Serving with Gladness

I want to share with you about the ability to rejoice at the feet of Jesus & serving Him with a glad heart. How blessed we are to stand in His courts and worship Him!

There was a tribe of Levi out of the Israelites named the tribe of Korah. Also called the Kohathites.  We learn what their responsibilities were in Numbers 4. The Kohathite clan was responsible for the duties of the sanctuary and all the work relating to it.  When the Israelites were ready to move camps then Aaron (the high priest) would go in and cover everything in the Tent of Meeting. Then it was the Kohathites job to come in after everything was covered and they would transport all of the items. They were warned not touch the holy objects or they would die.

 

photo credit The Laymans Bible

However, move on into Numbers 16 and a rebellion begins against Moses. Korah was 1^st cousins to Moses & Aaron. No doubt he felt jealous of the great calling that Moses & Aaron had received. He says to them (in so many words), “Just who do you think you are?” “What makes you so great that you get to be the leader & high priest over all of us?”

Moses reminded Korah that he was also ministering to the Israelites. He got to perform the work of the Lord’s tabernacle. Moses then asked Korah, “Isn’t that enough?”

It says in Numbers 16:31-33, “Just as he finished speaking all these words, the ground beneath them split open. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, all of Korah’s people, and all their possessions. They went down alive into Sheol with all that belonged to them. The earth closed over them and they vanished from the assembly.”

It took all of the men who served in that ministry. It took their wives, children, home, and all their possessions. We’re talking thousands of people! That’s one big hole in the ground!! It was there…. And then it wasn’t anymore.

I tell you this because I think it’s a really cool story! I also tell you this as a reminder that we all have an important part to play in the body of Christ! 

Some in the tribe of Korah were spared, though. I want to read to you Psalm 84. Think about these words as they were written by ancestors of the Korathites.

Psalm 84

Longing for God’s House

For the choir director: on the Gittith. A psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹ How lovely is Your dwelling place,
Lord of Hosts.
² I long and yearn
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh cry out for^[a] the living God.

³ Even a sparrow finds a home,
and a swallow, a nest for herself
where she places her young—
near Your altars, Lord of Hosts,
my King and my God.
⁴ How happy are those who reside in Your house,
who praise You continually.Selah

⁵ Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baca,^[b]
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.^[c]
7 They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.Selah
⁹ Consider our shield,^[d] God;
look on the face of Your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield.
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.
¹² Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!

Think of it in these relatable terms written by Beth Moore:

“O God our Shield, You may turn Your face to look on us one more. We are the anointed servants You assigned to a task. We are not guilty of our father’s sins, for we have found complete satisfaction in Your courts! Hear from our hearts, O God! We are a people humbled to accept any form of servitude You would grant us. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than to take up residence in the finest abodes this world could boast. For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.”

God created you to be set apart in a specific ministry that He created just for you! He has a purpose for you! Don’t allow even a day to go by that you aren’t submitting to all that He has for you. Better is one day in His presence, serving & worshipping Him than living 1000 days elsewhere. Desire Jesus and use the gifts He has given you to offer up to Him and serve Him diligently!

Psalm 100:4-5 “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

Oh Wandering Heart

Oh wandering heart to thee I ask
Do you trust Jehovah for future, present.... past?

Knowing He died for your soul's dark sin
He bled and died and rose again.

To know you more and have all of you
He desires your affection, your worth, and fellowship too!

He will provide for you like the Israelites He did
Do you trust Him and know He longs to lavish you with gifts?

He clothes you. He gives to you. He redeems you, Child.
He honors you. He loves you. He calls you Mine.

He is the Ancient of Days, Jehovah, and Yahweh
He seas, hears, shields, and protects always.

Oh wandering heart do not lose hope
The Creator & Defender allows trials for your growth.

This loving God in whom we've been chosen
Do you realize the rewards that await you in Heaven?

Will you wait upon Him knowing He provides every time?
Oh wandering heart, rest in His arms and refuse Satan's lies.

Make Me a Servant

In my weekly bible study we are studying the tabernacle with Beth Moore in A Woman's Heart. We are looking at what led up to the reason for needing the tabernacle and of course sin in the Garden of Eden is where our break in communion with God began. As we studied the Garden of Eden this week, then there were things the Lord spoke to me.  I shared them with my sweet sisters and now I want to share them with you!

Genesis 2:15 says the Lord God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden to work and take care of it. The word “take care” here in verse 15 also means to guard the garden.  However, Adam didn’t do that, did he? He allowed the serpent to come in. The serpent shouldn’t have even made it to his wife, Eve, but he did. Adam wasn’t doing what God had commissioned him to do.

courtesy of pearls of promise ministries

Genesis 3:24 says that God drove out man and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.  The word guard here is the same word used when Adam was instructed to take care of the garden. Now that Adam wasn’t there to guard it, then the Lord instructed the cherubim to do it.

Interestingly, the garden was Adam’s tabernacle. Adam was like the priest and the garden was the sanctuary. The garden was their place of worship. The place of worship for the Israelites was the Tent of Meeting. It was instructed to the Levites, the anointed priests, in Numbers 3:7-8 says “They are to perform duties for him (talking about Aaron here) and the entire community before the tent of meeting by attending to the service of the tabernacle. They are to take care of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting and perform duties for the Israelites by attending to the service of the tabernacle.” The commission given to priests regarding the tabernacle was the same commission given to Adam in the garden. Work it. Take care of it. Guard it.

So I share this with you.  The same way Adam was called to serve God by guarding & caring for the garden, the priests were called to guard & care for the tent of meeting because it was their sanctuary. We too are called to guard and take care of our sanctuary. Our church. We are called to serve our church. Adam didn’t guard his church nor did he guard his heart. Adam didn’t obey God’s commission and now that he wasn’t there to serve the Garden, then God had to use someone else. He used the cherubim.

God is going to do what God is going to do. We can do it with him or we can do it without him. Doing it with him, obeying him, and serving him allows us to receive His blessings. Or we can choose to ignore His commission & not guard against those who will seduce us into sin. Like Adam, we will miss blessings and all that the Lord has planned for us.

So we must guard our church and guard our hearts. Because of Jesus, our bodies are our temple now. The Holy Spirit no longer resides in the garden or a tabernacle. He resides in us! Let’s do as He has commissioned us. Like Adam and the Levites, we must work & take care of our church. We must care for & guard our souls. If we don’t allow the Lord to use us, then He will surely use someone else.

Sin of Dissatisfaction

Have you ever been guilty of the sin of dissatisfaction?

credited to www.fourgrainer.com

Is your house not big enough or nice enough?
Is your car not the one you wish you were driving?
Do you wish your children behaved all of the time?
Do you wish your husband romanced you like the husbands of the Hallmark movies?
Do you wish your wife had it all together?
Do you wish your boss recognized your talent?
Do you wish friends recognized your work in the friendship?
Do you wish you were prettier, thinner, better, etc?
Do you wish someone would notice you for who you are and everything you do?

I am guilty! G-U-I-L-T-Y!! Not that I admit that with excitement. It's more like, I admit it shamefully.. with my head down, eyes averted, and sheepishly raising my hand explaining that yes... sometimes, I do indeed wish for more than I actually have.

How satan just loves to turn our satisfaction into dissatisfaction!! Stop looking at what seems to be  lacking and let's look at what has been given...

My house is warm on this day that feels like it's below 0 outside.

My vehicles gets us from point A to point B safely.

My children are children... and although they don't always behave how I wish they would, then I can praise God they are all healthy and strong! Those strong minds will mean they have strength to stand up for what's right!

My husband may not woo me in the ways I may selfishly desire, but he works hard to provide for us. He helps me with our children. He doesn't complain that the house is a mess and dinner isn't ready on time. He is gracious to me.

I'm the wife who doesn't have it all together and the house is rarely clean, but our kids are healthy, doing homeschool, & well-fed. Hey! That must count for something!!



The Lord has given me many blessings! It is downright sinful to be so ungrateful as to complain that what I've been given is not enough. It is only pride and idolatry that breeds that sin. Adam and Eve had everything in the Garden of Eden. They lacked nothing. Everything wrong in this world: in our marriages, in our families, in our churches, etc. was lacking. So it's safe to say... sin isn't because of what we have. Sin isn't because of what we don't have. Sin is simply an issue of our heart. Oh how desperately deceitful our hearts are!! (Jeremiah 17:9) Do not buy satan's lies that we need more stuff, bigger salaries, & better things. Less of our man, less of our children, less of our church, etc.


Sweet Friend, let's take our thoughts captive to the Lord. Remembering that above all, He is the King, and we are only on this earth to worship & honor him. We are only on this earth to tell others about Him! Who am I to say that what I don't have is good enough? Truly, how good the Lord is to me. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." Praise Him!

When I wrestle with such sinfulness in my heart, then it's my prayer that as sisters in the Lord we can lift each other up in prayer and ask the Lord to make our hearts grateful and our minds satisfied. He alone... Jesus alone... is enough!

Words For Better or Words For Worse?

I grew up in a home where words were used to bring harm. A playful jest that was only truly fun for the jester. Yells & screams of imperfection haunted me by those I longed to please most. Words spoken over me that wrought fear of uncertainty and unknowns within my bones. 

It wasn't until I got married that I realized the damaging words that encased my heart. It was then that I used those same words to bring harm to my new husband. Our marriage was deteriorating in the few short months since we had both donned our wedding bands. A kind, courageous friend pulled me aside one day and spoke the truth with love to me. A truth that shook my core. "You're not a nice wife", she told me. She explained to me how she had seen my bullying, emasculating, and hateful words to tear my husband down. The sad part was... I knew it was all true. I had done that & I felt utter shame.

But why?

It shattered the very being of who I was but the answer was quite simple. Using my words in that sort of way was all I had ever known.

Thirteen years later and that man is a rock in my life and we are so very happily in love. I am grateful to God every day for saving our marriage.  I rejoice that the Father gave him to me to do life with! 

Candidly I share with you, I continue to be redeemed over the words I choose. I am still a work in progress.

That friend and I have since parted ways as we both moved to different states. Now, the Holy Spirit pulls me aside and whispers truths into my spirit... and lately he's continued to show me more about the words I speak.

Isaiah 58:13 says “If you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking too much; then you will delight in the Lord.”

You see I've learned, our words are a developed picture of our heart. Matt. 15:18 says that what is in our hearts comes out of our mouths. Psalm 19:14 requests for the Lord to make the words of my mouth and meditations of my heart pleasing to Him for He is my rock & redeemer!  My words can defile others (Matt 15:11) and my words can oppress, rebel, and disgust the Lord (Isaiah 59:13)

Like the fires in Gatlinburg,TN that began with a small piece of brush from wildfires in the chimney tops destroyed more than 15,000 acres of mountains, our words have the same power. James 3:5-6 says, “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”

Pic courtesy of The Watchers

 In Isaiah 6:6-7 Isaiah’s lips are purified by an angel with a burning coal. The fire within the coal purified his mouth and then wickedness was removed and his sins atoned for. This was his justification moment. His salvation moment! This speaks to me and shows me that if his lips were purified & all wickedness removed from him, then our mouth is a messenger that performs the potentially wicked duties of our heart.

So, we can choose… will we allow our mouths to be like that of a deadly spark that destroys the lives of others and wreaks havoc to those in our paths? Or will we allow our mouths to be like that of Isaiah? Allowing the angels to take the fire of purification and cleanse our mouths, therefore purifying our hearts?

My prayer is that my words will be uplifting and strengthening to others. This includes The Hubs and our precious children. As I come alongside others, then I want to use my words to encourage our fellowship with each other. I want my words to reveal Jesus to them! 

What about you? Can you relate? Are you using your words to reveal Jesus to others?