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Listen

Daily Reading

Deuteronomy 3-4

Daily Thought

The verb shema: “to hear,” “to listen,” is used almost 100 times in the book we are reading right now, Deuteronomy. It shows up in our passage today, Deuteronomy 4:1, “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”

Some translations use “hear” instead of “listen.” Have you ever discussed the difference, perhaps with your parents? For me, it began something like this: Me: “I heard you!” Them: “Yes, but I don’t think you were listening,” and for the next hour (it seemed) I learned the difference. When Jesus said (repeatedly), “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” he was speaking as a parent. “Listen!”

Jesus said, “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me” (John 14:21). That’s listening. Hearing and obeying, receiving what God has said to us and allowing it to penetrate and shape my heart and change my life. The words of God, “Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'” (Deuteronomy 4:6).

All I have to do to hear is be there when a sound is made. It takes no effort on my part. To listen, however, means I pay attention. I show up. All of me.

Daily Prayer

My God, thank You for talking to me, for writing me. Your Words give me life. They lead me into the future, they give me hope, they shape my character. They are good.

May I be one who listens, and may I prove it by what I do. May I let Your Word have its way in my life so that my life will be different, that my life will reflect You, that others will see in me Your glory, Your goodness, Your grace.

Amen

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Break Camp and Advance

Daily Reading

Deuteronomy 1-2

Daily Thought

The Israelites were at Horeb, a.k.a. Mt. Sinai. God meets Moses, the Ten Commandments, thunder and lightning, thick clouds and trumpet blasts. It was awesome, wonderful, uplifting, edifying, inspirational, and terrifying. Everything that makes up a good church service. It was also long (like a church service). Now it is time to go. The LORD our God said to his people at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance…” (Deuteronomy 1:6-7).

God has a promise to fulfill. God has a purpose for his people. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).

Centuries later, with the Lord Jesus, the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain. They worshiped Jesus there. A church service. Finally Jesus said the same to his followers, ”Go!” (Matthew 28:16-19). Every church service every week should close the same way, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance…”

…that all the earth shall be blessed.

Daily Prayer

Father God, it is good to gather and worship. It is wonderful to hear Your Word. I love to be blessed. Who wouldn’t?

God, it is good to scatter and bless. May I bless others by sharing the blessings You have poured out on me. I know Your Son, may I make Him known. May I be filled to overflowing with Your Spirit. May I love and serve and share Your good news to people everywhere, across the street and around the world.

Amen

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No Sin Unpunished

Daily Reading

Numbers 35-36

Daily Thought

No sin unpunished, but each and all shall be atoned for in proportion to the sin. This is the substance of the Law of God, and in Numbers 35, this means the blood of the murderer is required for the blood of murdered. To leave a sin unaccounted stains the land. “You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel” (Numbers 35:34). “You shall be holy, for I am holy,” says God (1Peter 1:16).

Our sin is not only personal, but eternal. It is always an affront to the One who created us to be holy. An atonement for an eternal sin, and all sin is eternal, must itself be eternal–eternal separation from what is holy, from God. It requires eternal death. Paul cries, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). Or it requires the death of one who is eternal. “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25).  

“The blood of Jesus, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:7, 9). No sin unpunished, but each and all shall be atoned for in proportion to the sin, and they were in Christ Jesus, so that “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). 

“You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1Peter 1:16).

Daily Prayer

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. We worship You, adore You, praise You. But how, then, do we approach You? For we are not holy. Far from it.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, we are made righteous with his righteousness. We may approach You, O God, with confidence, through a holiness not of our own, but through our Savior, our Lord, our God, Jesus Christ.

Amen

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Forever True

Daily Reading

Numbers 33-34

Daily Thought

The LORD commanded Moses to keep a list of the places Israel camped after departing Egypt–“When they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron, Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places” (Numbers 33:1-2). It is more than a list of places, it is a testimony to the sovereignty and faithfulness of God. No difficulty too great. 

The LORD parted the Red Sea to let his people escape, then closed it and drowned the Egyptian army. When the people of God met danger, God prevailed over their enemies. When they thirst, God supplied water, and fed them daily manna from heaven. Miriam died at Kadesh (v 36), and the LORD provided another woman to lead the choir. Aaron died at Mount Hor (vv 38-39), and his son Eleazar stepped in. Eventually Moses died, and Joshua succeeded him. In all of these changes, God remained the same, true to his people. 

God is great, and in the midst of our freedom to wander, he still accomplishes his purpose. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan…” (Numbers 34:1-2). No matter, they are going to the Promised Land.

Daily Prayer

Faithful Father, no matter what, no matter the ways I wander, no matter my heart’s rebellion, you came to seek and to save me. You are forever true and I am eternally grateful. Thank You for Your grace, for Your long-suffering, for Your patience and persistence. I strayed and you found me and put me on the right path.

You have invited me to follow You. I will follow. I will be a disciple of Your Son, Jesus Christ. I will learn from You and grow in Your likeness, so that I might display Your glory and point others to the way of life.

Amen

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Busted

Daily Reading

Numbers 31-32

Daily Thought

Google Street View takes ground level pictures of the streets of America–and whatever is happening on the street. Like the husband’s car parked in front of the “other woman’s” house. Like the men entering and exiting strip clubs. Like the teenager breaking the window of a car. They thought nobody was watching. They got caught by Google, and it was the best thing that could have happened to them.

Do you know how a student who copies a couple answers on a test turns into a cheater? How a flirt becomes an adulterer? How a girl who steals a bracelet becomes a thief? They get away with it, that’s how.

The book of James describes the downward spiral, if unimpeded. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Getting caught is good for us. “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). The sooner the better.

Daily Prayer

Dear God, You are God, the only God, the God who created this world and all that is in it. You are sovereign over it and intimate with it. You are all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present. You are God.

You are also love. You sought me to save me, to redeem me, to sanctify me, to finish what You started. You who began a good work will bring it to completion. Father, mold me, refine me. I count it joy when I encounter trials, because I know it will shape me. I pray for Your wisdom to face trials and to grow in the likeness of Your Son. Thank You for loving me so much.

Amen

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Two-Face

Daily Reading

Numbers 28-30

Daily Thought

“Two-Face” is a Batman villain who flips a coin to choose. Heads he does good. Tails evil. When you can’t trust someone half the time, you can’t trust them anytime. Who knows which half is which?

Echad is Hebrew for “one.” Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is echad. The Lord is One (Deuteronomy 6:4). The LORD: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three. One. Echad.

Duplicity means two. Duplicity says, “I can’t trust you.” Honesty is a flip of the coin.

Echad is completely trustworthy. Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the Lord has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:1-2). What he says and what he does shall be echad, one and the same.

Daily Prayer

My God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy is Your Name. Always trustworthy, always true, always faithful. Made in Your image, in this I fell. May I be restored in integrity. May I be one as You are one.

God, may I live a life of transparency and truth. Since You see me even when I hide, it is ridiculous for me to be anything but honest, it is foolish for me to be anything but trustworthy. You know me inside and out, my deepest thoughts and intentions. May I reflect You. May my ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and my ‘No,’ ‘No.’

Amen

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Replace Yourself

Daily Reading

Numbers 26-27

Daily Thought

The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin” (Numbers 27:12-14). For forty years, Moses led a whiny, complaining tribe of Hebrews to the Promised Land. Then, within a stone’s throw of their destination, Moses sinned, and God said, “You’re not going in, Moses.” Ever faithful, Moses passes the mantle of leadership to Joshua. Observe how in four verses, Numbers 27:18-21.

Moses leads, Joshua watches, verse 18: So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.”

Moses leads with Joshua by his side, verse 19: “Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.”

Joshua leads with Moses by his side, verse 20: “You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.”

Joshua leads, Moses watches, verse 21: “And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.”

Leaders do not turn around to gaze at their followers, rather they seek new leaders in raw form to develop, new leaders who will pick up where they leave off and continue the journey.

Daily Prayer

Father God, thank You for investing in me. You rescued me from sin and filled me with Your Holy Spirit. Now I am Your ambassador, declaring and displaying the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost world, desperately in need of salvation.

God, may I be holy, set apart for Your pleasure, for Your good news, for Your service on earth. May I do the same things I saw Your Son do, letting go of my will and my treasures, leading others to Your Kingdom, serving others in love.

Amen

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Bad Witch

Daily Reading

Numbers 23-25

Daily Thought

Question: Is Balaam a good witch or a bad witch?

The New Testament makes it clear, Balaam is a bad witch. “They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing” (2Peter 2:15). “Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion” (Jude 1:11). “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14).

At first, it would seem Balaam does well and obeys God. Balak, the king of the Moabites, needed outside help to attack the Israelites. By outside help, I mean supernatural, spiritual help, and he didn’t care what kind of spirit. So Balak contracted Balaam, a prophet for hire, to curse the Israelites. However God met Balaam on his way to the king. The angel of the LORD, with a drawn sword in his hand, made it clear to Balaam, “Speak only the word that I tell you” (Numbers 22:31, 35). Balaam feared the word of God more than the sword of Balak and obeyed. “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” (Numbers 23:12, 26) And finally, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’?” (Numbers 24:12-13). Those are good words, words we would do well to remember. So, rather than curse, Balaam blessed Israel.

Still, Balaam was committed to evil. Reading a few chapters ahead, we come to Numbers 31:16 and discover the deceit of Balaam, “Behold these [women], on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD.” Balaam couldn’t curse the Israelites, but he knew how to defile them. He enticed them with the women of Moab to worship Baal. Sin is a seductress and we walk willingly into its hell. What Balaam couldn’t do by appealing to the demonic, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh. Balaam was a bad witch.

Daily Prayer

My Father, may I always obey you, no matter how costly. And obedience is costly. Your Son obeyed Your will and paid the price of the cross, bearing My sin. And obedience is rewarded. You gave Him the Name above all names, that at the Name of Jesus every knee would bow and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is Lord.

And obedience is costly. I offer my body a living sacrifices. And obedience is rewarded. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness. May I store up  treasures in Your home, not mine.

Amen

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A Serpent on a Pole

Daily Reading

Numbers 21-22

Daily Thought

“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.’ So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live” (Numbers 21:8-9). Why would God use a bronze serpent to heal the Israelites when a serpent often represents Satan and evil?

Jesus recalls the imagery of Moses’ bronze serpent to illustrate his death on the cross: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). God had instructed Moses to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a pole where the people could see it. All who looked at the bronze serpent would be healed of the deadly bites of very real serpents. The serpent was placed in the midst of the camp, not in the tabernacle, because nobody is saved by keeping the law, but only by looking at the uplifted serpent, just as Christ is the only Savior of our sins. Each Israelite had to look at the serpent for himself. None could look on behalf of another. Salvation was individual and personal.

But why a serpent?  The bronze serpent on the pole foreshadowed Jesus on the cross. As God used a serpent to heal the people of the venom of serpents, on the cross Jesus became sin to heal us of the deathly venom of sin.

Daily Prayer

My Savior, You and You alone came to my rescue. Only You could and only You would. Your love is so deep that you went to the cross because of and in spite of my rebellion. God, I repent. I turn away from the old way of life and I will follow You. Teach me what is right and good, and change me to love purity and live generously.

You not only saved me from my sins, but You made me holy. I’m different now, and it’s a good difference. I desire Your pleasure more than anything else. You are my Lord, my Savior, my God.

Amen

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But He Does Anyway

Daily Reading

Numbers 18-20

Daily Thought

God delivered the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt and all they have done is grumble and complain, sin and rebel. Now they are whining again. They are thirsty, there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink” (Numbers 20:2-5).

After all that God has done, more complaining? Moses asks a legitimate question, “Hear now, you rebels: must we bring water for you out of this rock?”  The answer is, No! But he does anyway.

You would think we would learn, but we don’t, and the grumbling and complaining, sinning and rebeling continue. Almost fifteen hundred years later, Jesus is in a garden. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” For fifteen hundred years, the people have continued to grumble and complain, sin and rebel, just like the Israelites in the wilderness. A legitimate question, must Jesus drink the cup that contains the wrath our sins deserve? No. But he does anyway.

I get on my knees after years of grumbling and complaining, sinning and rebelling, and at last I plead, “Jesus, save me.” Must he? No, but he does anyway. “For by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:8).

Once I have received God’s grace, why do I still grumble?

Daily Prayer

Loving God, You show me your love in grace. I do not deserve it, I do not desire it even, and I certainly do not seek it. And then You die for me anyway. You take my sins on Yourself, you pay the price of justification, and You share Your righteousness with me. You adopt me as Your child, and I am co-heir with Christ.

How can I possibly not love You? I love because You first loved me. 

Amen