And Grace My Fears Relieved

As I was raising my children I was conscientious about every little thing.  I know that I am not alone in this. Even though I was not the "seasoned" Christian that I am today, I still had a very real understanding that I was entrusted with three of God's precious children, and that he loved them infinitely more than I ever could, and that my great responsibility was to raise them up to love and serve Him.  Of course I thought that every detail was crucial, like every true control freak would!

I was mindful of what they ate, what they heard (of course no foul language or ungodly music), what they saw (only kid friendly movies and tv in our house...and if it can be Christian themed singing vegetables...all the better!)

 I was very deliberate in their discipline. I had a system. Dr. Dobson advised that spanking was reserved for "direct defiance", and I agreed. When a child was spanked they new the predetermined penalty for that offence. It was important to me to spank under control and not spank while angry. Always reaffirming my love with hugs and prayers to comfort them.

When the boys were babies I chose to stay home. I wanted to be the primary influence on my children. I wanted to train them up to love and honor the Lord, to teach them the values that my husband and I viewed as very important, and to teach them that they were the most important things in our lives, so much more than a larger bank account that my working would provide.

 When it came to education, I felt that the Lord would have me teach them at home, so I could be absolutely sure that they were taught a biblical worldview.Who could meet their individual needs better than the one who knows and loves them the most?

 I do not regret a minute of it! I am so grateful God allowed me the freedom to raise my kids in a greenhouse, where they could be protected from the cold hard world, and nurtured until they were able to stand in the storms of life. With deep roots and a strong trunk like a mighty oak tree.

Funny...I am now facing the possibility of bringing into my family, my heart, and my home three children that have not had the privilege of this type of sweet childhood. The blessing of parents who love Jesus, and  want to protect and love their children. We are adopting children, you can read more here. I am sure they have seen, heard and experienced things in their short little lives, that I would have been mortified if my children had only seen on tv.  I wasn't there to cover their eyes, kiss the boo-boos, tell the stories, say the prayers... No one chased away the bad-guys. There weren't any hugs and prayers after a spanking...no understanding.  No safe haven.  They never knew they were the most important thing to anyone.  

No one said "I love you the most!" because no one did...EXCEPT ONE-Jesus did and Jesus does!

I have enjoyed the blessing of the fruit of my labor-of-love, called motherhood.  Many over the years have asked questions or made comments like..."you have such sweet kids", "they are so well behaved", "how do you get your boys to not fight?" (haven't heard that one in a while) And just living with them for the most part has been the greatest joy I could ever imagine...they are truly two wonderful young men and one wonderful young woman!  I am blessed beyond measure and I am thankful.

Am I ready for the challenges that will come with these three children?   A girl and two boys...just like before.  No. Not like before. These children will have special needs. They will be damaged. They will be broken and hurting.  They will not love us for a long time...if ever.  They may never really trust us.  They may hate us for taking them.  They may try to turn my husband and me against each other, and make us hate our birth children. They will lie.  They will throw temper tantrums. They may spit on us, and hit us. They may harm our dogs. They will cuss us out and talk about things that have never been spoken of in our home. Maybe they will try to run away, steal, destroy our personal possessions, hurt us when they are angry, which may be most of the time.  People will not want to visit our home anymore.  I will not hear the sweet compliments of friends on the behavior of our angelic children. School, oh, I don't even know what to imagine about school. I have...fading to had...dreams of homeschooling again, I miss it so much!  My peaceful quiet sanctuary-like home will never be the same.

But God...He is so rich in mercy and grace!  I don't know if He is going to give us these children, I kind of think He is...but until June 13th I can't be sure.  About 2 weeks ago we went from not really knowing anything about the children to knowing enough about them, that if we are given these kids we are going to be stretched further that we ever thought we could handle...BUT God!  He will never leave us or forsake us.  I trust that he loves them as much as He loves Jake, Josh and Bree.  So why did they have the rough childhood, and all the suffering and pain that they have endured?  Only God knows all the answers...but what I do know is this.  They will bring challenges that only in God's grace will our family be able to face.  We will have to rely on Jesus to get us through everything that loving these kids will bring into our lives and home.  We will have calloused knees, tear stained cheeks, and worn out Bibles!  I just know that my relationship with Jesus Christ is going to have to grow stronger than it ever has been!  And I know that if my faith in God grows and my love for Jesus grows then I will be a better wife, better mom, better woman, better everything!  And that God will get all the glory for the miracle he is going to do in the children, in our family, and in me!

I am clinging on to the theme verse for this blog (among others) ...Jeremiah 29:11 says something like this, God has thoughts toward me of peace and not of evil to give me an expected end.   Then I shall call on him and pray to him and he will hearken unto me!!    Then I will seek him and I will find him when I shall search for him with all my heart!

I am not ready for these challenges...but I trust that my God is able, His grace is sufficient...and he loves me far more that the sparrow...these challenges are gifts, blessings, not cursings....I will have the opportunity to be conformed more and more into the image of Christ through the refining He is surely going to do in my life. I am weirdly excited and scared at the same time...it is like that feeling right before you get onto a roller coaster!

It will be so worth it!

Good Friday...What's so good about it?

Today is Good Friday.

I remember a guy from the first church I was a member of.  I remember him saying that about Good Friday, "What's so good about it?"  I thought he was making a joke, and I was really pretty new to the whole church thing, so I thought, "Maybe it's an inside joke, I'll get it later..."

That was around 17 years ago, I am still not sure what he meant by his question, but I am glad he asked it...because every Good Friday I ask myself the question..."What's so good about it?"

I think we must go back to the beginning to find the answer to that.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Time Magazine Quote: from Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon:

 "I remember on the trip home on Apollo 11 it suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." 

Judging by Psalm 8, King David felt the same way....

"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"

Have you ever been lying on your back on a perfect summer night, looking at the stars?  When we lived in Texas we would occasionally (& spontaneously) load up the kids and throw the air mattresses into the back of the truck and drive out until there was no light pollution.  We would all lay on our backs looking up at the stars.  We could see so many...so far...it was just amazing. I can remember talking with our kids about how God just spoke all of it into existence.(Genesis 1:14) We were all just so in awe with how mighty and powerful He is. 

He.Spake.The.Stars.And.Planets.Into.Existence.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3 

The Word is another name for the Son of God, Jesus. It was Jesus who made all things, nothing was made without him!

 My friends Jake and Hali moved from Hawaii to help us with our church, they have been blessed to see some of the most beautiful things on earth there.  

Jesus made this----->

Jesus also made this.

I know I am not alone when I say, "I love a field of wildflowers..." And why are they so beautiful? God could have made them ugly and stinky, but he didn't. 

In Texas we had the privilege of seeing the bluebonnets paint the landscape every spring. My boys. (Jesus made them too) Weren't they sweet?

We have friends who live in Alaska and Colorado, and are never bored with what God has created there.
Other friends showed us pictures like this they had taken in the Canadian Rockies, yes, Jesus made those too!

So, this same Jesus that the Bible says "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."  Willingly left his throne in Heaven for this...

And this--->

And this is when while they knelt at the foot of the cross casting lots for his clothes as souvenirs, He said... "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

And he had never ever sinned, he did not deserve any punishment! They should have been on their faces worshiping him!  He could have made it happen. He could have stopped it at any moment!  But he willing laid down his life for us the sinners. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

He did this for us because He loves us.  He did not deserve this. We deserve this, I deserve this.  He loves me, therefore He died for me...and you.


"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

This same Jesus who knows the thoughts and intents of my heart.

This same Jesus who made the lame to walk and the blind to see.  

This same Jesus who has power over the Devil, and will one

day throw him into Hell for all eternity.  

  

This same Jesus, who spoke worlds and 

universes and galaxies into being.

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and

men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for 

all, to be testified in due time." 1 Timothy 2:5-6

The same Jesus holds every atom together, by his will...Colossians 1:17 says,

"And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."

Here is an image depicting that same Jesus on the cross over 2000 years ago, a day we call Good Friday.

Here is a photo taken of the Nucleus of the Whirlpool Galaxy.

So...what's so good about Good Friday? 

That same Jesus.

Amazing Love! 

How can it be that thou my God should die for me?

They changed the truth of God into a lie.

I was led to read in Romans 8 the other day, I was so blessed and God really spake to my heart exactly what I needed to hear, to give me the encouragement to face a difficult situation, that I know I can only do with Him!  So as I finished praising Him and thanking Him for being so present in my life and speaking His truth to me in my need, I was just looking back over ever beautiful word...so I went back to the beginning of the chapter and as I often do when a chapter of the Bible starts with a "therefore"  I figure I better see what it is actually there for....(and the church goers all chuckle, because our Pastors say that all the time) So....well I decided to start with the first chapter, Romans 1. I then continued to read through to the end of Romans 7 and back to Romans 8.  I am confident that God is truth, I am confident that God is love, I know that He created us for His pleasure, and for that I am eternally grateful to Him, who is perfect and holy and mindful of me this wretched sinner  Because of what I owe him but can never repay, I will always side with God.  Because He is right and unless I am lined up with Him through his word, I am wrong.  So if He says it that settles it.  How do I know what God says?  He gives us His word, which I believe every word of it is true and directly from Him.

So that brings me to this...

For several years now I have observed the way Satan has been working in this world as he infiltrates the family in his campaign to change our minds about what is and is not sin in the battleground called homosexuality.  I have came to a conclusion about the strategy that God's enemy has.  I do not claim to be the all enlightened one, and I do realize I am not the first to see anything...but let me talk about this, and maybe it will shed some light  for someone.  I believe that one of Satan's strategies is this:  If he can infiltrate every family with one person that is a homosexual he will be able to change the tide in our culture. I guess he figures that we humans are so self-centered that if we have one person that we care about losing, we will have to change our mind about this sin.That people will instead of standing up to the friend or family member and telling them that they side with God , they instead chose to side with the loved one that has decided to go against God our Creator, His design for marriage, the family, society, and sexuality. I have seen it again and again...people side with their friend or family member against God.  And it never stops there. Sure, "good Christian people say we must love the sinner hate the sin....as to which I agree.  So what does that look like?   I think for most that have tried to stay involved in the homosexuals life, even if they say they do not approve, or condone...eventually they are less likely to see homosexuality as the egregious sin they once knew it to be before it hit so close to home.  I have heard a friend who was once appalled by the thought that an entertainer they liked being rumored as gay, because that was so heinous, later tell me they wouldn't consider Christianity because they have a gay friend. Recently, a conservative Ohio senator changed his mind about same sex marriage 2 years after his son told him he was gay.  Christians even who have lived in a manner that reflects true belief in the teachings of the Bible, have always believed that Homosexuality is sin and spoken out on it, change their mind when their son or daughter come out of the closet.   What changed their minds? Did God's word change what it said, no...the only thing that changed is their proximity to the sin.  They did not want to make a sacrifice, so instead they made a compromise.  But Jesus is the same yesterday today forever, God does not change (Malachi 3:6). So if God does not change his mind about homosexuality, then why would we?

I think it is explained in Romans 1:25 "...Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator..."


You might say..."Easy for you to say...you have never loved a homosexual, just wait till someone you care about tells you they are gay."

I do not speak without experience...My family is not untouched by this attack...we too have a loved one that has came "out of the closet".  

The difference for us is this...

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua 24:15

My husband and I have decided to and are resolved that our relationship to our God come before every other relationship, including the relationship with our loved one, because we choose to serve the Lord.  God is first in our lives, and we want to keep our hearts in tune with his. It is not that we think we are better than prostitutes, gays, pedophiles, rapists, and the rest.... No, we are sinners, saved by GRACE!  But we chose Christ.

 It is that like I stated before, I believe that there is a strategy, and it is our job to guard our hearts and our minds against the enemies attack to change the way we think about sin.   So we have to make a stand. And we do chose to stand with Christ. 

Our children know that, not because we say it...but because they have seen us live it, even at great cost to us personally. I pray that they will follow our example in this, and that when it is personally painful to follow God they will still chose right over evil.

Jesus, though He came to rescue sinners,(rescue them from-not for their sin) so he reached out to them and He loves everyone, He does not wink at their sin, when he said to the men about to stone the woman caught in the act of adultery, " he who is without sin throw the first stone", he did not ask the men to tolerate her sin, and accept adultery...he said the the adulteress "go and sin no more". That same Jesus is the God who created the universe and everything in it...He is the same Jesus who in John 1:1 is called the Word.  He is the same Jesus who is the author of the Word of God that says this....In Romans chapter 1:24-32...

^" Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."

So whose side are you on? As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.

Pray for these precious ones!

I am praying for these precious children.  I am praying that God will give them a home with a loving Christian family.  A place where they will be loved and cherished, valued and accepted.  A place where they feel safe and secure.  A family that they know will be theirs for all their lives. A home where they can laugh and play and sing and cry sometimes.  A place where they are not afraid.  A place where they will learn all about the God that created them and loves them more than anyone could ever love them.  A home filled with the love of Christ, in such a way that it is not only seen in words but in action, in real life all around them.  A place where they will learn to live a life for others, like Jesus did. A place where they will feel the freedom to discover their talents and their gifts that God has given them, and where they will be encouraged to use them to make the world around them better. A place where they can dream and hear the cheers from their family as they reach for those dreams.  A place of comfort and rest when their dreams don't come true, until they are ready to reach again!  I am praying that God will bless them with that "forever family", praying that it would be ours, but if not....that He would give it to them in another. Please pray with me.

Show Me Your Glory

As it often happens I was so moved today as God allowed me to see a glorious nugget of truth about parenting, well about leadership actually.  And as it often happens, to those who have the “Gift of Exhortation” I want to share this great experience with others! To encourage, so please hear it as that ~ “encouragement”

I am a mom, but more than that I am a Christian.  So as I have been doing this awesome job (that I do not deserve) God has given to me in raising these three beautiful children for His glory; I think I have done some things right, (I hope) and some things wrong (I know).  And if you are like me in whatever it is that you are doing for the Lord, you want to do more of the right; and make right more of the wrong!  I hope you can make sense of that!

I love as I get into God’s Word and when I actually allow God’s Word to get into me, He speaks to my heart, often it is amazing truths about how awesome He is, in ways I have not stopped to ponder on before, and many times I am shown something that I need to change, and it is not always pleasant or easy, but I am always thankful.  This time it was both!

I am not a Pastor, but if you are, this might be for you in that area of life.  You are a Moses to your congregation, and to your family…your wife and your children. 

I am a mom, so, I am a Moses to my 2 sons, Jake and Josh, and to my daughter, Bree.  One day I will be Moses to my grandchildren, if the Lord blesses (and I hope He does). 

I also am a Moses to others that God has given me the privilege to lead.  It might be the children and young people I minister to and have influence over.

I am a Moses to the other women in our community and in our church who look to me for direction and as an example.  And whoever you are, you are a Moses to someone. Is it your co-workers?  Is it your children? Your neighbors? People you have in your sphere of influence? In small and big ways we are all Moses to someone?

So as you look at this portion of scripture with me, keep in mind that you are a Moses to someone.

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.  And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.  And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” Exodus 34:1-8

And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. (v 27-28)

 “And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him.”  

Moses didn’t realize that he was shining, but the Israelites definitely saw it! Aaron and the others had to tell Moses.

“And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.”

They could see the glory of God in his face!

They now had a new respect for him, a reverence because they knew he was different, what made this time different?

And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the Lord hath commanded, that ye should do them.

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day.

So with the God-given authority and humility, Moses proclaims to the people what God wants them to do…

 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying,

Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

And they really want to do it, he says “whoever is of a willing heart”, he doesn’t lay out the guilt trip, he is not trying to twist any arms…he doesn’t have to.

“And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord's offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments. And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

Because the people could see with their own eyes that God had changed Moses they respected his instruction. They were more than willing to bring everything above and beyond what was needed as an offering.  Moses was legit, They could see the glory of God in his face!  They knew his words were God’s words!

And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair.

The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the Lord had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses.

And then God gave abilities to them, He equipped them. (gifts)

And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the Lord hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work. Then wrought Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whom the Lord put wisdom and understanding to know how to work all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, according to all that the Lord had commanded. And Moses called Bezaleel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, even every one whose heart stirred him up to come unto the work to do it: And they received of Moses all the offering, which the children of Israel had brought for the work of the service of the sanctuary, to make it withal. And they brought yet unto him free offerings every morning. And all the wise men, that wrought all the work of the sanctuary, came every man from his work which they made;”

Moses did not need to prod them, he did not have to remind them of the need for them to give…they had been stirred in their hearts by God through a man who they could see God in! They brought above and beyond what was needed, and it looks as though they were not going to ever stop giving to the Lords work!

“And they spake unto Moses, saying, The people bring much more than enough for the service of the work, which the Lord commanded to make. And Moses gave commandment, and they caused it to be proclaimed throughout the camp, saying, Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. So the people were restrained from bringing. For the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.”

The Israelites had to be told to stop giving for now, but they had to be restrained….if Moses hadn’t they would have given and given.

When I had first read this I thought of churches being instructed by their Pastors in the subject of giving, serving, exercising their spiritual gifts…etc….

I thought if more Pastors were experiencing TRUE WORSHIP, you know the kind that God actually showed up for; that more believers would see that they were changed by their time spent in genuine worship/fellowship with the Almighty God!  I remember back when God wrote the 10 Commandments with his own finger, and then  God told Moses what the people were doing, and how God was going to deal with them, Moses asked God to have mercy on them, not to destroy them.  Then when he saw their sin himself Moses got mad, and he lost his temper…he reacted in the flesh to the peoples sin.  Ok, so Moses isn’t perfect and neither are our Pastors…but I do think that there is something to be learned here. 

I asked earlier…What was so different in the 2 experiences Moses had with God.

So here is the “nugget”…and I think it really is a bit more than a nugget.  After Moses went through the whole thing when he came down with the Ten Commandments the first time and there was the huge idolatrous orgy going on, smashes them to pieces in his anger, and God tells him to get two more stone tablets and head back up the mountain, Moses asks God for a sign…a sign of God’s grace.

“For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.”

And God in His infinite love for Moses, His friend, answers… “And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.”

 And Moses asks the question of all questions…“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” (way to go, Moses!!!)

Show Me Your Glory

“And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.  And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:  And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:  And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.”

WOW!  It takes my breath away to imagine this scene! What a mighty God we have!  He is so great that all of His goodness would kill Moses, so He put him in a safe place and covered him with his hand while he passes by!!!

Again Moses had God’s presence with him the whole time, 40 days to be exact, standing with him moving around him as God gave him the words to carve into the stone, how much time Moses must have spent on each and every letter.  But it wasn’t that that made him shine, it was that he saw the Glory of God, not all of it, but enough that it rubbed off on him.  God’s glory (or at least the results of it) was shining from Moses, you could see the evidence of his time spent with God just by looking at him!  He was different! 

So I thought about that and I thought about how many sermons Pastors have preached to encourage their people to give to the Lord’s work.  How many different “methods” have they concocted, to get people on board with giving? And still the people are unmoved…  Now I am not saying that we are to expect our Pastors to stop teaching on giving, tithing, serving, etc…but I am asking us to look at this example of what worked for Moses and ask if that would perhaps work today.

Ok, let’s not stop there.  I am a mother.  One of my greatest desires as a mother, as a parent is to see my children serving the Lord in obedience to the Word , in giving of their time and talents and resources with a willingness of the heart. Sure I can force them to DO anything I want…but what I want, and what I am sure you want is also what the Lord wants, and that is for them to want to serve Him,  desire wholly to live a life for Him!   So, when I instruct them as I am told in scripture to do…what do they see when they look at me?  Do they see Mom, or do they see God’s glory in Mom because she has been with God, really been with God? If I ask God to show me His glory, am I ready? Do I mean it? It WILL bring about TRUE WORSHIP.  Others will know, others will see.

Show Me Your Glory

Have I spent time today in true worship with God?  Have you? Was He even there? Did He see my worship, or your worship as genuine humble adoration of the “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

God’s own words about himself as Moses is on his face worshipping Him! (Ex. 34:6-7)

“And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” Exodus 34:8

Show Me Your Glory