Great is Your Faithfulness

  In Exodus 16, the Children of Israel were murmuring against Moses because they wanted meat to eat. Moses correctly identifies their murmuring as against God, not just against him.  They were critizing their leader because they were tired of God's bread, God's daily provision.

This is the amazing mercy and grace of God. The bread the Lord sent was a perfect picture of the bread of His Word and His Son. God gives His best to us when we are least deserving.

   If there were three million Hebrews, God would have had to provide about 6,000 tons of bread daily, or about forty boxcars full each day. Our God is a God of abundance.

2 Peter 1:3 says, "He gives us all that pertains to life and godliness."

  The bread (manna) He gave that was not eaten began to stink. The same is true of the Word of God. Whenever we gather teaching or truth without applying it, whenever we take in, without giving out, we begin to stink. When we are taking in the Word, digesting it, and applying it to our lives, or giving it out, we will always be hungry

for more. So when people say, "I'm not being fed spiritually," it is usually because they're taking in the Word but doing anything with it, and then they eventually become critical.

  If your walk with Jesus is getting stale, and the Word begins to stink, it's time to start giving out the Word you've been receiving. Give Moses a break, it's not his fault, he ate his manna every morning with a smile.  Or we can be critical and ungrateful until we push God's patience; it's our free will.  We could even provoke God to say, "I hear your murmuring, therefore I'm going to send you meat tonight and tomorrow morning and meat until it is coming out of your nostrils."

  When the sun arose, the manna disappeared. We may have good intentions about studying the Bible and praying in the afternoon or evening, but the truth is, when we miss it first thing in the morning, we usually miss it for the day. This should be no surprise, for Jesus Himself, "rose a great while before morning," in order to spend time

with His Father, and to receive a word to speak to those who were weary.

Many believers in our day are experiencing "dark days,"both because of the new political scene, which is also a view into the spiritual scene. When the world is darkest, greater is the need for "Light."
 
   Astronomers tell us that we can see 1096 stars in the night sky with the naked eye. Yet, in the morning, you can't see any of them. The brightness of the sun obscures the stars in the daytime. It is only when darkness falls that the stars are visible.
 
   Peter wrote to believers in a time of great darkness and persecution. Eventually, six
million of them would be fed to lions, nailed to crosses, ignited as human torches, or
boiled in oil. But Peter knew that the greater the darkness, the greater the light shining
from believers would be.
 
When David was running for his life from Saul, he said in Ps.34, "I will bless the Lord at all times, His praises shall continually be on my lips, for I have tasted and seen in the midst of this difficulty that the Lord is good." 
 
    Peter says, "What man is there that desires life? that he might see good days?" Who will love life and see good days? The world says the ones who live a problem-free life. The ones who avoid difficulty and adversity. But David says just the opposite. He says, "When you're wondering how you're going to make it, how you're going to pay the mortgage or the next bill or buy the next meal, or salvage that marriage, that it is in these times that God makes Himself most real to us.

     David was trapped in Gath, acting like he was insane to avoid being killed by the Philistines. When we are trapped in Gath, we do much the same, feeling like maybe we are losing our minds. But it's when you are trapped in Gath that suddenly you will see God.
 
   It's in the day of difficulty that you are going to have the opportunity to taste and see that
the Lord is good. We all know those who seem to be insulated from life's difficulties. They succeed in everything they try. They have good jobs, fat kids, large houses, new cars, and have everything one would want in this life, although they continually strive for more. Yet, the easier life is for them, the less real joy they have within. The challenge for them is not being bored, and this continually becomes more difficult because they are empty within. Augustine said, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee, O Lord."
 
  Peter says something shocking to our natural minds. In the midst of difficulties, suffeirng, and challenges, don't seek to fix the problem. Don't murmur, complain. You will find that you love life because God will meet you in your place of difficulty and that will be far more fulfilling than any type of fulfillment from this world. 
 
   Choose to do good in hard times. Who can really harm you? The worst they can do is send you to heaven. You will be happy if you set your sights on heaven. The more chords that bind us to this earth that we can sever, the more we will be able to enjoy God. Good things are coming.
 
   

  .ExternalClass .EC_hmmessage P {padding:0px;} .ExternalClass body.EC_hmmessage {font-size:10pt;font-family:Verdana;} Psalms 108: As the foundation of the temple was being laid, the Jew's enemies were watching them. Like those early Jews, maybe you feel surrounded by the enemy of circumstances. But just as God was in control when the Jews laid the foundation for the temple, God is in control of our lives too.
 
    Vs. 13 says, "Through God we shall do valiently, for He will tread down our enemies." We can express our fears, doubts, questions. But in the end we can confidently say, "Lord, I know you will see me through."
 
  Heb.10:38; "The just shall live by faith. My righteous servant shall live by his conviction respecting man's relationship with God, born of faith, and if he draws back and shrinks in FEAR, My soul has no pleasure in him."
 
  "Shrinking back". Not just talking about backsliding, but going back to depending on the OT sacrifices, the Law, our works. Thank God for His mercy. We don't have to feel like we have to "measure up" to some standard. That we have to be perfect. That's good because we never could. Or that we need to score enough points to earn God's favor, and that God is mad at us, disappointed with us, or is punishing us until we do. It's mercy, it's grace, which is our only hope of anything.
 
   A sign posted near a convent read, "ABSOLUTELY NO TRESPASSING. VIOLATERS WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW."  --The Sisters of Mercy.
 
   But God's mercy is genuine. Thank God we won't be punished according to the Law--we'd be cooked. So don't "shrink back." Don't give in and go back to trying to earn God's favor. Don't "shrink back" and go back to your sin in discouragement. There is a great reward waiting for your faithfulness and steadfastness.
 
  A certain sheik in Saudi Arabia wanted to give his stockbroker a gift above and beyond her normal salary. She told him she couldn't accept it. But after much persistence she finally relented. When asked what she would like, she said, "I'm kind of getting into golf. If you want to get me a couple of clubs, that would be fine."
     The shiek came back a few months later and said, "I got you five clubs, but only four of them have pools and tennis courts. I hope that's okay."
 
    That which God has in store for us is far beyond any country club or gifts of this world.
 1Cor.2:9; "But it is written: 'Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
      

Hebrews 10: Year after year the OT Jews brought their lambs for sacrifice to atone for
their sins. But when Jesus came and sacrificed His life for our sins, once and for all, He
said, "Do this in remembrance of Me." You don't have to remember your sin year after
year, but remember Me, I've already paid the price. The devil loves to remind us of our
past sins. But the Bible loves to remind us of God's mercy.
 
   It is still true with us today. We have a tendency to keep returning to our little sacrifices.
How long did I pray today? How many verses in the Bible did I read? Then, when we can't keep our own standards and pledges, we feel like failures. That's why Jesus said, "I don't want you to remember your sins by a continual sacrifice; I want you to remember your salvation by continually rejoicing in it.
 
 Your sacrifices now are worth nothing. Do you feel like you're in a rut? Doing the same things day after day to please God? Then you're still under the old system, and like the priests of Old, your work is never done. I was raised in a false religion of legalism. You had to burn candles, it was mandatory to attend all services, you were continually fulfilling all the requirements of that religion, but it was never quite enough. Or you never knew how much was enough. Because when you're dependent on your own works, it never IS enough. Only the Blood is sufficient.   
 
  Because the veil in the temple was torn open at Calvary, we can come into the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies stood the Ark of the Covenant. The Ten Commandments were there, which we had broken. Aaron's rod, budded in remembrance of a people who rebelled against God's leadership, was there. The pot of manna was there, that provded provision for the people who were continually grumbling about something. The Ark was a reminder of all our failures. But covering the Ark, hiding the broken Commandments, the rod of rebellion, and the manna of ungrateful unbelief, was the Mercy Seat.
 
    And so Jesus said to the Pharisees, who represented the Law and knew no mercy. "Go your way and learn of this that you might learn MERCY." He desires mercy, not sacrifice.  

According to the Talmud, there were eighteen priests before the destruction of the 1st temple, and over 300 before the destruction of the 2nd. In the Levitical system of priests there were many priests, because eventually one would die and have to be replaced. In the Melchizedak system (Jesus), there was only One priest, one etenral sacrifice for sin for all time. 
 Now He lives to make intercession for us. A lawyer in court stands to pleads his case. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father. He doesn't stand and plead our case, to intercede for us before the Father as a lawyer would. No, He doesn't use words, but He uses His wounds. WhenThomas doubted Him and His credentials to be the Redeemer of the world, Jesus didn't try to
convince Thomas with words. He said, "Touch My wounds."
 
    In Ps. 106, we have Miriam leading the congregation in worship. They're rejoicing after the miracle at the Red Sea. How much better their worship would have been had they worshipped BEFORE the Red Sea miracle. Maybe you're in a tight spot, you feel boxed by  the circumstances of your life. This is your opportuntry for greatness.  Before your miracle comes, before that "unsolveable"problem is solved, praise God now.            It will be that much more glorious when your deliverance comes.
 
  When God brought judgement on Jerusalem in Ezekiel 14, God said He wouldn't spare the city even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were living there. (These men would only be able to save themselves).
Interesting the three men God named. I won't go into the significance of Noah and Daniel, but Job? What is he noted for? That he suffered long and didn't cave, in, and then saw his long-awaited miracle and deliverance come, and ended up with twice as much as he started. What a testimony and example for us. Job said, "Though He slay me, yet will I praise Him."
  "We have not a high priest that can't be touched with, or unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are ... "  Heb.4:15