Aaron

Lifting My Hands in Praise!

10:30 AM

Trials are never fun!

 They can take on many forms, but one thing they all have in common... well perhaps two commonalities is that; they aren't meant to be pleasant, but they are meant to grow our faith! 

 Hi All,

 I've been walking through a really tough trial for almost two years now, and I haven't always handled it perfectly, but The Lord has given me some amazing revelations through it that I want to share in order to help all of us bring God glory while plowing through the trials we face!!



 I believe He's taught me an important secret and it starts with Moses in Exodus 17:10-16,
So Joshua did as Moses said, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the hilltop. 11 Now when Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and when he lowered his hand [due to fatigue], Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 So Joshua overwhelmed and defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in the book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and named it The Lord Is My Banner; 16 saying, “The Lord has sworn [an oath]; the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

According to Jewish traditions, Amalek represents pure evil - this world and the flesh and all that is opposed to God. So, we can see here that this passage is a picture of a spiritual battle all of us will face from time to time.
And when do we usually lift up our hands (our countenance) to God, but in praise, right? There is amazing power in praise! But it also takes amazing faith to praise God in the midst of a trial, doesn't it?
There is so much I'd like to share on the power in praise, but for today let me just say, as long as Moses lifted His arms Israel's army was winning! Don't loose sight of this truth! 
BUT sometimes even the greatest spiritual leaders grow weary and need the help of others to keep going! To keep praising God in the midst of the toughest battles we need one another to stay strong!  
And then God gave me these verses in Hebrews 12:12-13,
 Therefore lift up your tired hands, and strengthen your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, so that those who are weak and lame will not fall, but rather be healed.

Our trials aren't only meant for us!! Did you catch that? God is using our trials to grow our faith; strengthen our arms (for praise) and our legs to keep going in order to help others! Just how cool is that!? 

 As long as we're in this world we'll be dealing with Amalek and our most powerful weapons to experience the most incredible victories is our arms (or countenance) lifted high in praise and others to help us keep them raised when we grow weary.


 Blessings,
sue



Aaron

Compromise and Redemption {Lev. 8:1-10:20}

12:00 AM

Monday Jan 29
Compromise and Redemption {Lev. 8:1-10:20}


In chapters 8-10 of Leviticus we learn of the consecration of Aaron and his sons as priests to the nation of Israel. While reading I couldn’t help but wonder why Aaron was chosen, especially after his sin of creating the golden calf. The more I researched, the more I realized that Aaron’s story was a warning against unwise compromise, and an example of the redemption God offers to those He calls His own.

Aaron was the older brother of Moses. He became Moses’ right hand man, and spokesman to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. He received a divine calling when God choose him to be high priest, the supreme religious leader, to the people of Israel. He was the first to wear the priestly garments, and to start the sacrificial system. Through him began the line of priests from the tribe of Levi. Because this calling was such an important responsibility, as high priest Aaron had to be holy in his conduct. But unfortunately Aaron had a weakness for stumbling under pressure. And that weakness cost him, his sons, and the people of Israel dearly.

When Moses didn’t come down right away from Mount Sinai, the people grew impatient and asked Aaron to craft a calf of gold to serve as their god. Instead of standing strong and instructing them in obeying the Lord, he caved under the pressure and forged the calf and worshiped it with them. This fatal compromise led to the deaths of three thousand of his fellow Israelite's. After such a terrible sin, why would God leave Aaron seemingly unpunished and allow him to become high priest to His people?

Allowing Aaron to remain in his appointed position is an awesome example of God’s grace and forgiveness. After the sin of the calf, Exodus 36:26 says that Moses stood at the gate of the camp and asked who was on the side of the Lord. All of the sons of Levi gathered around him. Aaron, being a Levite Himself, was among them. Because of his declaration and repentance, and the fact that Moses went to God and interceded for the people, he received God’s forgiveness and redemption.  Aaron is yet another example of God using the least likely people to accomplish tasks for His glory. “Aaron, the man who led the Israelite's astray to worship a golden calf, was the very man God chose to lead Israel in worship of the Lord. This pattern is often observed in Scripture. Many times, God uses the least likely to accomplish tasks for His glory. Other examples include David,a shepherd boy turned king; Paul, a church persecutor who became a martyr and missionary leader; Peter, a fisherman-turned-evangelist; Mary Magdalene, a demon-possessed woman who became the first to see the resurrected Jesus; and many others.” (gotquestions.org) 


Although forgiven and redeemed, Aaron did experience loss and punishment for his compromise and sin. Not only did he die in the wilderness and never enter the promised land, he also endured the loss of two of his sons in a judgement from God. His story reminds us that no matter the circumstance, God requires complete obedience. And in those times that we sin, as we all will do, when we repent and ask for forgiveness, God is quick to redeem and restore us. So the next time we are faced with compromising or obeying, we would do well to remember Aaron who learned the hard way that we serve a holy God who insists on being treated as such.



Aaron

12:00 AM

Saturday, January 27, 2018




Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

 This coming week's memory verse is Leviticus 10:3...

 Then Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD meant when He said, 'I will show Myself holy among those who are near me. I will be glorified before all the people.'" And Aaron was silent.
Have a blessed and precious day and week everyone!

Aaron

A God of Mercy and Righteousness (Exodus 31:1 - 34:35)

12:09 AM



Thursday, January 25
Several things stood out to me in these chapters.
God wants our devotion.  He wants his people to be set apart from corruption. He wants to help us and equip us.  He is willing to give us another chance. 

God wants our devotion.
“(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),” Exodus 34:14.
God wants to be first in our lives.  He wants our unwavering devotion.  He doesn’t want to compete with the things of this world that we choose to make idols of.  Notice that as soon as the people thought Moses might not return from the mountain that they quickly looked for something tangible to put their security in instead of trusting the God who led them out of slavery. It’s not really surprising that this offended God greatly. 

God wants us to be set apart. 
We are to be IN the world but not OF the world.  Even Jesus went among the sinful and outcast people because he loved them and wanted to bring salvation to them.  But, in a world of sinful enticements, God warns us to not fall into sin ourselves.  He did not want the Israelites to compromise their standards by intermarrying and adopting the customs of those who disregarded God. “Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst.”  Exodus 34:12 

God wants to help us and equip us.
He gives us ability to carry out his purposes just as he did Bezaliel :“and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,”Exodus 31:3 
“And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you:”Exodus 31:6 
God also promised to go before them and drive out their enemies.

God is willing to give us another chance.
When the people angered Moses by worshiping the calf, Moses broke the tablets that had the commandments of God.  But, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people who were willing to repent and give them another chance.  God was willing to do that and he also wrote the commandments on the tablets again.
 “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” Exodus 34:6-7 

God is a righteous God who judges sin.  He is also a loving, merciful, intimate God.
He is an awesome God who desires to do awesome things with the lives of those who worship and honor Him. 
“And he said, “Behold, I am making a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels, such as have not been created in all the earth or in any nation. And all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” Exodus 34:10