Category Archives: Prayer

Bitterness / Resentment, Compassionate, Complaining, Consequences of Sin, Contentment, Controlling Thoughts, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Encouragement, Faith / Trusting God, Grace / Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Obeying God, Provider

Trust God In The Desert; Faith and Obedience Bring Us To The Promised Land

Have you ever gone through a tough situation, one that was really emotionally and physically draining? It may have even lasted months or years. Let us remember to cling to God in these situations, trusting that if we are faithful He can turn all things to use for good.

Romans 8:28

  28And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Let us take care not to complain and whine or worse… rebel against where God is leading us or bringing us through. Think back on the Israelites as the Lord led them out of Egypt and into the promised land. He performed many mighty miracles and yet as time passed, the people continued to stumble and make mistakes. They continued to complain and at times rebel against God. They saw only their immediate, short term struggles and kept focusing on those rather than focusing on and trusting the Lord who was leading them through the desert. They could not seem to focus and trust that the promised land was theirs at the end of the journey.

In fact, they even completely ignore their own accountability in making the journey take 40 years! God delivered them to the promised land and they disobeyed and did not take it because they were afraid of the people living there. They did not trust the Lord. Their journey got much longer. But as they complain in Numbers 20, they blame Moses and God rather than their own mistakes in disobeying the Lord.

Numbers 20:2-5

      2There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. 3The people thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished before the LORD! 4“Why then have you brought the LORD’S assembly into this wilderness, for us and our beasts to die here? 5“Why have you made us come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, nor is there water to drink.”

How callously they chastise Moses and defame the Lord’s reputation and character, implicitly in their complaints about “It is not a place of grain or figs or vines …” in contrast to God’s promised land. They take no accountability for their actions being the cause of why they are in the desert still. Should not they be saying… “O’ Lord, forgive us and have mercy on us for our disobedience and lack of faith resulted in our remaining in the desert”?

Let each of us take care in our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes our actions create the bad situation we don’t like or make it much worse. The answer is not to get mad at God and complain. Turn to God and ask Him for forgiveness and help to get through the challenge. Ask Him for joy and encouragement. As Him for mercy and grace. These things He will give to a submitted and repentant heart.  God is indeed just, but He is also compassionate and kind.

Pray that He would use the difficult circumstances for good, for His glory through you. Pray He would bring good from the hard times. Then patiently and faithfully trust that He can and He will, even if it may not look like what we want in the situation. Let us cling to the Lord, knowing He may simply be bringing us through personal growth or to a place even better than where we started… as He was bringing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land. Rather than complain and blame the Lord, we should pray for the Spirit to help us be patient along the journey.

Trust God in the desert. Faith and obedience bring us to the promised land.

P.S. Want to know how God responded to the unrighteous complaints of the people? Read on further in Numbers 20. Once a righteous man interceded and asked the Lord for help, He provided them water, despite their general lack of faith and active complaining. I believe He did so to try to continue showing the people His glory to help lead them to trust and follow Him. Only in trusting Him would their journey truly get any easier as they continued in the desert.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Bitterness / Resentment, Complaining, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Grace / Patience, He Appears Before You, Help / Serve Others, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Mercy, Miracles, Offering Sacrifices, Repenting from Sin, Through Prophets, Tongue / Gossip / Slander, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Do Not Choose To Complain When God Calls You To Repent

Korah lead a rebellion in the beginning of Numbers 16. The Lord punished him and his family and those who also led the rebellion. They were swallowed up by the earth in a sign that could only be of the Lord. It was public and visible. One would assume then that the rest of the people who had been spared would be humble and repent before the Lord for their rebellion against Him. They did not. Instead they grumbled and complained, again jealous and blaming Moses and Aaron and never looking inward to judge the hardness of their own hearts in a way that could lead to repentance.

While it seems quite amazing, if you think about it in the lives of people around you every day, even those who say they believe and follow Jesus, you will see it is quite common. People have a tendency to excuse or overlook their sin and rebellion to God and blame others when things do not work out how they like. They do not internalize this issue of rebellion as originating with them… as their fault.

What an amazing response by Moses and Aaron… rather than just stand there and let God wipe out the rebellious people, they spring to action and make an intercessory offering and prayer on behalf of the sinful people. Though the people did not repent, the intercessory prayers of the righteous were enough for God to spare the people further destruction. What a great example of how we as God’s people should respond to those who struggle in their relationship with the Lord. Let us not be vengeful, but rather gracious in seeking to pray on their behalf before the Lord.

Numbers 16:41-50

Murmuring and Plague

     41But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You are the ones who have caused the death of the LORD’S people.” 42It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. 43Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45“Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.” Then they fell on their faces. 46Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense on it; then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the LORD, the plague has begun!” 47Then Aaron took it as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48He took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked. 49But those who died by the plague were 14,700, besides those who died on account of Korah. 50Then Aaron returned to Moses at the doorway of the tent of meeting, for the plague had been checked.

When God calls you to repent, do not choose to complain instead. Take care not to be like those who sin and then grumble, always blaming the righteous for what goes wrong and never internalizing your own sin and relationship with the Lord.

Look also for the opportunity to pray for others, even those who would do you harm or say bad things to and about you. What a way to be a light to the world!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Consequences of Sin, Discipline / Correction, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Fear / Reverence for God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Satan, Sin Nature, Slow to Anger, Worldliness

Jehovah Is Not A Fluffy Marshmallow Man Who Accepts Everyone As They Are

One of the lies that Satan has convinced people to be true is that somehow Jehovah will accept anyone with loving arms and no consequences no matter how much they rebel against Him. The lie is attractive because it basically feeds the narrative that none of us really need to change to please God. We just “know” He loves us as we are. Suddenly this lie enables us to be complacent and not even strive to know or trust God more. We just do whatever we want and expect Him to love us as we are. The lie is most destructive in that it hinders us from turning toward God and repenting. Sin separates us from the Lord.

It should be fairly obvious that God would not just accept everyone the way they are in the midst of rebellion and sin. This would not make sense in any way. None of us could point to a meaningful example where a loving Father really did not care at all about how His children behaved or if they respected and obeyed Him. But if that is not obvious to some, let us just explore a well known example of the Lord interacting with His chosen people.

In Numbers 14, God has just led His people out of bondage in Egypt with many signs and wonders including plagues on Egypt, parting of the Red Sea, feeding the people with Manna and quail from heaven and leading them as a pillar of fire at night and pillar of smoke during the day. Incredible, right?

The people complained when the felt trapped at the Red Sea. They rebelled by worshipping a golden calf and He did not destroy them. The people complained about wanting meat and He gave it to them… along with a plague for discipline. Here we go again as the Lord delivers His people to the promised land and they still trust Him not because there is some adversity in front of them. They rebel. Ultimately, God cares… He is angered. He considers destroying them and just starting over. Moses intercedes and convinces the Lord not to destroy them. The Lord still disciplines them with a stern hand. They end up sentenced to die in the desert as they wander for 40 years before their children will get a second chance at the promised land. God is no marshmallow man just accepting everyone as they are. He is indeed slow to anger, but people must repent and submit to Him first (through Jesus Christ)… and then He accepts them with open arms, no matter what they have done before.

Numbers 14:1-19

The People Rebel

     1Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3“Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”

      5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8“If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. 9“Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Moses Pleads for the People

     11The LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst? 12“I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

      13But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, 14and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15“Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 16‘Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17“But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 18‘The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19“Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

The LORD Pardons and Rebukes

     20So the LORD said, “I have pardoned them according to your word; 21but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22“Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. 24“But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. 25“Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

      26The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. 28“Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30‘Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31‘Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey—I will bring them in, and they will know the land which you have rejected. 32‘But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33‘Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses lie in the wilderness. 34‘According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35‘I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die.’”

      36As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, 37even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the LORD. 38But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.

Do not fall prey to Satan’s lies. God calls us to repent from sin and turn to Him. We are called to turn away from our selfish and worldly ways and seek after and obey His instructions, which will put us at odds with those who love the flesh. We do indeed have to pick whom we will serve… Jehovah or the flesh. There is no compromise. He does care and will not accept or tolerate rebellion.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Contentment, Discerning / Judging, Envy / Jealousy / Coveting, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Humility, Idols / False Gods, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prayer, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

He Gives Us Over To The Stubbornness Of Our Hearts

Psalm 81 was written about God’s goodness and Israel’s waywardness… or behavior of going astray from God and pursuing ungodly things. God established Israel and provided for them through many mighty deeds and yet they continued to stray from Him to chase false gods and selfish pursuits. A Psalm like this one could very easily be written about the USA with a few minor changes to the historical references such as “coming out of Egypt”. Jehovah blessed our Christian nation at its birth and yet we as a nation continue to stray from God.

As a result of our rejection of Him as a nation, He gives us over to the stubbornness of our hearts and we now walk in our own devices… an immoral society overrun by sin which is normalized throughout the land. Many gods are worshipped… money, sex, power, sports, status, and perhaps most of all self. Coveting is the national pastime for many, always lusting after what others have rather than finding contentment with what God has provided.

Psalm 81

For the choir director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.

     1Sing for joy to God our strength;
Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.

      2Raise a song, strike the timbrel,
The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.

      3Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
At the full moon, on our feast day.

      4For it is a statute for Israel,
An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

      5He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard a language that I did not know:

      6“I relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the basket.

      7“You called in trouble and I rescued you;
I answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the waters of Meribah.

Selah.

      8“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

      9“Let there be no strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

      10“I, the LORD, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

      11“But My people did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not obey Me.

      12“So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.

      13“Oh that My people would listen to Me,
That Israel would walk in My ways!

      14“I would quickly subdue their enemies
And turn My hand against their adversaries.

      15“Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.

      16“But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Pray for revival personally, in your family, in your local church, in your state, in the nation and across the world. Live out the revival in your daily life. Pray, study, spend time with our Lord. Ask for His guidance in your life and be prepared to give up your desires and your plans in favor of His. You may well find that what you desire was never really yours to begin with but only that which our culture indoctrinated you to pursue. What He wants for us is much better.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Help / Serve Others, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Interceding for Others, Obeying God, Offering Sacrifices, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin

Cleanse and Purify The Chosen; Let Them Be Separate

There is tremendous depth in the symbolism of scripture. We can read it and gain value at a surface level and also dig deeper and deeper and find more and more treasure of insight waiting to be found. Numbers 8 is no exception. At the very surface level we can appreciate that Jehovah calls some of us to be set aside for His purposes. To do so effectively, we must be cleansed and separated from the world. We can not be set aside to be holy and serve Him and yet still blend in with the world around us.

Do not limit your thinking only to pastors and missionaries as the “chosen”. These roles may be chosen, but so too let us consider all of us chosen to follow Christ. We must cleanse ourselves of sin and the ways of the world. We must be different if we are to honor and glorify God and lead others to Him.

Of course, you can study and find much deeper significance as well in Numbers 8. Why using a razor over their whole body? What is the significance of the offering? Why present the Levites in front of the whole congregation? We see also the coming together of the whole congregation to pray over the Levites as they enter the service of the Lord. What is the significance and tie back to the first born and the exodus from Egypt? Finally, don’t miss verse 22, in which the Bible records that the people obeyed the instructions of God. They did not debate them with God or pick the ones they liked and disregard the reset. They obeyed all He told them to do.

Numbers 8:5-22

Cleansing the Levites

     5Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6“Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel and cleanse them. 7“Thus you shall do to them, for their cleansing: sprinkle purifying water on them, and let them use a razor over their whole body and wash their clothes, and they will be clean. 8“Then let them take a bull with its grain offering, fine flour mixed with oil; and a second bull you shall take for a sin offering. 9“So you shall present the Levites before the tent of meeting. You shall also assemble the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, 10and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites. 11“Aaron then shall present the Levites before the LORD as a wave offering from the sons of Israel, that they may qualify to perform the service of the LORD. 12“Now the Levites shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls; then offer the one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. 13“You shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and before his sons so as to present them as a wave offering to the LORD.

      14“Thus you shall separate the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and the Levites shall be Mine. 15“Then after that the Levites may go in to serve the tent of meeting. But you shall cleanse them and present them as a wave offering; 16for they are wholly given to Me from among the sons of Israel. I have taken them for Myself instead of every first issue of the womb, the firstborn of all the sons of Israel. 17“For every firstborn among the sons of Israel is Mine, among the men and among the animals; on the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for Myself. 18“But I have taken the Levites instead of every firstborn among the sons of Israel. 19“I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the sons of Israel, to perform the service of the sons of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement on behalf of the sons of Israel, so that there will be no plague among the sons of Israel by their coming near to the sanctuary.”

      20Thus did Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the sons of Israel to the Levites; according to all that the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so the sons of Israel did to them. 21The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22Then after that the Levites went in to perform their service in the tent of meeting before Aaron and before his sons; just as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so they did to them.

Take some time to pray for the Spirit to help enlighten your mind to the truth and depth of scripture including its applicability for your life today. Then spend time digging through scripture and studying routinely. It should not be a one time or infrequent activity.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Interceding for Others

Pray for Those Affected by Hurricane Harvey And Irma

Just a reminder… please continue to pray for the people affected by Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and the California wildfires. Pray many would turn to Christ and be comforted in Him. Pray for the Spirit to move and bring a revival or in some cases spread the gospel to people for the first time. Pray not just for physical needs but spiritual and emotional as well. Above all, pray for God’s will to be done.

People are hurting. There is much tragedy and loss. Lives have been lost, homes and businesses have been washed away. Rebuilding physically as well as emotionally will take people years and some may not complete the journey to recovery.

Let our prayers as followers of Christ be for these people who have been impacted by the storm and flooding. Pray not only for physical relief and rebuilding but also for spiritual growth. The more people can turn to the Father through Christ and draw near to Him, the more solid their foundation for their lives will become. Then they will be better positioned to withstand much hardship when it comes and still recover and appreciate the joy and peace they find in Christ.

Matthew 7:24-29

The Two Foundations

24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27“The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

28When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Let us pray for the Spirit to move in the lives of those affected by the storm and flood. Pray for physical and emotional recovery but also for spiritual growth. I pray God would use this tragedy to bring people to Him so that as a result of some suffering in this life, they may find everlasting peace and joy walking with Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Interceding for Others, Suffering / Adversity

Pray for Those Affected by Hurricane Harvey

People are hurting. There is much tragedy and loss in the Texas/Louisiana area associated with Hurricane Harvey and the intense flooding that came with it. Lives have been lost, homes and businesses have been washed away. Rebuilding physically as well as emotionally will take people years and some may not complete the journey to recovery.

Let our prayers as followers of Christ be for these people who have been impacted by the storm and flooding. Pray not only for physical relief and rebuilding but also for spiritual growth. The more people can turn to the Father through Christ and draw near to Him, the more solid their foundation for their lives will become. Then they will be better positioned to withstand much hardship when it comes and still recover and appreciate the joy and peace they find in Christ.

Matthew 7:24-29

 The Two Foundations

     24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25“And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26“Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27“The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

      28When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Let us pray for the Spirit to move in the lives of those affected by the storm and flood. Pray for physical and emotional recovery but also for spiritual growth. I pray God would use this tragedy to bring people to Him so that as a result of some suffering in this life, they may find everlasting peace and joy walking with Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Consequences of Sin, Faith / Trusting God, Interceding for Others, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Wickedness / Evil, Worldliness

Numbers Alone Will Not Grant Victory

The power is not in numbers, but in the God we serve. Numbers alone will not grant victory. Israel had over 600,000 military aged men in the wilderness at Sinai. Yet their victory only came through obedience to God and their greatest failures came through disobedience to God. Let us take care not to put our faith in our military, no matter how strong. Rather put our faith in our God no matter what the situation… big or small.

I think we can also reflect on the leadership challenge that Moses faced through his time leading God’s people. Over 600,000 military aged men… plus women and children all in a wilderness environment without any infrastructure of governance. God led them rather than a formal government devised by men. Moses was His prophet and conduit to speak to the people.

Numbers 1

The Census of Israel’s Warriors

      1Then the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2“Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head 3from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies. 4“With you, moreover, there shall be a man of each tribe, each one head of his father’s household. 5“These then are the names of the men who shall stand with you: of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur; 6of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; 7of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab; 8of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar; 9of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon; 10of the sons of Joseph: of Ephraim, Elishama the son of Ammihud; of Manasseh, Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; 11of Benjamin, Abidan the son of Gideoni; 12of Dan, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; 13of Asher, Pagiel the son of Ochran; 14of Gad, Eliasaph the son of Deuel; 15of Naphtali, Ahira the son of Enan. 16“These are they who were called of the congregation, the leaders of their fathers’ tribes; they were the heads of divisions of Israel.”

      17So Moses and Aaron took these men who had been designated by name, 18and they assembled all the congregation together on the first of the second month. Then they registered by ancestry in their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, head by head, 19just as the LORD had commanded Moses. So he numbered them in the wilderness of Sinai.

      20Now the sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 21their numbered men of the tribe of Reuben were 46,500.

      22Of the sons of Simeon, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, their numbered men, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 23their numbered men of the tribe of Simeon were 59,300.

      24Of the sons of Gad, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 25their numbered men of the tribe of Gad were 45,650.

      26Of the sons of Judah, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 27their numbered men of the tribe of Judah were 74,600.

      28Of the sons of Issachar, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 29their numbered men of the tribe of Issachar were 54,400.

      30Of the sons of Zebulun, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 31their numbered men of the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400.

      32Of the sons of Joseph, namely, of the sons of Ephraim, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 33their numbered men of the tribe of Ephraim were 40,500.

      34Of the sons of Manasseh, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 35their numbered men of the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200.

      36Of the sons of Benjamin, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 37their numbered men of the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400.

      38Of the sons of Dan, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 39their numbered men of the tribe of Dan were 62,700.

      40Of the sons of Asher, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 41their numbered men of the tribe of Asher were 41,500.

      42Of the sons of Naphtali, their genealogical registration by their families, by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war, 43their numbered men of the tribe of Naphtali were 53,400.

      44These are the ones who were numbered, whom Moses and Aaron numbered, with the leaders of Israel, twelve men, each of whom was of his father’s household. 45So all the numbered men of the sons of Israel by their fathers’ households, from twenty years old and upward, whoever was able to go out to war in Israel, 46even all the numbered men were 603,550.

Have you placed your faith in the Lord? or do you put your faith in your country and its military or police or people? Let us always look to the Lord for governing and delivering victory. Let us obey Him and praise Him and glorify Him! Pray for our nation to turn to God wholeheartedly and away from the wickedness of man. We will not stand long as a nation if we reject God and His instructions.

Without God’s blessing, no country will achieve greatness. With His curse, no country can stand.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Demons, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Faith / Trusting God, Prayer, Salvation, Satan

Exploring the Depth of Our Faith

Let us take time to reflect on a few considerations regarding our faith as believers. We should take care to evaluate earnestly and without deceiving ourselves in regards to the need to grow our faith even after accepting Jesus as Lord.

  • Just believing that Jesus was historically real, and was God come to dwell among us is not a saving faith. Even having fear of God does not mean you have saving faith. Even Satan and his demons believe these things.

James 2:19

19You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.

  • We must truly in our hearts believe that Jesus Christ is God and submit to Him as Lord over our life. We turn from our old ways and seek to live according to His ways. This requires more than claiming to submit to Him with our words or doing good works in His name.  Our decisions in life are to be based on His will and His ways rather than our desires. If nothing in your life changes after you claim to submit to Jesus as Lord, it should be a red flag to you that you should pray and search more deeply to test if you really have committed to Him wholeheartedly or are just claiming the name.

Matthew 7:21-23

   21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

  • Even once we are truly followers of Christ, we have further to go in growing our faith. Do not grow complacent. Even Jesus’ disciples as He walked among them had further to grow in their faith.

Matthew 17:14-23

The Demoniac

      14When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying, 15“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16“I brought him to Your disciples, and they could not cure him.” 17And Jesus answered and said, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

      19Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not drive it out?” 20And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 21[“But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”]

  • Of course, another phase we can look forward to as a natural progression of our faith and walk with Christ as Lord… the in filling of the Holy Spirit that brings with it much power. A good demonstration of this impact is perhaps to consider Peter before Pentecost and after Pentecost. Peter had faith in both cases, but he was transformed from his condition before the Spirit (e.g. he denied Christ 3 times when Jesus was taken into custody before crucifixion) to a powerful and bold servant of Christ after he was infilled by the Holy Spirit.

Acts 22:37-47

      37Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

      43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

We all need help from the Father. That is why He sends the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Pray for the Father’s help to grow your faith and fill you with the Spirit. Ask Him to show you where you are not being faithful and fully submitted. Connect with someone you trust who can also help hold you accountable as to your actions and attitudes lining up with the instructions of our Lord. Stay connected to the Lord in prayer and submitted to Him in all aspects of your life.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Father / Yahweh, Loving / Kind, Peace / Rest, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prayer, Protector / Deliverer, Provider, Thankfulness, Wickedness / Evil, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Praise For Jehovah’s Mighty Deeds and Answer to Prayer

How often do you take time to stop from your busy life and sing praises to the Father? to shout joyfully to tell others what He has done for His people, and more specifically, for you personally? to thank Him?

Take some time today and praise Him for His mighty deeds. Thank Him for what He does in your life and the lives of other brothers and sisters in Christ. He truly defines “awesome”. We do well to reflect on that more often.

Psalms 66

     1Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;

      2Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.

      3Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.

      4“All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name.”

Selah.

      5Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.

      6He turned the sea into dry land;
They passed through the river on foot;
There let us rejoice in Him!

      7He rules by His might forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah.

      8Bless our God, O peoples,
And sound His praise abroad,

      9Who keeps us in life
And does not allow our feet to slip.

      10For You have tried us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.

      11You brought us into the net;
You laid an oppressive burden upon our loins.

      12You made men ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance.

      13I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,

      14Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke when I was in distress.

      15I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat beasts,
With the smoke of rams;
I shall make an offering of bulls with male goats.

Selah.

      16Come and hear, all who fear God,
And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.

      17I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.

      18If I regard wickedness in my heart,
The Lord will not hear;

      19But certainly God has heard;
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.

      20Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.

Let us take care not to skip over some key verses toward the end. We should indeed fear God. If we regard wickedness in our heart, He will not hear. Let us celebrate His lovingkindness.

Praise the Lord for all His works! Praise Him for the love He shows each of us as His children!

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.