Day 254

Who decides what is important? Orientation is exclusively online for my students. The information that took me weeks, days, and hours to put together, was designed to help protect, motivate, and encourage them to be their best. So when my assistant contacts me to lets me know that there are students who do not feel like they need to participate in these online forums and meetings to obtain this information, I get a little peeved. The information has been designed to help you. Why ignore it or brush it aside as if it doesn’t matter? And then have the audacity to be angry when the consequences of your reaction are revealed? For weeks these students received emails, videos, and phone calls letting them know about the school year orientation. You would think because we are in a pandemic and the entire world has changed, that they would be interested in knowing, what else has changed that is specific to them? Now, don’t get me wrong, most of my students participated (all students even got gift bags) and completed the orientation. It is the few that I seem to spend the majority of my time on (I know, ending a sentence with a preposition irritates me too). But all of this got me thinking, of course, about God and His Orientation for us. Primarily 66 books worth or important information. Now my online orientation only took about 15 minutes to go through. What if we took at least 15 minutes a day to go through God’s important information to us?

Now, we each have been given 24 hours in a day. Taking 15 minutes and dedicating it to something, really doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, right? Did you know that 15 minutes is only 1% of your day? Yet if you take that 1% and apply it towards something great, you could change your life for eternity? According to Karly Wood’s article about reading: In a recent survey conducted with the Harris Poll, digital library Scribd found that reading just 15 minutes per day can have staggering positive effects. The digital subscription service found that people reported being 33 percent happier, 69 percent more accomplished and 55 percent more relaxed” (Wood, 2020).

Can you believe that? With just 1% you could be 33% happier, 69% more accomplished and 55% more relaxed! And what if I told you with just 1% of your 24 hour period, that you could find 100% fulfillment, 100% peace, 100% love? If you were to dedicate 1% of your day to reading the Bible, which tells us how you came into being, and why you are here, what your purpose is for, and where you are heading. The Bible is also symmetric. You see the first 2 chapters of the Bible explain a God who is Love, who creates a perfect environment for perfect people to be with their perfect God, all surrounded in joy, pleasure, and love. The last 2 chapters of the Bible give in detail a perfect God, a perfect place, and a perfected people surrounded in love, joy, and pleasure. But we can’t ignore the fact that things got messed up, and sin entered that perfect environment and ruined our lives. Because it tore us from the God who loves us, the environment that protected us, and from each other. The Bible tells us that: your iniquities have separated between you and your God” Isaiah 59:2.

A huge eternal chiasm was created, and filled with fear, apprehension, disease, disappointment, pain and topped off with death. The Bible tells us how all this came to be, and that the God who created decided to step forward to not only heal the chiasm but to recreate what we lost so long ago. The only way to that was to walk a mile in our shoes. The Bible tells us that God chose to set aside His power, prerogative, and privilege so that we could be covered in His power, His prerogative, and His privilege. Don’t believe me? Check out these verses: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. And what about this: But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being.” Philippians 2:7.

That’s all good and all, but even if He does recreate everything, and make all things new and good again, won’t we just fall in the same cycle? Won’t sin just creep back up? Spending 1% of your day would show you that the answer is ABSOLUTELY and emphatically NO: Whatever they plot against the LORD he will bring to an end; trouble will not come a second time.” Nahum 1:9. And you may be wondering, well, how do we know that? Well, when everything is made new, the only thing that will bear the scars of our past is Jesus Himself. For Paul tells us that we will have new bodies: For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.” 1 Corinthians 15:53. But Jesus will have the scars: And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.” Zechariah 13:6.

Those beautiful, loving hands will forever have the scars of our past so that we could have a perfect future. All these beautiful truths are just waiting to be explored by you, and all it takes is 15 minutes of your time, 1% of your day, to find true contentment, joy, and love.

Day 179

When you go to purchase a home or rent an apartment you are typically required to remit a down payment or a security deposit. This provides surety for the asset one is attempting to acquire. This is not a new way of conducting business transactions. Two thousand years ago, God also placed a down payment on your life. But it did not cost Him a fraction or percentage of what He desired, instead, it cost Him everything. God gave up His life as the most incomprehensibly priceless down payment just so you and I can have eternal life. And the down payment is non-refundable. So, my question is: how invested do you think Jesus is in you?

We live in a world that is not going to last much longer. And excentric billionaires know this. Because they have dedicated an unprecedented amount of their own money to the next frontier, space. The way that human beings’ greed have mined the planet of its’ natural resources, how we have abused the home God gave us, speaks volumes of the mistreatment of the gifts of God. Paul speaks of another gift, in Ephesians chapter 2. Here he tells us: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Eph. 2:8-10.

Paul tells us that we have been saved, or that salvation has been purchased for us, through the death of Jesus. And the text states that it is nothing of your own doing, it is a gift of God. One of the ways that Americans acquire wealth is through homeownership. Families would pass their homes to their children. And their children’s children. By then, the home would have been paid off and the recipient of the home would have started life without having to pay off one of the greatest debts in society, they would have a home free and clear. And there was nothing that they did to deserve it or work for it. Now this beautiful story was really only applicable to white or caucasian Americans. Because the United States government instituted and perpetuated poverty and segregation of Black Americans. You can read the 2017 NPR segment entitled: A ‘Forgotten History’ of How the U.S. Government Segregated America,” for yourself and see how the government through their laws and banks purposefully “redlined” neighborhoods which contained Black Americans in them.

But Paul tells us in Ephesians that there is no separation of grace for those who are Black or White, or for Jew or Gentile. In fact, he says: For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” Eph. 2:18-20. For a nation stating “In God, we trust” we certainly have not lived like it. When politicians state “God bless America” they were not including the ones who worked to build it, but the ones who were profiting from the backs of free forced labor. I know that I am blessed to be an American, and I thank God that I was born in a country who in its writings and foundation agreed that all men are created equal. But in practice are unable to uphold its beautiful scripted words. Thomas Jefferson, who quite eloquently penned the majority of the Declaration of Independence, owned almost 1000 slaves. He who became the third president of the nation he helped form, could not abide by the words that he wrote.

Thomas Jefferson was quoted stating that slavery was: a “moral depravity” and “a hideous blot,” but continued to hold human beings as property his entire adult life” (Monticello). And although Mr. Jefferson spoke a good game, he could not will himself to walk the talk. And the reality is that America has never been able to either. But you know who can walk the talk, and did so when He literally walked and talked here on earth? You guessed it, the ONE who sacrificed His life for you. The One placed that downpayment so that you could have eternal life. You can believe Him because “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Numbers 23:19.

And He wants you to be a part of Him, His life, His legacy, regardless of the color of your skin, or your gender. You are priceless to Him. And for those of us that were blocked from the ability to acquire wealth or have decent homes because of the color of our skin, Jesus says: “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3. He wants you with Him. Jesus has invested too much into you to lose you. This world may not be able to see your true wealth or your worth, but to God, you are priceless, because that’s what you cost Him. And if no one has told you in a while, it’s important that you know that you are loved. And you can take that to the bank.

Day 137

What would you be willing to do for someone that you loved? How far would you go? Would you be willing to break all of society’s protocols and seek the help of one that has been branded your enemy, if it meant the restoration of health for your child? Would you abase yourself and be willing to look like a beggar in front of those who looked down their noses because of your nationality? Today I want to talk about a mother’s persistence, wit, and determination that saved her little girl from the grip of death.

She is not given a name, just simply a title of where she hailed from, she is known as the Canaanite woman. The history of Israel and Canaan are less than desirable. And the Jews of the first century had done a magnificent job in promoting nationalistic ideas, so much so that every other nation was looked down on, especially one that served multiple gods. This story is found in Matthew chapter 15. And reading it upon first glance, one might find Jesus as a rude and insolent individual. However, it couldn’t be further from the case. Let’s talk about it.

Jesus was in a non-Jewish city when this happened: And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” Matthew 15:22. A lot is happening here. I am going to do my best to condense it. A woman who was not a Jew came crying out to Jesus asking Him to have mercy, calling Him Lord, and Son of David. Now all of these were Jewish ideologies. Especially the “Son of David” part. How would she know who He was? Because the “Son of David” phrase was used exclusively for the Messiah! Yet, she knew what to call Him. She doesn’t say “Master” or “Teacher” like the Jews called Him, she called Him by the anointed name of the Messiah (Luke 1:32; 2 Samuel 7, Jeremiah 23:5; Revelation 22:16). How interesting, that this woman a foreigner would be able to recognize who the Messiah was, before who the Messiah was sent!

The Jews may have missed Jesus’ true mission of the Messiah, but Jesus knew what He was anointed to do. He knew that there were countless others that were not of the Jewish faith that belonged to Him: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” John 10:14-21.
There was a division among the Jews because Jesus was not what they expected. He did things that made people uncomfortable, like He loved everyone, and had compassion on those that others ignored on the fringes of society. And this Canaanite woman was on the furthest edges of those fringes. Primarily for being a Gentile, next for being a woman. What they did not know, was that before anything, she was a child of God, of whom the Father had sent the Messiah to love, heal, deliver, and save. And that is exactly what Jesus did.
Let’s continue with the story: But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” Matthew 15:23. First of all, no one, absolutely NO ONE was crying out after the disciples. The woman distinctively called out to Jesus, the Son of David. I find it interesting, that the disciples were annoyed with her, and acted like she needed them. To teach them a lesson, Jesus acted as they felt like He should: He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.” Matthew 15:24-28.

Do you see that interaction? Jesus acts like He’s not interested in helping this woman, as if her burden is not His problem. The disciples agree with His attitude, for it was the same one that they had against all foreign people. When Jesus compared her to a dog, she still called Him her Master. Did you see it? ““Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” He’s then is astonished at her faith. Most people would have given up and walked away, but her love for her daughter encircled her in humility and tenacity. This woman’s reaction to save her child trapped in the claws of the devil, was God’s reaction to save us. God humiliated Himself, and debased Himself, in order to descend on this planet and clothe Himself with sinful human flesh and blood, and live in limitations, all in order to save His children, trapped in the claws of the devil.

In Matthew chapter 12 Jesus quotes from the prophet Isaiah (41) what the Messiah, the Servant of God was to do: Behold My servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul has found delight. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.” Matthew 12:18. While no one thought that this woman and her problem was their concern, Jesus knew, that was what He was anointed to do. They wanted to send her away, even when they heard her desperate plea, her daughter was dying, unable to be loosed from demons. And the response of the church? Asking Jesus to tell her to go away, she’s bothering us. How many people have been begging for freedom from the enemy, trapped in his claws, and they are calling on Jesus for help, but we are in their way? We need to ask God every day to help us get out of the way and empty us of self and fill us with the Holy Spirit, so we can lead people to Jesus, and His love, not block them from His salvific power to lose them from the claws of the enemy, to heal them from their broken wounded spirits. Let’s be a catalyst for love and not a barrier to it.

Day 129

My heart is deeply saddened over the death of a young man who was out for an afternoon jog and was gun downed in an altercation that he did not search for. His apparent crime was being Black. Today would have been his 26th birthday. It strikes so close to home because I have two brothers who are Black. And one of them is 27. He likes to remain fit and goes out for jogs. It clears his head. I can’t fathom receiving a phone call from the police telling me that my brother has died, primarily for the amount of melanin in his skin. There’s an active investigation going on into the murder of Ahmaud Abrey, there isn’t a celebration occurring on behalf of his life, because it was taken away from him. And in reading the word of God, I am told to love my enemies. Father, I don’t know how to do that without Your help. And then when my grieving heart feels like it can’t take anymore, God shows me hope. Hope in a man that resembles someOne that I’ve seen before. This person’s name is Franklin McCallie, and he reminds me of Jesus.

You can read about Franklin McCallie here. He was born in the early 1940s to one of the most prominent, affluent white families in the South. He was raised with the embedded knowledge that blacks were lesser humans, and did not have the same capacity as whites to achieve in life. He essentially had black servants who bathed and raised him, they did his laundry and cooked his food. They did what they were called to do, and that was to serve him. His parents, good church-going folk taught him to love his neighbors, just not the black ones, they didn’t count. Listen to what Chattanooga Times reporter Joan McClaine writes about Mr. McCallie: Franklin believed in segregation. He believed blacks were meant for lesser things. Noah cursed Ham with black skin in Genesis and destined his descendents to servitude, his pastor taught….“Jesus loves the little children of the world,” he sang at church. But not the black children in America. “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” he read in the Bible. But not your black neighbor.” (McClaine, 2014).

From his home to his church, Franklin was saturated with hate for an entire people, only because of the color of their skin. Could there be hope for someone who was seeped in generational racism? God arranged a meeting for Franklin to attend while he was in college, in which he was confronted with the light of truth. There, in a meeting run by a black man named John, Franklin saw that black people were just as smart, funny and engaging as white people were. His entire worldview was shifting and it was extremely uncomfortable. And to combat this feeling in his heart, he spat something in which he heard which was untrue, but his father had told him: “Tell me why the colored troops in World War II were lousy soldiers?” he said, unprompted to the black man leading the conversation.” (McClaine, 2014). What John did, changed Franklin McCallie for the rest of his life, and changed the projection of it too. He did not respond in-kind and full of hate. Instead with meekness of heart and with piercing humility he spoke to Franklin in kindness as he addressed his humanity.

John practiced what the word of God states when confronted with a harsh remark: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1. This encounter, the gentle answer of a black man, changed the life of a white man forever. Before we discuss the radical changes that occurred in Franklin’s life, I’d like to ask a question: how many lives have been impacted and destroyed because a harsh words were retaliated in-kind? So, onto Franklin’s repented heart: When he got to his dorm room that night he said he laid on his bed and cried for three hours. A few days later, he dropped out of college.” (McClaine, 2014). He joined the US Navy, and returned to finish his education. Franklin decided that he wanted to teach at schools where he could make the most impact. And one of those places was at the all-white prestigious school in his hometown, where his father Dr. McCallie was the Headmaster.

He and his siblings, their cousin all begged Dr. McCallie to allow the school to be desegregated, but the father entrenched in his deep-seeded racism could not see black people as equals. They were lesser human beings, as he had been taught in the South, and that was that. Franklin went off to not only teach but become the assistant principal at a predominantly black school. He spent decades in education and calling out the evils of racism in society. His family said that he was ruining the family McCallie’s name, but at least he was no longer ruining his soul. Years later Dr. S.J. McCallie, because of his son’s dedication and passion, was moved to let love in, and let hate go: When he found his father on the McCallie School campus later that day the two embraced. Franklin cried on his shoulder. When he looked at his father’s face he saw embarrassment. “I’ve been wrong about black people my whole life,” he told Franklin. He would integrate McCallie, he told Franklin, and with his leading the rest of the city’s elite private schools would follow suit in the early 1970s.” (McClaine, 2014).

What if the men who saw Ahmaud Abrey jogging in the neighborhood just saw him as another young man, and not a black man? Well, he’d probably be celebrating his 26th birthday with his family COVID style. How can we change future Ahmaud Abrey’s from being murdered due to the pigmentation of their skin? McClaine’s article states this: United States, social scientists wanted to understand what sustained the prejudiced mind and what broke it, and in the 1950s Harvard University psychologist Gordon Allport presented a simple answer — contact. Exposure, interaction, friendship, these were the tools to combat hate, Allport argued, and decades of research since have echoed his findings. Bring people together, give them equal footing and misunderstandings fall away. And that was the spark for the idea of hosting dessert conversations at the McCallies’ home. It was simple, but it would work. Contact. (2014). So McCallie opened his home to allow for the contact of black and white people to come together and combat hate.

A few thousand years ago, someOne else came down and made contact with people. He did so because He is LOVE and there is no hate in Him. People spoke about Him (Matthew 9:11), but He saw the bigger picture: Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” John 7:37. And just in case you can’t find Him, He’s right outside of your heart knocking (Revelation 3:20), will you let Love in and hate out?

Day 122

Gary Chapman broke the glass ceiling in emotional communication when he penned the different types of love languages in the ’90s. For almost 30 years his in-depth look at the different aspects of love and how people react to them has been an international bestseller, and with good reason. If you would like to take a look at what your love language is, take the quiz here. I have 2 love languages that score higher than the rest (most people have more than one). Quality Time and Acts of Service are pivotal for me to receive affection in any relationship. When I was a little girl, my parents would make fun of me, because I was always asking my dad to spend “quality time” with the family. At 10 years old I had not read Gary’s book, but I knew what was important to me, and that is quality time. Over 25 years later, it’s still the way into my heart. Now, here’s a caveat, as an introvert, it is very important that you respect my time, and allow me to have adequate alone time. But when we are together (time is HUGE for an introvert to give up), I expect the time to be one filled with quality, meaning you are not on your phone or are being distracted by other things. No, when we spend time together, it’s important enough to you that you do not allow anything, outside of an emergency to distract you. Love languages are so important! But what Mr. Chapman penned down, the Greeks had mastered in the first century. In fact, they too had different dimensions to love, all in their one language. We’ve discussed these in a previous session, all the way back on Day 3. But the four words that were attributed to love in the Greek are eros, storge, philia (phileo), and agape. Today we’re going to take a look at the Bible when love languages got crossed.

This story happens in the book of John. It’s the very last chapter of this gospel. Jesus has walked on earth, He has completed this portion of His ministry. He’s commissioned that they love each other and spread the message of salvation to the entire world. Now He spends a few moments with them prior to leaving them until His second coming. While the disciples gather together eating the breakfast that Jesus had cooked for them (UM, YES!), everyone has one terrible scene that is playing over and over in their mind. This scene is so relentless, it has caused division among them. But Jesus was going to address it because that’s what He does. If there is something uncomfortable in your life that is limiting or stunting your growth in life, He will bring it up.

The scene that had left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth were the words that came out of Peter’s mouth. During the time when he had the opportunity to stand up for Jesus, to just say that he knew Him, who loved them so much, He died for them, Peter denied ever knowing Jesus. And he did it with such malice and force, that it took the people back who heard the words fly out of his mouth. It was a slew of disgusting cures words that belittled the Savior in the eyes of all who heard Peter’s words of defamation. And what hurt the most, was that Jesus heard them too. Just when Peter had finished his tirade of denial, the cock crowed, and the words of Jesus came rushing back to his memory. He turned just at the right time, and there, Peter saw Jesus. All beat up and bleeding, patches of His beard removed by force. And instead of anger and resentment in the eyes of He who would give His life up for him, Peter saw compassion, pitty, and most of, agape love, and this was his reaction: And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.” Luke 22:61,62.

So Jesus now seeks to restore Peter before the eyes of his fellow brethren, and He will do that by asking Peter a series of questions. In the plain reading they all look like the same question and response “Peter do you love me?” answer “Yes Lord I love you.” But that is not what is going on here. Yes, Jesus does ask Peter 3 times do you love me (one for every denial). But Jesus asks Peter the first two times “Peter do you agape me?” And Peter responses with “Lord I phileo you.” On the final round, Jesus asks Peter, who is churning from pain and grief inside, Peter do you phileo me? And Peter tells Jesus that He knows all things! Of course, he phileos Him! All this happens in John 21:15-17. After each question, Jesus gives Peter a command to feed His sheep, which is a metaphor for those wandering looking for the news that will fill them and give them direction in their life. And in the book of Acts, we find that it is Peter, the foul mouth fisherman is the bold speaking preacher of the gospel. What changed him? Love. It was the unfailing Agape of Christ.

Some 2000 years after that interaction between Jesus and Peter, Jesus is still having the same conversations with us. He asks us if we love Him with an agape (unconditional faithful, relational integrity) love, and too many of us respond to Him like Peter did, “Yes Jesus I love you, but with a phileo love.” Meaning we’re not ready to commit to such a deep level, at least not yet. But Jesus is patient, and He told us in His word that: The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” Jeremiah 31:3. That word for “lovingkindness” we have discussed before on Day 96. It is the Hebrew equivalent for Agape, Chesed (pronounced hased). And He knows that we are not on His level yet with everlasting love, but how He desires that we get there. So He remains patient with us, as we grow in love with Him, He deepens our desire for His love, His truth, His word. And the only way to increase your love for another is to spend quality time with them. What are you waiting for, He’s ready, are you?

Day 91

I thought it appropriate to discuss Psalm 91 on the 91st day of this 2020 year. Psalm 91 is known as the Psalm or song of protection. David knew what it meant to face danger. His first job was as a Shepherd protecting his father’s sheep, which was out in the open. This meant nothing but David was between his sheep and life. First Samuel 17 explains how dangerous a shepherd’s job really could be when David explained fighting off a lion and a bear (and killed them)! All to protect his sheep. This is one of the reasons why Psalm 23 is so visually capturing, David was writing what he knew about first hand. David also faced a massive man named Goliath the Giant, and once again killed him. David explains in Psalm 91 that God is the real hero, the One who actually gives the strength for protection. And at the very end of the psalm, God Himself responds to the outpouring of His son’s heart. Let’s talk about it:

The first verse of the Psalm says: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” What or where is the secret place of God? The Hebrew word used to define this secret place is bester. Psalm 27:5 tells us exactly where this secret place is: For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary. He will place me out of reach on a high rock.” The secret place of God is in His Sanctuary. David expresses: Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” Psalm 77:13. So let’s discuss His Sanctuary. Is it the earthly buildings that people frequent on weekends (or at least used to)? Was it the sanctuary that the Israelites had in the desert when they became free? The word of God actually tells us that: Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?” Acts 7:48,49. 

God is saying that His throne is in heaven, so how can we dwell in safety in heaven? There clearly must be more. In Exodus 25 God gives Moses the pattern of His home and tells Moses to make sure it is exact. The Sanctuary was God’s plan of salvation for the whole world to see. The children of Isreal were to participate in the ceremonies to explain how God would fulfill His promise in Genesis 3:15. There was the outer court which represented Christ baptism and death (or His earthly mission), then there was the Holy Place which explains what Jesus does for us as being the Bread of Life (John 6:35), this is represented with the Table of Shewbread. Jesus also said that He was the Light of the world (John 8:12), this is being represented with the Golden Candlestick or Menorah. And finally, the Altar of Incense which symbolizes our prayers, which Jesus said may only be carried through Him (John 14:13). That was the briefest explanation of the first two compartments, now onto what we really are looking for, God’s secret place, or His throne.

God’s throne is depicted by the Ark of the Covenant. That was the only object in the Most Holy place. That is where His Shekinah (which in Hebrew means His dwelling place)glory filled the temple. In Isaiah chapter 6, he saw the angels that surrounded God on His throne, and it says that His train or His holiness filled the temple. God is saying that His secret place is where He can be found, and that is represented by the Ark of the Covenant. What was the ark? Honestly, it was a box. A golden box which had angels looking down on the lid. The lid represented the mercy seat of God, and what was inside the box was the hidden treasure: The Ten Commandments of His Covenant. The commandments are a codified transcript of the character of God, Love. And when David says in Psalm 91 that God will hide him in His secret place, David is talking about God’s love, as exemplified in His covenantal commandments.

When you continue reading the remainder of the chapter with the understanding that God wants to nestle you in His love, then it opens an entirely new meaning to Psalm 91. Because knowing that God is all-powerful (omnipotent) is important, it helps us comprehend creation. As well as His other attributes like omnipresent (He’s everywhere at the same time) and omniscient (He has all knowledge). Those are attributes that if we are honest with ourselves, we cannot connect to. Because we are not all-powerful, we can’t be everywhere at the same time and we learn every day. But Love. Oh yes, we understand that.

And when we know that someone loves us, I mean really loves us, we know for sure that we can trust them. So when the next verse states: my God in whom I trust” Psalm 91:2, David knows that God will always do what is best for him, because God loves him with a love that is more powerful than any: snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence…he terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” Psalm 91:3, 5,6. Why not fear all the problems around the world? Well: Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place” Psalm 91:9.

How does the Psalm end? We know it began with David placing his trust completely in God, which meant He spent time with God and built their relationship by being in His secret place. And now we know that the secret place of God is in His word, in His covenant of love. But now I want to know how does it end for someone who places their trust in God: Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16.

It’s important to understand that because God said He will be with us, doesn’t mean we won’t have problems, the verse states: I will be with him [her] in trouble.” But He won’t leave us there, why? Because we hold fast to Him in love, and we know His name, Jesus.

Day 89

Perhaps one of the most important things a baby needs to thrive is close, physical contact. In the birthing circles, it is called “Skin-to-Skin” contact or moments. After birth nurses will actually schedule these precious and vital moments between mother and infant. In some cases, the first contact can last up to an hour. This bonding period is just as important to the mother as it is to the infant.
I recall my birthing story as my mother tells it to me every year on my birthday. We were in New York, it was cold in January. She started feeling pain that she never felt before and needed to go to the hospital. Her brother was available immediately and they got into his van and took off speeding to the hospital. The keyword is speeding. So naturally, they got pulled over by the police. When the officer saw my mom screaming he looked almost as panicked as my uncle (this is what I’ve heard, as I was not born yet). The police officer told my uncle to follow him. And so my uncle, mother and I (in utero) received a police escort all the way to the hospital. My father soon arrived and was told to walk with my mother up and down the street as she was not “ready” yet. Soon her water broke, and some 14 odd hours later (CRAZY) I was born.
She said as soon as they took me out, they laid me on her chest all bloodied and covered in placenta and other interesting materials. I struggled to open my eyes, but when I heard her voice I moved my head in her direction until we were face to face. She tells me that I knew her voice because she spoke to me every day while I was in her womb. I love that story, and it helps me confirm my connection with my mother. We talk every day, and text several times a day. She’s my best friend, and I love being close to her. God’s like that too. He wants to be close to us too.

In a day and age when distance is key, the word of God says: Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8. Being close to us is so vital to Him that He literally became like us so He could be close to us. And don’t we need Him to be close to us? Jesus explains that: I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6. Here Jesus tells that although God wants to be close to us, we cannot get to the Father except through Jesus. He is our bridge to the Father and no one else. There are other religions that claim that although Jesus is a way to the Father, that there are other “saints” in heaven that we can pray to in order to either appease the Father or to get Him to move on our behalf. The idea sounds interesting, but it’s just not Biblical. Jesus said that He was THE way, and NO ONE can get to the Father except through Him.

Okay, so Jesus is THE only way of salvation, what about those who don’t know Him? Are they not going to be saved? These are questions that must be asked. Is heaven only for the Christians? Well if that was true, heaven would be sparsely populated as Christianity is only a new religion coming around the scene over the last 2000 years. But God loves ALL His children, even if they do not love Him: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:19-21.

Here this passage discusses how God used creation, the beauty the symmetry, the laws that govern it, to show His intellectual and creative design through nature. But there will be people who may feel in their heart of hearts that perhaps there is a God, but then they keep fighting the prompting of the Holy Spirit until they fully reject Him, which is so sad. But this doesn’t stop God from still loving them. John 3:16 did not say that God sent His Son to die for only those who would love Him back, but He sent His Son for the ENTIRE world, not just Jews and future followers of Christ. God doesn’t work that way. There are people who may never have heard the name Jesus, but they will be saved because God has always been drawing us to Himself. Just like a baby may have never met their mother until they are finally birthed, but the familiar sound of love whispering to them will pull them towards that voice of love, and then they will have forever to get to know each other. That is what God is saying here:
Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:3-7.

Did you read that? He says, don’t let the foreigner, in the New Testament we are called Gentiles, make excuses not to be a part of His joy, His house (heaven), His love. The only way that this can happen is through Jesus:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19.

God is not counting our sins against us, because Christ has died for them. He paid the penalty so that we could be one with God again. So that we could one day have that skin-to-skin contact with the God of the universe in the form of the most epic hug ever. But until then, we need to get used to hearing His voice through the pages of His word. And if you close your eyes I know you’ll hear Him whisper: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.” Jeremiah 31:33.