Atypical Behavior

6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out.  Ezekiel 10

Sometimes, directions from God don't make a lot of sense to us.  The man in linen was told to take fire in his own hands.

Take your BARE HANDS and grab some fire.  Yeah, sign me up for this.  The point is, he did it, even though it may have been weird and out of character.

A picture went viral earlier this week.  A rapper took a picture of himself in a public restroom cleaning breast pump parts for his wife.  He captioned it that this is what he does after his shows #thuglife

It was a completely out of the norm photo for this man - and it blew up in a very positive way.  I looked a little through his posts and the previous picture he posted of himself at a concert had a measly 45 likes, but this breast pump part picture was well into the tens of thousands of likes.  There's no telling then how many people saw it and didn't comment or like it (such as me).

Why does this relate to the verse?  A man did something out of the ordinary for God's purpose.  Did I mention earlier that this was a Christian rapper?  That's right, his lyrics are about Christ and he uses his music as a means to spread God's word.  That one picture went viral and was shared among a demographic that probably has never heard of him but now people are listening and checking him out.  

God doesn't always call us to do huge, life-changing things outside of our normal realm.  Sometimes, it's small, like taking a picture and posting it online.  The result doesn't have to impact thousands, it may only impact one person.  Trust in God when you do something our of your norm.  He has you in his hands, and he has a plan.

Thurs Devo: Lesson Learned?

Numbers 16:41-45  ⁴¹ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.

⁴² But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the tent of meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared. ⁴³ Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the tent of meeting, ⁴⁴ and the Lord said to Moses, ⁴⁵ “Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once.” And they fell facedown.

Wow! I can’t believe the Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for killing Korah, his clan, and his 250 followers. They aren’t giving God the credit and are giving too much credit to mere humans, Moses and Aaron. Plus, haven’t the Israelites learned their lesson yet? We’ve seen God step in each time the Israelites opposed Moses. God also stepped in when Miriam and Aaron opposed Moses. So, it’s no wonder God stepped in when Korah decided to challenge Moses and Aaron’s authority. We saw how full of pride Korah was, with no ounce of humility or repentance.

Each instance of opposition was really rebellion against God, His plan, and His choice of leaders. If I’m counting correctly, this is now the third time God has told Moses He plans to wipe out the Israelites, yet spare Moses. God knows the hearts of the people. Yet, each time, Moses appeals to God’s compassion and humbly pleads for mercy.

Are you and I more like the Israelites or Moses?

Do we keep learning lessons the hard way, over and over again?

Or, do we know and trust God’s holiness and His character, and humbly approach Him?

Alice

Finding Mercy

Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.  Matthew 18:33-35

Patience truly is a virtue. I say this thinking over the events in Charleston, SC this past week. You see, I grew up in a historic and traditional AME church much like the church in Charleston. In a world that I continually am color blind to, I was given a sad reminder that many others still see color differently, and would want to do harm to me simply because I am different. I wanted to say something more about it, but I did not have the words nor felt a feeling that perfectly described my sense of innocence lost. In the midst of waiting, God’s glory was revealed. As the killer was being arraigned, each of the victims’ families did not cry for vengeance nor utter a word of hatred. Instead, they prayed for mercy and spoke of forgiveness. It was the perfect response because it forced others to ask two questions. First, it started the discussion on God as others asked the question, "How can someone have love and mercy for one who murdered their loved one?" Second, others had to ask, "What do these people have that is missing from my life?" It was a Godly and right response.

Forgiveness is mandatory for us as Christians. There is a reason that God put love and mercy above many other things. When we were given grace through Jesus Christ, we gained so much by having a true authentic relationship with God. Thus through forgiveness, we stand to gain and not lose. That is why Jesus felt strongly about mercy through the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). In listening to each family member of the Charleston church ask for mercy and forgiveness on the person who had done such an evil act, my spirits were uplifted, and others who questioned whether God truly makes a difference in one’s life could not deny His power then. Furthermore, the ripples of what one might call the ‘Devil’s work’ turned into another moment where God’s light shined brightly. Through mercy, we become a light for as Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12b)

We serve a loving and merciful God. While our natural instinct may call us to rush to judge and seek punishment when personally wronged, we must trust God to handle it. Romans 12:19b says, “For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.” Let us focus on the power of forgiveness for that is a sure way God’s glory is revealed to others. Who must you forgive today? How can you be more merciful in your walk of faith? My prayer is that we find mercy for those who do not deserve as much for we too were first given mercy. Amen.

Tues Devo: Firm on a Foundation, Part 3

Hello,

I wanted to spend one final week on this topic of a firm foundation. A critical piece of the foundation that we haven’t gone into is the mental side. I can’t even count how many times I have heard people talk about getting old and being more concerned with having a sharp mind than a physically fit body. We understand the importance of having mental acuity and sharpness. Keeping our mind in the right spot is a key element of a firm foundation. Without it, we are prone to attacks that begin to make us doubt our foundation – and that un-surety will render us less useful for the cause of Christ.

So, how do we keep our mental side where it needs to be? Try Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (NASB)

Dwell on the right kind of things – find the things and people that help put those types of thoughts in the forefront of your brain.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill

Every Step I take

Psalm 121:7-8

The Lord will keep you from all harm—

    he will watch over your life;

the Lord will watch over your coming and going

    both now and forevermore.

We have all heard these verses before and sometimes hear them used to question God.  Why God did you not protect me from harm?  David wrote this from a way to direct and encourage us to repose ourselves and our confidence in God.  We are by faith to put ourselves under his protection and commit ourselves to his care.  This does not mean we will never face harm.  It’s more that in those times that we do, that we trust the Lord to take care of us. 

I think the entire Psalm 121 is a great Psalm to meditate on regularly.  Remind ourselves that the Lord is the Maker of Heaven and Earth and that He is watching over us.  He sees our every steps. 

Is every step you make something that you’d want the Lord to see?  We sure want His protection over every step so let’s make every step pleasing to Him.