New Horizons...

Most people appreciate stability and consistency in their lives. But what if God looks at us more like pioneers than settlers? What if we are called to be on the move?
“Back at Horeb, God spoke to us: ‘you’ve stayed long enough at this mountain. On your way now, get moving. Head for the Amorite hills, the Canaanite country all the way to the Euphrates. Look, I’ve given you this land’.” ~Deut. 1:6-7
It’s true that God seems to applaud movement through the ages. Remember how the people in Genesis wanted to build a tower and settle the population in the valley. But God intervened and mixed up their languages so they scattered to find their own people groups. After all, His instructions to mankind through the ages was for them to fill the earth and multiply. That means movement. The study of human migration over the centuries is a very interesting one. In the 1800’s there was a major migration from the Northern hemisphere to the South. And God used it greatly to spread the gospel to the Southern continents. Now in this century there is a major migration from the South back to the North. Once again we are beginning to see how that movement has some spiritual designs. Even if we aren’t moving to new towns, God has some movement plans for us. He looks at His people and His churches and calls them to take His gospel to some overlooked places. We are created for vision and we’re at our best when we are pursuing NEW HORIZONS? ~Verlon

Know Your Enemies...

The idea of having enemies is harsh. Many try to live as if there is no such thing. I wish I could avoid that reality altogether. But the fact is, there are people and forces in our lives that don’t want what is best for us. If they have their way we will end up in an oppressed state. So a wise person acknowledges that fact and embraces the idea that there are some relationships to be avoided. A problem comes however in recognizing some enemies.
“God spoke to Moses, from here on make the Midianites your enemies. Fight them tooth and nail. They turned out to be your enemies when they seduced you in the business of Peor.” ~Numbers 25:16-17
Israel was headed toward their Promised Land with the presence of God travelling beside them and a vision of a great future before them. It was at this time that the people from Moab decided on an evil plot. Rather than attack Israel directly they had their women seduce Israel’s men and turn their eyes from their determined march toward the Promised Land. The Moabite women were very effective and became so emotionally intertwined that the men of Israel couldn’t bring themselves to call them an enemy, even though they were now doing surprising things. Know this...it’s not the enemy that attacks us directly that’s most dangerous, it’s the one that comes like a friend but seduces us to want something other than God’s vision. God’s plans for us must be protected! Do you KNOW YOUR ENEMIES? ~Verlon

Blessed...

It appears that some people have an easier life than others. Some enjoy one good luck story after another while others get one bad break after another. There is a Chinese proverb, ‘if you want to get ahead, hang around the lucky’. I have never liked the idea of luck. And fortunately, it’s not in scripture. There is the idea of favor…
“God said to Balaam, Don’t go with them, and don’t curse the others – they are a blessed people”. ~Numbers 22:12
The nation of Israel was on the move and entering Moab country. The leaders saw this massive group and began to make plans for war. They were a superstitious lot, so before attacking they sent a fee to a spiritualist named Balaam to put a curse on Israel. But when Balaam went into his meditation God spoke clearly and told him not to curse the people because they were blessed. In fact, Balaam tried 3 other times to curse them for money, but God’s blessings only got louder in Balaam’s hearing. What an amazing thing to be a blessed people. And yet when I look at Israel’s doubt, their complaining over food, their rebellion against marching orders, and their wild night worshipping the golden calf; it’s amazing that they were blessed at all. But God promised them generous favor, so they had favor. The basis of favor is always God’s generosity and when we expect God’s blessing in our lives it deeply impacts us. Are you aware of God’s favor for you? Of course it helps if we are able to walk in a coordinated way with God’s plans, but it’s a wonderful thing to know you are BLESSED. ~Verlon

Afraid Of God's Plans...

Some people are at war with God’s will in their lives. The basis of the conflict is usually fear. In fact, the driving force behind many rebels is fear. There is a phrase that plays over and over in their minds that goes like this, ‘if I do exactly what God directs, then He’ll make me (fill in the blank with your most undesirable task). It’s a silly leap, but it’s been happening for centuries.
“The people of Israel said to Moses, ‘we are as good as dead. This is our death sentence. Anyone who even gets close to the Dwelling of God is as good as dead. Are we all doomed?” ~Numbers 17:12-13
The nation of Israel had just finished a conversation with God about which tribe was to serve as priests. God made it very clear He wanted the tribe of Levi by making Aaron’s wooden staff sprout blooms and almonds while the other tribal leaders staff’s remained just sticks. The people saw God’s will and their own will reacted. As happen so often, they reacted with fear. That’s what the above verse is all about. When ever God makes His plans abundantly clear mankind the world over tends to react. The realization that we have less power bothers us and our will recoils. Sometimes the will reacts outwardly by forcefully demanding our way anyway. But usually it reacts inwardly by running to irrational fear and fearing what this controlling God will make us do next. But lets stop the presses for a moment. Hasn’t God proved His love for us? Aren’t we His cherished sons and daughters? Should any of us really be AFRAID OF GOD’S PLANS? ~Verlon

Grumbling Quotient...

Mankind through the ages has felt a certain right to grumble. If something doesn’t go right at work we grumble, if somebody treats us weird we grumble, if we get cut off in traffic we grumble, and if things don’t work out the way we like at church we grumble too. But that last one can be costly…
“Grumbling broke out the next day in the community of Israel, grumbling against Moses and Aaron.” ~Numbers 16:41
The thing that is so amazing about this verse is when it occurred. Just one day earlier Korah and 250 friends had rebelled against Gods leadership and the earth opened up and swallowed them whole. That must have been frightful to watch. But here it was the next day and the people were grumbling against what God just did. It was such an instinctive way of acting they didn’t even realize that was what Korah and crew had just done. They couldn’t see that their grumbling was just more disrespect and rebellion. Mankind is forever blind to this stuff. We feel absolutely entitled to gripe and complain whenever we want. While grumbling injures every relationship, it’s especially harmful to Christ and His church. Accordingly there are special warnings given to the followers of Christ who are commissioned to reflect Him well on the earth. But we have this problem, we’ve all embedded some measure of grumbling into our habits & personalities. It might do us good to evaluate our attitudes about Christ’s leadership and His church. Just out of curiosity, what is your GRUMBLING QUOTIENT? ~Verlon

Re-Gathering Our Desires...

Oh how I wish that once I learned a lesson, it would be with me forever. But somehow my spiritual gains tend to slip backwards. Have you noticed that about yourself?
“Tell them that from now on they are to make tassels on the corners of their garments. When you look at these tassels you’ll remember and keep all the commandments of God, and not get distracted by everything you feel or see that seduces you.” ~Numbers 15:38-39
The nation of Israel found themselves forgetting to follow God’s plans. So Moses had them sew tassels on their robes as visual reminders that they were in a covenant with God to live their lives His way, and not their way. Those tassels dangled in full view and drug in the dirt and got in the way of everything, but became a constant reminder for them. Have you faced your need for reminders? Without re-gathering our desires to Christ’s ways every so often, our hearts will soon do exactly what Israel’s hearts did and become overly affected by what we feel and what we see! Scripture puts this in the category of seduction, much the same as the wandering-eyed man who drifts into the arms of a prostitute. Reminders are a very valuable part of following Christ. They come in many forms; daily scripture readings and meditating on what you read, taking time to pray and enjoy the Lord, gathering with other Christ-followers and encouraging each other, and engaging in Christ’s mission. These are modern day tassels that refocuses us on Christ and RE-GATHERS OUR DESIRES. ~Verlon

The Outsider...

There is a common oversight that occurs in many people; they overlook the people around them that aren’t ‘in’ the group. But look at this divine attitude…
“The community has the same rules for you and the foreigner living among you. This is the regular rule for future generations. You and the foreigner are the same before God.” ~Numbers 15:13-15
God has always had an eye for the foreigner. Here it shows up again when He commissions His Jewish people to develop attentiveness and an ‘open door’ policy for foreigners. God makes it clear that He see’s the new person the same as He see’s the natural-born insider. God designed us to be in social circles. In fact, we can’t be healthy and whole people without it. Family circles were His idea. Neighborhood and living circles were His idea. Church and God-family circles were also His idea. So often though, after we’ve been ‘in’ a family circle for a while we forget how isolated it feels to be on the outside looking in. But our Lord has never forgotten that. So when He gathers people together He expects us to have an attentive eye for the ones who feel like they are not in the inner circle. Inclusion and embrace are the order of the day. In the OT, God has always worked mightily for groups that honor the foreigners and brought correction to those who mistreat and ignore them. And in the NT the gospel has spread greatly when Christ’s people have embraced and included the marginalized. If we let Him, Christ will gives us an eye for THE OUTSIDER! ~Verlon

Encourage Somebody Today...

There are those in the mix of humanity that seem to enjoy popping others dreams. They themselves are probably jaded because their dreams haven’t materialized, so when they hear things like faith, vision, dreams, and opportunities they despise it. But this is a rather dangerous practice…
“So it happened that the men Moses sent to scout out the land returned to circulate false rumors about the land causing the entire community to grumble against Moses, all these men died. Only Joshua and Caleb were left alive of the men who went to scout out the land.” Numbers 14:36-38
I know this isn’t a very cheery verse, but it serves up a good point. I find it interesting that all the spies who came back and exaggerated the negatives to the people were dead in a very short period of time, while the two who came back invigorated by God’s generosity lived very long and strong and fruitful lives. In fact, later it says that they were as strong in their 80’s as they were in their 40’s. Here’s the point; people who discourage and weaken others have a short shelf-life themselves. God’s ways requires some faith and courage. He expects the mature to breathe courage into others so they’ll grasp His plans and it’s never a good thing when a mature person minimizes courage and faith. I don’t know about you, but I want to be listed among those who help others walk boldly toward God’s plans. Do you need to ENCOURAGE SOMEBODY TODAY? ~Verlon

God-Opportunities...

Humanity has struggled to see and engage in opportunities. We tend to get overly affected by the challenges that come along with every open door.
“We went to the land to which you sent us and oh, it does flow with milk and honey. Just look at this fruit. The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak." ~Numbers 13:28
The children of Israel had talked about their promised land for some time. But as they stood on the edge of it and looked at the challenges, their ‘promised land’ talk lost its luster. The land was indeed everything God had promised. It was fabulous. But it had greater challenges than they ever imagined. Here’s a principle of life that is true of God’s promises too; Every great God-opportunity is filled with challenges to be outlasted and opposition to be confronted! The amazing thing is, God must think we’re up to it. Of course He’s going to help us out…a lot…but He still thinks we’re up to the challenge. The question is, do we believe we can work with God good enough to obtain His greatest callings and best opportunities? Here’s a second principle about these moments; We can do far more than we think we can! Great God-opportunities await those who have faith in God and have some faith in themselves! ~Verlon

Humble...

Humility is an important quality. Most of us probably don’t fully grasp its importance to Gods plans.
“Now the man Moses was a quietly humble man, more so than anyone living on Earth.” ~Numbers 12:3
Aaron and Miriam started gossiping behind Moses back about his wife not being a true Jew. The talk turned into superior feelings over Moses and threatened the unity of Israel’s leadership team. So God had to intervene. I find it interesting that Gods response to them was noting that Moses was the humblest man on earth. This is especially interesting when we take into account that Moses was also responsible for more miracles of awesome proportion than any man on earth. He was known for his miracles and power, yet God saw him as humble. There is a book about ‘how great leaders fall’. In it the author gave four “A’s” of one’s demise. The last “A” into failure was ‘Adultery’. But the first “A” toward failure this author gave was ‘Arrogance’. Some people have the ability to create great results on the earth. These are things they can be proud of, but if they are not careful they can begin to feel superior to others. This is arrogance! And arrogance is the first step toward the failure cycle. God wants his children free from this particular weakness and warns us numerous times that ‘pride comes before a fall’. He wants us to chose the humble attitudes so we’ll remain dependent upon Him and so His love will always flow freely through us. ~Verlon