Numbers 28 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Moe or Joe? - February 1, 2022

Contrast the situation of Moe and Joe. Moe expects everyone to serve him. The moment he awakens he thinks, Is someone going to bring me coffee? Moe expects people to cater to his plans, meet his needs, and reward him. Consequently, Moe is seldom happy.

Joe, on the other hand, measures the success of his day with this standard: Whom can I help today? He serves his wife by bringing her coffee. He keeps a positive attitude at work. Joe goes to bed with a smile on his face.

Which one are you? Moe? Joe? Or maybe a little of both, Mo-Jo?

1 John 4:19 says, “we love because he first loved us.” Make your happiness dependent on how others serve you, and you’ll always be disappointed. But find happiness in serving others, and…well, you can complete the sentence.

Numbers 28

Offerings

God spoke to Moses: “Command the People of Israel. Tell them, You’re in charge of presenting my food, my Fire-Gifts of pleasing fragrance, at the set times. Tell them, This is the Fire-Gift that you are to present to God: two healthy yearling lambs each day as a regular Whole-Burnt-Offering. Sacrifice one lamb in the morning, the other in the evening, together with two quarts of fine flour mixed with a quart of olive oil for a Grain-Offering. This is the standard Whole-Burnt-Offering instituted at Mount Sinai as a pleasing fragrance, a Fire-Gift to God. The Drink-Offering that goes with it is a quart of strong beer with each lamb. Pour out the Drink-Offering before God in the Sanctuary. Sacrifice the second lamb in the evening with the Grain-Offering and Drink-Offering the same as in the morning—a Fire-Gift of pleasing fragrance for God.

* * *

9-10 “On the Sabbath, sacrifice two healthy yearling lambs, together with the Drink-Offering and the Grain-Offering of four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil. This is the regular Sabbath Whole-Burnt-Offering, in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering and its Drink-Offering.

* * *

11 “On the first of the month offer a Whole-Burnt-Offering to God: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy.

12-14 “A Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil goes with each bull, four quarts of fine flour mixed with oil with the ram, and two quarts of fine flour mixed with oil with each lamb. This is for a Whole-Burnt-Offering, a pleasing fragrance, a Fire-Gift to God. Also, Drink-Offerings of two quarts of wine for each bull, one and a quarter quarts of wine for the ram, and a quart of wine for each lamb are to be poured out.

14-15 “This is the first of the month Whole-Burnt-Offering to be made throughout the year. In addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering with its accompanying Drink-Offering, a he-goat is to be offered to God as an Absolution-Offering.

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16-17 “God’s Passover is to be held on the fourteenth day of the first month. On the fifteenth day of this month hold a festival.

17-22 “For seven days, eat only unraised bread: Begin the first day in holy worship; don’t do any regular work that day. Bring a Fire-Gift to God, a Whole-Burnt-Offering: two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs—all healthy. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.

23-24 “Sacrifice these in addition to the regular morning Whole-Burnt-Offering. Prepare the food this way for the Fire-Gift, a pleasing fragrance to God, every day for seven days. Prepare it in addition to the regular Whole-Burnt-Offering and Drink-Offering.

25 “Conclude the seventh day in holy worship; don’t do any regular work on that day.

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26-30 “On the Day of Firstfruits when you bring an offering of new grain to God on your Feast-of-Weeks, gather in holy worship and don’t do any regular work. Bring a Whole-Burnt-Offering of two young bulls, one ram, and seven male yearling lambs as a pleasing fragrance to God. Prepare a Grain-Offering of six quarts of fine flour mixed with oil for each bull, four quarts for the ram, and two quarts for each lamb, plus a he-goat as an Absolution-Offering to atone for you.

31 “These are all over and above the daily Whole-Burnt-Offering and its Grain-Offering and the Drink-Offering. Remember, the animals must be healthy.

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Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, February 01, 2022

Today's Scripture
Matthew 25:31–40
(NIV)

The Sheep and the Goats

31–33     “When he finally arrives, blazing in beauty and all his angels with him, the Son of Man will take his place on his glorious throne. Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, putting sheep to his right and goats to his left.

34–36     “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,

I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,

I was homeless and you gave me a room,

I was shivering and you gave me clothes,

I was sick and you stopped to visit,

I was in prison and you came to me.’

37–40     “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

Insight

Each of the gospel accounts has a specific structure. Matthew’s gospel uses five major teaching blocks around which the inspired author wraps the story of Jesus. Of these blocks, the first and the last are the longest and appear to stand in contrast to one another. The first block, the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), presents the ideals and principles of life within the kingdom of God. The final message (chs. 23–25), along with some end-time prophecy, focuses on what happens when those kingdom principles are ignored—seen primarily in Jesus’ challenges to Israel’s unfaithful religious leaders (ch. 23). By: Bill Crowder

Love Wherever We Go

Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
Matthew 25:40

I sat on the pier during a vacation, reading my Bible and watching my husband fish. A young man approached us, suggesting we use different bait. He glanced at me as he fidgeted from one foot to another and said, “I’ve been in jail.” He pointed to my Bible and sighed, “Do you think God really cares about people like me?”

Opening to Matthew 25, I read aloud that Jesus talked about His followers visiting those in prison.

“It says that? About being in prison?” Tears brimmed his eyes when I shared how God considers kindness toward His children a personal act of love toward Himself (vv. 31–40).

“I wish my parents would forgive me too.” He lowered his head. “I’ll be right back.” He returned and handed me his tattered Bible. “Would you show me where to find those words?”

I nodded. My husband and I hugged him as we prayed for him and his parents. We exchanged contact information and have continued praying for him.

At one point or another, we’ll feel unloved, unwelcomed, in need, and even physically or emotionally imprisoned (vv. 35–36). We’ll need reminders of God’s loving compassion and forgiveness. We’ll also have opportunities to support others who struggle with these feelings. We can be a part of God’s redeeming plan as we spread His truth and love wherever we go. By:  Xochitl Dixon

Reflect & Pray

How can you love God by showing love to others today? In what ways has He showed you love through others?

Father, thank You for loving me, forgiving me, and giving me opportunities to share Your truth as I love You by loving others.

Discover what real love is.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, February 01, 2022
The Call of God

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel… —1 Corinthians 1:17

Paul states here that the call of God is to preach the gospel. But remember what Paul means by “the gospel,” namely, the reality of redemption in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are inclined to make sanctification the goal of our preaching. Paul refers to personal experiences only by way of illustration, never as the end of the matter. We are not commissioned to preach salvation or sanctification— we are commissioned to lift up Jesus Christ (see John 12:32). It is an injustice to say that Jesus Christ labored in redemption to make me a saint. Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God. The fact that we can experience redemption illustrates the power of its reality, but that experience is a byproduct and not the goal of redemption. If God were human, how sick and tired He would be of the constant requests we make for our salvation and for our sanctification. We burden His energies from morning till night asking for things for ourselves or for something from which we want to be delivered! When we finally touch the underlying foundation of the reality of the gospel of God, we will never bother Him anymore with little personal complaints.

The one passion of Paul’s life was to proclaim the gospel of God. He welcomed heartbreak, disillusionment, and tribulation for only one reason— these things kept him unmovable in his devotion to the gospel of God.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him.… We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be. My Utmost for His Highest, January 6, 736 R

Bible in a Year: Exodus 27-28; Matthew 21:1-22


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, February 01, 2022

Tomorrow's Weather - #9147

There was a time in my life when I had once a month responsibilities in Chicago. I was living in New Jersey. Well, that gave me an opportunity to see what weather was going to be in New Jersey when I got back. Of course, the weather in our country usually moves from West to East. So, usually, in New Jersey we got Chicago's yesterday; well, that was our today.

Now, one particular warm and sunny day I left Chicago. Like it was a "10" on the scale of beautiful days. When I got home, it was sort of a cool, rainy day, and it had been that way for about three days straight; just kind of everything gray. Well, I got home and the family, I guess their biorhythms were all kind of acting like it had been three rainy days. They said, "Well it's just been raining and cool." Well, I was a bearer of good news. I said, "Don't be discouraged! I've seen tomorrow's weather."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Tomorrow's Weather."

Our word for today from the Word of God is found in Psalm 30:6. "Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." With a sigh here, David talks about tears, and weeping, and long nights of grief. He's seen the grief of the moment, but he has also seen tomorrow's weather. And he says, "Rejoicing is coming."

For a Christian, the forecast is always joy in the morning. You see it isn't the absence of hurt that makes life in Christ unique, because we have as much hurt as everyone else. It's the presence of hope. You may know very personally that being in Christ is no guarantee against grief and pain. I know that. Maybe you're facing physical pain or some frightening medical prospects. Or your agony is over the wrong road that a loved one of yours has chosen. For some deeply personal reason right now there are tears; maybe almost unbearable struggle at times. And God cares about those tears.

In fact, Psalm 56:8 says, "He gathers up your tears in a bottle." He feels your pain, but this isn't the end. This isn't all there is. Now, I don't know why God wants me to talk about this today, but I just feel like someone needs to hear this simple truth today, "This is not the end. There will be joy in the morning. It won't rain forever." I don't know what form that joy's going to take. God may send a person that He has prepared to fill the hole in your life that you're grieving over now. Or maybe He'll use your tragedy in such a glorious way that you'll be amazed at the lives He's going to touch. They'll listen to you because of the trail you've walked.

Or maybe He'll remind you of the heavenly reunion that's going to last so much longer than the separation. Or maybe God will open up to you a depth of knowing Him that you never would have experienced without this loss. And you will be a friend of God as few people around you are, because you've touched Him at a moment of desperation and deep need and found out that when Jesus is all you've got, Jesus is all you need.

Look, I don't know how, but I do know that joy is coming. In the moments of grief, and agony, and insecurity, and when the world's collapsing around you and everything you've depended on is shaking, I just wonder how people do that without Jesus? Maybe you've been trying to walk through a dark valley without knowing Him. You know, the Bible says, "He bore our sorrows. He was crushed for our sins. He died so you would never have to walk through life alone again.

This could be the day when you reach out to Him and say, "Jesus, you loved me. You died for me, for my sin. I want to belong to You." The Bible says, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because You are with me."

You want to begin that relationship with Jesus? Tell Him that right now. And go to our website and see there the information that will help you be sure you belong to Him. That's ANewStory.com.

You can stand this stormy season if you know it won't rain forever. Oh, you have hurt, but because of Jesus you have hope. Don't be discouraged. I've seen tomorrow's weather.