CwC: The Blog

It is not surprising that I have become attached to Moses after reading about him for the past several weeks. We know him pretty intimately. We have covered 120 years of his life.

We rejoiced in his birth (Exodus 2:2), imagined his privileged childhood (Exodus 2:10), and cringed at his mistakes (Exodus 3:12).

We have been amazed at the calling on his life (Exodus 3:10), craved his courage, and sympathized with his struggles (oh, the whining…oh, the complaining).

We have been challenged by his unrelenting love and patience for the people of Israel (I mean, seriously? How many times does he fall prostrate on the ground pleading for God not to strike down the Israelites in His wrath?)

We related to his failures (Numbers 20:8), wept at his disappointments (Deut. 3:25-26), and envied his conversations with The Almighty.

At the end of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are standing on the fringe of the promised land. Moses’ work is complete, and it is time for him to be “gathered to his people” (Deut. 32:50) – which, by the way, is code for death in the OT.

As Moses says goodbye to the Israelites,  there is no doubt that tears were shed.  He spent the past forty years with these people and has likely known all of them since they were little tikes walking around with their little twig “staffs” as they looked up to him in admiration. I’m sure they all wanted to be Moses when they grew up.

As Moses makes his way up to the top of Mount Nebo, I wonder what his thoughts were.  Were they of where he was going? Or where he had been?

Most people would want to be surrounded by family and friends when they breathed their last. Moses is no different. His Father is beside him.

Before Moses closes his eyes for the last time, God wants to show him something. So, there, at the top of Pisgah overlooking the Jordan, God shows him the promised land. Though Moses couldn’t enter it, God knew the desire of his heart to see the land he had been leading Israel to for forty years.

Deuteronomy 34:1-4 tells us that God, personally, showed Moses the whole land. Can you hear the conversation?

“Over there, Moses, is where Dan’s clan will live. Do you think they will like it?”

“They would be crazy not to! What about Judah? You’re going to give them the best, aren’t you?”

“Of course. They will be over there – over by the western sea. Naphtali’s family will be over by the lake. I think it has the best view.”

Tribe by tribe God points out where Moses’ people will live.  The land Moses has likely dreamed about.  The land God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. A land flowing with milk and honey.

Moses spent his last moments chatting with The Almighty until his earthly eyes became heavy and dim.  Then, God focused Moses’ spiritual eyes on his new heavenly home.

Did you notice that God buried Moses himself? I’m not sure exactly what that looks like, but I know one thing:  It is the sweetest, most tender thing that I think I have read in The Bible.

God loves Moses so intimately that He personally buries him in a secret place. God’s very own hands picked up his child and gently laid him to rest.

I wept as I bid farewell to Moses. I can’t wait to meet him face-to-face. Can you?

The Bible is full of kings, palaces and thrones. We, as Christians, know that today God sits on His heavenly throne (Psalm 11:4) with Jesus at His right hand (Luke 22:69).

The throne room in Heaven must be a glorious sight. In the books of Ezekiel and Revelation, we are given glimpses of what God’s throne room looks like, and honestly, it is something that my mind cannot wrap itself around. I think it is beyond anything that we can imagine or even process in our limited human minds. But one day, yes, one day, we will get to see that throne room and the One who sits on it, and we will fall flat on our face in awe of what we see.

I’m one of those folks who believe without a shadow of a doubt that God’s throne is a very real and literal throne. It is where He pronounces judgement and administers justice. It is where He reigns over all creation; where all creatures bow before Him to hear His commands and to give Him praise; where He bestows mercy and grace in times of need.

Back around Memorial Day of last year, God called me into women’s ministry. This website is part of that ministry (meaning that it’s the part that He’s allowing me to actually do right now).

Now being completely honest, I’ve never wanted to be in ministry. Frankly, it never even crossed my mind, but God has slowly but surely confirmed for me that somewhere down the line, I’ll be in women’s ministry.

God recently divinely orchestrated a meeting (seriously, it was crazy the way we met) with a sweet lady who also happens to be called into an oddly similar ministry. We didn’t know each other, but it is evident that God has put us in each other’s lives for a reason. So, we are partnering together at some point in the near future, and I hope you’ll get to meet her soon. Neither of us knows exactly what all of this ministry-talk means, but we know that we’ve been called and that our answer is “yes” to whatever and where ever He leads. So, will you pray with us? Will you pray that God will direct our next steps and provide us with opportunities to minister to you as well as other women out there?

Did you know that you are God’s masterpiece?  Check out this sketch written by The Skit Guys, and performed recently at Valleydale Church.

 

 

Untitled from Valleydale Church on Vimeo.