March 19, 2012 … Choosing Our Course In Life

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 28-29 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Reference Passage : Deuteronomy 28: 64-66 … 64 Then [if Israel disobeys God’s Covenant] the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.
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Highlight Reference Passage #2 : Deuteronomy 28: 9 … Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do.
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My Journal for Today: Okay, Moses reviews and lays out God’s Covenant with His chosen people who’ve been purified in the wilderness for 40 years in preparation for their cross over into the promised-land; and when you read Chapters 28-29 of Deuteronomy, knowing what the people knew, hearing Moses lay out God’s promise for obedience and His warnings for disobedience, and looking ahead to the exciting promise of finally being able to claim what God had promised His people in the land across the Jordan, I just have to shake my head with ire as I read the prophetic promise and historically fulfilled truth in the first highlight passage in Deut. 28: 64-66.

Obviously, we know that God’s people did, in fact, disobey the Mosaic Covenant [see Deut. 29] and were dispersed all over the known world (Israel by the Assyrians and Judah by the Babylonians and then all of the Jews by the Romans). And we know that they have – for centuries – lived in oppression, awaiting the complete fulfillment of God’s promises, which we Christians know will take place when Jesus, the Messiah, returns for His Bride (i.e., His chosen peoples), … the Jews and His Church.

But I charge you today to read through what I studied this morning in these two chapters in Deuteronomy. If you were a family, hearing what Moses laid out by reviewing the consequences of obedience or disobedience to the Covenant God had given His chosen people, and you believed what Moses was saying as the very word of God, what would your choice be – obedience or disobedience?

>>> No brainer; right?!!

Well, then we have to ask ourselves, knowing what we know from having all of God’s word [i.e., our Bible] and having the New Covenant from the life, death, and resurrection of THE MESSIAH, why do so many today refuse to believe and live according to the word which God Himself says is the only truth we can rely upon in the world (see Numbers 23: 19, Isaiah 55: 11, and 2nd Timothy 3: 16-17)?

Duh! … We falter in this world – today – for the same reasons which God’s people faltered when they finally crossed over the Jordan and moved into the promised-land for the first time. And God did exactly what He said He would do – through Moses – by dispersing His chosen people into every corner of the world. And we know – from history – that His people have been chastened and challenged throughout known history, … just as God promised would happen. BUT – big “but” - God’s promise to His people, including that promise now available to those of us, through Christ, in the New Covenant, is still out there, awaiting all who believe in His Son, the bearer of the promise of eternal life.

And what we have ahead of us is to believe and to cross over our Jordan, from our past into our future, headed for the promised-land, our place in Heaven, which is reserved for us by the One Who shed His blood so that we could be saved from our own deceitful hearts. But we have to choose to believe and to live as God demands by His word. And when we do, we will become children of the promise, living in the light of His promised-land and avoiding all the pitfalls of death and despair which come from disobedience. I pray that you are living in that light and doing al you can – as am I – to be children of faith in the promise of life rather than those who must live in the despair produced by sin and death.
And if you have about five minutes and would like to tag on to this devotional a wonderful song about the promise which comes by living in the faith of Christ, go to this link and hear a great song, by Keith and Kristyn Getty, which will raise your faith and make your choice of obedience much stronger.

My Prayer Today: … Thank You, Lord, for pursuing me until I saw that believing and following Your light was my partially fulfilled promised-land in this life, and being realized completely in the next. Amen

March 18, 2012 … Where’s the Fruit?

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 24-27 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Reference Passage #1 : Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 … 16 The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared this day that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him. 18 And the LORD has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.

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Highlight Reference Passage #2 : Deuteronomy 27: 9-10 … 9 Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. 10 Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”
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My Journal for Today: In the chapters I was led to read/study for my chronological read in Deuteronomy today (i.e., Chapters 24-27), Moses was reviewing the law for the people and laying out God’s protective guidelines (i.e., His rules and regulations for their living when they crossed into the promised-land). And the bottom-line charge to this sin-purged generation of Israelites was “obey and live as God’s mercy will provide; … disobey and die in ignominy.” And this is born out by the review declarations by Moses in the two highlighted study passages above.

Do you realize that if you, as have I, accepted Jesus Christ as your Messiah and Lord, you have crossed over the Jordan, leaving behind the old life of sin; and being cleansed by the sacrificial blood of the Lamb of God, you can walk into the promised-land, pure and clean, to become a light of God’s love as you take the land of eternal promise which our Lord has for us in Heaven. It’s the Apostle Paul’s promise in 2nd Cor. 5: 17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Okay, let’s say you’ve crossed over your own, personal Jordan River, declaring in your own mind of faith that Christ is the Lord of your life, … that He died on the cross to save you, and allow you to move into His promised-land of eternal life. So, therefore, as a promised-land disciple of Christ you believe and aspire to what Christ said of His followers (in Luke 9: 23: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” And, … you also know the truth of Christ’s proclaimed way to tell the real-deal Christian from the pseudo-christian, when he used the fruit-tree word picture, declaring, in Matt. 7: 20: ”20 Therefore by their fruits [i.e., of false witnesses] you will know them.”

So, knowing what Moses declared to God’s family of believers about disobedience and obedience to His word; and also knowing what Jesus has said about His family of disciples, what fruit do we have in our lives to show that we are obedient disciples of the One Who, by His blood shed on the cross, has allowed us to cross over the Jordan river, leaving behind the wilderness of sin behind and claiming the life He has for us in His promised-land?

I will leave that question for you to ponder as you walk, prayerfully WITH Christ in this life, shining your fruit-bearing light to lead the way so that others can walk out of the darkness, cross over the Jordan river of faith, and walk themselves into the Promised-Land, showing clearly, by our fruit, that we are part of the family of God.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, my dear Lord, I pray that others see Your light shining in me and there is obvious fruit on my tree of life for others to see and sample, leading them to You by the way I live. Amen

March 17, 2012 … God’s Sex Talk

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 21-23 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Chronological Passage : Deuteronomy, Chapters 22: 13-30 … To study this passage, go to this link -
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Highlight Reference Passage #2 : Colossians 3: 5-7 … 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.
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Highlight Reference Passage #3 : 1st Corinthians 6: 18-20 … 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
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Highlight Reference Passage #4 : Ephesians 5: 3-6 … 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
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Highlight Reading #5 : Proverbs, Chapters 1 - 9 … To study this passage, go to this link -

My Journal for Today: Today’s chronological Bible reading has me (us) in Deuteronomy, Chapters 21-23, linked above for your reading; but the passage which hit me hard today was in Chapter 22: 13-30. And studying it bubbled up several other Bible passages from the Apostle Paul’s teaching in the NT as well as from Solomon’s proverbs; and I have referenced them above for your review and my discussion below.

Today, in our primary highlight passage, Moses was going through a number of the laws and practices which God needed to relay to His chosen people to help keep them on His pure and righteous pathway, especially after they were to enter the promised-land. And the section I’ve highlighted today reminded me of a father sitting down with his young son and giving him “the sex talk,” … much as Solomon was doing with his son in the latter referenced Proverbs, Chapters 1-9.

It is of interest to me – especially in light of the ministry God has led me to found and lead (see http://www.battleplanministries.org) – to read the extent to which God’s word emphases the avoidance of sexual sin, both in the Old and New Testaments. God knows the sinful and disobedient nature of His fallen children; and He puts this much emphasis on the sins of the flesh, knowing how vulnerable we humans are to this particular stronghold of sin. And Satan knows it too; and God’s #1 enemy, who has been given a certain degree of reign over this world, has developed more and more sexually oriented weapons to come against God’s people, using sexual temptations and minefields to bring down the children who would desire to follow God’s way and His will.

So, God through Moses and Solomon under the Old Covenant and the Apostle Paul under the New Covenant, laid out strong warnings for God’s people, through God’s written laws and word , charging God’s children to exercise their free-will and to avoid letting the body be a vehicle of disobedience and desecration against God.

And the applications in today’s world, reading and mediating on the Scriptures I’ve highlighted above, speak, from God’s very own word, as to His purpose to have His children to do all they (we) can to avoid falling into Satan’s tarpit of sexual sin. And it would take a fool not to be able to see how strongly Satan and the world uses this strategy of sexual temptations to distract the attention of the unsaved away from God’s call and to discourage the saved from being able to live and witness with purity the life God desires for His children.

Today’s “triple-X industry,” as I call it, is a fortified cadre of sexualized super-weapons which attempts to lure people away from the purposes of God. And for 22 years of my own life, before I came to know Christ as my Lord/Savior, I was deeply bound up in my own habitual pursuit of selfish sexual pleasures. And even now, living in Christ and having been delivered from that past of habitual sexual sin, I have to arm myself EVERY DAY to do battle in a world which tries to distract me, especially as men are so visually and sexually driven, away from the empowering grace God, in Christ, provides for me to make Godly rather than ungodly choices. Every day is a battle in this hypersexual world; and that’s the reason we call our ministry Battle Plan Ministry; and we’ve been called and anointed by God to help Christians, especially men, walk strongly and with purity in Satan’s world … a world which is set up to bring them (us) down.

I hope I don’t need to give you, my beloved, God’s sex-talk. Because God’s word, highlighted above, does it with far more authority than I can write here warning you to DO WHAT GOD SAYS to live a life which shines God’s light of purity into a very darkened world.

So, … my last assignment – and one of God’s strongest sex-talks – is to study through Solomon’s warning to his son, linked above in Proverbs, Chapters 1-9, where Solomon, speaking for God, the Father, lays out one of God’s strongest warnings to walk circumspectly in this world, avoiding all of the pitfalls and temptations which Satan will use to lure us into his tarpits of sexual sin.

I am praying that we all take heed to God’s sex-talk and walk in a way which glorifies our Lord.

My Prayer Today: … Oh, Heavenly Father, empower me through Your grace this very day to walk Your walk of purity and to honor You with this Temple You have given me … my body. Amen

March 16, 2012 … God Is With Me

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 17-20 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

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Highlight Passage #1 of the Day: Reference of #1 Highlight Passage for Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 17: 14-20 … To study this passage, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage #2 of the Day: Reference of #2 Highlight Passage for Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 18: 9-14 … To study this passage, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage #3 of the Day: Reference of #3 Highlight Passage for Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 18: 15-22 … To study this passage, go to this link -
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Highlight Passage #4 of the Day: Reference of #4 Highlight Passage for Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 20: 1-4 … To study this passage, go to this link -
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My Journal for Today: Wow! Each morning when I come to this place, my closet of worship, I pray for God, through the chronological Bible reading plan to which I’m committed this year, to give me something special. In other words, I’m asking Him to highlight something which He can use to grow me into His image or something from His word which I can use to disciple someone else who might need that highlighted truth. Each day He comes through for me.

And, … as you can probably tell from the multiple passages I highlighted above, there was a lot from the reading of Deuteronomy, Chapters 17-20 which I could have blogged for my own journal entry today. In fact, I’ve highlighted and linked four such passages above for any disciple here to go back and study. Let me comment briefly on the first three; and then I’ll go more into a little more depth on Passage #4.

Passage #1 from Deut. 17- 14-20: In this passage we have a great discussion of the need for Godly leadership for God’s chosen people. God knew that His people were going to call for a king one day; and so, the Lord prophetically laid out the boundaries for such an anointed office, even though God would have not preferred the people have kings. Think how badly we need to have true, GODLY, leadership in today’s church, in our nation, and in our world.

Passage #2 from Deut. 18: 9-14: The Israelites had a history of conforming to the ungodly habits and traditions of the cultures with whom they intermingled and especially intermarried. God knew they were going to enter a land where pagan practices like child sacrifice were practiced. So, in Passage #2 we see God’s warning to avoid child sacrifice; and He charged HIS PEOPLE to replace such ungodly practices with the worship practices He would institute. Think about the application today with the hideous and ungodly practice of abortion, which is perpetuated to worship the idol of convenience and selfish desires. And make no mistake; … God is going eradicate this ungodly cultural practice … somehow, … in His way and time; and may God have mercy on us when He does.

Passage #3 from Deut. 18: 15-22: God sent Prophets to be His messengers, forward from the days of Moses, to be His voice of truth to the people. These called and God-anointed Prophets held an a recognized office in those times; and the last and greatest of these Prophets was prophesied by Moses (in Deut. 18: 15) to which Stephen, the first martyr of the New Covenant, referred to when he proclaimed Jesus was The Christ [see Acts 7: 37]. Although we don’t have the “office” of PROPHET in the New Testament church, we do have Christians who have the Spirit-endowed gift of prophesy to help us see how we can apply God’s truth (from His word) in our cultural times. Unfortunately, it seems that our culture and country are paying more attention and following the ways of the the world rather than following those who can clearly interpret God’s truth for our world.

I could devote a lot of my application and writing time to any of those three topics in today’s reading. However, let me focus my attention primarily on Passage #4 this morning.

Passage #4 from Deut. 20: 1-4: The other three passage spoke loudly to me about God’s truth this morning; but Passage #4 almost jumped out at me with encouragement; and I want to give it a little more space in my journaling. And this passage shouts out a wonderful message from God, through Moses, to His people [and by extension of context, to us], saying that no matter what they [or we] will encounter and face, as God’s people are led toward, He, the Lord, God, would always be with them [us].

Go back and meditate on that passage, my friend; and be uplifted by its truth. God is saying (as His word says in this passage): Deut. 20: 3 … “Hear, [My people]: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the LORD, your God, is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

My friend, today you and I are going into a battle. And we have fortified spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, and our own flesh, against which we will have to fight. Personally, it is greatly encouraging to know that I have the same God - IN ME – which the Israelites could rely upon … the God Who is much stronger than the evil I will face in the world. And He is the God I and follow into battle and to rely upon to carry me through (go back and read 1st John 4: 4, Rom. 8: 31, 1st Cor. 10: 13, and 2nd Cor. 12: 9.

Yes, I am weakened by my own flesh; and today I will encounter an enemy who is much stronger than I am, … and enemy who has developed a worldly beachhead of temptation and trouble which will try to bring me down. But just like God promised the Israelites, if I follow Him into battle, I will ultimately be victorious; … because God’s ULTIMATE WARRIOR, my Lord and Savior, Jesus, has won the war; and no matter what happens in battle in this world, I will LIVE with Him forever in His promised-land.

My Prayer Today: … Praise You, Lord; because today all my enemies could do is to smite my flesh; but You are with me and will never forsake me; … and in that promise, I am saved!! Amen

March 15, 2012 … The Telling Tithe

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 14-16 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 14: 22-23: … [Tithing Tells the Tale of Faith] … 22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.
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Deuteronomy 15: 10-11: … [Tithing, A Measure of Generosity] … 10 Give generously to them [i.e., the poor] and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.
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Proverbs 3: 9-10: … [Tithing Honors God] … 9 Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
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Malachi 3: 8-10: … [Withholding the Tithe Robs God] … [God’s proclamation] 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob Me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing You?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
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2nd Corinthians 9: 6-8: … [Tithing With A Glad Heart] … 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work..

My Journal for Today: Tithing! … Ugh! … Tithing is always a subject which raises eyebrows among church-going Christians. And why? … Simple answer: Few Christians tithe.

In an April 14, 2008 report, the Barna Research Group reported: ”Whether they believe in the principle of tithing or not, few Americans give away that much money. In 2007, the research revealed that just 5% of adults tithed.” … My guess is that the tithing percentage has only gone down in these last five years.

Today, in my chronological read through Deuteronomy 14-16 [linked above for your study], I encountered God’s instructions to Israel about tithing. And rather than give my fellow readers and followers a verbose blog on the subject, I decided to copy/paste above the Scripture passages which I could remember were pertinent to the subject of Christian giving and just let you, my fellow Christian, deal with what God’s Spirit has authored into His Word about tithing and giving.

I’m not going to say very much beyond what God tells us from His word on the subject (above). But it’s obvious – from these texts – and the poor record on tithing by Christians according the Barna research, that Gods’ church is robbing and dishonoring God of what He is due; and I believe that is what has made our country so vulnerable to the government become our welfare agency rather than the church. I’ve heard it said that if 50% of the American Church would tithe, there would be no need for our government to have a welfare system because the CHURCH in the USA could take care of all who needed assistance from the coffers which would be available to help the poor/needy.

If you read those passages above – as I did this morning – I think we all need to do a self-exam and ask ourselves …
>>> As a Christian, am I tithing; and if not, why not?
>>> Am I honoring God with my giving of tithes, talents, treasures, and time?
>>> Am I a cheerful giver; or do I give begrudgingly, out of obligation?
>>> Why don’t I test God and get my heart right by willingly giving more?

I’ll leave it to you to take my little test on the tithe this morning? Because God has challenged us in the Malachi 3 passage above to test Him and give our tithes and offerings, promising to bless our lives (see the Proverbs 3 passage) if/when we do. And then there is God’s sowing and reaping principle (see 2nd Cor. 9 above). For when we take all of God’s word above into account, we’re not only robbing God by withholding our tithes, given generously, we’re robbing ourselves.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, may I give to You with a joyful heart, knowing how much You have given me. Amen

March 14, 2012 … Say it again, Moses!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 11-13 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 11: 26-28: … [The Choice!] … 26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

My Journal for Today: Actually, as we read through Deuteronomy, Chapters 11-13 (if you’re with me), I was taken by Chapter 11 today where Moses (AGAIN) lays out God’s choice for His chosen ones with regard to the Mosaic Covenant. I hope you’ll use the link above and read all of Chapter 11: but THE CHOICE is spelled out again for us by Moses, laying it out for a people who had a track record of forgetfulness, selfishness, and blatant childish disobedience [sound familiar?]. And Moses was concerned that the children of the current generation of Israelites, those who had never seen all that God had done for His people, miraculously delivering them from Egypt, providing for them in the wilderness for 40 years, and being there with them in the Tabernacle as they traveled, would very easily lapse into disobedience as they went into the promised-land. The Prophet could easily foresee the likelihood that this youngest generation would be vulnerable to disobedience and, therefore, breach their obligations to follow God’s commands as they traversed into God’s promised-land; and Moses knew what the result would be. So, the aging Prophet laid the fateful choice out for God’s people once again, writing it down in what was to become God’s Book of the Law. And, my friends, we of the New Covenant, in this age of God’s grace, really have the same choice, don’t we?

We can choose to live or die under the covering of the blood of Christ. We can choose to believe in Jesus and obey Him and live eternally as His disciples; or we can choose to reject, in disbelief, what He did on the cross; and the result of the latter choice is eternal death, … i.e., never being allowed into God’s heavenly promised-land. And even after we make the choice which leads to eternal life, it is God’s New Covenant (in Christ) to give us His resurrection power in our lives, living eternally blessed in God’s promised-land. In other words, even as saved believers, we can choose to be disobedient and experience the deathly consequences of our disobedience in sin, which will render us impotent against the powers of our spiritual enemies, … Satan, the world, and our own flesh. The choice is still obedience and power in the promised-land … versus … disobedience and death in our lives; … and WE CHOOSE.

I’m praying this morning – as I do so many mornings – that I will see the power of surrender to God’s will, seeking and finding His way by following God’s word, which was what Moses laid out for God’s people in God’s Book of the Law; and it is what we have laid out before us as believers in the truth of God’s word. Let me pray that you see the choice as Moses and Jesus have laid it out for us; and I pray that we all choose life.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I pray that all who read here with me have made their choice, as I have, and we choose to follow You in obedience to Your word, knowing that You will provide life for all who do. Amen

March 13, 2012 … The Red Flag of Blessing

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 8-10 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 8: 10-14: … [Beware the Good Times!] … 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

My Journal for Today: As I was reading through my directed chronological read in God’s word this morning [Chapters 8-10 of Deuteronomy], there were a number of lessons about which I could blog. However, the issue of being aware of blessing struck me as the one on which I should journal because it’s a matter which hangs me up frequently; and that is why I’m calling this entry “The Red Flag of Blessing.”

In all of Deuteronomy 8 (upon which you can study/meditate by the link above), Moses is trying to get God’s people to remember that God takes His children through the tough times to prepare them for the good times. And Moses clearly reminds his people that as God took them through all those years in the wilderness, the Lord provided everything they needed … even though the times seemed so hard. But one warning God lays out through Moses can be found in the highlight passage I’ve copied above from Deut. 8: 10-14; and that has to do with watching out for what is produced when we are led through life when “the good times roll.”

In our culture, and especially our Christian culture, we have a tendency to think of “blessings” as all the warm and fuzzies and goodies which come during those “good times” in life. It’s when we feel “blessed” by abundance, good health, and well being. But when we’re in times of privation, problems, or pain, it’s very hard to feel and acknowledge that we’re being BLESSED by those hard times.

So, as Christians do we really take to heart what Moses writes about for God’s people in Deuteronomy 8; and in our internalization of these truths, as well as passages in God’s New Testament, for example Romans 8: 28, do we see the tough times as times of “blessing?”

AND … when we’re being blessed by the warm and fuzzy times, when God is allowing us to see “the good times roll,” are we duly grateful, openly expressing our thanks to God for all of what is easy to see as “blessings?” … No, … I think Moses nails it in the section of Scripture which I’ve emboldened and underlined above in Deut. 8: 12-14. When the good times roll, with our deceitful hearts (see Jer. 17: 9), we have a tendency to default to becoming prideful; and we generally think we – our SELVES – have created the good times rather than acknowledging Jehovah Jireh, our Lord and Provider.

Hence, I call attention to the “RED FLAG OF BLESSING;” and I hope we can take heed from the teachings of Deuteronomy 8, … that the tough times teach us humility and the good times call for that humility to recognize – with gratitude – from Whom all “blessings” flow – good times and bad.

And in that regard may I link you to a wonderful song, written and performed by Laura Story, whose personal witness is found in the lyrics. Here’s the link: … and then I want you to hear Laura’s story at this link. And when you hear Laura Story’s song and witness about “blessings,” you will see that she has experienced the “blessings” of the tough times as well as the gratitude for seeing God’s “blessings” in the good times.

I pray that we all can see the truth and believe Paul’s words in Romans 8: 28 and live in all the “blessings” of this life – the tough times and the good times as the Prophet Moses wrote about for us in Deuteronomy 8.

My Prayer Today: … Thank you for all your “blessings,” Lord … the good times and the tough times. Amen

March 12, 2012 … Hear … Learn … Obey!

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 5-7 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 5: 1: … [Hear, Learn, and Obey] … [God to His people] … Moses summoned all Israel and said: “Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them”
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Deuteronomy5: 29: … [Again … To Obey and Live] … [God to Moses] “Oh, that their hearts [i.e., the people of Israel] would be inclined to fear Me and keep all My commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!”

My Journal for Today: Wow! Two verses and two three point sermons right from God’s mouth to the ears of Moses, who, in writing them the Book of the Law, transmits these two power-packed homilies to all of God’s people; and that includes you an me.

The first three-point sermon [in Deut. 5: 1] says “Hear My Laws! … Learn My laws! … and … Obey My laws!” Could God be any more direct and any clearer? I think not! And as I’m confronted by this God-given directive to His people, God’s Spirit in me bubbles forth, from my memory, a powerful truth from another part of His Book … this one from Isaiah 55: 11, which states, for followers of the one, true God, …

“ … so is My word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

How much clearer could God’s directives be for those of us who are covered by both of God’s Covenants (Old and New)? Through His prophets, Moses and Isaiah, directly to us, God is saying … [my humble summary and paraphrase of God’s Deut. 1 and Isaiah 55 sermons] … “HEAR what I say, … LEARN what I say, … DO what I say; and everything you do will be powerful and productive to accomplish My WILL, in My WAY, through My WORD?”

And then we read in Deut. 5: 29 God’s promise to His people (and to you and me in Christ), God’s three-point sermon of promise and what will result (God never lies!!!) when/if we hear, learn, and obey God’s word. God says (again my humble paraphrase), “LISTEN to My word, … REVERENCE My word, … and … OBEY my Word; … and YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER!”

I certainly couldn’t make it any clearer than God gave it to His people through Moses and how God promised power to His people through Isaiah. God was giving His laws to His people so that they [we] could learn them, obey them, and live. But we know that so many of these people, hearing the straight stuff of love from God Himself, couldn’t – or wouldn’t – cut it; and they disobeyed and died.

I don’t think I need to go on here any more about this, do I? God says it! Done deal! … Now, … I need to say to myself here this morning; … knowing God’s truth and dwelling in it daily, … I’m deeply convicted by my memory of the old Nike company motto, which used to say, “JUST DO IT!”

My Prayer Today: … Lord, help me to hear Your word, learn Your word, and do Your will … today and everyday. Amen

March 11, 2012 … Obey – Disobey … Our Choice

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 3-4 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 3: 23-29: … [The Price of Disobedience] ... 23 At that time I pleaded with the LORD: 24 “Sovereign LORD, You have begun to show to Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works You do? 25 Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.” >>> 26 But because of you the LORD was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.
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Deuteronomy 4: 39-40: … [Obey and Live] ... 39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

My Journal for Today: Reading through Chapters 3-4 of Deuteronomy today in my chronological Bible reading, I’ve decided to back off a bit with minimal comments as to what you’ll read and understand from these two chapters. I’ll make a few brief comments below (yeah, I know – “promises, promises!”); but I am going to ask anyone who’s here to read my blog to read the two chapters to which I link you above for study. Then I’ll ask you to see if you’re not a bit overwhelmed with conviction – as was I when I meditated on these two chapters today.

I think you can tell from my titles above that obedience and/or disobedience of our God was as the heart of the reading today; and that fact carries my degree of conviction. If we are serious about living as our God demands of His people and we want the results of what God promises His followers, … OBEDIENCE is the key to living the God-promised and God-fulfilled life our Lord lays before us as we trek toward His promised land.

Below you see a picture I’ve copied into this blog which was taken from the highest peak of what is now Mount Nebo in Jordan [the highest peak in the mountain range referred to in Deut. 3: 27 above as “Mount Pisgah”]. In the photo you see a group of pilgrims, which included yours truly, looking over at exactly what Moses would have seen, … the land God would not allow him to enter because of his disobedience. As I took that picture, looking out over the promised-land from Jordan into Israel, I just couldn’t help but imagine how much more in my life I could have realized if I had lived so many years of my life in obedience, rather than in disobedience to God’s established order and His teaching from His word.

BUT … I do have the rest of my life ahead; and if I cross the Jordan of decision and trek through the wilderness of this life, keeping my eyes on the prize ahead, as Paul wrote about in Philippians 3: 13-14; and if I live as my Lord, Jesus, charged me to live in Acts 1: 8 and Luke 9: 23. following Him in faith with the witnessing power of God’s Spirit in me, as well as living in obedience to His word, … I will have the success that God promised to Joshua (see Joshua 1: 8) in living out my life successfully as an obedient follower of God’s word and law.

What about you? Are you on board with this obedience deal? Come along, my friend; let’s cross over any Jordan of decision we need to cross and let’s trek toward the promised-land, living obediently and following our Lord in the battles of life which lie ahead. His promise is to take us home; and that’s all we need to follow Him, isn’t it?

My Prayer Today: … Lord, lead me; … I will follow in obedience. Amen

March 10, 2012 … Redundancy Teaches

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Deuteronomy, Chapters 1-2 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Deuteronomy 1: 1-3: … [God Speaks On Deafened Ears] ... 1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) … 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.

My Journal for Today: Okay, now we’re taken by our chronological Bible read into the “book of redundancy,” as I call it. … Deuteronomy, … which, when I’ve read it in the past, always seemed to be quite a bit repetitive from a lot of what was already covered in Leviticus and Numbers. Actually, I know that the word “Deuteronomy” comes from the Greek “deutero” [second] and “nomos” [law]; so, … the title for this book means a “restatement of the law;” and that’s exactly what Moses is writing here, an historical recounting and restatement of “The Law” for the posterity of the people, as well as a chronicling of their trek through the wilderness in God’s purification process of these very fallible and forgetful children.

And it is this latter reason for Moses writing Deuteronomy which has captured my application attention for blogging this morning. God repeating, via Moses, all of this information about why He turned an 11 day trek into one which lasted 40 years was worthy material for His people (which includes me). They needed to get it – AGAIN; and so do I. Therefore, it’s worthy enough for me to pay close attention to this Book as I read through it one more time, trying to glean what God has for me by reading what He had Moses write for the Israelites.

I’m certainly no different than God’s stiff-necked and recalcitrant Old Covenant Jews. I can so easily go into pity-party mentality and grumble about my circumstances. I too often tend to see things my way rather than seek out – or just simply trust – life as God’s way. I wander though life with a self-inflated attitude when my Savior keeps saying over and over to me, in a personally redundant paraphrase of Luke 9: 23, [God’s Spirit speaking to me Christ’s throughts] … “Bill, if you want to follow after Me as My disciples, you just have to deny yourself, trust me in all of our travels through life, and simply follow Me.”

But like the Israelites, wandering through the desert on the way to God’s promised-land, do I get it? No, … even though God redundantly keeps trying to show me this truth and message of obedience in so many different ways, I’m coming to believe that God needs to be very redundant in repeating His message of truth through His word over and over and over so that people like me can wander in the wilderness of life and die to our sin nature, giving us life and direction, through God’s grace and truth, taught so repetitively in His word.

So, as I read through Deuteronomy … AGAIN, … I’m going to expect that God is going to give me truth after truth after truth for my living just as He was doing through Moses in this Book of repetition for His children, the Israelites. Hopefully, I’ll see those truths and die to self, allowing me to live … in and through God’s truth revealed by His Spirit through His word.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, say it again so that I’ll hear it this time! Amen

March 9, 2012 … Looking Back To Look Forward

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 35-36 ... To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 36: 13: … [Take Heed From History], … 13 These are the commands and regulations the LORD gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: 1st Corinthians 10 : 1-12, Chapters 35-36 ... To study these chapters, go to this link
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My Journal for Today: So, I close out the book of Numbers today in my chronological read through the Bible; and in the last verse of the last chapter in this book, Moses summarizes all which he captured in this book for the Book of the Law, … God’s chronicle of His direction and purpose for His chosen people, as well as documentation of their history. And why is this important to us today, being under the New Covenant of grace? Well, above I’ve linked you, if you’re following with me, to a passage written in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul, a letter to God’s church (in Corinth, but to all in the Church by context), where the Apostle also uses history, centuries after Moses wrote the historical chronicle of the Israelites trek through the wilderness, to help God’s people see the point of why obedience and spiritual discipline are so important to God’s people living God’s way.

Sometimes, it can be a bit of a drudge to read through God’s word in the historical accounts, such as in the Book of Numbers. However, God has chronicled the history of His chosen people so that we can see why it’s so important that we follow God’s way and His will; and that we do it by following God’s word. And that is why Moses was charged by God to write The Book of the Law; and it’s why Paul wrote so much of what we know of as the New Testament.

God’s Book, His Scripture, our Bible, lets us look back at history so that we can live forward into the future. And if we desire to live as God desires His people to live, though we move ever forward in our trek to God’s promised land, we need to know the pitfalls of the past to move forward into the future avoiding those pitfalls.

Knowing why God’s people trudged through that wilderness for those 40 years … and knowing what they did along the way, helps me to realize just how important it is for me to know and understand God’s word and the story of God’s people so that I can move forward and live my life, avoiding all the grumbling and egregious errors made by those immature believers out there as they wandered in the wilderness.

So, here we are with God’s people in the Book of Numbers, poised and ready to cross over the Jordan and enter into that promised-land; and we’ve learned by looking back to their history, in books like Leviticus and Numbers, how important it is that they follow the directions and dictates of God. And as we are poised and ready for our future (i.e., our “promised-land”), how are we going to be able to follow God and live the way He wants us to live? Well, we’ll read it, the way God had it down in His word. For example, when God charged Joshua to take God’s people into the promised-land [see Joshua 1: 1-9]. that commission, written in Scripture, becomes God’s prescription for how we are to follow the Lord as we move on in life.

And I’m going to close today by quoting what God said to Joshua and what Joshua wrote down in God’s Book for us to be Spirit-led and successful in our trek to follow God. He wrote (see Joshua 1: 8 … [NKJV] This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

I come here everyday, reading through God’s Book and digging into His word and praying for God’s Spirit to enlighten me. I desire to be successful in my faith, following God in this life; and I know, from Joshua 1: 8 above, that I will only be able to see clearly and follow my Lord diligently if I know His word and pour it into my heart and mind in order to allow His Spirit, the Author of God’s book of history, to lead me into my future for His glory.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, I will continue to come to Your Book every day, seeking to follow You. So, as You said in the Psalms, let Your word be Your light unto my path. Amen

March 8, 2012 … Take Possession of the Land

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 33-34 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 33: 50-53: … [“all” means ALL], … 50 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, 51 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out ALL the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy ALL their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish ALL their high places. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.

My Journal for Today: Today my chronological read takes me into and through Numbers, Chapters 33-34, linked for your study above if you’re reading along with me. And herein we read of Moses’ charge, by God, to document the exodus of God’s people from Egypt and their trek through the wilderness, which also includes the boundaries of the promised land as the assignment of the lands to the various tribes if Israel. All in all not the most exciting read in God’s word; but each day I pray for the Lord to reveal something which He wants me to take away for application in my life or for me to use to share with others in ministry or in life. And today God gave me the bold answer to that prayer with verses 50-53 in Chapter 33, where God gives strong instruction to God’s people, via Moses, as to what the Israelites must do when taking possession of the land God had promised to His chosen people.

And in copying the aforementioned section of scripture for your study and meditation today above, you will notice that I took the editorial liberty to embolden and underline the word ALL whenever it appeared in this passage. And when you read through those instructions from God through Moses to His people, especially to the leaders of the people, you probably get what I’m emphasizing by highlighting the concept ALL in this passage.

My dear one, when God says ”ALL” in His word, He means ALL. And I know that this instruction is hard to take; and it’s hard to imagine that our loving God is telling Moses and His chosen ones to kill ALL the people and to eradicate ALL of the idols in the land and to destroy and demolish ALL of the high places where the idols in the land where on display. But, my friend, again I repeat, when God says ”ALL” in His word, He means ALL.

And this is speaking loudly and clearly to me this morning, because we New Covenant chosen ones, like the people to whom God through Moses was writing these all encompassing instructions in the Old Testament, are to move into the life (i.e., our “promised land”) where God has led us; and we are to eradicate ”ALL” of the idols in our lives, taking down ”ALL” of the high places where these idols are made prominent by those in this life.

And I don’t know about you, my fellow Christian, but I still have some tearing down and total eradication to do in my life with some idols that I still have in high places in my life. I’m not going to go into it in depth my conviction here; but though I’ve followed God’s instructions in today’s highlight passage in many areas of my life, I still have areas - like obsessive/compulsive eating and the habitual viewing of some very worldly entertainment - which hold positions of too much prominence in my life, … areas of idolatry where I haven’t TOTALLY destroyed the idols or demolished their prominence (i.e., “high places”).

No, I need to say to myself, “Bill, … God says ”ALL” in His word when it comes to eliminating the idols in life, and when God says, “ALL”, He means ALL!!”

And in taking action against such idols, as the Apostle Paul instructed us in Colossians 3 [please go back and read this chapter as linked here …], we simply must be in TOTAL surrender to God’s will and utilizing the enabling grace given to us by our Lord to eradicate ”ALL” of the unGodly idols in our lives as well as tearing down the high places where they become prominent. I’ll leave it to you (with God’s help – as He promises in 1st Cor. 10: 13) to get to the business (God’s business) of tearing down some idols today.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, show me ALL the idols in my life and help me tear them down! Amen

March 7 2012 … Eradicate the Enemy

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 31-32 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 31: 13-17: … [Wipe’em Out] ... 13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. [After the Israelites had defeated the Midianites in battle] 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.
15 "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord's people.17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, …”

My Journal for Today: Reading further in Numbers, Chapters 31-32, linked for your study above, the passage which stood out to me, i.e., Numbers 31, verses 13-17, was a hard one to take in; but it had a good lesson – at least for this humble disciple of God’s word. The historical fact, which was hard to read, was involved God’s battle plan for the Israelites, who, after they had completely defeated the Midianite armies, were to eradicate their enemies, soldiers, women, and children. And that seems so cruel, doesn’t it, … for a God, our God, Who is supposed to be our LOVING GOD?

Certainly the Israelite soldiers had trouble with God’s plan (i.e., His will), didn’t they? Let’s face it, the soldiers desired to spare the women/children as part of the spoils, likely to turn them into slaves as well as being tempted by their culture of sexual promiscuity. And Moses was exceedingly displeased with the Israelites disobeying God. And so he IMMEDIATELY set up a restitution plan, as you can read in the remaining portion of Chapter 31 of Numbers.

Here’s what my Parson’s Online Commentary said this morning as to our “take-away” from this portion of the scripture cited above …

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Because Midianites were responsible for enticing Israel into Baal worship, God commanded Israel to destroy them (Num. 25:16-18). But Israel took the women as captives, rather than killing them, probably because of the tempting enticements of the Midianites’ sinful life-style. When we discover sin in our lives, we must deal with it completely. When the Israelites later entered the Promised Land, it was their indifferent attitude to sin that eventually ruined them. Moses dealt with the sin promptly and completely. When God points out sin, we must move quickly to remove it from our life.
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There are some things in God’s plan, purpose, and will for our lives which may seem hard to take, or even to understand. But we have to remember the truth from God’s word in Number 23: 19, Prov. 3: 5-6, Isaiah 55: 8-9, and Romans 8: 28. But I always seem to need to be reminded that GOD IS GOD; and I am NOT!!! … Yes, … I KNOW that God would not put me in a place where, with Him guiding me, I cannot do life HIS WAY (see 1st Cor. 10: 13). And I KNOW that God has given me all I need to glorify Him with my life, even with worldly decadence surrounding me (see 2nd Pet. 1: 3-4). Therefore, I have no excuse to balk or do life MY WAY when I’m tempted by the lure or magnet of sin in my life.

The underlined portion of the commentary above is my take-away point of application from the highlight passage this morning. We simply cannot abide choosing sin, when we know it’s not God’s will for our lives!! Because if we do depart from God’s way and His will, we must – and will – pay the Piper for it. And God always commands or leads us to do life HIS WAY to protect us >>> because He loves us.

So, that’s what I’ll take away from today’s study to apply with more vigilance and obedience as I do all I can to live the way my Lord would have me live … FOR HIM!!!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, may Your way be clear for me today, no matter how hard it is for me to carry it out; and I will do my best to follow You. Amen

March 6, 2012 … Keeping Our Word

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 28-30 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 30: 1-2: … [Taking Vows Seriously] … 1 Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: "This is what the Lord commands: 2 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. …”
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Deuteronomy 23: 21 – 23 … 21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. 23 Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
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Ecclesiastes 5: 1 – 7 … 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.
God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. 3 A dream comes when there are many cares, and many words mark the speech of a fool. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it. 6 Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, “My vow was a mistake.” Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? 7 Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore fear God.
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Matthew 5: 33-37 … [Jesus speaking] … 33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
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James 5: 12 … 12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

My Journal for Today: Today in my chronological trek through the Bible, I was led to read/study/meditate in Numbers, Chapters 28-30; and there’s a lot in these chapters about the methods of offering and corporate worship of God; but when I got to Chapter 30, Moses’ discussion concerning vows jumped out at me for my blogging this morning. And so I did my own personal cross reference study today; and I have taken the liberty to copy/paste some passages from the Old and New Testament writings which forcefully - and clearly - discuss the seriousness of making and keeping vows.

And because just reading/meditating on those passages above is so clear, and being the very word of God, there is little that I can add to what God so repetitively and forcefully teaches from His truth. So, I’m not going to add very much to what you can read and glean above from God’s word. And I hope that we remember that when God says the same thing over and over again, especially through many of His authors, and most especially from God, The Son, we should pay attention – BIG TIME!

I WILL say, though, that I would bet you agree that we, in our post-modern culture, don’t take the making and keeping of vows all that seriously. How often are marriage vows made and broken these days? How often do we “Christians” make bargains with God and then when we’re blessed by God’s mercy, we forget and break our part of the bargain? How often do we sign contracts, which are legal as well as spiritual vows, and we hedge or break the contract?

Well, if God’s word above speaks as loudly to you as it did to me today, what more could Bill Berry add that would help us keep our word more reliably and vigilantly than we do? So … let God’s word on keeping our word be His directive to us this day.

My Prayer Today: … And, Lord, I pray that my “yes” will be ‘yes’ and my “no” will be ‘no,’ … always keeping my promises to You and to others. Amen

March 5, 2012 … God Shapes His Purpose and Future

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 26-27 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 26: 63-65: … [God’s Promises and the People] … 63 These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 64 Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
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Numbers 27: 15-23 : … [Leadership Selected by God] … To study this passage, go to this link -
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My Journal for Today: Day 65 in my chronological read through the Bible this year; and today we see that God cares about the documentation – in His word – of His purpose, His promises, and His plan for God’s people as He leads them, using Moses and the lineage of God’s directed leadership , into the promised land. It may be boring reading; but it’s awesome in considering how patient, long-suffering, and merciful God is to carry out His designs for the future of His people in the lives of those who are obedient and have faith in His promises.

And if you’re reading along with me today, I want you to use the link I’ve provided above to go to Numbers 27: 15-23 and note how Moses went to God to selected a successor to lead the people into the promised land, knowing that he, Moses, would not be able to do so. And also note how God specifically picked a groomed and capable leader, Joshua, to be that anointed successor, … a man who had passed the test of action over many years, following God’s and Moses’ leadership. And so Joshua became the commissioned and God-anointed leader to take the people into the land which God had promised to Abraham in His covenant generations before. And it is beautiful for to me to read this morning how God picks and uses people, … people of faith and with gifts He has imparted, to carry out His plans and His promises.

Some years ago, I saw this happen in the church where I had been selected – and surprisingly so – to be an Elder for our congregation. And after my anointing and apprenticeship as an Elder, as well as after a few years of service, I wondered why I had been selected to Eldership for our flock. I just didn’t seem to have a place and didn’t seem to have the skills and gifts which matched where our church was going. But then, out of the blue, our church was confronted with a deeply disturbing and potentially divisive scenario which involved the Elders having to investigate our Pastor at the time for an alleged action of a sexual impropriety. Well, there was only one Elder on our board at this time who had had any personal experience with sexual sin; and that was yours truly. And because I had gone through many years of that sin pattern prior to becoming a Christian; and I had been delivered by God’s prevenient and sanctifying grace from that habitual sin – even to the point of becoming an anointed Elder – I was the perfect person to help lead our Eldership and our church through this fire storm and into the future God had awaiting His Church and our local body of believers.

It’s a long, complex story, which I’ll not go through here; but like the scenario which Moses was faced with in today’s highlight passage in Numbers 27, God had prepared exactly the right person, having shaped His man for the job through many years of God’s personally engineered preparation. I’ve experienced just how intimately and personally God’s preparation is when He needs His person to be His leader in His time and in His place … for His purposes. And if you’ve read through and into the future of God’s leadership, using Joshua, taking His people into His promised land, we know that God had groomed just the right man for His purposes and His plans for His people. And that will always be the case in our world as God readies us for His will for our future.

God has a plan for me, … and for you, my dear one; … and we need to surrender to His purposes for our lives to be used in His timing and for His glory.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, continue to use me in Your way and in Your time for Your glory all the remaining years of my life. Amen

March 4, 2012 … Righteous Anger

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 23-25 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 25: 6-13: … [Righteous Anger ] … 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;8 And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
10 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 11 “Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.”

My Journal for Today: There are several discussions worthy of my blogging keyboard from the Chapters in Numbers I was led to read this morning, more specifically Chapters 23-25. There was the interesting account of the sorcerer prophet, Balaam, and the scriptural reference to the prophesy of the “star of Jacob” in Chapter 23 which was likely the prophesy which led the so-called “Wisemen” to seek out the birthplace of the Messiah.

And I could journal here about how God could (and did) decide to use a false-prophet, like Balaam, to bring God’s message or wisdom to the people of the world … or even to God’s people. I hope we all know that anyone – even a misguided sorcerer like Balaam – can be used by God to bring truth forth or call attention to God’s ways. We must be discerning in seeing what is true and what is false from a man like Balaam. That is the lesson I’ve often referred to about the Bereans (in Acts 17: 10-15), who checked out the message of the Apostle Paul by going to God’s word to see if he was teaching truth or falsehood. We hear a lot of persuasive messages by prominent people in our world; and we need to be discerning and rely on God’s word and to get counsel from wise and Godly counselors to discern God’s will and to be able to follow those who’re trying to lead us to move in Godly directions.

But though those are very pertinent and interesting studies, I want to focus on a brief segment (copied above) in Numbers 25, verses 6-13, where we read of one of God’s Priests, Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, rising up in anger and slaying one of the disobedient Israelites, who had flagrantly brought a Canaanite woman into the Tent of Meetings, right before Moses’ eyes, with the sole intent of having sex with this woman in the sacred Tabernacle. And did God or the people strike down Phinehas for this angry act of retribution? No; … to the contrary, God honored Phinehas and even considered the slaying of the sinner as an atonement for the sinfulness of the Israelites, sparing them from God’s collective judgment for their general and wholesale disobedience during those times.

Today, in the commentary I often use to help guide me in my chronological read through the Bible this year, there was a good lesson about “righteous anger,” which I’d like to quote here for anyone who might be reading my devotional entry this morning. Here’s the quote from the Parson’s Commentary …

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It is clear from Phinehas’ story that some anger is proper and justified. Phinehas was angry because of his zeal for the Lord. But how can we know when our anger is appropriate and when it should be restrained? Ask these questions when you become angry: (1) Why am I angry? (2) Whose rights are being violated (mine or another’s)? (3) Is the truth (a principle of God) being violated? If only your rights are at stake, it may be wiser to keep angry feelings under control. But if the truth is at stake, anger and action is often justified, although violence and retaliation are usually the wrong way to express it (Phinehas’ case was unique!). If we are becoming more and more like God, we should be angered by sin.
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No, as it says above, striking out in anger for perceived sinful behavior by murdering sinners would not be considered the Godly way to go. But, like Phinehas, and Jesus when He cleansed the Temple, taking radical action may be called upon when sin against God becomes so much an affront to His holiness that we need to strike out against the perpetrators.

The advice given above about discerning and taking action when we’re angry is good and Godly counsel; and we need to remember that Jesus never struck out in anger to those who were attacking His personal being, … even when sinners spit on him or attacked His bodily security. No, our Lord only struck out in anger when He discerned that the world was defiling His Father’s Temple.

Is there anything in your life which is defiling God’s Temple … i.e., either your body or the Body of Christ? What about your own gluttony or maybe some addictive sin pattern like taking drugs, or obsessive gambling, or repetitively viewing p0rnography? Is there enough righteous anger in your countenance to strike out and do something about it, sending a spear through the heart of the perpetrator, as did Phinehas; … even if that perpetrator may be you, yourself.

I know right now that I stand convicted in discerning that I let my own sinful eating patterns defile God’s Temple, my body, at times; and I often see Christ’s body, the Church, being defiled by becoming an enabler of so many other Christians when the church makes it far too easy for the sin of gluttony to be magnified. Have you ever been to a church function and discerned that there were far too many gluttonous food choices than should be there to tempt Christians who’re struggling against the sin of gluttony? Were you angry enough to do something about it? Did you do something about it?

What about the plague of sin we have in our culture with the XXX sex trade proliferating with the growing cancer of internet p0rnography? Are you angry that p0rn is infiltrating our culture and destroying marriages and bringing down Christian church leaders the way we see in today’s world? Are you angry enough to do something like contacting your Representatives and demanding that our Justice Department prosecute the perpetrators of p0rn? If you struggle with your own sexual compulsions (maybe even recurring obsessions to view p0rn), are you angry enough to pick up a spear and throw it into the heart of your own sinfulness, getting help and confessing your sin to others?

All of us, who perceive flagrant sinfulness tearing apart our world or defiling God, could become an angry priest, like Phinehas to strike out in Christlike retribution against those who’re defiling Gods’ Temple or His Tabernacle. I am going to pray – right now - that we do just that!

My Prayer Today: … Lord, when we see the world defiling Your holiness, enlighten, enable, and empower us with Your sanctifying grace to be like Phinehas and take righteous action … but only when You lead us to take a stand for Your Name and to do it in Your way, inspired and modulated by Your word. Amen

March 3, 2012 … Merciful Healing

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 21-22 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 21: 4-9: … [Snake on the Pole] … 4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

My Journal for Today: Today in my chronological read through the Bible, I was taken to Chapters 21-22 of Numbers; and the passage which was emboldened for me to write about today was the one copied above from Numbers 21: 4-9, the story of God, the snakes, and the pole statue. And on the surface it just seems to be another in a long line of God teaching the grumbling and continually recalcitrant Israelites a lesson in obedience and mercy. And most certainly it is documentation of that; but this story has way more prophetic and Messianic implications for a Bible traveler like me.

Please take the time, fellow traveler through God’s word, to meditate on this story. And do you recognize the pole symbol which God had constructed to be a traveling remembrance of how He mercifully provided a way for His rebellious children to be saved from the plague of snakes which He had visited upon those disobedient fools in the desert? Yes, … for those who’ve been in hospitals or doctor’s offices, you may remember the international healing symbol, the CADUCEUS, … two snakes entwining a pole beneath wings of victory (or healing, in this instance). Well, the origin of that symbol can be found in this passage.

And if you ever go to the pinnacle of Mount Nebo in Jordan, which is the very place where Moses took God’s people during their trek to the promised-land; and the place being referred to in Numbers 21, there is an enormous statue erected there of bronze on the place where Moses looked out over the promised land, … the land he would never enter but the promised land which would one day be the place where God’s people were returned to God’s healing and covering care. I’ll attach a picture of that statue below for your viewing; and you’ll note how the statue on Mount Nebo resembles the healing symbol, the Caduceus.

But also note how the symbol depicts Christ on the cross; and that’s the prophetic picture which God was crafting for His people; and it is the image which Jesus, Who was the fulfillment of this prophesy, spoke of to Nicodemus in the garden, which we read of in John 3: 13-15 to which I’ll link you here to read.

And what is our take-away application here? Well, I hope you’ve seen it. God was giving His people a picture, by creating a statue, which they could look upon and, in their faith, would be delivered from the poison of their own sinfulness. That, my friends, is exactly the picture of salvation and healing which any of us can have (and hopefully already have had) when we look to what Christ did on that pole of death and life in Calvary, … the Lord shedding His blood on that tree, so that anyone in faith can be cleansed, healed, and saved from the poison of their own sin.

It is a glorious and wonderful picture of salvation; and isn’t it wonderful that we can see how God used this picture in several places in the Bible to remind us of God’s healing. We read about it here in Numbers; and as I’ve mentioned in the New Testament as Jesus made reference to the same image. But you can also read about it in a Psalm written by King David’s worship leader, Asaph, who remembered this image in Psalm 78, which I hope you’ll go back and read with this link …

God’s healing and saving grace is always there for anyone who looks to the cross and sees, through the eyes of faith, a Savior Who died there to rid us of the poisonous effect of the snakes of sinfulness. I pray we all have seen Christ, through the eyes of faith, giving His all on that pole at Golgotha so that we can be healed of death and live forever with Christ as our Jehovah Rapha, the Healer of all healers. He is our caduceus; and we live under the healing of His blood on the cross.

My Prayer Today: … Heavenly Father, thank you for providing an image I can look upon and be reminded of what You did on that pole of death to provide me with life eternal. Amen

March 2, 2012 … Sin Always Has Consequences

Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 18-20 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 20: 5-12: … [A Serious Oops!!!] … 6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them. 7 The LORD said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the LORD’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

My Journal for Today: Well, there are a number of good application points I could blog about from today’s chronological read through Numbers, Chapter 18-20. Certainly a discussion about tithing or spiritual giving and its role in supporting God’s Priesthood (see Numbers 18) would be a worthy discussion, especially since God’s people today, i.e., the Church, don’t take tithing nearly as seriously as we should.

However, it was Moses’ brief – but very significant – backslide into sinfulness, described in the highlight passage copied above, which God seemed to draw me to blogging attention this morning.

Wow! Sometimes I just have a bit of trouble understanding God’s justice. But that shouldn’t be surprising to me, should it? God is God; and I – most certainly – am not. And why would I think that I could – or should – be able to judge or understand much of what God decides to do. I know; … that’s God’s lesson from Isaiah 55: 8-9 (and if you don’t know that one, please study it with this link!). But there is one lesson from Moses’ pridefulness and sin, exhibited in the passage above which doesn’t escape me; and that is that SIN ALWAYS HAS CONSEQUENCES. And unfortunately for Moses, the consequences of his disobedience and prideful rock and water incident there in Kadesh, where the people were poised and ready to go over into the promised land, was that Moses would never get the opportunity to step into that land he had long led the people toward. All that obedience Moses exhibited, for nearly 40 years, wiped out with two pride-filled taps on a rock to give the grumbling Israelites some much needed water. Can’t you just imagine Moses, saying “Oops, Lord, my bad! Please forgive me.” And, of course God did forgive him; but the consequences of that momentary backslide had very serious outcomes.

So, … what do we learn from this truth-bearing scenario? Well, I’m strongly reminded of something I had to learn by a much longer, stronger, and very chronic bout of prideful sinfulness in my life. It was not until I was 40 years old (and the symbolic significance of that length of time does not escape me) that I set aside my chronic double life of sexual sin and was delivered – by my faith – into the loving arms of our Savior, as He became my Lord in 1983. And I believed then, as I know now, that I was (and now am) saved eternally from my past, present, and future sin. However, the consequences all those years, as I walked in prideful and hurtful sinful living, just didn’t go away in that moment of conversion. No, I came to realize that ALL sin has consequences which God uses to shape us into His own image; and sometimes, like with Moses, those consequences can be painful in this life.

So, as I sit here and meditate on the passage I’m focusing on here, … I GET IT! Sin is serious business [!] … because it is an affront to God’s holiness and His love and His grace; and we dishonor the One Who shed His blood to save us from our sin when/if we choose to sin or even when we casually participate in sinful acts. So, when we sin [and, of course, we will], we cannot expect for God to just dismiss our sin whimsically with a brush of His mercy. We need to learn from the lesson of Moses taking God’s power too casually and realize that God pays attention to our heart when we sin. Oh yes, … He will love us in an eternally forgiving manner; but He also loves us enough not to let our sin go by casually without consequences.

My Prayer Today: … Yes, Lord, I do get it; and may I always keep short accounts and come to You for your forgiving grace when I sin; … never taking my sin nature for granted and always remembering what You did in sacrifice to save me from myself. Amen

March 1, 2012 … UnGodly Presumption Kills!

Blogger's Note: I continue on with my chronological reading plan through the Bible this year - now into Day 61 in March ...

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Passage of the Day: Reference of Today’s Chronological Bible Study: Numbers, Chapters 16-17 … To study these chapters, go to this link -

Numbers 16: 1-5: … [Danger, Danger, Danger!!!] … PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE CHAPTERS – 16 & 17 FROM THE LINK ABOVE …

My Journal for Today: Today, as you can see above, I have not singled out any one segment or shorter passage to highlight my journal entry (i.e., blog) for this date. No, … if you’re following along with me, I’m asking that you take the time to read through these two chapters from Numbers, Chapters 16-17, reading about the rebellion against Moses by a few in the tribe of Levi who felt that Moses and Aaron were wrong in following God they way they had; and these Levites sincerely wanted to assert themselves as the new leaders of God’s people in this attempted coups.

Well, as you will read, as I did this morning, Moses, in a scenario somewhat reminiscent of Elijah’s challenge of the priests of Baal, which we’ll read about later this year, challenged these recalcitrant Levites to a spiritual dual; and the results were disastrous for the rebels, whom God opened the earth and swallowed them up.

As you will read in Numbers 16, these Levite rebels presumed – and I believe sincerely so – that they could (and should) take over the role as God’s representatives to the people. They felt that they had a better way of taking the role of prophet/priest to God’s people than had Moses and Aaron. And what was their motivation to ignore all that God had done with Moses and Aaron as God’s representatives? Well, the answer to that is found in one word … GREED!

These men, from their own, personal dissatisfaction and desires, felt they had a better way of shaping law and allegiance to God than had Moses; and so we read of the dual in the desert, where God, being God, showed these Levites that rebellion against Yahweh doesn’t pay. Lesson: Don’t mess with God’s purpose and plan, because as my title for today’s blog reports – “Ungodly Presumption Kills!”

You know, what these foolish Levites did back then in Moses’ day, trying to intercede for God in their own way, reminds me of what many false teachers are trying to do today, … i.e., false teachers like those in the so-called “word of faith” movement who are perpetuating what is sometimes called “The Prosperity Gospel.” These fools, preachers like Bennie Hinn, Joyce Meyers, John Hagge, and others, have come on the scene with their sincerely false interpretation of scripture, saying that God desires to financially prosper those followers who see God’s truth the way they see it. And my friends, they are just as foolish (and potentially self explosive) as were those men who challenged God’s truth and Moses in Numbers 16.

One day, and only God knows when and how, these rebellious, greedy false teachers today will be consumed in some way by the God they falsely represent. It may not be with them being swallowed up by an earthquake; but God is God and they are not! And the attempt of some of these charlatans to get rich and powerful in the arena of real Christian ministry is going to consume them. And unfortunately many who follow these word-of-faith teachers are going to be consumed as well just as did the followers who went against Moses which we read about in Numbers 16.

That is why we Christians today need to become like the Bereans (see Acts 17: 10-15) who carefully used God’s word, as they knew God’s truth, to discern whether the Apostle Paul was teaching the truth or trying to rebel against God. And they were able to discern that Paul taught God’s truth and was worthy to follow.

We need to ask ourselves if we’re following leaders like Moses or Paul, who teach the truth and follow God, teaching and preaching His word. And the only way to know if we’re on the right path, following God’s way, is to be well grounded in God’s word, which is now our road map to the promised land in this New Covenant era.

Therefore, I pray we’re all discerning followers of God’s way from God’s word.

My Prayer Today: … Lord, keep us on Your path to righteousness and Your promised-land by our following Your way and will from Your word. Amen