Deuteronomy 1

“Trust In The Lord”

The book of Deuteronomy is a review of the Israelites history, a reminder of how their fathers failed miserably but how God saw them through mercifully.

The biggest failure of God’s people was one of trust. God told them through Moses to take the land of the Amorites, that He had given it to them. They decided to send in spies first, to check it out. This shifted them now from the place of obedience to evaluation. Big failure, for who is God's counsel? 

Later, God tells His people through Moses not to go to war against the Amorites as He would not be with them due of their earlier unbelief and they should turn into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea to avoid conflict. However again, the children of Israel did not heed God’s counsel but did what they thought was right in their own eyes. Another big failure!

The lesson eventually learned by the Israelites and a good one for us as well, wherever God directs us, is the correct path. Ours is not to question, or evaluate His direction in our lives, we must simply trust in Him.

The Truth
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Mark 16 "He Is Risen"

“He Is Risen”

The Angel said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.” (v.6-7)

Chapter 15 is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, the heart and soul of the Christian doctrine. In it we find many eye witnesses to this miraculous event and His ascension into heaven. No other religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Muslim, Islam, has their faith grounded in their leader: dying for their sins, being raised from the dead, seen alive by many witnesses and then ascending into heaven – only Christianity.

In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul records those who saw the risen Lord: “Christ was seen by Cephas (Peter), then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.”

Because Jesus’s disciples continued to testify of this, arrests, beatings and intimidation had become common to silence their message. Order was often maintained by the use of threats and torture. The early chapters of the book of Acts provide glimpses of the persecution of believers, even to the point of death, but the message remained. (see Foxes book of Martyrs)

The Gospel of Luke records a significant change in this thinking involving Gamaliel, the rabbi who was Saul’s mentor. He wasn’t opposed to the persecution of believers, but he cautioned his fellow members of the Sanhedrin against killing Christians. He understood the power of martyrdom.

Gamaliel said, “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it – least you even be found to fight against God.” (Acts 5:38-39).

This tactic of toleration may have kept many believers in Jerusalem and thus slowed down the process of taking the gospel to the world. But, Stephen’s and later James’ deaths eventually changed all of that. The fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 severed to scatter the church to the winds and the message with it.

Later, all of Christ’s disciples died violent deaths but not one ever denied their faith, proving Gamaliel was correct. Many other Christians throughout history have done the same, dying for the truth of Gods Word, not some cunningly designed fable – for the work of God, not man. 

Yes, He has Risen! Hallelujah!    

The Truth

“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:9-10)

Numbers 36

“Obedience Concerning Inheritance”

“Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad.” (v.10)

Here the daughters of Zelophehad not only heard the Word of the Lord, but they obeyed it as well. This signifies that the blessing (the inheritance) lies not in simply hearing or agreeing with the Word, but in obeying it.

People can become very different where money or possessions are concerned, especially when family is involved. Here the Lord provided the rules ahead of time to avoid any infighting or undue loss of land, form tribe to tribe.

We would be wise to do the same concerning the inheritance we will leave behind to our families.   

The Truth

“He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:25)

Numbers 35

“Cities of Refuge”

“Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. ‘The cities shall be to you as a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer will not die until he stands before the congregation for trial.” (v. 9-12)

There were six cities of refuge which might be reached in less than a day's journey from any part of the land. To these, man-slayers might flee for refuge, and be safe, till they had a fair trial. If acquitted from the charge, they were protected from the avenger of blood; yet they must continue within the bounds of the city till the death of the high priest. On the other hand, if proved guilty on sufficient evidence, he would be condemned and punished as a murderer, without the possibility of deliverance.

These cities, ordered by the LORD, show His compassion/protection of the innocent and established that both humanity and justice would be met.

The Truth

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9)

Numbers 34

“Missed Opportunities”

The Israelites never came close to taking all of the territory God had given them because of their lack of faith. This was a pattern with them from the very moment they left Egypt. Everything was fine until a test of their faith came, then they would fall right back into their old habits.

Habits are very difficult to break, especially bad ones. Oh we’re ok for a while but when the trial comes, it becomes easy to fall back into them. And for the children of Israel, it was complaining or blaming Moses for their problems.

We all probably have some area in our lives that is being tested. An area that God is saying, "trust Me". Trials are intended to strengthen us and make us more like the person God intended us to be. However, if we lack faith, we are missing out on opportunities He has for us. 

I remember pastor Chuck Smith saying, "Whatever we face, we need to remember to focus on Him and His power, not upon the problem."

I don’t want to possess a fraction of what God has for me or miss out on any of His plans for me. I want as much as I can get and so should you.

Trust in Him and He will direct your path.

The Truth

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17)