Rejecting The Position Of God

It is dangerous to demand that God give you what you deserve.

Numbers 16:1-4 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. 

2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. 3 They united against Moses and Aaron and said, "You have gone too far! 

The whole community of Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than the rest of the LORD's people?"

4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he fell face down on the ground.

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Today we are looking at another way that God's people have rejected his sovereign rule in their life. We have already seen that God's people have rejected the pleasures of God and they have rejected the promises of God and now we will see that God's leaders are not content and will reject the limits that God has on how they can serve him.

As soon as God chose this people and made them a nation he gave them the rules for life and worship. Unfortunately it is way too easy for us to become unhappy with God's design, Satan doesn't have to work very hard to get us to reject God's promises, his pleasures and the position that he has for us.

Moses has already dealt with challenges to his God given authority, it started way back when they were still in Egypt and right after God brought them out of Egypt the people were still rebelling against Moses. (Exodus 5:1-23, 15:22-27)

God gave his people a social and religious structure to live by and he made the duties of Moses and Aaron and every other lower level of leadership very clear. God also made the penalty for doing things the wrong way very clear so it is difficult to understand how God's people rejected the rules that God made.

The people that became unhappy with their job assisted the priest in worship and they had an important job when the Tabernacle was being moved but they were not content, they wanted to do more than God allowed.

They could not go into the most holy area during worship and they could not go in that area to remove the holy objects so that the Tabernacle could be moved when it was time to break camp. The priest had to go in and cover the holy items and then bring them out the Kohathite clan. (Numbers 4:1-20) 

Their God given authority to work for him in ministry was not enough for them, they wanted a promotion, God set the rules for the priesthood and he already showed us how serious he is about enforcing the rules. 

Moses response was so wise! These guys better be right!

Numbers 16:5 Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow only those whom he selects to enter his own presence.

Numbers 16:10-12 Korah, he has already given this special ministry to you and your fellow Levites. Are you now demanding the priesthood as well? 11 The LORD is the one you and your followers are really revolting against! For who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?"

12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, "We refuse to come before you!

These rebels are so bold that they ignored Moses' summons to meet with them and then they accuse Moses with outrageous allegations. The good old days back in Egypt should have been replaced with a new land that is also at least as good as Egypt was. 

For them to say that they experience the good life in Egypt, "the land of milk and honey" and demand the new "land of milk and honey" that they were promised. (Numbers 16:13-14) They seem to forget that they rejected God's promised land!

These rebels should have been terrified at the idea of "playing" priest just to see if they were allowed to do it. They were aware of God's response when Aarons sons didn't perform their duty as priest the correct way but they didn't seem to care. (Leviticus 10:1-3)

God handles the rebellion and the rest of God's people prove that they are just as bad as the men that God killed. The people had the nerve to accuse Moses and Aaron of being responsible for the death of these men.

Numbers 16:41 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

Really!?! Everybody knew the rules for coming into the Lord's presence. Moses didn't make the rules, God used Moses as the messenger to reveal his rules to God's people. (Proverbs 19:3)

God's people must be very careful about negative thoughts because they have a habit of growing very quickly and they spread to the people around us. A lack of contentment in where God has chosen to put you and the ministry that he has given to you can spiral out of control and infect the rest of the church.

Whether in the government, the church, or the home, God never grants authority for the power or benefit of those in authority. Serving God requires that you be his servant as well as a servant to those around you.

We must decide for ourselves if we are going to argue with God.

Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant.

God's people must remain humble and be content with their God given ministry. We should strive to do our best in whatever God has called us to do, but be careful not to do our best to promote ourself. (John 3:30)

God's choice to use me and in what capacity is totally his choice. I can choose a different area of ministry and attempt to work "for him" on my own but the consequences can be very severe to myself and to the people around me that I was trying to serve. (Galatians 6:7-19)

RELATED ARTICLES

Lessons From The Life Of Korah (biblicalcounseling.com)

Who Were The Sons Of Korah (gotquestions.org)

Oh Death - MercyMe

You ain't nothin' but a stone, that my Savior rolled away!

Video: Oh Death by MercyMe

Oh death, I will not be afraid

In the end you will lose

I will dance on your grave

With the One who buried you

You ain't nothin' but a stone

That my Savior rolled away

Set you straight and set me free

Oh, death, you arе dead to me

Oh, death, you arе dead to me

Luke 24:5-6 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee,

Rejecting The Promises Of God

God's people still have trust issues that hold them back.

Numbers 13:28-31 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley." 

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!" 

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"

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One of the main points of God's story in the Bible is the promise of God to take a group of chosen people to a Promised Land. God took his people from the depths of despair in the dark kingdom of Egypt and treated them with great grace and mercy as he lovingly guided them to live in a better place.

God also taught them to live a better way that reflects his values, he paused the trip at Mount Sinai to prepare his people to live in that land in a way that is totally different from the nations around them. Their new kingdom should have been a reflection of God's future kingdom that we are all longing to see but they failed to complete their mission.

But their struggles and failures are very much like ours. We all have the tendency to doubt God's goodness as we focus on our immediate circumstances and we begin to compare ourselves to others and sometimes we even think that the people that are not God's people have a better life.

It seems logical from a human perspective to believe that God's people should be treated the best and have the easy life, but God didn't separate us from the troubles of this life, When the trouble comes we can be tempted to believe the lie that the joys and blessings that God has for his people are somehow inadequate and not worth the sacrifice.

There is a lot that we can learn from God's people in the Old Testament that will help us on our journey across this wilderness that is our temporary home as we move towards the amazing destination that God is preparing for his people.

Travel Tips For The Road To The Promised Land:

Do Not Doubt God's Word 

In Numbers 13:1-3 it looks like it was God's idea for his people to scout out the land and the people that are there but 40 years later when Moses gives final instructions to God's people, it seems like God was just giving the people what they had already asked for.

Deuteronomy 1:21-22 "Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged! 22 But you all came to me and said, 'First, let's send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter."

The Israelites lacked the courage, and faith to take the land that God told them is theirs. After all of the protection that God provided since the plagues way back in Egypt, especially that last one, and after all of the care and protection on the way through the wilderness, they still didn't put their faith in God's word.

Do Not Discourage God's People

Negative talk can be all in your head or it can come from someone around you, we have to remember that it is way too easy to be discouraged and the negative talk that we listen can keep us from listening to God's voice. 

It's bad enough when one person does it but in these verses there is a committee, that's usually a bad sign, this committee was reporting about their research. You could call it opposition research, they found that God was honest about the goodness of the land but, they had a very big "but."

Numbers 13:28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

Deuteronomy 1:26-28 But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, 'The LORD must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt-to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, "The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there-the descendants of Anak!"'

It only takes one negative voice to stop the work of God but this was the majority of voices in a committee so it would be almost impossible to overcome their recommendation. The negative voices set them back 40 years.

Certainly there must have been other travelers that they met along the way during those 40 years in the wilderness, those people must have been amazed that God didn't get his people to the place that he promised. But it wasn't God that failed, his people still had more to learn about how dependable he is.

Do Not Defy God's Will 

Numbers 14:1-4 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they complained. 3 "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!"

Everyday God's people are forced to make a choice, will we follow the leader that God has given us or will we elect a new leader and go back to Egypt. Negative people in the church discourage God's people and stir up a rebellion against God's leaders.

Do Not Disobey And Deserve God's Judgement

Numbers 14:10-11 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?"

God showed up with some serious questions for his people, and suddenly his people are concerned about the consequences of their sin. They have always strived to have the easiest life possible and now that they know how God is going to punish them they decide it is better to obey his first command. 

Numbers 14:40-42 Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. "Let's go," they said. "We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us." 41 But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work. 42 Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. 

Taking the land isn't an option any longer, since God isn't going with them, they will not have a victory over the Canaanites. They couldn't win no matter what they did, they were sentenced to death in the wilderness but if they rebelled and tried to defeat the Canaanites they would still experience death.

We love the Bible verse that says "If God is for you, who can be against you," but turn that around. If God is against you, it doesn't matter who is for you.

Reacting To God's Will

We need to know and understand God's will: Ephesians 5:17,20 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to find delight in his will: Psalm 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart." We need to whole heartly obey his will: Ephesians 6:6 As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart

I need to appreciate the promises of God and totally trust him to come through no matter what the evidence around me seems to be saying. God gave me the example of our ancestors found in the Bible to help me.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Help me Lord to grow in faith and obedience to your will despite the fact that what I feel, what I see and what I think may be telling me to doubt your goodness. I want to trust and obey so that you will be glorified.

Rejecting The Pleasures Of God

Remember how good the pleasures of the world are? Don't kid yourself.

Numbers 10:33-34 They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD's Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. 34 As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

Numbers 11:1-4 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship, and the LORD heard everything they said. Then the LORD's anger blazed against them, and he sent a fire to rage among them, and he destroyed some of the people in the outskirts of the camp. 

2 Then the people screamed to Moses for help, and when he prayed to the LORD, the fire stopped. 3 After that, the area was known as Taberah (which means "the place of burning"), because fire from the LORD had burned among them there. 

4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also began to complain. "Oh, for some meat!" they exclaimed.

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Nobody likes to move so it is no surprise that along the way some people start longing for home back where life was so good. Life was pretty good for God's people when they first arrived in Egypt but that's not the situation that these people experienced in their lifetime.

God took them to Egypt hundreds of years before to bless them but then he also took them out of Egypt to bless them. When he took them to Egypt it was to rescue them from a famine and when he took them out of there it was also a huge relief. 

But God's goodness to his people wasn't appreciated for very long, it only took three days for the nation of Israel to start complaining after they left the shores of the Red Sea, and then a year later after leaving Mount Sinai God's people repeat history and begin complaining three days into the journey. 

They didn't know it at the time but it was only an eleven day trip to their destination. (Deuteronomy 1:2) Somewhere on this move towards the promise the people start counting the cost and they compare the current situation with their life back in the good old days. Even with a promised, glorious future ahead of them they begin to long to go back to the life of slavery in the kingdom of darkness.

Deuteronomy 1:32-33 "But even after all he did, you refused to trust the LORD your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

God has worked in amazing ways in their lives, rescued them and made them his own and gave them visible signs of his presence but when God asked his people to trust his plan and his process they couldn't keep the faith for eleven days.

Yes, food and water was scarce, yes the menu was the same everyday and yes, Moses is still the leader. Everything that they needed from a human perspective was provided graciously by God but none of those provisions were good enough. (Exodus 17:1–7; Numbers 12)

Numbers 11:20b For you have rejected the LORD, who is here among you, and you have whined to him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

The hardship is the wilderness, even for such a short time, made the pleasures of the world look way better than they really are. Don't kid yourself! Today might be tough but God's people have a glorious future ahead!

The pleasures of the world have always been an enticement for God's people. It started back in the Garden of Eden and hundreds of years later God's people are still struggling with the pleasures of the world versus the pleasures of God.

Numbers 11:23 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Has my arm lost its power? Now you will see whether or not my word comes true!"

After all of the time that God that showed his power and his love for his people they still arrive at the border to the Promised Land and make the wrong choice. They doubted God's word and trusted the word of the scouts. 

They reported that God was telling them the truth when he said that the land was awesome BUT they didn't believe God was telling the truth when he said he would go before them and fight their battles. (Numbers 13:1-33)

Numbers 14:1 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night.

What an extreme reaction! Where is the faith that God had been cultivating in his people for the past few years? The way God moved to defeat Egypt and bring his people to this moment in time and they still don't trust God's promise to give them the land.

God has a bright and glorious pleasure filled future for me in the Promised Land. I need to:

• Invite others to come along to experience God's blessings. (Numbers 10:29-32) 
• Remember the worlds pleasures cannot compare to the pleasures that God has in store for me. 
• Keep the faith when life gets hard by keeping my eyes on the goodness of God.

Experience The Direction Of God

The only navigation equipment Israel needed was the Lord's presence.

Numbers 9:23 So they camped or traveled at the LORD's command, and they did whatever the LORD told them through Moses.

Numbers 10:11-12 In the second year after Israel's departure from Egypt-on the twentieth day of the second month-the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle of the Covenant.

12 So the Israelites set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled on from place to place until the cloud stopped in the wilderness of Paran.

13 When the people set out for the first time, following the instructions the LORD had given through Moses,

Numbers 10:33-36 They marched for three days after leaving the mountain of the LORD, with the Ark of the LORD's Covenant moving ahead of them to show them where to stop and rest. 34 As they moved on each day, the cloud of the LORD hovered over them.

35 And whenever the Ark set out, Moses would shout, "Arise, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!" 36 And when the Ark was set down, he would say, "Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!"

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It has been a busy year since God redeemed his people from Egypt and took them to Mount Sinai to meet with them. Sinai would be the place where God would help his new people adjust to their new life. As we will see, getting his people out of Egypt was easier than getting Egypt out of his people.

God's people had a lot to learn about him and about the kind of people that he wanted them to be. God wanted his people to became a nation that looked very different, they would worship different, they would eat different and they would be governed different. The only way they could enjoy this special relationship between a governor and his people is for them to know the rules. 

The big bonus that should have motivated them was that knowing and obeying God's rules was the only way that they were going to be able to make it to the Promised Land. They are going to need God's presence to guide and protect on the way and the only way to have that is to live his way.

God's Itinerary 

God's people had to do what their forefather Abraham had done hundreds of years before when he left home. Once again God is asking for blind faith as he tells his people to take the next step without the details.

God didn't give Moses a brochure with an itinerary about the trip and he didn't share an online calendar or GPS coordinates to help them know the way. The way to the Promised Land is God's way and the only way to know his way is to have a relationship with him.

God's people obeyed his orders that he gave in the beginning of the book of Numbers, as a result they moved out in the formation that God demanded and they walked for three days following God.

Watching The Cloud

They didn't have any doubt about what the cloud looked like, this is the same cloud that led them away from Egypt, from the very beginning of this trip God's presence was manifest in the cloud to show them the way.

Even in darkness the presence of God could be seen and enjoyed. The light of God in the cloud overcame the darkness, it revealed the next step of the path when they traveled and it gave them protection when they camped.

Watching a cloud and paying attention to the details about where it is going is something that you probably would not do for very long. We don't pay much attention to clouds before we lose our focus and get distracted.

Listen For Trumpets

To ensure that everyone was ready to break camp and move, God's people also had an audible warning, the trumpets got the attention of anyone that didn't know that the cloud moved. I have to wonder about the size of the cloud, maybe the entire nation could not see the cloud so maybe that is the reason that God told them to use the trumpets. 

It seems that God loves trumpets, after the nation moved into Canaan the trumpet was used as the signal for special days on God's calendar. Don't forget that God has promised us that another very special day is on the way that will include the blast of a trumpet.

Matthew 24:31 And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world-from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

The most anticipated trumpet blast is the one that will lead us to the Promised Land that Jesus said that he is preparing.  The trumpet sound we are waiting for will not be a signal for war, when this trumpet sounds the Promised Land will be ours, the only war that will be started is the final battle between God and Satan. 

VIDEO: Promised Land by TobyMac

Just like God's pilgrim children in the wilderness, we are also pilgrims, just passing through as we wait for God's signal to move to our heavenly home. Until that day we have the Holy Spirit in us as our guide, the Word of God before us to light the way and our Savior above us interceding before God's throne on our behalf. 

The entire trinity is at work to keep me safe and guide me as I travel this wilderness waiting for my Promised Land.

When Santa Learned The Gospel

Everyone is on the naughty list until they receive God's perfect gift.

Video: When Santa Learned The Gospel

Follow Santa's journey in this unique Christmas fable as he learns about Jesus' message of grace and discovers what it means for both the naughty and the nice.

This video sits alongside the book, written by Simon Camilleri and published by 10Publishing.

(No compensation for any links.)

From Naughty

Romans 3:10-12 As the Scriptures say, "No one is righteous- not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one."

Ephesians 2:12 NLT In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.

All around the world the message has been told that trying to be good enough is good enough. That's the message that we are told in the story of Santa, it's the best that Santa could hope for, if people were good enough then he would get to keep his job.

According to God's standards, no matter how well you do at being nice and keeping the rules, you are still on the naughty list. God's requirement for us is to be righteous, a word that we over use in our culture, so we fail to realize that the standard of righteousness is defined by God's holiness.

Holiness sounds like a crazy goal for anyone to be required to obtain, even God's people in the church neglect this principle so that we can be more acceptable to the world and not be seen as strange. But when you dig into God's word you will find out that the Bible has over 900 references to the holiness of God and it also tells us that we are required to be holy.

To Nice

2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

1 Peter 1:21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

We need a rescue from our sin nature but we had no way to get away from the consequences that we deserved. Our situation was just like God's chosen people in Egypt, enslaved to the kingdom of darkness, we didn't have any hope of getting out unless God sent a rescuer.

The good news of the gospel is the only way that we can get on God's list that he will check. When he opens the Book of Life my name will be on his list because of his forgiveness that I could have only received from him by accepting Jesus work on the cross.

RELATED ARTICLES

Why Do I Need A Savior? (thebonhoefferproject.com)

Jesus Didn't Call Us To Be Nice (relevantmagazine.com)

Why Do We Need A Savior? (gotquestions.org)

Perfect Gifts: Mercy

Our mistakes do not have to haunt us.

John 8:7-11 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

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Do you think that your life has been full of mistakes and poor choices and you think that God couldn't want to have a relationship with you? It's pretty easy to see that we all deserve some pretty severe consequences for the things that we have done against God but God does not want our relationship with him to be full of fear and despair.

As good and perfect as God is, we can easily see that we fall way short of his standard but we don't have to live with this hopeless situation hanging over our heads, in an incredible display of mercy, God has given us the opportunity to receive eternal life if we believe on his son.

We are as bad off as the adulteress with a group of Pharisees hanging around with rocks in their hands. Even the most popular person needs to realize that it is short lived, we will never measure up to the world's standards for very long, even the best of us will have someone that is ready to throw rocks at us.

Beyond our inability to measure up to the world's standards is the God's standards. God is the only one that has the right to throw rocks at us and we deserve it just as much as she did but thankfully he has given us a way out of judgement. 

God's love is merciful

Titus 3:3-5 Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. 4 But "When God our Savior revealed His kindness and love, 5 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

The only way out of our desperate situation is his perfect mercy that is beyond comprehension.  Sin takes us places that we really don't want to go and it cost us more than we think that it will but as Christ followers we have received the wonderful gift of mercy which completely eliminates the judgment that we deserve. 

Without Jesus we are foolish and disobedient rebels making choices that are rooted in our rebellious thoughts. But God, the judge of the universe, is so full of kindness and love to us that he gave us mercy!

John 3:16,36 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 36 And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment."

It's hard to imagine a God of perfect justice would also have perfect love for us to the point that he would give us the opportunity to receive his perfect mercy. The perfect wrath of God is upon us before we accept his son as our substitute, the death and punishment we deserve is no longer in our future!

"Mercy Came Running" by Phillips, Craig and Dean

I was bound by the chains, from the wages of my sin
Just when I felt like giving in, mercy came running
Like a prisoner set free, past all my failures to the point of my need
When the sin that I carried, was all I could see
And when I could not reach mercy, mercy came running to me. 

The woman that was surrounded by judges that found her deserving of death but mercy came running to her at her greatest need. What an incredible picture of my life, I was sought out by God to receive the gift of mercy without doing anything to deserve it. 

I need to remember to regift this extravagant gift to the people around me. God, help me follow your example and be just as passionate about giving mercy to help those that don't deserve it.

Perfect Gifts: Heaven

I have a priceless inheritance because of Jesus.

Ephesians 1:5, 11, 14 God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.

11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.

14 The Spirit is God's guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify Him.

1 Peter 1:4 and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

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God was very pleased to adopt me into his family and he would love for you to be a part of his family as well. Did you know that God loves adoptions? All of his family has been adopted even though none of us deserved the honor, it is just part of his perfect kindness and love for mankind.

I am not talking about an adoption that is tainted with favoritism, to God an adopted child has the same rights as a natural born child, we all have the same rights that his own Son has. Because of Jesus we have an inheritance that is beyond equal anywhere else. 

Jesus has been preparing my inheritance for a long time now and he is using building materials that make our construction supplies look like junk. What we have in store when we leave this earth is beyond our imagination.

This world and it's pleasures that we strive to obtain and love to hold onto are going away. As good as we may have it here, all of the goodness of this life is just a peek at the ultimate goodness that we will enjoy in our eternal home.

What's in your future?

Revelation 21:1-4,7 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, God's home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be My children.

We usually keep God and man separate, we think of God living in heaven and our place to live is here on earth, but there is a day coming when we will be together again similar to the relationship that mankind had before sin.

We will all have eternal life BUT to spend eternity in heaven with God you must make the decision to accept Jesus and his perfect gift of salvation now!

Experience The Goodness Of God

Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Romans 2:4  Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

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Every one of us has experienced God's goodness in their life to some degree and most of us have experienced a very high level of God's goodness in comparison to thousands of other people that have lived. But despite how good he is God's people always need to be reminded of this fact.

We have a difficult time appreciating the goodness of God, it goes all the way back to the garden of Eden, no matter how good we have it we always think there is more that we should have. Living in the garden was the greatest experience of God's goodness that mankind has ever known but that didn't guarantee the best outcome. 

If Adam and Eve can feel that there is something that they were missing then we are surely guaranteed to doubt the vast amount of God's goodness as well. In our social media world we have the ability to compare ourselves and the stuff that we have with a multitude of other people. We need a way to stay focused when we have the fear of missing out that causes us to doubt God's goodness.

Taste

Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!

To focus on God's goodness you need to taste it and taste it again just like you would taste again and again a delicious food. Don't be satisfied with just the aroma, don't walk by the kitchen and catch a whiff, step in and grab a plate and have a taste!

The joy of tasting is a personal experience, somebody else can help you know a little bit about the taste but you must have your own taste. The flavor is something that you can know only through your own experience. A taste this good should motivate you to taste it again and again.

Trust

Nahum 1:7 The LORD is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him.

Thankfully the most powerful being is also the most good! Very few people with power are very kind, if you or I were powerful we would probably do like everybody else and use it for our own advantage, but thankfully the most powerful is perfectly good. 

If the most powerful was any less good we couldn't trust him enough to draw near, we wouldn't have a strong refuge that we can trust and draw close to.

We need to remember that we cannot measure the goodness of God with problem free living. The person with the most trouble in this life may be living the most in God's will. Just like the religious leaders that Jesus rebuked, we cannot accurately discern why they have the trouble so we should not blame them for their situation. Nobody in the Bible was rewarded with an easy life as a reward for obedience.

Isaiah 48:10  I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.

The goodness of God is always there, even in suffering, our holiness is usually becoming more perfect in difficulty. This is a reality that will change your perspective of "good" and "bad" circemstances. 

How can anything be bad if God is using all things for my good? (Romans 8:28, Hebrews 12:10) We all want the easy life but the most important thing to God is for us to be like him. 

A more difficult truth to accept is maybe the hard time you are going through has nothing to do with you?  Just maybe your country, your church or your family is being disciplined and you are affected by what God is doing in others. How much did good people suffer in the Old Testament because the rest of the group was being punished by God? 

A great example of this is Joseph in an Egyptian prison or Daniel and his friends in Babylon. We focus everything on ourselves but God's story is not all about us.

Treasure

Ephesians 1:7-8  He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.  8  He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

To remember God's goodness we need to treasure the most important gift ever! God made the most extravagant purchase ever, what an incredibly high price for such lowly, undeserving creatures.

You may be so kind that you would die for your family or a small group of friends but God showed us perfect kindness by taking his perfect wrath upon himself, through his perfect son. God's awesome goodness could stop there and we should be eternally grateful but there is more goodness coming our way eternally if we accept Jesus sacrifice. (Romans 8:32)

1 John 4:9-10  God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.  10  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

The greatest gift, the one that I really needed the most, is the reason we celebrate Christmas but his arrival was just the beginning of the story of God's plan to destroy the work of Satan so that everything bad can be made good. Don't take his kindness for granted.

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Perfect Gifts Series (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Thank God! - Psalm 116

Worship God for who he is and what he has done.

I Love the Lord, Who Has Heard My Prayer.

Psalm 116:1-4 I love the LORD because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy. 2 Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! 3 Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "Please, LORD, save me!"

The Lord Deals Bountifully with His Own.

Psalm 116:5-7 How kind the LORD is! How good he is! So merciful, this God of ours! 6 The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and he saved me. 7 Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me.

You Delivered My Soul from Death.

Psalm 116:8-11 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. 9 And so I walk in the LORD's presence as I live here on earth! 10 I believed in you, so I said, "I am deeply troubled, LORD." 11 In my anxiety I cried out to you, "These people are all liars!"

How Shall I Show My Thanks to Him?

Psalm 116:12-19 What can I offer the LORD for all he has done for me? 

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD's name for saving me. 

14 I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all his people. 15 The LORD cares deeply when his loved ones die. 16 O LORD, I am your servant; yes, I am your servant, born into your household; you have freed me from my chains. 

17 I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. 

18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people- 19 in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!

Thank God For Who He Is
Faithful (Lamentations 3:23) Constant (James 1:17) True (John 14:6) Good (Matthew 7:11) Gracious (Romans 3:20–24) Longsuffering (2 Peter 3:9) Merciful (Hebrews 4:16) Powerful (1 Chronicles 29:11) Loving (John 3:16) Saving (Acts 4:12)

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Ten Reasons To Thank God (answersingenesis.org)