The Other Side

James 4:14 – “What is your life? It is even a vapor.”

This week when I was discussing my long-term goals with my roommates, I was really humbled when one of them told me that they just wanted to continue passionately loving God and living for Him for the rest of their life. She basically told me that she did not want to limit God by making plans of her own. Not to say it is wrong to have goals or plan ahead, but I realized that when we have such specific goals and are pretty set in stone with making these happen, sometimes we end up missing God’s plans for our lives.

I included a devotional below from “Our Daily Bread” that I feel relates to this well:
When someone said to my friend, “See you in a year,” it sounded odd when he replied, “Yes, see you on the other side.” He meant that he’d see him on the other side of a one-year deployment for the US Navy. But because the phrase is often used of heaven, it made me think about the uncertainty of life. I wondered, Who will be here in another year? Who might by then be on the other side—in heaven?

We certainly don’t know what the next year—or hour—will bring. In his epistle, James wrote about this uncertainty. He rebuked the greedy merchants for boasting about what they would do that day, the next day, or even the next year (4:13). Their sin wasn’t that they were making plans; it was forgetting God and arrogantly boasting about those business plans.

James reminded them: “What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (v.14). Commentator Peter Davids says that James was pointing out their foolishness and saying, in essence, “Come now, you who make plans—you don’t even understand how little control you have over life itself.”

No part of life is outside the control of God. So when we make plans, we need to remember, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that” (v.15). — Anne Cetas

Tomorrow’s plans I do not know,
I only know this minute;
But He will say, “This is the way,
By faith now walk ye in it.” —Ryberg

Write your plans in pencil and let God have the eraser.

This devotional is such a great reminder to give God the steering wheel in this road trip we call life. I pray that we will remember this as we consider our goals in life. And let us ask ourselves how open we are to God changing these plans.

May grace and peace follow you as you follow the Lord!

God bless!
<3 Shannon

“My Savior, My God” by Aaron Shust
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt0WluTpFTg&feature=fvw
“I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at His right hand
Stands one who is my Savior”

Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Hi everyone! So glad to be back home and writing you all again! :) This weekend I went to St. Louis for a campus visit at Covenant Theological Seminary. During one of my interviews, the Admissions Director, asked me how I have coped with hurts in the past. I told her that the only thing that ever gets me through the most difficult times is knowing that God is always there and He never changes. I just wanted to share this with you today, because I feel it is so easy to forget this Truth when the hard times come.

Genesis 31:3 – “…and I will be with you.”
God says this to Jacob after telling him to move to his relative’s land. Just as He was with Jacob when he was alive, God is also with us in every circumstance we face in life.

2 Timothy 2:13 – “…if we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself.”
How great is it that even when we turn our backs on the Lord, He never moves a step away from us?! I heard a really great analogy yesterday (I think from a sermon by Louie Giglio) about a man and a woman. While they were dating, they would drive around in the guy’s truck and he would have one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the back of the girl’s seat so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Through the years, the woman in the relationship began to move further away from the man (emotionally and literally, in the truck). Even so, the man never moved from his spot. Louie compared this to how we relate to God. There are times in our faith when we will turn away from God through our disobedience, but God never moves away from us. He is always there waiting for us to come back. I can’t imagine a greater love than this! :)

James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  another recollection of how God remains the same

I was reminded of another great Truth last night while I was listening to Louie Giglio. He talked about how we often go to God, crying for answers (wisdom, guidance, etc.) as a last resort. After discussing this with my mom, she reminded me that I had written on this for a devotional a few weeks ago and admitted to doing this with God. As I continue to work on this - and ask for your prayers, grace, and patience with me  - I challenge this group to do this as well: Continue to go to God in the good times and bad times, during your mundane activities and exciting activities, and for big decisions as well as “trivial” decisions. (God sees no decision of ours as trivial!)

James 4:8 – “Draw near to the Lord, and He will draw near to you.”

Isaiah 40:28-31 (New King James Version)
28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”

Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” I love this verse!! It ties into today’s song perfectly!!

Let us rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord is always here for us and that His love for us is never shaken! :)

With love and prayers,
Shannon

“Yesterday, Today, and Forever” by Vicky Beeching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8zHJhPalLY&feature=related

Other Bible references: Matthew 28:20; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 48:14

Committing to the Mission

Refer to Genesis 24

In this chapter, Abraham’s servant was to find Abraham’s son, Isaac, a wife from Abraham’s hometown. Abraham’s servant knew his mission and he stuck to it. He willed to do anything he could to complete his mission.

“’All right,’ Laban said, ‘tell us your mission.’
‘I am Abraham’s servant,’ he explained.” – verses 33,34

As Christians (God’s servants), our mission is to live for Him, obey His Word, and spread the Good News (and make disciples, or fishers of men as stated in Matthew 4:19). Matthew 22:37-40 sums up our calling: “'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'”

I challenge us to ask ourselves if we are continually working on God’s mission or if we have so content in our lives that we have forgotten we were made for a higher calling? Better yet… let us ask ourselves what we feel is our specific calling. For example, I feel called to become a Christian Marriage and Family Counselor.

Whatever it is that God has placed on your heart to do, do all you can to take the steps to fulfill this calling. And keep in mind… “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

Let us determine to be the Lord’s servant and commit ourselves to His work.
May grace and peace be with you always!
<3 Shannon

“What Are You Waiting For” by Natalie Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbW7iqvdOBw

Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

This verse is stating that Jesus Christ is the One who has already set us free from the slavery of sin so that we can stand firm against the enemy and walk in that freedom. However, since it is possible for us to miss our opportunity for the freedom Christ has given us, God says it is our responsibility to stand firm and resist being enslaved again to the yoke of legalism.

John 8:36 – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

After praying and talking with my roommates this week, I became aware of a serious weakness in my faith. God showed me that I have not been walking in the freedom He has given us, as His children. As I explained above, I have been missing out on the experience of living a life of freedom. Rather than using the freedom God has given, I often find myself living life as though things are black and white, full of rules and regulations. In addition, if I feel these rules are not followed, I will punish myself by restraining good things from my life.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” – 2 Corinthians 3:17
Note: True freedom is the freedom to celebrate God’s love and live a full, joyful life. As we grow in the Lord, we experience the joy of becoming who we are meant to be, of realizing our best possibilities.
I encourage us to NOT follow my example :) but seek God’s face and hold onto the power the Holy Spirit has given us as we walk in His freedom. As we continue to walk in freedom, we will be radically transformed and our minds will be renewed by the Truth. (see Romans 12:2) Let us know this freedom experientially in our hearts and not just in our heads.

May we use this freedom we have been given for that which God has intended!

With love and prayers,
Shannon

“Freedom Reigns” by Jason Upton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad3bMvRyT9U

“In Your Freedom” by Hillsong United
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujYmM7de66o

The Tabernacle and Salvation Parallel

I recently heard some mind-blowing insight on the Tabernacle that is discussed in the Old Testament. Below I have described a general idea of the parallel the Tabernacle has with salvation, which is defined as deliverance from the power and penalty of sin.

Hebrews 8:4-5; 9:1-28
Tabernacle means “tent,” “place of dwelling” or “sanctuary.” It was a sacred place where God chose to meet His people, the Israelites, during the 40 years they wandered in the desert under Moses’ leadership. It was the place where the leaders and people came together to worship and offer sacrifices.

The Tabernacle of Moses is a lesson of unquestionable authority.

The Tabernacle was more than just a dwelling place. All the components of the Tabernacle were part of an intricate visual aid to illustrate God's relationship with His people. One aspect of this relationship was God’s requirement for complete obedience. God told Moses to create the Tabernacle exactly the way He commanded (Exodus 25:9).

To this end, God gave very specific instructions about the size of each component and the materials the Israelites were to use. These seemingly cumbersome rules were not intended to burden the people, but to show God’s unquestionable authority and holiness, and emphasize that people could only come to God on God’s terms, not on their own. They had to obey reverently not only in the construction of the Tabernacle, but also in the way they worshipped. Any irreverence or ritual uncleanness could result from an individual being cut off from his people or in death.

The Tabernacle really was a prophetic projection of the Lord’s redemptive plan for His people. Revelation 21:3 says, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”

Here are a couple pictures of the Tabernacle of Moses:
http://www.the-Tabernacle-place.com/images/Tabernacle_painted.jpg

http://www.templebuilders.com/Tabernacleimages/Tabernacle2enlargement.jpg

Something to note: There was only one gate by which people could enter into the Tabernacle courtyard. This symbolizes Jesus’ statement that He is the one gate by which we can enter God’s presence. John 14:6 -“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 10:9 - “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved” -John 10:9.

[Refer to Hebrews 9] - The Tabernacle was always to be set up in the midst of Israel’s campsite. This symbolized God’s desire to dwell among His people. God does not desire to be aloof or distant—He desires to be accessible to us. In fact, He desires to dwell within us.

But there is a problem, and the Tabernacle also symbolized this problem...
(Refer to the linked pictures for understanding) Any Israelite could go into the outer court of the Tabernacle as long as they were ritually clean, but there were restrictions and barriers that prevented most people from getting any closer to God. Only the Levitical priests could go into the Holy Place, the sanctuary in the Tabernacle. And no one (with one exception that I’ll explain soon) could go into God’s dwelling-place, the Holy of Holies. A thick veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies—this was as if God was saying: “Yes, I desire to have you in My presence—but you are not allowed the way you are. There is a serious problem that separates us, and until that problem is resolved there can be no real closeness between us.” That problem was explained (symbolically) by what was inside the Holy of Holies...

Their only piece of furniture in the HOH (Holy of Holies) was a wooden box called the “Ark of the Covenant.” And most important of all, it was over the Ark of the Covenant on the mercy seat that the very presence of God existed (Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:2). Every article in this box was highly symbolic:

Inside the box were three things that symbolized the problem God had with the Israelites. There was a jar of manna. This was the food that God supernaturally provided for the Israelites during their 40 years in the wilderness (story in Exodus). This was the same food that the Israelites complained about—so it symbolized their ungrateful rejection of God’s provision. There was also Aaron’s walking stick. This stick represented God’s leadership through Moses and Aaron. Over and over again the Israelites rebelled against their leadership—so that God had to vindicate that Moses and Aaron were his chosen leaders by supernaturally causing his staff to bud (Numbers 17). So this staff symbolized their rebellion against God’s leadership. Finally, there were the 10 Commandments (Exodus 19-24)—the two stone tablets that summarized God’s law. Even as Moses brought these tablets down from Mt. Sinai, the Israelites were having an idolatrous orgy. Moses furiously threw them down and smashed them—so God made another copy and told him to put them in the Ark of the Covenant. They symbolized their disobedience to God’s law. This is not a pretty picture—and God has the same problems with us! What do we find in the meeting room with God? A record of why we deserve to be condemned by Him!

*Ultimately, the problem, discussed above, is sin.*

BUT there is good news to come so I encourage you to continue reading :)
Refer to Hebrews 9:1-4. “Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A Tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lamp stand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered Ark of the Covenant. This Ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.”
On top of the ark stood two statues of cherubim—angelic beings who are associated with banishment from God’s presence (Genesis 3:24). The cherubim’s faces were directed downward, into the contents of the Ark. It’s like they are saying: “Look at what these people have done! God definitely has a problem with these people. God has to judge all this!” And that’s the point. Yes, God loves us. Yes, God desires to have personal closeness with us. But He can’t—because we have violated His righteous character in many ways—and the penalty for this is death. (THE GOOD NEWS IS STILL TO COME…)

If this was all there was in the Holy of Holies, this would be a very depressing message. But there was something else—something called the “mercy seat.” It was the lid over top of the ark—and what happened on this lid symbolized God’s solution to our problem with Him. Because God is holy, God must judge our sin with death. But because God is loving, He provided a way to judge our sin without judging us. He provided a substitute who was killed in our place. Once a year, the high priest (the only one allowed in the Holy of Holies) selected a goat without any physical defect. After symbolically transferring the nation’s guilt for that year on to the goat by laying his hands on the goat’s head, the goat was slain and its blood (demonstrating His death) was carried in by the high priest into the Holy of Holies and poured out onto the mercy seat. The blood covered the lid so that the cherubim now “see” the death rather than the sins. The sins have been covered by the substitute’s death. After pouring out this blood, the high priest came back out and laid his hands on another defect-free goat. Then he sent the goat off into the wilderness. Symbolically, then, God’s judgment for their sins was “sent off” because of the death of the first goat.

This ritual sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, then, was a BEAUTIFUL picture of God’s plan of forgiveness. But it was never more than a temporary and defective picture—it never actually solved the problem of our separation from God. This is what the author emphasizes in Hebrews 9:8-10. The problem was not solved, because the high priests were sinful people just like us, not sinless mediators (9:7). They only went into a man-made tent, not into the actual heavenly presence of God. The sacrifices they offered were only animals, not human. (In fact, the Old Testament strictly forbade human sacrifice. It demanded human death for human guilt, but prohibited sinful human sacrifices.)

The Tabernacle system only cleansed people ceremonially/symbolically (re-qualified them to come into the outer court), it didn’t actually forgive people. The proof of this is two-fold: the sacrifices had to be repeated every year, and even then the worshippers couldn’t go into God’s presence. As 9:10 says, it only applied until God brought the real solution... :)

The Fulfillment in Jesus
Refer to 9:11,12. Here is some really good news! Jesus came as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Tabernacle system:
He was the real High Priest - the sinless High Priest who is therefore qualified to fix our sin problems with God because He doesn’t have any of His own sin problems. He went into the real Tabernacle—the actual presence of God—with His solution. He voluntarily offered His own blood—His own perfect and sinless life—to pay for our sins.

Therefore, He has accomplished a permanent solution for our guilt before God—He has died “once for all” and obtained an “Eternal redemption.” See 9:13,14. The most that the Old Testament sacrifices could grant was ritual cleansing—the right to go into the outer court. But Jesus’ sacrifice actually removes our guilt and cleanses our conscience (experience God’s forgiveness) so that we can serve (“worship”) God and enjoy his personal presence! By His blood, we are now able to enter into God’s presence.

This is why Jesus, just before He died on the Cross, cried out “It is finished” (Matt.27:50; John 19:30). What was finished? All of the Old Testament sacrifices and the whole Tabernacle system were finished, because what they symbolized was now accomplished by His death! And this is why the moment Jesus died, the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn in two (Matt.27:51). The separation between us and God that had stood so long, because our sins, was now bridged by Jesus’ death. The way into God’s presence was open for everyone—as long as we come through what Jesus did for us.

Ritualistic worship of God is now discarded!

The implications that flow from Jesus’ death and resurrection are huge! It changes the whole way we relate to God. One big change is that ritualistic worship of God is now discarded! That’s what is implied by the Temple veil being torn when Jesus died.

God has now called us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (see John 4:24). This means that now God’s presence resides inside of us when we follow Him, and we can worship Him whenever and wherever we want. There is no need to sacrifice animals anymore, because Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. Now that the real High Priest has entered the real Tabernacle to offer the real Sacrifice, Christianity is about a personal love relationship with God, not about ritualistic worship!

How amazing is it that God would give us such a clear picture in the Old Testament of how the Coming Messiah - JESUS - would redeem us all?!
I pray this novel as a devotional message touched you and gave you more knowledge into God’s love and forgiveness.

May your faith increase always! :)
-Shannon

For more information on the Tabernacle of Moses, you can refer to Exodus 24:12-27:21.

Here is a song that talks about the Tabernacle:
“Take Me In” – Kutless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vG9Cx767mc

P.S. – Thanks to Jennie Reeder for help on this one :) Love you!

Relying on His Energy

A Story of A Man and A Fly
There once was a fly flying inside a flying plane. I inquired, "Mr. Fly, why do you fly? Why don't you sit down and enjoy the journey?" His reply smacked of smugness. "And let the plane crash? Why this craft needs me. My wings are essential to our safety." And with a puff of the chest he flew toward the front of the plane. As he returned some moments later, he didn't look so confident. Fear flicked in his tiny eyes, "I don't think I can keep up!" "Keep what up?" "The plane! I don't think I can keep the plane up. I'm flying as furiously as I can. But my wings are weary. I don't know how long I can do this." I opted for frankness. "Don't you know it's not up to you? You are surrounded by strength, held aloft by power that is not yours. Stop flying! It's not up to you to get this plane home." He looked at me as if I were crazy and told me to buzz off.

I wanted to share this short story (from Max Lucado's "Come Thirsty") because I feel so often I find myself trying to "fight the good fight" or "run the race" on my own. But after reading this part in the book, I was reminded of the support we have in Christ. We are the fly in this situation. God is telling us to slow down and rest. If we rest in Him, He will be our strength.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." - 1 Peter 5:7
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:13

I pray that today you will take full advantage of Christ's empowering Spirit within you and let His wings sustain you.

In Christ,
Shannon