March 4

Numbers 2:1-3:51, Mark 11:27-12:17, Psalm 47:1-9,Proverbs 10:24-25

Pray: There are persons who wander off and get lost. There are some who deliberately just leave like the prodigal son in Luke 15. There are others who drift away 2% at a time and after six months or a year they find themselves farther away from God than they ever intended. Let's pray compassionately for those who have drifted and those who have deliberately wandered away. If you are that person, please know that in this devotion I have already prayed for you.

Read: Jesus’ authority is called into question when He calls into question their own sense of authority in asking Him trick questions. Jesus often follows up a question with a question. Perhaps we should come to the Bible with more questions than preconceived notions and presumptions. Perhaps we are truly beginners when it comes to understanding the God who created the universe.

Edify: In the Old Testament text we see that everyone is counted. Why? Because in God’s economy everyone counts. The Lord doesn’t operate off of the standard that if we have the majority then that is enough. God cares for every person. As we read let's remember how the Lord had the Hebrews count every person. 

Practice:  So Jesus instructs them to render to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar and to God that which belongs to God. It appears on the surface that there is a separation of church and state. A separation of things which belong to the government and things which belong to God. Yet, when one really ponders this reality we come to understand, WOW, what do you really mean? For everything belongs to the Lord. God has created heaven and earth. God has created our bodies and they don’t belong to us but are gifts for us to steward while we are in them. One day we will give up our bodies to death and our spirits will live with God forever. One day the United States of America will end, crumble into the ash heap of history. Yet, God and His Kingdom will endure. So, Jesus is saying again, render to Caesar those things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. I would add, do everything as if it is done unto the Lord for He owns all that exists. How will your life be different today because you embrace this reality? How will you live differently?