Translate

20210218

The True Nature of God

Moses is again interceding for the people. Moses is a picture (type) of Christ who intercedes for the people. Exodus 34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it [is] a stiff necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. 

The Lord accepted Moses' petition  because in Exodus 34:5, the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...

But, that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

So those that do not accept God's plan of Salvation will be rejected. We must repent, turn and confess our sins and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and then and only then will God's true nature be revealed to us!

20210129

Leave Sinai

Exodus Chapter 33. The Lord told Moses to take the people and leave Sinai. He told them to go up to the land of milk and honey, the promised land. But, He said that He would not go with them. In the previous chapter the people had turned away from the Lord and put their trust in a cow. Hard to believe but people will be people. The Lord was still a bit perturbed over the whole matter. He called them a stiff-necked people and said that He could come into their midst and consume them in one moment. 

Moses, who is a type of Christ, reminded the Lord of His contract with the people of Israel. The Lord said that He would honor His contract because of Moses. He also wanted to see an attitude of repentance. 

Israel did repent. Exodus 33:4. And when the people heard this bad news, they mourned, and no one put on his ornaments. For the Lord had said to Moses, Say to the children of Israel, You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you. So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb. 

Our relationship with the Father is contractual and rock solid. If we repent and trust in Jesus, we will be saved. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Our relationship with the Father is also conditioned upon a repentant heart. Revelation 2:5. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 

20210112

The People Rose Up to Play

Moses was up on the mountain. Exodus 32. Apparently he was up there for a long time. Probably enjoying his time with the Lord as he received the 10 commandments. Well, the leader was absent and the people were tested. They decided to worship a cow instead of God Almighty. Its kind of hard to believe but people do this all the time. They don't necessarily start trusting in beef but they do turn aside after deciding to trust in Jesus. 

The people, without considering the cost, said "All that the LORD hath spoken we will do." And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD. Exodus 19:8

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have [sufficient] to finish [it]? 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him, 14:30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Making a commitment to the Lord is a life-long process. Consider the fact that this is something you will be doing for the rest of your days! Then take the plunge. The water is great!  

20210103

The Sabbath

 The Sabbath is a commandment of God given to Israel.  It initiated with the giving of the manna when Israel left their captivity in Egypt. It is fourth of the ten given to Moses at Mount Sinai. (The Decalogue) Originally set by God Himself when He rested from His work. Six days He worked to create things as we know them today. On the seventh day He rested. Genesis 2:3. The reason that He was able to rest was because everything was "good". Genesis 1:31. 

Then sin came on the scene. That wonderful rest was interrupted. Man fell. Fallen man is not able to rest! True rest was restored with the arrival of Jesus. Matthew 11:28. But the commandment to rest was given to the Jews at Mount Sinai. It was a sign between God and Israel. Is is a Jewish institution. 

The Mosaic law, rules and regulations, were put aside at the death of Christ. The New Testament has been revealed. Matthew 28:1. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. Matthew 12:8. There is no rest apart from repentance and trusting in Him!

The Lord's Day or Sunday is in contrast to the Sabbath. It is a day to celebrate the new creation. This is a new Day with Christ as it's head. Matthew 27:51.

We can truly rest now every day because our relationship with the Father has been restored by His finished work at the cross. The true meaning of Sabbath Rest has been revealed!

20201227

The Anointing Oil

 The Anointing Oil

The anointing oil pictures the Holy Spirit. The sweet smelling formula used to create the mixture speaks of the personality and presence of Christ in the believer produced by the Holy Spirit. The formula was not to be altered. It was also not to be poured out upon the flesh. Man in the natural state (the flesh) is not compatible with the Holy Spirit. 

Works Of The Flesh

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

20201223

The Bronze Laver

The bronze laver was located after the alter but before the door. The priests had to wash their hands and feet before entering the tabernacle. This pictures the washing of water by the word. The laver pictures Christ who washes us.

1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 

We need daily forgiveness and cleansing from our sins. The Lord's prayer is a daily prayer. Forgive us of our sins just as we have forgiven others of their sins is an important part of this daily prayer. We need to come to the alter of sacrifice on a daily basis and appropriate the ultimate sacrifice. That of God our Savior, our Prophet, Priest, and King. 

An attitude of repentance is required on a daily basis. We're forgiven because of what He did at the cross and on His account. Because His blood is the ultimate sacrifice which cleanses us from all sin.

When Jesus was washing the disciples feet, Peter had a problem with it. He said Lord, not just my feet but all of me. Jesus responded not all of you needs to be washed, just your feet. After initial salvation, we are forgiven and cleansed. But then we need continual cleansing on a daily basis. True worship requires continual cleansing from daily defilement.

20201221

Ransom

Ransom money in the Old Testament was collected when a census was taken. It was for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. The deeper meaning is that it cost something for our salvation. God paid a price to ransom us from our sins. He gave His very own Son!

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

The debt has been paid. The Creator has paid the price to bring us back to Himself! 



Featured Post

Ransom

Ransom money in the Old Testament was collected when a census was taken. It was for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. The d...

Popular