Church Blog (Page 15)

Read: Deuteronomy 1-2 Focus Verse: “You shall not enter it, either. But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it.” (1:37b-38). Devotion: So, Moses did all the work to get them here, and now he has to hand it over to someone else!? On top of that he’s asked to encourage and empower Joshua? What humility and…

Read: Numbers 35-36 Focus Verse: “But if without enmity someone suddenly pushes another or throws something at them unintentionally or, without seeing them, drops on them a stone heavy enough to kill them, and they die, then since that other person was not an enemy and no harm was intended, the assembly must judge between the accused and the avenger of blood according to…

Read: Numbers 33-34 Focus Verse: “But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.” (33:55) Devotion: Israel was asked to rid the land of its inhabitants. That could sound harsh, or bad that they have to completely destroy…

Read: Numbers 31-32 Focus Verse: “Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the LORD has given them?” (32:7). Devotion: Does fear have a place in your life? The Israelites wandered for 40 years because when they saw what God promised them they were afraid to take it. “If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in…

Read: Numbers 28-30 Focus Verse: “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.”(30:2)  Devotion: What do I know about marriage?! This comes form the regulations given to Moses from God about relationships. It doesn’t explicitly say it has to do with marriage, but the…

Read: Numbers 26-27 Focus Verse: “Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.” (Numbers 26:55-56). Devotion: After another census God tells them how to divide the land. The larger clans get larger lots and…

Read: Numbers 23-25 Focus Verse: “Balaam answered Balak, ‘Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything god my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD—and I must say only what the LORD says’?” (Numbers 24:12-13). Devotion: “A speaker of truth has no friends” (African…

Read: Numbers 21-22 Focus Verse: “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.” (22:18). Devotion: His faith isn’t perfect, in fact Balaam falls prey to mistrust shortly after this statement, but here he gets it right. The King of Moab is offering to pay Balaam handsomely…