ALWAYS … Stay Humble.

Moses’s name indicates he was chosen by God from birth. He was the Deliverer.  A “beautiful” baby. Educated in the ways of Egypt. Trained in the desert 40 years. Saw the burning bush. Defeated Pharaoh with plagues. Worked numerous miracles. Parted the Red Sea. Was given the Ten Commandments. Led Israel in the wilderness. Built the Tabernacle. Spent time with God until his face radiated with such glory, no one could look at him. The only man to whom God showed Himself. Moses brought down the complete law. Wrote the first five books of the Bible. Interceded on behalf of the people and when they sinned against God. (What did Moses NOT do?)

Yet, he was not perfect. During the final years in the wilderness, Moses’s patience wore thin. Once again, the childish people were whining, blaming him for lack of food and water. Moses prayed and God told him “Speak to the rock.” Instead Moses BEAT the rock with his staff:

“And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” Then Moses lifted his hand and STRUCK the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to honor Me in front of the nation, therefore you shall not bring the children of Israel into the land which I have given.” Numbers 20:10-12.

In anger, Moses disobeyed. He did not speak to the rock, he struck it. And his words sound as if he took partial credit for the miracle. (“Must WE bring water for you from this rock?”)

God immediately did two things. He made water gush from the rock, an amazing miracle. He met the nation’s needs.  But then He told Moses he would never enter the Promised Land. He was 120 years old and everything he had ever done was leading to the Promised Land. It was the climax and fulfillment of his whole life!

But God said no. We must stay humble. We must honor God’s holiness: “To whom much is given, much is required” Luke 12:48.

ΑΩ

Surprise! Your Work is a Gift.

As a child, I was sometimes surprised by negative attitudes adults had about work.  First, there were the Garfield cartoons everywhere: “I hate Mondays!”  Then in the lunchroom, there was a calendar on the wall in the serving line and at the end of every day a cafeteria worker would put a huge “X” through the day.  For some reason, seeing a month with three rows of Xs seemed terribly negative to me, as if you killed the days, or burned them, or wrecked them somehow.  I was shocked thinking all the adults around me hated their jobs.

Not everyone agrees.  My friend Dwayne, a fourth-grade teacher, loves Mondays because he loves his students and can’t wait to launch a new week.  There are people who would rather “seize the day” than kill it, who truly value opportunities and challenges. 

There was even a time when I used to say things like “Every morning when my OPPORTUNITY CLOCK goes off, I jump out of bed and….”  It seemed wrong to me that we use the adjective “alarm” to modify the word “clock.” Why is it ALARMING, exactly?  Shouldn’t we be thankful to see another day? Could we be excited for the weeks to come, realizing the amazing lives God has given us? Consider the way God describes work to Aaron:

“I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift” Numbers 18:7.

Do you see work as a gift?  God can help you enjoy all your days and your labor, as promised in Ecclesiastes 5:19. Ask God to give you the gift of enjoying your work, Ecclesiastes 3:13. Give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18), because it all begins with a grateful heart.

God, give us thankful hearts that see work as a GIFT! Help us look forward to mornings and Mondays and to realize every day how blessed we are to have the ability and opportunity to work. Fill us with joy and hope and help us spread that positive, optimistic light to everyone!

ΑΩ

What is That to You?

Jesus told Peter he would be martyred one day, and Peter said, “What about John?”

Jesus answered, “Even if John survives till My return, what is that to you? You follow Me!” John 21:18-22.

Do you get the point? What God asks of one believer has no impact on another believer. “What is that to you?,” means, “What difference does it make?” In other words—stop expecting God to make everything magically fair and equal. Heaven is where things will balance out—not Earth.

God told the Levites their tribe would always eat all the best food: 

“All the best oil, all the best wine, all the best wheat… the firstfruits… have I given thee. And whatever is first ripe in the land … shall be thine” Numbers 18:12-13.

Why did the Levites get the best of everything? Because they were the priests and when Israel’s farmers brought offerings, the offering to God had to be the best of the crops and herds. And those offerings fed the priests of the tribe of Levi and their families. Were Levites better than others? No. It was an “accident of birth” that qualified them to eat the finest of the land. 

Do you know what the Levites did not have? LAND. Eleven tribes had land, but the Levites had none. Personally, I’d rather have land than the finest food. 

You see, God has DIFFERENT plans for each of us. My brother had a great medical career at an early age and saw the world, but he had no wife or kids till 40. One of my friends has made big bucks for years, but has endured crushing personal heartaches. Another of my buddies is now a white-haired,  retired grandfather, and I’m still trying to figure out what I’m gonna’ be when I grow up! LOL. 

SUBMIT to God’s plans. They are NOT the same as His plans for your siblings or friends, but He has a great adventure for YOU! And when He blesses those around you, don’t be jealous. Remember: “What is that to you? You follow me!”

God, we trust you with our future. Lead us each day and help us trust you more!

ΑΩ

The Gift of Work. Numbers 18:7.

People sometimes think God cursed us by making us work. As evidence, they cite Genesis 3:17-19, wherein God tells Adam he will have to work the ground and it will give him thorns and thistles, and “by the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread.”

However, Adam’s work was NOT part of the punishment. Adam had a job BEFORE the sin and the Fall of Man. God gave Adam work so that Adam could be a partner with God in the creative process. Adam was told to name the animals. He probably named plants, too, and took on the task of sorting and understanding them: these are fruits, these are herbs, these are mammals, these are reptiles, etc. I’m sure the work was very creative and fulfilling: part writer, part teacher, part database administrator, part museum curator.

Numbers 18:7 supports this idea. God tells Aaron:

“I am giving you the work of the priesthood as a gift.”

Our jobs are also gifts. God created you with talents and abilities, and it is deeply fulfilling when you can use those abilities in a positive way. God gives you the talent for a job, then He gives you a chance to do that job. That is so satisfying. Take the time to be grateful for your talents and the chance to use them. Ask God to send you the right work. And make up your mind to enjoy it and be grateful, because your work is a GIFT, not a punishment.

Dear God, give us grateful hearts that want to work and value the work you send us, no matter how humbling. Thank you for the gift of work! Help us to honor you in our work every day. Make us humble enough to scrub toilets. We want to be like Jesus who washed feet. Help us serve you by serving others. Thank you for the GIFT of work. Help us treat it like a gift! We love you.

ΑΩ

Moses: Man of the Wasteland. Deuteronomy 34.

I was raised in a palace by a princess.  Pharaoh was a grandfather to me.  I ate the best foods, studied with the best tutors, owned toys and tools of the highest quality.  I learned the sword and bow from the best.  I spoke multiple languages, and wrote the first five books of the Bible.

I was a man of silk sheets, good food, good books, and oil lamps to read by.  Don’t you agree that a “man of letters,” belongs in a city, sleeping near an open window letting in the desert’s cool night air?

But at 40, I killed an Egyptian and had to run.  For forty years I was a fugitive, reduced to the humble life of a shepherd. At 80, God sent me home.  I thought, “Great!  I will sleep in a bed and eat fish from the Nile.”  But the stay in Egypt was brief.  Soon I was shepherding a million people across the desert.

Still, I knew the Promised Land was coming! This boy from the palace would not die in the desert.  I would die with a roof over my head and a pillow under it!  But then the people doubted God and He sentenced us to wander the desert ANOTHER forty years.  Would I ever see another wheat field?  Or private bathroom? Or the inside of a building?

No.  The books I wrote, I wrote in tents.  I never touched a thing I loved that did not have sand on it.  Even light breezes blow sand into every crevice. How often did I crunch sand in my teeth while eating? God wanted me raised in a life of luxury.  But He did not want me to remain there. 

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt because he was looking ahead to his reward” Hebrews 11:24-26.

Sometimes God calls us away from the soft life.  How many missionaries serve God in difficult, dangerous locations?  Moses did not complain—and he did not enter the Promised Land.  He did not die with a roof over his head. 

But he died with a heart of faithfulness and gratitude toward God.  May we do the same.

ΑΩ

Delays.

God answers every prayer—but often the answer is not yes or no but “wait.” I don’t think anyone likes that answer. Waiting can be SO HARD.

Yet, it seems to be a huge part of our training. How long was Moses’s destiny delayed? At 40, he was moved by the plight of the Israelites, acted rashly and killed an Egyptian, and had to run for his life. Forty years passed before God spoke to him at the burning bush. Forty years! That’s a LONG WAIT. 

A few years later, Moses sent men on a recon mission to spy out the Promised Land and report back. They said the land was amazing but the people were giants and would defeat God’s chosen people.  The nation chickened out, and God was angry. He told them they would spend 40 years wandering the wilderness while the cowardly generation died off. Numbers 14:34.

Can you imagine? What a delay! (Now Moses will have to wait ANOTHER forty years—and in fact, he will see, but never enter the Promised Land.) But God used the delays to grow Moses and all His people and teach them to trust Him.

Do you ever get tired of waiting on God? Do you tire of hoping for something big to happen, but it seems hopeless? I know I get tired of waiting. 

But waiting is often the exact spiritual workout that we need. Waiting on the Lord builds our FAITH. Waiting draws us closer to HIM—and knowing him better is more important than entering the Promised Land—or receiving any other promises from God.

Be patient. Seek God’s HEART, not the gifts in his hand. Ask for wisdom and patience. And take the huge step of THANKING him for the waiting times. God has a plan. Choose to trust him and be patient—after all, it probably won’t take 40 years!

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not become faint.” Isaiah 40:31.

ΑΩ

Doubters and Skeptics. Numbers 14:11-12.

Are you a doubter? Do you trust God, or do you question God? The Israelites found it hard to trust God—and Moses. Even after ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, they doubted God.

When God sent spies into the Promised Land, they reported it was a land flowing with milk and honey, but the people were too strong; “we can’t possibly win.” The whole nation wept and said, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt!” God was angry:

“How long will these people not trust in Me despite all the signs I performed among them? I will strike them with a plague and destroy them.” Numbers 14:11-12.

Israel Doubted God dozens of times; here are five:

  1. At the Red Sea.
  2. When they made the golden calf.
  3. After the spies said the men in the Promised Land were so tall “we were as grasshoppers.”
  4. Korah and 250 others told Moses “you have gone too far; what makes you special?” God destroyed those men when the earth opened up and swallowed them.
  5. But the people blamed Moses for those deaths! God then sent a plague and killed 14,700 of the doubters.

Are you a doubter? Do you trust God or do you attack Him with questions that come from a heart of rebellion? That is the key—the state of your heart. We must strive to have obedient, grateful hearts, hearts that recognize God’s goodness and blessings, that are not fighting Him and accusing Him of not being good and kind and loving. Can you submit to God no matter how much it hurts? Do you trust Him with questions you cannot answer? Or do you secretly think He’s holding out on you?

In Job 13:15, Job says of God, “THOUGH HE SLAY ME, YET WILL I PRAISE HIM.” Can you say that?

Dear God, give us hearts that trust you! Show us where we need to surrender our opinions and attitudes to you, and fill us with your truth. Help us to submit ourselves to the authority of your word!

ΑΩ

Supply Chain Management.

Last night the grocery store’s bare shelves held one bag of Pedigree dog food.  It was puppy food and the whole bag would not feed our dogs for one day.  Where were the fifty-pound bags of adult dog food?  Where were they when I shopped on Friday?  And again on Sunday?

This is a supply chain problem.  HEB is waiting for Pedigree to deliver dog food.  Pedigree is suffering a low supply of eggs and other ingredients needed to manufacture dog food.  Completely out of food at home, I bought a bag of Rachael Ray.  It smelled like lima beans but the dogs were excited. 

I did not encounter the phrase “supply chain” until I began teaching in the college of business.  There are courses offered in supply chain management, and professors with doctorates in the field, but for me the phrase (coined in 1982) was a new concept.  It’s simple enough–there is a chain of steps supplying products to the consumer: 

  1. Raw materials
  2. Supplier
  3. Manufacturer
  4. Distributor
  5. Retailer
  6. Consumer.

Problems with a single link in this chain will create supply chain nightmares, leaving consumers without dog food, toilet paper, eggs, medicines, and more.

Israel faced a supply chain problem.  God brought a million people into a wasteland and miraculously provided both food and water, feeding them manna—which they grew tired of.  “There is nothing to look at but this manna!” Numbers 11:6.  They became unruly begging for meat and God said He would send so much meat they would eat until it made them sick. 

But Moses had doubts, pointing out to God the supply chain problem:

“If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” 11:22.    

“The Lord answered Moses, ‘Is the Lord’s power limited?  You will see…’” Numbers 11:23.

God sent so much quail the birds were piled three-feet deep.  Everyone gathered quail and “the one who took the least gathered fifty bushels” 11:32.  God does NOT suffer a failure of supply.  There are NO supply chain problems with the Lord. 

ΑΩ

Tempus Fugit.

The hardest thing to comprehend when you are young is getting old. How many teenaged boys think they are invincible? When you are young, life seems like it will go on forever. When I was still in high school one of my friends had a car load of buddies in his car when he decided to race a train to a railroad crossing.

They lost. Four teenaged boys died that day. And to this day, my friends talk about Jimmy’s sad death. Jimmy was a nice guy. But he did not “number his days.” He thought he would live forever.

He did not.

And neither will you.

Moses wrote a psalm with wisdom for the young:

“Our lives last seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty years.

Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow;

Indeed they pass quickly and we fly away….

Teach us to number our days,

That we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90: 10-12.

Tempus Fugit is Latin for “time flies.” It is true. Time flies, and you must use your time wisely. Think about your days, your free time, your weekends, your spring break, your summers. Are you using your time wisely? Are you getting to know your Creator? Are you reading His word? If not, how do you plan to gain wisdom? How do you expect to make good decisions? Do you want to look back on your life when you are old and feel satisfaction? That only comes if you make a lifetime of wise choices.

Dear God, teach ME to number my days. Help me to remember death. I know I will not be here forever. Today is the only chance I will ever get at today. Help me to make the most of it. To love people. To love your word. To be a blessing. To work hard. To store up treasure in heaven. To prepare for my future. Help me to please you and grow every day. Make me more like you.

ΑΩ

Doubters.

Would you doubt Moses? He’s been a hero for thousands of years. But what if he were your little brother? What if he had been floating in a basket and you were the one God used to secure for him a home with the Egyptian princess? 

God spent 80 years preparing Moses for a unique role. But after the plagues, the passover, and the exodus, and a few years into the wilderness journey, his older siblings decided they were as good as he was:

“And they said, ‘Hath not the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? Hath he not spoken also by us?”

They were calling themselves his equal. Guess what the next verse says?

“And the Lord heard it.” (Uh oh.)

God called to them and said, I speak to prophets in dreams and visions, but with Moses I speak face-to-face. “‘Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?’ And the anger of the Lord was kindled… and Miriam became leprous, as white as snow.” Numbers 12:1-10.

Aaron was distraught and apologized to his little brother, begging Moses to intercede on Miriam’s behalf. Moses prayed and God said she would be punished for one week and then healed.

God knows our hearts. He knows when we are wrongly criticizing His servants. Miriam and Aaron sinned against God when they rebelled against God’s servant. We do the same thing. God places authorities in our lives—they represent God to us. Do you understand that? Your pastor stands in a role he was given by God. Rebelling, judging, even criticizing him may mean you are rebelling against God. There is a chain of command, and God is at the other end of that chain. It is often the same with bosses, professors, and especially parents and grandparents: God put them in our lives to represent Him. Sometimes ignoring their wisdom or bucking their authority is rebellion against God.

In the same way, honoring God’s authorities is honoring God.

Honoring parents = honoring God. He sees and promises to bless you. May we humbly submit to God’s authorities on earth.

ΑΩ