Monthly Archives: March 2016

March 11 – Carry Me

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Deuteronomy 1&2

Get ready for a history lesson. Moses is preparing the  Jews to enter the Promised Land by reminding them where they’ve been, and what God had done every day for the children of Israel since they left Egypt forty years before.

Moses is speaking to people who had never been slaves in Egypt. Their parents had been. But their parents were dead now. Moses’ audience had not crossed the Red Sea, had not been there when Moses received God’s Commandments, or tapped a rock and got water. They hadn’t experienced the plagues that finally forced Pharaoh to let the Jews leave their captives. So Moses wanted to give them a history lesson to be sure they understood the role God played in their journey, the role God wanted to continue to play with this new generation of Jews now ready to enter the Promised Land.

Moses tells them that, during the forty years since the Jews left Egypt, God carried them, “just as a man carries his son.” (1:31) I love that analogy.

I love watching daddies pick up their children, lift them high over their heads, and place them on their shoulders. You probably rode on your own father’s shoulders. Maybe you’ve carried your own child in such a manner.

I recently saw a video of my then 16 year old nephew, picking up his four year old little brother, lifting him over his head with ease, and placing the boy on his shoulders. The teenager picked up the boy as if the youngster was as light as a feather.

But the other thing I love about this video is the look of joy on the face of my youngest nephew, the four year old child sitting high on his brother’s shoulders. I’m sure his world looked a bit different from that vantage point. It sure seemed to be a happy place.

And that’s what Moses wanted the children of Israel to realize. First, God is able to carry them all the way. And two, when we allow ourselves to be carried by our Heavenly Father, life looks pretty great from there. We have reason to smile!

So Father, carry me. Lift me high and let me rest on your shoulders. Take me where You want me to go, but never let me forget where I’ve been and what you have saved me from. I want, not only to walk with you today, but I want to let you do the heavy lifting of my burdens, my insecurities, my fears and failures. Thank You for wanting to.

 

March 10 – Protecting What Is Mine

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Numbers 35&36

I find it interesting that the last two chapters of Numbers deal with cities of refuge, and what to do with the five daughters of Zelophehad concerning their inheritance. Both subjects have to do with protection. One, the protection of a person who accidentally kills another, from the dead man’s avenger. The other, the protection of the land.

In the first instance, a person was protected from the avenger as long as he stayed inside the city of refuge. One step outside those gates, and the avenger was free to kill the manslayer.

Satan is like that avenger, eager to destroy me if I step away from my Savior’s protection. And every time I neglect time in God’s Word and prayer, when I sin and refuse to repent, when I don’t obey Him by worshiping and serving with a fellowship of believers, when I try to live with one foot in the world, I expose myself to Satan’s arrows.

The second is about protecting the land, the inheritance given by God. I can see that as my own, personal Promised Land of fellowship with God. It seems that relatives of the daughters of Zelophehad were a bit jealous of the possibility that, should the girls marry men from outside  of Joseph’s family, another tribe of Israel would get the rights to the land God had given them. They wanted to make sure what was their’s stayed with them.

Makes me wonder how jealous I am that something or someone could take what God has given me: love, peace, joy, fellowship with Him, holiness. The same things that make me vulnerable to my manslayer, Satan, can steal the blessings that are mine as God’s child.

So God is asking me today to protect what is mine through the blood of His precious Son. I need to control my thoughts, I need to resist temptation, I need to read and meditate on His Word, to pray, to worship Him and praise Him and love Him like He deserves. I need to walk with Him in an intentional way, and to cling to Him as my Protector, my City of Refuge.

 

 

March 9 – Clear The Land

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Numbers 33&34

Be honest. Do you have a secret sin you are holding on to? An ungodly TV show that makes you laugh? An internet site that you find interesting although it dishonors God? Someone you refuse to forgive? Drinking alcohol to excess even if its just within your home? Anger? Jealousy? An obsession with a loved one?

When we become Christians, God demands that we confess our sins – all of them – and repent. That means we lay it all out there, drop those sins at Jesus’ feet, and walk away clean.

God told Israel that, when they went into the Promised Land to take it for themselves, they needed to drive out the inhabitants. He warned them not to let anyone stay because if they did, those who remained would end up being “pricks in (their) eyes and thorns in (their) sides.” He said those people would trouble the Jews in the land God had promised to them.

That same God is saying to us today to get rid of all sin. All of it. If you insist on holding on to something – even if you think no one on the earth knows what you are doing – it will end up biting you.

God doesn’t demand we be holy to prevent us from enjoying this life, our own Promised Land of fellowship with Him. He demands holiness of us so that we can enjoy life to the fullest!

No thorns in our sides to take away our joy. No pricks in our eyes to distract us and cause us pain.

There is no sin I can think of worth holding on to if it prevents me from receiving all God intends for me in this life while I wait to join Him in the next.

March 8 – But I Like It Here

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Numbers 31-32

What is our responsibility to each other as members of God’s family? The sons of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh were comfortable living east of the Jordan River. They knew the land God had promised Abraham was to the west. But they liked it where they were.

Moses agreed to letting them stay there on one condition: Help your brothers take the Promised Land.

Just because they weren’t going to make their home there, it didn’t give them a free pass out of the battle.

So the question is, what is your responsibility in the welfare of your church fellowship and in the global Church? You may be comfortable in your relationship with the Savior, secure in your place in heaven. But does that mean you can put your feet up and let others fight the battles?

There is more ground to gain, more souls needing salvation, more sins to defeat. Moses told the two and a half tribes if they didn’t help win the war, “you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Dear one, not putting on the armor of God and engaging in the war against Satan is sin. Not telling your neighbor about Christ is sin. Not inviting people to church, supporting missions, or praying for the lost, are sins.

What is our responsibility? To join forces with other Christians and get the job done. We need to be supporting, encouraging, praying for our brothers and sisters in Christ as we all do our part to further God’s Kingdom one soul at a time.

March 7 – Don’t Let Up

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Numbers 28-30

It sounds, from what I read today, that during the seventh month there was a continual sacrifice burning for ten days. It says the smell of grilling meat and baking bread was a soothing aroma to God. I like it, too.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

Giving my heart to the Lord was something that happened once. I asked Jesus to forgive me, and He did. But what I read today concerns a daily choice, a constant decision to offer myself, my body, my mind, my dreams, my desires, to God as a soothing aroma, a spiritual act of worship.

Paul says he dies daily. (I Cor 15:31) And that is what speaks to me from this Old Testament account of continual sacrifices.

I want my life to be a constant source of joy for my Heavenly Father. I want all my choices to soothe Him. And I never want to let the fire of my devotion die out. I want to be like that continual sacrifice burning on the altar. May I never let up.

March 6 – We Are Family

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Numbers 26&27

These chapters in Numbers are about family. Moses was counting the men from each family because God was preparing them to receive their portion of the Promised Land.

Reading this certainly has me thinking about my family. I like being one of the “Zehner girls.” I am blessed to have been born into this particular family, even with all our imperfections. We were raised by parents who loved each other, and us. And we were encouraged to love the Lord.

However, the generations of Zehners before us were people who largely ignored God. Alcoholics, unfaithful spouses, kids from the wrong side of the tracks. So when a Zehner married a Kindinger, that ball stopped rolling.

Yes, I was blessed to be a part of this family, and my sisters and their children continue to be a blessing to me all these years later. But not everyone reading this blog has had the same experience as me. Some of you have been wounded by your family, and wear the scars of neglect and abuse.

So did my Dad. But I thank God he made different choices than other members of his family. So can you.

I worshiped this morning with people I love, none of whom is remotely related to a Zehner. I walked through those doors and was greeted by people glad to see me. I made it a point to say Hi to someone I hadn’t seen in a few weeks. And it was my pleasure to invite a woman visiting for the first time to sit with me. I sat there and shared the Lord’s Table with these dear people, sang hymns and songs of worship together with them, drank in the message about Jesus’ last days on this earth.

Here’s the thing. All of us, no matter to what family we were born, have an opportunity to belong to a family of believers. I hope you are a part of such a fellowship, loving and serving and worshiping and caring for each other.

Family is important in the Bible. Moses was preparing the people to enter the Promised Land. But they weren’t going solo. They were going together with their families.

I would encourage you to cherish those people in your home. And if you find yourself alone, I pray you will find a Bible believing fellowship where you can develop close relationships. Yes, we who know Christ as our Savior are members of the Church, the Kingdom of God. Everyone Moses counted that day were members of the Jewish nation, the children of God.

But they each had a smaller, more intimate identity, too. It’s called family.

I’m praying for yours.

Father, Thank you for coming up with the idea of “family.” Thank you for Bob and Ginny, Peggy, Kathy, Nancy, and Sally, my family. Such good memories. Such blessings yet today. Thank you for nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews, all of whom I am privileged to love. And I thank you for my two church families. Bless those dear ones at Bellville Baptist Church in Ohio. Bless the Frederica Baptist Church family in Georgia. I love being a part of both of these fellowships of believers. I pray for those reading this blog who have been hurt by family members. I pray for those who have been hurt by church family members. God, I pray that you would heal and encourage each one. And, God, I pray that we all will find that family connection within our church walls. We want to enter that Promised Land shoulder to shoulder with people who love us, and who we love. And thank You for being the best Father ever. Above all, I love being Your child.

 

March 5 – In Your Face

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Numbers 23-25

The children of Israel were being neighborly with the Moabites. Nothing wrong with a friendly game of corn hole in the back yard. But when the Moabites invited their new friends to church, the Jews went. Before long, Jewish people were worshiping the false gods of Moab.

You can imagine God’s response to this. “Kill anyone who is worshiping Baal,” He commanded.

Now this is how the Jewish man, Zimri, reacted to what God said: He paraded his Midianite girlfriend, Cozbi, right down to the doorway of the tent of meeting, right down to Moses and the priest, Phinehas. Other people in the congregation were weeping over God’s judgement. Not so Zimri.

“Take that, Moses,” he seems to be saying. “Here’s what I think about your rules and your God. I’ve got rights. I’ll sleep with whoever I want, worship whoever I want, and you can’t do anything to stop me.”

I kind of feel like Moses here. It seems sin is thrown in my face at an increasing rate these days. I can’t watch TV without seeing same sex marriages, men who mutilate their bodies so they can pretend to be women, blatant sex outside of marriage.  Every day I hear more incidents of racial hatred, terrorism, and abortion. And it’s like they are saying, “Take that, Christian. What are you going to do about it?”

Phinehas cleaned house there in Numbers 25. Maybe its time the church cleaned house, too. Not by killing sinners, of course. But by not calling people living sinful lives “Christian.” Maybe by calling sin sin, and not apologizing for doing so.

Scripture says that when Phinehas obeyed God, the plague on Israel was checked. For those of us Christians who think there’s nothing we can do to stop the plague of immorality that is destroying our world, maybe we should try obedience, too.

Is there a stand God is asking you to take?

March 4 – One Victory Isn’t The War

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Numbers 21&22

I didn’t realize that there were occasions during their forty year journey to the Promised Land when the Jews lived in cities. (21:25) It must have felt good to sleep in beds, have a roof over their heads, and a place to cook their food, after so long living in tents in the wilderness. I wonder how hard it would have been to pack up again and continue their journey when God moved.

I wonder if some of them just didn’t move with Him. The Israelites had fought and defeated the inhabitants of those cities. What would be the harm in staying?

As I think about that this morning I am reminded of times in my life when I have defeated my enemy, Satan. Times when I’ve overcome a temptation, or repented of and walked away from a sin I’ve been committing. Victory feels great, and my relationship with God is sweet during those times.

But before long, God reveals another sin He wants us to conquer. Another battle to win. He encourages me to take another step on our journey toward His best for me.

If I choose to stay in my present “city” my relationship with Him can remain sweet and comfortable, I guess. But what would I be missing? How much more sweet and precious can my relationship with my Savior be?

I don’t want to be satisfied with winning a battle or two. I want to win the whole war. I want everything God offers in this life and the next.

And that means I move when He moves. No matter how comfortable I might be at the moment, I press on. Because if what I have now is amazing…

March 3 – Because I Said So

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Numbers 18-20

Moses knew how to get water out of a rock. At Marah, recorded in Exodus 15, God told Moses to tap the rock with his staff, and when he did, water came rushing out. Enough  water to satisfy the nation of Israel in the middle of a desert.

Now the Jews, who must be the definition of short-term memory loss, were thirsty again. They did what they always did when things got tough – they complained. So once again Moses asks God what to do.

This time, God tells him to go up to the rock and speak to it. Water will come.

Why Moses decided to tap the rock we can only guess. We do know it worked once before. Maybe he assumed tapping the rock was part of God’s water-from-the-rock formula and just neglected to mention it.

But did you read what Moses said before tapping the stone? “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock.”

Bad mistake.

First of all, God had said nothing about touching the rock. And secondly, how dare Moses take credit for the miracle. “We” are bringing the water? Oh, Moses.

God’s instructions were clear. Speak to the rock, Moses. Then God would bring the water out of the rock. I think God wanted the Jews to learn an important lesson, that God is who He says He is, that He has supreme control, and they can trust Him.

Moses prevented the Jews from seeing that lesson when he took matters into his own hands. His disobedience hid God’s power. And his words put the focus on himself, rather than on the God of miracles.

You might wonder, if touching the rock was such a big deal, why didn’t God explain that to Moses when He was giving instructions? Surely if God had been specific, Moses would not have tapped the rock.

But, dear one, God doesn’t need to explain Himself. His instructions were clear. And Moses should have obeyed for the simple reason that God had spoken.

Do you have kids who ask “Why” a thousand times a day? Do you feel obligated to give them an explanation every time? Maybe it’s time we all learned the lesson Moses is teaching us here. Sometimes the answer is, “Because I said so.”

Is God asking you to do something, talk to someone, forgive someone, take a step of faith? If God is instructing you, don’t wait around for an explanation. He doesn’t owe you  one. If He’s telling you to do something, do it.

Just because He said so.

 

March 2 – Can’t Win For Losing

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Numbers 16&17; Psalm 90

Some of the Levites were jealous. Who did Moses think he was, anyway? We’re good men, too, they told themselves. “All the congregation is holy.” (16:3)

So in their rebellion, they decided to do the work of the priests, to offer the incense in the censors made holy by God’s Presence. Long story short… the earth opened up and swallowed them whole.

Now that’s not what spoke to me today. It’s what happened the next day. The Jews got together, went to Moses, and said, “Now look what you’ve done.” Moses can’t get a break.

And sometimes, neither can we 21st Century Christians. The world is paying for their own rebellion against God. Wars, disease, murders, prejudice, unrest, fear, need I go on?

Yet who are called haters? Christians. Who are considered intolerant and judgmental? We who stand for the truth of Scripture.Who’s fault is it that some poor guy feels repressed in his male body? You get the picture.

In the chapters we read today, God continues to demonstrate His power, His right to be worshiped and obeyed. I’m not so sure He won’t open up the earth and swallow us whole. It’s not like He hasn’t done it before.

Psalm 90 addresses this, then asks God to teach us to number our days that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. I like that idea.

May God’s majesty be seen by our children. May His favor be upon us as He confirms the faithful work of Christians as we obey Him. May we continue to be a light in this dark world of sin. May we express His joy in the midst of trouble.

And may we continue to pray for a world that so desperately needs Him.