Pray for Healing

 

 

Thoughts for the Day September 30, 2020

 

As Christians we are called to be the light and salt on earth. Our country is hurting and dealing with a number of issues from a Pandemic to racial unrest to political division. As believers, we can begin healing our land through prayer. Today, let’s come together in prayer for the country we all love. 

 

We are told in  His Word—while speaking to King Solomon and the people of Israel—that when their nation experienced great difficulty that if “My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14, NASB) 

       Heal our Land

We pray for your great healing on our land. Shine your face on us dear God. We need you now, more than ever before. Our times are in your hands. Thank you that you are rich in mercy and full of grace. Thank you that you are forgiving and merciful. Thank you that you are strong and mighty. Thank you that you are for us and that you fight for us still today. Bring honor to your Name, Oh Lord, for You alone are worthy. - Debbie McDaniel

 Thoughts for the Day, September 28, 2020

In the United States over half a million people a year have their gallbladders removed. In China the word gallbladder is “dan” and  means bravery or courage. People in that country often joke other's  when they have had their gallbladders removed  that they have lost their courage.

 

Sometimes in life, it feels as if our courage has been  removed. Yesterday we looked at  a passage from Joshua that reminded us “to be strong and  courageous…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Whatever is testing your courage today, know that God is with you and will not forsake you for  “God is with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Have a blessed day knowing God is at your side…always

A Talking Donkey?

 

 

I guess it would be hard to leave the story of Balaam out of our journey with the Israelites. (Numbers 22:1-24:25). The Israelites had wandered for 40 years and are on the edge of the promised land. They camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan River. The king of Moab saw the Israelites and was afraid they would move in and take over. 

 

So, King Balak hired a pagan prophet named Balaam to curse the Israelites. But God spoke to Balaam. God warned Balaam to not curse the Israelites because God had blessed them. Initially, Balaam listened to God, but it’s not for nothing that he developed the nickname “the prophet for a profit.” Balaam traveled to talk to Balak about the situation. He hoped to get a greater reward from Balak.  So, God sent the Angel of the Lord with a sword to enforce Balaam’s obedience. Three times the angel stood in the way, and three times the donkey stopped. First the donkey went off the road. Then she ran into a wall. Finally, she lay down on the ground. Balaam didn’t understand why the donkey was stopping. He hit the donkey when she stopped, so God gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that you have beaten me three times?”(22:28)  Then God opened Balaam’s eyes to the Angel. 

 

Balaam realized his sin and said to God, “If you want me to go back home, I will.” God gave Balaam permission to continue as long as he spoke only the words God gave him. Balaam obeyed God; he spoke in four clear messages, insisting that God would bless the Israelites. Balaam’s fourth message was special because he said that one day the Lord would be born to the people of Israel. It was a special promise that went like this: “I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel.”  (24:17) After Balaam had said these things, he went home. Fourteen hundred years after Balaam announced Jesus’ birth, wise men followed a star to the place where Jesus was born. What an ending for us!

Healed and Saved

    

 

We will be moving on to the book of Joshua this Sunday, but we don’t want to miss the story in Numbers of the bronze serpent. This is the final and ninth murmuring story in the wilderness, and everything has escalated. In this biblical story the Israelites had to make a detour from Mount Hor to the Red Sea around the land of Edom.  Again, they complain and are impatient with God and Moses. In response God sent “fiery serpents.” Now in the Bible,  snakes generally have a negative connotation, but in the ancient world they have both a negative and positive connotation and are symbols of death, danger and fertility, life and healing. 

 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.(Numbers 21: 7-9)

 By looking at the bronze snake on the pole they were healed. In the book of John, Jesus has offered this story as a comparison to what He has done to heal and save us. In  John 3:14-15, Jesus refers to Moses’ lifting up the bronze serpent to give life to the people as a metaphor for Jesus’ being lifted up on the cross and then raised from the dead.  In  His willingness to die, we were made whole—in his resurrection we are given life eternal. Praise God!

 

 

 

Thoughts for the Day

The highpoint of Exodus occurred when the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. God did not come just to free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage,  but also to be in relationship with them.  What made the Israelites unique was that God himself was among His people. He would lead them wherever they traveled and dwelt amongst their midst when they set camp. 

 

“Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle…The cloud of the Lord hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys.” (Exodus 40:34, 38, NLT).

 

In the same way God  wants to lead  us through our life’s journey.  God not only saves us through  His Son’s sacrifice, He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. In the New Testament, Paul reminds us of that:

Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16, NLT) Why then do we stress and let anxiety take us over…we can rest because the Spirit lives within!

A Lasting Legacy

 

                               Thoughts for the Day September 15, 2020 

Yesterday we talked about Caleb who along with Joshua silenced the fearful other 10 spies by saying, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30). Caleb took his stand because he followed God wholeheartedly (Joshua 14:8-9) and because of that he was promised by Moses the land that he surveyed.  And while he had to wait many years, he was given the land. Forty years later, Caleb is reminding Joshua of this promise:

 

 ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, ⁸ but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear. I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. ⁹ So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.(Joshua 14:7-9)

At eighty, Caleb  had to fight the giants of that land in order to obtain it. From the accounts of the life of  Caleb, we see a faithful man who trusted God to fulfill His promises when others allowed their fears to override their small faith. Even into his later years, Caleb remained steadfast in his faith. God blessed Caleb for his faithfulness and patience, an encouragement to us to believe God. Like Caleb, we should be prepared to follow God in every circumstance, patiently waiting for Him to fulfill His promises and ready to take action when the time is right. Be safe and have a blessed day!

 

 

Thoughts for the Day September 14, 2020

 

Yesterday we journeyed with the Israelite spies into Canaan to scout the territory.  Moses sent spies, one from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Among them were Joshua and Caleb. All the spies agreed on the richness of the land, but ten of them said Israel could not conquer it because its inhabitants were too powerful and their cities were like fortresses. Only Caleb and Joshua dared to contradict them. We learned about Joshua and why he left a lasting legacy. Caleb too was bold in his faith as he spoke out  in assurance when returning from their mission:

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” (Numbers 13:30, NIV)

Caleb successfully spied out Canaan, on his mission from Moses. He survived 40 years of wandering in the desert, then on returning to the Promised Land, he conquered the territory around Hebron, defeating the giant sons of Anak. Caleb was physically strong, energetic in his old age, and resourceful in dealing with dilemmas.  Most importantly, he followed God with his whole heart—a quality God longs for in each of us.

Caleb knew that when God gave him a task to do, God would give him all he needed to complete that mission. Caleb spoke up for truth, even when he was in the minority. 

We can learn from Caleb that our own weakness brings an inpouring of God's strength. Caleb teaches us to be devoted to God and to expect him to be devoted to us in return. Let’s learn to be like him, totally sold out in our commitment to follow God and His truths. (Jack Zavada, “Meet Caleb: A Man Who Followed God Wholeheartedly”)

 

                            Thoughts for the day September 12, 2020

 

Today we have journeyed with the Israelites  and made our way to Mount Sinai where Moses is  receiving the giving of the Law to the nation of Israel. The Ten Commandments were given to teach the people how to live. Israel was the only nation with whom God has ever made such a covenant, making them both unique and blessed among  all the nations of the world.

 

The Decalogue, or 10 Commandments was one small section of the Mosaic Law that Israel received from the Lord Himself. The complete Law covered a wide range of moral; civil, religious and ceremonial ordinances. We of course are under a new covenant where Jesus explains  this, ¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  (Matthew 5: 17)

 

  And when asked which of these commandment is the greatest Jesus  told them this: 

         ³⁷ “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself^. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

Today, let these two commands penetrate your every move. For living  these  two commandments out in our daily lives can change the world!

 

Thoughts For the Day September 10, 2020

 

As we trek alongside our Israelite friends we find ourselves at the base of Mount Sinai where God called Moses up to speak to him: 

 

         Exodus 19:3–4: “And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.”

 

God reminds Moses that he destroyed those who enslaved them and that He carried them like a loving mother eagle to the place they are now. This imagery reminds me of a mother eagle training her babies. Scientists tell us that mother eagles teach their babies to fly by  hovering over the nest, spreading out its wings, then taking the babies and dropping them, and catching them mid-air until they learn to fly. This process is repeated until the babies learn to soar. Without this process, they will live like chickens and never soar like eagles. 

This is a beautiful image. He has cared for Israel  like a mother eagle takes care of their young training them to be like Him. The Lord led the Israelites out and uses this striking description of how God desires to work in our lives too. And today we see that He is still delivering people out of their own Egypt and bearing them on His wings. He wants us to learn how to fly and soar like eagles. This is a part of the great transformation process that forms us into the people He has called us to be. So instead of seeing your circumstances in a negative light—consider this—God is training you to soar like eagles! Have a blessed day.

 

 

                              Thoughts for the Day, September 7, 2020

 

Yesterday, we traveled with the Israelites from  Elim to the wilderness of Sin where God provided manna by day and meat by evening. Again, today we travel alongside the Israelites  who go in stages as the Lord commanded  from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim , but there was no water for the people to drink:

 

“The people quarreled with Moses, and said, ‘Give us water to drink.’ Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’ But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?’ So, Moses cried out to the Lord, ‘What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.’ The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink. Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” (Ex. 17: 1-7)

 

The wonderful gift we see in today’s story is that God was willing to work with the people, despite their grumbling,  thankless behavior. 

So, what does God do? God provides. Despite their testing and their quarreling, God still gives. It stands to reason, that after undergoing such trials Israel could be a little more thankful?

Maybe we can learn from the Israelites and be more gracious and  thankful, when everything does not go our way. Have a blessed day!

 

 

Thoughts for the Day, September 3, 2020

This week we have looked at the Israelites crossing at the Red Sea and how their Egyptian pursuers were drowned. Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites have finished singing, and now it is time to journey on. Moses leads the Israelites into the desert and they go for three days without finding water. This was a life-threatening situation. Finally, they came to some water and their hopes are dashed by the bitterness of the water. It was named Marah meaning bitter. But God showed Moses a piece of wood which Moses promptly threw into the water. Immediately the water was made sweet and the Israelites were able to drink it. Moses and company find themselves in a very bitter situation. They have been three days in the desert without coming upon a source of water. The water they have come to is undrinkable. Death is threatening and the people complained to Moses. Moses cried out to Yahweh and Yahweh made the bitter water sweet. Refreshing themselves, they are revived and journey onward. God takes something bitter, redeems and uses it for good. Maybe that is the message for us:  whatever bitter obstacles we encounter in life's journey we can count on God to transform them, to use and redeem them for good. 

 

 So, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became fit to drink. (Exodus 15: 24-25a)

Thoughts for the Day, September 1, 2020

 

Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”(Exodus 14:13-14)

 

 The passage we looked at yesterday leaves us with an interesting closing, “you need only to be still.”  Do you remember hearing these awful words from your mom when you were a kid—“just be still?” It means doing nothing. It  even seems  more difficult to just be still and do nothing when life is throwing  difficulty from every angle.  Can you imagine how the Israelites felt when they were surrounded by Pharaoh’s army on one side and the Red Sea on the other and they were told to “be still.” That is a hard thing to do. Our usual response in such a situation is to try and do something, anything. What can I do to change this? What can I do to fix this? What can I do? Nothing—“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  For God’s promise to his people then,  is the same for us today— “The Lord will fight for you; and all you have to do is keep still.”  The same God that showed his mighty power with the 10 plagues and the splitting of the Red Sea to deliver his people from Egypt is the same powerful God who promises to deliver you.  Do you feel overwhelmed and boxed in with difficulties? Maybe God is saying to you, “I’ve got this, just ‘be still !’”