Deuteronomy 22-28

Moses related several areas that identified God’s attitude towards areas such as sin, tithing and obedience, spelling out where He stands on key issues. Unfortunately, we also have attitudes that have been developed by our culture and self-centeredness.

God’s intention is not to control us through rules and punishment, but His desire is for us to have a full life in Him. We have a choice to purge ourselves from sin, worship with our gifts, and humble ourselves through our obedience. Through these choices, we are drawn closer to God, and are able to see what He has for us to enjoy.

Deuteronomy 17:15-20

Even several hundred years before Saul and David, as the children of Israel were headed into the promised land, God knew they would forsake Him as their King. He provided instructions on who they could appoint as king, and what the king’s qualifications should be.

If we look a little closer we see that when Saul and David were selected by God, He indicated they should be a “prince” over the people. A leader or commander, not absolute authority. However, the people were determined to make them kings, forsaking the true Authority.

We see that God had a plan to provide a true King for us though Jesus Christ. Are you willing to make Him your Authority, or do we still look for earthly leaders to guide us?

Mark 1 & 6

Temptations and challenges to our faith have been around since creation. We see that Jesus and His disciples faced the world with amazement at what Jesus was doing in their midst. Feeding the five thousand, walking on water, calming storms were all beyond their comprehension.

Jesus instilled faith and trust in His disciples so that when He asked them to follow, they did. He taught with authority, and commanded evil spirits to come out of men. His disciples trusted in Him and followed His teaching.

His words to the disciples when they saw Him walking on the water should comfort us all when He said “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” In our times of trials and temptation we need to remember that Jesus is there for us, and we can take courage in His comfort.

Matthew 4:1-11

Looking back at the Old Testament and writings in the New Testament we see that God has always been there with Jesus at His side. Along with that the tempter has been there to try to steer us away from our relationship with God.

In Matthew we see how Jesus dealt with Satan’s attempts to draw Him away, which applies as a model to follow today. Temptation was there in early days, and through the many stories in the Bible, just as much as it is today. We need to be vigilant in maintaining our relationship with God and His Word to help guide us on our paths, and keep the Evil One at bay.

Numbers 32-33

The children of Israel are preparing to cross over to the promised land when God provides instructions on what they are supposed to do. God’s intent is for His people to cleanse the land of the people and objects of worship that are not from God, in order to provide a pure environment for them to honor and worship Him.

God also warned them of what would happen if they did not follow His direction, and how it would be a snare to them that prevents a close relationship with God.

This instruction applies to us today. Guiding us to remove any worldly distractions that prevent having a pure relationship with Jesus Christ and God the Father. We also need to replace this void with God’s Word and have the mindset of a true believer, so we can live the life God offers to each of us.

Numbers 21 & 22

As the children of Israel make the final push to get to the promised land, God provides clear instructions on where to go, and how to handle the people around them. However, when things don’t go as anticipated, the people thought that God’s plans must have changed. The people decided to adapt their own ideas and “adjust” the plan to what makes sense.

Not only did the children of Israel miss out on all the great gifts and opportunities God had planned for them, but they also ended up straying away from God’s plan, which led to their separation from God’s blessing.

How often in our lives do we want to appear to be listening to God for direction and then when it becomes hard or does not make sense, we make our own adjustments, thinking that it’s OK because we are still “following” what God told us. Partial obedience is still disobedience. God desires true commitment from our hearts so we can experience His grace and love to the fullest.

Luke 24:1-8

On this Resurrection Sunday we come together to not only remember what Christ did for us, but to also to understand the power of what He did. Jesus’ example shows how He submitted obediently to God’s will, how He forgave those who persecuted Him, and humbly walked on this earth as a servant.

The resurrection gives us the power to live as a child of God. Trying to do this on our own is impossible. We must first die to our flesh by emptying ourselves, including giving up our expectations of God, our definition of “what is good”, our control, and especially our own will.

The greatest gift from God is this power of the resurrection is available to all who accept Jesus and follow in his examples.

Numbers 9-12

Hollywood and the media portray Moses as a great leader. if we look closely we see he was more of a representative who listened and followed God’s instruction. Several times in the book of numbers we read that God spoke and the people acted. He told them when to pick up and move and when to stop and stay. It was when they did not listen and resorted to their own idea of what was needed that they got into trouble.

How often do we fall into the same trap of listening to our own desires instead of waiting on God to give us insight on where He wants us to go? It’s easy when God’s plan aligns with ours, but when we are challenged it gets tough to accept that His ways are greater than our ways.

Several of God’s character traits are shown as the people of Israel sought the Promised Land. the one that stands out, and is key to being able to follow, is to remember that God Speaks, and we need to listen.

Numbers 6:24-26

The book of Numbers provides some detail on the 11 day journey from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land, that took 40 years! God offered blessings to His people through the trials, but they still managed to go their own way, and suffered the effects of their disobedience and mistrust.

How do we handle the blessings in our own lives today? Do we wake up each day thanking God for what he has done for us, especially how He sent Jesus to be a sacrifice for our lives. Do we look at how we can share the blessings with others, and then act on those opportunities? This passage is a simple reminder of what God has done for us, and what we can do with it.

Leviticus 16-20

When we look back at the sacrificial offerings God required of His people we learn that they are focused on the Holiness of God and how to honor and restore our relationship. These original offerings were not about how we could get something from God by giving from our own, but helped His people to draw closer to Him.

As we review the process around the Day of Atonement we learned that God provided a way for His people to gain forgiveness from their sins. However, this offering did not require the individual to give, but was offered for the whole community. Once each year for all. It required the shedding of blood with one sacrifice, and sending away the sins via the scapegoat to remove them from the people for their purification.

Jesus provided this sacrifice for us once for all time when He went to the cross. Again, not something we had to provide, we just have to accept as we strive to be holy as God is holy.