Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs

WHAT DOES THE EASY ROAD LOOK LIKE?

Little prayer
Little Bible
Little work for God
Little sacrifice
Little hospitality
Little giving
Little witness
Little families
Living close to the world
Enjoying the world
No to homeschooling
Living on handouts
Let others pay

WHAT DOES THE HARD ROAD LOOK LIKE?

The road of mountains and battles with giants. Caleb said: “Give me this mountain” (Joshua 14:6-15).
Calling upon the Lord
Sacrifice
Risk-taking
Hard work
Denying the flesh and worldly lusts (2 Corinthians 11:25-30)
The way of the cross

Which is your road?

Be encouraged,

Colin Campbell

But in chapter 14 we read of how with great courage, Jonathan and his armor bearer discovered themselves to one of the Philistine garrisons. Jonathan spoke words of faith and courage when he said to his armor bearer: "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restrain to the Lord to save by many or by few."

In that first encounter, Jonathan, with his armor bearer, slew about 20 men, then God took over. Remember that the only people in all Israel with sword and spear were Saul and Jonathan. Through the spiritual weapons God has given us, we can be like Jonathan. Through prayer (one of our greatest spiritual weapons), we can expose ourselves, slay about 20 devils, and just see what God can do with the rest!

Be encouraged,

Colin Campbell

Spark denotes life. As men get older, they tend to lose their spark and zest for life, but I do not believe that it should be this way. Men should take all the corrective measures possible to stop themselves from oxidizing and getting rusty. We know that drugs, alcohol, and pornography can ruin a man's personality. Sitting around and living a sedentary lifestyle, coupled with laziness, and not showing initiative, also takes the spark out of a man.

Mountain climbers would never dream of taking a man without any spark on such a dangerous expedition. God also wants men like Abraham and Caleb with lots of spark to climb His mountains.

Let’s be reminded again of Caleb’s confession: “As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come. Now therefore GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN” (Joshua 14:12, 12). This mountain was inhabited by giants, but he was ready to take them on at 85 years of age!

Remember, it only takes a few sparks to get a fire going. The best sparks come from Christians filled with the Holy Spirit. Reading God's Word and praying daily are an excellent combination to create sparks.

~ Colin Campbell

No more time for powder puffs who hold their peace when the sword should be drawn.

~ Colin Campbell

The nation needs men who will not compromise their moral values, even under extreme pressure. It needs men who will not compromise truth, even if it financially advantages them to do so. Some men will say anything to get what they want, whether in marriage, promotion, election to public office, or government hand-outs.

God looks for men who will not compromise biblical values, no matter what! The Holy Spirit who indwells all Christians is not compromising. He must be grieved at the way we compromise so easily over divorce, accepting the children He wants to give us, and homeschooling them to save them from humanistic propaganda and morally corrupt peers.

~ Colin Campbell

The “double portion” is ultimately fulfilled in God’s Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Adam, creationally speaking, was God’s firstborn son because he was the beginning of God’s creation of mankind.

However, because of Adam and Eve’s fall in the Garden of Eden, Adam forfeited his position of retaining the honor and privilege of the firstborn, double portion blessing. Jesus Christ is now the firstborn of God’s new creation of man. He is the second Adam who now supersedes the first Adam.

1 Corinthians 15:22 says: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” God intended that all of Israel’s firstborn sons were to be honored by receiving a double portion of the family’s inheritance upon the father’s death.

Romans 8:29 says that Jesus Christ became “the firstborn among many brethren.”

Colossians 1:15 says: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.”’

Hebrews 12:23 tells us that those who are “in Christ” have now come “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn.” As such, we receive all the blessings we need from His double portion, firstborn, eldest son’s inheritance!

In John 6:29-51 Jesus plainly states that the manna, the shewbread, and the bread used in religious ceremonies speak of Him.

In the Word of God, the double portion was also called the “two tenths deal.” We see this in the following:

1. THE DOUBLE PORTION OF MANNA ON THE SIXTH DAY

Exodus 16:22, 36: “And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man . . . Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.” For five days the children of Israel gathered one tenth, but on the sixth day, they gathered two tenths. This speaks of the double portion.

2. THE MEAL OFFERING

The meal offering on the Feast Day of the Sheaf of Firstfruits was to be made of two tenths deal of fine flour (Leviticus 23:13). Jesus was the sheaf of firstfuits and the true meal offering.

3. THE TWO WAVE LOAVES

The two wave loaves in the Feast of Pentecost were also made of two tenths deal of fine flour. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was also a double portion.

4. TWELVE LOAVES OF SHEWBREAD

Each one of the twelve loaves of shewbread which were baked each week were also made with two-tenths deal of fine flour per loaf. Once again, we see the double portion of Jesus Christ being our Savior and Healer. As the Break of Life, He is life and health for His people.

5. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

In the Ten Commandments we have the two tenths deal in their fulfillment in the two commandments given by Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:37-40: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

How does all this relate to us? Our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives in us, is the firstborn Son of God, sharing with us all that He is and has of His double portion.

We see the double portion in Jesus when He says: “I am the RESURRECTION and the LIFE.”

He is GRACE and TRUTH. John 1:14 states: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.”

There is so much more to discover in this truth of the Double Portion which we must receive by faith to work out in our lives.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

I love its great strength and power to promote liberty, truth, and freedom. I love the sacrifice of its young men and women in uniform that are more than willing to lay down their lives for the nations that are being threatened and destroyed at the hands of wicked evil doers.

I love its crowded churches filled with many people who still believe in the one true God, the God of Israel, and His Son Jesus Christ. Although many nations in the world have turned their backs on God, there are still multitudes in this great country who honor and fear Him.

I love America’s Constitution and although the battle still rages to attack and destroy its great values, there are multitudes who are prepared to stand up and defend it. I not only love this country, but I am most grateful and most thankful to God for His great kindness and mercy to this great country.

Despite its negatives, and every country has them, the goodness of God in America far out ways its evils. If you don’t believe me, you have not traveled much in this world.

I love and thank God for my dear, dear wife and family. We are a big family and a very blessed family. Today we will enjoy a sit-down meal in our home for over 100 of us.

I have so many friends for whom I am very grateful. Most of all, I thank my God who has been so very good to me over all these years. If it were not for His goodness and faithfulness I wonder where I would be? Only God knows.

God bless each one of you and a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Be blessed,

Colin Campbell

The children of Israel were not long in the desert before they began complaining. Exodus 16:2, 3 says: “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. “

Following this terrible complaining and accusations against God He responds in verse 4: “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.”

Despite their ungrateful and “entitlement” attitude, God in His grace and mercy, rained bread down from Heaven. Although in the natural order of things God gives bread from the earth to sustain physical man, He is not limited to earth’s resources.

When we find ourselves in a predicament where natural resources run out, are depleted and dried up, it is easy for us to get irritable, thin-skinned, and complain. Instead of fretting and becoming anxious we need to fix our eyes upon the Lord who always has the answer to every situation.

In this situation, with Israel being out of bread, God teaches both them and us that the earth is not the only resource to meet our natural needs. There is another place of provision, a place of limitless provision--Heaven!

Heaven always has an answer for every need, no matter how small or great. Why do we so often look to earth and the things that it hopefully will provide to meet our needs? We must realize that trusting earth’s provision will often fail us. Earth is not always able to provide all the answers we need.

God rained bread from Heaven out of His grace and mercy to meet their need, not because they deserved it. Because of their ungrateful attitude they did not deserve it. This points us again to Jesus as we read Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

They did not get this miracle because of their faith in God. The trial of facing hunger was intended to be an opportunity for their faith to increase and be enlarged. Hebrews 4:2 tells us that this miracle of bread from Heaven did not profit them spiritually because it was not mixed with faith.

Every trial we face in our lives are all opportunities for us to exercise faith in Heaven’s provision. In this matter, Israel got the miracle, but failed the test of faith. How sad.

In the midst of trials, we must, with humble hearts, turn our eyes upon Jesus and call upon Heaven’s bread and Heaven’s resources.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do.
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

On Friday evening following sundown, which according to the law, is the beginning of Sabbath, they sit down at their tables and break bread together. They give thanks in Hebrew for the wine, which translated into English says: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth the fruit of the vine.” They then give thanks in Hebrew for the bread, but translated into English says: “Blessed art Thou, O Lord God, King of the universe, who bringeth forth bread from the earth.”

The two loaves represent the double portion which had to be gathered on the sixth day.

Exodus 16:16 says: “Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.” I think that every person in the family was given an omer measurement, approximately three quarts, one pint daily for five days. On the sixth day they collected two omers prepared for both the sixth and seventh days. They could not bake bread on Shabbat as it was their day of rest.

In Exodus 16:36 we note that an omer is the tenth part of an ephah, approximately ½ gallon per person. Therefore, on the sixth day, each person received a double portion to hold them over until the Sabbath ended. They received a two tenths deal.

Jesus Christ is our two tenths deal. He is our double portion for He is our Sabbath rest, not only for the Sabbath, but on every day of the week.

The typology points to the fact that we cannot earn our salvation through our own works of keeping the law. It was a serious offence to go out to get manna on the sixth day. Salvation can only come by accepting Jesus Christ as our complete rest for every day of our lives.

Ephesians 2:8, 9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Titus 3:5: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

The rest that the law granted Israel was for one-day per week. The rest, spiritually speaking, that grace gives us without the law is never ending. In this way, Jesus is our eternal Sabbath.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the Old Testament shewbread, reveals to His disciples (in the above Scriptures) that He was the kernel of wheat that would be ground into fine powder, He would be baked through the many sufferings and intense fiery trials ending in His crucifixion. And, He would rise from the dead to become our living bread.

Nobody wants to eat unbaked bread, and for that matter, bread that is not ground. Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus, who was the fulfillment of the Old Testament shewbread to physically fulfill the exact truth of what the wheat must go through to become bread for the hungry.

As the shewbread, He reveals Himself to His disciples for the third time in John 21:1-14. Jesus is now the living shewbread. He has been resurrected from the dead and is now placed on the table for the whosoever who will believe in Him to freely partake of His resurrected life.

Acts 1:3: “To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.”

These Scriptures regarding His resurrection are so important for they validate His resurrection by many eye-witnesses over a forty-day period. The truth is that Jesus Christ is now what He confessed in John 6:35: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

John 6:48: “I am that bread of life.”

John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any many eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh (which was ground to fine flour), which I will give for the life of the world.”

Jesus is our daily bread, more important than the best of our natural breads. Let us eat of Him freely.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

God’s great desire is that each one of us have an ever-increasing appetite to turn away from all other tables, enticing though they may be. He wants us to sit down with Him at His royal table and partake of His life-giving food.

Jesus Christ is to us the Tree of Life that was in the Garden of Eden. The devil enticed Adam, through Eve, to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as the world discerns it and that tree brought sin and death. They were driven out of the garden and were not allowed access to the tree of life eternal until the revelation of the atoning blood of Jesus the Lamb, slain before the foundation of the world, was given.

The truth is that Adam and Eve sat down at the wrong table!

We who call ourselves Christians must ask ourselves: “At what table am I sitting?” “On what food am I feasting?” The world has a table that looks so good to our fallen nature. So enticing. So appetizing to the flesh. But we end up having no appetite left for the table responding to the tree of life, Jesus Christ.

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples of Jesus went back fishing, speaking of their “old life” and “old table.” However, when Jesus came down to the shore of Galilee to find them, He called out: “Come and dine.” They instinctively knew it was Him (John 21:12). This was the Son of God. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Conqueror of death and hell. This was the one who called them to come and leave their old table and dine with Him.

Where are you dining today?

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

We note that the Golden Lampstand with its seven candlesticks was positioned directly opposite the Golden Table of Shewbread. This golden ministry of feeding on the Word of God could not be seen or shown forth (shewbread) if the light did not shine on it to reveal it.

God does not want His people to sit in the dark at His golden table. Never. Ever. God desires His Word to be illuminated at all times.

If it were not for this golden table, we would not have specific understanding and revelation of God being the GREAT I AM in the person of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.

The following are some of the Scriptures that show forth Jesus, the Son of God, revealed as the I AM of God (the shewbread).

“I AM the LORD that healeth thee” (Exodus 15;26).

“I AM meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29).

“I AM the bread which came down from heaven” (Join 6:41).

“I AM the bread of life” (John 6:35, 48).

“I AM the living bread” (John 6:51).

“I AM the light of the world” (John 8:12 and 9:5).

“I AM from above . . . I AM not of this world” (John 8:23).

“Before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58).

“I AM the door of the sheep” (John 10:7, 9).

“I AM the good shepherd” (John 10:11, 14).

“I AM the Son of God" (John 10:36).

“I AM the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

“I AM the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

“I AM the true vine” (John 15:1).

“I AM Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending” (Revelation 1:8; 21:6; and 22:13).

“I AM the first and the last” (Revelation 1:7 and 22:13).

“I AM he that liveth, and was dead” (Revelation 1:18).

“I AM alive for evermore” (Revelation 1:18).

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell

The great “I AM THAT I AM” is the name God tells Moses to tell the people of Israel when they ask His name (Exodus 3:13).

Many commentators explain that “I AM THAT I AM” means that . . .

1) He is self-existent. He has His being in Himself and has no dependence on any other. Being self-existent, He cannot but be self-sufficient, and therefore all self-sufficient and the inexhaustible fountain of being and bliss.
2) He is eternal and unchangeable.

The great I AM showed forth His prophetical personage as the eternal sustainer of His priests and people, i.e. the twelve loaves represent the twelve tribes. This bread on the golden table also showed forth the Messiah who would confess:

“I AM the bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:41).

“I AM the bread of life" (John 6:48).

“I AM the living bread” (John 6:51).

One cannot help but notice the three I AMs in these Scriptures.

To be continued.

Be encouraged.

Colin Campbell