~~~ Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28 ~~~ Psalm 103 ~~~ Matthew 13:36-43 ~~~
If you wish to speak with the Lord
you must leave the comforts of your tent.
You must remove yourself from all distractions.
You must devote yourself to the Lord.
This is what Moses did time after time.
He left the group.
The place where God communicated
with him was set apart.
As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down
and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
God's presence is made visible by a cloud.
That does seem a bit contradictory to me.
God is present but he is covered by the cloud.
(food for thought)
In our personal lives God also comes to us in the cloud.
The cloud of the unknown...the cloud of doubt...the cloud of sadness.
But when God comes to us in the cloud he also brings clarity.
The cloud changes our attitude about God.
The cloud shrouded the blinding glory of the Lord.
The people were not ready to see God face to face just yet.
God used Moses...
Moses was granted permission to see the face of God.
They spoke to one another...man to man...
friend to friend...teacher to student.
The people needed a sign that God was present,
so he gave them the cloud.
The cloud was a visible sign hiding the actual face of God.
Moses, when seeing the cloud, knew that God was with him.
The cloud gave Moses the courage he needed
to remain in his leadership role.
The grumbling Israelites made for certain difficult days.
Moses finds comfort within the cloud of the Lord.
This is often quite the opposite for us.
When we are in the cloud we want to get out as quickly as possible.
We struggle with finding God there.
For most it is easier to find God in the bright sunshine...in the happy times.
We have a kind and merciful God who teaches us with stories.
Today it is the good seed and the weeds in the field.
Jesus explains...
...the good seed (are) the children of the Kingdom...
Personally if I could chose which good seed to represent me
I would choose the sunflower.
The sunflower holds too many seeds to count.
The sunflower holds the potential to spread its beauty far and wide.
The sunflower looks to the sun...holding its head high...confidently standing.
If we are to be like the good seed
then we must freely give our good seeds away.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
in the Kingdom of their Father.
We must be eager to share about our kind and merciful Lord.
We look forward to the day when we will
'shine like the sun'
in the Kingdom of God.
Until that day comes we must emulate the sunflower.
Look for the Blessings
in happily scattering your good seeds.
Like the sunflower, keep your head turned to the Lord.
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