The Lord spoke to Moses and passed along a prayer of blessing that Aaron and the priests were to pray for the people:

May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.

The phrase make his face shine upon you can also be translated to mean may the Lord smile upon you. We can literally pray for God’s smile.

Aaron’s prayer was meant to help people experience the favor and protection of God. While we should remember this petition for ourselves, it was originally meant to be prayed for others, and we can do so today.

It’s easy to adapt these phrases for someone else. Just substitute the name of the person for whom you’re praying for the word you. Give it a try:

May the Lord bless ________ and protect________. May the Lord smile upon ________ and be gracious to ________. May the Lord show ________ his favor and give ________ his peace.

You and I can do few things for people better than praying that God show them his favor. Praying in this way is addictive. I spent a good bit of time this morning lifting up family and friends as the Holy Spirit brought each to mind.

Pray for God’s smile. It’s not silly or pollyanna-ish, but rather an encouragement from the Lord himself.

Numbers 6:22-27

Photo by Davide Cantelli

I like simple instructions. Perhaps that’s one reason why I enjoy planting flowers. Dig a hole, drop in seed, water, fertilize and watch it grow. The concept is simple, and yet a bed of blooming flowers come spring is profound.

Here’s some simple instructions given to those of us who profess to follow Jesus: Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Uncomplicated directions for a successful life—do good and share.

Not difficult to understand, but challenging to practice. I don’t want to do good to people that annoy me. Nor do I want to share my hard-earned resources with them.

But God understands this challenge. Often it’s a sacrifice. I lose something, but I gain so much more by growing closer to the heart of God. Such acts, even through gritted teeth, please the Lord. My life begins to bloom.

Do good and share. Try it today and enjoy the results.

Hebrews 13:16

Photo by Dave Lowe

It’s quite a statement when you stop and think about it—Our God is a consuming fire.

The verses preceding this line speak of things that can be shaken (the temporal aspects of this world), and the very few things that remain unshaken. God removes the unstable, the profane, and the shoddy. He burns away the rot.

What remains after the fire sweeps through?

Only the city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem; innumerable angels; the assembly of those enrolled in heaven; God himself and Jesus his Son.

God’s fire excoriates. Most of what I consider valuable and worth pursuing curls black at the edges and burns to dust. Only my investments in things on the heart of God remain. As a result, the author encourages us to respond with deference when holy fire sweeps through the detritus of life:

Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

Hebrews 12:18-29

Photo by Piermanuele Sberni

A great deal of detailed handiwork created a glorious tabernacle in the desert. The Lord passed instructions to Moses, who in turn directed skillful hands. The people gave so much in goods, materials, gems and precious metals that Moses cut off the giving.

With the tabernacle finally complete, alter anointed with oil and outer walls in place, Moses and the priests completed their ceremonial washing. As they stood before the tent of meeting, God showed up.

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

Throughout all their journeys, whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out. But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

God literally engulfed their new worship center. Even Moses, who experienced God up close many times, could not enter the enchantment. All this in front of the nation of Israel. Could there be any doubt that God led them on their journey?

The presence did not depart. The cloud remained, revealing a fiery core after dark, all through their travels. God stayed in sight day after day, night after night.

Yet we know the rest of the story. Even with this miraculous whirlwind in the center of their camp, people turned their backs on God. Stunning to realize. But you and I are not much different. Our hearts are tuned inward, the pull to self dismayingly strong.

A supernatural visitation failed to penetrate. It seems God needed a different way to break through barriers, a Savior who clouds hearts and minds. For followers of Jesus, the presence of the Holy Spirit infuses fire into our lives.

It seems counterintuitive, but the miraculous does not always convince. It takes the internal work of Jesus to turn hearts from inward to outward.

Exodus 40:34-38

Photo by Monil Andharia