Tag: Moses

Parashah Korach (Korach) Numbers 16 – 18

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This parashah starts with Korach, a Levite, coming together with Dathan and Abiram (both from the tribe of Reuben) against Moshe and Aaron, especially Moshe. They accuse Moshe of going too far and placing himself above them. Korach has organized another 250 men who stand with him. When Moshe hears this accusation he falls on his face, then he tells them to gather their people the next day at the Tent of Meeting and to bring their censors with incense and fire before the Lord, and that he and Aaron will do so, also. Then God will choose who is holy and can come before Him. Moshe goes on to remind Korach that the Levites were chosen by God to be separated and given special privileges to serve God and the people, but now they aren’t happy with that, so they seek the priesthood, too! He tells them they have gone too far.

The next day they all come to the tent with their censors and incense. When Dathan and Abiram refuse to come, Moshe goes to their tents and Abiram and Dathan rebel against, and insult, Moshe even more, going as far as to blame Moshe for the people not having received the land they were promised.  At the Tent of Meeting God speaks to Moshe and says to separate himself from the community as He is going to destroy them, but Moshe asks why should all the people suffer for the sins of a few? He uses the same argument Abraham used when trying to save Sodom, except the other-way around: Abraham asked if a few righteous should be killed for the many sinners, and Moshe is asking why the many righteous (innocent) should be killed for the sins of a few men. Same argument- please don’t kill the “innocent” with the guilty.

This also is a theme that we see develop as time goes by: God is more willing to relent destruction of the children for the sins for the father, and vice-versa.

God says He will only destroy the rebellious ones, and Moshe is told to have everyone in the camp physically separate themselves from the tents of Korach, Dathan and Abiram. As the people draw away, Moshe says that if these men die a normal death than God did not send Moshe, but if the earth were to split open and swallow them all alive into Sheol, then everyone will know that Moshe is God’s chosen representative and that these men have rebelled against God. No sooner does Moshe finish then the ground splits open and swallows Dathan, Abiram, and Korach, as well as their family and possessions.

Then fire comes from heaven and incinerates all of the 250 men. The censors, which are all that is left of the men, at God’s command are beaten into a cover for the altar so everyone will see it and remember. However, the very next day the people accuse Moshe of killing the Lord’s people, and the cloud of the glory of the Lord comes onto the Tent of Meeting. God again warns Moshe to get away from the entire community because He is going to destroy them, but Moshe again intercedes. However, a plague has already broken out from God’s fury, and Moshe tells Aaron to burn incense and make atonement for the people. Aaron runs right into the middle of the plague, standing between the dead and the living, and stops the plague.

God now provides another demonstration of his choice of Aaron through the miracle of making Aaron’s staff grow not just buds, but flowers and ripe almonds, as well. Now the people finally “get it’ and they are frightened of God and the tent of Meeting, crying that they are all dead men because all who come before the tent die.

Oy! How blind can you be? They just don’t see their own sin is causing their destruction.

The last part of this parashah reviews the rights of the priests with regards to what portion of the sacrifices brought before God they are allowed to keep for themselves, and reminds the Levites that they are to keep the common people away from the Tabernacle to protect them, from themselves.

What we see here are two tribes, both of which feel slighted. The Levites (specifically Korach and his followers) aren’t satisfied attending to the tabernacle and carrying the tent; they want to be in charge of the service and attend to God, directly. The Reubenites feel slighted because Reuben was the firstborn, but did not receive the blessings or rights of the firstborn. Of course, maybe they forgot it was because Reuben had disgraced his father, Jacob, by sleeping with one of his father’s concubines. That’s not going to get you any points, believe-you-me!

It seems that they also forgot that the people were the ones who refused to enter the Land, and so it was their fault, not Moshe’s, that they didn’t have their own property, as promised. In fact, it was the people who told Moshe that he should be the only one to talk with God. Go back to Sh’Mot (Exodus) 20:19: the people assign Moshe the position of intercessor and leader. Now they accuse him of putting himself in charge!

When I read this story, it seems to me we are being shown that we should be grateful for anything we receive, and not be jealous of what God has done for others, or think we deserve more than what we have. God knows what we need, and that is all we should ask from Him. This is an attitude of humility and faithful thankfulness, and that is what God asks from us. Just trust in Him and be thankful for whatever we have.

In the 23rd Psalm, David says that the Lord is our shepherd and we shall not want. Maybe “want” doesn’t mean ‘want’ as in a desire for something, but ‘want’ as meaning to have needs, as “the poor want for food.” If we trust God, we will not want, in other words, we won’t be in want.  He can, and will, provide for everyone who trusts in Him. Not only did Korach, Dathan, Abiram and the other men not trust in God or have an attitude of humility, but they rebelled against God and accused Moshe of doing exactly what they were doing- placing themselves above others. Moshe was doing as God told him, but the others weren’t- they were doing as they wanted to do. And, since God had told them what their job was already, by wanting something else they sinned, and they suffered for it.

The sad part is that the sin of Korach, Dathan and Abiram caused not just their wives, children and the other 250 men to die, but the plague that came killed another 14,700 people. Three men sinned, and nearly 15,000 died from it.

Sin always has consequences, and more often than we realize, it is the innocent who suffer for the sins of the guilty. This is why it is so important to avoid sin, avoid people that sin, and be trusting and thankful to God. It’s not that hard to do. Don’t be covetous: it’s OK to have ambition to be better, to want to provide more for your family, but not to the point where you accuse others because they have more and want what others have just to have it.

I have driven by many beautiful homes and thought, “What a nice place to live.” Then I remind myself of what it says in Proverbs 15:17 (Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred) and also Proverbs 17:1 (Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.) Not that everyone in a beautiful house is living in a loveless family, but just because something looks great to have doesn’t mean it is great to have. We must be happy with what God has provided and not concern ourselves with how much happier we would be with more of what someone else has.

That’s the problem with wanting more: there is always more to want. Always wanting more is a self-defeating proposition and you will never be satisfied.  On the other hand, people who appreciate what they have are happy and satisfied.

This doesn’t mean that just going through life accepting whatever happens is right. There are things we can’t change, things we can, and we need to ask God to show us to know which is which, and to strengthen us to do what we need to.

It is all about God and all for God: if doing more can glorify His name, do more. If being content can glorify His name, then be content.

It isn’t easy to know the difference, is it? I depend on the Ruach haKodesh to show me what is growth in the Lord and what is selfish ambition.

I don’t always get it right.

Parashah Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13 – 15:41) Send Thou Out

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This is where we learn why the Jewish people wandered forty years in the desert. The Lord orders Moshe to send out one prince from each tribe to spy out the land of Canaan. When the 12 men return, all except Caleb and Joshua report that it is too well fortified, the people are fierce and the Anakim, the race of giants that Jewish mythology says are the children of (fallen) angels that took human wives, are there, too.  The people grumble and moan, depressed and frightened that they will die (geeze- will they ever learn?) so they organize against Moshe and Aaron. Again.

God is really fed up with these stiff-necked people and, again, tells Moshe to get away from them for He will destroy them and make a nation out of Moses, but Moses intercedes and saves the people by reminding God of His own words- that He is forgiving and compassionate. Moses also brings a good logical argument that if God destroys the people then the other nations will think less of God’s power and might. In other words, destroying the people will not bring God honor or respect. So God sends a plague to kill the 10 spies who caused this sin.

Now the people, told that because of their stubborn and faithless actions they will have to spend 1 year wandering in the desert for every day the spies were in the land (hence the forty years), decide that they were wrong to kvetch and without first asking for the Lord’s forgiveness, and for His favor and for His protection, take it upon themselves to again disobey the Lord and ignore Him by trying to conquer the land.

Ever wonder what would have happened if they had done as they should? What if they had gone to Moses, asked him to intercede (they probably didn’t know he already saved their collective butts) and offered sacrifice to God at the Tabernacle as a congregational sin sacrifice? Would God have forgiven them and then allowed them to enter the Land?

Whatever might have happened had they done that, they didn’t, and so they go to war on their own and, well, that doesn’t work out too well for them; in fact, they suffer such a terrible defeat they are pushed all the way back to their last victory, Hormah, and are so badly beaten that they really don’t have any military left.  They don’t have another military encounter for 38 years (give or take.)

After God passes judgement, the next and last part of this parashah is a restatement of the regulations regarding sacrifices. It seems strange, doesn’t it? I mean, they just found out they will not enter this land for forty years and all that are over 20 years of age will die in the desert, but God is telling them how to present the sacrifice when they are living in the land.  I am not sure why this is here, but I agree with what the Chumash says, that this is a comforting statement, intimating that they will be entering the land, eventually.

I think this is a good lesson for us, to know we can always believe that whatever God says will be, is already history. That’s how He rolls. Here, in the midst of rebellion and defeat, God doesn’t dwell on the present but moves on to the future. He has decreed their punishment, and now it is time to get ready for the end of that punishment. You’ll be wandering for forty years- to God, that’s nothing. He isn’t thinking on that anymore, it’s done- now we plan for when you enter the land.

That’s called forgive and forget- we don’t do that. We may say we forgive and forget, but we don’t really forget what we forgave, do we? God forgets our sins, so that they are as far from Him (and us) as the East is from the West. The people sinned against the Lord, He decreed His punishment, and to Him it was done. Now He has forgotten their sin and is telling them how to enter the land. To the people it’s something that they won’t even be able to do, since the punishment is that most who are able to hear and understand will be dead before this is possible. But that doesn’t matter to God- He is telling them what they must do, so they can teach their children. It’s the children that will be entering the land, and another lesson for us is that we must teach our children what to do so when God calls on them, they will be ready.

God has decreed, and it is done. Not just what happens now, but what will happen; to the Lord, it is already completed.

That’s where we gain strength for our faith. We can see that everything the Lord declares, decrees and decides to be, is as trustworthy and dependable as if it were already completed. Essentially, we should have complete trust in God because for thousands of years we can study and know the historical proof of this statement:

Whatever God says will be, is.

That’s the lesson for today. Remember this truth, trust in it, put your faith in God to always do as He says and that whatever He says will be, will be.  And don’t expect it to be when you want- it’s all about the Lord, and it will be at His good time, when He is ready, which will always be at the exact right time. It may be immediate (as the punishment of the 10 spies was immediate), it may be forty years later, it may not even happen in your lifetime. That’s no reason not to trust Him. In fact, that is more reason TO trust Him- He will not be distracted from His promise and His plans. True, He may swerve now and then, such as not destroying the people (more than once) because of the earnest prayer of one man interceding, or He may relent on punishing (as he did for Nineveh when Jonah preached the coming judgement) if we are repentant and humble before Him. But, overall, what He says He will do, He will do. And what He says will be is a certain as if it already had happened.

Take strength in that when you feel your faith waning. Remember, always, that God is faithful to be trusted and trustworthy to be faithful. He will forgive and forget, He will be compassionate and understanding, and He will judge rightly without respect for the rich or sympathy for the poor. He will judge each as they deserve based on their heart and their actions, not based on their economic position or social status. He is fair and just, and that should be a frightening thought to all of us.

One last thought: how do you think the children, those under 20 but old enough to understand what God’s punishment meant, felt like when they heard it? Here you are, a teenager thinking you will finally get to live somewhere with a house, fields and all the food and drink you want, and you are told to wait 40 years! When you were 12 or 16, how long did 40 years seem to you? I remember that 1 year was a lifetime to me back then. The adults probably took some consolation knowing their children would be in the land, but I don’t the kiddies really appreciated it that much.

Just something to think about.

Parashah Beha’alotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:15) When you set up…

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We begin this portion of the Torah with the lighting of the menorah. The Tabernacle has been constructed and anointed, then Aaron and his sons, now the menorah is lit and Aaron is told that he and his descendants are the ones blessed and honored to perform that duty. The Levites are separated, cleansed and appointed (officially) to their duties, and the people are reminded that God has separated the Levites unto Himself for serving Him, as a ransom for all the firstborn that were killed in Egypt. The term of service is to be between the ages of 25 and 50, after which the Levite is still to serve as a teacher and leader, but not physically to work in the Tabernacle or move it.

The beginning of the second year God tells Moses to have everyone celebrate the Pesach festival, and the ruling is given that if a person is unclean and cannot celebrate it in the first month, then that person is to do so on the 14th day of the second month. The rule is the same for both the native and the person who sojourns (a convert) with the people. This is repeated many times throughout the Torah: whether born Jewish or converted, once you have chosen to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob you are an adopted child, and you are not only privileged to be given all the rights of a native, but you are also responsible to follow all the laws.

As an aside, here’s where this has ended up today:

– Christianity wants to be accepted as a child of the same God that the Jewish people worship, have accepted that Yeshua is their Messiah, but worship Him instead of God and have rejected Torah;

– Judaism worships God, follows Torah, yet they have (for the most part) rejected Yeshua as their Messiah;

– the only ones who have it right (in my opinion) are the Messianic Jews and Hebraic Roots movement Christians, who worship God, have accepted Yeshua as their Messiah and also follow Torah, just as Yeshua did.

Back to the Parashah: now it’s the second year since leaving Egypt, the second month so everyone has had the chance to celebrate Passover, the Tabernacle has been up for a while, the Levites are serving and the Cloud has been over the Tabernacle all this time. Now is the first move. We read about how the tribes march out, the Ark of the Covenant in the lead and the wonderful invocation that Moses gives when the Ark leads, and when it comes to rest. These words are still repeated to this day when the Torah is removed from the Ark, and when it is returned.

God commands that two silver trumpets be made for calling the people to gather and to prepare for war. These are ceremonial trumpets, and different from Shofarot.

As the people start to move, they begin to grumble, as they will often, against Moses and their situation. This time it is about not having any meat. I personally think that if they had asked God respectfully He would have obliged them, but as such, with their faithless and selfish grumbling and kvetching, God sent them meat and then made them sick of (and from) it to the point where a plague broke out against the people. Maybe it was a form of Avian Flu? Whatever it was, it wasn’t pleasant, or maybe I should say, it wasn’t pheasant (ouch!)

The final chapter relates how Aaron and Miriam complain against Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. Most likely that means she was Ethiopian, although it could refer to Zipporah, a Midianite. It was either a second marriage or just that Zipporah was from Midian- we do not know for sure, but we do not for certain that Miriam is the instigator and Aaron is drawn into the issue by her. That is clear from the Kumash. Miriam is summarily punished by God for speaking against Moses, and Moses immediately asks God to forgive her. Here we learn about how meek and humble Moses is. God allows her to be healed of the leprosy He inflicted on her and makes her wait outside the camp, as one unclean, for 7 days.

The lesson for us today from this that I want to talk about is how simple and manifest the prayer of Moses was to heal his sister. All he said was, “Heal her now, oh Lord, I beseech thee!” Simple, heartfelt, and (if I may use the word) …pure. It is a pure prayer, asking what is needed for both the person making the prayer and the person for whom the prayer is offered for.

How many times do we hear people pray on and on, andonandonandonandon….sometimes I can sense them stumbling, trying to think of something else, anything else, to say. As if the Lord doesn’t get it, like God doesn’t know what we want so while we have His attention let’s just get everything we possibly can out. Sometimes after a service, when we are going to do the blessings over the wine and bread (the Kiddush) the leader will go on praying about the sermon, the communion act, and other things, and I wish that he would just give the blessings. Those blessings are simple and say it all- thank you, Lord, for bringing forth bread from the earth and for creating the fruit of the vine. Maybe a quickie reminder, that this is what we do not just to thank God but in memory of the Messiah’s request that we remember Him, also, when we do this. Communion is not communion with Yeshua, it is communion with God, and serves additionally as a memorial to Yeshua’s sacrifice. Together, the prayers and Yeshua’s sacrifice bring us into communion with God.

When you pray, don’t go on. Your Father in heaven knows what you need (didn’t Yeshua tell us that in Matthew 6:8?) so just ask with a simple, heartfelt request for what you need now. Don’t go on about tomorrow- today has enough problems of it’s own (oh, my- didn’t Yeshua say that, too?) and we are only to ask for what we need now. And don’t ramble on (Yikes! Yeshua said that, too!) We can’t possible need so much that a prayer to God will take more than a few minutes. It should take no time at all. The only thing that should take up a lot of time is recounting all the wonderful blessings God has given us. If I was to thank God, one-by-one, for all the blessings He has bestowed on me (most every one of them undeserved) I would be praying non-stop, 24/7/365 (366 on leap years) from now until I died, and I would still be short.

Make your prayer meaningful by filling it full of meaning. When we say to somone, “I love you”, is there really anything else to say? We all know what that means, the words evoke the myriad emotions and feelings and memories of what loving and being loved has meant to each individual who says those three words. If humans can understand so fully what it means to tell someone you love them, then how much more can the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, our very Creator, know about what we want, need and feel when we talk to Him?

Let your prayer life conform to the KISS rule: Keep It Simple, Schmo!

God knows what you want and he knows what you need, so ask for what you want and He will give you what you need. Don’t try to speak in perfect Shakespearian language, don’t try to emulate Solomon, don’t make King James roll over in his grave listening to you. Just pray as Moses prayed, and as Yeshua told us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-14.

Start by giving honor to God, ask for forgiveness (to cleanse yourself before Him), then ask Him for only that which you need right now, and only what you need to survive, tell God what you desire, and then finish with praising the Lord and recognizing His worthiness and power. Finally, invoke the name of Yeshua ha Mashiach, for we were told that when we pray in Yeshua’s name, God will grant us whatever we ask for. That’s it- if you are praying much more than 1-2 minutes, you’re probably getting off the mark.

I have prayed to God for more than 2 minutes, but it was more like talking with Him. I converse with Him (well, I talk and He listens) and sometimes it does go on for a while, but it is a conversation. And it is totally private. But my prayers, my orisons, my requests and my deepest feelings that I pour out to Him are simple and short.

Do what you feel good about; if you really feel good when you pray for a long time, than don’t let anything I do or say get between you, your prayer life and your communion with God. I just ask that you review what you are doing, and if Moses was comfortable with a 5 or 6 word prayer to heal his sister from a death-like existence, then maybe we should be comfortable with asking God simply and honestly for what we need.

Prayer only has to be from the heart, from a broken and contrite spirit, honest, heartfelt and to God. That’s all it takes.

Living in Fear

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How many people do you know that always think the worst that can happen? When they hear about a plane crash they say, “I don’t know if I want to fly anymore.” Or when they get a call late at night, the first thing they say is, “Oh no! Someone must have died!” (The first thing I say when I get a call late at night is, “Someone better had died!”)

Maybe it’s more subtle, maybe it’s something as seemingly innocuous as not driving a car, or refusing to travel, or even something as silly as never ordering anything different at a restaurant. Sometimes this is personal preference, and sometimes it’s just doing what one wants. If someone is brave enough to go their own way, and eat only what they like, that’s fine. But if their resasoning is that they are afraid they won’t like something, or that something bad might happen, then they are living in fear.

Fear is a very strong emotion, and it is like fire; it can be a friend or a foe. Oh, yes- there are things to be afraid of, and someone without fear is a fool. Fear is what keeps us aware, fear is what protects us from running foolishly into trouble or personal harm. Fear can be a lifesaver, or a life-ruiner. It all depends on who is on control: are we controlling our fears or are our fears controlling us?

There is one verse from the B’rit Chadashah (Good News) that I try to remember and tell people I know who profess to believe in God and worship Him: It’s 2 Timothy 1:7, where Shaul reminds Timothy that, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and discipline.” Within the context of the letter, Shaul (Paul) is empowering Timothy, a young Disciple and someone struggling to preach the word. Paul is in jail and stating how he has been abandoned by friends. This letter is to encourage and strengthen Timothy to continue preaching with confidence and zeal, despite the suffering that Paul is going through.

The Bible is rife with statements and encouragements by God to those who have faith:

Psalm 23:4; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 118:6; Deuteronomy 31:6; Psalm 56:3-4; Isaiah 41:13; and on and on and on…

Fear that controls us, that keeps us from trying new things, that runs our life…this is not fear of the Lord, it is faithlessness. Yes- that’s exactly what it is. If you are a person who says you worship the Lord, then you are not to be afraid. The angels that went to Gideon and Joshua began by telling them not to be afraid. Why? Because they were afraid, because they did not trust. God sent His angels to be a physical sign to them that God is with them. After which they acted faithfully, took hold of that encouragement and fearlessly ran with it. Look what they did with it!

We all have fear in us. Abraham was as faithful as anyone ever was, yet he had fear- he “pimped” his wife two times out of fear! And when Moshe first saw the burning bush he was told not to be afraid to go to Pharaoh. Moses took a little more convincing than Abraham, but once he devoted himself to doing God’s will, even the failure to free the people after 9 plagues did not dissuade Moses from facing a Pharaoh that said he would kill him and a people that wanted to stone him. And in the desert, did the people not revolt? Did they not want to stone him and Aaron (at least) a few times? Did not Pharaoh’s army pursue them? All this time Moses grew stronger in faith, and fear left him. By the time they reach the land, Moses was unshakable.

I work with someone who assigns the incoming calls to the system engineers (if she is reading this do not be disheartened- please take hold of what I am saying and be strong, for yourself. I only want you to be happy and faith is the path to joy.) Each time she calls me to say someone is on the phone for me, she whines my name and sounds apologetic. I have told her, over and over, there is nothing to be afraid of. She is constantly afraid that she will “bother” me because she knows how busy I am. Well, DUH!! Of course I’m busy- it’s a help desk, there are barely enough techies to handle the calls and I am always busy. I tell her to just let me know if someone is calling for me, and I will let her know if she can send them through or to please take a message.  Yet, despite my constantly telling her it’s OK, and just say, “Steven: so-and-so is on the phone, do you want to take it?” Instead I constantly get, “Steeeeve? I’m sorry to bother you, I know how busy you are, but so-and-so is calling. They are asking for you and I know you’re busy and I don’t know if you want to take this or not? Do you want to take it?”

This is what I mean about living in fear. Despite the many times I have told this person that it is OK to just tell me who is on the phone, she refuses to accept that she can approach me openly. She thinks she is being courteous, but the truth is she is afraid of upsetting me, or getting yelled at, or upsetting the caller, and it is all founded in her overriding fear of being rejected. Of not being “liked.”  If only she showed faithfulness. She says she is a Believer, but yet, she is ruled by her fears and not by the spirit of victory that we all have in God .

Yes, even something as small and seemingly insignificant as transferring a phone call can indicate if one is living in fear or not.

Here is Zechariah 4:6, “Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”  We mere humans have little to nothing with which to accomplish great things, but God has everything that ever was and is, and whatever He needs he can create with a thought. It’s true! When He is with us, who can stand against us? Shaul tells us this in Romans 8:31, the basis for which is found in Isaiah 41. Whether we are battling the demons of the Enemy, or just asking someone to do something for us, we need to be firm and faithful.

How do you get this faith? It’s actually quite simple: do what God says you should do. Follow His commandments and He will bless you here on Earth. He promises that throughout the Torah, throughout the books of the Prophets and Yeshua confirms all this in His teachings, as well.

God has provided all you will ever need, and if you are afraid, remember who is on your side. If you are ashamed of God, Yeshua says that He will be ashamed of you (Mark 8:38) so stand firm and be faithful.

Being afraid of everything is not humility: humility takes strength and faithfulness (search “humility” on this page to read more.)  Being afraid does not serve God; it serves the Enemy of God. Being ruled by fear is when your actions are based not on, “How will this reflect on God?” but on, “What will happen to me and what will people think of me?”

It’s not about you, it’s not about me, it is all about God. Be faithful, trust in God, and he will justify your trust. Live in fear and the Enemy will eat you alive (Matthew 10:28.)

When you stop living in fear you can be truly free. When you reach out to grab hold of God you have to let go of your fear, first. So let it go, reach for God, and His hand will grab yours.

Fear of the world (being afraid of everything) will enslave you, slowly kill you and destroy your soul, whereas fear of the Lord (meaning faithful and obedient) will give you courage, strength and freedom.

You choose.

How Do You Use Your Gift?

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If we look for verses in the Manual which talk to us about “gifts” we can find a number of them. There is the gift of prophecy, of teaching, the gift of Grace, and many others.

1 Peter 4:10 tells us that the gifts we receive we should use to help each other, and James 1:17 reminds us that every good gift comes from God.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 exhorts us to use our gifts collectively, that no one gift is above any other, but we all are given gifts to be used collectively as in the body, meaning as one group working together to serve the Lord.

Exodus 35:30-35 tells us that Bezalel and Oholiab were given the gift of skills in all types of artistry to allow them to serve God by managing the construction of the Tabernacle.

One thing that I have noticed about gifts, which is the same (to me) as the use and administration of the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) is that prior to Messiah Yeshua fulfilling His role as the final sacrifice for sin, the gifts and spirit were given to people as needed, but then revoked. The Spirit fell on Shimson (Samson) and it fell on Elijah, as well as other prophets and the heroes in the Book of Judges, but that Spirit was lifted up, again, and returned to God. It was a gift that was revocable.

However, after Messiah Yeshua gave up His Spirit, that same spirit was given to all who believe and accept Him as their Messiah as a gift that is irrevocable. God will send the Comforter to all who Believe and ask for it, and it will not come and go anymore: it will dwell within, for as long as we allow it to remain.

That’s right- I said for as long as we allow it to remain. Irrevocable means it won’t be taken back, but we can give it away, or more correctly, we can throw it away. That’s the thing about a gift: once given, it belongs to the one who possesses it, to do with it as they please. In my case, I try to use and listen to the Ruach all the time, but I am still learning and maturing in the Spirit. There are those that have accepted the Spirit but it proves too much for them to handle, so they ignore it or just throw it away, they become apostatized, and even the Bible tells us that once we have known the Ruach, known Messiah and then rejected Him, we have trampled His blood into the dirt (Hebrews 10:26-31.)

To know best how to use your gift, I guess you first need to know what it is. Yes, I believe there may be many who are not really sure what their gift is. We humans are easily led astray, and I do not doubt for a second that there are many who are trying to use what they believe to be their gift, which is really no more than a gift they want to have. As such, they are blinding themselves to their true gift. If you’re thinking you don’t feel quite right about what you think your gift is, talk with other Believers who know you and ask them to tell you, honestly, what they think your gift is. Nothing wrong with getting confirmation from those who have spiritual maturity.

Once you are sure about your gift, use it to please the Lord. The answer to the question, “How should I use my gift?” is given to you: read Colossians 3:17.

God has many gifts to give, and every gift He gives to us is precious and is to be used to honor Him. It’s all about God.

Regarding your gift: find it, know it, develop it and use it to help others in order to honor the Lord.

Remember what Yeshua told us: that which we do the these, even the least of His brethren, we do unto Him.

Forgiveness Doesn’t Prevent Suffering

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To err is human; to forgive, divine. How true. And we (should all) know that forgiveness is not just commanded of us, but it is the only way for those that have been hurt to heal. The pain doesn’t go away by reliving the event- it goes away by forgiving and moving on.

And the forgiveness we receive will be based on the forgiveness we give (read Matthew 6:14 if you don’t know that already.)

Now, here’s the kicker: the forgiveness we receive from God is immediate, but we don’t fully realize it until we are dead. Meanwhile, here on Earth we have to suffer the consequences of the sin that we committed.

Actually, I will go as far as to say that, since everyone sins and most people don’t care if they do or not, the ones that usually suffer the most from sin are not the sinners, but the ones sinned against. Oh, yes- the sinners will suffer, but that is also just like forgiveness in that those who sin and continue to sin will cause great pain and suffering while alive, but when they are dead, without the forgiveness of Messiah to protect them, their suffering will be exponentially worse than any and all the suffering they caused while alive. When you find it hard to forgive someone, as I do, try to remember that little tidbit of information and picture in your mind, just for a moment, what they will be facing on Judgement Day and what they will have to endure for all eternity.

As bad as what they may have done, what they will have done to them is much worse.

Let’s see a few examples of what I am talking about from the Manual: Abraham is certainly with God and forgiven for the lies he told about Sarah, causing her to be taken as wife for two different kings, but the people under that king suffered; Moses is most certainly with God and forgiven of his sin of murder and at the rock at Meribah, but he didn’t get to enter the Promised Land; David is most certainly with God and forgiven of his sins of adultery and murder but the son he produced from it died; thousands died from the plague because of the census David ordered; the kingdom was torn apart because of the sins of Solomon and, eventually, because of the sins of the kings of both Shomron (the Northern kingdom, Israel) and Judea, the Jewish people were scattered amongst the Nations and taken into captivity.

Here were sins committed by people that God forgave, yet there was great suffering by many others, who had nothing to do with the origin or commitance of that sin.

Sin sucks; it hurts people that we don’t mean to or want to hurt, and it hurts us, too. The worst thing about sin is that it drives a wedge between us and God. The greater the number of sins, the greater the distance between us and God. The good news is that God is everywhere, so even though sin separates us from God, spiritually, He is still always right there, at arm’s length and ready to reach out His hand so we can take hold of it when we ask for forgiveness: there is no distance between us and God (caused by our sins) that puts us beyond God’s reach.

For me, the desire to not sin, my T’Shuvah, is based mainly on wanting to please God. It is also based on not wanting to hurt anyone, and finally it is also based on my desire to not have to suffer. I am not talking about eternal suffering, because I have that one covered- thank you, Yeshua, for your kippah of forgiveness that protects me from myself for all eternity. No, I mean I do not want to suffer here and now. If I hurt God by sinning against Him, I hurt. If I hurt others by sinning against them, I hurt. It is the Ruach HaKodesh, God’s holy spirit living in me, that causes me pain when I sin. Before I accepted Yeshua and asked (and received) the Ruach, it didn’t hurt me; well, maybe a little, but not as much as now. So now, knowing the pain of sin, I don’t want it!

Sin is one of those things that hurts now and hurts later; it hurts you and it hurts others, and the only way to avoid it is to just not do it. And yet, even if we sin less and less every day (that is an attainable goal) we will still be sinned against and be hurt by the sin of others. The only way to stop that pain is to forgive them.

Ah, but that….is another story!

God’s forgiveness of our sin is like His Kingdom: it exists, but hasn’t arrived yet. God’s forgiveness is given when asked for but not realized until later, yet the suffering our sin causes is here and now, and the “Earthly” consequences of that sin are unavoidable.

Humility Doesn’t Come From Self-Doubt

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Moses was the most humble of men, yet he was a strong and powerful leader. And not just because He had God for a Boss.

Humility is often confused, I believe, with meekness, and meekness is confused with self-doubt and weakness. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It takes great strength and confidence to be humble. Why? Because those who are humble can put others before themselves, not because they believe others are more important or deserving, but because they treat others as they would want to be treated. People who lack self-confidence are weak and do not treat others well because they want to do what they know is right: they treat others with a higher sense of importance and with more respect than they have for themselves because they lack self-respect. They also will do the opposite- they will “lord it over others”, as Yeshua said people do, to make themselves feel important. Humble people have the strength to do what they know to be right because they know they are no more important or better than anyone else, and to do that you have to have a strong sense of self.

Now, I ‘m no psychologist and I may not be absolutely on the money with this personal diagnosis, but I have been around the block more than once, and I know people. I also know myself, as such, I recognize my weaknesses and remember how it was when I felt less important than others. We have friends who are more influential, we have friends who are richer, and we have friends who are less influential and with less money. The things that the world judges us by are not important to us, but we can’t avoid them. I know that God gives us a spirit of victory, and that isn’t just over sin, but over ourselves. It’s more important, in fact, to overcome ourselves.

Didn’t God ask Cain why was he was so upset when his offering wasn’t accepted? Did God tell him that if he does what is right he will be accepted, and that sin is crouching at his door and he has to master it? That’s the lesson here,  that’s what strength through humility gives us- the ability for me to master myself, and the ability for you to master yourself.

Moses knew this. When he was accused by the people he immediately fell to his face and begged them not to do so because he knew that God saw this as an attack against Him, not Moses. And we hear God tell the people this, over and over. Along with the humility Moses showed, he also showed his strength of character and willingness to stand up to those who were doing wrong. When Korach, Dathan and Abiram  accused him of being too bossy and hogging all the fame (so to speak) he showed humility, but when God told Moses to have all the men take their censors and meet before Him, Moses told them, in no uncertain way, that they were the ones in the wrong. He did not speak nastily to them or berate them, but he spoke the truth and stood up for what he knew was right.

The lesson we should learn is that when we profess to be Believers, and when we say we have the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) within us we should be able to find the strength to be humble. We should speak out boldly for the Lord and His ways, yet remain more concerned for the rights and well being of others before ourselves. Not because we think they are better, or because we don’t deserve nice things, but because we obey the Lord and know that means we should treat them as we want them to treat us, no matter how they really treat us.

We do what God says we should do and not because of what people do. That is the strength that comes from the Ruach, and that is how we are strengthened enough to be humble.

That’s really what humility is- doing what you know is right and not caring whether or not the people you treat correctly treat you that way. We are told how to treat people, and to wait upon the Lord when we, ourselves, are mistreated. God will judge. It isn’t “weak” to be mistreated, and it isn’t cowardly to turn the other cheek. That doesn’t mean you allow people to hit you, literally, it just means that we should be strong enough to take a few insults and be mistreated. There is nothing wrong with standing up for your rights, but we must do this while remembering that we are no better than anyone else, and that we can “take it” because God is our Judge, not people.

Show your strength and the power of God that lives in you by being humble and unassuming. When God first appeared to and spoke to the Children of Israel He thundered and flamed on the top of Mt. Horeb. It was very impressive. And when he appeared to Elijah in 1 Kings, He was not in the earthquake or the powerful wind, but he was a still, small voice.

We can be His emissary and His representative as that still, small voice.

Theodore Roosevelt said to speak softly and carry a big stick: God is the biggest stick that there ever was or will be, so we can speak softly and humbly, because we know the Big Stick that we carry.

 

Parashot Vayak’hel/Pekudei (And he assembled…) Exodus 35:1-40:38

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These last two parashah are read together, bringing us to the end of the book of Exodus, or you might say, this is an exodus from Exodus. Ouch!! 🙂

As an aside, there are often times when we will read two parashah together. The parashah schedule is designed so that we always end up with the last reading of D’Varim (Deuteronomy) on Simchat Torah, the 8th day after Sukkot (also called Sh’mini Atzeret) so there are times during the year that we need to read two portions instead of one to keep to the schedule.

These last chapters are all about the Tabernacle. We have the exact dimensions, size, weight, and every little detail of the Tabernacle, which Moses was told to erect on the first day of the first month. Aaron and his sons are anointed in their holy garments, and thus the place of worship and the means of worship are completed.

With everything done as required, God’s presence fills the Tabernacle. He has moved from the mountain to the Earth, and now resides with the people.

I see here the picture of how we, as a sort of Tabernacle, must prepare ourselves for the presence of the Holy Spirit by being “correct” in weight, size and construction. This doesn’t mean to get platform shoes, a haircut and go on a diet if you want to be saved, but it does show that once we are ready, in accordance to what God has designed, we can accept the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, and God will dwell with us.

In Ezekiel God says He will give us a heart of flesh, and in Jeremiah He promises

“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”

We need to prepare ourselves for the presence of the Lord, just as the Tabernacle was prepared. Once we are ready we can be filled with His Spirit.

So, what is “ready”? I know, absolutely, that the Ruach dwells inside me, but I am not perfect, I am still sinful. So if I am not perfectly built as the Tabernacle was, how can the Ruach enter me?

Because God is not interested in my body; He is interested in knowing what is in my heart. And in my heart is T’Shuvah, is repentance, is the desire not to do what  I want to do, but to do what God wants me to do. And even though I am not able to be the perfectly erected Tabernacle that Moshe built, I am good enough because I am repentant, broken of the spirit of self-importance, desiring God’s forgiveness, and accepting of the Messiah Yeshua. Only because I accept Yeshua as my Messiah, and ask forgiveness in His name (and all the other stuff, too) am I able to be a properly prepared tabernacle of the Holy Spirit.

Here’s the part I don’t understand- I know that God cannot abide sin, and that I am a sinful sinner, yet His Ruach can live within me. I just don’t get it: it seems to be self-negating that the Holy Spirit, which cannot abide sin, can survive and even grow within this sinful body. Hallelujah, and thanks be to God, Almighty, that He is able to give me His spirit while I am still a sinner to help me become a more perfect tabernacle than I am now.

Like so many things about God and His plans, I do not understand how many of these things are possible, but that isn’t important. What is important is that it is being done.

The Tabernacle of God that Moshe built, once properly prepared, allowed the Lord to dwell with His people. The tabernacle of our heart, when properly prepared, will allow the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) to dwell within us. The preparation is not nearly as complicated or expensive as the one for the Tabernacle Moshe built. All we need to do is go to the Lord with a broken spirit, a contrite heart acknowledging and owning up to our sinfulness and inability to overcome it alone, and a desire to do T’Shuvah, to turn from our sins and do what pleases God. Oh yes, the final ingredient for the recipe of salvation: we need to acknowledge Yeshua as our Messiah and ask, in His name, for forgiveness and for the Ruach to dwell within us. That is the final, and ultimate, preparation. That finalizes the construction of the tabernacle in our heart, in which the Ruach will dwell.

If you haven’t built your own tabernacle, you need to get to work. You have until your very last breath to do this; however, unless you know the exact moment you will die, you better not wait.

Parashah Ki Thissa (when you take) Exodus 30:11 – 34

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As usual, there is just so much here. I took an entire course just about the symbolic nature of the spices used for the incense and anointing oils.

There’s also how God can use humans to achieve His goals, in the way that he gave all this knowledge and understanding to Oholiab and Bezalel to make the things required for the service in the Tabernacle.

Then there is the sin of the Golden Calf; and what’s up with Aaron? How could he have done that?

And then there’s Hur- Moses left both Aaron and Hur in charge, but there is no mention of Hur when Moses comes back and asks Aaron why he made the calf. In fact, Hur isn’t mentioned anymore. The Chumash says it is thought that Hur stood up against the people and was killed, so Aaron decided to do as the people said and live. It also says that Aaron was a peaceful man and that he was stalling, knowing that to refuse would cause bloodshed and hoping that Moses would return before they actually had a chance to worship the calf (which is why he said the next day would be a feast.)

The Levites are the ones that come rushing to Moses when he asks who is for God, which God later reminds us about when He separates the Levites from all the other tribes to serve Him, alone. Their dedication and their immediate choice to serve Him was remembered and they were given the honor of having God as their inheritance. There’s gotta be at least one or two good sermons in there!

And then we have Moses asking God, after this terrible sin, to do him a favor? To show Moses His glory? I mean, what’s that about? Moses just managed to convince God that He shouldn’t destroy the people for this terrible sin, and when God relents Moses decides, what? Now’s a good time to ask Him something no one has ever asked of Him? To show me your presence so I will know that you really, really like me?

And God says, “OK- you got it. But you can’t see my face or you have to die; that’s how it is.” Talk about a compassionate and forgiving God! He is so teed off at this stiff-necked, rebellious group of people that He is going to wipe them out of existence, and when He relents to Moses’ pleas and says He won’t destroy them…POOF! It’s gone. No more anger, and here’s this guy asking to see my presence. Ah, he’s OK, I guess. After all, I did tell him that he finds favor in my sight, so why not?

Finally, Moses goes back to the mountain and gets the 10 Commandments again. After he destroys them in his anger (after telling God not to be so angry), God doesn’t say, “Why did you do that? I gave them to you and you broke them, on purpose, and now you want me to give you more?” Instead, He gives another set of tablets to Moses.

This parashah shows just so much about God, Moses, and the sinfulness of mankind. Where do I start? Worse than that, how do I stop?

I am always affected by Moses’ actions in this parashah, regarding the first set of tablets and how he soothes God’s anger, then loses his own. God is holy and righteous, yet with the intercession of Moses God relents from destroying the people and making a new nation out of Moses. This, alone, is remarkable when you consider that God was willing to chuck some 470 years of work right out the window, and start over. This reminds us that God’s time is not like our time. It would have been easy for God to do what we could never even think of trying. Yet, was God really going to destroy the people, or was He testing Moses’s desire to lead and his humility before the Lord? Abraham asked God to relent from a destruction, and here is Moses doing the same. Was that really the reason behind God saying He would destroy the people?

And after Moses, with a cool-headed and compassionate plea (not so much for the people but for God’s reputation) saves the people, when he sees the actual crime before him, he totally loses it. He smashes what God gave him, he calls for support and then he, on his own, orders the destruction of the sinners. Some 3,000 of them. Much less than the number God was going to destroy, but still, that’s a lot of people.

So Moses was cool and thoughtful when he was keeping God from vengeful destruction, but when faced with the same emotional response, Moses doesn’t hold back.

I think there is a lesson here for us- it is easier to tell others what to do than it is to do it ourselves. “Do as I say, not as I do” is easy. God, however, is different; He does what He says, and He expects us not to do what He says. Yes, He commands us to do things, but He knows we can’t. If He didn’t know that we are incapable of doing what the Torah says, then why did He plan, from moment One, to send Yeshua our Messiah to make it possible for us to be with God?  If, when God gave us the Torah, He really expected that we could obey it to the letter (as Yeshua did), then why did we need Yeshua? Even if we are able to observe Torah perfectly, there still will be very few people who will make it into Heaven. No doubt. Even with the Grace of God we have now through Yeshua’s sacrificial death, Yeshua told us that only a few will make it. The path less followed is the one to salvation, so even with the automatic and guaranteed “Get Out of Hell” card Yeshua deals us, still, only a remnant will make it.

But we can’t observe Torah perfectly. And we do need Yeshua. That’s why I say God does as He says and doesn’t expect us to do as He says.

That’s no reason for us not to try. We need to do the “WWJD” thing. God requires us to do, not to think about doing, not to observe others doing, but to do. Like Yoda said, “Do…or do not. There is no try.” We must start out wanting to do, not saying we will do our best. I believe that saying we will try our best is making an excuse for failure before we even start. Henry Ford was quoted as saying, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.” And Will Rogers said, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

What God is saying to the people and to Moses is simply, “Do!”

Maybe we can’t “Do” as God tells us to do, but we can do more than we have been doing. We never can be sinless, but we always can sin less. That’s the “Do!” for us. This is something we can hear and obey: sin less.

Look for the thing that God wants you to find in this parashah, as you should with the entire Manual. Always read it with the prayer that God will show you what He wants you to get from it.

I feel like I did a lousy job this morning, since there is too much for me to talk about and too little time for me to do it with. So help me, please- take whatever you can from my babbling and use it in a way which will allow you to please the Lord. That’s the best I can do- give you something you haven’t had: a new understanding, insight to a new revelation, or just a push to get you off your tuchas and into the game.

Thank you, Father, for your Word, your teachings, and your salvation through Yeshua Ha Mashiach, help us all to be doers of the Word.

Shabbat Shalom!

God’s Mercy in Action

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Do you recall what happened when Joshua first attacked Ai?

They had just come from a great triumph at Jericho, defeating the fortified town and destroying all the people and all the booty, just as God commanded.

Oh, but wait! Someone didn’t destroy all the booty, did he? Achan kept some of the spoils, against the commandment of God, and because of that the entire community (God sees the Children of Israel as a single entity) suffered defeat when they attacked Ai. Only a handful of the inhabitants routed the army of 3,000 Israelites, and could have damaged, if not destroyed, the fierce reputation that Israel was beginning to generate.

After the sin was atoned for (at the cost of the life of Achan, his entire family and all their possessions), the next attack at Ai was totally successful.

Here’s the part where, after such a harsh punishment, we see God’s mercy: God told Joshua that after destroying the town and people of Ai, the Israelites could keep the spoils. Achan paid the price for his disobedience, but God saw the weakness of the people, and instead of testing them further He mercifully relented and allowed them to keep the spoils, knowing that they were unable to control themselves.

Often I heard it said that God will never test us beyond our measure, and I believe that. However, I also see in the Bible that God will, initially at least, test us to the full extent of our self-control and obedience.  The man who collected sticks on the Sabbath (in B’midbar/Numbers) was killed for his sin, yet those that collected extra manna were not killed for their sin (to God, sin is sin- there is no little sin or partial sin, so collecting extra manna when told not to is no different than collecting sticks on the Sabbath.) All that happened to them was that the manna did not survive longer than the regular manna.

God showed His mercy to the children of Israel in the desert. How many times did He want to destroy them for their sins? He sent birds to give them meat, but they suffered a plague from it which Aaron stopped. He sent poisonous snakes to kill them, but then he mercifully allowed those bitten to live; I am sure that many died before Moses made the brass snake that kept people alive. He sent a plague against them that Pinchus stopped, He sent a plague against them when David sinned with the census, but then withheld His hand. He was even merciful to Ba’alam by not killing him on the road to curse the Jewish people (Ba’alam got his later, though, for the sin of telling Bilam how to entice the Jewish men into sin.)

God starts out with His laws and commandments, and the first ones to disobey usually are the ones who end up showing that God is serious. The first to disobey get the worst of it, but it seems, as I read the Manual, that God’s mercy will intervene after that and even though others may sin, their punishment is less severe.  God is our King, but His mercy allows us to survive our own disobedience, as a people. Individuals will suffer, but the people will go on. God told Moshe (Exodus 33) that He will show mercy to those whom He will show mercy, and have compassion for those whom He will have compassion for.

Basically, God says that He will choose who gets the full monty and who doesn’t. It’s not our choice, so, in essence, you pays your money and you takes your chances. If we choose to sin, we may get away with our lives, we can be forgiven, but we may end up destroyed in a heartbeat, too.

Do you really want to take that chance? Is the reward we get from any sin worth our life? Our eternal soul? Achan, Saphira, Ananias, the guy who collected sticks- they all died in their sin.

God is King, Judge, and merciful Father. All in one. He will decide what the outcome of a sin is, and we have to decide to try to keep from sinning. He will forgive those who seek forgiveness, over and over. We see that throughout the Tanakh- no matter how often Israel sinned against the Lord, when they did T’Shuvah and cried out to Him, even though they fully deserved their punishment and the suffering they were undergoing, His mercy came forth upon them and He sent them a saviour. The Book of Judges shows this happening, over and over.

Trust God to be merciful, but never, never, NEVER expect Him to be merciful when you want Him to be. It’s His choice, not yours. The best thing to do is be as obedient as you can. God has set the rules and it is up to us to follow them. If  we fail to obey by accident He has shown He is willing , even desiring, to forgive when we come before Him asking forgiveness. However, if we disobey purposefully, well…you are taking your chances with His mercy. Personally, I don’t think there is anything on Earth that is worth having if it means taking a chance on God’s mercy. Therefore, as for me and my family, we choose the Lord and His ways.

I know, because of my sinful nature, I will fail to obey at some point in my life. Probably more than just once, too. Because my heart wishes to obey, I have hope from knowing how God has been merciful, and I pray that God will be merciful in His judgement of my actions. I pray that I will be one of those sinners He chooses to have mercy on and compassion for.

Some of you may be feeling uncomfortable with the idea that God may not be merciful, because the usual teaching is all about God’s mercy and compassion, His love, His son’s love, forgiveness of sins, take you as you are, unconditional salvation, happy-happy-happy, yadda-yadda-yadda. All that is true, but we have to also remember that He is holy, the Holy of Holies, and sin is an anathema to Him. It is a stench in His nostrils and He has no desire to be anywhere near sin. We are told that we should not test the Lord, our God, but if we sin and expect Him to be merciful every single time we sin, we are really telling God what to do, aren’t we? He says it is His choice, and He is, after all, the one who makes the rules. He invented this game called life; He made the rules, He set the board, He determines what is a good roll and what is a bad roll, and He has the final say and judgment on everything that happens while you are playing. Don’t even think of expecting His mercy when you intend to sin; if you sin by accident, if you sin before you realize what you are doing, be penitent, ask forgiveness and pray for His mercy. Don’t expect it, don’t demand it, but plead for it in earnest and heartfelt prayer, with a broken spirit and a contrite heart. David knew how to ask for forgiveness, and he was a man after God’s own heart, so do as David did.

God is merciful, He loves every single one of us, and He wants us to have eternal life. He isn’t just willing to forgive- He wants to forgive. BUT…He is God, He is holy, and He will judge. He didn’t make the rules just so we could break them, and He made the rules for everyone. It’s not what we want the rules to mean, it’s what He says the rules mean, and that will count for us or against us. That’s why you need to read the Bible and see what God says, then measure it against what your ‘religion’ tells you, because ultimately you will stand before Him and you will have no one to blame but yourself.

Yes, we are saved by the sacrificial death of Yeshua, and His life, His death and His resurrection is proof that He is Messiah. And yes, He will stand at our side when we are before the Lord on Judgement Day and speak for us. It is His righteousness that saves us, not our own. Yet we still want to be honored, don’t we? Dont’ you want God to say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when you are before Him?  I certainly wouldn’t want to hear God say, “Okay, you’re in, but you barely made it; you did a lousy job when you were alive, so you can clean the toilets and dust the stars. And don’t think even think of eating at the adult’s table!”

God is good, all the time. God is righteous and holy, all the time. God is merciful, NOT all the time. God told us this about Himself, so remember that the next time the little red guy with the horns on your shoulder tells you it’s okay to do something because God is merciful. Don’t test God and don’t take His mercy for granted. Do what is right and let righteousness guide your way.