Category Archives: All Powerful / King of All

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“I Would Never Act That Way”

Hollywood could not dream up a story as wild and exciting, with as many surprise turns, as that of the Lord delivering His people from Egypt to the promised land. A persecuted slave class of people being lifted up out of bondage through plagues and mighty miracles. Through moments of faith and moments where the faith utterly fails and they are disciplined by the Lord. A righteous man, Moses, interceding on their behalf each time they repent. There was no easy road. What irony that they were too afraid to take the promised land but then had to fight many other nations along their now extended journey. Don’t skip the details, read back through… the ground swallowed up some who rebelled, and not snakes through the camp causing mayhem and repentance. A bronze serpent as a symbol to save them… what a wild ride… and it’s all true, historical events.

We get the opportunity  to learn from the Lord through exciting and unexpected plot twists that His people actually experienced first hand.

As we read the historical events of Numbers 21, we once again see a roller coaster ride for the Israelites. They are attacked by Arad and beaten initially. They turn to the Lord and He gives them absolute victory. Then not long after, the people get impatient again and speak against the Lord. What a tiresome bunch for the Lord to tolerate… but let’s take care, as we still often act in much the same way. We forget His last blessing or victory so quickly once the next challenge or wait is in front of us. We are naturally impatient and selfish and often do not long remember the victories He has given us.

With rebellion in speaking out against the Lord, comes punishment… righteous punishment. All of us deserve correction from time to time, and a loving Father disciplines those He loves. Then comes the question of how we receive that rebuke… with humility leading to repentance or with resentment leading to further separation from the Lord. The Israelites at least turn toward the Lord for help again once they punishment of the snakes was upon them. Moses interceded for them with the Lord and the Lord forgave them.

At least for awhile, they remained more patient on their ongoing journey.

Numbers 21:1-20

Arad Conquered

     1When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, then he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2So Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3The LORD heard the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites; then they utterly destroyed them and their cities. Thus the name of the place was called Hormah.

      4Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. 5The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

     6The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. 8Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” 9And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.

      10Now the sons of Israel moved out and camped in Oboth. 11They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is opposite Moab, to the east. 12From there they set out and camped in Wadi Zered. 13From there they journeyed and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that comes out of the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

14Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD,
“Waheb in Suphah,
And the wadis of the Arnon,

      15And the slope of the wadis
That extends to the site of Ar,
And leans to the border of Moab.”

      16From there they continued to Beer, that is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Assemble the people, that I may give them water.”

      17Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well! Sing to it!

      18“The well, which the leaders sank,
Which the nobles of the people dug,
With the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they continued to Mattanah,

19and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the land of Moab, at the top of Pisgah which overlooks the wasteland.

Don’t fool yourself that each of us is not able to act in similar fashion as the Israelites did in Numbers 21. It is all too easy to declare, “I would never act that way.” We are still vulnerable toward focusing on our selves rather than God, focusing on our current challenge rather than our past victories with Him, grumbling against Him when things are not going how we want them to go. Pray for the Spirit to help us remain faithful to the Lord through even the tough times, remain thankful for all the victories He has handed to us in the past, and trust in Him that He will be with us through to the end of our current and future challenges. He is a loving Father! Let us rejoice and praise Him and not speak against 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.

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Be A Joyful Servant of the Lord

Mary is an intriguing figure. Some make statues of her and pray to her, and this is clearly wrong. She is not God. Only God answers prayers. However, we should take care that we don’t dismiss her too quickly just because of how people have put too much emphasis on her. She is, in fact, a wonderful example of a servant of the Lord who submitted her life and her plans to the Lord, even when it was disruptive to her life and could have resulted in breaking up her engagement to Joseph and possibly disgracing her in the community and with her parents. This was a big deal in the culture at that time for an unwed girl to become pregnant. Only those to whom God revealed the truth would believe that she was made pregnant by the Holy Spirit and not her own indiscretion.

We can see how she is filled with joy and counts herself blessed over the situation as she visits Elizabeth during her pregnancy. Isn’t it wonderful that the Lord provided Mary with Elizabeth, who was also made pregnant with God’s help… though in a different way in that God “opened her womb” and allowed her husband to make her pregnant. She had previously been barren.

Let us also not miss that God provides us with a very clear example of the baby in Elizabeth’s womb being very much alive and responsive to the outside world… before birth. Some just can’t seem to grasp that obvious biological concept that babies are humans from the moment of conception and should be treated as such. Abortion is abominable.

Luke 1:39-56

Mary Visits Elizabeth

     39Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43“And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? 44“For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. 45“And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”

The Magnificat

     46And Mary said:
“My soul exalts the Lord,

      47And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

      48“For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave;
For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed.

      49“For the Mighty One has done great things for me;
And holy is His name.

      50“AND HIS MERCY IS UPON GENERATION AFTER GENERATION
TOWARD THOSE WHO FEAR HIM.

      51“He has done mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

      52“He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
And has exalted those who were humble.

      53“HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS;
And sent away the rich empty-handed.

      54“He has given help to Israel His servant,
In remembrance of His mercy,

      55As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and his descendants forever.”

      56And Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home.

I encourage you to pray for the Spirit to fill you with joy as you serve the Lord, even as He asks you to do something you feel is very hard. Check yourself if you find yourself complaining about how hard something is that He wants you to do. Trust in Him. He is able. Joyfully and willingly embrace what He calls you to do. If you are submitted and obedient, He will work through you with His power to accomplish what He calls you to do.

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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.

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Nothing Is Impossible With God

All things are possible with God. We need simply seek Him and submit to Him, then watch Him use us to His glory. Mary remains a glorious example of a humble servant submitting to the Lord.  Surely this was disruptive to her life. She was about to get married, and God’s plan on the surface would certainly seem to create potential disruption to that plan if Joseph were to think she had been unfaithful. She trusted in the Lord.

The Lord even gave her an independent sign that He was at work, by telling Mary about Elizabeth as well. I would think that being able to connect with Elizabeth provided moral support and encouragement for Mary at those times when perhaps her parents may not have believed it was the Spirit that impregnated Mary.

Luke 1:26-38

Jesus’ Birth Foretold

     26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. 36“And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. 37“For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

What is the Lord asking you to do that you may be hesitant to obey? Seek clarity from the Spirit, confirmation in the written word, and ask God’s help for you to obey boldly and with strong faith. Remember, when Mary accepted the Lord’s will and plan, she had no way of making it happen on her own. She was fully trusting in the Lord. We should strive to do likewise.

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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.

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Submit, Resist, Draw Near, Purify

All too often we either ignore the devil as if he does not exist or grant him in our minds too much authority and power and fear him. The truth is that he is as wicked and evil as he is powerful, but our Father is infinitely more powerful and righteous. The devil can do nothing unless the Lord allows it.

However, clearly there is a spiritual battle and the Lord has allowed Satan to exercise some power in the world which is obvious from so much wickedness and sin. How shall we overcome Satan? There is much to study in the Biblical text, but James 4 provides a concise summary as a starting point.

James 4:7-8

7Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Submit – to God

Resist – the devil

Draw Near – to God

Purify – our hearts to focus solely on God and avoid double mindedness where we try to submit to God without letting go of the worldly things

Pray for the Spirit to help guide you and transform you. Pray for the Lord to deliver you from evil. Make choices to turn away from temptation or the devil and submit to God and God’s word. Avoid rationalizing why you continue to accept worldly priorities and values as this is exactly what one would call double minded and keeps you from truly drawing near to our Father.

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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.

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The Lord Encourages the People After Establishing Punishment

Numbers 15 takes place immediately after the Israelites have rebelled against God and refused to take the promised land as He commanded. They were intimidated and did not trust Him. God punished them to 40 years in the desert, and then some went to attack to take the promised land… again rebelling against God’s new instructions for them to go back into the desert.  They lost as God was not with them.

What grace in our Lord to then encourage them by giving instructions reaffirming that He still plans to give them the promised land. Here in Numbers 15, He provides instructions for when that time comes. He had 40 years to give these instructions, but gave them at this time… when surely many were disheartened.

Another key element to reflect on in this scripture is that the Israelites and others who go with them all share the same instructions. Just as today in which Gentiles accepting Christ as Lord are welcomed in to God’s people, so too thousands of years ago. Those who choose to go with God’s people will be accepted in and under the same instructions. They are not any lesser important than the Jews who were chosen first. None are turned away who wholeheartedly seek the Lord.

Third, the Lord clearly distinguishes the guilt of unintentional sin from rebellion. Unintentional sin is still sin and worthy of repentance, but is easily forgiven. Blatant, intentional sin represents rebellion and is called out as blaspheming the Lord. As you can see from Numbers 14, rebelling against God has consequences. We can take heart, however, as Jesus Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient for all sin. Should we rebel defiantly, turn back as soon as you can… with no delay. Repent and ask forgiveness. Obey the Lord. You may have consequences, but the Lord is one who forgives. Our sins can be forgiven through the sacrifice, the death and resurrection, of Christ.

Numbers 15:1-31

Laws for Canaan

     1Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where you are to live, which I am giving you, 3then make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed times, to make a soothing aroma to the LORD, from the herd or from the flock. 4‘The one who presents his offering shall present to the LORD a grain offering of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil, 5and you shall prepare wine for the drink offering, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb. 6‘Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-third of a hin of oil; 7and for the drink offering you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the LORD. 8‘When you prepare a bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a special vow, or for peace offerings to the LORD, 9then you shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-half a hin of oil; 10and you shall offer as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

      11‘Thus it shall be done for each ox, or for each ram, or for each of the male lambs, or of the goats. 12‘According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do for everyone according to their number. 13‘All who are native shall do these things in this manner, in presenting an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

Law of the Sojourner

     14‘If an alien sojourns with you, or one who may be among you throughout your generations, and he wishes to make an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, just as you do so he shall do. 15‘As for the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the LORD. 16‘There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.’”

      17Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 18“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land where I bring you, 19then it shall be, that when you eat of the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the LORD. 20‘Of the first of your dough you shall lift up a cake as an offering; as the offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. 21‘From the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD an offering throughout your generations.

      22‘But when you unwittingly fail and do not observe all these commandments, which the LORD has spoken to Moses, 23even all that the LORD has commanded you through Moses, from the day when the LORD gave commandment and onward throughout your generations, 24then it shall be, if it is done unintentionally, without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one bull for a burnt offering, as a soothing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat for a sin offering. 25‘Then the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the sons of Israel, and they will be forgiven; for it was an error, and they have brought their offering, an offering by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their error. 26‘So all the congregation of the sons of Israel will be forgiven, with the alien who sojourns among them, for it happened to all the people through error.

      27‘Also if one person sins unintentionally, then he shall offer a one year old female goat for a sin offering. 28‘The priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who goes astray when he sins unintentionally, making atonement for him that he may be forgiven. 29‘You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the sons of Israel and for the alien who sojourns among them. 30‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on 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.

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A Pivotal Decision Point Based Solely on Faith

Jehovah brought the people of Israel out of Egypt with many signs and wonders. They faltered and struggled with this journey often seemingly unable to fully trust in the Lord… complaining about wanting meat, worshipping the golden calf and such. Here in Numbers 13 we see the Lord has brought them to the end of their journey if they would just trust Him enough to take it.

They send out spies to the land of Canaan. The land is good indeed, but the Israelites are intimidated by the enemy inhabiting the land. They focus on the difficulty of the task in human terms instead of the power of God who is leading them. Ultimately their decision, which we shall explore further in Numbers 14 results in failure to trust the Lord and 40 more years in the desert.

Numbers 13

Spies View the Land

     1Then the LORD spoke to Moses saying, 2“Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” 3So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. 4These then were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; 5from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; 6from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 7from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; 8from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; 9from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; 10from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; 11from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; 12from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; 13from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; 14from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; 15from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. 16These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

      17When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country. 18“See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. 19“How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications? 20“How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

      21So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, at Lebo-hamath. 22When they had gone up into the Negev, they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

      23Then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

The Spies’ Reports

     25When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, 26they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 27Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28“Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29“Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

      30Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” 31But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” 32So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33“There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Let us not think of this simply as an historical failure of the Israelite people to trust the Lord, but rather also a warning to each of us in our own lives. The Lord uses those who are weak to overcome the strong so as to demonstrate His power and presence in the victory. If it were easy, people would assume they did it alone and not with God. They would dismiss God’s presence all together.

The Lord may lead us each to similar such “leaps of faith”, where the obstacles seem high but He is leading us to overcome them… based on faith in His power. He has something wonderful in mind for us if we would just trust Him and take it.  If we turn away from His path and call because it looks hard to us we make the same mistake the Israelites made and may also end up “wandering longer in our own wilderness” as a result of our lack of faith in the Lord.

How good it is to have friends like Joshua and Caleb, that are strong in faith and encourage us to go forth even in the face of challenges because we know the Lord is with us. Let us also seek to be those pillars for others we know in encouraging them. When it seems to hard to follow God’s call, pray for His help and move ahead in faith.

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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.

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Whom Shall I Fear?

People are complacent. They have either outright rejected God as fiction or remade God in the image they want… one that loves and accepts everyone without any change or obedience from them. They have created in their mind a God that has no standards of right and wrong and just wants to be recognized in name alone, or perhaps a church service attendance once a week. They dismiss the truth of God as holy… as a judge… as one who holds the eternity of each person in His hand.

Their is no need for anyone to repent. All just assume whatever they are doing or however they act is acceptable to God and “good enough” to get them into heaven.  If God is to be feared or judge people, then people say… “I just don’t believe in a God who doesn’t love everyone.” The flaws in this line of thought are limitless. You can choose not to believe in gravity, but it is still there and you will still be affected by it.

Psalm 14:1

1The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.

Psalm 27:1

1The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?

Proverbs 9:10-12

     10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

      11For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.

      12If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Just to ensure clarity of understanding, this next verse was spoken by Jesus to those who were listening to His teaching. It was not a message about “those sinners who were not in attendance”. It was a message to the people who came to listen to what Jesus had to teach. It was a message about being a disciple. Even as a disciple, a learner after Christ, He warns us to fear God rather than man.

Matthew 10:24-33

    24“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25“It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!

      26“Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27“What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29“Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31“So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.

      32“Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33“But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

To fully understand the truth of who God is, do not rely on books written about the Bible, though some may be good tools. Do not rely on sermons from pastors because they teach from a church pulpit, though many are godly men. Seek God personally and directly. Search Him out in prayer and study of the Bible. Challenge yourself to understand what the Bible teaches. To do that you often have to be willing to humbly admit that what you understand, what you have been taught by the churches growing up, what our culture claims is right… may be all wrong or mostly wrong. Pray, seek, study the Bible. Pursue a personal relationship with God as if it is the most important relationship you will ever have… it is. Refuse to be complacent just accepting what is taught and said about God.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Jehovah Is Bigger Than The Missions He Gives Us

We can often get wrapped up in how big a challenge appears. We can think as if we have to make it happen all by ourselves. We do well to consider, however, that if God is the one who told us to go accomplish the mission, then He already knows how He will enable us to accomplish it. He will provide. We need only listen and obey, even if we don’t see how He will finish the task with us and through us.

Exodus 38:21-31

The Cost of the Tabernacle

      21This is the number of the things for the tabernacle, the tabernacle of the testimony, as they were numbered according to the command of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. 22Now Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that the LORD had commanded Moses. 23With him was Oholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver and a skillful workman and a weaver in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and fine linen.

      24All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the wave offering, was 29 talents and 730 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 25The silver of those of the congregation who were numbered was 100 talents and 1,775 shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary; 26a beka a head (that is, half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary), for each one who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for 603,550 men. 27The hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the hundred talents, a talent for a socket. 28Of the 1,775 shekels, he made hooks for the pillars and overlaid their tops and made bands for them. 29The bronze of the wave offering was 70 talents and 2,400 shekels. 30With it he made the sockets to the doorway of the tent of meeting, and the bronze altar and its bronze grating, and all the utensils of the altar, 31and the sockets of the court all around and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pegs of the tabernacle and all the pegs of the court all around.

Think about how overwhelming the mission could or perhaps did appear to Moses and the Israelites to build the tabernacle. They were in the desert, not in a land of plenty! Jehovah laid out very specific instructions and a grand scale for the tabernacle. The people could easily have thrown up their hands and made excuses why it was not possible. They could have quit even before they started. They did not. And consider what they accomplished!

Are you facing a mission or challenge that Jehovah has called you to complete? Does it feel overwhelming? Do not be discouraged or find reasons to reject the challenge. Instead, trust in Him, seek Him, and obey His instructions and guidance. You will be amazed at what He can accomplish through His people.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.