Day 74: Josh 15:1 - 17:18

This group of Scripture is somewhat of a difficult one to read because it's mostly names and places that are very difficult to pronounce. The one thing that God has shown me about this passage is this: 5 years prior to this point, the Israelites owned nothing but their own little tents that they had to move and all that was inside their tents, but now each and every tribe has miles and miles of wide open country that God has blessed them with. I don't know about you, but I've gone through times when it felt like all I owned was the clothes on my back and a few meaningless trinkets, but God wants to bless us to the point where it'll take years and years to fully utilize the blessings that He's given us. I can only imagine how the tribes of Israel felt when they first walked onto the land that now belonged to them. They owned land as far as the eye could see, not because of their own works, but because of the blessing of God.

- Father, thank You for being willing and able to expand my boundaries and give me so much more room than I presently have. I will stand firm and follow You till the end because I know that if I will remain faithful to You, You will remain faithful to me. -

Day 73: Josh 11:23 - 14:15

The best part of these verses has to be the very end where Caleb talks about his own plans. Caleb was 40 years old when he and the other 11 spies went into the Promised land, and he was one of only 2 who brought back a good report. Caleb was one of only 2 Israelites living in the Promised Land who had ever seen it before and God gave him the incredible blessing of not only staying alive, but staying fit and strong so he could move into the land God had given him and drive out the inhabitants. This passage is such a great reminder that even if our integrity isn't rewarded at the moment it's shown, if we will continue in that integrity and not waiver, God will honor that and bless it and in the end, we'll see bigger and stronger blessings than we could've ever imagined. Almost all of the men Caleb's age were already dead, but God blessed Caleb with supernatural youth so he could go and do all that God had called him to.

- Lord, help me to live my life with integrity and not sway to the right or to the left. I know that even if my integrity isn't rewarded right now by carnal means, if I will stay the course, I will see the reward of my integrity and will go places none of my peers could ever dream of! -

Day 72: Josh 9:1 - 11:22

I love these verses because they simply show what can happen when you follow God and rely on Him to push you forward. It's so awesome to think that God helped the Children of Israel in so many ways because He made them a promise and they acted on it. Not only did He give them an incredible plan to surround their enemies and ambush them from behind, but He was also willing to do exactly what Joshua asked and make the sun and the moon stand still long enough for the Children of Israel to win a total victory over their enemies. These victories were of a scale that the Israelites just dreamt about only months before and now God was making it all a reality because they were confident in what God promised them and confident in the anointed leader that God provided them with.

Lord, I want to see this sort of victories in my life just as the Children of Israel did. I haven't exactly been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, but I've definitely seen a little bit of the desert and I'm ready to march into the land of milk and honey that You've promised me. Help me to keep my confidence in You and to stand firm behind the leaders that You've put in my life so I can march into the Promised Land and take it all! - 

Day 71: Josh 6:1 - 8:35

In this passage, we see the importance of listening to God rather than just going after things for ourselves. It's fascinating to see how there were some cities that God commanded the Children of Israel to to completely destroy everything and not leave a single person or animal alive and then there are other cities where God allowed them to plunder the cities and take their livestock. The fact is, if the Israelites had checked with God first before they attacked Ai the first time, they would've learned that Achan had stolen goods from Jericho and they could've taken care of everything before they sent those men off to be killed. I', sure God had different rules for different cities for many reasons, but I can't help but think that one of the reasons the rules were different was so that the Children of Israel would learn to listen to God rather than their own plans or agendas.

- Father, help me to always follow Your Word and not just what I think would be a good idea. Alot of times, it's easy to know what You want us to do, but not take the time to find out how You want us to do it. Help me to remember that if You've called me to do something, it's definitely worth doing it right the first time. - 

Day 70: Josh 2:1 - 5:15

I'm not exactly sure what the Ark of the Covenant is a picture of, but I think it's mostly a picture of the presence of God and it reminds us of the importance of having God in the middle of all that we do. The Levites taking the Ark of the covenant right up to the banks of the Jordan River and walking right through is such a great picture of how our lives should be. It's interesting to note that when the Israelites were standing at the banks of the Red Sea, everyone was in a state of panic and they weren't sure how they would ever get across, but at the banks of the Jordan, God told them what to do and they simply obeyed Him. It's a very important reminder to us that if we will just let God's presence go before us and lead the way, we can have confidence that He'll take care of the obstacles and give us the perfect opportunity to allow God to work.

- Lord, help me to keep my trust in You and to always put You first in all that I do. I know that if I step out into the river alone, I'll be swept away, but if I will put my faith in You and let You go before me, You'll stop the river and allow me to walk through to my destiny on dry land! - 

Day 69: Deut 32:30 - Josh 1:18

Wow, it seems like the last 69 days have, in some way, lead up to this pivotal moment in the Bible. The Israelite people have existed for over 500 years at this point and they've never seen a land that they can call their own. Their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were nomads, and after Joseph died, the entire nation was subject to being slaves and servants to the Egyptians for 400 years! This is such an exciting point in the Bible because I know we've all been at this point whether on a huge scale or perhaps maybe something personal. I believe what God is saying is that we are about to enter into the land that He has given us and we won't have to wait anymore. Soon, we'll be able to look back and see all that we went through to get where we are now and we'll be so thankful for each and every step we took. Whether it's a huge turning point in your life or a small personal battle that is about to end, know that God is right there with you and if you'll let Him, He'll take you all the way to victory!

- Father, thank you for taking me as far as You have. Give me the strength and resolve necessary to finish the job You've put ahead of me so I can go forward and take the land that is rightfully mine. Thank You for being my provision and my portion and thank You in advance for the victory that I am about to experience! -

Day 68: Deut 29:29 - 32:2

Although most of this passage is more warning of how things will be if the Children of Israel turn from God, the first part of it is a wonderful picture of that recurring theme in the Bible - redemption. Although there were some pretty bad curses to come upon the people if they turned from God, He made sure to let them know that if they would repent and turn from their man-made gods and follow the True God, He would forgive them and turn everything around for them. I know I personally have a tendency to assume that if it's in the Old Testament, it's all going to involve God being mean and strict and not forgiving or redeeming them from their sins, but we have to remember that God is the same yesterday today and forever. He offered redemption in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and He still offers is today to those who will take it.

- Lord, thank you for the mercy that You offer to those who have turned away from You. It's easy to think and to preach about Your wrath for those who disobey and Your blessings for those who are obedient, but just as important in the mercy and forgiveness that You offer those willing to accept it. Help me to know the words to say and the actions to do to help spread Your Word to a generation who needs forgiveness more than anything else. - 

Day 67: Deut 28:1 - 29:28

If there's one passage in the entire Bible that spells out the contrast between following God and rejecting God, it's this one. God couldn't have done a more convincing job explaining to His children the consequences of turning away from Him. Although it's easy to read this passage and think, "Oh, that was back when people were under the law. None of that stuff applies to us." But the fact is, although we do live under God's grace and we don't necessarily have to be afraid of following every single rule to the T, if we reject our Heavenly Father and turn to our own devices and do only the things that we want to do, all of the things listed in these passages can and will be released into our lives. I don't know about you, but I want the blessings.

- Lord, help me to not turn away from You. In this day and age, it's easy to get distracted and justify turning a deaf ear to Your Word, but I know that there's no excuse for leaving You. I want the blessings that You have promised, not the curses. I want to be able to tell my children that I did all You told me to do, and not for my children to tell someone else that their parents were destroyed because they wouldn't obey God. I choose the blessing! -

Day 66: Deut 24:1 - 27:26

I picked out a section in this passage that I've read many times before, but I think this would be a good time to talk about it. There are lots of places where God tells His people to not gather up every grape or olive or piece of grain. I used to always think that these were what they were supposed to leave as some sort of "tithe," but God shows specific instructions for their tithes. This command is simply God telling His children to share what He has blessed them with. Sadly, that concept is completely opposite from what our society today tells us. Our world is so full of people who do all they can to save and keep every single penny and every piece of worldly treasure that they can, but God wants to remind us of the better more full life we can have if we'll just give to those in need. God didn't say that they have to give everything away, He just wanted them to mindful of those in need because there's no telling when things could turn around and those who were living in abundance before may be on the other end of this commandment.

- Lord, give me a charitable heart. Help me to think beyond myself and my own little needs and wants and help me to look at who I can help today. You've blessed me with so many blessings and there's no reason for me to think that I am supposed to waste them all on myself. Help me to find someone today to bless so that I can spread Your love all around. - 

Day 65: Deut 21:1 - 23:25

In these verses, Moses goes back over simple common courtesy rules and regulations. To be honest, this is definitely one of those places in the Bible where it's somewhat difficult to get a whole lot of content to write about, especially since it's basically a review from Moses to the Children of Israel. I guess the one thing I could bring back up is God's genuine concern for our day-to-day lives. God isn't just concerned with the "big picture," He wants to have a hand in everything we do no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. God wants our whole lives, not just the life we live on Sunday morning and Wednesday night. God wants us to think about Him even when we're all by ourselves and nobody is around to see what we're doing. I think in a nutshell, these passages are really all about integrity - the way you act when there's nobody watching. There are only certain levels of human accountability that we can live under, but God wants us to always be accountable to Him in everything we do.

- Lord, help me to remain accountable to You in everything I do. Help me to remember that even if nobody else is watching, You are and You're the highest authority I could ever answer to. Help me to be a man of integrity and live my life as if everyone is watching even when You're the only one who sees me. - 

Day 64: Deut 16:22 - 20:2

In this passage, we see a few times where God expresses very plainly that if someone or something is a cancer to the tribe, that they or it should be destroyed as soon as possible. That's exactly how it should be with our lives when there's something cancerous in our spirits. God doesn't want us to deal with it or see if we can fix it or turn it around, He wants us to destroy it. This concept is especially difficult with relationships. So many times people have certain relationships in their lives that are bringing them down away from God, and as much as we would rather just try to change the other person or somehow "fix" the relationship, we must realize that perhaps the only way to take care of it is to kill the relationship and let God take care of it. We serve an absolute God and His very nature requires that He demand absolute obedience.

- Father, Help me to be absolutely obedient to you when You ask me to make sacrifices. Even when I think I've got things under control, help me to ignore what I think or feel and just listen to what You're saying. I would rather lose everything I have here and be in right-standing with my Heavenly Father than hold on to something that could end up destroying my relationship with You. -

Day 63: Deut 13:1 - 16:21

This passage deals with honoring God in so many different areas of our lives. Honoring God is such a tricky subject because although it does involve us performing certain outward actions to show our love and devotion to God, more than anything, it's a matter of the heart. God didn't give the people the rules because He thought the rules would bring honor, He gave the children of Israel the rules because oftentimes, the you have to do right before you'll end up feeling right. God knows that if He can get us to redirect our daily actions and habits and form habits that bring glory and honor to Him, then our hearts will also turn towards Him and bless Him.

- Lord, help me to honor You in everything that I do. Help me not to mindlessly "follow" the rules simply because they're rules and that's what I'm supposed to do, but help me to follow them so I can begin to exercise my body and form the proper habits so as to best show You honor. -

Day 62: Deut 10:1 - 12:32

When God sent the Children of Israel into the promised land, He sent them there to get rid of everything and everyone in their way. At the end of this passage, it talks about the risk of getting curious and finding out more about the people that they were called to conquer. I think there are alot of Christians who have fallen into that trap that the devil has set. Of course, the first thing that comes to my mind is Christian musicians. Regardless of what genre or style they play, the bigger they get, the more exposure they get to new things. I've seen and heard of so many Godly men and women "making it big" in the music industry and totally spoiling it all on drugs and all sorts of other things. The fact that all of that happened in no way means that it was against God's will for them to become professional musicians, it just means that they allowed themselves to be distracted and they looked towards the new "opportunities" and "experiences," and lost sight of God. We must remember that God is going to send us into places where we must be strong in order to spread His love and the message that He wants us to spread. And if we turn our heads for one moment, we could very easily stumble and start on a path that could take years to correct.

- Lord, give me the strength to stay on the path and do exactly what you've called me to do. I know that as I go farther and dig deeper in with You that the devil will begin throwing things at me from all directions, but I know that if I will just keep my eyes on you and not be distracted, You will guide me all the way to the end! - 

Day 61: Deut 6:25 - 9:29

The first part of this passage really spoke alot to me about how God chooses His people. First, God reminds them exactly what they're supposed to do and then he reminds them why He chose them. I think there are alot of people out there who think that they have a call from God on their lives because they've got some sort of special talent or because they're really smart or have alot of money. The truth is, God doesn't care about any of that stuff. The thing that gets God's attention is our heart. It's so easy living in this secular world to forget that and think that God is going to "rate" us the same way the world does. We try to impress God or try to show up other Christians because we think that God makes His decisions on insignificant, skin-deep factors. The bottom line is, if we want God's favor, we have to seek Him, and only then will we see the blessings that He has for us.

- Father, help me to keep my heart in the right place. Lord, it's so easy to get caught up in the rat race, always trying to impress others or trying to impress You, but I want to get out of that race and just put my eyes on You. I know that You favor comes when I will be faithful and love You, and I chose to make that my goal in every aspect of my life. -

Day 60: Deut 4:19 - 6:24

We see in these passages a very important and fundamental subject of Scripture - The sovereignty of God. This passage is just a wonderful reminder of the fact that we serve a jealous God and that's all there is to it. God desires to be the only One that we will ever serve and He makes it very clear in these passages that we will never know true love, success, or peace unless we are following him. Another part of this passage that really meant alot to me is the part where He talks about God's ready willingness to accept us back whenever we're ready. The fact is that God doesn't really need us, we're the one's who need Him, and that's how it will always be. I personally love the picture of a merciful God pointed out in Chapter 4 verses 29 - 31. He is a God who is above all a compassionate God.

- Lord, help me to never stray from You. Give me the strength to keep following Your Word and never let go of the things that You've given me. Show me the words to say and the actions to take to spread Your love to those around me and help me to communicate to them the fact that if they are willing to come back to You, You are more than willing to accept them. - 

Day 59: Deut 1:46 - 4:18

One very prominent theme that I see in this passage is the theme of victory. It seems there are some people in this world that think that living a Godly life means making every possible sacrifice and not being able to enjoy success and prosperity, but I'm pretty sure this is a nice example of just the opposite. God doesn't want us to barely make it through life. He doesn't want us to make it to the end having made absolutely no difference on anyone's life because we were too busy failing and trying to catch up. God's will is for us to march forward and take the land that He has ordained for us to take!

- Father, help me to always remember that I am called to be more than a conqueror. Your will isn't for me to barely make it through this life, but You want me to excel and move forward and make a true impact on the world around me. Help me to always remember that and never shy away from what You have called me to do. If You tell me to do it, then You are faithful to give me the tools necessary make it through. - 

Day 58: Num 35:1 - Deut 1:45

I find the story about the daughters of Zelophehad very interesting and somewhat comforting. Basically, these are girls who, by no fault of their own, have ended up in a situation where they would normally according to the rules not get any sort of inheritance from their ancestors and therefore, their family lineage would end with them. Instead of God just telling them that's the way things go and they'll just have to deal with it, He made an exception to make sure that they were taken care of. I'm not sure how things have been with you, but there have been plenty of times in my life where it seemed that I wasn't from the right family or I didn't have the right kind of money or I wasn't as educated as those around me. It's wonderful to have faith in the fact that God doesn't care about all of the things that the world cares about. What He cares about is loving His children and making sure that they receive the promises He has given them regardless of what the world is throwing their way.

- Lord, thank You for Your willingness to look beyond the situations and to take care of Your children even when it looks like there's no way out. Thank You for making us the priority and not making traditions or rules the most important thing. Help me to always remember that it doesn't matter how things look to me, You love me and You will always provide a solution if I will put my faith in You. - 

Day 57: Num 33:1 - 34:29

Throughout this whole passage, there's one verse that really sticks out to me. It's somewhat of a repeat of what I wrote about a couple of days ago, but I really feel like I should  go ahead and cover it again. The verse says, ". . . But if you don't dive out the native population, everyone you let stay there will become a cinder in your eye and a splinter in your foot." Now, in our society, I don't exactly endorse attacking other groups of people, killing them, and taking their land, but I can compare the native people to worldly living. It's very common to see people get born again and give their lives to Jesus, but alot of times, they don't end up giving their entire lives to Jesus. It can often times be very difficult to get rid of something you're used to just because it's the "right thing," but we need to understand that it's not only right for living a blessed life, it's a necessity. If there are any worldly areas in your life right now that you're holding on to maybe because it's hard to let go, or perhaps you don't really think it's a problem, I very strongly urge you to get rid of them. The truth is, if it hasn't already happened, those issues can and will become a serious cinder in your eye and a splinter in your foot, and although they may not necessarily send you to hell, they can definitely be a  big hindrance to your walk with God.

- Father, reveal to me and areas of my life that may be a cinder or a splinter in my life. I don't want to simply live a life that it comfortable and familiar, I want to live a life under Your blessings so that I can, in turn, go out and bless others. Thank You for giving me the strength to make sure my life is pure so that I can walk in Your blessings all the days of my life! - 

Day 56: Num 31:19 - 32:42

Once again, I learned something totally new about the Children of Israel that I didn't know before. I had always assumed that all of the Israelites went ahead and moved into the promised land when it was time. In this passage, we learn that the tribes of Gad and Reuben had an interesting request and God granted that request. Instead of moving into the promised land with the rest of the Israelites, they asked if they could go in with them and help them defeat the people there, but once all that was done, if they could move back into part of the land that they had wandered through. And believe it or not, God granted their request and allowed them to do that! I'm not sure why this story surprised me as much as it did, but it's so amazing to see God's willingness  to satisfy some of our hopes and dreams as long as we are willing to obey His Word. Something that we sometimes fail to remember is that God's number one concern is us, and although He's not willing to give into each and every one of our selfish, humanistic requests, He is willing to listen to us and make Us happy as long as our number one objective is Him. 

- Father, help me to remember that You truly do love me and You love to bless me. I understand that my desire should always be to seek You first and if I will, You will make everything else happen. Thank You loving me and for blessing me even though there's nothing I could ever do to deserve it. -

Day 55: Num 28:31 - 31:18

As gruesome as this story is, the story of the Israelites attacking Midian had a very interesting point. When the army attacked, they killed all of the men and burned the cities to the ground, but they kept the women and children alive. When they returned with the women, Moses was really upset and reminded them that the women were the ones who seduced them in the first place and caused a plague to enter the camp. What I got from this passage is that when God tells us to clean ourselves up or take care of something in our lives, we're responsible for cleaning it all up, not just the major parts of it. If you have a sin problem in your life, God doesn't just want you to "try" to get better and see about removing the major parts of your life in sin, He expects us to totally and absolutely clean ourselves up so that there's no remnant of that old sin in our lives. 

- Father, help me to listen when You speak and help me to do those things that You command all the way too the fullest. Give me the strength to completely obey you and not just carry out the things that are easy and convenient for me. After all, how can I expect You to bless me to the fullest if I can't obey You to the fullest? - 

Day 54: Num 26:24 - 28:30

It seems to me like it's a little early in the story to be introducing Joshua into the mix, but in this passage we read where God tells Moses to pick Joshua as his successor. I think this is a very important part that is sometimes overlooked when we read the Bible. God's intention is not for us to become great leaders and do great things and then just disappear and leave all we did in the dust. It's so easy to get hung up on what I need to do for God and where I'm going and how I'm going to make it happen, but we should always be at the place where there is someone underneath us who we're trying to help, trying to develop, and trying to get them to the place where God is calling them to be. Once principal that I've always believed is that the best way to learn how to get better at something is to teach it to someone else. God doesn't just want us to live our lives for ourselves, He wants us to reach out and disciple others so we can all reach God's call on our lives together.

- Father, show me someone that I can work with as a mentor. I don't want to go the rest of my life being focused on myself and my agenda, but I want to know that I'm helping someone else get where they need to be. Just like You're concerned with me and where I'm going, I want to be able to help get someone else to the calling that You've placed on their life. -  

Day 53: Num 23:12 - 26:23

I've always enjoyed the story of Balaam and Balak because it's a wonderful example of how unstoppable we are when we're being obedient to God's Word. I'm amazed at how stupid Balak was. I mean, Balaam blessed Israel the first time, and yet Balak thought that things would be different if he kept trying. This is a great reminder that all we have to do is be faithful to God, and He will take care of everything else. Balaam could've gotten really nervous and worried and he could've just made up a curse for the Children of Israel so that he could collect his money and get out of there without hurting anyone's feelings, but he didn't. Balaam was faithful to do what he believed God was telling him and he pressed on and said exactly what he was supposed to say. I know that if we will be faithful to listen to God and walk through the doors that He opens for us, we can do amazing things for Him regardless of the circumstances around us.

- Lord, help me to take example from this passage and not be worried or affected by the situations around me. Keep me in remembrance of the fact that, as long as I'm following Your Word, You are the one pulling the strings and  if I will submit myself to You, You can do mighty works through me that can change nations! -

Day 52: Num 21:1 - 23:11

Here we see a very interesting paradox that I've never noticed regarding the Children of Israel. One would initially assume that if the Israelites were cursed and prevented from moving into the promised land, that the 40 years prior to them entering would be full of terrible losses and  curses, but we see in these passages that even in the dark times of living outside the initial will of God, these people were blessed! Now, of course, these blessings that they were enjoying were in no way comparable to the blessings that they would've seen had they just been obedient to God, but nonetheless, when God's blessing is on you, you can't escape it. I can only assume that at some point, I probably would've been OK with just living in the wilderness. I mean, according to these passages, the children of Israel were kicking tail and taking names! But we always need to remember that although God is a merciful God and He will allow us  to be blessed even after we've ignored His Word, there's no better place to be than right in the middle of His will.

Father, help me to stay put right in the middle of Your will. It's easy to get distracted and content with the smaller blessings that come with the simple favor that You've placed on our lives, but I don't want marginal blessing. I want to be blessed more than I can handle. I don't just want to be successful, I want to be blessed with a blessing that can't fade with the changing seasons. I don't want to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, I am going to be bold and have the Faith of God and do what You've called me to do!

Day 51: Num 18:1 - 20:29

It's so easy at times to feel that we have to take matters into our own hands and take care of things our own way. God told Moses to go down to a rock and simply speak to it to bring water forth, but Moses just had to do it his own way, and he payed dearly for it. I'd like to sit and say that Moses was such an idiot for doing that, but to be honest, I think I probably would've done the exact same thing. It's so difficult to just relax and ignore the pressures building up all around us, but God will give us the strength. In my opinion, Moses was totally justified in getting upset and throwing a mini temper tantrum by smacking the rock a few times to show the Israelites how mad he was. Unfortunately, for me and Moses, my opinions have absolutely no bearing on how God makes His decisions. So instead of putting our own spin on how we think things should be handled, we just need to have faith that God knows exactly what He's doing. 

- Lord, I want to do Your will exactly how You say it when You say it. I know I've definitely had the tendency to try to make things happen my own way, but I know that Your way is the only way to get things done. Thank you for showing us step by step what to do and Give me the strength to always follow Your Word. - 

Day 50: Num 15:20 - 17:13

Here we see a classic example of the dangers of rebellion. You know, there is definitely a time to confront a spiritual leader if they truly are operating outside of the anointing and doing things for their own benefit, but we must always understand that that's God's call, not ours. I've seen so many people in the body of Christ fall away because they weren't able to simply submit to a spiritual leader and let God take care of the rest. We must always understand that it's not our responsibility to make sure the pastor is in line. God is responsible for making sure that happens, and I've also seen plenty of examples where God took care of pastors who weren't following Him - and He didn't "take care of it" by getting a group of people to run the pastor out of town. My point is this, our hearts must always be aimed towards God and not towards what our emotions or our opinions tell us. If we will focus on God, He will tell us when to speak up and when to keep our mouths shut.

- Lord, help me to not allow rebellion to enter my heart. I've seen it happen in my own heart and I've seen it happen in others and it never ends well. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You and remind me that even if I'm not being treated right at the moment, Your Word says that vengeance belongs to You, not me. -

Day 49: Num 13:13 - 15:19

The moral to this story is pretty straight forward - When we turn our backs on what God has promised us, there's not much hope for success. Something my dad has always said is, "You should never put a question mark where God put a period." All the children of Israel had to do was go up and take the land that God had promised them, but instead they allowed doubt and fear into their hearts and they sealed their fate after God had already offered it to them. How many times have we simply ignored God's open hand because we though it was just impossible for us to accomplish what He called us to? That is why we must always stay vigilant and never back down and when God offers us something, we have to keep strong and hold onto the faith that we have in Him and He is obligated to bring s through to the other side.

- Lord, help me to never question Your Word. It so easy to get scared and think that maybe I'm not hearing you correctly, but help me to always hear and listen when You speak to  me. I know that regardless of what I think or how I feel, if You said that it will come to pass, then all I have to do is believe You and it will happen. - 

Day 48: Num 10:15 - 13:12

Isn't it funny how God always knows what's best for us? Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a a while for us to realize that. The ironic part of this story is that although God knew what was best for the Children of Israel, He was still willing to give them exactly what they asked for. Instead of being thankful to God for all of the amazing blessings that He gave them, they ended up sitting around whining about not having any meat. Well it turns out that God heard their complaints and gave them exactly what they wanted - piles and piles of meat. In fact, God gave them so much meat that they ended up gorging themselves on bad meat and some of them even died. The lesson here is pretty simple. Instead of complaining to God about the blessings that we haven't seen yet, maybe we should just learn to thank Him for what He has given us and there's no telling the extent of His blessings.

- Lord, help me to not take for granted the blessings that You've given me. It's easy to have the "grass is greener on the other side" mentality, but I know that the only place I want to be is right in the middle of Your blessings. Thank You for all of the blessings that You've given me and for all of the blessings You will give me if I'll just keep my eyes on You. -

Day 47: Num 7:68 - 10:14

You know, I've never really given much thought to the pillar of smoke/fire that lead the Israelites. Sometimes, it's easy to think that God only give us guidance and direction in small subtle ways that are almost indistinguishable unless you know exactly what you're looking for, but we see in this enormous part of Biblical history that God worked on enormous scales as well. Sadly enough, there are alot of people today who sit around wondering where they're supposed to go when God is  standing right above them holding the door open and waiting for them to walk through. How terrible would it have been if Moses had ignored the pillar that God provided him and he just sat around trying to figure it out on his own? God probably would've just gotten rid of him and started over fresh.

- Lord, help me to pay attention to the signs that You are showing me. I know one fault of the human race is that sometimes we try to over-complicate things when You're trying to make them plain and simple. Thank You for giving us signs and holding the door open for us so that we can march out into the destiny that You've planned for us! - 

Day 46: Num 6:1 - 7:67

In the first part of this passage, we learn about the Nazarene vow. God wants His people to be specifically consecrated to Himself and this is a great picture of that. God doesn't want us to just be like everyone else and just serve Him when things are going bad or when  it's Sunday. God wants us to separate our lives so that it's absolutely clear who we serve. There are alot of people out there who want God as some sort of "fire insurance," but they don't actually want to have to alter their lives in order to follow Him. God wants us to be willing to give up whatever He tells us not necessarily because those things are bad, but because He wants to make sure that He's number one in our lives no matter what.

- Lord, help me to consecrate myself to You. It's easy living in this world to end up becoming just like everyone else, but I know that You require more of me. Help me to keep Your Word in my heart and always be mindful of what You are telling me to do. And I pray that You help me to be willing to give up whatever You want me to give up regardless of whether or not it's a sin. Thank You for setting Your people apart and giving us what it takes to be a light in a dark world. -