Numbers 19, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: We are Ambassadors

This is the promise of prayer! We can change God's mind! God's ultimate will is inflexible, but the implementation of his will is not. He doesn't change in his character and purpose, but he does alter his strategy because of the appeals of his children. After all, Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20, "we are ambassadors" for the king. Ambassadors speak with the authority of the throne. If an ambassador sends a request to the king, will the king listen? If you, God's ambassador in this world, come to your King with a request, will he listen? By all means.
Your sphere of influence is your region. As you grow in faith, your district expands. We plead with God on other people's behalf.  Before amen-comes the power of a simple prayer. "Father, they need help!"
From Before Amen

Numbers 19

The Water of Cleansing

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or blemish and that has never been under a yoke. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines. 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.

9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. 10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening. This will be a lasting ordinance both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.

11 “Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.

14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.

16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days.

17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean. 21 This is a lasting ordinance for them.

“The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
Friday, November 21, 2014

Read: Matthew 13:14-22

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,

‘When you hear what I say,
    you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
    you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
    and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
    so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
    and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
    and let me heal them.’[a]
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 22 The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

Footnotes:

13:14-15 Isa 6:9-10 (Greek version).

Dealing With Distractions
By David C. McCasland

The cares of this world . . . choke the word. —Matthew 13:22

A restaurant owner in the village of Abu Ghosh, just outside Jerusalem, offered a 50-percent discount for patrons who turned off their cell phones. Jawdat Ibrahim believes that smartphones have shifted the focus of meals from companionship and conversation to surfing, texting, and business calls. “Technology is very good,” Ibrahim says. “But . . . when you are with your family and your friends, you can just wait for half an hour and enjoy the food and enjoy the company.”

How easily we can be distracted by many things, whether in our relationship with others or with the Lord.

Jesus told His followers that spiritual distraction begins with hearts that have grown dull, ears that are hard of hearing, and eyes that are closed (Matt. 13:15). Using the illustration of a farmer scattering seed, Jesus compared the seed that fell among thorns to a person who hears God’s Word but whose heart is focused on other things. “The cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (v.22).

There is great value in having times throughout each day when we turn off the distractions of mind and heart and focus on the Lord.

O Lord, help me to turn off all the
distractions around me and focus on You.
May my heart be good soil for the
seed of Your Word today.
Focusing on Christ puts everything else in perspective.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Friday, November 21, 2014

“It is Finished!”

I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. —John 17:4

The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him— something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.

Never build your case for forgiveness on the idea that God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. That contradicts the revealed truth of God in Jesus Christ. It makes the Cross unnecessary, and the redemption “much ado about nothing.” God forgives sin only because of the death of Christ. God could forgive people in no other way than by the death of His Son, and Jesus is exalted as Savior because of His death. “We see Jesus…for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor…” (Hebrews 2:9). The greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe was that sounded on the Cross of Christ— “It is finished!” (John 19:30). That is the final word in the redemption of humankind.

Anything that lessens or completely obliterates the holiness of God, through a false view of His love, contradicts the truth of God as revealed by Jesus Christ. Never allow yourself to believe that Jesus Christ stands with us, and against God, out of pity and compassion, or that He became a curse for us out of sympathy for us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by divine decree. Our part in realizing the tremendous meaning of His curse is the conviction of sin. Conviction is given to us as a gift of shame and repentance; it is the great mercy of God. Jesus Christ hates the sin in people, and Calvary is the measure of His hatred.

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Friday, November 21, 2014

Hard To Turn - #7270

My son had dreamed about an old Mustang for years and he saw one advertised for a great price so, he sold some of his baseball card collection, became the proud owner of a 1968 Mustang.

Now, he invited me to take a drive in it, so I got in and turned the key. It roared to life. Several birds nearby were upset by it, and I started up the driveway. It was okay at the top of the driveway, and then I found out what I didn't like about that very cool car-turning it. Okay let's face it, I'm spoiled! I've got power steering, I've had it for years! Now, you don't want to try to turn that Mustang. It's like a total body operation. You sort of wrap yourself around the steering wheel several times. It's kind of corkscrew turning. Now, I never asked to drive the Mustang much after that. Honestly, it was just too hard to turn.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Hard To Turn."

Our word for today from the Word of God - very sobering - comes from Isaiah 30:1-2. Some of us might be in this verse, listen carefully, "'Woe to the obstinate children,' declares the Lord, 'to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin; who go down to Egypt without consulting me; who look for help to Pharaoh's protection, to Egypt's shade for refuge.'" Well you can tell what God's talking about here; stubborn children. Too often I think, I've been one of those. How about you?

James Dobson, years ago, wrote a book about strong-willed children. Well, God could write a book about me like that. See, when I read verses like this I keep thinking about that Mustang and how God might be saying, "Ron, you are so hard to turn!" See, the people who are hard to turn are the ones who are most likely to miss God's best. We make up our mind what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, when it has to happen, and we start driving full speed in that direction.

But God says, "No, I want you to go this way" or "Wait! Not yet." Now it could be that you consulted the Lord at the beginning, and you got His direction, and you started going His way. And He's still directing you but all of the sudden you've gone off on your own. Or he made a turn and you did not make it with Him. So you're no longer on the road He was on. He's been trying to lead you every day but you decided you could make it happen. I think those are the people who are the most prone to missing God's best, those of us who are "make it happen" people instead of "let God do it" people. And you could be in a very dangerous position right now.

You know in Galatians 3:3 I find that Paul asks what I consider to be one of the most probing questions in the New Testament. He says, "After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" Yeah you started out on the right road when you were just new at it, when it was a new thing you were desperately dependant, you were following Jesus very carefully but all the sudden now, you've taken charge and He can't turn you. Control freaks, many of us. And He might be, today, coming to you, trying to warn you to let go of that wheel or to take a turn that He's directing you to take. If you don't, you start using people, forcing it to happen. Or you blaze another trail, another schedule. You go after some desire of your own. Your plans are not of Him, you're not consulting Him and He says "Woe to those people." You are heaping sin upon sin, making one mistake after another.

Jesus said, "Follow me." I've followed people in a city that I didn't know where I was going and you know what I found out it takes to follow someone? It takes focus and flexibility. To totally focus on them and make sure you keep watching what they're doing because if they make a turn and you miss it, you're on the wrong road. And that means you've got to be flexible. Focus and flexibility; without that, you can't follow Jesus.

I want you to picture, you're driving down the road and you see a hitchhiker by the side of the road and you pull over, even though you don't usually do that, and you open the door and there's Jesus standing there by the passenger side. You say, "Jesus, would you please get in and ride with me." He'll say, "No, I won't." You say, "why not, Jesus?" He'll say, "Because I don't ride, I drive."

Who's driving right now? Make sure it's Jesus.