March 13 - Deuteronomy 1:12

you are such a heavy load to carry!

How can I deal with all your

problems and bickering?

Deuteronomy 1:12

 

The first part of Deuteronomy is a summary of the Exodus. And one of the first things that Moses reminds his people is about how EGR they are.

 

Do you know what EGR means? It's "Extra Grace Required!"

 

Do you know one or two EGRs?

 

Moses knew one or two hundred thousand! "10 The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars [and] 12 you are such a heavy load to carry."

 

With God's prompting, Moses appointed some administrators to handle all the legal problems, family issues, and political bickering. But here's your question: How do you handle the EGRs in your life?

 

Ninety-nine percent of the time, I'd advise against handling it in court (even though Moses does make allowances for that). And ninety-eight percent of the time, you can't delegate it to an administrator (as the leader of nation, like Moses, did).

 

Rather, I'd suggest Jesus' method. "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18, Mt 22:39), yes ... but also "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and lend to others, expecting nothing in return" (Luke 6:27,35) "for love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who needs to go on The Moses' Diet

(love makes me lighter and free, while

bickering and pettiness pack on the pounds)

March 12 - Numbers 35:9-10

The Lord said to Moses ...

"When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

designate cities of refuge to which people can flee

if they have killed someone accidentally."

Numbers 35:9-10

 

Surely you've heard the phrases, "accidents happen!"

 

They do.

 

And with these cities of refuge, God established a place for grace. The cities of refuge provided for two things: 1) protection, and 2) with protection, the gift of time. God's plan for his people was to allow enough time to let tempers calm and forgiveness to happen.

 

Hopefully you've witnessed time healing a few wounds.

 

What are some wounds for it is about time for you to take a step and initiate a little healing?

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's had to cry

"accidents happen" ... a lot

March 11 - Numbers 33

This is the route the Israelites followed ...

They left ______ and camped at _______

(now repeat that last line 43 times in a row!)

Numbers 33

 

My favorite vacation was ten years ago. We took our boys to Alaska!!

 

I'd saved money and vacation time for about four years, and though we still did it on a very tight budget, we had time to do it right. (And we invited my parents along.)

 

We camped the whole way. The distances in America's last great wilderness were so vast that we'd drive for a whole 12-hour-day and then we camp for a full day to enjoy that location's sites. 

 

Mary Louise and I had a little pop-up trailer. My parents had a tiny RV. When we'd pull into the campground, it would take Mary Louise and I a full hour to crank up our little pop-up, reset all our gear, and get three tired boys situated. Meanwhile, my parent's little RV was instantly set up -- pull it in and you're done -- so while Mary Louise and I worked, my mom would graciously cook us all a good dinner. It was as close to luxury as we got!!!

 

And when we got home, we loved our soft warm bed (and our flushing toilets!).

 

I can imagine that the Israelites had far less luxury along their journeys. No cook. No running water. No flush toilets. No pop-up and even slightly padded bed. No car and trailer to haul all your goods. And -- most important of all -- their journey wasn't for six weeks, it was for six years ... and then another six years ... and then another six years ... and then another twenty-two years. They went from young men to old men to having their children digging their graves. A generation came and a generation went and still they journeyed on. 

 

Don't pass too quickly over this list of moves. Sure, you can skim it quickly. But this chapter represents something that was anything but quick. This was a lifetime of hard moves and new addresses for a whole generation ... and it was all spent camping in a hot, dusty desert.

 

In Christ's Love,

a very blessed guy who can 

easily overlook the hardship of others

and can forget to say thanks

for the ease of my own life

March 10 - 1 Peter 1:7

These trials are only to test your faith,

to show that it is strong and pure.

It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold

-- and your faith is far more precious

to God than mere gold.

1 Peter 1:7

 

At the end of a Numbers 31 battle, "21 Eleazar the priest said to the men who were in the battle, "The LORD has given Moses this requirement of the law: 22 Anything made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead 23 ... must be passed through fire in order to be made ceremonially pure. These metal objects must then be further purified with the water of purification. ... 24 [Then] on the seventh day you must wash your clothes and be purified. Then you may return to the camp."

 

Now, I don't for sure, but I'd guess that this battlefield purification had something to do with blood stains. Touching blood, if you remember from Leviticus, was one of the things that would make a person unclean -- think potentially infectious. Therefore, the soldiers were told to wash their uniforms in water and sterilize their weapons with fire.

 

Fire purifies.  

 

And in today's lesson Peter reminds us that our faith -- which is as valuable to God as gold -- needs to be continually purified. This world's trials constantly splatter us with blood, cake us with grime, and drown us in the muck. But it's the trials that also reveal our true character.

 

• Whenever we confront evil, enduring those heated struggles are as a valuable as gold.
• Whenever we endure temptation, conquering that blazing desire is as precious as silver.
• Whenever we rise to the occasion, conquering stress has shown us what is like bronze.

None of us wants to endure the warmer parts of the process of purification, but it's then that we need to remember that the results are heavenly.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's been

on a few gold rushes

(and grown deeper because

of a few trials) 

March 9 - Numbers 27:2

[The Lord said to Moses ...]

Transfer your authority to him so

the whole community of Israel will obey him.

Numbers 27:2

 

Part of my training for ministry was a year's worth of internship at a church in New Mexico. At the end of the year -- with still a year's worth of classes to go -- the Senior Pastor came to me and said, I am retiring in three years, would you be willing to come back in a year, be my partner in ministry for two years, and then take over the church.

 

"Yes!" (We loved that congregation.)

 

In general, planned transitions like this don't work in churches. But this one did -- and the success was no credit to me! The success rested squarely on the shoulders of a Senior Pastor who was willing to follow the plan that God gave to Moses.

 

God said, "transfer [part of] your authority to [Joshua] so the whole community ... will obey him." Now, most other translations imply "part of" rather than "all of" Moses' authority, but that's what the Senior Pastor did for me.

 

At the beginning of my first year of ministry, he said, "What changes do you know you want to make?" and I gave him a list. He said, "Good. The first year, I'll be the Senior Pastor and you'll be the Associate, and we'll make all the changes that first year so that I can take all the heat for changing things. Then you can come in as Senior Pastor and lead a more peaceful year."

 

How wise is that?! And how awesome of a blessing was that for a young preacher just starting out!

 

It is the wisdom of God! "Transfer [part of] your authority to [Joshua] so the whole community ... will obey him."

 

Who do you mentor -- from children, to co-workers, to employees, to disciples -- that could benefit from this heavenly wisdom?!

 

In Christ's Love,

Joshua

(to Pastor Gibson's Moses)

March 8 - Numbers 25:1-2

While Israel were camped at the Acacia Grove by Shittim,

the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab.

These women invited them to the sacrifices of their gods,

and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.

Numbers 25:1-2

 

What is your weak point?

 

Far too many people are sexually vulnerable. And it's not a new invention.

 

But here's the danger ... Whenever we give-in to our weakness -- whether it's anger, pride, greed, lust, jealousy, gluttony, or sloth -- we have suddenly made some thing more important than God. 

 

In the case of these Israelites, they made sex (and the pretty women they were with) a more immediate priority than God. That was bad. What was worse was that once they had compromised their beliefs, it made it easier in additional ways to go along with the world's flow. Indeed, it made it easier to bow down to the gods of this world.

 

What is your weak point?

 

And which of your desires tend to come ahead of your relationship with God?

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's like a house made of sticks

(I've had to tackle so many weak points

that I have to constantly avoid the big bad wolf)

March 7 - Numbers 22:28

Then the Lord gave the donkey

the ability to speak.

Numbers 22:28

 

The stories in the book of Numbers keep getting stranger, don't they? 

 

In fact, these are some of the stories that make people doubt the Bible ... and/or ... play cut and paste with the sections that don't make sense to them.

 

But, if you think about it, the story of Baalam and his Ass is only strange if you don't believe that God is powerful and the spiritual realms are real.

 

I often explain it like this ... I point to room we're in and say, "Is this world real?" Yes! And then I point to the ceiling, "Is heaven real?" Yes! "Now, normally," I say, "we can't see heaven and the spiritual realms, can we?" No. "So imagine a barrier between them which is like six feet of concrete." Okay. "Now, occasionally," I say, "isn't the barrier between heaven and earth a little thinner? For example, didn't God speak to the prophets and don't angels occasionally appear?" I guess so. "So it's not that heavenly realms aren't real, it's just that we don't commonly see what's all around us, right?"

 

"So, is it possible ... reasonable ... that '31 the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand'?"

 

And here's the thing ... If we admit that God is powerful and the spiritual realms are all around us, then God occasionally opening people's eyes is indeed reasonable. Furthermore, if we believe that creator of heaven and earth is truly powerful, then it may be very weird but couldn't it be equally possible that God could make a donkey protect his master's life ... and on extraordinarily rare occasions, talk to his master about it?!!

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who'd rather believe

in a powerful God of the (wierd but) possible,

than a little God for whom all things

are impossible

March 6 - John 3:14-15

Do you know the verses that

lead into the famous John 3:16?

Jesus sites Numbers 21:4-9 ...

 

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that

whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 3:14-15

 

The context for Jesus' assurance that "God so loved the world" is more book of Numbers' "judgment" (or as we defined it yesterday -- more book of Numbers' grace and patience). Let's hear the story again ...

• "4 The people grew impatient with the long journey," and yet "God so loved the world." 
• "5 So they began to murmur against God and Moses," and yet "God so loved the world."  
• "6 They complained, 'Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!" Listen to that! They were saying, "We hate the gracious provision of God." And yet "God [still] loved the world."   
• "6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them, and many of them were bitten and died" ... but "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."   

In the verse after John 3:16, Jesus says, "17 God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." Therefore, when people cried out, "We have sinned," the God of saving (and not of condemnation) said, "8 'Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to the top of a pole. If they simply look at it, those who are bitten will live!' 9 ... and they were healed."

 

Wait!

 

What healed them? Three things ... 

1. The first was repentance ... from the sickness of sin. 
2. The second was obedience ... Snakes on poles don't make a lot of sense as a healing tool to me. But obedience is a trustful doing ... even when it doesn't make sense.
3. The third was faith ... Not faith in a snake-shaped idol of bronze ... not faith in crucifix-shaped idol of wood ... but faith in a living God -- a living God "16who so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in 14[his] Son [who was] lifted up (14just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness) 15may have eternal life.

In Christ's Love,

a guy who still thinks that's a strange story

but chooses to trust and believe anyway

March 5 - Numbers 16:31-32

[Moses] had hardly finished speaking ...

when the ground suddenly split open ...

and swallowed the men ...

Numbers 16:31-32

 

This is a strange part of the Bible isn't it?

 

It seems like on every page there's rebellion from humans. And it seems like on every page there's judgment from God.

 

Understandably, many people don't like judgment and so they make an intuitive leap. They point at Jesus and say that God is forgiving. (And that is absolutely true!!!) But seeing judgment as an absolute contradiction to grace, they wind up writing off large sections of the Bible as ancient myth. (And that is absolutely dangerous! In fact, Jesus himself didn't write off the Old Testament, he says he fulfilled it -- Matthew 5:17.)

 

Rather than writing off large parts of the Bible, we would be wise to know recognize that grace and judgment are not contradictory ... but complimentary! In fact, grace proved judgment! If judgment is what we deserve, then grace is what saves us. And if there is no judgment, there's no need for grace.

 

Therefore, I'd like to suggest an alternative view to this section of the Bible. Rather than seeing Numbers as a chapter of rebellion and judgment; I invite you to look at it as a reminder of God's extreme patience in the face of constant human rebellion.

 

Patience: The people complained about hardships (11:1), the lack of water (20:2), the lack of meat (11:4), "giants" in the Promised Land (14:1-4), Moses' leadership (16:3), God's leadership (21:5), and the consequences to their own sin (16:41). They were disobedient, disrespectful, and discontent. But God was patient and he ultimately, powerfully, and victoriously delivered them anyway.

 

That's grace!

 

In Christ's Love,

a rebel

who's required a lot of patience

March 4 - Numbers 14:11

And the Lord said to Moses,

"How long will these people

treat me with contempt?"

Numbers 14:11

 

What a sad phrase.

 

But it wasn't just the Israelites who wandered about the Wilderness of Sin and treated God with contempt. Too much of our current world is wondering about in the wilderness of sin too. And you and me -- if we're honest -- find that we're too often camping out on the desert's dry and dusty outskirts.

 

As I read this, I can also imagine Jesus -- when he was whipped and stripped and hammered to the cross -- saying the exact same thing as God did in that ancient wilderness: "How long will these people treat me with contempt?"

 

But lest we hopelessly despair, we must also remember this same Jesus making one more important statement during those dark hours: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

 

That is God's heart. Just a few verses from here, we are reminded that "18 the Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion." Indeed, thank God we have a shepherd who is "[God is] gracious ...and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing" (Jonah 4:2).

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's thankful and amazed

(I've crossed my Lord too many times

and yet is he still bore a cross for me)

March 3 - Numbers 13:27, 28, 31

"We came to the land to which you sent us;

it flows with milk and honey ...

Yet the people who live in the land are strong,

and the towns are fortified and very large ...

We are not able to go up against this people,

for they are stronger than we."

Numbers 13:27,28,31

 

Which direction do you tend to look in?

 

In Numbers 11, the people of Israel looked backward in nostalgia: "5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at."

 

In Numbers 13, they looked forward in fear, shying away from entering the promised land because the spies said, "we are not able to go up against this people for they are stronger than us."

 

In both cases, they -- like many of us -- failed to look to the blessings of the present. Indeed, they failed to acknowledged

• God's daily provision (manna),
• God's daily leading (remember the cloud that led them day and night in chapter 9),
• God's gracious promise (that he would return them to the land promised to Abraham), and
• God's omnipotent power (in their recent memory he'd parted the Red Sea).

I know from my own life that I get into trouble whenever I look backward with either a longing nostalgia (which takes my eyes off the blessings of today) or a paralyzing guilt (which makes me forget God's promise to forgive).

 

I also get into trouble when I stare too far into the future. Why? Because the unknowns can easily swamp me with fear. Either that or sadness can swamp me as I worry about the blessings I'll be missing from today. I can remember, for example, wishing that time would slow down and my kids wouldn't grow up.

 

But here's the point. The God who provides for me today ... and leads me today ... and promises me a hope and a future ... and reigns always with his power ... this God will take care of all my tomorrows!

 

And what I long for is the true promised land. Not here on earth, but up in heaven. And that's a promise God's power and provision holds eternally secure.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who's seizing the day 

March 2 - Numbers 9:15, 17-18

On the day the tabernacle was set up,

the cloud covered the tabernacle ...

Whenever the cloud lifted from over the tent,

then the Israelites would set out;

and in the place where the cloud settled down,

there the Israelites would camp. 

At the command of the Lord the Israelites would set out,

and at the command of the Lord they would camp.

Numbers 9:15,17-18

 

I love that simple pattern of obedience:

• At the command of the Lord the Israelites would set out,
• and at the command of the Lord they would camp.

I wish I'd always have that kind of clear-cut obedience, but I also realize that it would be nice to have such clear signs:

• Whenever the cloud lifted ... the Israelites would set out;
• and [when] the cloud settled down... [they] would camp.

Wouldn't it be nice if God's plans for you came with a trail of smoke leading the way? "Come on, Marvin, your next job is over here. Follow the bouncing cloud." 

 

No ... it's not quite as simple as "follow the bouncing cloud." Rather, life is like a river. God does give us some firm guidelines and barriers. His word and his laws are like immovable rocks on one side of this river of life (and sometimes people crash their life into them and their lives are a shipwreck). 

 

The other side of the river is softer. Character and wisdom are more like weeds and reeds. God allows us a whole lot more leeway on this bank. Indeed, most of us get bogged down from time to time by compromising our character and settling for dubious wisdom. Yes, too much of our lives -- whether we realize it or not -- is spent tangled in the weeds.

 

On the other hand, the safest, quickest, most joyful course is going God's way -- straight down the middle of the river of life. Some people see straight as a straight jacket, but there's still a lot of freedom. We can paddle fast ... or gently drift ... or pause all day to fish. We can spend our time enjoying the journey and singing praise as we go.

 

Here's all we need to know: God's plans for us are clearer than we think. All we have to do is go God's way rather than get tangled up in our own.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who notices the clouds more

when he not fighting the weeds

March 1 - Numbers 7:89

Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle

to speak with the LORD, he heard

the voice speaking to him from between

the two cherubim above the Ark's cover

Numbers 7:89

 

Imagine that you have to choose between two job opportunities: Do you stay where you're at or do you move your family across the country? Don't you sometimes wish that you could hear from God like Moses did?! All you'd have to do is walk into a holy place, and you'd hear his voice with the clarity of HD radio.

 

The question that people ask all the time is: How do I hear the voice of God?

 

It's more doable than most people imagine. Here's the process:

1. Read the Bible a lot. Why? Because the Bible is God's Word. If God speaks to you, it will always agree with the Word of God. So the better you know God's Word, the more likely you are to know if "a word" is from God.
2. Pray a lot. There are two parts of prayer -- speaking and listening. Spend more and more time doing both.
3. Ask God. Actively seek God's wisdom and will.
4. Ask other godly people. This comes with a warning. Asking other godly people does not mean go fishing for advice until you hear the advice you want to hear. It simply means that part of listening is using the good, honest, faithful, God-honoring resources that God has put around you.
5. Cleanse Yourself. Cleansing occurs first through the confession of sin. But there's another kind of cleansing needed in order to hear God more fully: We have to free ourselves from our personal wants and desires. Jesus did this in the Garden just before his death, praying, "Not my will, but they will be done."
6. Listen. Now comes the time in prayer to listen. When you're new to listening, you may need to take a retreat to silence the world and hear more clearly.
7. Test the Advice. Our own voices in our own heads are so strong that we need to test whether the "word we hear" is from ourselves or from God. If it's from us, it's more likely to disagree with the primary directives of scripture. If it's from God, it will always agree with the main calls of scripture.
8. Repeat. As we do this again and again -- ground ourselves more and more in God's Word, empty ourselves, and take time to listen -- we'll get more and more familiar with God's voice.
9. And here's a hint: God usually calls you to do things you wouldn't choose to do on your own. He wants to stretch you in godly ways. Why? The more pliable we are, the better we can serve him.

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who wants rabbit ears

(and a sloth's willingnes to just sit there)

February 28 - Numbers 6:1-5

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

When either men or women make

a special vow, the vow of a nazirite,

to separate themselves to the Lord, 

they shall separate themselves

from wine and strong drink ... [and]

All the days of their nazirite vow

no razor shall come upon the head ...

Numbers 6:1-5 

 

Question: What do Samson (Judg 13:5), Samuel (1 Sam 1:11), probably John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-15), and maybe even Jesus (Mark 14:22-25) have in common?

 

Answer: They were Nazirites.

 

Before we get into the possibility of the New Testament Characters -- Jesus and John -- being Nazirites, let's remember what these ascetic people were:

• They were set apart "TO the Lord." A vow was taken which made them God's -- rather than belonging to themselves or to their families.
• Parents could set them apart for this role and responsibility from their childhood. For example, part of Samuel's infertile mother's promise to God was to set apart her child if and when God opened her womb.
• They didn't drink strong drink. In other words, they approached this vow soberly.
• They didn't cut their hair. To the world, this was an outward sign of an inward vow. Part of Samson's strength, you may remember, was figuratively in his hair (though literally in his faithfulness), and when he allowed his hair to be cut it represented his infidelity to God and his vow.

Some wonder if hairy, wilderness prophet, John the Baptist, was a Nazirite. After all, the angel who proclaimed his birth said, "he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb." John's very faithful Jewish parents would have undoubtedly understood this description in the light of being a Nazirite.

 

Others wonder if Jesus himself was a Nazirite. They site first the identification of the Christ as a Nazerene -- yes, he came from Nazareth, but could it also mean he'd taken this ascetic vow? They also site his upper room promise: "Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God" (Mark 14:25).

 

My job today is not to try and convince you of Jesus' or John's long-haired status. My job is to invite you to consider you vow to the Lord. A next step in your faithfulness and mine does not have to involve teatottling or longer hair! But what kind of commitment might God be calling you and me to?

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who could probably be convinced

to give up strong drink (Starbucks Coffee) for Lent  

February 27 - 1 Peter 2:5

God is building you,

as living stones, into his spiritual temple.

What's more, you are God's holy priests,

who offer the spiritual sacrifices that

please him because of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2:5

 

Under the Old Covenant -- see Numbers 3:10 -- the Lord said to Moses, "any unauthorized person who goes too near the sanctuary must be put to death."

 

Under the New Covenant -- see 1 Peter 2:5 -- YOU ARE the sanctuary. You are the spiritual temple. And you are "God's holy priests."

 

This is a HUGE contrast. Why the dramatic difference? Christ!

 

Jesus Christ is a very different kind of high priest. He confers priesthood and royalty not on the basis of birthright, but on the basis of faith. He invites -- Hebrews 4:16 -- to "approach the throne of gracewith boldness" rather than with fear. And he promises that in this faith-inspired approach, we will "receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

 

In Christ's Love,

a priest

(and not because I went to seminary,

but because he invites us all to be one!)

February 26 - Numbers 2:3,10, 18, 25, 17

"The divisions of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun

are to camp toward the sunrise on the east side

of the Tabernacle, beneath their family banners ...

 

"The divisions of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad

are to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle,

beneath their family banners ...

 

"The divisions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin

are to camp on the west side of the Tabernacle,

beneath their family banners ...

 

"The divisions of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali

are to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle,

beneath their family banners ...

 

"Then the Levites will set out from the middle

of the camp with the Tabernacle.

 

Numbers 2:3,10,18,25,17

 

Exodus began a long journey toward the Promised Land ... until they halted at Mt. Sinai.

 

Leviticus was a detailed list of instructions for living in that Promised Land.

 

Numbers resumes the journey.

 

And today's lesson tells them how.

 

Think about this: 3 tribes on the north, 3 on east, 3 on the west, and 3 to the south. What shape does that make? A cross!

 

We could talk about the logic and efficiency of clustering the tribes into smaller units for communication, administration and disciple ... but ... I think it's much more interesting to think that fifteen hundred years before Christ's crucifixion, God's people were moving about the desert in the sign of a cross!

 

In Christ's Love,

a guy who loves God's subtle winks