Saturday, February 15, 2020

February 15

We wake up hungry and go to bed full. Breakfast fills us up so we can function, and get on with the act of living. Supper replaces what we lost in energy from our daily work. 

The ritual instituted by God for the consecration of the priesthood of Aaron and his sons included sacrificial bulls and rams. There was a lot of blood smearing and splattering, and anointing of oil, even on the beautiful garments that were just made. There was a lot involved to ready them for their service to the Lord. Fast forward to Jesus, and our consecration into the royal priesthood has taken on a different look. He poured out his blood for us, then anointed us with the Holy Spirit (anointing oil,) all the services were completed in him. After they were consecrated, they were instructed to sacrifice a lamb, along with oil and flour, every morning and every evening, and God promised he would meet them there. 

Jesus has consecrated us into the service of the royal priesthood. Though we no longer have the need to slaughter a lamb day and night, shouldn’t we be replacing that with prayer and praise at breakfast and supper?  He has promised to meet with us, don’t turn down his invitation. Wake up with prayer and praise and go to bed doing the same.

One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight. Exodus 29:39. It shall be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet with you, to speak to you there. Exodus 29:42

Friday, February 14, 2020

February 14

There is one thing that most people don’t know about me, and it’s that I have a degree in fashion design. At an early age I began sewing, and continued that throughout various seasons in my life. I have the skills to draw an image, create a pattern for that image, gather the needed items, and sew it all together. 

God had a very specific design for the clothing that Aaron and his sons had to wear as priest when ministering before him for the people. No detail was left out, from the turban on top of the head, the checkered coat, the embellishments, all the way down to the underwear. God didn’t leave the creation of these things to just anyone, he had Moses speak to those who had the ability to follow his designs; specifically those whom he had fill with a spirit of skill. 

God has given us each an amount of wisdom to do the work of his ministry. Use the talents he has given you, or branch out and try something new, and you will find your way into your calling. 

"You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood." Exodus 28:3

Thursday, February 13, 2020

February 13

It is common, in Florida, to use your grill all year long. We use ours almost every day because I don’t like to keep smelling my food all night long. When you cook on the grill, drippings and such will fall through the grate and eventually become ashes. If you leave your meat on the grill too long on high heat, your meat will also become ashes! 

There is a scripture in Revelation that describes the martyrs who are under the altar, crying out for vengeance for the shedding of their blood on earth. They were killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony they held. I never understood why they were under the altar! Now I do! The alter is a grill! These martyrs were sacrificed, and their souls are like ashes under the grill. I never put two and two together until I started studying the Old Testament, and Exodus.

The martyrs were given white robes and were told to rest, and wait for the full number of those killed, as they had been killed. Jesus has made sure they are comfortable until he avenges their deaths.

Practical use for this today: Always refer back to the New Testament when studying the Old Testament, and vice versa, they go together hand in hand.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. Revelation 6:9

You shall make pots for it to receive its ashes, and shovels and basins and forks and fire pans. You shall make all its utensils of bronze. You shall also make for it a grating, a network of bronze, and on the net you shall make four bronze rings at its four corners. Exodus 27:3-4

Wednesday, February 12, 2020

February 12

If you have ever wondered what it means to be lavished, ask God to give you that word for your “word of the year!” Many things are happening that are making me feel “lavished” with love. If I wrote them all out, you would think I was bragging, so for now, I will spare you the details of them, except for one. I had the pleasure of riding in the back seat of the car with my grandson Lucas. I ask his mom and dad if they had the chance to read my post about the menorah, and they hadn’t, so I explained what I had learned. Lucas piped in saying that he knew about the ark of the covenant, and began telling the story of when King David was bringing it to the temple. He had just learned about it in children’s church and explained it perfectly with all the details! Our hearts are connected in a way that goes beyond heredity. We have a kinship that God created. He is a child after my own heart. He knows Jesus! What more could a grandmother ask for? Pay attention to the details of the things happening around you and in your life. Don’t miss God’s blessings because you don’t recognize them. Though this may seem like a little thing, in the eyes of God, this is major. My heart is full, and lavished!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

Tuesday, February 11, 2020

February 11

 I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve been reading, and studying in Exodus. There is a funny thing that happens when you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will highlight certain things that you may not have noticed when previously read. I didn’t realize that the golden lamp stand, that God specifically designed, and conveyed to Moses, is the modern day menorah! Who knew! What’s more, my house doesn’t have one yet. It’s an item specifically shown to Moses on the mountain, something very important to God, to represent the seven spirits of God, as referred to in Revelation 4:5. This very lamp stand, as seen by John in his vision, sits in the throne room of God! The things of God were first designed in Heaven. Shouldn’t the depiction of this lamp stand be in every God-loving church? Though we are not privy to what Moses saw when he was on the mountain, God was very detailed in his description, and surely what we see in this modern day, is a representation of what he saw. Does the menorah represent Jesus? He is our light in the darkness, so I would say, yes it does. 

Maybe there would be a little less anti-Semitism in this world if our children were taught the truth of the Jewish traditions, and how they relate to Jesus. Pay attention to the Word of God, and learn as much as you can, so you are better informed.

"From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God," Revelation 4:5

"You shall make seven lamps for it. And the lamps shall be set up so as to give light on the space in front of it." Exodus 25:37

Monday, February 10, 2020

February 10

If you’ve ever built a house, you know how grueling it can be. My husband is a builder. When he builds a home or building, he has specific instructions that he must follow. Everything is detailed down to the very last inch. He is in the process of building a community of duplexes, and each phase of the process must be approved by each area of the community that it touches, like the road department, water and sewer, electric, fire department, and so on. The process is complicated, and takes the cooperation of all these groups just to get the project through permitting; and that’s just the beginning! Then, approvals must be obtained throughout the process by inspectors to make sure the plans are being followed. 

God has the plan for our lives, and they are detailed, and specific. If you get a check in your spirit, don’t ignore it, it could be the Holy Spirit trying to guide you, just like an inspector does during the building process. If you don’t listen to his instruction, and correction, your building will be out of plumb, and your temple will fall apart.

And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being shown you on the mountain. Exodus 25:40

Sunday, February 9, 2020

February 9

When Moses was given the law, he was in the presence of God for 40 days and 40 nights. Can you even imagine that? We have a hard time sitting in church for two hours, and even less tolerance for sitting in his presence to study and pray. As followers, we tithe our money, if you don’t, you’re missing out on a blessing, but what about your time? If you tithed your time daily, that would be 2 hours and 24 minutes that you owe the Lord each day. That’s 16 hours and 48 minutes a week! On top of that, he asks us to rest one day out of the week. One day is 24 hours, so if we add that together with our daily time tithe, that comes to 40 hours and 48 minutes! On that weekly rest requirement, we sleep for a portion of that time, but you can’t make up all that you owe in one day of rest, besides, you should be resting. Maybe we are missing a blessing by not tithing our time. If Moses can sit in the Lord’s presence for 40 days and 40 nights, why can’t we give the Lord a couple of hours a day; I believe our lives would be so much better if we did. Just something to think about.

Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights. Exodus 24:18