March 21

Numbers 32:1-33:39, Luke 4:31-5:11, Psalms 64:1-10, Proverbs 11:22



Pray: Pray today that Scripture would come alive in your heart and mind. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and unlock something new and meaningful for you and your life while you read and study today. Pray for your family… those close to God and those far from Him. Pray that God would, in His own way, create opportunities for sharing your story and your journey with God. 

Read: The Old Testament story today is one that, if not careful, you will miss a major point where many are guilty. Moses made an assumption that the tribes that wanted to live on the other side of the Jordan were doing so out of selfish reasons. Ever been there? It is crucial for us to find out all of the facts before we come to a conclusion on something. Just because something may sound suspicious doesn’t always mean that it is being done out of bad motives. We also read a remembrance of the journey that Israel has made thus far all the way back to the very beginning of the Israelite people.

We read some of this just yesterday in our New Testament reading where Jesus was rejected in His hometown because of who they saw Him as being and not who He was in God. Today, we see Jesus moving on and doing amazing things in Capernaum where He casts out a demon (did you notice that the demon knew WHO He was… what was it that kept those in Nazareth from seeing WHO Christ was?). Jesus also calls James and John as disciples after doing the impossible and showing some awesome fishing skills! 

Edify: In the story of Jesus calling James and John, Jesus teaches an important reality about who He is and how we are to follow Him. Jesus demonstrates that even though the instructions that we are to be faithful to in our lives may not make sense, we are to be faithful in fulfilling that which is expected. It didn’t make any sense to think that just by throwing the nets over the other side of the boat, that it would make any difference, but we see that in their following Jesus’ instructions, it yielded a great reward. And so it should be with our own lives… we must be faithful in our own following even when it may not make the most sense. We are to remain faithful.

Practice: Proverbs tells us that wicked talk leads to the tearing apart of cities. Covenant today to make your words uplifting rather than words of destruction. Who can you build up today with a simple, authentic compliment?

March 20

Numbers 30:1-31:54, Luke 4:1-30, Psalms 63:1-11, Proverbs 11:20-21



Pray: Pray today that God would open your heart and mind to the message that HE has to reveal through Scripture today. Lift up our leaders within our church as we seek to serve the church and God’s Kingdom to the best of our abilities. Pray for our families and our ministries as we do our very best to reach millions of people by developing thousands of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Finally pray for revival… that people would turn from their wicked and selfish ways and turn to God. 

Read: Today we read in Numbers of the vengeance of God on the Midianites for leading the Israelites into idol worship. While the wrath of the Lord was swift and total, we see the warriors not follow the instructions of Moses, which had come from God when they brought the women, and children back as spoils of war. None of the men had survived. Moses further instructs the warriors to finish the task at hand with the destruction of the women, who had led the Israelites into idol worship. Next we see a beautiful scene of thanksgiving as the warriors, none of whom were hurt or killed in battle, gave an offering of gold from their plunder to God as thanks for their victory and safety during battle. What a beautiful example of thankfulness in the midst of chaotic times! 

In Luke’s Gospel we find ourselves at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee where He was rejected in His hometown. The people only saw Him as Joseph’s son and could not see that Scriptural prophecy was standing before them in the form of a man.

Edify: Today, we read in both the Old and New Testaments about gratitude. On one hand, the Israelite warriors had a sense of gratitude for their victory and well-being in battle. The Nazarenes did not have any form of gratitude towards Christ because they were blinded by Jesus being “Joseph’s son”. It is critical to our overall health and especially our spiritual well-being to have a sense of gratitude when it comes to the person and workings of Jesus Christ.

Practice: Let’s commit today to be people of gratitude and not people blinded by the culture by placing Christ in the second chair of life. Where in your life should you be more thankful than you are? Make it a priority today to demonstrate thanks in those areas in life where you should be more thankful than you show.

March 19

Numbers 28:16-29:40, Luke 3:23-38, Psalm 62:1-12, Proverbs 11:18-19 



Pray: Father, thank You for Your Holy Bible. It encourages and corrects, it guides and reminds me everyday of Your faithfulness and my need for Your perfect sacrifice for me. Your life was the ultimate sacrifice for my sin once and for all. Thank You for Your life, death, and resurrection today Jesus. Amen.

Read: In Numbers this morning we read about the prescribed offerings that the people of Israel were to make. Many of these offerings were made as a means of atonement for the sin of the people. If they were not meant for sin, they were dedicated to the Lord as an offering. Then they had Passover offerings as memorial, meant to be performed to remember the work of the Lord in the past. I think we could learn something from the people as they perform these sacrifices and offerings. These symbolic acts helped the people to be thankful for what God had done and also communally encourage the people to give unto the Lord from their own resources. It reminded the people, as we often need to be reminded, that everything we have is a gift from the Lord.

Edify: In our New Testament reading we see Luke providing Theophilus with an account of the genealogy of Jesus. This man did not just appear out of nowhere. He is from the lineage of David as prophesied by the prophets before. We have to remind ourselves sometimes as New Testament Christians entrenched in the Bible belt that Jesus was a real historical figure who we can trust. Faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for and the EVIDENCE of things unseen. We don’t have blind faith in Christ, we have evidence and substance to support our belief.

Practice: Proverbs reminds us this morning how important it is to be a person of integrity especially when it comes to what we earn and make for a living. The promise is sure, the one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.

March 18

Numbers 26:52-28:15, Luke 3:1-22, Psalm 61:1-8, Proverbs 11:16-17  



Pray: Father, “Here my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge and my strong tower.” Lord, may we trust in Your authority and strength in our lives today and may Your Holy Spirit be ever present with us. Amen.

Read: What a special passage of scripture in Numbers 27:12-23 as we read about the succession of leadership from Moses to Joshua. The qualification for leadership over the people was very simple. “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him.” The only need we have to be spiritual leaders is whether the Spirit of God resides in your life. If you are shepherded by the Spirit of God then you will be faithful to shepherd God’s people. It is also encouraging to read how much Moses cared for his people and did not want for them to be without a Shepherd to lead them into the Promise Land.

Edify: John the Baptist was a man set apart to prepare the way for Jesus. His message was simple, “Repent for the forgiveness of sins.” The first step in the lives of any follower of Jesus is still the same, repent. Many of us forget that we must have faith to believe and we must have faith to repent. They are not mutually exclusive. Any person that believes in Jesus also repents and anyone who repents also believes. The distinguishable difference noted in the text is that John baptized with water, but Jesus will baptize people into the Holy Spirit.

Practice: We are reminded in Proverbs today that kindness and graciousness go a long way and are beneficial to us as well. On the contrary, violence and cruelty only hurt us and those around us. Let’s practice a gracious and kind spirit with those we interact with today.

March 17

Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Psalm 60:1-12, Proverbs 11:15



Pray: Oh Father, “That your beloved ones may be delivered, give us salvation by your right hand and answer us!” Lord, You alone are our security and our defense. May we trust in Your unfailing love and faithfulness in our lives today. Amen.

Read: There were 601,730 people in Israel over 20 years of age not including teens and children. Amazing to think that this enormous group of people wandered around in the desert for 40 years. It’s no wonder the Lord had to set up the laws for living. I have to remind myself that these laws were for the good of the people. We have to remember today that the laws that God has established are not only a blessing to us but also for our good and for our well-being in living together as His Holy people.

Edify: We get a rare glimpse in Luke today of Jesus as a boy. There are a few things that we can gather about His childhood that are truly significant. The first is that even as a child, Jesus’ mind was on His heavenly Father. He wanted to be in His Father’s house. It is also powerful that even as a child He amazed the religious leaders with His understanding and answers to their questions. But what I believe is extremely encouraging is that this passage ends with saying “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Jesus being like us as a man had to grow in His relationship just like you and I. He had to read the law, He had to grow and love and care just like us. I am so thankful we have a Lord that we can relate to and learn from.

Practice: The reading in Proverbs this morning gives us a very practical practice “He who puts up security for a stranger will suffer harm, and he who hates striking hands in a pledge is secure." In other words, don’t be quick to make a deal. Especially if it is uncertain whom it is with or what it is about.

March 16

Numbers 24:1-25:18, Luke 2:1-35, Psalm 59:1-17, Proverbs 11:14 



Pray: Father, I pray with David “I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.” Lord, may I remember to seek You in the morning and allow You to guide me through my day. Amen.

Read: A sobering story in Numbers 25 this morning reminds us of how important it is that we do not waver in our devotion to the Lord. The people of Israel went after the daughters of Moab and culture of people who worshiped the false god Baal. God strictly forbid this behavior in His law. At one point a man had the audacity to bring one of these women into the camp before the eyes of Moses. This bold sin by the people of Israel caused a plague on the people that killed 24,000. The plague was stopped finally when the woman and man were killed in the camp. These stories of unfaithfulness with foreigners in the Old Testament speak metaphorically to us not to cheat on God with the “foreign women” of the world. God calls us to be set apart and holy and not to mingle with sins that only pull us more into the world and not apart from it.

Edify: As I read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus this morning I couldn’t help but be struck by all the details. We get the names, Caesar Augustus, Quirinius governor of Syria, and the places, the city of David, Nazareth, Judea, Bethlehem, etc. The Christmas story of Jesus' birth gets so sensationalized in our society that most think it a fairy tale or folklore. But here we see facts and unarguable historical events. I am encouraged that Jesus' birth was a true and historical event that changed the whole course of human history.

Practice: One of the hardest Christian disciplines is receiving instruction or correction from others. Yet Proverbs tells us that we should have an abundance of counselors in our lives. I hope that we can seek out some people in our lives who can give us the counsel we need.

March 15

Numbers 22:21-23:30, Luke 1:57-80, Psalm 58:1-11, Proverbs 11:12-13 



Pray: Lord this morning Your scriptures teach us about our mouths and our words. The Proverb reminds us that often a man of understanding remains silent and that a trustworthy man does not go around gossiping. Lord help us today to be good stewards of our words and our mouths and that every word would be for Your glory. Amen.

Read: We read the famous story of Balaam’s donkey this morning. I chuckled to myself when I read that once the donkey began speaking to Balaam that without skipping a beat Balaam converses back with the donkey. I think I would have been so shocked or scared that I wouldn’t have been able to have a conversation with the donkey. But Balaam was blinded with anger. The angel of the Lord spoke to Balaam and told him that it was the donkey that actually saved him from being destroyed by the angel. God will get our attention in many ways. I pray that we won’t be as blind as Balaam when the Lord seeks to speak to us in unconventional means.

Edify: It’s amazing how we can see similarities in our Old Testament reading and our story in Luke. In Numbers God causes a donkey to speak. In our New Testament reading we see that God restrains the mouth of Zechariah until his son is born because of his doubts about his birth. Just as God declared, when John was born Zechariah finally speaks, “His name is John.” After nine months or more of silence Zechariah learned his lesson and the first words from his mouth were to reaffirm the instructions that God has given to him in naming him John and to trust in the Lord. 

Practice: A powerful word from Psalm 58 today reminds us how important it is for us not to seek justice for ourselves. The soul reason for Christians not to seek to avenge themselves is found in the confidence that God is just and He will reward the righteous in due time. May we remember this when we feel the need to justify ourselves to others.