Day 88 Bible Reading - Numbers 27

Numbers 26 and 27, Luke 7: 36-50, Psalm 47

Numbers 27: 18-21 (ESV)

“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. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 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.””

Verses 18 through 21 from Numbers 27 remind us of the value of waiting. Joshua waited patiently as second in command to Moses. He did everything that was asked of him, and he was eventually rewarded by God to lead after Moses. The promotion of Joshua shows us that God does see everything that we do, and if we are patient and trusting in God, then eventually God will promote us to where we need to be. I think the hardest part is the waiting. The waiting plays with your mind and makes you distrust God and lose your faith. But if we can wait long enough, God always has a plan for us. He knows our strengths and weaknesses and will put us in a position that benefits us and his plan for humanity. But the waiting is hard, so very hard.

Day 87 Bible Reading – Happy Good Friday! Luke 7

Numbers 24 and 25, Luke 7: 15-35, Psalm 46

Luke 7: 34 (ESV)

“The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

I heard an interesting interpretation of verse 34 from Luke 7 by David Guzik, a pastor at the Calvary Chapel of Santa Barbara – see his commentary (https://enduringword.com/media/luke-7-witness-forgiven-woman/). Religious leaders at the time didn’t want to associate with sinful people because it was a badge of honor to do that. That’s why they made this comment about Jesus. But Guzik said that Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners because he loved them and wanted to meet them where they were at. He did not despise them. His heart and compassion went out to them because he wanted to help and rescue them from their sin, to transform their lives so they are no longer under the bondage of sin. Jesus loved sinners just the way they are, but he loved them too much to leave them where they were at and wanted to transform their lies. I love this interpretation. Jesus loves me enough just the way I am, but he loved me too much to leave me where I am. He wants to transform my life and free me from the bondage of sin. People get it so wrong. Yes, Jesus loves us as sinners and accepts us, but that acceptance doesn’t come without wanting us to transform our lives from sin. That’s the power of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross. He died for our sins on the cross, otherwise it would be us instead of him on the cross.

Day 86 Bible Reading - Luke 6: 37-38 (ESV)

Numbers 22: 21-41, Numbers 23, Luke 6: 37-49, Luke 7: 1-10, Psalm 45: 10-17

Luke 6: 37-38 (ESV)

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Verses 37-38 from Luke 6 is how I try to lead my life, although I do admit sometimes it’s hard to do that especially in the last five years. I’m still working on the “love your enemies” part. I try to take a pause on how my actions will affect someone, and sometimes when I am too emotionally involved it’s hard to take that pause. It’s so easy to let your emotions take over your actions, and you have to discipline yourself to not react. Someone wise person at one of my jobs said before you send an email response to someone, take a pause and if you can let it sit for a day so you can read it over in case you might have overreacted to something in the email. Letting the email sit for a day also lets you edit it out and keep yourself brief, concise, and professional. I’m trying to follow this advice when I want to complain about something. I’m trying to let any issues sit for two weeks if possible. After two weeks if the issue is still something I need to complain about, then I do it with the hope that all the emotion is gone and I can make a cogent definition. Does it make a difference with how people treat me? I don’t know and I don’t care if it does because that’s not my issue or my business. All I can control and care about controlling is how I react, and if I can react or treat someone the way Christ would me want to then all is right in my world.

Day 85 Bible Reading - Luke 6: 20 (ESV)

Numbers 21, Numbers 22: 1-20, Luke 6: 12-36, Psalm 45: 1-9

Luke 6: 20 (ESV)

“And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”

I have read and listened to verse 20 from Luke 6 many times, but I did not know that it might mean that it would be a requirement of God’s kingdom to be poor in spirit or have a poverty in spirit. When a person has a poverty or is bankrupt in spirit, they know that they do not have the means within themselves for salvation and they can do nothing without God. This feeling also applies to wealth as well. If I take the meaning of this verse to be true, I can now understand why Jesus has always said wealth is an obstacle to the kingdom of God. When a person has wealth in money or spirit, they know that they can still care for themselves without God and will at times no need God. Only when one is utterly poor in money or spirit to the point where they need to beg, will I think one realize nothing can done in their life without God because they are so lacking in spirit or resources. I know that when I have felt an utter lack in spirit in myself, I will cry out for God. But I don’t have this feeling 24/7. I only feel this feeling when something devastating such as death has happened in my life. When I do cry out to God, he is always there. I wish I could feel this lack of spirit in myself all the time, but I know I still have too much ego for that. I still think most of the time I can do everything myself, and don’t need God 24/7. Now I know that this ego-driven confidence is wrong, and I do want to know what it is like to need God every second of my life.

Day 84 Bible Reading

Numbers 19 and 20, Luke 5: 33-39, Luke 5: 1-11, Psalm 55: 13-26

Numbers 20: 10-12 (ESV)

“Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.””

Verses 10 to 12 from Numbers 20 are sad verses for me. Moses was grieving the death of his sister Miriam and now had to deal with the people complaining about water. He was at the end of his rope and he was angry. He did not glorify God and said “we” instead of God will bring water, and he struck the rock twice in it seems like anger. So God punished him and told him he would not be going into the Promised Land. He made this one mistake and was denied entrance. I think it’s sad because Moses had been so faithful to God the whole time from the journey out of Egypt until the almost 40 years of wandering in the desert. But God still loved Moses and we him later in Matthew in the transfiguration of Jesus. So I have hope that even though I will undoubtedly make mistakes in life, God will forgive me in the end.

Day 83 Bible Reading

Numbers 17 & 18, Luke 5: 17-32, Psalm 44: 1-12

Luke 5: 30-32 (ESV)

“And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

Verses 30-32 from Luke 5 reminds me that I’m glad I joined a church, because it seems like I only thought of God when my life was messed up or I was hurting. I needed God to save me, and I needed God’s love to comfort me, and he was always there. But when my life was going okay, I never thought about God. But being in a church, I am reminded constantly of the need for God in my life whether my circumstances are good or bad. When I’m having a good day, I always thank God. I thank God every day for the little miracles I see in my life, and not just for the miracles I prayed for when I needed help. And I am reminded every day of the need for repentance for sins I commit every day in my life, and God’s mercy that was bestowed on me through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Day 82 Bible Reading

Numbers 16, Luke 38-44, Luke 5: 1-16, Psalm 43

Numbers 16: 22-24 (ESV)

“And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.””

Verses 23-24 from Numbers 16 show how much Moses and Aaron cared about their people. They had been challenged for their leadership and people were openly rebelling against them. There were 250 leaders against Moses and Aaron, and Moses said he would leave if it up God to judge if they were right. When God made his judgement to kill everyone Moses and Aaron protested and pleaded with God not to punish everyone because one man Korah had caused the rebellion. I’ve seen this kind of thing happen in the churches I’ve a part of throughout my life. It only takes one person to cause a group to fall apart. We see this warning in the New Testament in verses 17-18 from Romans 16 where Paul writes:

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

It’s easy to criticize the leadership of a church because we don’t see everything that goes into making a decision, but we need to remember that God appointed these leaders and God needs to be the final authority in all areas of our life.