Today Our Daily Bread Exodus 33 & John 1:14

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

Exodus 33:1-23
1The LORD said to Moses, "Now that you have brought these people out of Egypt, lead them to the land I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I told them long ago that I would give this land to their descendants. 2And I will send an angel before you to drive out the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 3Theirs is a land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not travel along with you, for you are a stubborn, unruly people. If I did, I would be tempted to destroy you along the way."
4When the people heard these stern words, they went into mourning and refused to wear their jewelry and ornaments. 5For the LORD had told Moses to tell them, "You are an unruly, stubborn people. If I were there among you for even a moment, I would destroy you. Remove your jewelry and ornaments until I decide what to do with you." 6So from the time they left Mount Sinai, F69 the Israelites wore no more jewelry.
7It was Moses' custom to set up the tent known as the Tent of Meeting far outside the camp. Everyone who wanted to consult with the LORD would go there.
8Whenever Moses went out to the Tent of Meeting, all the people would get up and stand in their tent entrances. They would all watch Moses until he disappeared inside. 9As he went into the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and hover at the entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses. 10Then all the people would stand and bow low at their tent entrances. 11Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, stayed behind in the Tent of Meeting.
Moses Sees the LORD's Glory
12Moses said to the LORD, "You have been telling me, 'Take these people up to the Promised Land.' But you haven't told me whom you will send with me. You call me by name and tell me I have found favor with you. 13Please, if this is really so, show me your intentions so I will understand you more fully and do exactly what you want me to do. Besides, don't forget that this nation is your very own people."
14And the LORD replied, "I will personally go with you, Moses. I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you."
15Then Moses said, "If you don't go with us personally, don't let us move a step from this place. 16If you don't go with us, how will anyone ever know that your people and I have found favor with you? How else will they know we are special and distinct from all other people on the earth?"
17And the LORD replied to Moses, "I will indeed do what you have asked, for you have found favor with me, and you are my friend."
18Then Moses had one more request. "Please let me see your glorious presence," he said.
19The LORD replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, 'the LORD,' to you. I will show kindness to anyone I choose, and I will show mercy to anyone I choose. 20But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live." 21The LORD continued, "Stand here on this rock beside me. 22As my glorious presence passes by, I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. 23Then I will remove my hand, and you will see me from behind. But my face will not be seen."
FOOTNOTES:F69: Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
~Lena’s Journalin’~
All I hear today is what I’ve been hearing for weeks now, ever since Saturday November 12th without a break, every meeting I’ve been in whether at our own church or at countywide prayer meetings, or seminars or special event meetings or cell meetings etc, it has been the same word. The word has been confirmed at least 10 times and now again…
The Lord said to the ones who are drawn out of their old lives and all of its calls to them, all of its pleasures, bondages, even the slavery of its old ways. If you’ve come from that place in Christ, if you’ve led or will ever lead anyone else out of that place, bring them into My kingdom. Bring them with you into the thinking of My kingdom, the practices of My kingdom, the residency of My kingdom as a kingdom ambassador, acquaint them with the ways of My kingdom. Put more of My kingdom in them that what remains in them of the old kingdom they were citizens of. There are so many enemies of that old kingdom that are on assignment to come and take them back as citizens even by association. Their enemies want them to at least act as though they were former citizens, even if they never return, their enemies want them back, but they will settle for them living elsewhere if they’ll at least not take on new mindsets, keeping them enslaved in their minds, which they know will also enslave them in a sense, by inflicting torment and sickness on their bodies, because they can’t “let go” of their past heritage and feel they can never become anything else than a slave.
The Lord says to those who are drawn out of that old kingdom, ”Come out, all the way out. Come up with Me to a higher place, where you can actually see the whole picture, the place where you’ve come and the place where you are now and then the place where I’m leading you.”
“Let’s soar together as an eagle flies, and let’s look at things as an eagle sees them, a much greater picture than those who dwell in the low places. Come up here with Me, don’t ask Me to stay down there with you, you don’t and won’t be able to see as well down there and I don’t live there. I just visited there so, I could rescue you!”
The Lord says to those who come up higher, “Bring the lowly dwellers up here. There’s a higher place, there’s a clearer view, there’s a deeper place which is so much closer and more intimate than you’ve ever known in valleys. Do you want to go? Will you ascend? I’ve made you clean enough to come here, by the blood of the Lamb. In coming out of bondage you received Him, or you wouldn’t be out, now it is time to come to a higher place.”
“If/when you come, as you come and as you decide to make your new home here, I will take care of all of those threatenings, all of those who’ve been at your heels, all of those who had kept you in bondage in your mind. I will even send angels to take care of them.” “When you didn’t come up higher, you were tired from fighting them on your own. I was not fighting them with you, because I was up here, but when you come up here, it’s just like magic, I send My angel to fight for you! If you stay down there, you are choosing to fight those enemies all by yourself, you won’t be able to win over them, because they are actually My enemies and are stronger than you are, all that will happen to you, is you’ll get tired, you’ll get sick, you’ll feel lonely, you’ll feel abandoned, you feel…because the enemy down there operated and feed your sense realm, that’s it. You’re saved so he doesn’t have your spirit, but does he have your soul?”!
“Do you realize how sad I get whenever My people decide not to let Me fight for them? When they choose to dwell where their enemies are and invite their enemies to dinner, rather than Me? In fact they’ve accepted invitations from their enemies over and over again to stay down there and be beaten up! I can hardly stand it, to watch it, so I turn away, when I turn away from looking at it, all kids of havoc happens. I’m still here, but I am so grieved that rebellion is allowed and even invited to stay with them, that stubbornness rules!”
“I must have vengeance over the enemies that cause My people to be made separate from Me. I have to annihilate every enemy to My people. If my people make allegiances with the enemies, that means they will be taken out also. I must coerce them and give them more grace first…….I cannot stand the continual thoughts of this war for My people’s souls and that My people whom I love, choose others other than Me, other places to stay other than the places I’ve made for them!”
“ Oh the rebellion, may there be peace? May there be joy, And victory? I hope that My people will choose it. I cannot live where they choose to dwell, and they sit there in that place and say, where is Father? We are as children with no Father. They complain, because I will not go there, into that evil place of sin. I did go there, I rescued them out, I sent men of the earth to help lead them out. I showed these men the way, the words ,and even provided them food and water, etc. Then I gave them the answers they needed to come up higher, but they refused and now they blame Me. My heart is still so full of love for them. I can hardly wait till they choose to come see Me, in fact I’ve set watchers out to look for these and pray to Me about these, they show Me they also care for these and want My mercy to stay extended over these until they decide to come up on high.”
I think it is so cool how this describes the people as having a human model even in the Old Testament. Someone who knew God and wanted to make Him known and would show them the way to God and to know Him enough to also make Him known. That is God’s way. We call it fathering. God is a Father, the highest maturity level in the word of God, is that one would grow up to be a father.
Moses went up into the tent of meeting to be with the Lord and the people watched Him go up, everytime he went up they watched him model the acceptance of an invitation from God.
Jesus also modeled this before His disciples and the world. Then He made the ultimate ascension and told us to go do as He’d done! He did His work here of rescuing people out of bondage, out of spiritual slavery, then He went to His Father. Going to the Father, shows faith in the victory only God can give. It shows trust and reliance on God’s strength. It shows we yield our strength to God, we do not rely pride fully on our own strength. I want to tell you the heart of the Holy Spirit is grieved and His presence leaves us alone if we continue to refuse Him. If we are acting as our own God and can do whatever we want ourselves. He’ll allow us to do it ourselves hoping that the mess we get in will tire us and lead us back to Him and with a new desire to come up higher.
Moses, even in God’s presence initially had to shed the residue of being in the enemy’s territory where the enemies had been speaking to the peoples and they would murmur and complain against Moses and God. Moses’ dialog began with that influence.
“We’ll Lord who have You sent to help me through this journey You’ve caused me to embark on?”
Moses was in a higher place in God’s awesome presence, God knew he’d been influenced by others, but at least Moses was there, had accepted the invitation, had come up. In accepting the invitation, God could correct the wrong influences, correct the wrong thinking! The Lord took Moses in to such an intimate place that Moses never wanted to leave. If each of us would get there we’d feel the same; Exactly the same.
God is not looking for causal acquaintances who say they love Him, but don’t even know His face. Who act as though they live in a new place, but continually talk about the old one. Who say one thing but are continually doing another and He cannot correct their wrong thoughts/ actions or words. They are headed for destruction within, but He has been given no place to steer the wheel otherwise to really save them. If and when they come up, it will all be done. God wants friends of the intimate kind. Are we God’s friends? Friends come over and stay awhile, care about the other party in the relationship rather than only about themselves. Friends make decisions that will help the friendship and make it a closer one. As we sing the song, “I am a friend of God”, do we mean it? How would we prove that to God, to the world, to God’s enemies?
I’m gonna stop now and accept my daily invitation to ”come up hither”…..

John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.