Passing the Torch of Christian Leadership. Numbers 26-27; Luke 8

May the mumbling commence!

When we are about to move on, it is important to pass the torch of faith.  It is essential that we ask the Lord whom to pass the torch of leadership… the torch of faith to.  Though we may want that torch passed to our children or close relatives that may not be the way of the Lord.  Read from Numbers chapter twenty-seven:

One day the Lord said to Moses, "Climb to the top of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel.  After you have seen it, you will die as Aaron your brother did, for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 

Then Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, the God of the spirits of all living things, please appoint a new leader for the community.  Give them someone who will lead them into battle, so the people of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd." 

The Lord replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.  Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him with the responsibility of leading the people.  Transfer your authority to him so the whole community of Israel will obey him.  When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will determine the Lord's will by means of sacred lots. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will discover what they should do." 

So Moses did as the Lord commanded and presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community.  Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to his responsibilities, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.  (Verses 12-23)

The human element of leadership did not pass to a son of Moses.  Indeed, the torch was not even passed to a close relative, Joshua son of Nun was of a different tribe – the tribe of Ephraim. 

The Lord uses different methods to define a close kinship.  He looks at the heart of humanity.  God looks at our obedience.  Read from Luke chapter eight:

Once when Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, they couldn't get to him because of the crowds.  Someone told Jesus, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to see you." 

Jesus replied, "My mother and my brothers are all those who hear the message of God and obey it." (Verses 19-21)

May we hear the Word of God and obey it.  That will show our heart is set on the Lord.  That will show our obedience.  That will show our readiness for serving the Lord in the role of leadership amongst the Body of Christ.  Such obedience will be a sure sign of whom the torch of faith should be passed to.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Transformed Expectations. Numbers 24-25; Luke 7

May the mumbling commence!

I have expectations.  You have expectations.  Everyone has expectations.  But, let’s be careful to not allow our expectations to form our concept of who the Lord is and what the Lord is calling us to do.

In the world there are many deceptions.  There are many things that seem fair to our appetites.  But they are foul in the Lord’s eyes.  Read from Numbers chapter twenty-five:

While the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men defiled themselves by sleeping with the local Moabite women.  These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, and soon the Israelites were feasting with them and worshiping the gods of Moab.  Before long Israel was joining in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the Lord's anger to blaze against his people. (Verses 1-3)

The Moabite women must have been pleasing to the eyes.  But that surface beauty hid a malevolent tumor – worship of a god other than the Lord.  These women led Israelite men to the worship of Baal – which often included sex.  This relationship was causing a fracture in Israel’s relationship with the Lord.  And blessings were transformed into the blight of a plague.

Beauty, in truth, is more than skin deep.  All beauty comes from the Lord.

So, what do you and I expect?  Do we expect the anger and wrath of the Lord to manifest itself?  That was the thought of John the Baptist.  And it was that thought that caused John, while languishing in prison, to question Jesus as the Messiah.  Read from Luke chapter seven:

The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, "Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?" 

John's two disciples found Jesus and said to him, "John the Baptist sent us to ask, 'Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?'" 

At that very time, he cured many people of their various diseases, and he cast out evil spirits and restored sight to the blind.  Then he told John's disciples, "Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.  And tell him, 'God blesses those who are not offended by me. '" (Verses 18-23)

Jesus showed them what the Messiah was all about – healing.  The refining fire that John was expecting was being delayed in hopes that many people would turn and be saved – turn and be refined rather than destroyed.

May we be ready to accept the way in which the Lord works among us – whatever that way may be.  It’s all about transformed expectations.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Prayer is... Numbers 22-23; Luke 6

May the mumbling commence!

Praying is listening.  Praying is accepting your blessing.  Praying is doing what the Lord has called you to think and say and do.  Read from Numbers chapter twenty-three:

Then Balaam said to the king, "Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the Lord." 

So the Lord met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message." 

So Balaam returned to the place where the king and the officials of Moab were standing beside Balak's burnt offerings. "What did the Lord say?" Balak asked eagerly. 

This was the prophecy Balaam delivered:

"Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor. 

God is not a man, that he should lie.

He is not a human, that he should change his mind.

Has he ever spoken and failed to act?

Has he ever promised and not carried it through? 

I received a command to bless; he has blessed,

and I cannot reverse it! 

No misfortune is in sight for Jacob;

no trouble is in store for Israel.

For the Lord their God is with them;

he has been proclaimed their king. 

God has brought them out of Egypt;

he is like a strong ox for them. 

No curse can touch Jacob;

no sorcery has any power against Israel.

For now it will be said of Jacob,

'What wonders God has done for Israel!' 

These people rise up like a lioness;

like a majestic lion they stand.

They refuse to rest until they have feasted on prey,

drinking the blood of the slaughtered!" (Verses 15-24)

What the Lord commanded Balaam to say – that is what Balaam said.  We must listen and follow our Lord.  Neither can we reverse the direction of the Lord.  Often times, prayer is about changing our own direction – aligning ourselves with our Lord.

Even Jesus knew about this facet of prayer.  Whenever he was about to make an important decision, he went to the Lord in prayer.  Read from Luke chapter six:

One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.  At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: 

Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Peter's brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him). (Verses 12-16) 

Let us listen.  Let us accept our blessings from the Lord.  Let us adopt attitudes, thoughts, words and actions that the Lord is calling us to have and do.  And, in the midst of all this, let us give thanks – ever and always.  Thanksgiving is more than a day on the calendar.  It is a way of life – a way of prayer.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

Look to the Lord for Healing. Numbers 20-21; Luke 5

May the mumbling commence!

Isn’t it ironic when we get what we ask the Lord for and despise it?  The same people who refused to challenge the people of the Promised Land and asked to die in the wilderness… these same people are complaining about being sent into the wilderness to die.  What’s up with that?  Read from Numbers chapter twenty-one:

Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient along the way, and they began to murmur against God and Moses. "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!" 

So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them, and many of them were bitten and died.  Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people. 

Then the Lord told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to the top of a pole. Those who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!"  So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they recovered! (Verses 4-9)

Yes, there it is again.  Be careful what you ask for… you just might get it (and regret it).  They complained. 

But, before we get too judgmental with them, we are no different.  We, too, complain when we don’t get things are own way… when things seem much harder than we anticipated them to be.  We ask for the difficult places to be removed, but that is not often possible.

We ask for the snakes to be removed, only to hear the Lord tell us to look up to Him.  Look up to Jesus who was raised up on the cross.  Look up to Jesus who rose from the dead.  Look to Jesus who ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. That alone is enough to overcome any difficulty or obstacle.

And let’s not get too caught up in the sins of other people.  We have enough sin in ourselves to busy ourselves.  Read from Luke chapter five:

Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple!" Jesus said to him.  So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him. 

Soon Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi's fellow tax collectors and other guests were there.  But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus' disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with such scum?" 

Jesus answered them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor – sick people do.  I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough." (Verses 27-32)

Though Levi would have been considered a terrible sinner as a tax collector, he knew enough to answer the call of Jesus to follow.  He knew enough to look to Jesus and be healed by the Great Physician.  He knew enough to guide his friends to Jesus at a banquet… his friends who were equally sinners (or “scum” as the New Living Translation puts it).

And, guess what!  The Pharisees and teacher of the Law complain.  Not much changes over time.  Yep, we’re still struggling with those issues today.  Though they may change of surface levels, we still set apart certain sins as more reprehensible than others.

And it’s amazing how these reprehensible sins do not affect us.  It is comforting to point out the sins of others so we can feel better about ourselves… so we can avoid looking too closely in the mirror.  We can even begin to think that we’ve arrived… that we are good enough.  That is a lie that we cannot afford to be telling ourselves.  Let us look to Jesus to be healed.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out

The Great I Am is Our Inheritance. Numbers 18-19; Luke 4

May the mumbling commence!

Our portion is the Lord.  We are the priesthood of believers, and our portion is the Lord.  There is no other portion that is better!  Read from Numbers chapter eighteen:

And the Lord said to Aaron, "You priests will receive no inheritance of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your inheritance and your share.  As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will pay them for their service in the Tabernacle with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.  "From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites are to stay away from the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and die.  The Levites must serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law among you. But the Levites will receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites, because I have given them the Israelites' tithes, which have been set apart as offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites' share. That is why I said they would receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites." 

The Lord also told Moses,  "Say this to the Levites: 'When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, give a tenth of the tithes you receive – a tithe of the tithe – to the Lord as a gift.  The Lord will consider this to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress.  You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a gift to the Lord. From this you must present the Lord's portion to Aaron the priest.  Be sure to set aside the best portions of the gifts given to you as your gifts to the Lord.'” (Verses 20-29)

The great I Am is our portion.  What else do we need?  Particularly for those in the set-apart ministry, we need nothing else.  We receive our living from the tithes of the Body of Christ.  And we get the best that people have to give.

But that’s not the end of the story.  Those in set-apart ministry must give back to the Lord a tithe of the tithes.  We give back the best of the best of the people of God!  What a privilege!

May we give back as handsomely as Jesus gave back in the way he set others free to praise and worship God.  Read from Luke chapter four:

After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon's home, where he found Simon's mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. "Please heal her," everyone begged.  Standing at her bedside, he spoke to the fever, rebuking it, and immediately her temperature returned to normal. She got up at once and prepared a meal for them. 

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.  Some were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, "You are the Son of God." But because they knew he was the Messiah, he stopped them and told them to be silent. (Verses 38-41)

Peter’s mother-in-law was healed to serve.  Let’s remember that as we receive healing from the Lord.  How can we best use our talents for the benefit of helping to bring in the Kingdom of God?

And let’s respect the set-apart day, the Sabbath.  The people of the village waited until sundown – the official end of the Sabbath – to bring the diseased and demon-possessed for healing.  And all who came were healed.  What a wonderful thing to celebrate!

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Calling Out Set-Apart Ministers. Numbers 16-17; Luke 3

May the mumbling commence!

All people are called to ministry.  But not all people are called to the set-apart ministry.  It is essential that we discern between the two.  It is also imperative that we honestly seek the call of the Lord through the church body… the body of Christ.  It is an awesome task that we have that we dare not shirk.  Read from Numbers chapter sixteen to see a potential outcome of overstepping our bounds as set-apart ministers:

But the very next morning the whole community began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You two have killed the Lord's people!"  As the people gathered to protest to Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the Lord appeared. 

Moses and Aaron came and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle, and the Lord said to Moses, “Get away from these people so that I can instantly destroy them!" But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. 

And Moses said to Aaron, "Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it and carry it quickly among the people to make atonement for them. The Lord 's anger is blazing among them – the plague has already begun." 

Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague indeed had already begun, but Aaron burned the incense and made atonement for them.  He stood between the living and the dead until the plague was stopped.  But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the incident involving Korah.  Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.  (Verses 41-50)

These people had witnessed the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.  They had watched as the earth opened up and swallowed these men, who were trying to wrestle the priesthood from the sole grasp of Aaron’s family.  Who else but God could have done this? 

Yet the people still blamed Moses and Aaron.  The people of Israel came to protest and aroused the wrath of God.  Did Moses and Aaron stand vindicated and vindictive – watching the deaths of these protesters?  NO!  They came to their aid.

May we be as kind to the people who protest our leadership!  May we intercede for those who desire to tear us down.  These are signs of being anointed with the Holy Spirit of the living God.  These are signs of God’s blessing for set-apart ministry.  May we watch for them closely in the Body of Christ – the church. 

And may we show forth the fruit of repentance – as John the Baptist calls us to.  Read from Luke chapter three:

Here is a sample of John's preaching to the crowds that came for baptism: "You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee God's coming judgment?  Prove by the way you live that you have really turned from your sins and turned to God. Don't just say, 'We're safe – we're the descendants of Abraham.' That proves nothing. God can change these stones here into children of Abraham.  Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire." 

The crowd asked, "What should we do?" 

John replied, "If you have two coats, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry." 

Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, "Teacher, what should we do?" 

"Show your honesty," he replied. "Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you to." 

"What should we do?" asked some soldiers.

John replied, "Don't extort money, and don't accuse people of things you know they didn't do. And be content with your pay." 

Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah.  John answered their questions by saying, "I baptize with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am – so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire." (Verses 7-17)

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Heed God's Call! Numbers 11-15

May the mumbling commence!

Though we may try to dodge the calling of the Lord, we will never be successful.  Even when we decide not to show up at the meeting, we still get the Spirit of the living God descending upon us.  Read from Numbers chapter eleven:

So Moses went out and reported the Lord's words to the people. Then he gathered the seventy leaders and stationed them around the Tabernacle.  And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon the seventy leaders. They prophesied as the Spirit rested upon them, but that was the only time this happened. 

Two men, Eldad and Medad, were still in the camp when the Spirit rested upon them. They were listed among the leaders but had not gone out to the Tabernacle, so they prophesied there in the camp.  A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!"  Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' personal assistant since his youth, protested, "Moses, my master, make them stop!" 

But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!"  Then Moses returned to the camp with the leaders of Israel. (Verses 24-30)

Moses put the call out.  The Lord was gathering seventy leaders to the Tabernacle.  When they were gathered, the Holy Spirit descended upon the leaders there – as God told Moses it would happen.  However, there apparently was not an accurate accounting of the people present.  Instead of seventy leaders, there was sixty-eight.

Two leaders decided not to come.  Sometimes, I wonder if there negligence is the reason that this pouring out of the Spirit was only a one-time thing.  But Eldad and Medad did not come.  Did that prevent them from the call of the Lord?  Absolutely not!  They, too, prophesied – just as the other leaders did.

The prophecies of Eldad and Medad caused wonder and suspicion and jealousy.  Joshua counseled Moses to stop them, but Moses quickly squashed that idea.  “I wish that all of God’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them all!” 

And I wish that we would all answer the call of the Lord consistently – so that we would not fall.  Read from Numbers chapter fourteen:

“‘Because the men who explored the land were there for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years – a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. You will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.'  I, the Lord, have spoken! I will do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will all die here in this wilderness!" 

Then the ten scouts who had incited the rebellion against the Lord by spreading discouraging reports about the land were struck dead with a plague before the Lord.  Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. 

When Moses reported the Lord's words to the Israelites, there was much sorrow among the people.  So they got up early the next morning and set out for the hill country of Canaan. "Let's go," they said. "We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us." 

But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the Lord's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work.  Do not go into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you.  When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord." 

But the people pushed ahead toward the hill country of Canaan, despite the fact that neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord's covenant left the camp.  Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them as far as Hormah. (Verses 34-45)

First, they disobeyed God by not going into the Promised Land to take it.  Joshua and Caleb warned them!  Then, they refused to take the outcome that they asked for – death in the wilderness.  Moses warned them! 

And they were repulsed from entering the hill country.  They were driven back into the place that God told them to go… at the undeniable loss of life.  May we listen to the Lord better!

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Lord, Take the Lead! Numbers 9-10; Luke 2

May the mumbling commence!

In the great dance of faith, who takes the lead?  Sometimes we may think that important spiritual leaders take the lead.  Have you ever seen a church dwindle when the pastor moves on?  This should not be.  It makes me disconsolate.  There is another, much greater, who takes the lead in the great dance of faith.  Read from the end of Numbers chapter ten:

One day Moses said to his brother-in-law, Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, "We are on our way to the Promised Land. Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has given wonderful promises to Israel!" 

But Hobab replied, "No, I will not go. I must return to my own land and family." 

"Please don't leave us," Moses pleaded. "You know the places in the wilderness where we should camp.  Come, be our guide and we will share with you all the good things that the Lord does for us." 

They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the Lord, with the Ark of the Lord's covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest.  As they moved on each day, the cloud of the Lord hovered over them.  And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would cry, "Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!"  And when the Ark was set down, he would say, "Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel!" (Verses 29-36)

Moses first looks to his brother-in-law for guidance.  He knew the wilderness that they were going into.  He would know the best places to camp.  But his brother-in-law refused to come along.

Then there is a dramatic shift in the next portion of the passage.  The Ark of the Covenant moved ahead of them.  Whenever the Ark set out, Moses reminded Israel that the Lord was arising to lead them.  Whenever the Ark settled down, Moses reminded the people that the Lord was returning to Israel.  Who better would know the best places to camp than the Great Creator who made the wilderness?

Yes, we need to follow the Lord’s lead in whatever form it might take.  Read from Luke chapter two:

That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord – has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" 

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God:           "Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and peace on earth to all whom God favors. " 

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 

They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.  Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.  The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said. (Verses 8-20)

A singing host from heaven!  How’s that for a sign?!?  And the shepherds (some of the lowliest of people) went as commanded and found it just as they were told they would.  And these shepherds did not keep quiet.  They told others what they had heard.  May we be as humble and obedient as these shepherds on the night that Jesus was born… following the lead of the Lord through his angels.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out

Encouraging Leaders & Accepting Our Call. Numbers 7-8; Luke 1

May the mumbling commence!

How do we encourage our spiritual leaders?  Our spiritual ancestors started a tradition long ago of the laying on of hands.  Read from Numbers chapter eight:

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Now set the Levites apart from the rest of the people of Israel and make them ceremonially clean.  Do this by sprinkling them with the water of purification. And have them shave their entire body and wash their clothing. Then they will be ceremonially clean.  Have them bring a young bull and a grain offering of choice flour mixed with olive oil, along with a second young bull for a sin offering.  Then assemble the whole community of Israel and present the Levites at the entrance of the Tabernacle.  When you bring the Levites before the Lord, the people of Israel must lay their hands on them.  Aaron must present the Levites to the Lord as a special offering from the people of Israel, thus dedicating them to the Lord's service. (Verses 5-11)

What a wonderful way of encouraging and recognizing our spiritual leaders!  Dedicate them to the Lord.  Lay hands on them.  Pray for them.  Recognize the service they provide for our relationship with the Lord.

Oh, to be touched by God!  It is both and fearful and wonderful experience.  That was the experience of Mary, the mother of Jesus.  Read from Luke chapter one:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" 

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  "Don't be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, "for God has decided to bless you!  You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!" 

Mary asked the angel, "But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin." 

The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.  What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's already in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God." 

Mary responded, "I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true." And then the angel left. (Verses 26-38)

Dazed and confused.  Mary was disturbed by the visit of the angel of the Lord.  The words of the angel did not quell her fear.  How could Mary bear a son when she has never been with a man?

We may have our reasons to doubt the Lord, too.  We may see obstacles that seem insurmountable.  But these obstacles are nothing to the Lord.  Nothing is impossible with God.

Then we must be humbled as Mary was and remember our status as servants of the Lord.  I am willing to write a blank check for God… whatever my Lord wants.  May it come true.  So be it.  Amen.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out