Offered to God!

God’s Word always amazes me! Here, we have a chapter with 89 verses crammed full of repetition. Verses 12-73 repeat the same thing 12 times. The twelve tribes of Israel are bringing gifts and offerings to the Levites to help with their work and the dedication of the altar. They all bring the same thing. Repitious! How is this amazing? What is there to see besides carts, silver platters, basins, gold incense containers, goats, bulls, rams, and lambs? While reading through this repetition, a verse from the New Testament came to mind!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1, NLT)

As believers, God is not looking for our inanimate objects, such as carts, platters, basins, and containers. Instead, the Apostle Paul asks us all to bring the same gift and offer it to God. What is this gift? Our bodies! And not as dead sacrifices like the goats, bulls, rams, and lambs Israel gave, but as living sacrifices! Wow, this is strange talk! What does it all mean?

Simply put, we live life through our bodies. For example, we do that through our bodies when we talk to each other. When we help a stranger, we help through our bodies. A living sacrifice is offering our life and body to God for His use and purpose!

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. (Romans 6:13, NLT)

There is a life-altering truth in front of us! As believers, we are no longer enslaved to serving sin with our bodies because Jesus has broken the power of sin on the cross! We now have the choice to offer ourselves to God, to serve Him through our bodies! Sin leads to death; God is life. To really live life, let’s offer ourselves to God daily and in every way!

Today’s reading: Numbers 7 | Tomorrow’s reading: Numbers 8-10

Victory in Jesus!

Isn’t it amazing that God would put His Tabernacle dead center in the Israelite camp? The presence of a Holy God amid an unclean people! That’s a head-scratcher! How can that work? In today’s reading, we see the camp of Israel being called to purity- both outwardly and inwardly. God is calling them to be holy! God is calling them into closeness, fellowship, and a blessing. Today’s reading ends with…

‘May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” (Numbers 6:24–27, NLT)

This same goodness of God toward Israel is also for us who believe, for God calls us to purity and blessing, too! Yet, we know how easy it is to defile ourselves with sin, guilt, and shame. As believers, God has put Himself dead center inside of us…yet we sin…a head-scratcher indeed! How can this work? Well, here is where the blessing comes in: we have Jesus!

My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. (1 John 2:1–2, NLT)

Wow, God is good! So, how does this cleansing work in our lives?

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9, NLT)

What does all of this mean? It means you and I can live in purity and blessing as believers! When we sin, we can go to the One we offended and ask for forgiveness, and forgiveness will be given! Why? Because God accepts the sacrifice of Jesus- every time!

So, don’t be robbed of your joy in God! Don’t let guilt, shame, or thoughts that you are a chronic failure prevent you from living a pure and blessed life! Don’t let the devil win over your mind; let the triumph of Jesus’ sacrifice cleanse you, and live in that victory!

Today’s reading: Numbers 5-6 | Tomorrow’s reading: Numbers 7

273!

Well, how many of us find excitement in reading about censuses? This morning, there are three of them: the census of the Levites, the firstborn of Israel, and the working Levites with their tasks. A number stood out to me in the middle of all this counting: 273!

“Take the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. And take the livestock of the Levites as substitutes for the firstborn livestock of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me; I am the Lord. There are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than there are Levites. To redeem these extra firstborn sons, collect five pieces of silver for each of them (each piece weighing the same as the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs). (Numbers 3:45–47, NLT)

In Israel, firstborn sons and livestock, regardless of tribe, belong to the Lord. In this census, however, God allows a substitution. But there’s a problem! There are 273 more firstborn sons of Israel than there are Levites to substitute for them! So, to redeem these extra 273, a price must be paid. In the middle of a bunch of numbers, redemption comes alive!

This reminds me of what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6.

…You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price… (1 Corinthians 6:19–20, NLT)

What is this high price? It certainly isn’t silver weighed according to the sanctuary shekel, as we see in Numbers! Notice what the Apostle Peter writes…

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom… (1 Peter 1:18–20, NLT)

Amazing, isn’t it? God was not willing that the extra 273 people be left unredeemed! God is unwilling that you and I should be left without redemption, either! Let us rejoice that God paid the high price for us through His Son Jesus! Let us rejoice that God substituted His Son to die in our place on the cross! Let us rejoice in God, our redeeming Savior! What a Savior, what an extraordinary God!

Today’s reading: Numbers 3-4 | Tomorrow’s reading: Numbers 5-6

First 25 posts: what I have learned!

When I started reading through the Bible chronologically this year, I did not intend to journal my devotion time or blog about it. After getting partway through Genesis, all the way through Job, and then back to Genesis again, for reasons I don’t fully understand, I just started.

One of the biggest hurdles I faced was fear! What if I get stumped one morning and have nothing to post? Will any of this resonate with anyone? What if this is all for nothing? Well, let me share three things I have learned on this new journey!

1. There is always water in the well!

This shouldn’t surprise me, oh me, of little faith, but each morning when I open my MacBook, God meets me in His Word and warms my soul with something to share. I have yet to find the well to be dry! Even through Leviticus and now into Numbers, there has always been water in the well of God’s Word! God has been faithful, and I trust His faithfulness for the future!

2. Jesus resonates with people!

By far, posts that have connected the Old Testament to the New, through Jesus, have resonated the most with readers. That should not be surprising! When Jesus is lifted up, He draws all men unto Himself! That said, God’s Word resonates with the soul. It has resonated with mine, and I trust it has with yours!

3. Cast your bread upon the waters!

Some of you may have seen this in the FAQ section, but I went through a five-year journey through the dark valley of forced termination from the pastorate. I explain this in more detail in the FAQs. Through blogging my devotional time, two unexpected things have happened. First, more healing! “Casting my bead upon the waters” has come back to help with healing from forced termination. Second, a platform much more significant than PulpitPress has asked me if I would contribute to helping others heal. Again, both of these things were unexpected. God is gracious!

What does all this mean?

I’d like to encourage you to step out in some way with the Word of God, your testimony, and your experience. God will help you! You’ll find Him faithful! You’ll find that He resonates with sinners like us! You’ll find that He will bless you!

Faithful!

Welcome to Numbers! If you like lists, genealogies, repetition, and numbers, here you go! If you simply want to learn more about God, this book is for you, too! As I read chapters 1-2 this morning, I noticed the posture of Israel is changing. Israel is looking more and more like a nation! They have a system of worship, an economy, and now an organized military!

Doesn’t this sound like God’s faithfulness to Abraham? Roughly five centuries earlier, God said this to Abraham…

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And 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. (Genesis 12:1–2, ESV)

While reading through lists of names and numbers today, I see the faithfulness of God on display! I am reminded of a verse in the Psalms.

For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5, ESV)

As believers, how can we see God’s faithfulness in our lives? There are two simple ways.

First, by looking back over our lives! Can we not see where we’ve experienced His faithfulness? This view is based on experience. Remember all the times of God’s faithfulness in your life; you will be encouraged! The second way to see God’s faithfulness is by looking forward! This view is based on faith. This is the most exciting view! For example, though we can all say God has not forsaken us, this view says He never will! The forward-looking view brings comfort to my soul today!

To those of us who believe, rejoice! God has been faithful! God will be faithful! Keep your eyes on both sides of His faithfulness!

Today’s reading: Numbers 1-2 | Tomorrow’s reading: Numbers 3-4