Deuteronomy Chapter 2

So then Moses recounted the epic travels - 38 years' worth - in one sentence: "Then we turned around and went back into the wilderness following the route to the Red Sea, as Godhad instructed me. We worked our way in and around the hills of Seir for a long, long time." (v1)

A lifetime. It must have seemed never-ending.

So do our troubles. When difficulties come, we often lose sight of the good times and are tempted to lose hope. BUT:

Then God said, “You’ve been going around in circles in these hills long enough; go north.

As Lysa Terkeust says in @FirstFive, we need 'go to' Scriptures to remind ourselves of our purpose and destinies and this verse, Deuteronomy 2:2, can be one of them: I was made for more than to be stuck in a vicious cycle of defeat.

I can turn north, out of the wilderness, towards the promises God has for me.
I can turn away from my past and move into the future.
I can turn away from temptation.

The Israelites then travelled peacefully through different areas, obeying God's commands not to cause any trouble. But when they arrived in Hesbon, God "made his (the king of Heshbon's) spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done. The Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.’" (vv 30- 31)

The Israelites were about to step into the future God had for them, because it seems that they had now learned to obey God.

"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" Deuteronomy 10:12 - 13

My challenge too: obedience - to God - in everything.

SIgnposts for right living: promises and people

 Brian Houston: (Release, Repair, Restore, Rebuild) Centuries ago, Ezra foresaw a prophetic foreshadowing of the days in which we now live. Ezra declared seven prophetic promises of God to His people, which I believe God declares over us today:

1) A season of Grace and Favour.

We live in a season of grace. Speak His grace into your business, your home and family and your individual life. Why should you settle for anything less? You may say "What if it doesn't happen?" but I say, "What if it does?" Psalm 65:11 says, "You crown the year with Your goodness and your paths drip with abundance." Expect breakthrough, blessing and opportunity to show up in your everyday life.
God's Tangible presence clearly evident.

Ezra spoke about a stake in God's Holy place. Today, through Jesus we can enter boldly into the Throneroom of His presence and grace. God has promised His continual presence with us, not just in church during worship, but in our life. Wherever you find yourself - in the marketplace, workplace - believe for an overwhelming sense of God's presence in your circumstances.

A clear way forward.

When we align our lives with God's Word and His ways, the future opens up with hope and expectation. The Psalmist said, "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path."

Great testimonies of miraculous salvations.

We all have a story. And no one has walked too far, done too much, or is too far gone for the love of Christ. The days we are living in are days for 'harvest', and I believe that as we each live out our own salvation, we will see testimonies of miraculous conversion in the lives of our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues.

Divine favour with people.

Just like Ruth in the Bible, when you walk with God and in His grace, you will find unexpected favour from people and places. "Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me...?" Ruth 2:10

(Sometimes. But only unexpected. Because usually - often - there will be opposition, dislike, rejection...)

A commitment to wholeness and personal revival.

Be strong in your spirit and refuse to live mediocre lives. God has made everything we will ever need available to us to live an overcoming and successful life if we will take hold of it by faith.

Fresh Passion to see His House built.

Just as Ezra had a passion to build God's House, determine in your heart that you will make the House of God a priority in your life. We are 'living stones', the fabric of His Church and our contribution and commitment to it is the key to living a blessed life.Promises for the future:

Galatians 6:9  Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up

Psalms 31:24 CEV  All who trust the Lord , be cheerful and strong.

And Jennie Allen, 'Threads of People':

"...Joseph...couldn't control his circumstances, but he intentionally leveraged every relationship in his path for the glory of God. Despite the chaos of his circumstances and the incredible evil brought against him by people he trusted, he never quit choosing to trust and love people. He never wasted opportunity to serve-even those who wronged him.
If we are honest, we'll admit that it is hard to love people-especially like Joseph did. So you know what we tend to do instead of doing the difficult work of loving them? We piddle.

To piddle is to waste time, or spend one's time idly or inefficiently. It's easier to survive this life on the surface, bumping up against people gently than do the mess of intentionally loving them. Love takes risk. Love takes forgiveness and grace. Love takes effort, time, and a commitment to not bolting when it gets hard (because it will get hard).
If this is the cost of deep relationships, we can't possibly have capacity and space to go deep with everyone. So we have to become intentional, because we need people. We need the right people. And sometimes finding the right people takes discipline and effort. When we find those right people, we have to fight for them. We have to prioritize time and issue grace over and over, because every human on this earth will disappoint us. And when that happens, we love and fight for them even harder.
We all fell in love with shows like Friends, because we deeply want to have "our people." Close friends and mentors don't fall into our laps. You search and invest, and then you allow them to be imperfect versions of what you were hoping for in your head. Most of us are waiting to be invited, waiting to be pursued, waiting for friends to come to us.

Love is such an active process, and we are fairly lazy. So initiate. Then when you come together, initiate depth. Great conversations come from great questions and honest answers. Become someone who does both well."

Brian Houston (Release, Repair...)
"Praise works best at the start, before the miracle, before the breakthrough, before the restoration. It sets the stage for our Almighty God to act on our behalf; that is why we sing songs of praise at the start of our services.

Ps 100:12 says, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

With Phaoroah in forceful advance, Moses praised God BEFORE the miracle at the face of the Red Sea. The people praised on the other side. It's easy to praise after we experience a breakthrough, but the power is in knowing how to praise beforehand, while we are waiting.

Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and offered praise to God at the face of Lazarus's tomb. There is such power in a heart of praise. What are you trusting God to bring to life in your life? There is nothing God can't turn around - He can bring life to anything that is lying in ruins. Start to praise TODAY and begin to see the power of praise at work in your life.

"You have taught me since I was a child,
and I (want to) never stop telling about your marvellous deeds.
Don’t leave me when I am old and my hair turns gray.
Let me tell future generations about your mighty power.

Your deeds of kindness are known in the heavens.
No one is like you!

You made me suffer, but you will bring me back from this deep pit
and give me new life.You will make me truly great and take my sorrow away.

I will praise you, God, the Holy One of Israel. You are faithful.
I will play harp and sing your praises. You have rescued me!
I will celebrate and shout, singing praises to you with all my heart.
All day long I will announce your power to save.
I will tell how you disgraced and disappointed  those who wanted to hurt me

 

And yet: I am called to invest in people:

 

Jennie Allen: "It is our turn to be Jesus to this world. We exist for God and for those who need God. Within the church, we use our gifts to build up and equip the body. Outside of the church, we show love to show God....People, nearly every one of them, are hurting, even if they don't say it. And we hold armfuls of their cure. We get God, and we get to give God away; it is for our joy. ...

In the movie Amazing Grace, William Pitt's character races barefoot through a field with William Wilberforce and says to him "Why is it you only feel the thorns in your feet when you stop running?" When we run for God and for people, we forget for just a moment about ourselves, and it feels amazing. Nothing makes a soul sicker than too much time given to itself.

So...
Pray.
Pursue them.
Ask them great questions.
Share your struggles and your God.
Dream of ways you can meet their needs.

God's economy makes beautiful exchanges: as we give, we grow.

Seek the uncomfortable. Life is short, and it is worth the risk. You do not risk like a fool; you are wisely investing in the only two things that will not die: God and people.

Just another email...?

It was just another email from one of the blogs I subscribe to. I was whizzing through my inbox, trying to clear just a little of the backlog before I left for work: speedreading at its best.
I'd just read one from Ed's series on 'Doing Justice', on the work of a Dutch woman with children in the Philippines. I'd been reflecting on living to do God's work, on being part of His Kingdom and what that might look like for us in the next few years as we face illness/change/moving home/retirement...certainties, probabilities and possibilities all mixed in confusingly together.
My mind jerked from missions overseas to a story of a second marriage. Huh?
Yet as I skimmed down, the words tore into my heart and I started to weep as I read a remarkable story of a woman's faithfulness to keep a promise she had made (to try to have another child) and God's provision through that faithfulness against the odds:
"After surgery we waited for the stick to turn blue…never did. Thinking it might be due to my thyroid, I made a doctor’s appointment and discovered that my cancer had returned and it was creeping way too close to my esophagus. Surgery, radiation and four years later… gave birth to a son.

Had I not kept the promise, the cancer may not have been found in time.

Had I not kept the promise to try, we would not have our son – now 12.

Had I not kept the promise, my arms would have ached to hold a child when my daughter died, so my arms were constantly hovering over my son…(he was not nearly as thrilled about hugs as I was!)

God honored my promise to try by giving us a child, healing my disease, and providing comfort.

God made promises to us all through His Word.

He has and will keep…Every. Single. One.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” –Jeremiah 29:11

He promises to provide our every need. He promises to comfort, to give us peace and a future. He promises that He will never flood the earth again. He promises us eternal life with Him when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. There are over 3000 promises in the Bible…and what if God chose to not fulfill even one of those promises? Hard to imagine, isn’t it?

We should make our promises carefully. There are promises I’m sure I’ve made to God and to family and friends that I have not kept through the years…and He’s given me tremendous grace.

As you know, making a promise is giving our word. That’s exactly what God did as He breathed promise after promise into the Bible…He gave HIS WORD to us."

And so I come across Jeremiah 29:11/ A promise. (And an added bonus: I was reflecting on God's promise to never flood the earth again, too, as I had taught the story to 8 year olds the day before.)

Plans. Purposes. Promises.

FAITH.