Miriam-Heart Attitude #2

So, what do you know about Miriam?  I only knew that she was Aaron’s sister.  Then, as I was going through Numbers, I reached Numbers 12, and Miriam became so much more to me.  She put a heart attitude issue right smack in front of my face, and I know (at least I greatly hope) that I am not the only one who struggles with it. Here’s what Numbers 12 says from the ESV translation-

1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed only spoken through MOses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of could and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses.  He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. 10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her-please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

So the first thing we see is Miriam and Aaron speaking out against Moses.  Miriam is listed first here because she was most likely doing the most grumbling.  That is why we see her punished with the leprousy.  At first reading, I was put off towards Miriam.  I mean, here’s Moses working to get this nation to their promised land and his 2 closest people are griping about him.  But then, I started thinking about myself.  Listen again to what Miriam said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?”  Maybe I’m the only one, although I really don’t think so, that has seen someone doing something and thought, “I could do that.  Why won’t the Lord use me to do that?”  We might even go so far as to think we could do it better.  Probably not, though, right?  I mean, what kind of person would do that? Our egos get in the way so many times, don’t they?  We want to be important.  If you’re made like me, and not all of us are I know…you really enjoy being in the spotlight.  For me, I have to fight the urge when it comes to my music, especially now that I’ve moved to doing worship instead of just performing.  I want it to be all about the Lord and glorifying Him, but so often…my ego moves into the picture.  I listen to some amazing worship leader and think, “Why not me Lord?  When’s it my turn?”  All of a sudden, my purpose has moved to elevating myself instead of elevating the Lord and what He wants.  It’s my heart attitude.  A battle playing out inside me. 

But Miriam and Aaron get called into God’s office.  Can you imagine??  And you thought it was bad when you got called into the principal’s office! Haha… Here they go, with Moses, to the entrance of the tent and God calls them forward.  This great pillar of cloud is all around. God boasts about Moses, which I think is really rich. I mean, if you’re Miriam and you’ve been griping about Moses, how bad is it to listen to God say there is noone like him? God departs, so the cloud lifts away, and there is Miriam.  White as snow.  Leprous.  An outward symbol of her heart attitude.  And don’t think of white as snow as pure.  Aaron’s words put it vividly, “Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” So Moses, the guy they spoke out against, goes to God and cries out to Him on behalf of them.  Wow…

Where is your heart attitude?  Where and what are you focused on?  Do you ever let your ego get in the way?  We don’t normally speak out about these vulnerable things. We keep them quiet and let them stir inside us.  I’m so glad we have a gracious God, aren’t you? Yes, the more I pondered Miriam, I realized I couldn’t be put out with her.  I am her at times.  We all are.  We just aren’t covered with leprousy, white as snow.  No…my white as snow came from being covered by the blood of Jesus.  And that’s the kind of white as snow I want.

Staring up,

KP

Heart Attitude

So, I told you before that I’m in a new Bible study here in Tyler.  We study a book of the Bible each week, going in order from the beginning to end.  It’s a 3 year study to go through the whole Bible.  I started 2 weeks into it, so I missed Genesis and Exodus.  I will be going back to do them though eventually.  A couple weeks ago was Leviticus.  A book on holiness.  You know, Leviticus gets a bad wrap.  I think it’s because it repeats itself quite a bit and is all “you are clean” this and “you are unclean” that.   It’s a little tedious to read at times, so I completely understand those that decide they are going to read through the whole Bible and start in Genesis and then quit halfway through Leviticus.  I mean, who of us hasn’t done that?!?  Am I the only one??  I felt a great accomplishment the other day when I was able to say I had finally read ALL of Leviticus! Haha  But I will tell you there were a few things that totally struck me while I was reading.  Actually, quite a few things (you know me!) but I wanted to point out a couple of them.

First, the theme to Leviticus is holiness. The Israelites had soo many rules and things they had to do in order to keep themselves clean.  It makes me completely grateful that I don’t have to remember so many details or have to kill animals for a pleasing sacrifice to the Lord.  It does make me ponder what sacrifices I do make to the Lord, and if they are pleasing to Him.  Sacrifices were a part of their life.  Are they a part of our’s?  I don’t mean animal sacrifices of course.  Jesus has taken that place.  The ultimate Sacrifice-Praise Him!  But what kind of sacrifices do we give to the Lord? 

Second, I was struck with how quickly the Israelites forgot what the Lord had done for them.  Here they were with these amazing signs and miracles and they praise Him one moment for them and then forget them and grumble the next!  I think we do that too.  I know I do anyway.  I’ve been guilty of doing it for the past few weeks actually.  I’ve seen the Lord working in my life and in my family’s life as He brought us here to Tyler.  I see Him working on our behalf in Michael’s job and in starting to bless us with friendships and us finding a church home.  And yet, I am just as guilty as the Israelites with grumbling.  Grumbling about missing my husband due to him working long hours, grumbling about everything I miss in Phoenix/Scottsdale, both the big and the small, grumbling about the day to day things that I have to do here at the house.  But one of the things I learned going through Numbers (yes, I just switched books on you) was that grumbling is an attack on God’s character.  Wow, right???  I am fully aware that having that knowledge should have totally made me turn from the grumbling.  I’m just being real here.  I am not going to tell you that I heard that and then turned away from the grumbling.  This is something the Lord has been working in me on and is continuing to work on me.  I miss Phoenix.  I miss my friends, the mountains, my church and leading worship, my Element community, and restaurants and everything else I left behind.  But I have been so busy focusing on what I am missing that I think I am missing what the Lord is doing in my life right now.  Just being honest here.  But one of the things I am learning from the Israelites and their journey is that they grumbled.  A lot.  And the grumbling was just the beginning of their unbelief.  It was the start, and it was the outward expression of their heart attitude.  Their unbelief.  I don’t want a heart attitude of unbelief.  I’m trying to find the balance of missing those that I love, and being content in my present situation, even if it does feel like a wilderness at times.  Are you in a wilderness situation in your life right now?  Ever been in one?  How was/is your reaction?  Are you grumbling, or are you continually praising the Lord for His provision, His signs and wonders (no matter how big or small they are), and where He has you right now in your life?  I’m not telling you it’s easy.  I’m the first one to tell you just how hard it is, but I am coming to the realization that it all starts with my heart attitude.  What’s your’s? 

There will be more on heart attitudes coming I’m sure…:) 

Staring up,

KP

Hello Again

Well, my last posting was on July 20th.  I apologize for the lapse, but things have been a little busy around here.  Since we were last together here on Musings, the boys and I have left Phoenix and moved to Tyler.  We have been here 5 1/2 weeks now.  And during the past 2 months, God continued to work out the details in front of us.  The last time I wrote, we still didn’t have a place to live for instance.  Well, we are obviously living somewhere so He obviously provided that, but He did it in a way that again showed He was in control.  I had been looking for a house to rent here in Tyler in every possible way I could.  I found a house that I really loved (at least by the pictures online) and called on it only to be told that another family was coming that night for a second showing and going to put a deposit on it.  I was disappointed.  None of the other houses that were even out there for rent were big enough for a family of 5 but I was getting desperate.  I found an older home that I figured would do (it’s only a year lease, right???) and we were about to put an offer on it, but the owners have a policy to meet all of their renters face to face before accepting them.  This was difficult with me in Phoenix and Michael 5 hours away in Huntsville, TX, but he was going to drive up and make it happen.  I was extremely frustrated to say the least.  2 hours after we found that out, Michael received a call from the guy who owned the house I really wanted.  It hadn’t worked out with the first family and he only wanted us as his renters.  He even waived the pet rent!!  That is just one example of how God has continued to go before us and make a way.

Now that we are here, we are just trying to get settled in.  The house is finished being set up.  I even finished getting fall decorations up today, but when you don’t know many people…you have a lot of time on your hands to do that kind of stuff!  Michael and I think we may have found a church home.  We are continuing to visit it and starting to get plugged in to a couple of areas to make sure before we commit fully though.  It is called Bethel Bible and seems to be really great.  You can check it out at www.bethelbible.com.  Their children’s program is AH-MAZING!!!  I’ve seriously never seen anything like it.  They use curriculum from www.myfirstlook.org from the nursery age up.  Again…AH-MAZING!!!  We’re going to a small group meeting this Sunday for the first time and are excited about that.  I have joined the women’s bible study that meets every Tuesday morning there.  They are doing a study called the Amazing Collection and I love it!  We do a book of the bible each week.  This week we are on Leviticus (I started 2 weeks late so it’s my first week).  I guess you should be expecting much of what I write about to come from my studies in that since it is a little intense.  I like intense though so it’s right up my alley.   I’m excited about having the opportunity to meet new people and start to develop some friendships here though too.  It has been pretty lonely for me.  I’m really missing the Highlands and Element community that we left back in Phoenix. 

One of the things I have realized about church in this day and age is the aspect of community.  REALLY… I mean, with technology the way it is today, you really can hear great preaching or fantastic worship anywhere.  You don’t have to go to church to get either of those things anymore.  Thanks to podcasts and iTunes we can be set in those areas no matter where we are or what we’re doing.  Many of us drive, exercise, drink a latte, etc while listening to them.  Today, I think what keeps us meeting together under one roof (besides being told it’s the thing to do in the bible…) is the sense of community.  I’ve talked to quite a few people who go to churches where they wish the preaching were different and the worship better, and they’ve gone to visit other churches where that is the case, but they go back or stay at the first church because of their ties to the community there.  I don’t have any particular notes to make on this subject really except that it has really been on my heart and mind since the move.  Maybe you have more insight in to this…I would love to hear it so please comment.

One of the things I’m learning so far in Leviticus is all about the sacrifices the Israelites had to perform.  There were several kinds of them and they entailed quite a bit.  I’m so grateful that we don’t have to do all of that now.  SOOO grateful that Jesus Christ laid himself down for us in order to take away our sins.  Did you know that Hebrews goes right along with Leviticus?  You can’t really understand Hebrews and the context of it all unless you really understand Leviticus.  These are the kinds of things I love to learn, and when I learn them, I realize how little I really know!!  I challenge you to read Leviticus 16 and think about the parallel of the goat they let go into the wilderness and Christ taking our sins so that we can be free.  Oohhh…it’s good stuff!! 

So I know this posting was kind of all over the place but I felt like I needed to just kind of update you and get back in the swing of things.  It’s nice to be doing something “normal” again.  Please be praying for this Sunday night as we go to the small group meeting.  I’m anxious to get back serving somewhere.  I miss leading worship and loving on young adults!!  Dig deep my friends…

Staring up,

KP

A New Chapter

Well, there are definitely some changes happening in the Simmon household.  I thought I would just put it all out there…for a couple of reasons really.  One, We could really use your prayers during this time of transition.  Two, I think it is important to document for all to see just how God works out the details in your life.  Don’t get it wrong.  You make your plans.  We all do that.  But God numbers your steps.  Your plans may or may not happen, but seriously, God does that.  I learned today in church that 2 Chronicles 25, verse 8 says that “God has the power to help or to cast down.”  I know, right?  Ever think of that?  We like to think of God as the Helper, the Forgiver, the God of mercy and love.  He is all of those things!  He is also a God of Wrath and justice.  Just ask King Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25.  He found out the hard way about God’s wrath and justice.  Jason Fritz did an outstanding job today preaching in service.  Listen to the podcast if you want to hear it.  www.highlandschurch.org

Okay, so I told you there was news.  Most know that Michael is no longer with Chick-fil-A.  He is now working with Sonic (and loving it!) as a partner.  He is already in Texas going through all of his training.  The boys and I are here in Phoenix.  We thought we were going to be here in Phoenix for at least 3 months before we moved to be with Michael, probably more, but this past week everything has changed.  The boys and I are going to be heading out of Phoenix and moving to Tyler, TX in less than a month.  I know…it’s ridiculous how short a time it is really, but it is what  God has for us.  There is absolutely no doubt about that.  God has worked out details so perfectly that you cannot question whose hand is in this situation.  So…the moving truck will be pulling out of Phoenix on August 15th.  We will (hopefully) arrive in Tyler on the 16th.  This is bittersweet of course.  Michael and I love it here in Phoenix.  We love our community and our church, our friends, and our house.  But God is calling us to something else, somewhere else.  I don’t know why He’s taking us there yet, but I know that all we want is to be obedient and shine His light and let Him get ALL the glory.  Which is why I type this now…I want you to see the events that have happened so that you can marvel in how great our God is too.

When Michael left Chick-fil-A, he found a job posting for this position with Sonic.  He sent in his resume and then called to make sure they had received it.  The lady that answered told him to just send his resume on to her and she would get it in the right hands.  Things were a bit crazy there it seemed as the Franchisee and company had just acquired 68 more stores 2 days before.  1-God’s perfect timing is at work.  The process began and Michael was in the midst of interviews.  Within 2 weeks, my Mother, who had moved out here a little over a year ago to be close to us, received a phone call from the company she had left in Texas.  It seemed they had an opening and only wanted her.  What did they need to do to get her back?  She told them she needed them to pay for relocation.  They did even better-paid for relocation, gave her a raise, promotion and change in job title and pay grade.  2-Really God???  You even thought of my Mother in this so that she wouldn’t be left out here by herself after she had come out here to be close to us???  WOW! She leaves in a week and a half.

Michael made it through his first two interviews and they wanted to do the final face-to-face interview, including me in on it.  We flew out to Dallas to have the interview.  While there I decided to try to get together with some friends from college that we hadn’t seen in a while, Kallie and Scott.  When I say a while…I mean, 10 years.  We recently reconnected on Facebook and I was thrilled to get to see them.  We planned dinner for that Sunday night, the night before our interview.  As we sat down and started to catch up over hamburgers and french fries, Michael and Scott are talking about what the job was, the upcoming interview, etc.  When Scott hears it’s with a Sonic Franchisee, he asks who the guy is that we’re interviewing with.  Michael was taken aback but he tells him his name.  Scott filled in the last name, and Michael said he was shocked.  Turns out, Scott and Kallie knew the man we were interviewing, the President of the franchisee’s company.  Scott is a pastor and he officiated the President’s daughter’s wedding!!  3-Really Lord??  What can I even say to that?  You definitely have a sense of humor.  We were laughing so hard over it all that night at dinner.  We haven’t seen each other in 10 years and you orchestrate a reunion at the perfect time.  The interview went great (the President was shocked at our story too) and Michael got the job. 

And now we get to the last couple of weeks-Michael has been at training for 2 weeks.  He loves it and feels rewarded and challenged all at the same time.  I’m hearing a spark in his voice (even though he’s tired) that I haven’t heard in a while.  God is challenging him too.  Challenging us really, to trust Him in all things, even the details.  So, the boys have done pretty well, but they definitely miss their daddy.  They keep saying things like, “It just doesn’t feel like home without Daddy” or “We’re just not complete without Daddy.”  It’s so sweet and sad all at the same time.  But while Michael has been gone, God has provided in that aspect too.  Our community, Element, has stepped up and loved us in ways that I never thought was possible with community in this day and age.  They are truly being God’s hand and feet in our lives.  I’ve had beautiful ladies over here helping to watch the boys or clean the house or just keep me company so that I have some grown-up conversation.  I’ve had wonderful men here doing yard work, playing with the boys, having “man to man” talks with the boys about behavior, etc.  4-Okay, God.  You’re going to use 20-somethings to minister to me?  Isn’t that backwards?  I mean, that’s our ministry…Young Adults.  We minister to them…No.  God has used this time to remind me that no matter how old you are or where you are in life, you can make a difference and be the salt and the light.  Thank you Element.  I love you and am going to miss you so much.  You guys have a part of Michael’s and my hearts, and the boys’ for that matter.  You always have a place in Texas to come visit.  We expect to see you regularly.

And I’m not done!!  Last week, the opportunity arose for the boys and I to move out to Tyler to be with Michael early.  With that opportunity, though, comes much stress on my part.  I’m not sure why I allow that to happen after I have already seen God working out so many details in ways only He can do, but I did.  And I still do to be honest.  I have to hourly remind myself to sit back and let God work.  He’s doing something only He can do.  There are a lot of things that need to happen in the next month.  One of the things happened today though.  God provided a renter for our house here in just 2 days.  Another family, who is being transferred here for his job and is coming cross-country.  They have all boys too.  Appropriate don’t you think?   There are still more things that have to be worked out.  WE have to find a place to live in Tyler.  I have to get the house packed up and ready to go.  Michael will arrive back in Phoenix on August 13th so that we can pack up the moving truck on the 14th and pull out on the 15th (Anyone want to help…call, text, facebook, whatever! The answer will be yes!! haha).  But I am confident in this…”He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).  This story is not over yet.  It is just the start of another chapter in our lives.  To God be the Glory forever and ever, Amen.  You are loved, and He holds you in the palm of His hand.  Rest in the fact that He knows the details of your life too.

Staring Up,

KP

Thanks Element Community

So, I wanted to take just a minute to give a “shout out” to those that make up my community right now. I have had really great friends come in and out of my life and am the first one to say how blessed I am and have been. Right now, however, I am keenly aware of the body of Christ alive and working in my life. There are so many people who are stepping out and going the extra mile to serve me and my famly that I am overwhelmed by it all. Seriously, I think about it and cannot keep the tears from flowing down my cheeks. Thank you , Element community, for loving my family and me so much. You are truly being God’s hands and feet in my life right now. It is amazing and overwhelming and makes my heart sing with gladness. I am watching God use you in ways that some of you don’t even realize. From taking my boys swimming for “man time”, to Nerts tournaments to keep me sane, to making my boys mac n’ cheese because I don’t have enough hands, to teaching them “stick fighting” for more “man time”, and your hugs, smiles, prayers and kind words. I don’t know what I would be doing right now without you guys. Thank you for stepping out of yourselves and your comfort zones and being aware of our needs and acting on that instead of just thinking about it and never getting to it. I think people talk about present generations as being totally selfish and thinking about only themselves. I say to them that they should meet my Element community! So loving, kind and generous. Michael and I love you so much and are so grateful for you all.
If you are a young adult and live in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area and you don’t have a church home-come check us out. www.highlandschurch.org or www.theelementsite.com
We meet every Thursday night at 7pm.
Thanks again Element!
Staring Up,
KP

Plagues 3 and 4

Okay, so I know it’s been awhile (again!), and I know it seems I’m going through the book of Exodus kind of slowly, but…well, I’m a girl that loves details.  I don’t want to miss even the smallest things that happen and God does because I feel like those details are what makes the “story”.  And this story just keeps getting better and better.  I’d like to tell you that I’ll pick up the pace, but I’m studying all of this and learning it alongside you.  Well maybe a few days before…(AND I have 3 crazy kiddos!!) so I can’t and won’t make any promises.

Now, plague 3… the plague of the gnats.  Remember Pharaoh turned his back on his word from the plague of the frogs, and now we see God strike with the plague of the gnats.  Have you ever experienced gnats before?  I don’t mean a couple that seem to invade your space.  Growing up in Texas, we would spend many evenings playing outside during the summer or eating alongside a creek under the trees.  I remember walking and seeing swarms of gnats.  You did everything you could to stay away from them!  If you happened to walk through a grouping of them, they immediately flew up your nose and landed on you.  It took some time to get them away from you!!  Well, Aaron did as God commanded and took up the staff and struck the earth and ALL the dust of Egypt turned into gnats.  Gross, right?!?

We’re getting to one of the best parts of chapter 8, I think, though.  Those magicians.  The same ones from before… They tried to recreate this plague (as they had in the last two) but…they couldn’t do it!  Not only could they not do it, but they turned around and told Pharaoh that this was from God! That’s right boys…jump on in…the waters fine…  Crazy pharaoh, though.  His heart was still hardened.  Really, what was it going to take?!?

Well, maybe a 4th plague…how about flies?  Moses goes out to meet Pharaoh early in the morning.  Verses 20-21,

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.  Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses.  And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.’”

Not only will there be flies everywhere, but God is going to differentiate between His people and the Egyptians.  The flies will not be in the land of Goshen, where the Hebrews live.  Nope, no flies there.  God could (and can, and does) take care of His people while still judging Egypt .  We should make a note about these flies…

First of all…YUCK!  Second, these weren’t just the little flies that land on your sandwich while you’re having a picnic.  These were those flies that bite people and animals (another YUCK!).  I imagined horse flies when I read that in my studies.  If you’ve never been bitten by a horse fly, they hurt.  And they’re big!  Verse 24 says, “throughout Egypt the land was ruined by flies.”  Those are some serious flies, huh?

Pharaoh asked for Moses and Aaron to come to him.  When they did, he told them to go ahead and sacrifice to God BUT they have to do it there in the land, within Pharaoh’s boundaries, in other words.  Moses tell him that can’t happen, though, and gives him the reasons. Verses 26-27,

“But Moses said, ‘It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians.  If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?  We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as he tells us.’”

Did you catch it?  The words, “as HE tells us?”  Another translation says, “as he commands us.”  Listen, Pharaoh, not only can we NOT do as you say for very practical reasons (stoning!?!), but more importantly…we have to be obedient to what God commands us to do!  God said a 3 day journey so we must do a 3 day journey.  There’s no adding to or taking away from God’s Word, His commands.  Pharaoh is all about trying to compromise with God, isn’t he? 

He next tells Moses they can go to the desert to sacrifice but to “not go very far.”  And then a demand.  He says in verse 28, “Now pray for me.”  Moses says he will pray for him and the flies will leave the next day.  He leaves Pharaoh with an admonishment.  Don’t be deceitful this time (again!) and not let the people go.  Be true to your word, man!  Moses again kept his word and prayed to the Lord, and the Lord again did as Moses asked.  AND…Pharaoh AGAIN hardened his heart and wouldn’t let the people go.  That was after “not a fly remained” of course.

Do you try to compromise with God when He calls you, or commands you, to do something?  Where did that get you?  Maybe you’re doing it right now in an area of your life.  Can we learn from Pharaoh and the plagues?  God wants obedient hearts, not ones that always want to compromise, not ones that want it their own way instead of His way.  Where does your heart lie?

Staring up,

KP

Broken Bones

Okay, so I don’t know where the time has gone, and I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  I was doing so good for a while there too keeping up with it all it seemed!  Anyway, I will be back to Exodus next week, but I wanted to take a break and just tell you something that I have been pondering about. 

Now, I have no broken bones.  None that you can see anyway.  Figuratively, there are some broken things in me.  I’m human, right?  I’m sinful and there is quite a bit about me that needs to be fixed, refined.  Thank the Lord for His grace and how He redeems even me.  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking on Psalm 51.  I’ve been working on a song taken from Psalm 51 and it seems to be permeating quite a bit of my life lately.  You probably know the Psalm, especially if I were to say “Create in me a clean heart” or “Renew a right spirit within me”.  Ring any bells with you?  There is one line in there though that I seem to be saying over and over to myself lately.  One part of Psalm 51 says “Let the bones that You have broken rejoice.”  It’s a good line, huh?  For me, I’ve (my whole family really) has been going through a time where it feels as if some bones have been broken.  This verse rings true to me.  I can see God’s hand ALL OVER the situation we find ourselves in.  I see Him working to fix some broken areas in our lives.  Sometimes the healing process is painful.  Sometimes you think an area is healed, only to find out it wasn’t healed correctly.  You have to break the bone again in order for it to set correctly and heal the right way.  The same thing rings true for the spiritual, mental and emotional areas of our lives.  God is definitely the Great Physician.  He knows sometimes areas in your life have to be broken so that they can become healed totally and completely.  I love this verse because it reminds me that even in a time of brokenness and pain…He is still in control.  His hands are still on me.  I mean, the verse says “Let the bones that YOU have broken rejoice”.  How good is that???  Second, I love this verse because it reminds me to rejoice.  I want to rejoice in the midst of the breaking, in the center of the healing, and at the end, when all is said and done.  I just want to rejoice!!  I want to glorify God in all circumstances, even the confusing ones, the hard ones, the easy ones, and the ones that make complete and total sense.  I just want to shout it from the rooftops…TO GOD BE THE GLORY!  What are your “broken bones” in your life right now?  Are you grumbling  or are you choosing to rejoice?

Staring up,

KP

FROGS!!

We’re on to chapter 8 of Exodus today.  Remember what was happening last time we were together?  All of the water in Egypt had been turned to blood.  The Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink deep in the ground because they couldn’t drink the water of the Nile.  So, seven days pass and then the Lord tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh.  He’s to tell him again to let His people go.  If he refuses, another plague will hit the country.  What is it this time?  FROGS!

They won’t just be everywhere in the Nile, either.  God says they’re going to come up into their houses, climb on their beds (Ew, Ew, Ewwww….), get into their ovens, as well as sit in the bowls the people use to prepare their food! Read verse 3,

“The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls.”

Okay, we need to pause here and really think about this…why frogs???  I use to watch this show called “The Mole.”  It was a reality show and they had tasks they had to complete each time in order for the amount of money in the pot to grow larger.  One of the tasks had the final three players sitting in three separate rooms for 24 hours.  I only remember two of the rooms.  One of the players was in a dimly lit room with bubbles being blown in and the song “Tiny Bubbles” being played over and over and over.  The other room was completely dark and the player was told there was a (one) snake in the room with them.  Can you imagine?  In one room, you’d obviously be annoyed after what? 2 hours?  Maybe sooner.  In the other room…Well…could you go to sleep in a dark room wondering where in the world that crafty snake was?  Was it sitting at your feet?  Was it climbing onto the bed?  Hmmm….

Now imagine frogs…We don’t really hold them in very high regard I don’t think.  In the South, during the summer, you can hear the frogs croaking in the evening.  I use to sit out on our driveway, look at the stars, and listen to the frogs and crickets make their music.  It was peaceful then to me.  BUT the frogs weren’t everywhere!  The sound wasn’t ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT!  I th ink the croak of the frogs probably got very annoying.  Not to mention, you stepped on them and had to check your sheets before you got into bed…I don’t know about you, but I think I would have a difficult time sleeping well when I was always wondering if a frog was going to jump into bed with me, or even land on my face!

Aaron does exactly what God said to do.  He stretches that staff over the Nile and frogs come up and go everywhere.  Pharaoh comes to Moses and Aaron.  He asks them to go before the Lord and request all the frogs be taken away.  He gives his word that hel’ll let the people go to sacrifice if God will answer this one request.  Read verse 8,

“Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Plead with the Lord to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’

So, Moses goes before the Lord and cries out to Him about the frogs.  And the Lord does what is asked.  The frogs die out.  But ole Pharaoh…as soon as the request is answered, he goes back to his old ways.  He hardened his heart back up and wouldn’t let the Israelites go.

Wow…it would be really easy to look at Pharaoh and ask, “What in the world is wrong with him?!?”  But…are we really that different at times?  How many times have you wanted something and prayed for it?  Promised something to God in return even…and then as soon as God answers the prayer request, forgotten all about your “deal.”  Turned back to your ”old ways…” Gotten so wrapped up in teh joy of the respite from your problem, the relief, that you lose sight of God and what He’s done for you, who He is, His might and power, His Lordship in your life even… Something to ponder and make you think I hope…

I’ll finish chapter 8 later this week with plagues three and four, and I hope you’ll come back to experience what God does next!

Staring up,

KP

Plagues…#1

Here we go again.  The Lord tells Moses to go before Pharaoh, with Aaron, and tell Pharaoh everything God commands of him.  Tell him to let His people go.  Pharaoh’s heart is going to be hardened again, even though God is going to increase His signs and wonders.  Now, He isn’t just going to increase them in front of Pharaoh.  They’re going to increase in all the land of Egypt.  Why?  I mean, it’s Pharaoh whose heart needs to change in order for the Israelites to find freedom, right?  We find out in verse 5,

“The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

Yep, He wants the whole nation of Egypt to know that He is the Lord.  AND He doesn’t want there to be any doubt at all among the Israelites about who brought them out of bondage.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I’m not really sure how to put my thoughts into words (but of course I’m going to try! ).  There are lots of things out there that we need to be free from…you have them or have had them…I have them or have had them…The process of finding freedom from things in my own life has usually been somewhat painful.  The Israelites were going through a painful time in slavery as the process towards freedom was taking place.  Have you ever been freed from something in your own life?  Past hurts, anger, addiction, pride, etc?  What did that process look like in your own life?  We’ve seen, and will continue to see, God making Himself known to those going through the process in many ways.  In Exodus, He uses signs and wonders (which we’re about to see ten of), but what about in your own journey?  What signs and wonders has God put throughout your process in order for you to know that He is still there, still orchestrating your freedom?  He goes before you too, just as He did the Israelites.  Don’t believe that?  I hate to say that doesn’t matter, but the truth is, just because you don’t believe it doesn’t make it untrue.  As a matter of fact, whether you see God going before you or not, we have many witnesses of God’s faithfulness whose lives we can look to.  Hebrews 12:1-2 points that out clearly,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Yep, we have a great cloud of witnesses as to God’s faithfulness.  Who is this cloud of witnesses?  Read Hebrews 11 for a list of inspiring witnesses.  We even see what we are learning about in Exodus brought up in Hebrews 11:22-29.

Back to Exodus 7…I just have to point out Moses’s and Aaron’s ages at this point.  80 and 83!  Just goes to show…age doesn’t matter when you’re called by God!

Now, Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh.  Aaron throws down the staff and it becomes a snake.  But Pharaoh calls his “wise men and sorcerers” and they each did the same thing through their “secret arts.”  They were able to do this act either through sleight of hand or by demonic power.  But Aaron’s snake swallows up their snakes.  I find some crazy satisfaction when I read that.  I think it’s the whole “My Daddy is bigger than your daddy” thing!  Even through all of this, though, Pharaoh’s heart was still hardened “just as the Lord had said.”

And the plagues begin… The Lord tells Moses and Aaron to go meet Pharaoh on the banks of the Nile as he goes out to the water, which he did as a routine each morning.  Can you imagine?  Out you go to wash yourself or perform some religious rite (differing opinions on this) and…Oh!  Good morning Moses and Aaron!!  They definitely had something to say to Pharaoh…Verses 16-18,

“And you shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness.  But so far, you have not obeyed.’  Thus says the Lord, ‘By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.  The fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile will stink, and the Egyptions will grow weary of drinking water from the Nile.’” 

Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord told them to.  Aaron struck the waters of the Nile with the staff, and “blood was everywhere in Egypt.”  Can you imagine?!?

But here come those pesky Egyptian magicians again.  They do the same things and Pharaoh won’t listen to Moses and Aaron.  His heart is hardened again!  Not even blood in place of all the water in Egypt seemed to phase him.  Are there warnings in your life?  Take heed to them!

Staring up,

KP

Let the Games Begin…

So, we’re moving on to the next chapter, Exodus 6.  The last time we were together we saw the Israelites getting mighty feisty with Moses and mad at God, as well as Moses starting to question what in the world God was doing.  I mean, God had promised things, right?  BUT things just seemed to be getting worse.  Pharaoh was getting mad and making things harder on the Israelites.  Where was God in all of this?!?  Have you ever felt like that?

The Lord had something to say back to Moses though. Verse 1,

“But the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.’”

Take note of the word “now.”  No longer is Moses just going to hear God’s game plan.  It is now time to see the plan in action.  He reminds Moses of who He is, what He’s done, and what He’s going to do.  Then, He tells Moses what to do. Verses 6-9,

“Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.  I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.  I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.  I will give it to you for a possession.  I am the Lord.’  Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.”

Yep, that’s God promising the Israelites deliverance from slavery.  He doesn’t just promise freedom, though.  He promises redemption and “great acts of judgment” on those who oppressed them.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?  He promises to bring them into the Promised Land.  Notice all of the “I will” statements (7 of them).  And there’s another great I Am statement at the end just so that no one questions it.  He says, “I AM the Lord.”  So of course Moses went to the people of Israel and told them what God had said (no excuses this time!), but those Israelites…well they were hurt and their spirits were broken…they didn’t listen to Moses.  Have you ever had your spirit broken?  Felt crushed by something or someone?  I have.  I kinda get where the Israelites were coming from.  It doesn’t excuse not listening and hearing what God says, and especially not accepting His Word, but I do understand the why. 

It is really hard to hear, and accept, truth when you are deep in the muck, especially when you’re getting the truth from someone who’s not in the muck with you or has never been there.  We know Moses had his own muck to deal with, right?  He’d had to flee his childhood home and find a new home, but he’d not been a slave like the people of Israel.  If anything, I’m sure there were some people who were quick to point this out to him, he’d had kinda the opposite happen to him.  He’d been adopted into the Pharaoh’s family!!!  How hard would it have been to listen and hear truth from him under the circumstances?  Probably…very hard…And yet, God had called him for just such a thing as this. 

So after the people dismissed Moses and what he had to say, the Lord told him to go back to Pharaoh.  Verses 10-11,

“So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.”

Moses didn’t seem to really like the idea though.  The people hadn’t listened to him, so why would Pharaoh?  But the Lord gave Moses and Aaron a job to do: to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt and out of slavery.

Verses 14-27 gives us the genealogy of Moses and Aaron.  Why here…inserted into the middle of the story, right as we’re about to see the game plan put into action?  Well, as we saw a few chapters ago, to ignore anything that seems out of place might mean we miss something, so we’re going to definitely take a look.

Moses and Aaron are descendants of Levi.  Levi’s father was Jacob, and his mother was Leah.  There is also mention of Reuben and Simeon, two of Jacob’s other sons (with Levi-that is three of the twelve sons).  Now, to know why that is significant, we have to go back to Genesis 49, verses 3-7,

“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.  Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it-he went up to my couch!  Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords.  Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company.  For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen.  Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel!  I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.”

Oh yeah…I’d forgotten about that…those three brothers had less than stellar reputations.  Hmmm…This is who Moses and Aaron came from.  What you just read was part of their grandfather’s blessing to his sons and their descendants.  Some blessing on those three, huh?  Their past sins had obviously not been forgotten by their father.  But that being said, I think it’s important to notice the significance of Moses and Aaron being called by God in the light of this new information.  Even though the past may not be stellar, the future can be great.  There is redemption and grace for all who accept the call of God.  We’re seeing that firsthand as we go through Exodus.  Does that make you think about your past, or your family’s past?  How much do you allow the past to define who you are?  Are you, or have you, taken notice of how God has changed those circumstances, or parts of them?  He wants to set you free just as we are seeing Him set the Israelites free as we study Exodus.  Believe His promises, dear ones.

For those interested, you can learn even more about these 3 brothers and what they did by going back to other areas of scripture.

-Reuben-Genesis 35:16-22, I Chronicles 5:1-3

-Simeon and Levi-Genesis 34 (especially verses 25-31)

Staring up.

KP