I have said this many times before, and I’ll say it again now–“the best thinking always comes when one gets a step away from the fire burning to know how to address it”. This weekend trip has been just that for me.

As I was having my scripture reading this morning, I’m still in Numbers, God gave directions to Moses for the Israelites. He had him gather 70 of the leaders within each tribe so God could share His Spirit, anointing Moses, with them so they could have God’s wisdom assisting His Work through the leadership He’d given to Moses. As I was journaling afterwards I was writing the word direction and felt as though I needed to seek clarity as to why writing the word checked me. In seeking God’s clarity I found myself realizing just how much clarity God gave to the Israelites through His “direction”. When the Israelites followed them, they succeeded. If they attempted to do things on their own–they failed. When direction wasn’t clear Moses was to wait until direction was given and also understood.

As I began to process this simple but powerful clarity, God began to show me areas of my present living where I was attempting to move forward without clarity from God. Also, in a bigger picture, He helped me see where some of the consulting work I do needed to be focused on helping others see the clarity they need rather than attempting to stumble through on what seemed right at the moment.

This is so easy to see when one is a step away from the burning fire. I want to also apply yesterday’s lesson in this too. So often when we are in the “midst of the storm” we think we have to act immediately when God simply wants us to be still in the midst of the storm. Trusting God each and every day is critical. When the directions aren’t clear, I need to be still and wait until I have God’s clarity. This I believe is another characteristic of living as a “new creation”.

There is nothing like getting away from the routines of life to better see how well you are handling each part of life back home. I forget this far too often. Yesterday was a wonderful day of getting some work done for my sis-in-law in-between storms and quietly reading a book I’ve been wanting to read when I had some downtime. In the midst of this, God certainly quiets the soul.

Today as I’ve finished my devotions I can see areas I need to back away from and others I simply need to trust God as I move forward with them. God is so good this way. God reminded me just how much he cares for those I care for. In fact, he reminded me there is no generational gap for Him. He is the first generation God for all mankind. I loved being reminded of this!

Trusting God 24/7 is something I want to do but I am sure learning it is only able to be done one day at a time and the commitment has to be renewed each and every day. There is no way I as a human can rely on yesterday’s commitment to be strong enough to carry me through today. Today I’ve made my commitment!

As I began my devotions this morning I started Numbers. It certainly does start with a lot of numbers as God is directing Moses and Aaron about setting up the tribes of Israel according to their camp around the Tent of Meeting after taking a census of each tribe. I finished reading the first few chapters and then turned to my journal. It was there I felt God’s Spirit needing to give me some direction. It turned out the direction wasn’t just for today, it was for the rest of my life.

As I started to journal I was outlining for God the things I felt I needed His Light in order to handle them. This isn’t an uncommon thing for me. However, what was uncommon this morning was the direction I received, not about my requests, but about my approach with God. It was very clear to me that I was no longer to approach God asking for His Light. His direction was for me to stay in His Light. I’ve been journaling of late and concentrating of late on staying close to God throughout the day. I realize that when I don’t stay close to Him I lose the sensitivity of His Spirit’s leading. It is so natural for me to want to “take charge” that I do this. I was wanting God to shed His Light on how to “take charge”. Well, He is wanting me to realize I am never to take charge, He already is in charge and He wants me responding to Him rather than Him responding to me. If I will stay in His Light during the day I will know as He nudges what I am to do and in so doing I will have the Light I so desire.

God’s ways are amazing and His direction to us is always amazing. What I am hearing from God is that He wants me to stop asking for insights into my behaviors for things in my day. Instead, stay close to God and ask for His Strength and Guidance to be what comes from me so it is always about Him and not looking like it is about me. I think this must be another step in learning to live as a new creation.

You know what happens when the flurry of needs stop? The adrenaline stops. You know what happens when the adrenaline stops? You feel like I do this morning! Yesterday was a good, productive one. It revealed for me some areas of need I hadn’t given any attention this year. When I talked to the administration about it, we could easily see the need to address it as we begin next school year.

Today, we head to Wallowa where Kathy will have her reunion. I’m sure she will have a much better turn out than my class did a year ago when we had our 50 year reunion. We had 3 out of 36 come. Kathy’s class was 42 so Saturday we will see how well they show up.

This morning in my bible reading I finished Leviticus. God is outlining the last of the details for the children of Israel regarding living wholly for Him. He uses a line, “in due season I will….”. In the flurry of activities as I’ve just lived through in the past few weeks I get very caught up in setting the timelines for each activity–particularly if I’m going to be involved in it. I don’t like procrastination and I sure don’t like “laziness”. Well, this morning as I read God’s Word I was checked about “my timelines”. God works in His due season. Joyce Meyer even writes in a subscript that she often wonders why God doesn’t do this and that as she can see it? However, when we step back and look at the work and at God we see the readiness factor God is always working to achieve. God sees the whole picture and He also sees the readiness for each one involved. The activity is easily completed once everyone involved is bought in. This is what God does. This was a good lesson for me today!

Today will end a flurry of mixed activities which have sustained for a few weeks now. It seems there hasn’t been a day of simply quiet and peacefulness. I go to the district I’m working with and spend a very long day with them. We have seen tremendous growth this year and the end of year learning data tells it. We will take a look at this today and set some goals for next year with the teaching staff. Then tomorrow Kathy and I will go to Wallowa, OR for her 50 year high school reunion. I will do some relaxing and helping my sis in law with her yard. But mostly, I’ll get to free my mind for a couple days. I’m needing this and looking forward to it.

There is so much in life to be thankful for. I quickly lose sight of this when I’m in the flurry of each day’s activities. This morning for a moment I thank God for the beauty of spring and the evidence of new life He creates all around us. What a great and loving God we have and get to serve!

Have you ever wished for God’s Mighty Hand to perform a miracle just for you to know once and for all, He loves you? It may seem odd to read this, but for me the writer, it is true. I don’t know if all man needs to have some personal encounter other than salvation with God to anchor God’s Almighty Self in him, but I’ve yearned for this off and on throughout life. The yearning for this is directly tied to an emotional need I carry. Satan often tries to get me to believe I’m not important to God or else He’d have stepped in to my childhood and stopped the behaviors of my brother and my dad. He would have created me differently so I’d not have been singled out. So much of this lie has been replaced for me and most of the time I do not struggle any longer with it . However, truth be known, in my weakness (my flesh) there are times I do hear Satan’s lie and stay there for a moment.

Today I asked God about this. His response was immediate. He told me to look for His Glory to validate His Love for me. Instantly I felt this flood of love and grace come over me. I don’t know if a new creation like each of us believers is ever gets to a place where doubt is totally removed. But, until then, I will look for God’s Glory. In so many ways I already see it. The seeds in my greenhouse which sprout and grow do this for me. The spring flowers which bloom outside my window are a constant reminder of God’s Glory. The grandkids God has blessed me with are a steady stream of joy for me. God’s Glory is all around me (us) once we take our eyes off of self and onto God. I’m so thankful for His reminder today.

“The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back at Calvary; the blood that gives me strength from day to day will never lose it power! It reaches to the highest mountain, it flows to the lowest valley. The blood that gives me strength from day to day will never lose its power!” It soothes and calms my doubts and fears and it dries all my tears. The blood that gives me strength from day to day will never lose its power.” The words of this song were brought to my mind this morning as I was having my devotions.

I’m reading in Leviticus presently. Once again I am being awakened to new truths relevant for me today that I’ve not experienced before. I’ve always read these books out of sheer discipline because they are part of God’s Word. Today, they are not just words in the Bible, they are Life in the Bible. Moses is writing all about the blood sacrifices which are to be offered for various reasons by the children of Israel. I used to get overwhelmed with all of this thinking I’d soon forget some element of sacrifice and find myself “in sin” again. In my bible, Joyce Meyer brings out a clarifying piece when she reminds the reader that these sacrifices are what Jesus replaced on the Cross of Calvary. More than that, it is the relevance of blood–the blood sacrifice. Blood is what carries life throughout us and throughout all living creatures. It is what God originally breathed the breath of life into.

As I began to journal this morning I felt God telling me to put my pen down and to look up to Him. When I did this the words of the song above came to my mind. It was the reminder for me that today I am no longer to try and achieve the goodness of God. He wants me to be His goodness as I go into the day. My sins are cleansed and I am set free. Praise God!

One of the things I’m beginning to recognize about being a spiritual man (new creation) is that one can’t live as a spiritual being until he recognizes his flesh. I am starting to notice just how much I’ve been in denial to my flesh throughout my life. This morning while journaling more about this with God I began to awaken to this truth. In reality, the only thing that separates me from my dad or from my brother is choice. My dad and my brother were both men of flesh. I am too. I’ve lived to not be like them. My flawed thinking had me striving to be a better man–better flesh than they. However, flesh is flesh. It is not better than or less than, it is flesh, and flesh is prey to sin. The choices my dad and my brother made based on their flesh are what separate them from me or anyone else.

I am truly seeing my flesh. It seems God is helping me become awake to this and in so doing I can then better understand my spirit and His Holy Spirit. When I first awaken in the morning I have two desires: grab my coffee and then my bible. My spirit is already awake and drawn to God and wants to commune with Him. This morning I began to realize that the coffee does nothing for my spirit, it awakens my flesh–my mind. By the end of my devotional time my mind is wanting to take over and get to all the things it wants to take charge of. I’m not saying my mind is bad, but I am saying it is selfish and wants to complete what it wants. God is showing me that my mind is to respond to His Spirit’s leadership. As it awakens each morning, it doesn’t move onto the throne of my life replacing Christ, yet, if I am not careful, that is exactly what I’m letting it do.

The other thing tied to all of this is that as the day progresses, my flesh tires. However, when it tires it doesn’t allow my spirit to take over. It becomes more and more selfish. It wants to gratify itself. Some of us do this in different ways but any that are displeasing to God are sin. I’ve been needing this time of awakening. My flesh is where sin resides and now that I see this so clearly I WANT God’s Holy Spirit in charge 24/7!

Well, yesterday’s message about my journey is still mightily at work. If I, man, could live in spirit rather than in flesh, I wouldn’t need things like forgiveness. Forgiveness is a saving grace which God offers us through His Spirit due to us living in flesh. I’m beginning to see just how ugly living in the flesh truly is. Many of us do pretty well camouflaging our selfishness as we live each day, but it does show up anyway. I know we have little resistance to flesh within ourselves. I know this well. However, what I’m wanting to learn a lot more about is the strength behind surrender. When we turn from temptation and surrender it I know God’s Holy Spirit is there to take it. My only strength needed is to turn. This much I know. What I want to know is how I stay in surrender mode once I’ve turned allowing the strength of The Holy Spirit to conquer? There is much more I need to learn but this is the present lesson I’m addressing.

Yesterday I went to a retirement party for a principal I admired greatly and worked with my last 10 years while with the school district. She was the one principal I truly admired. She knew how to listen and respond to God’s spirit within her. Today, I go to a college graduation party for a student who was one of the most struggling boys I ever experienced in my career. His story ought to be a movie someday. He is in his 30’s now graduating, but it has been through sheer strength from God that he didn’t fall into the same pattern of living modeled for him by parents, grandparents, siblings and so many relatives. He had many advocates throughout his life in the school setting. He says this was what saved him–we believed in him. Today is a celebration of this. God is amazing and seeing this today is one more great example!

Yesterday I said I was leaving the message about forgiveness until today because I needed to get my grandkids and take them to their schools. That was my flesh speaking and my flesh assignment at the moment. It was true but my mind thought that during the day and last night while teaching the lesson on forgiveness, God would show me some things about forgiveness I needed to address. Little did I know what that was going to be.

The lesson does focus on our need to accept God’s forgiveness for our sins, our forgiveness of others who have harmed us and ask forgiveness where we have harmed, and lastly, forgive ourselves. Where the lesson emphasizes forgiving others it brings out neglect as part of abuse. I’d taught this lesson before. The part I’ve dealt with of late regarding mom’s neglect of addressing me regarding my bother’s sexual abuse or dad’s physical/emotional abuse was left unattended. I’ve dealt with this of late. So I wanted to teach the group that they needed to be sure and not have this hanging in their own lives. My mind thought this must be what God wanted me to do with the lesson.

This morning I was bringing all of this to God in my journaling wondering if there was something missing? A couple of important things were brought to my attention. I have been rather irritable of late with all the “out of my control” things happening with the remodel of my daughter’s home, some things in our own home and my means of dealing with them. I had turned to “barking” at people or being silent since I really don’t like “barking”. As I was journaling on this God showed me I’d learned this behavior with my dad. I hated how he did a lot of things while I was growing up so I resorted to silence with him because I could never “bark” at him even though my whole body screamed its desire to do so. As I asked God about this He said to ask His Holy Spirit and so I did. It seemed The Holy Spirit was happy to respond. He indicated that my body’s response to all this chaos is my flesh. To be the spiritual man God’s new creation has me to be, I must surrender this character defect I learned so long ago. I can bring these frustrations to Him–The Holy Spirit and let Him lead me through chaos knowing I don’t need to take charge–He wants that job.

This makes so much sense to me and I’m ready to do this. I feel like a man learning an entirely new means of responding. I’m sure I’ll flub up but I want to stay on this track of becoming God’s spiritual servant. For, when I respond to life as I’ve been, this is when forgiveness enters the picture, I have to seek forgiveness by apologizing for my behaviors. When I respond through God’s Holy Spirit’s leadership, Godliness is seen rather than flesh.