Set Apart

I believe everyone is set apart for something, or made for something. I remember a scene from the movie Chariots of Fire, where the main character says he feels God's pleasure when he runs. He was made to run. There was a guy last night who threw a no-hitter for the Chicago Cubs against the Los Angeles Dodgers. I think his last name is Arriata. That guy is made to pitch a baseball.

I have been somewhat obsessed lately with a capella vocal bands. I especially like those groups that have a bass that can just go down through the basement with his notes. Avi Kaplan with Pentatonix, for example, hits a ridiculously low E1. Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G7HzIpqYyU if you want to hear what that's like. That's basically what I wish I could do, as I love a great bass voice. They say it all depends on how much testosterone was pumping through a boy's body when he was going through puberty. I can get kind of low, but nothing like that, so I guess I had a kind of good dose of it back then! Needless to say, that man was made to sing bass!

Numbers 7 tells the story of The Dwelling being anointed and dedicated when it was finally finished. This means it was set apart. Every tribe brought gifts and offerings. Oxen-pulled carts and wagons to transport The Dwelling. Plates, bowls, vessels, flour, and incense to supply The Dwelling. They offered bulls, rams, goats, and rams for whole burnt offerings, absolution offerings, and peace offerings.

The story ends with Moses. He was set apart himself for a special task. He was the one God spoke to from the area above the Ark of the Testimony inside the Most Holy Place in The Dwelling. Through Moses, God communicated to His people. Through Aaron, the people approached God.

The Dwelling was a place especially set apart for ministry. God ministered His Word to people through Moses. He ministered redemption, illustrating the plan of salvation, through Aaron. That ministry of The Dwelling was to be highly valued, treasured, well-manned, and well supplied for. The character of God was to be well-illustrated.

I think about humanity today. According to the New Testament, we are now The Dwelling. We are the ones who are supposed to be God's ministry to people. Through the Holy Spirit, we are set apart... we are made for God's work! He wants to communicate salvation to all people through His followers. He wants to show the world what He is like through us! Imagine that! His plan of redemption, His character, He wants to show all of this through vessels like us!

I don't know about you, but I don't often feel that pure. The vessels used in Numbers 7 were made of gold and silver. Yet God values me far more than any precious metal.

The question is, do I value myself that much? Do I value what God wants to do in me like that?

How well do I prioritize and value God's work in me? How well do I care for my body? How well am I taking care of my mind (what goes into it... does it rest enough... etc.)? How is my time prioritized? How are my finances prioritized?

Know this much: you are made for great things! In Christ, you are made to be a vessel and Dwelling for the character and ministry of God Himself.

You are valuable. You are treasured. You are greatly sought after by the King of the Universe!

You were made for this!

Do you believe this? Do you accept?

Satisfied

One of the first things that surprised me about the Doctor of Ministry cohort that I belong to was one of our first "in-class" assignments. We were to find a secluded place, preferable in nature somewhere. We would start off by taking a walk. Then find a place to sit (I took a blanket) and just be silent. If we fell asleep, that was fine. After about half an hour, we were to just spend time reading Scripture, followed by journaling. We could then read from a devotional book of some sort, the kind of book that speaks to your experience as a child of God (as opposed to a book on leadership or mission, or any other "how-to" books in Christian circles). Then we'd finish with silence again, and walk out of wherever we went. It was a miniature spiritual retreat.

I was very refreshed and blessed by this. I spent my time back in the woods away near Ponce Deleon Springs, not far outside Orlando. The blessing of time with God was powerful, meaningful, and badly needed. Honestly, I should do that a lot more often. I guess the question I am having today is, Am I satisfied with that blessing?

Numbers 6 is about Nazarite vows and the Aaronic blessing. The vows were to be a time of especially intense consecration to God, when the one taking them was more intentionally set apart for Him than usual. If you took the vow, you took it for a set period of time. You shaved your head. You weren't supposed to drink anything intoxicating or even eat anything from the vine--no grapes, raisins, seeds, etc. You weren't to go near a corpse. If someone died suddenly in your presence, you took a sacrifice to The Dwelling (Sanctuary), shaved  your head again, and started over. When it was done, you went in, shaved your head, the hair was burned, you made a sacrifice offering, and were free to go back to your normal, set-apart life.

After this, the chapter speaks of the Aaronic blessing. Here's how The Message puts it:
"God bless you and keep you,
God smile on you and gift you,
God look you full in the face and make you prosper."
This would place God's Name on His people. He would come near to them and bless them with His prosperity.

As their history unfolded, it's clear that the people weren't satisfied with that blessing. They wanted a king. They split up. They wanted to worship other gods. One guy named Samson had that same Nazarite vow for life, but he broke pretty much every one of the guidelines for it (and we don't see any record of his going to the Sanctuary to make amends for that).

Are you satisfied? Satisfied with the blessings that God gives you? With the results of spending special, set-apart time with God (if you've done that before)?

Our national debt is ridiculous. Forget that, I got myself into enough personal debt that I should forgo pointing my finger at the country! Plenty of people cheat on their spouses. Plenty of workers will step all over one another for a raise or a promotion.

We are a nation of profoundly unsatisfied people.

To respond to this, personally (realizing we can't cure that illness for anyone but ourselves), I suggest asking yourself a few questions.

1. When is a time that I can be especially consecrated? To retreat to God? I'm not suggesting a Nazarite vow, per se, but a period of time you can get away from distractions and take a retreat with God. I might suggest just going with simple foods, spiritually uplifting music (although iStuff is pretty distracting, so be careful with this one), a Bible, a journal, and a book that can help you grow spiritually. Surrender to Love, by David G. Benner is pretty good, or Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, by Ellen White. I like Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli too.
2. Am I satisfied with God's blessings and God's prosperity in my life? Maybe He's gifted you. Maybe He's smiling on you. Maybe you only have some time with Him. Maybe you have a family, a marriage. Maybe you have a calling. Are you satisfied with these gifts, or are you constantly craving more? Debt, lust, checking out instead of engaging the kids, laziness, pining for a different job... all may be symptomatic of dissatisfaction. Why not take a moment to take stock of the blessings God has given you and ask Him to help you be satisfied?

Again...

"God bless you and keep you,

God smile on you and gift you,
God look you full in the face and make you prosper."

On Freedom, Fairness, Fidelity and Faithfulness

I love freedom. I love being able to worship as my conscience leads. I love the freedom to pursue the kind of life I feel God calling me to. I love the freedom to be able to express myself the way I desire.

I also recognize that freedom to do such things may come with consequences. They are not all bad. I can be part of a faith community that reflects my personal values and beliefs. I can make a decent living and provide for my family. I can write and think. But sometimes when I do things like these, there are sacrifices. My belief about Sabbath, for instance, creates some constraints about what I will and will not do on that day. Now, I don't mind that... these beliefs in themselves provide a freedom from another kind of tyranny. I am bound by conscience to pursue things that honor God on that day and reflect upon Him in a way I don't do on other days, as the working week makes this an unlikely thing. I am also bound to sacrifice some things that prevent me from doing this. Freedom is great.

I also recognize that pursuing something in life prevents me from pursuing other things, especially when the values of that other thing clash with the values of what I am pursuing. I recognize that I cannot just write or say what I want without risking disagreement or even a lost friendship.

Reading Numbers 5 today, I observe several things.

1. Anyone with infectious diseases were banned from the camp. The camp of God's people were not to be defiled by sin or its results. That is tough for us to understand today. It seems unfair. It seems to lack compassion. But for their freedom to live in community and to worship God as the center of their existence to exist, I can see why this was necessary. If diseases infected the entire camp (skin or otherwise), and everyone started dying off or was miserable, community freedom would be drastically impacted. They could not deal with these things like we can today with modern medicine. If God just wiped out disease, it would be easy for people to forget a very important thing: this is what sin has done to people! Freedom existed. But freedom needed some boundaries.
2. Anyone who wronged another person in the camp had to make compensation for it. They had to pay for the wrong, plus 15%. They had to make the appropriate sacrifices. If there wasn't a relative to receive the compensation, they paid the priest. Freedom needed boundaries. An assault on freedom to live in community and worship had to be dealt with fairly.
3. If a man suspected his wife was having an affair, they both had to appear in God's presence, with the priest. The husband had to present a grain offering for his jealousy. The wife had to uncover her head. The priest tok water, added dust from the floor of The Dwelling (Sanctuary), and washed off the ink of the curse into the water. She would drink this water. If she was guilty, she experienced great pain, her womb shriveled up, and her belly swelled. She would be unable to bear children. If she was innocent, she was fine and could go on with her life. A bit more on how I feel about this one to come... but for now, suffice it to say that such things had to be dealt with. If affairs went on, as they must have in many other surrounding cultures with impunity, and if jealousy became a reigning emotion in the camp... freedom destroyed. Freedom needs boundaries, even consequences for assaulting freedom.

Now, I think we have freedom to question. If God cannot take my questions about His Word or actions, I don't know who can. I also feel that anyone who claims to have never questioned or doubted have either abdicated the right to use their brains, or are lying. Sorry if that offends, but that's how I feel. And, parenthetically, something about this text bothers me. I realize that theirs was a very patriarchal society. But for the life of me, I have a hard time seeing it fair to have a couple go into the sanctuary, and the man makes a sacrifice for jealousy that carries no apparent risk, while the woman is risking a lot. Even as I read, it wasn't very clear to me. It's possible she drank first, felt accute pain, then the man sacrificed his grain (that's it?), and his jealosy (founded or otherwise) was atoned for... and then the woman drank again(!) and would feel the pain again if she was guilty (and have her child-creating parts immediately rendered useless), but would not if she was innocent. Or, she only had to drink the one time. Not clear on this... but it seems like the man gets off pretty easy if his accusation was unfounded. I am just not seeing how that's entirely fair! I am glad I have freedom to feel this way! Not sure what the consequences are on this, but there you have it!

I do have some takeaways from this, however.

1. In my life, my home, my community of faith... if it dishonors or tears down God's reputation, it needs to be guarded against and gotten rid of. Now, does this mean a person is "banned from the camp" the same way they were in the wilderness? I don't think so. Our situation is vastly different today. There are ways of dealing with these things that are much more compassionate and healing. I think it's wise to keep contagious things away from the innocent. But there are those who think we need to keep out the unclean. I think it is too easily forgotten that we have a high priest who helps us deal with sin. If we refuse to deal with it and openly bring things "into the camp," that's one thing. But may we never ban the sick and unclean from associating with us who would bring all of this before our merciful Father, in Christ, for forgiveness and cleansing.
2. Be fair. If I wrong someone, make it right. Go above and beyond in making things right with people. Our homes and our faith communities are built up through reconciliation with each other.
3. Be faithful. Fidelity with your spouse is a must. Don't even give your spouse a reason to think you are being unfaithful. Don't give him or her a reason to be jealous. If unwarranted jealousy exists, deal with it together. We have a high priest in heaven now--Jesus Christ, according to Hebrews. Take it to Him together and work through it. Seek counseling--don't let such things destroy your freedom to love in your relationship.
4. If you are unfaithful... please stop. End it now. It may not "shrivel up your womb" (or have an equivalent result in men). But it will shrivel up who you are and cause you, your spouse, and even the one you commit adultery with (and his or her family) a lot of needless pain. The thrill is fleeting and not worth destroying who you are over. Just ask Josh Duggar right now. Ask his wife. Ask scores of people who have experienced the pain of such a thing. I could go deeper on this issue, but won't for the sake of length and time.

God invites us to experience freedom: to worship, to live in community. Freedom needs boundaries. It needs us to be fair and faithful, to each other and to God.

Ready to Move?

Our bodies are made for movement.

Think about it. If you hold still for too long, you'll die. At some point, you'll need to get something to eat. You'll need to move to avoid getting a bedsore. You'll need to get up to use the bathroom. Your muscles will atrophy to the point of uselessness if you don't move. The health complications of inertia are tremendous.

Our bodies are fascinating. The brain, nervous system, muscular and skeletal structures... all of them have to be coordinated in order to move. Even now, though I am not moving much, my fingers are working in coordination with all of those things I just mentioned. I am thinking these thoughts, they are connecting with something that says, "type this" (a choice I am making), and the messages are getting sent to the fingers to type something on a keyboard that pop up on this screen. At some point, a reader reads this stuff (I'll call that reader "you" for obvious reasons). Your eyes have to focus on the words. You have to interpret these shapes and process them. You can choose to agree or disagree, to apply them or say, "Meh, not for me today," and move on.

At some point today, I will get up and go for a run at the gym (my brain is telling me it's just too hot for a bike ride or an outdoor run... maybe a swim will do). Though all my various body parts may protest, they will all work together to get it done.

But all of it is coordinated.

Numbers 4 is, to me, a picture of a coordinated body. The tribes of Levi were delegated the responsibilities surrounding "The Dwelling," where God met with His people in the wilderness. Aaron and his sons ministered forgiveness and reconciliation, the life-illustrated plan of salvation. They also coordinated all the packing and unpacking and setup and movement of each part of The Dwelling whenever they would get up and move. The sub-tribe Kohathites carried the implements and furnishings of The Dwelling, but weren't to touch the furnishings themselves. Gershonites did the heavy lifting--all the fabric coverings and walls for The Dwelling. Merarites moved and set up the framework.

And all of it was coordinated by Aaron and his sons, the priests. God's anointed ones coordinated the process of the community's--the body's--movement.

Here are a few things I learn from this.

1. Today, I believe there is One anointed mediator for me. His Name is Jesus Christ. "Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There He ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands... But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for He is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises" (Hebrews 8:1-2, 6). Jesus dispenses the light of the world, the Holy Spirit, and provides us with what we need for real and eternal life. He intercedes between me and the Father, and He takes my prayers to Him. He appears before the Mercy Seat and offers His one sacrifice for me. He does this, and NO OTHER. He is the One.
2. God's dwelling--me!--needs to be carefully and intentionally cared for. I am a Dwelling of movement, not lethargy. It needs to be a well-conditioned and cared for body that doesn't sit around, but goes in coordination with God's will.
3. Jesus is the One to coordinate my movement and the movement of His body. I do not coordinate the church, or even my own family. I must seek His guidance and action in His will. If the Levite clans moved out of step with God's instructions through Moses, Aaron and his sons, they risked inefficiency at best, death at worst (if the Kohathites touched the furnishings, they were dead). To jump ahead of Jesus today is to overstep into areas I have no business being. It is critical that I ask Him, each day, to place me in His plans, where He is going, where He is on mission.

What do you take away from this? Ready to move?

Center of Life

I have been reading through the Torah this year, taking time to observe what is written, consider what Moses meant when he wrote it, and thinking about what it it may mean in my context today. I fully expected to get some pretty good insights from Genesis-Leviticus. Honestly, I wish I had been writing about this already. But what I did not expect was the insights God would give me in Numbers.

The first three chapters of Numbers are powerful lessons in what should be central in our lives. Chapter 1 opens with Israel being numbered, registered for the army (those men who were 20 years old and up). The Levites were not to be registered, but set apart for their ministry in "The Dwelling." Anyone who tried to do their job would be put to death.

"The Dwelling," or "Tent of Meeting" where God met with Moses and Aaron and his sons ministered, was set up in the middle of camp. Around The Dwelling camped the Levites: Gershonites on the West, Merarites to the North, Kohathites to the South, and Aaron and Moses and their children on the east, nearest the entrance to The Dwelling.

The rest of Israel surrounded them. Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun to the West; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali to the North; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the South; and Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh to the East. Everyone's tent faced inward, toward The Dwelling.

The Levites were not to be number with the other tribes. They were set apart for the work of The Dwelling. They belonged to God and by their service "redeemed" the first-born of every other tribe (as every first-born belonged to God). The first-born male of every tribe that exceeded the number of Levites were compensated for by paying 5 silver shekels to Aaron and his sons for their service in the Sanctuary.

A lot of things were accounted for and served as lessons to the tribes. Israel's security was set up, but the center of their lives and security was The Dwelling. The tribes were not to be facing outward, as though guarding against an enemy, but inward, facing The Dwelling where God met with them.

Anyone who came to The Dwelling to offer a sacrifice would have to pass by the Levite families responsible for the ministry in the Sanctuary, which meant someone was always available to bring a fallen fellow Israelite to reconciliation (and that fellow Israelite couldn't just "hide" his sin in his tent, so to speak).

That Tent was the absolute focal point of security, economy, and life. It was well-organized, functions were well-delegated (within the Levitical tribe), well-manned, and well-funded.

I take a few thoughts from this about our situation today.

1. Today, each of us who claim to follow Christ claim the responsibility of a priest. The priests were "living sacrifices," servants of God in His Dwelling. Today, we are to be such living sacrifices. I think of myself and my family. We belong to God as part of His community of priests. We are living sacrifices. Our selves are to be used in His service.
2. Redemption, reconciliation... these are supposed to be central to our lives. We are called to be ministers to this purpose, all of us who claim the faith community of Christ.
3. Our greatest energies, our budget, our security... these must revolve around what God is up to. His Dwelling ministry has not ended just because there isn't a tent that we all face in the community. In fact, He is still at work, ministering reconciliation to us all before our Father in heaven. How do I spend my energy? In speaking life and redemption to people? Or in making ends meet?
4. We all have a role to play. Some of us exist to lead the way (Judah, Issachar, Zebulun). Some of us guard against wolves coming in and destroying us (Ephraim, Dan, Reuben, and the ones with them). Some of us build up and maintain people, God's new dwelling through the Holy Spirit. Some of us minister reconciliation most directly, bringing people to Jesus, our great high priest. When we fulfill our role, the whole community benefits. When we abdicate, the whole community is vulnerable and misses out.

Choose community. Choose life. Choose priesthood today. There's a church who needs you. There are people in your neighborhood who need you. The High Priest wants you to take part. Make Him the center of your focus, your life, your economy, and your activity.