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Numbers 3 - "I AM THE LORD"

I remember as a middle school student before my family left to run errands running out to the car with my sister yelling “SHOTGUN!” Since my sister and I couldn’t drive at the time, we both clearly wanted to sit in the front passenger seat. Now, official ‘shotgun’ rules clearly state that whoever calls shotgun first gets the privilege… but as with all sibling encounters, sometimes this privilege comes with a little bit of a fight.

How many times in our lives do we claim things as “MINE!” When we call dibbs on something - do we accept part of the item or task at hand? Probably not... (after all… how easy would it be to cram 2 people in a front passenger seat) In calling dibbs on something we demand the whole.

What do you think when you read these words: ‘I AM THE LORD’. Do they mean anything to you? It struck me funny to read these words in the context of the book of NUMBERS being spoken in this active sense. Perhaps it is funny to me sometimes because of my lack of faith that disallows me to see that God IS still as active and alive as he was when these words were written. For us today reading the bible is easy because all we have to do is just read to the end of the story and see how God shows himself…it’s not this easy as we live in real time and usually don’t have answers by the end of the day.

In Numbers chapter 3, the Lord repeats himself twice in calling the Levites “mine” in verses 12 & 13. It is obvious that God has a very specific design, plan and purpose for Aaron’s family as clearly stated throughout the whole chapter because he claimed the Israelites as HIS people. He can do this because he says 'I AM THE LORD'! This is also true with us today. He calls dibbs on his redeemed people... (THAT’S US!) because HE saved us…

When God calls us to a task or asks us to claim something for him in our lives…he wants us to do it wholly…completely…to its fullest. No exceptions. And if he has called us to do something, he will give us the means by which we complete it. “Give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are the Israelites who are to be given wholly to him.” He doesn’t want pieces…he wants the whole…whole obedience in us. For we are completely His…and He is Lord.

Has God asked you to do something that you have not fulfilled? It could be something as simple as obeying your parents or helping out a friend. Its time to listen specifically to what God is calling us to do…for he has called us His…and he knows what’s best for us.

After all…He said it himself… “I AM THE LORD… I get shotgun.”

Numbers Bookmark Chapter 1-5

Hey Students! Here is our newest bookmark to help you keep track of reading through the book of Numbers...in FULL COLOR!

Just click the picture to the left

<----- and print the image!

Numbers 2: God in the middle

"The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron saying, 'The people of Israel shall camp each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers' houses.  They shall camp facing the tent of meeting on every side.'"--Numbers 2:1-2 (ESV)

I went camping with a group of about 20 people for a weekend this past summer.  (Not quite the 603,550, plus women and children, who were among the people of Israel!)  We pitched our tents around different parts of the campsite, but we had one thing in common: we set up our tents facing the center of the site, the campfire.  That's where we met to talk, share stories, get warm, and make yummy treats.

What's really cool about the Israelites' camp is that they didn't just meet around a campfire.  They had their tents pitched around the tent of meeting, another word for the tabernacle: God's house.  God Himself was at the very center of their camp.

That's where He belongs in our lives: at the very center.  Sure, we've all got our own things going on, just like the different people of Israel had their own standards (flags) and banners.  School, sports and other activities, friends, family...these all make up different parts of our lives and make our experiences unique.  But God should still be at the center of our lives.  Every other part should be just off to the side, compared to Him.

Numbers 1: Parting Lake Michigan, like the red sea!

Chapter one of numbers: Most perceive Numbers to be one of the most boring books in the bible. I’m not going to lie, it’s not one of the more exciting ones - that’s for sure. But everything in the Bible has a reason why it is included and this particular chapter is one that shows us the amazing goodness of God. How can we see that god is good through 54 verses of counting people… well track with me here for a minute.

Many of us struggle to believe there actually is a God because we cant text him, call him, email him, punch him, and we cant always see him. But often I think we are looking for something different then God showing himself to us.

To understand Numbers we have to go back to Genesis 28. In this chapter there is this guy named Jacob who is told by God that he will have LOTS of grandchildren who have LOTS more grandchildren and eventually he will have a huge family. His family will bless “all the peoples of the earth”. God closes his blessing over Jacob by saying He not leave Jacob untill what is promised is done. So what does this have to do with Numbers?? We move on from Jacob and have the story of Joseph… (go go go Joseph you know what they say…) and then we have the Exodus. We find Gods chosen people in captivity as slaves under the Egyptian king, and they are angry.

Numbers starts with the Israelites who were freed from captivity as a result of the miracles of God. The Israelites are the descendants of Jacob this is his family years and years later. A reason for this count in Numbers is for the people to see how faithful God has been to his promise, despite the slavery and captivity; God still blessed these people and kept his word. And all the while He was with them as he promised.

Jacobs family was originally 75 people, but now as we read in Numbers the number totals 603,550. God surly did bless them and this chapter is a way to put in writing how much God blessed Jacob’s family. And God blessed them even through the hardest time in their life.

We often expect God to do crazy miraculous things in our life so that we know he is there.. Part lake Michigan before our eyes! But God is always with us, and sometimes we have to look at the small things of life to see the ways that he has blessed us. We need to look in the small happy moments of the day to see him keep his promises to us.

Have you been looking for him??

New Series at Nexus: NUMBERS!!!

We are starting a new series at Nexus based on the Biblical book of Numbers. Starting this week we will be challenging students to read 5 chapters of Numbers per week, and to help you figure out this crazy awesome book, we will be posting on the blog every day, until we are done.

Feel free to ask you questions, tell us your thoughts, or even surprise us with something cool you find as we journey through this ancient book together!


Some parts of it are crazy and some parts are a little like reading a dictionary, but if you stick to it you will be Glad!!!!

This week in the Mosaic Ministry...

Hey Mosaic Friends!

Email me (Jng at jng@elmbrook.org) your favorite kind of candy – hopefully you have some left over from the weekend!

Nexus goes to Harvest Fest! This week Nexus will be going to Harfest Fest together and sitting in Section 2 (L-Z) on Tuesday November 4^th. We will gather in the Student Lounge at 6:30-45pm ish and go to the sanctuary together! There will be a general dismissal after the large group service at 8:15pm for students to be picked up.

Sign up TODAY for the Service Day – There are only a few spots open for the Service Day on Nov 8^th at Care-Age in Brookfield from 9am-12noon. We will be spending time and having lunch with the residents after training. It is free, but there are limited spots – the registration form is online at www.elmbrook.org/mosaic

Sno Rodeo: The Sno Rodeo dates have been changed to Dec 28-30. Registration forms will be available in a couple days – keep your eyes peeled! The Early Bird cost (until Dec 1^st) is $160.

Student Ministry Team will not be meeting this week due to Harvest Fest. We will be meeting the following Tuesday Nov 11.

Also, keep checking this blog for the daily updates on Numbers - Read though Numbers with the staff, leaders and some special guests starting tomorrow, Nov 4th. Check it out and tell us what you think about what we write!

Jng :)

Strange Ingredients

They say bad company corrupts good character.... They, whoever they are... are right. Who we hang out with will have a huge part of determining who we become.

Life is full of examples of this... a little rotten fruit, makes the rest go bad... a little mold ruins a loaf, or a house... a little fire spreads... a little hole gets bigger... a small crack grows... and a single bad ingredients ruins the whole entree...


Who we hang with, we will become like... This is why we are told to “imitate Jesus”... the assumption is that if we spend time with him we will become like him as well. But imitating Jesus is a lot easier in a group...

Do the friends you hang with help you grow more like Jesus? Do you help them?

Peeps: Friendship 101

You were born with an accomplishment greater than you will ever ever achieve in this life...

you might win 9 golds in the olympics,

you might dance with the grace of a ballerina,

or

bend it like becham.

You might win miss or mister Universe,

or

win the sexiest teen alive...

maybe you could even appear in blockbuster films...

Or...

maybe you could even cure cancer and aids before your 18th bday...

BUT...


even if you do all these things, none of it will compare with the most important truth about you: That nothing you will ever accomplish, or fail to accomplish in life will ever compare to the truth the GOD LOVES YOU ALREADY... he cannot love you more of less than he does....

so yes...
accomplish
dream
do!... fail and get up and keep trying, but realize that the truth about you is that you are ALREADY lovable and lovely to HIM...

Running Peeps

Okay, so Peeps can't actually run. They're made of marshmallow coated with sugar, and they don't have legs. But stay with me on this....

I was running yesterday, and I started thinking about peeps. My peeps, not the overly sweet, fluffy ones. See, I was running by myself, for the first time in quite a while, and it was HARD!!!

I decided a few months ago to start running. It's never been easy for me, but I thought it'd be a good way to exercise, since Rollerblading is limited to paved trails and only possible during the warmer months. My roommate Robbie has been running for years, and she was really happy to help me get started. She gave me advice on getting good running shoes and helped me find a training schedule. Robbie also went running with me several times to encourage me along the way. My friend Jackie (you know Jackie, right?) was also very helpful. She ran with me too, and when my knee started hurting, she showed me some stretches to help.

In August, I ran my first 5K, which is a 3.1 mile race. If you run cross country, that's no big deal, but it was a big deal to me. I recruited a few of my friends to race too, including Robbie and Jackie. They both ran with me the entire race. It got difficult toward the end, but Jackie's "You're doing great!" and "You're almost there!" kept me going.

Maybe you're wondering what this has to do with anything. So I ran a race back in August with some of my friends...so what?! Well, the Bible sometimes compares living a Christian life to running a race. (Check out 1 Corinthians 9:24, Galatians 5:7, 2 Timothy 4:7, and my favorite, Hebrews 12:1.) When I'm running, I can get worn out, and it's really helpful to have my friends running with me to keep me going. (I keep them going too; just ask Robbie!) Life is kind of the same way. So, encourage your peeps. Look after each other when things get rough. Help each other up when you fall.

Go, run with your peeps! =)