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.

March 14

Numbers 21:1-22:20, Luke 1:26-56, Psalm 57:1-11, Proverbs 11:9-11

Pray: Jesus, we pray along with David today “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge.” Oh Lord, You fulfill Your purposes in us and we ask humbly today Lord that You would get glory in our lives. Amen.

Read: In today's Old Testament reading from Numbers we see the Israelites making the same complaints they continue to make, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?” God had enough with their faithlessness and bad attitudes and so He sent fiery serpents among the people that bit them and killed them. But the Lord also provided the solution for healing. Moses was instructed to make a bronze serpent and if the people would look at it they would live. John tells us in the New Testament, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” We hold in us the curse of sin, and Jesus became that curse for us when He was lifted up on the cross. We must look to Him to have our curse removed.

Edify: What a beautiful song that Mary sings to the Lord in Luke 1:46-55. I am sure Mary knew of the troubles she would face as an unmarried pregnant woman in Israel, but yet to be gifted with the task of bringing the Savior into the world far exceeded her personal trials. My prayer is that we will recognize the exceeding blessing it is to serve the Lord today. It far outweighs the struggle along the way.

Practice: We read in Proverbs today how destructive the mouth can be. It can destroy a neighbor or if left unguarded even an entire city. May we carefully consider the words of our mouth as we go through this day.

March 13

Numbers 19:1-20:29, Luke 1:1-25, Psalm 56:1-13, Proverbs 11:8 



Pray: Lord, Your word tells us in Psalms today that You have kept count of my sorrows and You put my tears in Your bottle. What a comfort that is Lord that You care about my grief. You take note of my troubles. Lord may we say along with David this day with all confidence that “You are for us!” Amen.

Read: In the Old Testament reading today we see a picture of Moses and Aaron in disobedience to the Lord. This disobedience brought about the consequence of not entering into the Promise Land. God specifically told Moses to speak to the rock and water would pour out of it. Moses instead struck the rock twice to make the water come forth for the people. This reminds us how important it is for us to listen carefully to the instruction of the Lord and not to turn from it or seek to modify His commands to our liking or desires.

Edify: What is so special about the beginning of Luke is the amazing historical evidence we see in Luke writing to a historical figure in Theophilus that can be proved to be a real person in the first century. Sometimes I get caught up in the stories of scripture and forget that they are real letters written to real people. This should greatly encourage us as we read today. We can be sure of the reality, infallibility and sufficiency of the scriptures.

Practice: Zechariah had some doubts about what the angel of the Lord told him concerning the birth of John the Baptist, and it cost him. For nine months Zechariah could not speak because he doubted that the Lord could do the impossible in him and his wife in their old age. Let’s practice trusting God at His word. Let’s believe that if He says it, He will do it! 

March 12

Numbers 16:41-18:32, Mark 16:1-20, Psalm 55:1-23, Proverbs 11:7



Pray: Father God: Your ways are not my ways and sometimes Your ways make no sense at all to me. Teach me Your ways. Grant me understanding. Let me make decisions based on Your WORD. I pray for wisdom that I might be a blessing to others and honor You.

Read: 14,700 people died in the plague that followed the earth opening up and swallowing Korah and 250 of Israel’s leaders. (Numbers 12:49) How we interpret events is important. There had been a contest. Would God accept Moses’ sacrifice or Korah’s? God accepted Moses’ sacrifice and Korah and the 250 leaders were swallowed up by the earth. But Israel muttered among themselves. They still had not learned that God declares what is right and what is wrong and who leads and who does not. But are we willing to let Him lead or do we constantly revert to leading ourselves?

Edify: It is not an enemy who taunts me—I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me—I could have hidden from them. Instead it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God. (Psalm 55:12-14) Those closest to us hurt us most. And…we hurt those closest to us. Hurt is unavoidable. It is going to happen. But hurt can be overcome, if it is not avoided.

Practice: The scriptures tell us about hurt. The WORD admonishes us not to let the sun go down on our wrath. (Get right before you get in bed!) Leave your offering at the altar and be reconciled first before giving it. (Yes, forgiving is even more important than giving.) Get right with anyone you have hurt before you take communion lest any number of sicknesses befall you.