St. Paul MOMS and More

Last year we focused on how “God Reigns and the Son Shines”. We encouraged our readers to spend the first 5 minutes of the day with God and gave ideas how to make that happen. This year we have chosen to discuss S'more ways to grow closer to God. If you would like to check out last year's post entitled First Five Challenge and post comments we would love to read and share s'more ideas.

We are a lot like s’mores. Some of us like the graham crackers: crisp at times, but ultimately sweet, and the foundation of the treat. Others of us are more like the marshmallows: soft with passion and heart felt emotion. Some are more like the chocolate: quiet, deep, and just right at the moment needed. Even though each one of us offers individual treasures, when God put us together and added the fire of the Holy Spirit, we became so much more than we would have ever been by ourselves, we became s’mores.

When I think of s’mores I think of camping… Who were the ultimate campers in the old testament? We would have to say the Israelites – because after 40 years of wandering the desert, they would have had to get the camping thing down, right? I bet they could set up and break down a tent in minutes. Rather than focusing on how great at camping the Israelites were I would like to focus on how great our God is.

First let’s look at how God placed the tribes of Israel around the tabernacle. Did you know that if you were to get an aerial view of this campsite that it would look like a cross?

http://www.asis.com/users/stag/bible/camp256.gif

God divided the twelve tribes of Israel into 4 camps each consisting of 3 tribes. He instructed each tribe to a North, East, South, and West position around the tabernacle. Following God’s instructions precisely to His order would require them to spread out away from the center (the tabernacle) with defined borders so as to comply with whatever direction they were assigned (for example – directionally south from the tabernacle not southwest or southeast).

Each of the four camps was designated a standard or symbol – These are the same as the four faces of the cherubim that surround the throne of God. The four faces of these creatures symbolized God's perfect nature. These four faces turned in every direction. What we see is the power and majesty of God. The four living creatures described as having the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle portray the character of God.

Throughout history, these creatures have symbolically represented certain qualities. A man is the picture of intelligence, of understanding. A lion is always a picture of sovereignty, of supremacy. An ox is always the symbol of servitude, of sacrifice. An eagle is the symbol of power and deity, of soaring over all creation. The significant thing is that the four present exactly the same qualities exhibited in Jesus Christ. He appears first in the Gospel of Matthew as the king - the lion, the king of beasts, and the sovereign of all. He appears in the Gospel of Mark as the servant, the ox. In the Gospel of Luke, he is man in his intelligence, in his insight, in his understanding of life. And in the Gospel of John, he is deity. These four reflect the character of Jesus Christ.

So….. the camp of Israel is a model of the throne of God: His presence in the center, represented by the tabernacle, encircled by the four creatures, all surrounded by His people.

The point we need to take away from this is that God is central to ALL things we will encounter. The Israelites did not trust God when He tried to lead them into the Promised Land, they doubted. They are a resounding reminder to us today that we need to keep our focus on God, trust Him, and keep Him central in everything we do.

Remember that God designed each of us with specific talents. He didn’t give one person ALL of the talents because we aren’t designed to do it ALL, but when we come together as a community of believers we can do so much “s’more” for His kingdom!!!