EMMDEV 2011-06-24 [Moses Meditations] Moses' Mistook#2

10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." Numbers20:10-12

Yesterday we saw that Moses' first mistake was to take some of the credit that belonged to God for himself. One might want to excuse him: He's irritated with the people, it feels like he's "been there done that and got the t-shirt." He feels that it is up to him and Aaron to show these people a thing or two: "Listen, you rebels, must _we_ bring you water out of this rock?"

But the water wasn't his and he didn't put it in the rock!
Moses was presumptuous.

But the second part the mistook Moses made was that his actions demonstrated a lack of trust in God. When this scenario had taken place previously, Moses had struck a rock and water had flowed. This time, however, the instructions are different.

Moses' actions seem to say: "Hey Lord, I know how its done, I've done it before, I'm going with my experience on this one rather than Your instructions."

Jamie Buckingham wrote a book after retracing the steps of the Exodus with local shepherds who taught him the tricks of the wilderness. In the book he talks about water that gets locked into sandstone shelves/layers in the mountainside. If you know where to tap a rock it can be like popping a cork and water will flow from the rock.

So one can see Moses' mental cogs whirring: "Oh I know how you do this - just find a similar kind of rock and whack it." But God wanted to take Moses' faith to a new level - last time it took a measure of trust to whack the rock. This time speaking to the rock without whacking it would have required new trust.
Moses wasn't up to the challenge - he didn't trust God.

We should not be too critical - we keep wanting the "good old days" when God wants to move us into new pastures. Will you trust Him to do something new?
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We'll break for the school holidays and finish the series on Moses off in term 3.
God bless!
Theo

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-23 [Moses Meditations] Moses' Mistook#1

10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honour me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them." Numbers20:10-12

The Bible doesn't sanitise the stories of its heroes. We know of David's philandering, of Saul's insecurities, of Peter's motor-mouth and now we know of Moses' mistook-mistake.

This is not the first time the Israelites are short of water. This is not the first time they are quarrelling with God. This is not the first time that Moses and Aaron went before God for guidance.

God's instructions were clear: "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water."

Previously, when faced with a similar situation Moses had struck the rock with his staff and water had flowed. Now although God had asked him to _speak_ to it, Moses struck it again and said: "must _we_ bring you water out of this rock?" For this one misdemeanour God makes it clear that Moses will not enter the Promised Land.

Why God was displeased with Moses and Aaron?
There are two issues:
The first has to do with the holiness of His Glory.
There is only one God and it is not Moses!
Moses mistook the situation: "I've been here before - I know the drill, hit the rock, water flows, everyone's happy and I'm the good guy!"

God is jealous (in the very best sense of the word) for His glory. When we as human beings begin to take His glory for ourselves and make people look to us instead of to God, we are in grave danger.

God deals firmly with Moses, because Moses was the point-leader. To whom much is given, much is required and when God's power is abused for personal prestige, disaster will follow.

(We'll look at the second issue tomorrow)

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-22 [Moses Meditations] Presumption

Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Numbers14:44-45

Numbers 13 and 14 are among the saddest chapters in the history of Israel. They sent 12 spies into the land. The spies reported that the land was good but filled with fierce tribes and giants. Only Joshua and Caleb believed that God's presence would win the battle for them. The rest of the spies persuaded the people to rebel against God.

God is angry but Moses intercedes for the people. The ten spies continue to sow seeds of rebellion and doubt and are struck down by plague. God decrees that their desert wanderings will continue until the current generation are gone and their children will be ready to enter the promised land.

The Israelites make the mistake of thinking that God doesn't really mean what He has said and so they decide to pretend that the whole rebellion hadn't happened and go about entering into the promised land. This means attacking the Amalekites in the hill country even though Moses urgently warns them against this action. Their presumption results in them being trounced by the enemy.

There is a very sobering warning in all of this. We are often guilty of making our own plans and then asking God to bless them. There are many times that we are convinced that we know what God wants to do and we simply charge ahead.

The Israelites, so filled with misplaced religious fervour were doing things in their own strength and did not even notice that the signs of God's presence (Moses and the Ark) had not accompanied them.

We don't have the ark of the covenant anymore, but we still have our fellow-believers and wise counsellors. When we doggedly pursue our own plans and the wise fellow-believers in our lives are hesitant, we should be very careful.

Presumption is a trap easily fallen into.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-21 [Moses Meditations] Humilty and Kingdom Vision

After a short diversion for Pentecost, we move into the final stretch in our Meditations on the life of Moses....
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27 A young man ran and told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' aide since youth, spoke up and said, "Moses, my lord, stop them!"
29 But Moses replied, "Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" Numbers11:27-29

This very important interlude takes place at a time when God tells Moses to gather and appoint leaders who can share some of the load in terms of hearing from and speaking for God.

The elders who are with Moses are filled with the Spirit and begin to prophesy, but there are two elders who had not been summoned but who had been chosen by God and so, even though they are not with Moses they begin to prophesy in the camp.

This causes consternation and people come running to Joshua who is Moses trusted aide.

Joshua's response is so typical:
- "this is out of our control."
- "we didn't authorise or sanction this."
- "it threatens our control over the situation."
- "who do they think they are?"
- "just imagine the kinds of precedents this will set!"
"STOP THEM!"

Unfortunately these attitudes are very present in the church and particularly amongst the clergy...

But Moses shows incredible wisdom, maturity and humility.

He is no empire-builder
-He's not a control-freak
-He doesn't need to be the centre of attention
-He is genuinely glad to see other people being used by and for God.

Moses has Kingdom-Vision: He is interested in God's Glory and the growth and development of God's people.
We can learn from his example.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-15 [Pentecost Week] When does it happen?

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts2:38

So when does it happen? When do we receive the Holy Spirit?

There are many who see the "infilling of the Holy Spirit" as a separate experience. There _are_ many people who only become aware of the Holy Spirit's work after they have become Christians. With this awareness comes an increased openness and a profound deepening of their experience of the Spirit.

This deepening isn't the _first_ time the Spirit is at work in them. Peter makes it clear: When we make the decision to give our lives to Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit.

There are two NT passages that talk about the Holy Spirit's work at our conversion.
1Corinthians12:3 explains that it is the Holy Spirit who brings us to a point where we are ready to put our trust in Jesus... It says: "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit."

Ephesians 1:13 tells us that the presence of the Spirit in us is the guarantee of our being God's children. It says this:
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance..."

What conclusions must we draw?
1. I could only receive Jesus as Lord if the Spirit helped me do it.
2. If I doubt the Spirit's presence in my life, then I must doubt that He saved me and I must doubt that I am God's child.
3. So, God's Spirit brings me to faith and lives in me as I choose to follow Him. But the relationship isn't stagnant, it can deepen and deepen as I follow Him and "lift my sails."
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This brings us to the end of the "Pentecost Interlude..."
I'll go back to "Moses Meditations" on Friday - enjoy the public holiday tomorrow...

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-14 [Pentecost Week] Mighty Wind#5 - Speaking

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts2:1-4

Acts 2 is basically a reversal of Gen 11... Gen 11 is the story of the Tower of Babel where humankind thought they could be like God. Building and scheming they were convinced that they didn't need Him any more - they could be independent and self-contained. They had "outgrown" their need for God."

God graciously intervened in this colossal foolishness by confusing their languages. My initial response to this was - "So? Big deal! So He slowed them down - they'll just settle on one language or develop a meta-language (like the "funnagallo" that developed on the mines)." But they didn't - the truth is interesting - people clung to their languages - unwilling to pursue a joint goal if they had to sacrifice "their" language. The Tower of Babel was never completed.

Language and culture are powerful dividing agents. At Pentecost the disciples were divinely enabled to speak other languages. If you read down a few verses, you'll see that they were able to impact the cosmopolitan group that had assembled in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost.

Not only has Christ's death "broken down the dividing wall of hostility" (Ephesians 2) between races and cultures but the Holy Spirit helps us bridge the divide between me and my fellow human being.

Martin Luther King Jnr once said that Sunday mornings were the most "segregated hour" in American life. Fortunately this is changing. The key is surrendering to the wonderful gracious working of the Holy Spirit who will bridge the gap between ourselves and others. But if we go back to arrogant independence we are back at the tower of Babel.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-13 [Pentecost Week] Mighty Wind#4 - Filling

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts2:1-4

Just what does it mean to be filled with the Spirit?
Does God open the tops of our heads and pour in a luminous liquid until we are "full to the brim?"
Does He "invade" or "possess" us?

This is a question that is crucial to our understanding of the Trinity and particularly the Holy Spirit. It is a question that the New Testament patiently answers again and again.

To put it as simply as possible, here is a basic definition:
To be filled with the Spirit is to be _open_ to the influence of the Spirit.

If we stick with the imagery of the Spirit as the breath or wind of God, then we also need an image for ourselves as those on whom this wind blows.

The first image is that of a windmill. But it is NOT a good image.
When the wind blows the windmill turns. The windmill has no choice.

The second image is that of a sailing ship. When the wind blows, the captain of the sailing ship has the sails hoisted and the ship, even if it is absolutely massive, can be moved by the power of the wind filling the unfurled sails. The captain can lower the sails if he does not want to be moved - it is his choice.

On the day of Pentecost a group of believers were together and raised their sails to the wind of the Spirit and the maiden voyage of the great ship we call the church began.

Hope you will unfurl your sails today!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-12 [Pentecost Week] Mighty Wind#3 - Wind and Fire

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts2:1-4

In the Old Testament, we see that Wind and Fire are two images that powerfully describe the working of the Spirit.

The wind imagery reminds us of God's life-giving breath that brings creation into being and makes humankind image-bearers of God. Here the wind is breathed into a body of people and the result is the birth of the church. The church is the corporate body capable of being led, indwelt and resuscitated by the Holy Spirit. Acts 2 describes the first "breath" of the Church.

The fire imagery takes us back to the burning bush of Exodus 3. It burns, but it is not consumed. It glows with divine light and heat but it is not destroyed. So too the church. The saints are not consumed by the fire and they each experience a unique manifestation of the fire, they are not all caught up in one flame - they remain individuals who encountered the unique powerful working of God in their lives.

They hear the wind, they see the fire. The outworking of the Spirit is a tangible thing. While we may not hear actual wind or see actual fire, we can experience the sounds and sights of the Holy Spirit in our faith communities.
We _hear_ Him at work in the sounds of passionate worship. empowered preaching and bold testimony.
We _see_ Him at work in the transformed lives of those around us - people like you and me who have overcome difficulties and challenges and look more like Christ every day.

Can you see the fire and hear the wind?
If you can, give thanks to God - it's the work of His Spirit!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-11 [Pentecost Week] Mighty Wind#2 - Together

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Acts2:1-4

As much as we'd like to make Christianity an individualistic faith, the truth is that God draws us to community. The Holy Spirit _could_ have been poured out on each of the disciples individually while they were in prayer or meditation, but God prefers to work in community.

Western Christianity has a very self-centered perspective on spiritual growth and development. We emphasise personal prayer and the private devotional time. This is not wrong, but there is a serious lack: the lack is the recognition of serious growth and development that is possible when God moves within our faith community.

The folk who became the New Testament's first church were _together_ on the day of Pentecost and God used them as a community.

Many people seek to get closer to God. What they don't understand is that coming closer to God is also coming closer to community. God is a Triune Being - enjoying eternal community of Father, Son and Spirit. We who are created in His image are therefore designed for community.

It is perfectly feasible that the Spirit would choose to work in community. Coming together in community means that we have chosen to move aside our own imperfections (letting go of our insecurities) and the imperfections of others (shelving our critical spirits). It means that we take risks and make room for others.

This is not always comfortable for us. But when we take these kind of faith risks, we are in a place where the Spirit can work powerfully.

Here's a closing thought: Moving TOWARD community brought about Spiritual Growth. Moving AWAY from community brings about Spiritual Shrinkage. If we want the Spirit to work in our lives, we must recognise that He will always move us toward community.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-10 [Pentecost Week] Mighty Wind#1 - Waiting

The next five e-devs (taking us to Pentecost and beyond) are from a series I did in 2007 and cover Acts 2 which is the actual story of Pentecost)
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1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Acts2:1-4

Very few people like waiting. Waiting makes us feel powerless. When we wait for someone to come out of the operating theatre, while we wait for exam results to be published, through the gap between the job interview and that all important phone-call there is one certainty that prevails: We are powerless!

God doesn't see waiting the way we do. Scripture abounds with pictures of God's people learning to and having to wait. Waiting is a valuable tool in the Divine Toolchest. Here's why:

* Waiting reminds us that we are not all powerful. Waiting is one of the best antidotes to control-freak tendencies. Waiting reminds me that I am _not_ in control.

* Waiting teaches us to trust. Sometimes we have to trust the doctors, at other times we must trust the system but ultimately we trust God.

* Waiting lets us prepare for action. Think about the runner waiting for the starting gun. It is the collecting of thoughts and the flexing of muscles that allows for the explosive action that will follow when the shot fires.

* Waiting provides time to pray - although we often prefer pacing to praying. Acts 1:14 tells us that the disciples used this space and place of waiting for prayer. Especially corporate prayer.

* Waiting brings us to the _right_ time. God sees the picture more clearly than we do... We think the time is _now_, but God knows when the best moment will be.

The wait between Ascension and Pentecost could have been soul-destroying and frustrating, but the disciples went through their waiting reasonably well: (They did fail in one respect - control-freakishness - when they elected Mathias as a replacement for Judas and we see later that God actually had a certain Saul of Tarsus in mind...) But for the rest, they:
- realised that they could only do this with Divine help
- spent the time in prayer
- came to feast of Pentecost which had Jerusalem full of people and was an ideal time to empower the church.

One of the significant qualities of a Spirit-filled and Spirit-controlled life is this quality of waiting. Isaiah 40:31 says: They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength...

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-09 [Pentecost Week] Counsellor, Comforter - PARACLETOS

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you...
25 "All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John14:16-27

If I could quote only one passage about the Holy Spirit, it would be this one.

The disciples are frightened because they have learned that Jesus intends to return to the Father. They are unsure of the way ahead, they have become used to the presence of the Lord and are afraid they will not know what to do.

Jesus comforts them with the promise of the coming of the Spirit. He uses a Greek word "Paracletos" which literally means the "one who walks beside." We translate this as counsellor, comforter, guide and advocate.

Jesus promises us that:
* The Spirit will lead us into truth

* Although we cannot see Him, the Spirit will ensure that we are not orphans (Paul says that the Spirit helps us call God "Abba" (Daddy) He will live _in_ us. Giving us even more closeness to God than the disciples had with Jesus.

* He will teach us and remind us of Jesus' teachings.

* He will give us lasting and meaningful peace, not simply the absence of trouble, but peace that outlasts trouble.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the God family and He connects us to the Father and the Son so that we can experience God's closeness and love deeply and intimately.

Traditionally the church has shied away from the Holy Spirit because of confusion about the miraculous and sensational (tongues, healing, etc) but when we look at the core business of the Holy Spirit, why should we be afraid?

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-08 [Pentecost Week] How to shine

So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: `Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

When the exiles returned to from Exile to Israel, they were a rag-tag bunch that came home to a burnt-out shell of Jerusalem and a very dilapidated and depressed community of has-beens and non-starters. Rebuilding the temple was low on the priority and possibility lists.

Zerubbabel was the king in charge, but he was not expected to amount to much - the odds were stacked against him. But Zechariah had a vision about Zerubbabel:
The vision was of a lampstand with seven wicks, each of the wicks with its own channel to the bowl of olive oil and either side of the bowl were two olive trees.

The implication: The olive trees would supply the bowl endlessly, and perfect (seven implies perfection) light would come from this lamp.

The application: Zerubbabel may not look like much, but he will be endlessly supplied by the Holy Spirit. Our own strength peters out and our best efforts end in the sputtering flame of our limited endurance, but we can have the strength to press on and endure when God's Spirit keeps us going.

We tend to try to serve God in our own strength. We come up with gimmicks and tricks to keep going using emotional equivalents of "Red Bull Energy Drinks" to pull us from one "high" to the next. The vision Zechariah has has no rush in it, the trees grow slowly, the oil seeps into the channels and the lamps keep burning. When we stay in communion with God, His Spirit will fuel our work for Him.

It's not by OUR might, not by OUR strength, but by HIS Spirit!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-07 [Pentecost Week] New heart and Spirit

36:24 " `For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Ezekiel36:24-28

This awesome promise is part of a greater promise of forgiveness, renewal and restoration. God is addressing the hope-depleted, faith-diminished and devotion-decreased Israelites in Exile in Babylon.

They had given up hope.
They had lost everything.
They thought that they were forgotten.

God promises
- forgiveness (sprinkled with clean water)
- renewal (heart transplant & Spirit filling)
- restoration (to the land and to being God's people)

The picture of renewal is awesome.
Their hearts were stone - because of their sin and because of their suffering. In Hebrew thinking the heart is not the seat of emotions but rather the control room of a person's life. Their control-centers were bitter, cynical and empty of grace. God promises that this can change!

But that's not all! The promise is that Holy Spirit will take up residence in them to move them in commitment and devotion that they might live according to God's ways.

Are you hope-depleted or faith-diminished? Has your heart turned to stone through the pain and disappointment you've experienced? God wants to forgive, renew and restore!

#Prayer: Lord, I'm so tired out by trying to become a better person from the outside-in. Please soften my heart so that I can be transformed from the inside-out. Amen.
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(This is a "reprint" of a dev I sent out in July 2007)

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-06 [Pentecost Week] Intro to Pentecost

Welcome to our special EmmDev Series on Pentecost!
I don't usually send out an EmmDev on Mondays (as this is my "sabbath") but for this series, I'll be sending out devotions for the whole week. Hope they are a helpful in preparing our hearts for celebrating Pentecost!

Today's dev is a little longer than usual as it gives background...
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4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit." Acts1:4-5

Historically speaking Pentecost was originally an Old Testament festival that took place fifty days after Passover. It was called the "Feast of Weeks" (Shavuot) because it was seven weeks and one day after Passover. It was originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the "first fruits" of the early spring harvest (Lev 23, Exod 23, 34) but it was also used to celebrate God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai.

"Pentecost" comes from the Greek Word for "Fifty" and is how we commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on God's Disciples which really commemorates the birth of the Christian Church, and the powerful transformation of a group of frightened disciples into a group of people who changed history.

It is important to note that when we celebrate Pentecost, Easter or Christmas, we are not trying to re-create these events, but rather to re-enact them. In other words, we dive into the details of these events and re-appreciate their significance for the simple reason that we forget. (This is why the Lord Jesus asked us to celebrate the Lord's Supper... because we forget.)

From the Old Testament background we can glean some wonderful truths:

* Harvest and first fruits: with the coming of the Spirit, the church was born and on its first day of existence, 3000 people were added to the church. Jesus spoke about the fields being ready for harvest and the Holy Spirit helps us to reach out to people and bring them to Christ.

* Seven Weeks (7 X sabbaths) + 1 day makes one think of the Old Testament promise of the "Year of Jubilee" (7X7+1 years) which was supposed to be a year in which debts were cancelled, the economy would be reset and land would go back to original rightful owners. As far as we can see, Israel never had the courage to make this happen. But when the Spirit came, people sold their goods and shared with one another and still today God's people, moved by the Spirit, are able to forgive and care for one another in incredible ways.

* The Old Testament festival celebrated the giving of the Law on tablets of stone, but the coming of the Spirit celebrates the promise of Jeremiah where the law is "written on our hearts." (Jer31:33)

Jesus asked his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Spirit. We know that they spent this time in prayer and fellowship and it's my prayer that we will be thoughtful and prayerful, eagerly longing for God to work in us, in the church and in the world.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-03 [Moses Meditations] Blessing

22 The LORD said to Moses,
Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."
"So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them." Numbers6:22-27

We call this "the Aaronic Blessing."
There is a story of a group of students who were graduating and as a group they really longed for a sense of God's blessing on them, but the university they were at allowed no expressions of faith in the graduation ceremony. They made a plan: when it came time for the head student to make his valedictory speech he went to the podium and as he got there, the entire class sneezed together. He looked up at them and slowly said "God BLESS you!"

Here's a thought: how often do we ask for, wish for and declare the blessing of God on those around us?

Dig around in the original Hebrew of the Aaronic blessing and you'll find that it is a beautiful poetic prayerful gift:
- It uses the Old Testament Covenant name for God: "Yahweh" (LORD)
- It uses "LORD" three times and each time the blessing is longer.
- "Bless" is common in the OT and conveys God's goodness and provision.
- "Keep" comes from the word used for "be a watchman"
- "Face" or "Countenance" is about God's favour, interest and attention which lights our way and gives us grace and peace.

God gives this blessing to Aaron and all his sons. The New Testament calls us all to be a kingdom of priests (Rev1:6) and so we can ask for God's blessing on those around us!

When I write to people and sometimes when I talk to them, I will often end with "GodBless!" Some consider it old-fashioned, but when we care about people and appreciate them should we not be eager for God to bless them?

Parents especially consider this: How about blessing your children when they go to bed or head off to school? If you think about it, there is nothing more that a parent wants than God's blessing on their kids.

So why be shy? We're invited to ask for God's blessings on people - He even gives us the blessing! Go out and "put God's name on people" and watch Him bless them!
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God bless you as we celebrate the ascension this weekend!
Next week we'll take a break from Moses Meditations and think about Pentecost.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-02 [Moses Meditations] Involving Others

5 From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; 6 blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 7 ram skins dyed red and hides of sea cows; acacia wood; 8 olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 9 and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
10 "All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded." Exodus35:5-10

While Moses was on the mountain, God had shown him the "blueprint" for the Tabernacle (which was the portable predecessor of the temple.) Now it needed to be built, and it is interesting to see how Moses gets it built.

There are two facets to the building process: Materials and Skills. Moses sketches the vision for the people and they are prompted and empowered by the Spirit to participate.

Have a look at some of the verses that follow:
"Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, 21 and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments." (vv.20-21)

"Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. 34 And he has given both him and Oholiab the ability to teach others." (vv31-34)

The wonderful thing is that as people saw the quality of the work and sensed the teamwork, they were even more motivated and so a little later we read "And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning" (36:4) until eventually Moses had to beg them to stop.

It seems to me that the building of the Tabernacle was more about building the people than about building the tent. They learned generosity and teamwork and the power of God's working in them.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-06-01 [Moses Meditations] The difference

So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. 32 But now, please forgive their sin--but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written." Exodus32:31

After the Israelites had received the Ten Commandments and the lifestyle instructions that are recorded in Exodus 20-24 they responded fervently: "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

It didn't last long!

Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive instructions about the Priesthood and the Tabernacle. He was there for 40 days and nights. While he was in the presence of God, things were going wrong amongst the Israelites - they'd made a golden calf and were revelling around it.

God is very very angry and Moses intercedes - more than once - on behalf of his people. It is our text verse for today that shows us what separates the shepherds from the hirelings - Moses is so committed to them that he binds his fate with theirs.

But there is more: Moses has been in the presence of God for 40 days. He has heard God's voice, he has seen God's plans - he has a good idea of what God is like. This idea of what God is like is confirmed a chapter or two later when Moses says: "Show me Your glory" and God hides Moses in a cleft of a rock and reveals Himself with these words: "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin." (Exo34:6-7)

You see, not only is Moses committed to his people, he is committed to his God - He is convinced that God is able, gracious and willing to forgive. If this is not the case, Moses would rather be blotted out of God's book.

This is the difference between a shepherd and a hireling: A shepherd protects the sheep and really, truly knows the Great Shepherd. A hireling doesn't.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/