By His grace, what the radical life of Christ should look in an American context!

believes faith is fully trusting God to be able to keep His promises, even if things don’t work out like we expect. Rom 4:21 @WeeManWest

is frustrated that faith calls us so often to wait, yet we wait fully trusting in the goodness and ability of God. Psa 52:9 @WeeManWest

needs to be more responsive to the Holy Spirit, yet needs to be aware of the Holy Spirit in order to respond to Him. Num 9:22 @WeeManWest

doesn’t understand why God’s people continually complain about their misfortunes, we forget how valuable He is! Num 11:1-3 @WeeManWest

thinks we complain and despise God’s provision in our lives because we, like Israel, still have too much of Egypt/sin within. Num 11:4-6 @WeeManWest

is ashamed of how often we “church” people make those tasked with caring for our souls feel like Moses. Num 11:15 @WeeManWest

Matthew 22:37 We should love God with all that we are, this is the greatest command. If we love God with all that we are we will naturally obey His commands.

Matthew 22:39 We should love our neighbor, which is broadly defined as anyone God brings into our life. If we love God, who we don’t see, we should love our fellow man whom we do see.

Matthew 22:46 Jesus knew it was time to bring the debate to an end. He had answered their many questions to no avail. So He poses His own and it is a jaw-dropper. They are left speechless.

Romans 4:3 The core difference in the debate between faith and works is this. Those living by works are merely doing what is due, they are not earning anything. Those who live by faith acknowledge that their works don’t earn their righteousness but that they instead need God to make them righteous.

Righteousness isn’t dependent on works but is granted by God by grace through faith. Our works are merely payments on an eternally unpayable debt.

Romans 4:12 Abraham was righteous without the ritual. His righteousness had nothing to do with religious ritual. He believed God. His belief was accounted as righteousness.

We must stop clinging to our religious rituals as though the ritual itself merits us toward God.

Romans 4:13 Abraham inheriting the world has nothing to do with the Law and everything to do with faith. The Law guarantees nothing but sin.

Romans 4:21 Abraham was fully convinced that God could indeed do what He had promised He would do.

How convinced are we? Do we live lives based on this conviction?

Psalm 52:7 How often in this life have we encountered those who were fully confident in their abundance and their riches and their abilities and yet left no place for God only to come to ruin?! Yet so many continue down that path as though they are the one for which things will be different.

Psalm 52:9 Faith often calls us to hurry up and wait for God’s promises. As we wait, we trust in the goodness of God and in His ability to keep His promises.

Numbers 9:14 The Passover was a witnessing tool for Israel to those who were passing through. God gives us the sacraments of the church not only for us to testify through them to His might, but also to provoke questions among the uninitiated.

Numbers 9:22 As long as the cloud remained over the tabernacle, regardless of how long it remained, the people of Israel remained where they were camped. When the cloud moved, the people moved. When the cloud stayed, the people stayed.

We should be as responsive to the Holy Spirit. When He moves we should move and when He stays we should stay. Wherever the Holy Spirit is working so should we be.

Numbers 10:2 God instructs Moses to make silver trumpets. The trumpets were to have multiple uses.

First, the trumpets are to be used to gather either the leaders or the whole congregation. So the trumpets are blown for gatherings.

Second, the trumpets are to be used to break the camp and send each segment of Israel on their march. So the trumpets are blown for marching.

Third, when Israel is at war with oppressors they are to be used so that God will remember to deliver them from oppression. So the trumpets are blown for war.

Fourth, when Israel is making the offerings of the appointed feasts and beginning of months they are used to remind Israel of God. So the trumpets are blown for sacrifices.

Numbers 10:35 May God arise and scatters His enemies from around us that we may be secure in preaching His gospel. May His gospel conquer His enemies.

Numbers 11:1 We are so blessed, Israel was so blessed to be free from slavery and oppression and certain death at the hands of the Egyptians. Yet, they complain about how unfortunate their lives are with God present among them.

Oh how we provoke the anger of a mighty God when we complain about how miserable our lives are when we have His very presence in our lives!

Numbers 11:6 The people despised the manna. They rememberd the foods of Egypt, of Pharoah, and desired those foods over the food of God.

How often do we lament that, “this is ALL we get from God!” and yet we don’t deserve to even have what He has given?

God could have left us in our sin, He could have left Israel in Egypt. Apparently, there was still a lot of Egypt in the Israelites and my hunch is there is still a lot of sin in us. We must deal with our sin if we are going to be able to follow God. Our inner selfishness will come out and it will show up in complaining and despising God.

Numbers 11:15 I hope that we are aware of how often we drive our leaders to this very point. We shouldn’t weary those whom God has placed over us to lead us, most especially those tasked with the burden of our souls. Woe unto us if we weary a faithful leader!

Numbers 11:29 We see the day that Moses hoped would come. The day that God’s Spirit would be upon all of His people. What a glorious day in which we live and yet still too often in our own day we complain bitterly about our life with God.

Numbers 11:34 It seems as though with the meat, God sent a plague, and that plague wiped out those who had succumbed to the “craving” and desired a return to Egypt over a life with God.