Philippians 3:12-16 – “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us be of the same mind.” NKJV

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was reminded of something the LORD had spoken to my heart years ago.  Always remember that you are a ‘Work in Progress,’ not the ‘Finished Product.’ There have been times when it has been quite a challenge for me personally, and in my dealings with others.  We all want perfection or completion NOW! God is a God of the NOW, but does not always do things in our NOW!

As I mused on this passage, I realized several songs filled my consciousness.   Unfortunately, some of them highlight or justify our humanness and sinfulness rather than focus on His perfection, promise, and purpose for us and in us.

Paul understood that he was not perfect, but that did not prevent him from striving for that lofty goal.  He was driven by the ambition and desire to fully apprehend and comprehend the Lord Jesus Christ in His fullness.  We would do well to adopt Paul’s manner of life and worldview.

He Acknowledged His Deficiency.   He had not arrived at the state of spiritual perfection. He knew he would make mistakes and possibly hurt others, but he kept pressing forward.

He Had a Clear Objective.   He sought spiritual perfection. He was not expecting to suddenly become perfect when he got to heaven, but to manifest Jesus now in this life on earth.

He Got His Thinking Right.   He said, “This one thing I do…”   What thing?  “I Forget those things that are behind (the past life), and I Reach for those things that are to be attained. I Press Toward the Mark.”   That’s the key – He invested everything to become what God said he was!

He Walked or Lived What He Had Learned in Christ. He encouraged others to walk fully in the level of light they had attained. We should never try to walk in the light of another, but in the level of light we have attained in Jesus. We never expect others to be exactly like us in our thoughts, beliefs, gifts, abilities, or commitments. We embrace the reality that we are individual cells within the same body, and all are needed.

None of us has arrived, but all of us can be who God has designed and desired us to be! All of us can manifest Jesus! All of us can proclaim the gospel. We can all live as overcomers and be lights shining in the darkness.

Therefore, as we go through this day and every day, let’s embrace the lessons of that day. Let’s learn from our mistakes and victories. Let’s embrace this truth – “I Can Do ALL THINGS through Christ Who strengthens me!” How many things? ALL THINGS! Nothing is impossible with God, and nothing is impossible for us as we live in Him, and He lives in us!

May your day progress to perfection!

Numbers 20:7-13 –  ^“Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ⁸ “Take the staff and assemble the community, you and Aaron your brother, and then speak to the rock before their eyes.  It will pour forth its water, and you will bring water out of the rock for them, and so you will give the community and their beasts water to drink.”   ⁹ So Moses took the staff from before the Lord, just as he commanded him.  ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the community together in front of the rock, and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock for you?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff.  And water came out abundantly.  So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.  ¹² Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me enough to show me as holy before the Israelites, therefore you will not bring this community into the land I have given them.”  ¹³ These are the waters of Meribah, because the Israelites contended with the Lord, and his holiness was maintained among them.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a challenging reality gripped my heart.   The cost or price of disobedience!

In the Book of Numbers, we read of the almost perpetual dissatisfaction of the children of Israel.  We see the anger of God and the frustration of Moses.   They repeatedly saw the miracles of God, but quickly became dissatisfied with what they had at that moment.  Every difficulty produced complaints and a propensity to embrace the sinful practices of the pagans around them and perpetuate the idolatry of Egypt.

In Numbers 20, they wanted water, and God, as He had done before, gave Moses a direct command.  God’s commands are explicit, and obedience is to be complete and total.  In explicit obedience, we magnify God and give Him honor, and it becomes a witness that leads to surrender to Him.

In verses 8-13, Moses and Aaron gathered the nation to a particular rock.  The instruction was to take the rod (the first time he struck the rock, water came forth).   We dangerously become creatures of habit and revert to what we know rather than following God’s NOW instructions.

God told Moses to take the rod and SPEAK to the rock.  Moses let his frustration overcome him and reverted to the formula of the past.  Notice what it says, “Moses raised his hand high…”   That indicates anger and reveals that he didn’t tap the rock; he hit it with his might.  He gave himself to his anger and frustration.  “AND Struck the rock TWICE.”   Nothing in the command said strike the rock, and certainly not a repeated smiting.

Moses was disobedient, and that disobedience cost both him and Aaron entrance into the Promised Land.   Why Aaron?   Moses did it.  Aaron was silent as Moses let his anger and frustration boil over.  Aaron did not caution Moses, reminding him of the explicit instructions.  Aaron’s silence became complicity.   It’s not just what we do or say, but also what we don’t do and say.

Disobedience is costly.   We need to remember the divine absolutes that Baalam declared to Balak in Numbers 23:19 – “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He not said, and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not establish it?” God IS.  God IS NOT like man.  God’s Word IS certain.

Paul reveals to the Ephesians and us that we were created for service (good works in Jesus), which He created beforehand, so that we could walk in them.

Obedience brings divine blessing, opens the door to settled peace, and enables us to manifest the power, love, and Spirit of Christ.  We have the weapons, the armor, and the promise to propel us into perpetual victory.  Obedience opens the door, and disobedience closes it.  It is our choice!

I pray that the Lord will help each of us walk in total obedience!

Numbers 13:33 – “There ALSO we SAW the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim), AND we BECAME like grasshoppers in our own sight (key revelation), AND so we were in their sight.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was reminded of a precept of God’s Word that many seem to acknowledge theoretically but violate experientially.

In Numbers 13:33, that precept is visible.   The twelve spies all saw the same things.  The land was all Moses said, but ten let their focus shift from the bountiful land and God’s promise to the problems.

They said, “There ALSO we SAW the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim), AND we BECAME like grasshoppers in our own sight (key revelation), AND so we were in their sight.”

We become what we focus on.   Joshua and Caleb focused on the promise of God, the land, and the integrity of God.   They said, “Let’s go up and take the land.  Those big dudes will be bread for us.  The bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

The ten focused on the obstacle and saw the size of the problem as bigger than the promise.   Two looked to God for fulfillment, knowing, “Our help comes from the LORD.”   The ten viewed fulfillment of the promise as dependent on their ability.   They became like grasshoppers in their own sight.   The result was that they began to act like grasshoppers.  The Nephilim reacted to how they acted and agreed, “You boys are mere bugs to us.”

How we see God determines how we see ourselves.

Paul expressed that in 2 Corinthians 12, as he dealt with the satanic attack.  He focused on God and trusted God’s promises.  “My grace (the grace that is in and through Jesus) is sufficient (more than enough) for you…(you need nothing more), My power is perfected (demonstrated when you realize you cannot, but He can) in weakness.”

So, be careful what you focus on.   What fills your sight, fills your heart, and transforms you.   I will look to the hills where my help comes from.  Our help is God!   We are more than conquerors in and through Jesus.

May the God of Peace and Power fill your vision and lift you into His presence with victory today!

Psalm 115:16 –  “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a single word kept echoing in my heart and mind – “Character.”

Psalm 115:16 fascinates me.  “The heavens are the heavens of Yahweh, but the earth He has given to the sons of men.”  Some make that an environmental mandate and focus on things like global warming and climate change.   I suggest being good stewards of the planet is wise and necessary, but something larger is at stake.  

In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam the garden and used the word subdue in His instructions regarding the planet and the creatures on it.   People are our focus, not just the terrestrial ball upon which we live.

But that is not my thought today.  Psalm 119 always challenges me. Psalm 119:9-11 The question was about young men staying pure.  The young are driven by passion and raging hormones.  The Word (precepts) of God is an anchor.

Psalm 119:27 – “Make me understand the way of Your precepts so that I will muse on Your wondrous deeds.”   The way?   In this context, the way refers to character.  God’s and what is produced in us.  The precepts (Word) of God produce in us the character of God.

In verse 33, we realize that character becomes our anchor.   In verses 57-59, we see the incredible power and value of that character-producing word, which transforms us.

Psalm 119:105 – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Revelation of God’s character and nature transforms us with illuminated truth.  Verse 130 says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”   We can never be the manifestation of Jesus without being transformed by His word.

Romans 13 calls upon us to awaken not just because time is short and it is the Last Days, but because it is our last days (brevity of life).   The world needs God, but will never receive Him unless we become transformed by the character of God.  

The Word is not to be studied for information but for transformation.  Not for revelation but application.  The precepts of God will always challenge the flesh.  Character is not a status reached; it is an experience encountered.  It is an anchor that will not fail.

Psalm 119:89 – “FOREVER, O Yahweh, Your Word stands firm in heaven.” Notice it says Forever!

Father, help us to embrace and be transformed by Your Character!

Isaiah 1:16-20 – “Wash!  Cleanse yourselves!   Remove your sinful deeds from my sight.  Stop sinning.  ¹⁷ Learn to do what is right.  Promote justice.  Give the oppressed reason to celebrate.  Take up the cause of the orphan.  Defend the rights of the widow.  ¹⁸ Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.  ¹⁹ If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.  ²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken.”

Last night and for several nights, my sleep has been troubled as I mused on life, freedom, love, the harvest, and forgiveness.  That’s a broad scope of consideration, but all of them are deeply connected.

As I read in Isaiah today, Isaiah 1:16-20 resonated deeply with my heart.   In verse 16, he says, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean…”   That is physically possible but spiritually impossible.   

The following directive is possible, yet only with divine help.  “Put away the evil doings from before your eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do good: seek justice, do good to the oppressed, plead for the fatherless, plead for the widows.”   There are righteous actions we can and should do.  That suggests that the first part is connected to the second part, and by moving toward God, He moves toward us.

Verse 18 gripped my heart with the traditional understanding, and something else exploded in my heart and mind.  “Come now, let us reason (examine the facts) together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”   This is the fruit of forgiveness!

Then, something smacked me like a crushing hammer.  Forgiveness is given.   Forgiveness is a two-way street, given and received.  Forgiveness is never earned or deserved, nor can it be demanded by man.  We can’t make God or others forgive us.  We can only confess and repent, asking for it.   At that point, it is out of our hands.  We move from there to demonstrating righteousness, being forgiven by God, even if not by man.

In Isaiah 1:19-20, we see the fruit and reward of repentance, as well as the grace of forgiveness.  “If you are willing (living vv. 16-27, embracing v.18) and obedient, you SHALL (not maybe) eat the good of the land.  (Enjoy the grace of God in life).  BUT if you refuse and rebel (both fail to repent and obey and fail to forgive others), you SHALL be devoured with the sword (external judgment and internally impoverished spiritually); for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.”

Our objective must be purity of heart.  We must search our hearts and lay everything before God, allowing Him to purge from us known and secret sins.  We determine to live righteously and always forgive others, JUST AS we are forgiven by God.

Nothing is more important than a clean heart!   Nothing can justify the reason for sin!  Nothing can excuse sin!   ONLY God’s grace can wipe the slate of life clean and give us a new start.   Men may not forgive us.  That would prove to be painful and could have devastating consequences for us, but if we have God’s forgiveness, we have true freedom.   

Peace with God is more essential than favor with people and hiding from the shame caused by our sins.  Confess and forsake sin and then live in His righteousness!  If the Son sets us free, we are truly free!

Lord, wash us and make us white as snow!