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Christian Devotional – December 9, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 23:19–God is not human that he should lie, not a human being that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? TRUTH: Because we are around people so much, we get used to being skeptical about what they say and what they promise. However, God is not like that. If He says it, He’ll do it. We can count on Him to fulfill everything that He has promised that He would do. Do we trust in God and His promises? RESPONSE: Father, I praise You for being trustworthy. You always fulfill Your promises and I will never doubt…
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Christian Devotional – December 8, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 22:29–Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” TRUTH: Ok, so Balaam is traveling and his donkey moves off the path to avoid an angel intent upon killing his rider three times. Balaam gets angry and beats the donkey. Then the Lord opens the donkey’s mouth and the donkey asks why Balaam did that. Now Balaam must have been very angry because even a talking donkey didn’t shock him out of his anger. He didn’t even bother asking, “You can talk?” His anger that his pride had been wounded eclipsed…
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Christian Devotional – December 7, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 21:8–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.” TRUTH: The people grumbled and complained again, so the Lord allowed poisonous snakes to come into their camp. The people were dying as a result. They came to Moses and repented. Then the Lord told Moses to make a snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone who was bitten could look up to the pole and live. That would take such faith to do, because it makes no logical sense. It’s easy to look back and say that of course we…
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Christian Devotional – December 6, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 20:12–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.” TRUTH: God told Moses and Aaron to speak to a rock to bring fresh water, but they struck the rock with a staff instead. It doesn’t seem like a big difference, but to God, it was the difference between obedience and disobedience, between trusting in Him and not trusting in Him. Do we obey God’s commands completely? Or are we lazy with the details? God is concerned with the…
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Christian Devotional – December 5, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 19:22–Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening. TRUTH: The idea of being clean and unclean is not one that we talk about much in today’s culture. However, God is holy and pure. Therefore, the only options are to be either completely pure and holy like God, or else unclean. The people were not “sort of” clean or “mostly” clean, they were either considered completely clean or unclean. As we look at our life, we realize that God desires for us to be pure as He is, but we cannot manage that on our own. We sin and that…
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Christian Devotional – December 4, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 18:7–But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary is to be put to death. TRUTH: Being allowed to serve is a gift from God. We don’t often think of service as a gift, but one of the ways that God blesses us is by allowing us the opportunity to serve Him in special ways. Have we been blessed by God? Do we have opportunities to serve that we are overlooking? RESPONSE: Father, You have given me…
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Christian Devotional – December 3, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 17:5–The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout and I will rid myself of that constant grumbling against you by the Israelites. TRUTH: The people were challenging God’s plan again. They didn’t think that Aaron should be the priest. So, God created a test to show the people who He wanted as priest. That way, there would be no more bickering and grumbling. When we continue to challenge God’s plan, He will show us His will and plan for us. We must be looking for His hand in guiding us so that we don’t miss what He wants us to be part of. RESPONSE: Father, forgive…
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Christian Devotional – December 2, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 16:48–He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. TRUTH: The people had been disobedient and rebellious to God, so God was bringing down His judgment with a plague. Moses told Aaron to go down and stand between the people and God and offer a sacrifice, so he did and the plague stopped. This is an exact picture of what God did for us through Jesus Christ. We were dying because of our sin and unable to reach a living God, so Jesus was sent to stand between the living, God, and the dead, us. Through Jesus’ sacrifice we can be saved. RESPONSE: Father, thank…
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Christian Devotional – December 1, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 15:41–I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God. TRUTH: God gave the Israelites several commands and instructions to carry out regarding their offerings and practices. Why were they to follow Him? This verse is the reason God gives them. He is God. More than that, He is their God. At the end of the day, God is to be obeyed simply because of who He is. We do not have to understand completely why God has us do certain things, we just obey Him because He is God. RESPONSE: Father, You are God of…
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Christian Devotional – November 30, 2013
VERSE: Numbers 14:9–“Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” TRUTH: Caleb was making his plea to the people of Israel. He is trying to help them understand that they could go in to the promised land and they would be successful because God is with them. The people are afraid and ultimately decide not to go in to the land, and they were disobedient to God. This speech that Caleb gives is such as wonderful speech to remind ourselves when…