Numbers 34, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

 
Max Lucado Daily: Where Is Jesus in the Storm? - February 9, 2022

After Jesus walked on water through a storm, he went “up on a mountainside by himself to pray” (Matthew 14:23). He prayed even though his robe was soaked and his hair was matted. Do his actions here describe his first course of action: to pray for his followers? Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus…is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”

Ponder this promise. Jesus, right now, at this moment, in the midst of your storm, is interceding for you. The King of the universe is speaking on your behalf. You do not fight the wind and waves alone. It is not up to you to find a solution. You have the mightiest Prince and the holiest Advocate standing up for you.

Where is Jesus in your storm? He is in the presence of God, praying for you.

Numbers 34

Land Inheritance

God spoke to Moses: “Command the People of Israel. Tell them, When you enter Canaan, these are the borders of the land you are getting as an inheritance:

3-5 “Your southern border will take in some of the Wilderness of Zin where it touches Edom. It starts in the east at the Dead Sea, curves south of Scorpion Pass and on to Zin, continues south of Kadesh Barnea, then to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon, where it takes a turn to the northwest to the Brook of Egypt and on to the Mediterranean Sea.

6 “Your western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

7-9 “Your northern border runs on a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath, connects to Zedad, continues to Ziphron, and ends at Hazar Enan. This is your northern border.

10-12 “Your eastern border runs on a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. The border goes south from Shepham to Riblah to the east of Ain, and continues along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. The border then follows the Jordan River and ends at the Dead Sea.

“This is your land with its four borders.”

13-15 Moses then commanded the People of Israel: “This is the land: Divide up the inheritance by lot. God has ordered it to be given to the nine and a half tribes. The tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance; the two tribes and the half-tribe got their inheritance east of Jordan-Jericho, facing the sunrise.”

* * *

16-19 God spoke to Moses: “These are the men who will be in charge of distributing the inheritance of the land: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. Assign one leader from each tribe to help them in distributing the land. Assign these:

19-28 Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;

Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon;

Elidad son of Kislon from the tribe of Benjamin;

Bukki son of Jogli, leader from the tribe of Dan;

Hanniel son of Ephod, leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;

Kemuel son of Shiphtan, leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;

Elizaphan son of Parnach, leader from the tribe of Zebulun;

Paltiel son of Azzan, leader from the tribe of Issachar;

Ahihud son of Shelomi, leader from the tribe of Asher;

Pedahel son of Ammihud, leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

29 These are the men God commanded to hand out the assignments of land-inheritance to the People of Israel in the country of Canaan.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion    
Wednesday, February 09, 2022

Today's Scripture
James 4:7–17
(NIV)

 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil,r and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.s Wash your hands,t you sinners, and purify your hearts,u you double-minded.v 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.w 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.x

11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.y Anyone who speaks against a brother or sisterd or judges themz speaks against the lawa and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it,b but sitting in judgment on it. 12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge,c the one who is able to save and destroy.d But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?e

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen,f you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”g 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.h 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will,i we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.j 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.k

Insight

Several men in the New Testament are named James, including the son of Zebedee/brother of John (Matthew 4:21; Acts 12:2) and the son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). The James who authored the book of James was the half-brother of Jesus (13:55). While early in Jesus’ ministry James didn’t believe in Him, after he saw the risen Christ (1 Corinthians 15:7), he moved from unbelief to belief. In Acts 1:14, James appears to be present in the upper room after Jesus’ ascension and became a leader in the Jerusalem church (12:17; 15:13). By: Bill Crowder

Mortality and Humility

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
James 4:14

Ancient scholars Jerome and Tertullian referenced stories of how in ancient Rome, after a general triumphed in an epic victory, he would be paraded atop a gleaming chariot down the capital’s central thoroughfares from dawn to sunset. The crowd would roar. The general would bask in the adoration, reveling in the greatest honor of his life. However, legend has it that a servant stood behind the general the entire day, whispering into his ear, Memento mori (“Remember you will die”). Amid all the adulation, the general desperately needed the humility that came with remembering that he was mortal.

James wrote to a community infected with prideful desires and an inflated sense of self-sufficiency. Confronting their arrogance, he spoke a piercing word: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). What they needed was to “humble [themselves] before the Lord” (v. 10). And how would they embrace this humility? Like Roman generals, they needed to remember that they would die. “You do not even know what will happen tomorrow,” James insisted. “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (v. 14). And owning their frailty freed them to live under the solidity of the “Lord’s will” rather than their own fading efforts (v. 15).

When we forget that our days are numbered, it can lead to pride. But when we’re humbled by our mortality, we see every breath and every moment as grace. Memento mori.By:  Winn Collier

Reflect & Pray

What does this story of the Roman generals and the phrase Memento mori say to you? Why do you need to remember your mortality?

God, I like to think that my life is in my control. I sometimes act as though I’ll live forever. Humble me. Help me find life only in You.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, February 09, 2022

Are You Exhausted Spiritually?

The everlasting God…neither faints nor is weary. —Isaiah 40:28

Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.

Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us.
Disciples Indeed

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 6-7; Matthew 25:1-30

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, February 09, 2022
Big Ears - #9153

I recently heard a story about a farmer who was suing for damages that he had incurred in an automobile accident. A truck hit his pickup truck, and his pickup was totaled. Well, he was being cross-examined in court by the insurance company attorney who said, "Sir, the report that was taken at the scene said you told the officer you were fine. Can you explain that?" In other words, why was he suing? And I understand the farmer said, "Me and my old cow, Bessy, was driving down the road in my pickup truck."

Well, the attorney objected. He said, "Your Honor, wait a minute! He's not answering the question." And the judge said, "Sir, you do have to answer that question. Would you please?" "Me and my old cow, Bessy, was driving down the road in my pickup truck." Well, now the attorney was a little more ticked. He said, "He is evading the question, your Honor. I object! Make him answer the question."

The judge said, "Well, maybe we ought to hear everything he has to say." "Me and my old cow, Bessy, was driving down the road in my pickup truck, when suddenly this big old semi came across the road and hit us and threw me out of the truck; landed on the highway. Pretty soon I saw this big old officer standing over me, and I said, 'How is Bessy?' And he said, 'Well, I went over and Bessy wasn't doing well at all, so I took out my gun and I shot her.' Then he asked me, 'Now, how are you doing?'" I guess he was fine. See, hearing the rest of the story can make a very big difference.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Big Ears."

Our word for today from the Word of God comes from James 1:19. And in a way it's a big ears verse. It's amazing when you listen for the rest of the story how it can lead to a whole different conclusion. Here's what it says, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." I remember Warren Wiersbe saying one time, "People get most of their exercise jumping to conclusions." Well, it's true. It's like the attorney with that farmer. If you'd be silent long enough to hear the whole story, it might change everything.

That's probably why it says in this verse that people who are quick to listen are slow to become angry. Because they get the rest of the story, and that often makes the difference. Now, listening makes a big difference in whether or not you understand the other person. You've got to be willing to hear their whole paragraph, not just the opening sentence and then you say, "Well, I know the rest of it."

A lot of times we just impatiently think, "Yeah, I know what you're going to say." But listen! Hear their heart, not just their words. I mean, this is basic to a married couple being able to grow into oneness. Or people in a church or a business who have different viewpoints.

Listening also makes a big difference in whether or not you are listened to. Nowhere is this more important than between parents and kids. When a parent speaks without listening, which we often do, that parent has forfeited a lot of authority when they speak. You cut off the communication that every parent so desperately wants. Our children need to hear our wisdom about their friends, their school work, their music, their love life. But they're not going to hear it if we don't win the right to be heard by listening.

And when you're sharing Jesus with someone, don't be a gospel machine gun. Listen! Find out where their need is first. Find out about their background. One way to show a person you really care is to have big ears. It's very hard for someone to talk into a big mouth. Listen aggressively with your eyes, your hands. Ask that second or third question that shows you really care. "How are you doing?" "Fine." "Are you really?" You can't imagine how much your relationship could be improved by heeding this simple advice from the Word of God, "be quick to listen."

So here's the question for today. When I ask it, I want you to think about the people around you in your personal universe. Would they call me a good listener? If you haven't been listening, would you tell them you're sorry you haven't been and that you're asking God to help you change?

Beginning today, give the people around you that great gift - big ears.