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?