Author: Danny Panter

Danny is the Associate Pastor for NextGen Marrieds & Community Missions at FBCSA.

Lord Knows

Re: Verse reading–1 Samuel 16:1-7; Psalm 139 (day six)

“You knew me thoroughly, my bones were not hidden from you… Examine me and probe my thoughts! Test me and know my concerns.” Psalm 139:14-15,23

You cannot know, relate to, or love yourself as you ought apart from God. Period. It is not that you are not capable of knowing the ongoings of your heart and mind, it is just that only God can provide proper perspective; he offers you the right view. Left to ourselves we see a distorted picture, a Picasso of the human self. We emphasize some things, and diminish others. We exaggerate; we are dishonest with ourselves. And enamored with what we can see with our eyes, we accommodate the expectations of the world by trying so hard to look the part. We idolize the outside with no consideration for the whole.

David asked God to search him (God needs no invitation), to shed light on who he really was, to offer the right perspective. Are you doing the same? Do you know yourself? Or is the world your guide? Run to Him, consume His Word, take a deep breath of the divine perspective, and you will see Him, and then see yourself. You cannot know yourself without God; anything else is a shallow facade.

Peace

Re: Verse reading–Genesis 1:26-31; Romans 5:1-11 (day Six)
Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is seeking worshippers who worship in Spirit and truth.” (John 4:23) We are those worshippers, and not of our own making, but God’s. In Jesus’ death we have forgiveness of sin for all time, but in the resurrected life of Jesus we find our righteousness. In other words God required more than forgiveness for us to be at “peace” with Him; He required a righteousness that forgiveness alone could not provide (Romans 4:25). God transferred the infinite and beautiful righteousness of His resurrected Son onto us, those who by faith rest in the Son. So our slate was not only wiped clean from past and future sin, but our sin was replaced with the righteousness of God’s Son! That jaw-dropping transfer gives us “peace” with God, giving us the privilege to come to God as worshippers.
And by the way, this is no tenuous peace, but a true peace. It is not like King Saul, who changed his relationship with David on a dime. David never knew what Saul he would encounter. An angry Saul? Friendly? Ally? Enemy? Not so with God. The resurrected life of Jesus affords us true everlasting peace with God; we can “boldly approach the throne of grace!” (Hebrews 4:16) God made that happen; He sought after you and made a way!

He Leads, We Will Follow

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 39:32, 42-43; 40:1-2, 16-17, 32-38 (day six)

The presence of God is synonymous with His leadership. The Tabernacle not only served as a visible reminder that God was with the Hebrews, but that He also intended to lead them every step of the way; expecting them to follow. This serves as a great reminder to us that God is always in the business of leading us as individuals and as a people, His church. It is intended that we not only feel his presence, but also follow his leadership. When he moves we move.

Sometimes we don’t always appreciate this. We enjoy sensing the presence of God, but we aren’t always keen to follow Him when He moves. Maybe because He leads us away from what we are used to, or perhaps His leadership exposes our sin; areas of our life that need redeeming. Regardless we can’t have one without the other. We cannot hope for His presence, and ignore His leadership in our lives. It simply cannot be so, for to delight in the presence of God is to follow wherever He leads.

Real Image

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 35:4-10; 20-35; 36:2-7 (day six)

And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the Lord’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. Exodus 35:21

God’s all-sufficiency is not in question. At first glance it would seem that God is in need; that He needs their stuff, along with their time and energy in order to build the tabernacle and its furnishings. This simply isn’t true, after all God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. God was quite able to fashion a tabernacle of his liking in the blink of an eye. So what was God doing if he didn’t need anything from the people?

I think we find the answer all throughout Exodus 35-36. Moses reminds us over and over that the people gave because their hearts were stirred to do so, and they were able to do the work only after the filling of the Holy Spirit. I believe God was calling them back to their deepest nature, being fashioned in the image of God. God not only was invested in establishing a symbolic and tangible presence among His people, but also was doing the work of restoration. This whole business of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the new covenant with an enslaved people has everything to do with God restoring all things unto himself. This restorative work began in the earliest days after the Fall and ends with Jesus’ return, but God is clearly working towards that end in building the tabernacle.

Could it be that the giving of ourselves, whether things or time or skill, taps into our truest nature? Could it be that both the inspiration to create with artistic skill, and the work itself is the reflecting of God’s image in us? After all who gives like our God? Or who creates like Him? When we give out of the stirring of our hearts, or create with our hands by the power of the Holy Spirit we begin to realize what it truly means to be human, men and woman made in the image of God.

The Prayer of Moses

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 32:1-19, 30-33; 33:12-17; 34:1-7 (day six)

After reading Moses’ conversations with God this week, it made me consider my own. Moses was clearly bold, passionate, and persuasive; it was as if he were arguing with his best friend. I believe there is much to learn from these conversations between Moses and God. As I reflect on my own prayer life, it begs a few questions:

Is my prayer life bold? Are my prayers filled with meaningless repetitive phrases, or am I having real and regular conversations with God? Do I pray believing that He has the power to act on my behalf and on the behalf of others? Do I remind God of His promises? Do I pray knowing that only God can save? Do I pray as if it really matters that I pray at all?

The Bible describes Moses’ conversations with God as “face to face.” This paints a beautiful yet fearful picture of their relationship. Moses boldly spoke with the Creator, believing that He alone had the power and the will to shape his destiny and that of His people. Perhaps, even more awesome is that God invites us to do the same. He calls us to “boldly approach His throne of grace.” (Hebrews 4:16) He invites us to have real and meaningful conversations that have consequence, that matter!

Father, teacher us to pray like Moses!

 

Presence

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 25:1-11, 17-18, 23-24, 31-32; 26:1-2, 7-8; 27:1-2; 29:43-46 (day six)

For a brief season when Emma was a toddler, she needed a visible reminder of my presence in order to fall asleep. She needed to know that I was in the room. Every so often she would open her eyes to find me, and the moment she laid eyes on me she would rest her head and go back to sleep. My presence brought her peace.

The Tabernacle served the people of God in the same way. It was to be a constant reminder of the presence of God. The Tabernacle also provided tangible symbols of how God would relate to his people. He would listen to them, speak to them, provide for them, and most importantly, make atonement for their sin; all of that was communicated through the Tabernacle and its furnishings.

The Tabernacle also instructs us as to our new covenant relationship with God. Through Jesus we experience the presence of God in the truest sense, one that the Tabernacle could only allude to. Jesus made it possible for intimate renovations of the heart; transforming us broken cisterns to temples of the Spirit of God. As followers of Jesus we can be at peace that God is always present with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit powerfully teaches us, intercedes on our behalf, puts sin to death for us, gives gifts to us, all on the basis of our faith in Jesus. As believers we can rest in the presence of God; he will never leave us or forsake us.

 

The People’s Response

Re:Verse reading Exodus 24 (day 6)

The people heard the written words, given to Moses by God, and they said “we will do all that you have said.” Worship is forever tied to the hearing of God’s Word and the people’s response. It was true over 4000 years ago, and it is true for us today as His church gathers. It begs the question, can we truly worship without a corporate response? Does it constitute worship if the church listens to the words of God and yet does nothing? I would contend that the answer is no; it does not constitute worship if the people do not respond.

Of course the people failed to obey God almost immediately; they fell into hypocrisy before the ink was even dry. God was not surprised by their failure, he anticipated it. Their sin did not rob their corporate response of any significance, nor should it ours- ever. Not only is our response to God appropriate and necessary, but it points to Jesus, the Word, who fulfilled every covenant promise on our behalf!

So, let me encourage you to do two things, first ask God this question, “Father, what must I do? Show me how I must follow your Son today.” Secondly, pray on behalf of the First Baptist family, asking God to move in mighty ways that we might all respond to His Word in unity.

Rejoicing that I have the privilege of joining my response with yours!

 

Messy

 Re: Verse reading–Exodus 21:1-2, 7-17, 22-27; 22:21-31; 23:1-12 (day six)

Exodus 21-23
We would have no need for the Law if there was no sin. The law is detailed and cumbersome. There is no part of the human existence that they do not touch. This reality teaches us a lot about ourselves and the affects of our own brokenness. Our sin has made life messy; it entangles us in every possible way, enslaving us only to perpetuate deceit and murder. The intent of the Law was not only to help us see ourselves for who we are, but also to make provisions for our sinful messes; providing a civil means to untangle that which we have entangled.

The irony is that we often believe that our rebellion against God is an expression of freedom. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth; the further we run from God the more enslaved we become. We have the messes to prove it. Lives are destroyed and relationships shattered all because the sin in us and all around us. We can look often at the Law and think “how cumbersome!” I imagine the response of God is “Well, look at the mess you’ve made.”

True freedom is when we have no need for the Law-and glory to God that day is coming thanks to Jesus who fulfilled the Law!

Our [g]ods

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 20:1-17 (day six)

Exodus 20:4
Our gods are of our own making. Even when we think on God we tend to “make him in our own image.” We keep the things we like and cast off the things we don’t. Every culture and every generation does it. A new way of thinking about God began anew when God told Moses His name, “I AM.” The name was a clear statement of His holiness; that he was distinct and separate from humanity, that He had a character and nature all of his own that wasn’t dependent on human invention.

That’s why the Law was so good, because it was God revealing to the Hebrew people (and humanity) that you can’t make gods in your image anymore, because I AM your God. The giving of the Law exposed our god-making nature. The Law takes us back to the earliest days in the garden when the Serpent tempted Eve with the notion that she would become like God if she ate of the fruit. Ever since we have been exalting ourselves by fashioning our own gods. The Law says, to be like God you must lay down your god-making ways and worship God only, and then will you clearly see that you were made in the very image of God. The Law reveals our tarnished God-like image; it did back then and it does today.

The Law, and then ultimately Jesus (he alone fulfilled the Law on our behalf) is a God ordained means to restore His image in humanity. Which is why Paul wrote in Romans 8:29, “those who he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son.”

 

Be thankful for the Law; it is good!

Bible Togetherness

Re: Verse reading–Exodus 19:1-12, 16-22 (day six)

His nation was in spiritual tatters, the Temple in disrepair, and young king Josiah did not follow in his father’s footsteps. Rather he began initiatives to restore his people. In the process of restoring the Temple the high priest stumbled upon the Book of the Law and brought it to Josiah’s secretary. When Josiah’s secretary began to read to him from the Book of the Law, “he tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:11).” He grieved at the thought of he and his people disobeying God for generations, and he was fearful of God’s wrath. The Book of the Law broke the heart of Josiah.

It was that Law that was about to be delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai. Save for the incarnation their might not be a greater event in human history; God’s inaugural written revelation delivered to humanity. We find the people in Exodus 19 instructed to “consecrate” themselves as they prepare to act as over-hearers at the base of the mountain. This was no small thing; this was not life in the mundane.

When we posture ourselves to listen to God’s revelation; when we yield to the voice of God we can’t help but be transformed. We can’t help but see ourselves for who we are in light of His revealed Word, and that is grace to us. The thunder and lighting, smoke and fire, and the written Law was an extraordinary work of grace that day on Mount Sinai. Even the slightest glimpses of God lay us bare, exposing all our deepest and darkest frailties, and that kind of self-knowledge is the beginning of restoration. Let us expose ourselves to the majesty and glory of the Gospel, that Jesus may lead us in ongoing restoration in all of our life; even the most broken and shameful parts he can redeem! Will you “consecrate” yourselves this week? Will you remove yourself out of the mundane in order to be ready to see glimpses a glorious and majestic God who redeems?

Praying for multitudes of “Josiah” moments in the FBCSA family! Pray with me!