “Doesn’t sound like a loving God.” I confess I see their point on the surface.

But then I read in God’s own words what happened and I”m not so quick to throw God under the bus.

Did you know it wasn’t until the sixth plague that we read, “God hardened…?” Throughout the first five plagues Pharaoh presented a hard heart toward God of his own making. His rejection of God was planted in cement long before we read God had anything to do with it.

Yes, in plagues 6-10 it’s clear that God did the hardening. But He didn’t harden a heart that was seeking Him, or tender toward Him. In fact, these words found elsewhere in Scripture – “He gave them over…” come to mind.

I believe what we see here in these plagues is a God who is patient, slow to anger, abounding in love, not willing that any should perish but that all will come to Him. He gave Pharaoh multiple chances to obey. God is patient, but He will not let the guilty go unpunished.

If you tell yourself you’ll live life on your own terms right now, then surrender to God when you are older, please hear me. Every day you reject God your heart grows harder and harder. Surrendering to God later isn’t going to be easier than it is today. In fact, it’s the rejection of God that gets easier.

If God is telling you today is the day of salvation, believe HIm. It won’t be easier tomorrow. And surrendering to God is what makes this life worthwhile!