jon mark music

so a couple days ago i looked at having a craving for God’s Word that just has to be fulfilled or i just can’t stand it and i have to let somebody know. this is all base on the following verse.

like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. i peter 2:2 (NLT)

today i want to focus on the second half of that verse which deals with the “why” of the craving…that whole “grow up” thing.

see once we start that relationship with Christ we should be continuously growing in our salvation or in our faith. i thought of this even today as molly got a little fussssssy in church. you see it used to be that she would make it through the music and even sing along at times. then once pastor would get up to sing she would fall right asleep. this was not necessarily due to the preaching, but due to her schedule and needing sleep. but the older she gets, or the more she “grows up” the less she sleeps during the morning hours.

so molly and daddy made their way out to the lobby to watch the message on one of the  flat screens in the small lounge area. but little miss molly just wasn’t satisfied, especially once she heard how well her voice would echo when she yelled. eventually one of the church nurses came out to the information center. she stopped to see molly and commented on how much she was growing, great choice of words! then she said, “yeah at this age they just don’t like to sit still for long. they have to be moving.”

of course that got me thinking. why is it that in our relationship with Christ we are ok with sitting still and not moving. why is it that we get so comfortable or satisfied with life the way it is and we don’t continue to “grow up”?

my challenge to myself and to you is not just to have that craving for pure spiritual milk, but that we also grow up and continue to do so. let’s not become comfortable or satisfied, but let’s be moving on, continuing to grow.

this word is something that automatically brings a few things to your mind. for me…coffee! there are few days or moments that i don’t crave a good cup of black coffee or more than that a caramel machiatto from starbucks!! and that is just one of a few cravings that i have. but this word came up in my last class as i had to memorize verses and specifically first peter 2:2.

like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. (NLT)

molly is not what i would consider newborn now that she is 6 months old, but i can still remember when she was just days or even hours old and how she would cry every time she was hungry. in fact, we were fortunate, in that this was pretty much the only time that she would cry. but here was this baby that couldn’t walk, talk, or care for herself in any way. yet she had a craving and was more than able to let you know when she was in need of fulfilling that craving!!!

and as i read through this verse and memorized it i kept thinking about his and asking myself whether this was true of me or not. do i crave pure spiritual milk, not some substitute, but pure. do i crave for God’s Word and what it has for me. and is it like molly’s craving, needing to be fulfilled every two to four hours. it there a longing in my life, to learn more of Who God is and what He has for me, that has to be fulfilled or i just can’t stand it.

for me it’s easier to spend time in “prayer” which is, at times, me giving God my want list that He is more than aware of already. it takes more time and effort to dig in to God’s Word and allow it to sink in. i not only have to read it, but study it, meditate on it, and allow God to speak to me through it. and if i can be honest here, this takes time… a lot of time… i’m not the sharpest tool in the shed!

then to continue on it takes humility and courage to allow it to change my life, or for me to “grow up” as it said. but i would like to revisit this again in the next day or two and consider the second half of that verse. soooooooo, please check back. i promise to have something posted by the weekend!?

so last time we looked at the story of aaron and how God chose him despite the huge mistake that he was going to make. he created a golden calf for the people of israel to “follow” and worship. huge mistake if God has chosen you to lead the people in worship of the one and only true God.

Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.” (ex. 32:9-10, NLT)

so we see that God is not amused by what has taken place…in fact He’s extremely upset. but the part that i want to focus on is what takes place next. 

But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God… (ex. 32:11, NLT)

moses decides to go to bat for these people and he pleads with God on their behalf. he does this by reminding God of what He has done for His chosen people and of His covenant with Abraham. this didn’t mean that moses approved of what the people had done. NO, he wants God to spare them for His own glory. (and if you have time you can read on in chapter 32 to see how moses handles things once he returns to the people. you will see that he is not happy with them at all.) so what is the result of moses pleading with God…

So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people. (ex. 32:14, NLT)

according to this moses was able to change the course of history through pleading to God. one man, talking to God, WOW! now moses had a long standing relationship with God and was chosen by God to lead His people. true. but he was only one man, talking with God, seeking for God to be glorified.

i have been challenged through this to pray more expectantly for God to do what it is i am asking. not because it’s me or because i’ve gotten everything in order in my life and i’m living right. no. because when i pray i am focusing on the Lord being glorified and His will being done.

thank You Lord for hearing our prayers! and not only hearing them, but answering them!

recently i received a new bible in the mail, to replace a bible that had fallen apart. (long story in and of itself) but i started transferring notes from the older bible to the new one. i found myself rehashing stories that were very familiar and remembering things that i had learned from them. then on tuesday i came to exodus 28 and God’s instructions to moses on mount sinai. the particular instructions that i focused on were those focused on aaron.

“Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. Make sacred garments for your brother Aaron, to give him dignity and honor…” ex. 28:1-2 (NIV)

at first glance this doesn’t look so surprising. God wanted aaron and his sons to be the priests for the people of israel. aaron had been a huge part of what moses had been able to do as the leader. so what’s the big deal???

well, God is God and that means He is fully aware everything in the past, present, and future. see if you keep reading in exodus you will see that in four short chapters aaron messes up big time…

“When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us…’” ex. 32:1 (NIV)

aaron did just that. he had the people go out and gather gold…he created the golden calf for them to worship…how ironic is this? God, knowing what aaron was going to do ahead of time, wanted him set apart to be a priest. God wanted him to lead the worship and spiritual health of the nation of israel, the chosen people of God. not only that, God wanted “to give him dignity and honor“. so before he can even take office, aaron decides to make other gods for the people to worship?

so why would God choose to use aaron? with the entire nation of israel to choose from, wasn’t there someone else that hadn’t messed up this big? how could aaron do something this stupid?

well, God knew what kind of a leader aaron would be. the people of israel did what he told them to do and trusted him as a leader. it also gave God one more chance to show His grace and unconditional love for His children. there may have been several other people with less mess ups or more experience, but would God have gotten as much glory out of the situation had He chosen them? and as for how he could do something this stupid…he’s human just like you and me and he is going to make mistakes.

through aaron i have hope that God can use me, despite all of the mistakes that i’ve made in the past and i’m going to make in the future. i can see what God’s grace can look like and how unconditional love works. i can see one more way that God is great and beyond my comprehension.

in the next day or two i hope to leave another post about this same story and what happens in the following verses…God’s response to the situation and what moses does.

don’t forget to check back.