Obligations

The photo below of the National Capitol was taken by my daughter when she went on a school trip to Washington D.C. in 2012. Federal governments take our taxes with an obligation to use it wisely but all governments around the world are in debt. They’ve put themselves and the people they serve in a big hole that gets deeper and deeper.

This day with God, we are reading Numbers 30 about obligations. The Israelites were obligated to keep vows made with God and there were regulations as to how a person could break them. They took it seriously and had a responsibility to speak up if things did not seem right. A man was obligated to a vow or pledge made to the Lord. A young woman’s vow or pledge could be nullified by her father and a married woman’s vow or pledge could be nullified by her husband.

National leaders need to be held to account in how they handle their obligations to the people they serve. Politicians make promises that they know could never come about in order to get more votes. Their promises hurt a lot of people and in the end, it hurts themselves because the people loose trust in their ability to come through. If a business were to consistently be in debt, they would go bankrupt and the natural economic cure would be that a well-run company would take its place in the market place.

This day with You Lord, we’ve learned that our obligations are important and we need to keep our word. You have high standards and that is a good thing. You give us the Holy Spirit, grace, and the power to help. Each day, we grow toward a higher standard by studying Your Word, prayer, and living out each day doing our best at meeting our obligations. Amen.

 

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Offerings of Praise

Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. – Psalm 33:3

As pointed out in the post “Special Days”, offerings to God involved a lot of preparation but now we can make offerings to God by enthusiastically living with a purpose, worshiping with eagerness, and being interested in sharing with others.

Let us offer our praises today with the song Wonder by Hillsong United and enthusiastically share the wonder of God’s world bursting in living color.
 

 

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Special Days

This special day with God will be amazing because we are making every day count. We are reading the Bible, praying, and sharing with others about our journey. Today we are reading in Numbers 28-29 about special days that require offerings.

Israel had to bring the right sacrifices at the right time so the Lord would bless them. The special days highlighted in this passage are the Sabbath, New Moon (first day of every month), Passover (Jan. 14-21), Unleavened Bread (15-21 of each month), Festival of Weeks (First Fruits), Festival of Trumpets (July 1), Day of Atonement (July 10), Festival of Tabernacles (July 15 – 22).

There is tremendous detail in the preparation of these offerings in order to please God. Detail in what offerings are given, when they are given, and how they are given. The reason for these offerings is in preparing the heart for worship. We can be grateful that Jesus fulfills all of these offerings.

Each day is a special day to offer God our best. By accepting Christ in our heart, we can enthusiastically live with purpose, spur each other on, and have genuine concern for each other. We can marvel at the things around us, worship with songs of praise, and find excitement right where we are.

Many times we think the exciting things in life are far away but excitement might be right in your back yard. A sunset, a sunrise, wildlife, or birds in the sky. One special sunny day, we went downtown for an afternoon right in my hometown. Below is a photo.

Because of Magnolia Market at the Silos, tourism has picked up in Waco which is a city of about 120,000 population situated between Austin and Dallas. It had been a while since I had been downtown and was pleasantly surprised by all the new stores and entertainment venues. Sometimes an afternoon spent right where you are can be enjoyed more than going to some faraway place spending much time and money.

Lord, this day we are making it count. We’ve started with Your Word, we are sharing with others about how to apply Your Word, and we offer now this prayer. We want to have prepared hearts looking forward to fulfilling our purpose today and our future with enthusiasm by following Jesus. Amen.

 

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In the Footsteps of the Savior’s Shadow

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. – 1 Peter 1:18-19

As brought out in the post “The Next Generation”, Joshua had been in the shadow of Moses since he was a young man. He had learned from Moses over the years and gained the experience needed to take over as leader of the Israelites.

It’s the same with us as we accept the invitation to follow Christ. Here’s a song about being in our leaders shadow who guides us along the journey Savior’s Shadow by Blake Shelton. 
 

 

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The Next Generation

Reading in Numbers 27, plans were given for inheritance and succession of leadership for the next generation. If a man dies with no children, his inheritance was to be given to his nearest relative. As far as succession of leadership, Moses had prepared Joshua to take over.

At a young age, Joshua had been the aid to Moses. He was in the shadow of Moses learning how to be leader. He was one who explored the Promised Land and stood up for Moses and Aaron when the people were going against them. He was chosen along with Caleb to make it to the Promised Land but the other fighting men over the age of twenty at time would never make it.

Moses was coming to the end of his life and it was time to hand over the leadership to Joshua so he was commissioned in the presence of Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly as Moses laid his hands on Joshua. Moses told the people that Joshua had the authority and ability to lead them.

Learning from others and the experience we gain helps us in life to handle issues. Each of us has the chance to learn from our greatest helper the Holy Spirit as we learn from the Word, pray for the right actions, and obey the teachings of Jesus.

The photo below is of my dad on the far left along with his grandchildren and great grandchildren. The greatest resources we can hand off to future generations is our Christian values.

Lord, the journey can be burdensome but if we follow You we will get to our destination. We accept Your plan of grace, to be nourished by Your Word, and to always seek Your guidance. Just as Moses handed off leadership to Joshua, we seek ways to hand off what we learn along the journey to future generations. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

 

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