Leave Me Alone

 Scripture:

“So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation.”” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭32‬:‭10‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God and Moses were having a talk about the people God had just rescued from the hands of the Egyptians. The people had made an idol to worship and God wanted to destroy all of them and start over with Moses to make a great nation. When God said, “Leave me alone” to Moses, He was saying, stop interceding for them because I want to destroy them. The intercession of Moses stopped the hand of God from destroying His people.

Application:

Intercession is powerful Intercession moves the hand of God. Many time in Scripture, God intended to destroy His people for their many sins, but someone interceded before Him on their behalf. To interceded means to stand between or stand in the gap. An intercessor stand in between God and the people, asking God for mercy on behalf of the people. God always hears the cries of the intercessor. Our generation needs those who will stand before God day and night interceding for the people. May God have to tell me one day to leave Him alone because I am praying so much. 

Prayer:

Father, help me to honor the place of the intercessor better in my life and ministry. Let my life be a life of prayer and intercession for Your people. Teach me to hear your voice and act on what You tell me. Help me not to be like Aaron, who did what the people wanted, but like Moses who represented God well to those he was leading. Help me to lead well.

Yours,

Jeff

Consecrated

 Scripture:

“I will reside among the Israelites, and I will be their God, and they will know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out from the land of Egypt, so that I may reside among them. I am the Lord their God.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭29‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God gave Moses and Aaron very precise details of how to set apart the priests, the objects of worship, the sacrifices, etc. for one purpose, “I will reside among the Israelites, and I will be their God… so that I may reside among them.” Everything taking place in the consecration of sacred objects and the priests, was so that God would dwell among His people. God went to extreme details because He wanted to dwell with His people.

Application:

We can answer the cry of God to be with His people by living consecrated lives to Him. He has always desired a people who would be completely His and He would be their God. We are the Temple of His Spirit and as we honor Him, He will work in and through us. He is looking for pure vessels He can dwell in. I want God to reside in me and to be one with Him. I want to live a consecrated life and walk with God as has been His cry from the beginning.

Prayer:

Father, I want to walk with You. I want to live my life for Your purposes. Dwell with me. Walk with me. Teach me Your ways and show me Your heart. I want to provide a place for You to dwell among Your people. Show me how to prepare my life as Your sanctuary, not our of legalistic regulations, but because I long for Your presence. I long to walk closely with You.

Forever Yours,

Jeff

A Dwelling Place for God

 Scripture:

“Let them make for me a sanctuary, so that I may live among them.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭25‬:‭8‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation: 

In this passage, God is telling Moses exactly how to make the Tabernacle. He went into great detail about exactly what it was to be like. The purpose for it is the heart of this verse. “So that I may live among them.” God went into great detail to prepare a place that He could dwell and live among His people. From the beginning, God’s purpose has to be with His people. 

Application:

In the New Covenant, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are constantly being made into a place where God can dwell and live within us. The heart of God throughout Scripture is to BE with His people. Sin separated man from God and God has been working throughout history to make His dwelling place among people. He sent Jesus to die, so He could dwell within His people. Now, because of Jesus, the veil in the temple was torn and we have been filled with God’s Spirit. We have the ability to answer the cry of God for centuries, that “He could be our God and we could be His people and that He can dwell among us.  May we take seriously the fact that Christ now lives in us.

Prayer:

Father, let my life bring You honor. Help me to live in such a way that You can live among Your people through me. I offer You my life, my heart, my everything. Teach me to walk with You. Live in me. Teach me to walk with You and to honor Your presence in my life. Let me be a Temple you enjoy living in.

Yours,

Jeff

Covenantal Blessings

 Scripture:

“You must serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from your midst.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭23‬:‭25‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This verse falls in the middle of Moses’ meeting with God and receiving all God’s commands and decrees. God was giving them the revelation of how to walk with God and to have His blessing on their lives. This one verse in the midst of an entire covenant, is powerful. God says that if we serve Him completely, He would bless our bread and water and remove sickness from us.

Application:

There are covenantal blessings when we walk with God as He tells us to. God promises here that if we serve Him according to His ways, and not the ways of the rest of the world, we will be blessed and He will heal our sicknesses. As God’s children, we must follow Him, not according to our ways, but according to His ways. When we do that, we can be assured that He will bless those who wholeheartedly follow Him. Hebrews tells us that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him.

Prayer:

Father, bless my bread and water, my provision and sustenance. Let Your blessings fall on my life. Take sickness from my family. Let Cheryl and me walk in divine health. Restore my youth like the eagles as I pursue You. Teach me to follow Your ways and to do Your will. Let my life be used for Your glory and the extension of Your kingdom.

Yours Always,

Jeff

Preparation before Presence

 Scripture:

“The Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and make them wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭19‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God spoke to Moses in this passage, telling him to sanctify the people because in three days He was going to come down on Mt Sinai in front of all of them. The people had to prepare for God’s presence. God knew He was going to come down so He warned the people to prepare themselves through sanctification. 

Application:

When God is going to move in power or manifest Himself, there is always a season of preparation. Preparation comes before presences. Many of us long for the presence of the Lord to come and touch lives. If we were to hear His voice clearly, it may be saying, “purify and sanctify yourselves because I am about to do some things.” Preparation and cleansing tells God you are serious with Him and ready for Him to come down in power. We should always walk in a spirit of sanctification, being set apart for the Lord and His purposes. 

Prayer:

Father, cleanse me. Purify my life. Show me the things I need to stop and the things I need to start. I long for Your presence. I long to see You move in the earth in greater ways. I long to see Your goodness revealed to the multitudes. Come Holy Spirit and show us Your glory. Help me to live a sanctification life that is ready for all You want to do.

Yours,

Jeff

Too Much

 Scripture:

“You will surely wear out, both you and these people who are with you, for this is too heavy a burden for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.”  ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭18‬:‭18‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses saw how Moses was judging the people all day long every day and confronted him about how to lead people. In this verse, Moses received the mentorship of his father-in-law who told him, “you are not able to do it by yourself.” Jethro saw what Moses was doing and realized quickly that what he was doing was not sustainable.

Application:

There comes a time in life and leadership when we must realize that we cannot do it all by ourselves. Sometimes in ministry I get worn out because I don’t share the responsibility. It becomes what Jethro said, “too heavy a burden.” I know I need to delegate more and more, especially as I get older and have more doors of opportunity opening around me. I need to trust the people around me more and more.

Prayer:

Father, help me to get rid of a savior complex and to release ministry and leadership to others. Help me to share the weight and responsibility with those around me. Teach me to be effective at raising sons and daughters who can help carry the load of ministry. Lead me Holy Spirit into the most effective years of my life. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Bless Me Also

 Scripture:

“Also, take your flocks and your herds, just as you have requested, and leave. But bless me also.”” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭12‬:‭32‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Pharaoh had seen all the plagues come against his country because he wouldn’t let God’s people go and worship Him in the wilderness. He had just witnessed the final plague, the death of every firstborn son in Egypt. His own son died along with every firstborn son in his nation. The sons of the Israelites were fine, so he told Moses and Aaron, to do everything they had requested, but he also asked that they would bless him when they did it. He didn’t want to be under God’s judgment one more day. He finally understood that God is all-powerful and he wanted to be on God’s good side from that point on.

Application:

Even skeptics and enemies of God, when they see His awesome deeds, will ask for His blessing. There comes a time in people’s lives who have struggled with God, when they will finally surrender to Him and desire His blessing instead of the results of their disobedience. Our place is to continue to declare truth to them, while waiting and watching God work to soften their hearts. Our prayer is always for those who don’t know Christ, to have an encounter with Him and ask for His blessing.

Prayer:

Lord, continue to work in those I love but that are not serving You. Do what is necessary to bring them to You. Let them see Your awesomeness and ask for Your blessing. Help me to represent You well as I speak to them. Help me to be a mouthpiece for God to those who are far from God. Let me speak what You are speaking and do what You are doing. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff