Joshua was protective of Moses’position as lead prophet. Moses, however, was generous. He did not feel threatened by other prophets but his own priestly family- Miriam and Aaron grumbled about his position of leadership. God was the one who nipped all murmuring in the bud with the proverbial spit in Miriam’s face. Amazingly, Moses’ humility was what allowed him to foster this personal and unique relationship with God!! -Teresa

Numbers 11:28,29  and 12:1-16 (ESV)

28 “And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp”….

12 “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed.

10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous,[d] like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us[e] because we have done foolishly and have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” 13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. 16 After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.”

 The Lord’s face is shining on Northern California with all the rain we’ve had! Just as we’ve had the rain put on us,  God’s name was put on the Israelites. Because He chose them as His people, God blessed them and they have blessed every nation on earth with the gift of God’s son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Moses was given this benediction from God so that Aaron and his sons would speak His blessing over the children of Israel prior to the tabernacle being consecrated. -Teresa

Numbers 6: 24-27 (ESV)

24 “The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

26 the Lord lift up his countenance[c] upon you and give you peace.

27 “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

 What issue looms before you that seems larger than the Titanic? It may take a little time to turn it around* but God is able to not only turn the Titanic around but to also take down a mountain!! It starts with a change of our individual hearts by forgiving others and forgiving ourselves. When we truly believe that He has done this for us, that His provision is enough to cover our debt, then we walk by faith with God!-Teresa

Mark 11: 20-25 (ESV)

“As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received[c] it, and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”[d]

*Amy Grant song lyric, “It takes a little time”, 1998.

 Dinah chose to see the women of the land where Jacob, her father, had brought the family to settle. The problem arose when a disgraceful man named Shechem saw her first. Since Jacob did not choose to deal with the shame caused his daughter, her brothers took it on, by deceiving the young prince. In the end, there was bloodshed and loss for all. Dinah’s defilement meant her life would never be the same. In much the same way, our defilement by the world system prevents us from ever experiencing the life that God intended. The good news is that He is a father who does not ignore the shame caused by sin. He provides a way for wrongs to be made right. It does require consecrated hearts and a burial of all that keeps us from worshiping Him. (See ch. 35). – Teresa

Genesis 34: 1.2 (KJV)

1 “And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.”

 Although this fruitless pear tree looks prolific, I know that not even one pear will be harvested!

The opposite is true of this Hebrew poem, where (v.5) states that out of the servant’s suffering comes healing, I am confident that God’s  plan to bring righteousness for many will be accomplished.

How can we be confident of this? The answer is substitutionary atonement.

Our sin is completely healed through His purpose for coming to earth.

How? We are spiritually  given ressurection life through faith in His atonement for our sin. This is possible because of His righteousness. -Teresa

#Heisable#trustHimtoday#SonofGod

Isaiah 53: 5-12 (ESV)

5″But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

    yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

    so he opened not his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

    and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

    stricken for the transgression of my people?

9 And they made his grave with the wicked

    and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

    he has put him to grief;[g]

when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt,

    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[i] and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

    make many to be accounted righteous,

    and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j]

    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]

because he poured out his soul to death

    and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

    and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

Although Ben Franklin felt that the turkey was more courageous than the eagle, I saw these turkeys sitting on a fence this morning and laughed! Thankfully, God is more like Benjamin Franklin than me because He looks beyond the surface appearance to the heart. The poor may appear to the world system as those who have made bad choices but God sees the heart of the matter. Many of the poor are given less than an optimal start in life. In fact, they often have overcome unbelievable odds (i.e. orphans in Uganda, Africa who are searching for food at “baby” ages, read inspirational book “Kisses from Katie”) . When we show mercy we are like God and He is merciful to us. – Teresa

 Psalm 41: 1-3 (ESV)

“Blessed is the one who considers the poor![a]

    In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

    he is called blessed in the land;

    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.

3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

    in his illness you restore him to full health.[b]”

  

 Although Jairus was a very important ruler in the synagogue, his daughter had to wait for another woman to be healed first. The woman had no name or connection to religious circles (since she was considered unclean). This woman was whom Jesus called “daughter”. She suffered much, was truly poor, yet trusted that a touch from Jesus would heal her and it did. – Teresa #neverunderstimateHisgrace

Mark 5: 24-34 (ESV)

“And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

When David was terrified by the presence of the angel of the Lord, he repented at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and God had mercy on the people. This was the same place where many years earlier, Abraham willingly offered up in obedience his son, Isaac, who was then a young man. God saw Abraham’s heart of faith and stopped Him, by “providing a lamb” for the sacrifice (see Genesis 22:8). Even so, this place of extreme repentance became the site of Solomon’s ornate temple, built for worshiping the God above all gods. Solomon had the wisdom and skills to make a profoundly intricate work, majestic enough to cause the glory of God to descend on it in a cloud (see 2 Chronicles 5:14). Even today, we repent and worship at this site as it is also the mountain where Jesus, the lamb of God, gave himself up for the sins of the world.  What a place of repentance, as we picture our sin being dripped on by the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord and being substituted by His righteous atonement in God’s sight. Lord, you terrify us with your presence because you are so holy. Purify us by the blood of your Son and our Savior so that we may worship You in Spirit and in truth. We rejoice because of your provision for us. -Teresa

2 Chronicles 3: 1-3 (NLT)
3 So Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David, his father. The Temple was built on the threshing floor of Araunah[s] the Jebusite, the site that David had selected. 2 The construction began in midspring,[t] during the fourth year of Solomon’s reign.

1 Chronicles 21: 18-30 (ESV)

David Builds an Altar

18 Now the angel of the Lord had commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at Gad’s word, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord. 20 Now Ornan was threshing wheat. He turned and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. 21 As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David and went out from the threshing floor and paid homage to David with his face to the ground. 22 And David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the Lord—give it to me at its full price—that the plague may be averted from the people.” 23 Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.” 24 But King David said to Ornan, “No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” 25 So David paid Ornan 600 shekels[f] of gold by weight for the site. 26 And David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the Lord, and the Lord[g] answered him with fire from heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. 27 Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.

28 At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, he sacrificed there. 29 For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time in the high place at Gibeon, 30 but David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.