The LORD spoke to Moses: “Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: May Yahweh bless you and protect you; may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.  In this way they will pronounce My name over the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:22-27)

“God bless you!” How often do you find yourself saying that each day? What is the context; a cordial exchange? A prayer? A sneeze? In today’s reading we see how much power there can be in God’s blessing. God tells Moses to instruct his brother, Aaron, how to bless the Children of Israel. They are to recite a saying that God gives them. Is the power in the words? No, the power is in the name. God says, “In this way they will pronounce My name of the Israelites, and I will bless them.” So, this should challenge us to ask, “Do I see power in God’s name?”

Every Monday and Thursday I spend time in prayer with either the Westwind staff, or the elder team. During these great moments we intercede on behalf of the people of Westwind. We lift up the names of the sick, those looking for jobs, marriages in trouble, and other issues that are brought before us as spiritual leaders. From time to time the list seems so overwhelming because of all the issues facing our worshipping community. It can feel like we are just presenting a “To Do” list to God. It is in times like these when I pray, “God we bring these requests to you as an act of worship. We recognize that there is no other person or god who could meet these needs. Please, see this as our humble request, recognizing that you are God and we need you.” What a humbling thing to acknowledge. In our world of self reliance, when we offer requests to the Lord we are admitting that we need His help.

When Moses shares the God-given prayer with Aaron, he is showing that they need God, just like we do, too. We need God’s blessing. We need God’s graciousness. We need His favor and peace. And how do these things come to us? By calling on His name and recognizing that He is Yahweh!

Let us recognize our need for God today and call on his NAME.

Psalms 48:9–10 HCSB

“God, within Your temple, we contemplate Your faithful love. Your name, God, like Your praise, reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with justice.”

The psalmist says something interesting here.  In the temple, he contemplates God’s faithful love.  And so I’ll do the same.  I see God’s love in many ways.

As I type, I am eating a cereal I love.  God is good.  It’s cheaper than the name brand but still tastes the same.  I delight in how God provides even little gifts.  My dad is visiting and it seems the Lord is doing a work in his heart.  I’ve prayed for this now 20 years.  God hears and works.  I feel better today than I have the last week.  It seems Jenni is feeling better today as well.  Another expression of God’s love.  The Lord really blessed my connection group last night.  People were very honest, open, and my mom and my dad both jumped right in.  God is so good.  I look forward to opening this passage with my kids tonight at dinner and asking them and my mom and dad to contemplate God’s various expressions of love to them.  I want to encourage you to pause, with your families if you have them, and contemplate and draw attention to and celebrate God’s manifold love for you.  Enjoy!

“Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn Him to death. Then they will hand Him over to the Gentiles, and they will mock Him, spit on Him, flog Him, and kill Him, and He will rise after three days.” (Mark 10:33-34)

Ever talk to someone and notice that they aren’t really paying attention to what you are saying? Embarrassingly enough, I do this too often. I am sure it frustrates people and it makes me seem uncaring. I know when I am explaining something of interest to me to someone, and the person I am talking with doesn’t really seem to be listening, I get frustrated to the point of being perturbed. How much more so it would have been for Jesus in today’s reading when he says that he is going into Jerusalem to be tortured and punished, only to have one of his disciples say, “Teacher, we want You to do something for us if we ask You. Allow us to sit at Your right and at Your left in Your glory.” It’s like telling someone you are dying only for them to ask if they can have your stuff when you are gone. Jesus is being vulnerable with his disciples and they see this as an opportunity to find out which one of them will be his favorites. They miss the entire point.

It seems like Jesus addresses their desire for power with these words later in that chapter;

“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles dominate them, and their men of high positions exercise power over them. But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

While the disciples are almost uncaringly disregarding the fate of their Rabbi and pursuing their own individual gains, Jesus addresses what real leadership looks like–servant leadership. Not only is Jesus teaching this with his words, but every step that he takes toward Jerusalem, and his pending execution is testimony to his servant leadership to the world. What a contrast! While disciples try to buddy up to Jesus to get prestige, Jesus gathers dust on his feet that will soon be dripping with blood because of the terrible torture he will endure for his followers, and the world.

Can we learn from this? Let Westwind be a place where people don’t seek selfish gain, but become slaves to others. Let our leaders not pursue their own “domination” but be humble of heart and moved by the model of Christ (I would say even unto death). Let our passion for others always eclipse out own agendas. Let us be like Christ.

I typically thinking of eating with my lips, not feeding people with them.  That’s not what Proverbs 10 says.

Proverbs 10:21 HCSB

“The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.”

Last night I asked the parents of Grow if they feed their children.  Everyone raised their hands.  To not feed your children would be abuse.  I next challenged parents to feed their kids God’s word, opening their Bibles regularly with their children.  Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone but on every word from God (Deut. 8:3; Mt. 4:4).  There is something to be learned here.  While our bodies need physical food, our souls need spiritual food.  There is a hunger in our souls that food and sex and friendships and new apps can’t ever satisfy.  And Pr. 10:21 says that the lips of the righteous feed many.  May God feed your souls with His word and may you not keep it to yourself, but turn around and nourish someone with those life-giving truths.  Eat up, my friend.  Eat up!