Journey of Faith

Thoughts I have through my journey of falling in love with Jesus.

[journeyoffaith91]

I was reading 1st Chronicles chapter 13 the other day. The Ark was being brought back to Jerusalem and “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets” (1 Chronicles 13:8). It was a time for celebration for them, the ark was finally going back to Jerusalem where it was before the Philistines captured it and returned it to Kirjath-jerim (you can read 1st Samuel chapter 4 if you want to read about that). But right after the verse of the Israelites celebrating things changed. The ox carrying the ark stumbles, and like anything being carried on a cart, the ark moves a bit. To steady the ark, Uzza reaches up and touches it. Instantly, the anger of the Lord came down on Uzza and he was instantly killed. While I was reading this story I instantly thought of being in the driver's seat of my car. Whenever I hit a bump or hit the brakes a little hard I instinctively reach to the passenger side to steady whatever object, or person, was there. I would have been killed like Uzza if the object in my passenger seat was the ark. The chapter goes on to tell us that David was angry with God for killing Uzza. He questioned the justice of God because they were doing God’s work! It was a time of joy and it quickly became a time for grief and mourning. David became scared and left the ark with Obed-edom, abandoning his goal of bringing the ark back to Jerusalem. When I first read this chapter I sided with David a bit. I was already sympathizing with Uzza cause I related my own experience with him and I could not understand why God killed Uzza while he was doing God’s work. I was unknowingly making the same mistake Uzza and all of the Israelites were making that day.  I didn’t understand, so I did the best thing one can do when they don’t understand God’s word, I did some research. I found two very clear commands from God in Numbers 4:15 “The sons of Kohath shall come to see it (the ark) but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die.” and Numbers 7:9 they shall “Bear the ark on their shoulders”. After reading more about the ark and God’s commands related to it, Uzza’s death made more sense. David and the Israelites started off doing God’s work and their hearts were in the right but they did not follow God’s commands. The ark was to be moved using poles being carried on people's shoulders, not on a cart being pulled by oxen. Also, it is clear that only the Levites with confessed sins were allowed to touch the sacred ark. Now, one could say “The Israelites were doing the same thing the Philistines did when they sent the ark to Kirjath-jearim. The Philistines loaded the ark onto a cart that was pulled by an ox and nothing happened to them.” Think of the Philistines and Israelites as children. The Philistines are the younger child, say 3 years old, and the Israelites are the older child, let's put them at the age of 10. If the 3-year-old hits their parent the parent will not get angry with them because the child does not know better yet but if the 15-year-old hits the parent there would be consequences because they know not to hit people. This was the main difference between them. The Philistines didn’t know about how holy the ark was but the Israelites did. The Israelites were taught the commands and the laws that applied to the ark and this is why Uzza died when he touched it. God had to kill Uzza because the command said “lest they die” and if Uzza survived the Israelites would begin to think the command did not apply to them or question God’s words. This applies to us Christians. We know God’s word, we have access to it, and if we do not study and meditate on His word we could end up like Uzza with a lessened sense of sacredness when it comes to God and begin to act out in obedience and carelessness.  

[journeyoffaith91]

“The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭14:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I enjoy this verse. I try to remember this verse when I’m in my home. Do I want to build my house up or tear it down? It’s a tough question to ask and at times, it is even tougher to answer. The real question though is what type of house am I building?

While reading Proverbs 14:1 I started thinking of the story The Three Little Pigs. It’s a very relatable story. I can give you multiple examples of how I acted like each pig. Take a look at Pig one, he just does not care about the house he is building. He wants the cheapest material and does not want to spend a lot of time on building his house. He’s got better things to do. The second pig started off caring. He spent some money on the wood, tried to get sturdy material. But halfway through he got bored, he started to skip some steps and do things halfway. Now the third pig, he got sturdy material, bricks, and cement. He spent his time laying each brick down and making sure there was enough cement to keep the house sturdy. We all know how the rest of the story goes, the big bad wolf came through and destroyed the first two pig's houses but when he got to the third pig's house no matter how hard he tried he could not blow that house down.

The reason Proverbs 14:1 reminded me of the Three Little Pigs is that they have the same foundational meaning. Let’s take a look at the story again but this time instead of the pigs building a house, they’re building a relationship with God, a house within God.

The first pig did not want to give up any of his time. He did not seek out God's knowledge. He allowed his desires of the world to get in the way. He’s the type of pig who goes to church only on Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve and apart from those holidays he doesn’t give God much thought. The house the pig built has no foundation so when the big bad devil comes by, he easily destroys the pig's house. The pig is so easily distracted by the devil and believes the devil's lies, he’ll blame God for the destruction of his home.

Pig number two starts off a bit differently than pig number one. He goes to church weekly, started strong with building a foundation with God. He spent time in God's word, spent time in meditation, and prayer. As pig number two spent more time with God he started to feel God asking him to give up his sins, walk away from them. The pig spent a lot of time, in the beginning, building up his relationship with God but he still wanted to hold onto his sins. Say he wanted to keep having a drink after work, had a sailor's mouth, and did not wish to give it up, Sind God was asking him to walk away from it so he can be closer to God. The pig was not willing to give them up so he started to distance himself a bit, he began to take shortcuts in his relationship with God, doing things halfway. The big bad devil sees these cracks starting and destroying the house will take him a little longer than the first pigs, but after a while, pig twos house will come falling. Pig two started strong but once he began to halfway do God's will, the devil tried to cut him off from God.

Last, but not least, pig three. This pig starts the same as pig two, goes to church weekly, spends time in God's word, meditation, and prayer. Pig three sticks with God, even though the hard times he keeps his eyes on God. He tries to better himself and tries to live the fruits of the spirit. The devil tries and tries to destroy this pig's house. He tries to find a weak spot in the pig's relationship with God but God protects the pig from the devil. The devil way breaks a window, destroys the roof, but the pig keeps his eyes on God, and the damages are repaired. Pig three trusts in God remains strong no matter what the devil throws at him.

Matthew 7:24-27 sums up the Three Little Pigs story and God's promise to us well.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

So the real question is, which pig are you? Which house are you going to build?

[journeyoffaith91]

Fear God

Growing up I remember hearing verses from the Bible to fear the Lord.  “Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭147:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬   As a child I had a very limited understanding of fear, fear of the dark, failing a test, for some strange reason, fear of the hamburglar guy from McDonald’s, but I never understood how God fell into my understanding of fear. There are so many verses that talk about God being loving, one of my favorites is, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬  Not to mention all the amount of times the Bible says not to fear.  “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.””‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭31:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬.  I struggled with how do we fear God when he is loving and protects us.  Even as an adult I struggled with this thought. I still associate fear with something negative never positive but then I remembered an event that happened when I was 16. It was early in the morning and I was on the bus heading to school. Another girl and I were arguing and I let my anger win; I punched her. Later that day I was in the principal's office being given my in-school suspension. I was calm, I knew I did wrong and I was ready to take my consequences. What I was not ready for was the principal to call my mom. I burst out crying and begged him not to call my mom. When he was on the phone with her (speaker of course) all I could say was “I’m sorry to my mom.” I could see her face in my mind, the frown, her looking up at the ceiling and thinking “Barbara, I wish you didn’t do that”, but she stayed calm because she loves me. Later on, my mom told me how my principal was very concerned due to my outburst of tears. The truth is, I was scared, I feared my mom and dad at that moment. Not in the way of “oh no, I’m going to go home and they’re going yell at me, I’m going to be grounded for a month, etc.” but because I knew I did wrong and did not want to disappoint them. I had this fear of my parents growing up and never really realized it. I was afraid of disappointing them by breaking a rule or doing the opposite of what they told me to do. I broke A lot of my mom's favorite bowls growing up (it was probably only one but Knowing me, there’s a chance there were more) because I didn’t clean the kitchen before cooking something (something she would remind me of often). I started applying this new understanding of fear to God. I fear God because I don’t want to disappoint Him. I love Him so much that I don’t want to break his rules. The more I read and studied God's word the more I began to understand how fear leads to wisdom.  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”‭‭Psalms‬ ‭111:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I have a better understanding of who God is, what his plan is for us, and how much He loves us. God loves us so much that he gave us laws to follow so that we may live closer to him a d begin to understand the wisdom He has to share. The more we understand God's laws and wisdom my we fear Him because we do not want to disappoint or hurt Him. I’ve begun to have the same fear I had in my high school's principal's office when he called my mom when I am going to God and confessing my sins. “Hey God, me again. I know you already know this but I did the exact opposite you told me to do.” And just like that phone call, I can imagine God shaking His head, thinking “Barbara, I wish you didn’t do that” but He forgives me and helps me do better next time I am tempted because he loves me. I use to think it was wrong to fear the Lord but now I know it is wrong to NOT fear the lord. Like the Bible says  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭1:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

[journeyoffaith91]

I struggle with having a favorite. I have many so I like to put them into subcategories, favorite person from the new and Old Testament, favorite book of the Bible, favorite message/meaning. Today I want to talk about my favorite message from the Old Testament. This is a recent message from (I think genesis) that I came across by reading the book Joseph. I always enjoyed the story of Joseph but it was never one of my favorite ones but while reading that book and going back through the Bible I came across an message from God that has become one of my new mottos to live by. Let’s start in the beginning (Genesis 37:3-9) “Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him. Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.” His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.”“Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Now there are a few things from this story so far that Joseph understood:

1. He was his fathers favorite

2. God was speaking to him through his dreams

3. He was to be higher than all his brothers and mother and father.

Now this last one caused his brothers to become very upset. And as the story goes they sold Joseph into slavery and he became a slave in the Potiphar’s house hold. Now Joseph was very upset of course. His brothers sold him into slavery and he thought he would never see his father or home again. According to Ellen white Joseph believed that the God of his fathers would be his God. Then and there he gave himself fully to the Lord and prayed that the Keeper of Israel would be with him in his exile.. BOE 99.3.

At this point there were only a few things that Joseph understood:

1. He was now a slave

2. The Lord, the keeper of Israel would be with him

The story continues and we know that the Lord blessed Joseph and he found favor in potifers eyes because of that. “The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39:2-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

But as we continue to read we find that Joseph was thrown into prison, “Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

And in The beginning of Joseph’s time in prison he was treated harshly They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons. Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the Lord tested him” (Psalm 105:18, 19). . BOE 101.1.

Now I don’t know about you but I can easily see Joseph asking God why every once and a while at this point. God gave him dreams about being above everyone in his family but than allowed him to be sold into slavery. God gave Joseph control of Potifers house and remained faithful to God only to be thrown into jail. Joseph had thought he understood Gods plan for his life but now he probably didn’t know what to think. In this section of the book Joseph by (name) There is a section where Joseph is calling out to God saying I don’t understand why you brought me here. I don’t understand what you want from me any more of why you are allowing this to happen to me. I felt this part of this book, I felt the pain of crying out to God saying “I don’t understand” because I have been there many times. While Joseph was crying out how he doesn’t understand, God responded with a simple sentence that changed my thinking forever. God responded to Joseph “ I’m not asking you to understand, I’m asking you to do”. that sentence right there made me stop dead in the tracks, I honestly reread it at least 10 times. God puts us places and we will never understand why. It may be to teach us skills or lessons needed to be a follower of His, bring us closer to him, or bring someone else closer to Him. According to Ellen white. God was preparing Joseph in the school of affliction for greater usefulness, and he did not refuse the needed discipline. He learned lessons of justice, sympathy, and mercy that prepared him to exercise power with wisdom and compassion.. BOE 101.2 Joseph didn’t understand why God allowed things to happen to him because he could not see the end result. He did not see how everything that happened to him allowed him to have the skills and leadership to save Egypt and his family from the famine. We as humans cannot see the end result at the beginning, sometimes we won’t see it until we go to Heaven. Which is why the sentence stood out to me so much. Joseph did not focus on trying to understand why God was allowing everything to happen to him, he just did what God asked. He had to faith to just do even when he did not understand which is why this message is my favorite. Once I read that sentence I changed my thinking. Instead of asking God “I don’t understand why you want me here” I say “Here I am God, I am ready to do what you ask”.