Dan's Blog

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 20:1

"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you.

Deuteronomy 20:8

"What man is fearful and fainthearted?  Let him go and return to his house, Lest the heart of his brothers faint like his heart"

Observation:

We need people of FAITH around us.  When the Israelites left Egypt for the promised land, when on the verge of inheriting it, 12 spies were sent into the promised land, and only 2 came back and believed God would deliver His promises!  That's a minority!

This particular story of facing an adversary, an impossible situation, tells me that we can expect to always be in the minority - but it's ok!  In God, He does the fighting for us, not just evening the odds when the odds were stacked against us, but delivering a mighty breakthrough and fantastic victory!  God's plan, God's ways, He only requires faith and obedience.  SHow me your faith by your works!

Again in this particular story, the man who was nervous or did not trust the Lord was exempt from battle.  Since the battle was God's, the number of wariors was not nearly as important as the armies belief that God was fighting for them.

Application:

It's God's fight, It's His battle, I get to be involved, but it's a privalege because I get to be involved in the victory!  It doesn't really matter how many people there are, what matters is that the people are focused on God as the source and the victory - standing in faith even though in the natural the victory can't be seen yet.  That's faith.

I need to take the pressure off myself and give the situation, whatever it is in this season, over to God and trust in Him Who is fighting.  However I am responsible to seek Him and obey His Word / prompting.

Prayer:

Lord help me! Help me to take my eyes off myself, and off the circumstances that get me down.  Help me to lift my head and see You more clearly and keep my eyes on You.  I need Your strength, I need You, because I feel so weak and incapable, but I don't want to back off.  I want to push forward trusting in You as the One who will bring about hte victory.  May Your victory be sweet and swift in Jesus Name.  Amen

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 2:30

“But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as it is this day.

cf.

Exodus 4:21

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Observation:

This seems like a really hard saying particularly if we believe that God gives us free will.  I have had this question many times over the last year and find it appearing again today in my Bible readings relating to Sihon king of Heshbon.

So I have done a little research to get to the bottom of this saying and found the following:

• the Hebrew verbs used to express the hardening of Sihon's mind and will (heart) can mean that the Lord 'confirmed' what was already in Sihon's heart, namely his arrogance against the Lord and His people Israel.  Sihon's arrogant refusal was a sure sign that he had just thrown away his last chance of survival (read the passage in full and you will realise that he had a seemingly easy decision to make)
• Pressure confirms what is already in the heart (personal note)
• The root of the word harden - is to effect an overly heavy yoke, which is hard to bear, and secondarily the rebellious resistance of the oxen to the yoke.

So that leaves me with a greater picture of what is going on here.  God gave both Pharoah and Sihon a choice.  However under a little pressure, their true hearts were exposed / revealed.  They showed their rebellion against the Lord, their arrogance and independence of Him.

It seems like nothing much has changed.  A little pressure, and certainly a lot of pressure, reveals things in our own lives that we may not have even been aware existed.  However God knows the situation in our own hearts even when we do not.  We are always left with a decision when the muck reaches the surface when under duress - repent and be saved, or fight it and go on resisting!

Application:

Before me today is a decision - chose Life!  I need to watch my response to the situations in my life to see where my heart is at, and let those situations where the secrets of my inner being are released be times of healing and salvation that leads to a greater impartation of Life.

Prayer:

Lord, help me in the decisions I face today to homour You and not rebell against Your purposes.  Help me in the time of trial to grow and not become weary and faint, but to see Your character being infused into me.  That You would be Homoured and glorified in Jesus Name.

Amen

From my NKJV Study Bible: (I think this is really important to get our heads around before we get into the message contained in this chapter of the Bible)

The book of Numbers describes the events right before the Israelites entered the promised land.  Similar to the tension filled days before a great battle or election day, these events reveal the Israelites restlessness and impatience, but also the anticipation of what God would do.  The Israelites made grave mistakes during this crucial period, and God disciplined them.  But through the discipline and instruction God trained the Israelites not only to Worship Him, but to trust in Him for the ultimate victory.

The long losts of numbers and names in Numbers discourage many readers.  However, these must be viewed as the ancient Israelites viewed them.  The lists were the final roll call before the battle, they prompted praise to God for His faithfulness.  He had protected them and multiplied their numbers even in the middle of a barren wilderness.

From this position may we put into perspective the magnitude of the message we enter into in the Book of Numbers.

Scripture:  Leviticus 16:8

"Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat"

Observation:

I have spent hours looking at this passage, and though the illustration of Christ's sacrifice and victory is written all over this, the full implication is hard to grasp.  The imagry is fantastic and deep!  Although I am still thinking through the implications of lot casting for the two goats, I found some fantastic insight into the whole chapter and include it for it is a great analysis of this.

THE NEED FOR PRESENTATION

by Ray C. Stedman

The sixteenth chapter of Leviticus is the conclusion of the first great section of this book. We have been looking at God's provisions to meet his people's needs. How like a Heavenly Father he watches over us, his people, with tender, compassionate care! How intimately he is concerned with every detail of life, even the most trivial, even matters of diet and clothing and how to treat apparently rather insignificant diseases. The fact that all this has

Scripture:  Leviticus 14:49-53

Observation:

After a struggle to get through a very repetitious passage on leprosy, this passage sticks out as the image of Hope and restoration - I give thsi commentary as the fruit of my looking deeper into what this image means:

The victim offers the two birds (vv. 4–7). This unusual ritual pictures to us what Christ did to save a lost world. Birds don’t belong in clay jars; they belong in the heavens. Jesus came down from heaven and became a man (John 3:13, 31; 6:38, 42). As it were, He put Himself into a clay jar so that He might die for our sins. The running water over which the bird was killed reminds us of the Holy Spirit of God (John 7:37–39), for Jesus offered Himself to God “through the eternal Spirit” (Heb. 9:14). When the blood-stained living bird was turned loose, it pictured our Lord’s resurrection; for the resurrection of Christ is as much a part of the Gospel message as is His death (1 Cor. 15:1–4). Only a living Savior can save dead sinners.on the living bird, but it also had to be applied to the healed leper. Using the hyssop (Ex. 12:22; Ps. 51:7), the priest sprinkled the blood on the leper seven times and then pronounced the leper clean.² “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). How did the victim know he was clean? The priest told him so! How do believers today know that God has saved us? He tells us so in His Word! No matter how the leper felt or what he looked like, God said he was clean, and that settled it.

Scripture: Exodus 4:24-26

 ^?24? And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the Lord met him and sought to ?kill him. ^?25? Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and ?cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” ^?26? So He let him go.

New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Ex 4:24-26

Observation:

Circumcision was an important part of the Jewish faith, yet Moses had neglected to bring his own son into the covenant (Gen. 17). God had to discipline Moses (perhaps by sickness) to remind him of his obligation. How could he lead Israel if he was failing to lead his own household in things spiritual? Moses later sent his family back to Midian

Application:

Obey, Obey, Obey!  God is awesome, Powerful, Compassionate, Merciful, Forgiving, Loving, Patient, Kind, ...... and He also is Holy and demands Holiness of His people.  We simply must obey, or expect consequences that demand that we take action and obey the Word that He first brought to us.  We cannot simply ignor the tougher demands of our God and think that everything will be ok.

Scripture:

Psalm 88:9b-12 

Scripture:

Psalm 1:1-6

Blessed is the man
 Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
 And whatever he does shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so,
 But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
 Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
 But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Observation:

Where there is life, there is hope.  This passage talks about life like a tree.  However this tree will always have growth on it, it will always look alive, this tree will bear fruit in it's right season, and at all times will be covered in leaves!  That's pretty awesome if we apply that image to our own lives, especially when we are in or approaching a season of distress and drought!

How can this be appropriated in my life?  By meditating on God's Word constantly.  Finding out what He says in every aspect of your life through the words of the Bible.  God does not leave us in the dark - He always shows us the Way. 

And for me meditating means really looking, striving for the answers however long it may take.  The best things in life are often the things we went after the hardest and longest.

God has a pattern for life and for Joy and for Hope - follow it today and become like a tree along the riverside - beautifully refreshed!

Scripture:

Ephesians 5:17-20

"Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to oneanother in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

Observation:

First observation, if I would have written a sentence aslong as that in high school I would have been reprimanded!

No seriously, what comes out of our mouth is a powerful key.  What that key unlocks can be either life giving or life draining. 

Interestingly this passage exhorts us to give thanks always, for all things, which seems like a big call considering not all things in life seem all that great.  In the last couple of weeks there seems to have been most of the people in our lives who are struggling in a big way with some significant issues, us included.  How can we give thanks in all things?  Issues people have been facing have included death of family members, financial crisis, underpaid, relationship stress, uncertainty, ... but being filled with the Spirit of God, we can speak from Truth in these situations. 

There is something amazingly liberating about finding things to be thankful for despite our circumstances!  I find it liberating in that very quickly (potentially) the negativity no longer has a hold on my life and sloutions sometimes begin to flow, or at least begin outworking.  But this can only really happen from a position of being full.  Being filled with the Spirit of God.  It seems impossible to be thankful in the darkest of times, but nothing is impossible for God.

If being filled with God's Spirit is something that you want to know more about, post a comment or send me a meassage and we can talk more.

Application:

What comes from my mouth?

Is it positive, does it honour God?

Is it words of faith, or words of hopelessness?

Are these words truth?

I need to be filled with the Spirit of God, submitting everything to Him, being mouldable in His hands.  I need to be filled everyday, and ongoing so that I always respond to life around me from a position of being full.

So I will submit my ways to Him, spend time in the Bible (Truth), and bringing all my thoughts to Him in prayer.  If that means getting up earlier and earlier in a busy schedule, then let it be.  I can't do this without You Lord.

Scripture:

Mark 5:19
However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him,  “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”

Mark 5:33-34
But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her,  “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

Observation:

The first, a demon pssessed man.

The second, a woman with a mentral flow problem.

Both were healed, both were isolated and disconected with their community.

The man living alone and alienated was well known but an outcast.

The woman, also well known, and outcast is healed, but healed in secret.  There was no public spectacle util.... Jesu turns, acknowledges her and brings into light the Glory of God and all that was done and achieved in the healing and restoration of her body.

Go and tell your friends, your family, your community!  Jesus doesn't want them to leave all and walk with Him, He wants them to proclaim the story of transformation, be the story!  Jesus restores the isolated to community!

Application:

The stories of transformation in lives are not only for the person but for the whole community to behold the glory and majesty of our God who saves, heals, delivers, restores.

God is into restoration of lives, but also is about spreading hte word and building faith in people (plural).  It's about being in community and transforming peoples lives.  It's about being salt and light, adding value to people and being a part of  the restorative and transformation process of God.  This can only happen as a community in community.  It is about being the God person, the person with a story, the Good News, ... in our streets, in our work place, everywhere... and also as we meet in the church.  But not oonly with the people who have the same faith.

Prayer:

Lord help me to really get this, and put it into practice in my own life!  Amen

Scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:36-38
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1 Corinthians 15:46
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

Observation:

You reap what you sow.... but you also reap because you sow!  You cannot reap without sowing.  There is no harvest without first sowing the seed.

There is no breakthrough unless we sow the natural seed and let it die.  Letting it die, letting it go, so that God can bring about the change and the life that He desires in the form that He ordains.

But what natural things are we to sow, to reap spirtual harvests?

What about:

• time in the Bible (seeking, asking, meditating, applying,...)
• time in prayer
• giving our tithes and offerings
• being generous with time and resource
• laying character flaws and frustrations at the feet of God

There are too many to name here, but these are but a few of the issues I need to consider and struggle to give on a consistent basis.

And what about what we reap as a result?  Well see that's the issue here.  We don't know what it will reap but it will reap something that is in the form of fruitfullness (fruit of the SPirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control).  It will be something that is life giving for us and others, it will be something uniquely spiritual and not as much natural (taking on a whole new form), it will probably be a breakthrough, transformation, ....well anyway it will tak e a form that God desires to reap in my life!  It's a God harvest!

Application:

It will  cost me something, this life transformation harvest.  It's not about my hard work though, it's about God's faithfullness and love.  It's about Him and it will be for Him.  The byproduct is my character formation and blessing and lofe though which is awesome!  Something in me needs to die, I need to give up the seed, I need to make that natural step that in reality seems like an impossibility!  My flesh desires must die, my self seeking and selfishness must die, so that the spiritual and the Holy Spirit can make possible that which was previously impossible!  If God is going to do the increase, I need to be about the act of sowing.

Prayer:

Help me Lord to comprehend more fully what this means in my everyday life.  I am not satisfied with the possible, I long to see Your outworking in and through my life.  Show me the things I need to do, show me what needs to die, show me where I am trusting in my own natural talents and resources, that I may give them back to You, and I pray that You would transform the things of the natural into the supernatural.  That the things in my life will be ever increasing in fruitfullness that brings Glory to You and draws people unto Yourself.  More of You and less about me.  In Jesus Name, Your awesome Name.  Amen

Scripture:

Acts 13:42
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.

Acts 13:47-48
For so the Lord has commanded us:
 ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,
 That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Observation:
"The forgiveness of sins, by Jesus everyone who believes is justified from all the things which you could not be justified by the law of Moses" v39

Forgiveness of sins, being made right with God in a way that works!  Not by my effort, by which I continually fail no matter how hard I try - theres a way for Me!?  Now that's good news!  That's great news! (for all who are looking for it).

Good news to those who sought it the most, good news that included the precept that there is no longer Jew nor Gentile, Slave or Free, Single Parent or Couple, ..... God sees us as the same in Christ!  God has a plan for me, whatever I may look like in my own eyes or the eyes of the World!  I say give me that good news, show me that good news, be that good news to me.

Application:
There's a world of Gentiles out there, in our own community.   People who think there is a them and us situation, a divide that is near impossible to cross.  There's the church people, and theres me (I don't have a stable family, God couldn't love me, I'm not good enough, it's all too hard!).  These people think it's about what you do, when that's got nothing to do with the grace of God, ... it's no different to the times reflect4ed in these bible passages in Acts with the times of Paul, Peter, and any of the other followers of Jesus.

The question is, How can we break that perception?  How can we cross over and break the 'club' mentality that fosters the us and tem mindset that is in the community and often within the church also.  How can both sides come together and see that God has a bigger more inclusive picture!?

How can we show compassion, love generosity?  How can we be more of the Good News without the strings attached, to the marginalised, hopeless, desperate, rejected, despised, ... and all of htese attitudes that are often more from within themselves and ourselves than is actually the truth!?

Prayer:Lord, open the doors of my heart, open my eyes and open my hands, so that I can be a greater expression of the Good News in everything I do as well as what I say.  So I also ask that when Iopen my mouth that the declaration of You will be Truth and Life to the listener and Good News, Great News, Life Transforming News would be spread like wild fire in Jesus Name.  All Glory and Honour to You our God who reigns.  Amen.

Scripture:  Malachi 1:6-8

“A son honors his father,
 And a servant his master.
 If then I am the Father,
 Where is My honor?
 And if I am a Master,
 Where is My reverence?
 Says the Lord of hosts
 To you priests who despise My name.
 Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
“You offer defiled food on My altar,
 But say,
 ‘In what way have we defiled You?’
 By saying,
 ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
 Is it not evil?
 And when you offer the lame and sick,
 Is it not evil?
 Offer it then to your governor!
 Would he be pleased with you?
 Would he accept you favorably?”
 Says the Lord of hosts.

Observation:

Why is creativity and a newness of expression often frowned on by people within the church family, when it is just the expectation to do so in the world around us?

Why is late attendance to a Worship service, just what happens, when habitual lateness to work would result in losing your job?

Why is anything short of excellence a failure in the world, but in teh church mediocrity is expected (or at least anticipated)?

Why do we not honour our God significantly higher than our Boss, our spouse, our family, our coach, our....?

Nothing much seems to have changed since the time of Malachi, but our God still calls us, He is unchanging, all powerful, majestic, He is God, He wants to become 'Lord'.

Application:

Any time my standards in serving Christ become a shadow or weak copy of my commitments anywhere else - I want to be reminded that it is to God that I want to give my BEST.  mY best creativity, boldness, time, resources, ...... My best and my first.

Prayer:

Lord help us to have a healthy perspective on life through an understanding of how awesome and mighty You are!  Help us all as Your children to honour You with every part of our lives and show our world how much we love You by every part of our lives.

Amen

The end of another chapter comes to a close with a great deal of sadness and trepidation.  I wll not be attending and helping serve with Schoolies on Magnetic Island this year after serving every year for the last 6 or 7 years!  It must be a God thing though because I have been praying and asking people to pray for me all year with a feeling that this was what I needed to do.  I am at peace, but yet.... it feels like a loss for me.

I am excited by the new leadership that will be there for this year and the great potential to again serve the community, but I will really miss the relationship forming that has been such a highlight over previous years with other support agencies and witht he schoolies and Magnetis Island community.

I'm sad, but I'm happy - but God is good and knows why I need to take this step.  Thankyou to all who have joined me in praying for God's heart in this decision, and please pray for the team that is developing that it will be fully equipped to do the task and resourced fantastically.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 14:28-30

"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’"

OBSERVATION:

Discipleship (following and learning from Jesus) has a high cost for a high gain.  It is not a short term investment - it is eternal. 

They say that investing in the stockmarket in shares is a long term investment.  Shares fluctuate, they rise, they fall, they fall, they fall, they fall,....... (in 2008 anyway), but they will rise again (eventually).  Investing in shares however is about a net long term gain.  If you get out with the first hit, the first slump in prices, the first negative report - you lose.  If however you have given yourself enough time to ride out the cycle, the idea is that ultimately there should be a net gain even if it means 20 years down the track!

Life is a little like that, ... but Discipleship even more so!  However the difference between shares and Discipleship is that we have an iron clad promise that investing in Discipleship will reap rewards of an exponential nature for eternity (not financial necessarily) but life rewards. WHen you become a disciple of Jesus the cycle can be very much like this - gains feel like they come when we are encouraged through the Word of God, we get revelation of the awesome Power and Presence of Jesus, but maybe it seems like a downward cycle when we are corrected, disciplined, ....

With Christ there will always be a net gain - stay in this relationship long term - it is the only guaranteed investment!  Follow Jesus.