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.