“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”

Mark 4 21-23 says, “He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Observation: Jesus is preaching using a series of parables that teaches people about the Kingdom of God. Before this passages he is using a seed as the main example to describe our faith. Then he moves onto a lamp that represents our faith to those around us. It is a light. And it should shine to those around us.

Application: There is song that says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” I’ve been singing that song since I was a child. It was meant to teach children that we should be bold in sharing our love of God with those around us. As I think about this passage now, there are parts of my life that I may not be too proud to let shine to those around me. Sometimes I can get consumed with fear, frustration, faithlessness, pride, etc. I guess you could say that I will let about 90 present of my life shine, but there is 10 percent that I want to put under a bowl so others can’t see. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” There are portions that I don’t want others too see because it may not lead them to praise God. I need to examine my life and faith and sniff out the things that I want to hide under a bowl.

Prayer: God, show me today what it is that I’m hiding under a bowl.  Let my light shine, 100 percent of my light, to those around me.

Your Boss is the Boss

Numbers 16 says, “Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites—Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth—became insolent  and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD’s assembly?”

Observation: Numbers 14-16 deals with the same concept. People were not getting their way and were grumbling towards Moses and God. They were ready to go back to Egypt and into slavery. So they were punished. They would not be able to enter the land God had promised them. A little later, 3 dudes come to Moses complaining that he was being treated better than they were by God. They wanted to be equals. They were eventually swallowed by the earth for their sins.

Application: I am called to follow my leaders. It really doesn’t matter what I think about leadership styles, decisions, etc. If the men I follow love God, are seeking Him, and submitting to His leadership, then it doesn’t matter what happens because I am called to submission to them because they are in submission to God. It is a hard thing for anyone to follow a leader because most people enjoy control. But what pleases God? Joshua and Caleb pleased God. They did not grumble. They obeyed and followed the leader.

Prayer: God, you know my heart. Please give me a heart that is surrendered to following you and the leaders you have put in my life. I ask that you bless them and keep them safe today.

Facing the Giants

Numbers 13:30 says, “Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”

Observation: Numbers 13 is one of those passages this is full of suspense, drama, action, and giants! God had promised Abraham that his people would possess a land that he would give them. It took several generations but eventually, through the leadership of Moses, they came upon the land. Moses sent out 12 spies, one from each tribe, to scope it out. They all agreed that it was a beautiful land with all the good stuff they needed. But 10 of the spies said, “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” There be Giants in this land!

Caleb then says, whatever! God promised it so let’s go take it. If we go on to read Joshua we see the many battles necessary to take the land, but it was done as God said.

Application: Facing the Giants was a movie released a few years ago. It’s the story of a team who faces impossible odds but with faith and determination, succeeds and wins a title game. We will face a giant or two every day! It depends on how you move forward with it. The same concept plays out with David and Goliath. Little man, big giant, little man wins because of faith and determination.

So what has God promised you? And what Giants are in the way today? How will you respond to your giants…like the 10 other spies or like Joshua and Caleb?

Prayer: God, give me the strength to face my giants today, this week, this year.

Waiting for the RIGHT Answer

Numbers 9:7-8 says, “We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?” Moses answered them, “Wait until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you.”

Observation: Israel had a questions and wanted an answer. It doesn’t really say how long they had to wait for God’s answer, but Moses said they would wait for the right answer from God.

Application: Waiting is probably the most difficult thing to do in the world! We could come up with a quick answer to our problems, but it may not be the RIGHT answer. There is something good in waiting for the right answer from God.

Prayer: God, let me find peace and joy in waiting for you to speak when I need answers.

Kindness

Acts 27: 3 says, “The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.”

Observation: Julius was the centurion guard ordered to watch over Paul so that he would be sent to stand trial. Julius, I’m sure, was a very good solider. Paul was an important piece of cargo. It says in Kindness, Julius let Paul see his friends while they were in a port so they could provide for his needs. I’m sure that God was watching over Paul by softening Julius’ heart, but it doesn’t say that. Later, Julius again saves Paul by not allowing him along with the other prisoners to be killed because the ship had wrecked and the prisoners would be able to escape. Again, God was using Julius to watch over Paul’s life.

Application: We often times want to be in Paul’s position where God is sparing us from heartbreak or troubles. But have you ever asked to be in Julius’ shoes. We can ask God to be a blessing to someone else. But we need to be open to the prompting of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you feel that you are to show kindness, it’s probably God asking you to be obedient so that someone else can be blessed. And maybe because you will be blessed because we were used to help others.

Prayer: God, let me be a blessing to someone today. Don’t let my agenda get in the way of what you want to accomplish today in the life of someone around me.

For All The Bean Counters and Mathematicians

Leviticus 4:46-49 says, “So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting numbered 8,580. At the LORD’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.”

Observation: The book of Numbers deals with…numbers. There was a lot of counting going on. Here we see that those men from the tribe of Levi (the Levites) were set apart for a special duty. They were essentially responsible for the tabernacle and worship duties towards God. Moses’ responsibility was to do a head count and hand out jobs to each group. Once Moses knew how many men he was dealing with he would have a better job managing the roles and responsibilities.

Application: I’ve got to be honest here, at first reading it’s difficult to figure out how I can apply Numbers 3-4 to my daily life. But you have to remember that something as simple as knowing what and who you got so you can accomplish something was sort of invented by God through Moses for the benefit of the Israelites. So there is a certain beauty here. Some people get numbers, their life is numbers, they love numbers. Other people could care less about numbers, they don’t understand numbers, and it shows in their finances. It doesn’t really matter if you are a mathematician or not, you need to know a little about numbers so you can better manage your life. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And if you can’t measure what you have, you can properly manage it. So I guess my application for this passage is that there is something beautiful about counting and knowing what you are dealing with. Weather it is your personal budget, or you are a manager of people, or whatever, you need to know what you are dealing with to be a good steward of what you have been given. Moses was being a good and obedient steward with the people he had. He measured the numbers, assigned the jobs, manged the people, and was found obedient in the process. Cool.

Prayer: God, teach me the importance of knowing what you have entrusted me with so I can be found obedient and responsible. Make that true in my personal life and my professional life.

Are You Guilty or Innocent?

Acts 24:1 says, “Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.”

Observation: Paul pretty much lived his ministry life in jail. He was always causing “trouble” by telling people that Jesus was the only way to God. He would go into the synagogues, streets, homes, wherever he went, he was preaching Jesus. And this time was again before a judge being convicted by the high priests and elders of the synagogues. They were accusing him of causing unrest within the people. He was essentially asking questions that people didn’t want to hear, and giving answers that were not very Jewish at the time.

Listen to their complaints in Acts 24, “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

Paul was being charged with going against the system. What was it that allowed him to never back down? I think if you and I had been blinded by the light from Jesus, told what to do, healed, and sent on our way, we probably wouldn’t be so quick to back down from a spiritual or cultural fight.

Application: If I was put on trial for going against the system, what would I be charged with? If I landed myself in jail, once I was released would I keep on preaching or would I turn and run to stay out of “trouble?” I would love to think that I would have the same determination as Paul, but I can’t say for sure because I have not been tested the same way he was. I do hope that I can be accused of preaching Jesus and asking questions that cause people to question their own belief system. What do you believe? Why? Are you willing to stand up and defend it no matter the cost?

Prayer: God, let the things that people say about me condemn me of being a follower of the Way, a sold out follower of Jesus Christ. Let me not back down when my convictions are leading me. Today, give me the strength to stand up for what is right no matter the cost I would pay.

“I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”

Leviticus 26:40-42 says, ” ‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.”

Observation: God began in Ch. 26 by telling the people what their reward will be for obedience. He said they would be well taken care of. God then goes on to tell the people what their punishment will be for disobedience: He will rock their world and life will be pretty horrible. But several times in this passage He always reminds them that if they will change their ways and repent, He will be quick to forgive and watch over them and provide for all their needs. In the above passage he makes it simple, confess your sins, and your fathers sins, and we’ll be good. He is looking for a humble heart (which was brought to completion through Jesus Christ, the most humble of all). He says that he will remember his promise to Jacob and all will be well.

Application: We know from Bible history that the Israelites did not do a good job of obeying God, and all the things He warned them against came to fruition. When we read the Old Testament people often note how vengeful God is. That He allows horrible things to happen to His people, and to others. But if we look at Leviticus, we see that in everything He commands, He is constantly admonishing his people to follow his commands. And if they break a command He always gives them a way to get back into fellowship with Him. He tells them a beautiful statement: I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. God so desires to walk with us, but he is asking obedience and trust! Why do I not obey God at times in my life? Probably because I have taken HIs forgiveness for granted. I abuse His love.

Prayer: God, thank you for always forgiving me. But God, I ask that you help me to walk in your commands. My most fervent prayer is this: “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.” I want to be yours and I want you to walk with me everyday!

Revert To Original Settings

Leviticus 25:20-22 says, “You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?”  I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years.  While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.”

Observation: The year of Jubilee was an amazing event. Every 50th year everything would revert back to the original setting. It’s like when you are working on a compute file. You can make changes to a file but if you don’t like what was done you can revert back to the original settings. God did this in Israel. It was applied to land, people, possessions. In the above passage God commands that every 7th year they are not to plant anything in the land. He assures them that He will take care of them by providing food that will last until the 9th year. And there was a practical reason for letting the land rest. Has anyone ever read “The Grapes of Wrath?” You’ll remember that the “dust bowl” was created by over planting and not allowing the land to rest. God is brillant, He knew this because the land belonged to Him!

Application: So check this out, the point of Leviticus 25 in my opinion is that everything God gives to man is a gift based upon a promise. And it all belongs to God and is from God and maintained by God. Man has no control. And when he thinks he does, God will revert it back to the original settings. God wants us to know that eternal life is a gift from Him, and even when we abuse it, it will revert to the original settings and keep us in alignment with God. God will provide in every instance. Everything! And just so we know there will be times in our life where we must totally rely on Him providing, just as Israel had to do every 7 years.

Prayer: Thank you God for those times when I mess things up, but you revert my life back to the original setting you had planned for me.

I Forgot

Leviticus 22:31-33 says, “Keep my commands and follow them. I am the LORD. Do not profane my holy name. I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the LORD, who makes you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD.”

Observation: I think the Israelites had a memory problem at times, as I do myself. They were easy to forget what God has done for them. It seems like miracles were not enough to prove to them that He was God. So in this passage He one again reminds them of who He is. He is Lord, He is Holy, He saved them from bondage.

Application: I need to be reminded daily of what God has done in my life. There are many similarities between the Israelites and myself. I am forgetful. God can do a great work in my life, and the next day I forget. The most important work He has done is the very same He did for Israel. He says I am the Lord who makes you Holy. That is the only reason we are allowed access to Heaven. We a part from Christ in us are not Holy. But He makes us holy. He has rescued us from bondage of sin and death.

Prayer: God, don’t let me forget today what you have done for me. Thank you for making me Holy.