Landmarks to God

The Hebrew word Mitsvah means command or commandment.  The word 'command' implies a power of force such as a general commanding his troop.  Mitsvah is better understood as a directive given which leads to a goal.

The verb form of mitsvah is the word tsiyon, which means desert or landmark.  The ancient Hebrew people were nomads who traveled the deserts in search of grassy pastures where their flocks could feed.  They would use rivers, mountains, rock outcroppings and various other landmarks to give them direction.  Tsiyon was to direct a person on the journey

The mitsvahs in scriptures are directives which guide us.  They are the landmarks which show us the way we are to go.  Tsiyon can also be translated as Zion, the mountain of God.  Zion is the mountain on which Jerusalem sits and where the Temple was built.  Zion is where the throne of God stood inside the Holy of Holies at the temple.  The true Zion in Heaven is where the throne of God is which we are to keep our eyes on.  Tsiyon is the landmark to God.

God has set out landmarks for us within the commands found in scripture.  Landmarks for how we are to live according to God's will.  Landmarks to God and His will for our lives. Without following the landmarks of God we would be lost in a world of sin, pain, and death.  The commands of God guide us to life now and forever. 

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Where is God Today?

In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel built the tabernacle where God's presence resided.  A pillar of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day showed that God dwelt with the Hebrews.

The Tabernacle was not much to look at.  It was basically a tent which could be picked up and moved as the Hebrews moved from one location to another.  It contained some priestly furniture including the Ark of the Covenant.  The Mercy Seat on top of the Ark represented the Throne of God.  Once a year the High Priest was allowed to go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of a sacrificed lamb onto the Mercy Seat.  That small tent was the holiest place on earth, because that is where God resided.

When Solomon became King, he built a temple for God.  That temple was eventually destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. A second temple was then built and it was destroyed by the Romans.  So where does God reside on the earth now?  Not in any gold encrusted building with rich interiors and art works.  Not in a church building, temple, or cathedral.

If you have Jesus as your savior, he has made you his tabernacle. In John 1:14 it says that Jesus came to dwell among us. The word dwell is actually 'tabernacle'.  His earthly body was a walking temple where God lived.

2 Corinthians 6:16  says that we are the temple of the living God.  If you are a believer in Christ and want to see where God lives now, you simply have to look in a mirror.  You are not God, but the Spirit of God now tabernacles within you.

The Hebrew tabernacle was not much to look at, yet God dwelt there.  Now God dwells in a house of flesh which He formed from the dust of the earth.  We are nothing but an earthen vessels containing the most valuable of all riches within.  We are the Tabernacles of God.

Photo Credit: By Ruk7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Exchanging Earthly Currency for Heavenly

I have visited many countries in my life.  I served in the Navy and visited many ports in the Western Pacific.  For three years I traveled over Europe and a little bit in Africa working for the Government. Every time I went to a new country I had to exchange my dollars for that country's currency.

Someday I am going to be in Heaven and they do not accept United States currency there.  Visa, Discover, Master Card and even American Express are not accepted.  There is nothing from this world which can be used in Heaven.

The only way what I have here on earth will be valuable in Heaven is if I trade it for Heavenly currency.  Before I arrive in Heaven my earthly valuables must already have been exchanged.  My house, car, furniture, food, and all I possess must be given to God in exchange for things of Heavenly value.

We are all going on a journey soon.  We do not know the hour of departure, but it is imminent.  All of what we own in this life will be lost.  It must be exchanged before we leave this world.  What we hold onto will be gone forever, but what we give to God will be exchanged for eternal riches in Heaven.

We are to give all we have in this world to God.  God has called us to be stewards of what He gives to us in this life.  As stewards, all that is in our possession is to be used to promote Heavenly goals.  We are to reach out to others about Christ.  We are to comfort those who weep, and lift up the weak.

"He is no fool who gives what he can not keep to gain what he cannot lose."  Jim Elliot

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In His Deaths

Isaiah 53 talks about the suffering Messiah dying for our sins.  Isaiah 53:6 says, "He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;...."  However the word death in Hebrew should actually be translated as "deaths", in the plural.  Because 'his' is in the singular, the word deaths has been translated a singular as well.

Why would God use a singular and a plural word in the same sentence?  It is because his death is so unique and extreme that the singular form of the word could not contain the reality of it.  His death goes beyond anything that had ever happened before.

It also shows that Christ death was not just for him.  His death was the death of all.  Every death of man is contained "in his deaths"   To all who accept the death of Christ as payment for their sins, the old self also died with him on the cross.  It is finished.  The price has been paid and you are free to live a life of blessings with God.

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God Kneels for Man

The Hebrew word barach means to bless, but it also means to kneel.  When we kneel before God, we are blessing Him.  We humble ourselves before God and submit to Him.  We are lowing ourselves so that He may be raised up.

The greatest blessing God gave to man was salvation.  He blessed us by lowering himself from Heavenly glory to earth where he was mocked, tortured and executed.  He submitted himself into the power of man, when man should have been kneeling before Christ.

Christ knelt down in submission so that he could bless us with Heavenly glory.  He set the ultimate model of what it means to kneel down in submission so that others can be blessed.  In light of his blessing us, shouldn't we humbly kneel down before him?  Shouldn't we be blessing God in obedience to Him?

Us kneeling down to bless is not only for God, but for others.  Just as God blessed us, we are to bless others.  We are called upon to humbly serve others just as Christ served you.

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The Sun and the Son

We will be going on a trip soon to visit my wife's family.  As we travel we will see towns, rivers, forest and many changing sights.  The view changes constantly as we travel, but one thing never seems to change.  The sun is always the same.  It might be hidden at times by trees, clouds and for a short time even the earth, but it never changes.  It always is the same size and shape.  We might travel hundreds of miles, but it is still out there shining.

Jesus is like that.  We travel through life with changes in our surroundings.  Our job changes, our friends come and go,  children grow up and people die.  There are times of laughter and times of sorrow.  Everyday is different, but one thing always remains the same.  God.

Almost two thousand years ago Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." John 8:12  Throughout time kingdoms have risen and fallen.  The earth has changed through floods, earthquakes and volcanoes erupting.  Mankind has spread across the lands and fought wars.  Everything in the world is in flux except for The Son.

God has always been here to help mankind.  God's love has reached out to comfort and save.  Jesus is God in the form of a man.  Fully God and fully man.  He died for all mankind, past, present and future. His light shines for all to see.  Events at times might try to overshadow the Light of Christ, but in the long run they fade away and Christ shines forth.  Everything in this world might collapse and rot away.  Lives might come and go.  There is nothing permanent in this life except for the Light of Christ shining down upon all mankind.  The light shining to show the way to safety and life.

All may change but Him.  He is the sun shining down upon you.  He never changes.  He never stops shining.  He shines with love for you.

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Seeing the Truth of Now

Go outside at night and with a clear sky you can see thousands of stars.  What you are looking at is not the present, but the past.  It has taken a long time for the light from those stars to reach you.  You are gazing at what occurred back in ancient history.

Look at the sun and your looking at the past also.  What you see is what occurred about eight minutes ago.  Look at an object near you and again you are not looking at the present, but the past.  What you see is from a small fraction of a second ago, but it is from the past.  You can never look at anything that is present.  The moment you see it, it is already in the past.

Can you ever see Truth?  Truth is what is and if you can not see what is at the present, how can you see the present truth.

You will never see with your eyes what is the truth now, only what was true in the past.  The only way to see what is actually true is by faith.  Truth is not something our senses can perceive.  Truth is only found by faith.

We must live our lives by faith.  Our senses can be fooled and they never tell us what is true at the present.  We have faith that the object we see two feet away, is still there and unchanged.  We have faith that we are driving our cars on the road we see before us.  There is such a short period of time between what was and what we see,  that we have faith that all is unchanged.

The world around us is changing and passing away, but the things of God are eternal and God never changes.  We must live by faith in this life, holding onto the Truth of God.  If we were to discern God only with our senses, we would only see God in the past.  To have faith in God is to perceive the Truth in the now.

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