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AHA!

 Numbers 31:32 “Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep,” 

 NOW I UNDERSTAND!

 Remember yesterday’s lesson?  If you missed it, I wrote about the Lord’s requirements for the sacrifices each day.  Where would all those animals come from?  Well, here we see one answer.  In one battle the Israelites captured almost 700,000 sheep.  I have to believe that many of these were suitable for sacrifice.  God was already providing the resource for the people to use to honor Him.

But it wasn’t about what they captured.  They captured sheep, cattle, donkeys and even slaves.  I truly believe the Lord was trying to show them to trust Him for their provision.  They defeated the Midianites and did not lose one fighter, not one.  That’s amazing!  God protects and provides.

TEACHING MOMENT

 Little Elrod and Gertrude need to be taught to trust the Lord for everything in their lives.  “How do I pay this bill?”  God’s got the source.  “Lord, I need healing.”  God knows that and can heal according to His will.  “Lord, I really need to do well on this test.”  Study, apply yourself and leave the rest to God.

Every situation in life can be solved through the power and faithfulness of God.  I am NOT teaching prosperity gospel here.  I am merely saying that when we trust Him, He will come through according to His time and His plan for our lives.  We may not understand or even appreciate it at the time, but He is still in control.

What do you need right now for God to do in your life?  Is there that one thing that you just can’t let go of?  Let it go!  Let Him have control.  Submit to His will and let whatever comes your way come on.  Complete abandonment is what He desires.

Master Planner, You have directed me perfectly when I have bowed to your leadership.  Let me bow again today.  I trust You and believe You are able.

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THAT’S A LOT OF MEAT

 Numbers 28:1-2 “1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 ‘Command the sons of Israel and say to them, “You shall be careful to present My offering, My food for My offerings by fire, of a soothing aroma to Me, at their appointed time.”’” 

 COMMANDS

I ate at one of those Brazilian steak houses in Nairobi, Kenya once with some friends. When you sit down they give you this little card to put by your plate.  One side is red and the other is green. As long as you have the green side facing up, they keep bringing you meat. You actually have to tell them to stop by flipping your card to red.  Needless to say, I ate way too much.

I thought of that when I read about the number of animals which were required for the daily, monthly and special offerings.  Just the daily sacrifices alone would have added up to almost 30,000 lambs during the 40 years in the wilderness.  That’s a lot of mutton.  Aren’t you glad our Savior offered the perfect, one- time sacrifice?

TEACHING MOMENT

 However, the important thing about this passage to me is the detail and the command.  God was specific about His requirements for sacrifices and offerings.  There was no doubt what He required.  There still isn’t.  We need to teach our children that.  His Word gives us a detailed description of how to live a holy life.

When your little Johnny or Gertrude comes to you with a question about how to live a godly life, don’t give them YOUR opinion. Take them to the Word.  It has the answers.  When they are questioning an event in their life, point them to Scripture.  It can reveal a solution.

Do you look elsewhere for your answers?  Stop it!  You can’t find the correct, long-lasting, eternal one anywhere except in Him.  We can go to gurus and experts in all kinds of fields, but we will never find the truth until we turn to Him.

Commander and King, direct my steps.  Show me the correct path to take each day.  It is only through Your guidance that I can stay true to Your Word.

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TURNING YOUR BACK

Numbers 25:3 “So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the Lord was angry against Israel.”

 REJECTION

 Can you believe these Israelites?  Will they never learn?  Through all the miracles they witnessed, they continued to murmur and complain.  Some had rebelled against the leadership, and now we see them turning to other gods.  The women of Moab had influenced them into worshipping Baal.

“Well Carl, I would never do such a thing!”  Really?  What are you worshipping?  Look at your calendar.  Look at your bank account.  Where does all your time and money go?  That will usually tell you what is most important in your life.  Sure, you don’t think you have turned your back on God and worshipped anything else, but you may be just as deceived as the Israelites.

TEACHING MOMENT

Focus!  Focus!  Focus!  That’s the key to any intentional life for Christ.  He is worthy of all our attention.  Everything we do should point our children to Christ.  Our goal as parents is to raise them to see just how important Christ is to us.  That means making tough decisions sometimes.

When your child’s coach calls for a practice on Sunday mornings, what do you do?  If you go every weekend to the lake instead of spending time with the Body of Christ, what does that teach your children?  We are constantly sending them messages about the importance of Christ in our lives.

Please hear my heart.  I am not trying to sound legalistic.  There are just some things that are more important in this life.  Living sold out to Jesus is the most important.  The world will tell your children that there are more important things.  Don’t let them believe that lie.

O Lord, forgive me for putting other things before You. Forgive me for allowing others to influence my relationship with You.  Help me purge myself of all unnecessary things in my life so I can live a life that points my children to You.

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ONLY GOD’S WORD

 Numbers 23:5 “Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, ‘Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus.’”

 OTHERWISE, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT

 I am not going to get into whether Balaam should have gone or not.  That’s another devotional.  But I want to point out what Balaam did, once he went.  Look at the verse today.  God tells him to only say what He tells him to say.

We could all take a lesson here.  We are all so quick to give advice.  We presume to speak for God sometimes when people come to us for help.  We are too quick to try to help without seeking the Lord’s guidance first.  God CAN use us, but we have to be willing to be His vessels.

TEACHING MOMENT

This is most importantly seen in the way we parent our children.  They are going to come to you for advice and guidance.  That’s your job, but you should go to the Lord first and ask Him how to answer them.  Better yet, go to the Lord with them, so they can hear what you pray.

What a great way to model “hearing” from the Lord.  When they see and hear you relying on the Lord for the wisdom to parent them, they will tuck that away.  They will learn to go to Him for guidance.  Isn’t that our ultimate goal – to help them walk with Him?

What are you struggling with right now in your walk?  Have you asked the Lord for guidance?  Go to Him right now.  Ask Him to speak to You.  Now, don’t get anxious and go ahead before you hear.  Wait on Him to answer. He will in His perfect time.

Father, give me pause to stop and hear from You.  Let my ears be open to hear Your words and then let my tongue speak only what You say.  Praise You for hearing me.

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WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

 Numbers 21:9 “And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.”

 HEALED BY A SNAKE?

 More murmuring by the Israelites led to punishment from God in the form on snakes.  People were dying.  They cried out to the Lord, and He told Moses to make a bronze serpent on a pole and lift it UP.  Those who looked at this were saved.  It wasn’t the snake on a pole that healed them.  That would have led to idol worship.  It was obedience to the Lord that led to their salvation.

In the same way, we don’t look at a wooden cross to save us.  We look at the obedience of Jesus on the cross to lay down His life for us.  His shed blood paid the price that was required of us.  We look UP to Him for our salvation.  It comes from no one or nothing else.

TEACHING MOMENT

 Now this story may be a little tricky to teach your kids.  I don’t suggest getting a stick and taping a snake to it.  LOL.  But the story is kind of cool.  Snakes everywhere!  Kids will listen up when they hear this story.  But make sure you tell them why they were there.  The real story is they were disobedient.

Now I know your children have been and will be disobedient.  You are not going to ask God to send snakes to bite them.  But there are consequences to disobedience.  All disobedience is an affront to God.  That’s the first part of the message.  But it continues.  There is also forgiveness after repentance.  Bam!  That’s the key!

Are you disobedient right now?  Have you confessed that to the Lord?  Are you looking to Him?  He stands ready to forgive and restore.  Let Him.

Lord, thank You for healing and forgiveness.  Convict me, Lord, when I grumble and complain.  Let me set the right example for others, especially my children.

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ARE YOU NUTS?

 Numbers 17:8 “Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.” 

 AARON WAS

 What a way to show the people whom God had chosen to lead!  There had just been the uprising.  People had died.  They were grumbling about who was in charge and who was holy.  God decided to show them whom He had chosen to lead.  But why didn’t God just tell them?  He wanted to give them a reminder for the coming generations.

Now, you may not think it too extraordinary for an almond stick (not the tree) to sprout, produce blooms and then ripe almonds overnight.  Did you know that it normally takes about six months from the time of the blooming until there are ripe almonds?  So, an overnight production would have been amazing.  God wanted this rod put in the ark as a reminder to them and future generations.

TEACHING MOMENT

Have you ever had your children question your authority as a parent?  If you haven’t, I pray you don’t.  But remember this – no amount of questioning can change the fact that YOU are the parent and YOU are in charge.  Children have to be reminded of that sometime, especially as they enter those teenage years.

This would be a great passage to show them.  God has established roles for each of us to fill.  Parents lead children, not the other way around.  Parents, especially fathers, have the responsibility to train their children.  Sometimes that is not easy.  That doesn’t diminish the responsibility.

Are you leading well?  Do you lead by intimidation or by love?  That is the key to leading your children.  I haven’t said this in a while, but you are not just raising children.  You are raising child raisers.  You are raising your grandchildren’s parents.  Remember that.

Holy Father, remind me daily of my responsibilities to lead my children.  Teach me to lead as You lead me.  Let my children rise up and call me holy because of You.

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HOW LONG?

 Numbers 14:11 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?’”

STUBBORN PEOPLE

We can all agree the Israelites were a little stubborn, right?  They had witnessed all the miracles God had done to free them from bondage, but still they murmured and moaned against God.  How dare they?  Were they just plain stupid?

Hold on now!  We are the same.  God does amazing things in our lives, beginning with salvation, and we still doubt His sufficiency.  We still question His power.  Well, maybe not in those words, but by our disbelief.  Surely a God who can save us from eternal damnation can take care of the day to day things we face.

TEACHING MOMENT

Your children will learn to trust Him and be less stubborn as they watch you do the same.  Do they hear you worrying about paying that bill on time or do they hear you asking God for wisdom about it?  Do they witness you to trying to “make something happen” or do they watch you pray and leave it to Him?

Our children are little sponges and will soak up whatever we squeeze out.  What are you squeezing out right now? Is it something you want them repeating?  If not, then stop.  Point them to Jesus.

I don’t know about you, but I can be very judgmental of the Israelites.  I think I would have acted differently.  But when I get honest, I am just like them at times.  For that, I am sorry.  I desire to live in a way that is totally dependent on Him.  How about you?

Eternal God, show me how to trust You more?  I believe You are able to do all things in and through me. Let me show that by my actions.

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JUST REST

 Psalm 46:10a “‘Cease striving and know that I am God;’”

THIS IS TOO MUCH WORK

 Have you ever felt like living the Christian life is too much work?  Most of us, at one time or another, have probably felt that way and maybe even said it.  But this verse speaks to that perfectly.  When we realize it is NOT up to us, we can rest and “cease striving.”

We will never walk perfectly with God.  We are going to have ups and downs.  We are going to fall flat on our face.  We are going to do or say things that aren’t godly.  Not on purpose, mind you, but accidentally (sin for a believer should always be an accident and not planned).  God tells us to let Him work through us.  He can do all things.

TEACHING MOMENT

This is one of the best lessons we can teach our children.  When little Gertrude or Elrod realize that they cannot live the Christian life on their own, they will have learned the secret to holy living.  It’s Christ IN us, the hope of glory.  He is the one who will live through them.

When they mess up point them back to Him.  When they feel like a failure, point them back to Him.  When they make a real stupid mistake and are afraid to tell you, point them back to Him.  He is their source of faith, not you.

Have you ceased striving?  Or are you still trying to get it all done through your strength or intellect?  Stop it – NOW!  Let Jesus live in and through you by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He can do it.

Lord of glory, teach me to rest in You.  Help me to let go of my striving.  Take my hand and lead me into the green pastures

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RISE UP, LORD!

 Numbers 10:35-36 “35 Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, ‘Rise up, O Lord! And let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You.’ 36 When it came to rest, he said, ‘Return, O Lord, to the myriad thousands of Israel.’”

PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE

 Every time the cloud or pillar of fire moved, Moses would say these words.  Every time!  Now they didn’t move every day, but I just wonder how many times Moses said this.  Remember, Moses wasn’t just talking to a cloud.  He was talking to Jehovah God, the same God who spoke to him above the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies.

Can you picture the scene?  If you were a pagan living in the land and saw this happen, what you have thought?  I would think I would have wanted to know more about these people and their God.  How about today?  Do people observe you and say the same thing?  Or do you look any different?

TEACHING MOMENT

 I am thankful my two children and all four of my grandchildren are different.  They are all unique individuals.  But what I desire most for them is that they walk differently than the world.  I want others to see Jesus in them.  I pray they see that in me.

It is so easy for our children to blend in with the world.  We need to look different.  We need to act different. We need to sound different.  We don’t have a cloud or a pillar of fire leading us around, but as believers we do have the Holy Spirit leading us.  He is the same Spirit that led the Israelites.  He is just as powerful.  Our children need to understand that.

Are you living and behaving in such a way that others around you  ask you about it?  Do they wonder what is different about you?  They should.  They should see that you are very different.  Tell them why.

Lord, You make us different because of Your Spirit that lives within us.  Peel back my flesh and let it shine through.  Help me to tell others today about You and all You have done for me.

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GETTING READY TO WORK

 Numbers 8:21 “The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes; and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the Lord. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.”

IT’S NOT JUST A WARDROBE THING

 Numbers chapter 8 is a detailed description of what the Lord told Moses and Aaron to do to the Levites to prepare them to serve Him.  Cleansing their bodies, sacrifices to make and what to wear.  But verse 21 says, “The Levites, too, purified themselves from sin and washed their clothes.”  You see, preparation wasn’t just done to them or for them.  They had to prepare themselves to serve the Lord.

What do you do to get ready to serve?  How do you prepare your heart and mind?  I am amazed sometimes at the amount of effort or the lack of effort that goes into getting ready physically for worship.  Some people come dressed like a fashion magazine.  Others look like they just rolled out of bed.  But have they prepared their hearts?

TEACHING MOMENT

 Children watch us in regards to how we serve and how we prepare to serve.  We model this for them.  Worship and service to our Lord is a holy thing and should not be taken lightly.  So how do our children see us doing that.  Do they hear, “Kids, get a move on.  We can’t be late or we’ll miss the doughnuts.”  Maybe they hear us behind closed doors say, “I really don’t want to go church tomorrow.  There are so many hypocrites there.”

Your little Susie or Johnny need to know that our privilege to worship and serve our Savior is a high calling.  It is something they should want to emulate in us.  They should see joy radiating from us as we prepare ourselves to serve.

If you, like me, sometimes dread church, repent.  I’m not saying not going to church is a sin.  But I am saying our negative attitudes about church is.  Remember, Christ died for the church.  We should love the Body of Christ as much as He did and desire to see it flourish and grow.

Forgive me, Father, for my negative attitude at times about church.  Forgive me of not being full of joy.  Help me show others how to worship and serve through my obedience.

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