Waiting and Learning

Levites Learning

 List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle. (Numbers 4: 3 NLT)   “This is the rule the Levites must follow: They must begin serving in the Tabernacle at the age of twenty-five.”  (Numbers 8:24 NLT)

We live in a culture that is very impatient with any delay.  Although wait may not always be a good thing, many of us want things yesterday.  There is a general pattern in the Scriptures in relation to training of God’s servants.   The preparation of God’s servants, unlike the processing speed of your computer, is not based on the rapidity of the process, but the quality of the product produced.

In the Scriptural references above, there seems to be a five-year difference in the starting point of Levitical service.  Commentators tell us that before their appointment as a Levite at thirty years of age, there was a probation period where the skills and the wherewithal to serve in the Tabernacle were learned.  In the time of King David, this phase lasted ten years where there was more to do; A mentoring relationship is evident throughout the Bible.  Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, and Jesus and Peter, James, and John are some examples.  Matthew Henry writes about the Levites, “they must learn before they teach, and serve before they lead.” 

Never despise the time or place God uses to prepare you for his service.  It is time you spend doing things that others deem a priority that God teaches you what it means to serve.  It is the places where you don’t want to be that changes your character.  In the grand scheme of things, waiting may be far more productive than doing.

Images used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

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Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

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Grace Abounds

But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” (Mark 16:7 NASB)

 

Peter was the disciple that seemingly failed the Lord more than any of the other disciples at His death.  The angel singled him out for the message of the Lord’s resurrection.  Why?  When sin abounds, more so does grace (Romans 5: 20 NASB).

Would it not have seemed right for Jesus, based on their conduct, to have singled out one of the other disciples, possibly James or John?  How might Peter have been feeling?  Possibly, like he was no longer was worthy to be called His disciple?  How may the other disciples have been looking upon Peter?  Perhaps, he had disqualified himself from being among their group.  God, unlike us humans, always makes room for repentance.  When Jesus first revealed Himself to Peter, it must have been somewhat traumatic. I can only imagine; he looked into the eyes of the one he had miserably failed, expecting an overwhelming sense of guilt.  But Peter feels only loved and accepted.  It is the first time in days that he has looked into someone’s face that knows everything about him and yet he felt no shame.  He realizes that it is Christ first pursuing him instead of him pursuing Christ.  Grace has swallowed up guilt, and once again mercy has triumphed over judgment.

The disciple that may have been viewed by himself and by others as disqualified rose to the top three in the Lord’s leadership team. The next time you are tempted to consider a person unqualified for leadership, be careful, God may be ready to show us again, where sin abounds, more so does grace.

Image used with permission by Microsoft.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

                http://gleaningspodcast.blogspot.com

Dying Well

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15: 55 NLT)

Cavita L. Barnes
1916-2017

My Mother went to be with the Lord last month at the age of 101.  She had a great run.  One thing that I have learned from my Mom’s life is that if you live well, you will die well.

My Mom was a war baby, not World War II, but the First World War.  She saw over ten decades of change in this nation.  She took me to Sunday school where I first learned about God, of which I will be eternally grateful.  My Mom never had a great deal of money.  She left her sons little if any monetary wealth. She did leave us something that is more valuable that silver or gold, a godly heritage.  My Mom was not perfect, none of us are.  She had struggles in her life, but even in those difficulties, her life pointed us toward God.  She had some fears in this life, but death was not one of them.  In all her one hundred and one years of life I never heard her express a fear of dying.  My Mom lived in the victory expressed in our scripture verse.  She had made her peace with God through the death on the Cross of God’s only son, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, she died in victory.

As I said in the eulogy, she fought the good fight, she finished the race, and she kept the faith.  I believe that she has received her crown of glory. Therefore, I have that great hope that I will see her again.  By the grace of God my Mom lived well, and by the mercy of God, she died well.

Ken Barnes the author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places”  YWAM Publishing
Email:  kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: https://sites.google.com/site/kenbarnesbooksite/

Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com

            http://gleanings757.blogspot.com

Podcasts: http://kensblogpodcast.blogspot.com

                http://gleaningspodcast.blogspot.com