linda bass

The Holy Spirit is essential to help people see and grasp the truth clearly because He is the one who takes away the veil put there by Satan. He brings spiritual light,revelation, and freedom from the law. What enables people to come to Christ at all is that the Holy Spirit opens their spiritual eyes to the fact they need a Savior. The kind of freedom the Spirit gives us when we become Christians is, freedom from the bondage of sin.

Moses faced glowed because he had spent time in the presense of the Lord. Moses covered his face when he went out with the people because the radiance was blinding. I think the reason more people's faces didn't glow in Moses' time was because most of them didn't desire an intimate relationship with God,the way Moses did. The difference between the spread of God's glory in Moses' time and our own time is, the Holy Spirit. In Moses' day the glory of the law would soon fade or pass away. The glory of God's Spirit continues to this day.

A Christian's spiritual health is so closely related to his or her involvement in ministry because each believer has been given spiritual gifts and a ministry within the local church. As we become involved in a local church,we help make the church effective. The consequences of dropping out of church for the believer are not exercising one's spiritual gifts in ministry. The effect it has on Christ's Kingdom is,a believer who has dropped out of church isn't giving financially to help the church support Christ's mission in the community as well as around the world.

We are "living letters" in the sense that the gospel has been written in our hearts that we may share it with those who need a Savior. People can "read us" not only by what we say,but by our actions,and the lifestyle we live. It is important to be authentic not phony in our lives because most people can sense if our Christianity is genuine or not. If someone "reads" something in you they admire and mention it to you,you should thank them,but give the glory to God.

The fragrance of God is like the fragrance of life to those who are open to the gospel. It is like a sweet smelling spice. The fragrance of God is like the smell of death to those who are in opposition. This fragrance is the stench of eternal death.

Satan takes advantage of our unforgiveness by using it to defeat us in our faith and our walk with the Lord. The symptons in our own heart of unforgiveness are, holding onto a grudge and refusing to let go. I heard or read something awhile back that said the definition of unforgiveness was,' drinking poison and hoping the person who wronged you will die.' Unforgiveness hurts our spiritual life because it interfers with our ministry to the Body of Christ. In order to really let go of resentment,one has to learn to be willing to let go and give it to God.

Obedience to servant leaders helps the church of Jesus Christ by respecting them and esteeming them very highly in love because of their work for the Lord. Obedience to self-serving leaders hurts the church because often these leaders are serving their own agendas and don't really care for those serving under them. I try to be obedient,most of the time, to those God has placed over me in the church because it is commanded in scripture that we obey those in authority over us. Recently I attended an Awana conference with our commander and several other leaders. Our comander told us what workshops she wanted us to attended in the various sessions. I kind of resented this because I was used to choosing the workshops that I wanted to take part in. Then I realized she probably had a reason for us wanting to attend those paricular workshops. The relationship between church unity and obedience is, it's impossible to have one without the other.

The presense of the Holy Spirit in our lives signifies that we are firmly found in Christ. The Holy Spirit unites us with God by anointing us with God's seal of ownership,marking us as God's property. The promise of future blessing inherent in the Spirit's presense is,we are guaranteed enternal life. The Holy Spirit is a deposit or down payment given to the believer of what is to come.

Paul asks for prayer to be able to share the gospel. The prayers of others have an effect because they are edifying and give encouragement. I was able to enter into a ministry of intercessory prayer when I realized some time ago that eventho there were areas where I wanted to serve but couldn't, at least I could pray for those in need.

Facing a harrowing crisis helps us grow in the Lord because it helps us to learn to totally rely on God rather than our own strength, A crisis has helped my spiritual life by helping me realize I need a more intimate relationship with Jesus. The value of learning not to rely on ourselves is,without God we are nothing. What this does to our pride is, it makes us aware that we can't make it on our own. This improves the effectiveness of God's servants by making them humble.

The kind of comfort I receive from my faith in God is knowing for sure I'm going to heaven because I have accepted Christ. The kind of comfort I receive from my daily personal relationship with God is,knowing that He knows my needs and my cares. By going through trials,we can then encourage those who are going through the same thing. For example, I have been unemployed in the past. So I have an understanding of those who have recently lost their jobs and are seeking work. I'm able to better pray for those who are unemployed because I have a grasp of what they are going through.

Balaam's counsel led Israel into sin by introducing them to idol worship and sexual immortality. Aaron's grandson Phineas was honored in his actions because he took a stand against sin. His reward was "a covenant of a lasting priesthood."(Numbers 25:13) So often we are zealous to defend the rights of God's enemies because we are reluctant to go against the status quo. We would rather blend in with the crowd and not stand out. Often we are slow to defend God's honor because we're afraid what others will think of us.

What precipitated the plague of snakes was that the people complained openly against God and criticized His provision of food. Being impatient with God's provision is a sin because it shows a lack of faith. Being impatient shows that we don't trust God to provide for our needs. Just as those who looked upon the bronze snake were healed and lived,those who look upon Christ on the cross and believe,their sins are forgiven and they have eternal life.

Moses was to bring water from the rock by speaking to it. Instead he struck the rock twice with his staff. Moses sinned because he struck the rock instead of speaking to it like God had told him to. Second he said,"must I bring you water from this rock?" He was giving the glory to himself instead of to God. I believe the emotions and attitudes behind Moses sin was that he was more or less sick and tired of the people complaining about every little thing. He'd just about had it. When church leaders sin in these days they need to confess before their congregations and the Lord,asking forgiveness.

The Israelites failure to enter the Promised land was serious because they were being disobediant and going against the will of God. What this represented on the people's part was their lack of faith. What this represented on God's part was that He was angry that they chose to belief the negative report of the 10 spies over Caleb's and Joshua's positive report. I don't believe the punishment was too severe. The people needed to realize the consequence of their lack of faith and their disobedience to enter the Promised Land. If the people had moved in faith,their trip from Egypt to Canaan probably would of taken a lot less than 40 years. As a side note,I often wonder if Caleb and Joshua didn't feel a bit resentful. They were the only two who showed true faith concerning entering the Promised Land. Yet because of the unbelief of the people,they too had to wander the desert 40 years waiting for the unbelieving generation to die off.

Mariam's and Aaron's motivation for speaking against Moses was because of his wife. Whether she was Zipporah or another wife,scriptures don't really say. However the real issue was that both of them were challenging Mose's role as God's spokesman. People seeking power feel the need to discredit the existing leader because they feel they can do a better job. Moses handles this provocation by remaining humble and allowing God to handle the situation. If Moses was a proud man he might have publically denounced Aaron and Miriam in front of the people. The Lord handled the situation by having all 3 of the siblings come to the Tent of Meeting. God reminds the other two about His personal relationship with Moses. God punishes Miriam by inflicting her with leprosy for 7 days and having her remain outside the camp until she is healed. I oftern wonder why just Miriam was inflicted with leprosy for complaing against Moses. Why didn't God strike Aaron with leprosy as well? It could be that being older than Aaron she was the institigator. Aaron was more or less just following her lead.

Moses is frustrated in his prayer because the burden of leadership has become too heavy for him and he knows he is unable to supply the demands of the people. The people's demands are probably draining Moses emotionally and physically. He is more or less carrying the burden of leadership by himself. This is not a designed to be a model prayer because Moses was complaining to God,basically blaming Him for what was going on in the Israelite camp. I think Moses was addressing God in a rather desrespectful manner. We are shown this prayer in order that we may know this is the wrong way to bring our needs before the Lord. God answered Moses' prayer by putting some of His Spirit on 70 of Israel's elders and by promising an abundant of meat.

The significance of the offerer laying his hand on the animal's head in the burnt offering for individual sin is,a symbolic gesture of the sin of the person being transferred to the animal. I think the reason the offerer was to slay the sacriface rather than have the priest to it was as a reminder that the penalty for sin is death. Also to show that his rebellion against God resulted in the death of the innocent animal that took his punishment. The animal's blood is significant in the sacriface because life is in the blood. Christ was the ultimate sacriface. He is the perfect Lamb without blemish or defect. We have been redeemed from our sins once and for all through the shedding of Christ's blood,

The arrangement of the furniture,the tabernacle,and the courtyard all teach that there is an order and progression in worship. Worship is to flow in an orderly manner and not as the result of chaos or confusion. One comes to the bronze altar to confess one's sins. One comes to the laver or basin for the cleansing or forgiveness of one's sins. Only after one has confessed and been forgiven of sin,can they enter freely into worship.

The significance of the Ark in the Holy of Holies was that it was where God dwelt. The Ark represented the holiness of God. The Ark was considered so holy because it served as the throne of God. The Ark was important because this was where God talked with Moses and communed with the people.

The Israelite camp was laid out the way it was because that was the way God wanted it. This layout taught the Israelites that God was their King. The levites and priests camped closer than the other tribes because they were responible for the tabernacle and its furniture.

Interceding for the people was so important in Moses ministry because as their leader he was responsible for them. Intercession is an important role for pastors and lay people today because God needs people to stand in the gap and pray on the behalf of others. Unless we are intimately acquinted with both God's character and His promises,it will be difficult to know how to pray for the needs of others.

The nature of Aaron's sin with the golden calf was,not only did he take part in it,he also let the people get out of control. I think Aaron didn't take responsibility for his actions because it was easier for him to blame the people rather than admit his part in the wrongdoing. It was easier for him to pass the buck so to speak. We are not really told why Aaron got off easy. Perhaps it's because God decided to be merciful,knowing that Aaron and his sons would serve as His priests in the Tabernacle. Leaders need to be accountable for their actions because they have a responsibility and they need to set an example for those who are under their leadership. In order to learn from their mistakes,leaders need to be willing have others correct them and to turn away from any wrongdoing.

I think the reason the people were quick to make idols,even after hearing that graven images were forbidden,was that they had grownup with and were used to the "gods" of Egypt. They got accustomed to seeing the Egyptian gods represented by carved images. Worshipping God who is unseen and didn't allow any idols of Himself to be made,was probably a strange concept to them. I believe Aaron may have went along with the rest of the people in their sin because he was afraid to go against them. He feared man more than he feared God. The golden calf idol made God angry. He was ready to destroy the whole nation. Only Moses prayers on their behalf turned away God's wrath. Some of the idols that Christian churches allow to lead them away from the pure worship of God in our day are church programs,watering down the gospel to make it pleasing to everyone,the obsession with church membership,etc.