I recently got back from a whirlwind of 4 months. It was 4 months of constant adventure and community. 4 months full of joy and laughter. And at the same time, 4 months also full of challenges, hard conversations, and tears. 4 months of the most beautiful, challenging, intentional, hungry, and available community that I have ever been apart of.
It was 4 months filled with countless moments of awe and wonder. I mean we saw national park after national park, waterfall after waterfall, sunset after sunset, and on and on.
But that wrapped up 3 weeks ago now. I have been back in the house that I grew up in for the last 3 weeks. The sense of constant community and adventure seemingly gone. The moments of awe and wonder seemingly faded away.
And so, what do we do with that? I mean that is the majority of life, right? 48 weeks a year for most people. Routine. Getting by. Working to pay the bills or fund a future adventure.
Well, the Lord has brought me back to one of my favorite passages in scripture recently. Numbers 20. Let’s go!
Brief summary: In this passage, the Israelites are grumbling. They have been wandering for 40 years in the wilderness, since they were rescued out of Egypt. Every person who walked across the Red Sea has died except for Moses, Aaron, and Joshua. The people are angry with Moses about their thirst. They even start saying crazy things like wishing they were back in slavery, in Egypt.
Moses, in incredible patience, doesn’t jab back. He goes to God to ask what to do. God tells Moses to hold his staff in one hand, speak to the rock, and water will flow from it. Sounds simple enough, right? I mean God has done was crazier things through Moses at this point.
What does Moses do? He disobeys and hits the rock rather than speaking to it. Water still flows from the rock, but guess what? It ends up costing Moses the promised land… the thing he had been waiting his whole life for.
So, what gives? Why was God so upset over hitting the rock rather than speaking to it? It seems like such a minor detail, right?
Well, let’s jump back to Exodus 17 for a second. The exact same situation, except this time God told Moses to hit the rock.
Back to Numbers 20. What was the problem? The problem was that Moses treated as common what God called HOLY. Moses thought, ya ya ya… I’ve been here before. I know what to do. I know how this goes. He hit the rock because that is what he had done before. But God had something different in mind. The place where all of this happened was called Kadesh.
Well, why does that matter? That matters because that word literally means HOLY. Different. Set apart. Otherly. Moses came to a place that God called holy and treated it like it was just the same as before. The charge against Moses is even that he didn’t “hallow” God in the eyes of the people… that is to treat as holy.
So, what does this mean for our lives?
How often do we do something just because it is how we did it before? In normal life, or even in ministry? How often do we share the Gospel one way because it worked before? How often do we build systems and methods because they have worked before? How often do we go through the motions? How often do we hear a passage come up in a sermon and write it off because well “I have heard this passage 20 times in my life?”
Let me tell you, just because you have done it before, doesn’t mean that is how God wants it to be done now. My encouragement is to see each day as holy. Look for your moments/opportunities of Kadesh each day.
Maybe you have told your spouse that you love them 500 times before, in every way imaginable. Guess what? You haven’t today. Maybe you have read that passage so many times that there can’t possibly be anything new to it. Guess what? You haven’t today.
You don’t have to go across the world and become a missionary to be close to God. You don’t have to do any of that to join God in what He is doing. You simply have to ask Him. God, what holy moments are you putting in front of me today? How do you want me to respond to them?
Yahweh will never settle for being just a voice in your life… even if He is the first voice in line. He is the King of King, and His voice must be enthroned in your life. He isn’t on par with your spouse, friends, or family. He is HOLY.
And what He currently puts in front of you might not be Canaan. It might not be the promised land, but it does matter. It is Kadesh. And how you respond matters. So, ask Him! Look for His invitations! And hallow Him… honor Him… treat Him as HOLY. Even if it looks different than what worked before.
You know, religion will always acknowledge what God did, and what He is going to do. But religion will always dismiss what He is currently doing. The Pharisees notoriously did this, and they missed Jesus right in front of them.
In Revelation 1:8, God declares, “I am the Alpha and Omega. Who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
Notice anything? That isn’t in logical order. It isn’t chronological. God didn’t talk about past, then present, then future. He started with present. And that is because the biggest revelation you can have of God is that He is today. He is now. If you think that Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sin, that one day you will get to go to heaven instead of hell, and that is it… you have missed the Gospel all together.
That might sound harsh, but Christ didn’t die to just get you out of hell. He died to invite you into relationship with the Father… to give you access to the Father. He didn’t just open unlock the prison gates, leave, and say well just hang out here till you die. He blew the prison gates down and invited us into a wild adventure of following Him, spending time with Him, getting to know Him, and getting to join Him.
And what He has invited you to join Him in is the redemption of His creation! We get to love the people that He loves!
I know this is long, but 1 final thing! Hang with me!
In John 21, Jesus reinstate Peter after Peter denied him 3 times prior to the crucifixion. First and foremost, Jesus shows up and Peter jumps off a boat to swim as fast as he can towards Jesus. There is a simple question in that: Are you Peter? When you fail, do you run from Jesus or to Jesus?
That is probably determined based on how you would handle the exchange that ensues.
Jesus asks Peter 3 times if Peter loves Him. Peter continuously says yes, I love you. And Jesus follows up by telling Peter to take care of His sheep.
I want to just point out 2 things from this. First, Jesus and Peter did not use the same word for love the first two times Jesus asked the question. Jesus asked using the word agape. Agape is a perfect, sacrificial love. Peter answered with the word phileo. Phileo is a brotherly love. The final time Jesus asked with phileo and Peter responded with phileo.
What does that little detail mean?
Jesus started by asking Peter if He loved him sacrificially. Peter, still feeling the sting of his denial, couldn’t answer. It was as if Peter was responding with phileo in hopes that their friendship was still intact. The third time, Jesus met Peter where he was at. He asked Peter if he was indeed a true friend? This grieved Peter, and he said YES!
But notice something. That question never got flipped! Peter never asked Jesus if Jesus loved him.
That is so backwards from what I have seen in Christian circles. The question is so often, do you think God still loves me after what I did? That question never even got asked by Peter. Because Peter KNEW that Jesus LOVED him. He died on a cross, rose from the grave, and came back to find Peter. It was crystal clear.
And that is the question for us friends: Do we love Jesus? Not does He love us… that is a given. Do we love Him? And I mean really LOVE Him? Not just appreciate Him. Not just acknowledge Him. Not just obey Him… but are we in love with Him? Is He the place we run when we fail? Is He the first person we get excited to share what happened in our day with?
If that answer is yes, then guess what we get to do? Care for His sheep. Love people! Regardless what it costs you. Regardless how inconvenient it is. Regardless of your comfort level. And loving people means taking action!
You know in Revelation 1-2, God addresses the 7 churches in Asia. You know what phrase is used at the start of every single letter? “I know your works”. By no means am I saying that works leads to salvation. Completely the opposite actually. Salvation is by grace and grace alone, and that grace will be evidenced in your life by works. Those churches were not judged based on intention. They were judged based on works.
There is a terrifying passage in Matthew 7 where we are told that MANY who confess Christ with their lips will come before Him on the final day… they will say “Lord, Lord” and He will say “depart from me I never knew you”. Just to fully put that in context… He is talking about people who confess Jesus as Lord with their lips. And that word many doesn’t just mean a lot. That word in the Greek means majority.
I don’t say that to scare you. But I do say that to say that there is a very clear warning. You want to know what we are told in that passage? If you love Christ, it will be evidenced by fruit. Fruit will never save us. Grace alone saves. But if we have truly received grace, our hearts will burn to work for Him.
If we love Him, we will care for His sheep.
So, do you LOVE Him? Will you see today as Kadesh? Will you choose to see what might seem normal, or routine, as an invitation for you to LOVE?
