Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for March 19

LET US DECLARE EVERYTHING GOD COMMANDS

From: March 19, 2024

“So Moses told the people of Israel everything just as the Lord had commanded Moses” (Numbers 29:40 ESV).

Moses was a faithful servant to the Lord. He passed along “everything” that the Lord had commanded him to say to the children of Israel. He did not add to, nor subtract from, nor water down the Word of the Lord. He told them all, just as the Lord had said to him. The Lord commended him for this.

Where is the witness for Christ today that would say all that the Lord has told them? Where is the pastor that would preach from Genesis to Revelation? Where is the father and mother who would teach their children the whole Word of God? Where is one that would be faithful like Moses in communicating everything that God has commanded?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. Strengthen us and give us wisdom to proclaim and teach the whole of it. For Your Word is food for our souls. And Your Living Word, Christ Jesus, is our salvation. In His name we pray, amen.

REMEMBERING WHAT GOD HAS DONE

From: March 19, 2023

“You must present these offerings to the Lord at your annual festivals” (Numbers 29:39 NLT).

Reading through all the instructions concerning offerings and festivals in the Old Testament is pretty overwhelming. It seems impossible to keep up with them all. Yet, God was teaching His people to remember Him and what He had done for them. These holy-days/holidays were meant for remembrance, worship and to remind them of their identity as one people belonging to God. In Numbers 28, the following holiday/festivals are mentioned:

– PASSOVER (Hebrew: פסח Pesach): Which commemorates the story of the Exodus, also called The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Takes place in the Hebrew month of Nisan (Mar/Apr).

– FESTIVAL OF HARVEST (Hebrew: שבועות Shavuot): Also called The Festival of Weeks and The Festival of Pentecost. It commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah. Begins at sundown in the month of Sivan (May/June).

– FESTIVAL OF TRUMPETS (Hebrew: ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, literally “head of the year”): is the 7th month in the biblical account, but became the first month of the Jewish New Year. It is celebrated by the sounding of the shofar (trumpets). It begins at sundown on Tishri 1 (Sept/Oct).

– DAY OF ATONEMENT (Heb: יום כפור Yom Kippur): It is the holiest day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Begins at sundown on Tishri 10 (Sept/Oct).

– FESTIVAL OF SHELTERS (Heb. סוכות Sukkot): Also called The Feast of Booths and The Feast of Tabernacles. It commemorates the way the Israelites were sustained by God in the wilderness for 40 years living in tents. Takes place on Tishri 15-22 (Sept/Oct).

The Jewish holidays of Hanukkah and Purim are not named in the Torah. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication during the 2nd century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where God miraculously caused the holy oil in the Temple lamps to last until more could be made. Purim commemorates God’s protection of the Jews as told in the book of Esther.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the miraculous way you have protected and provided for your people throughout the ages. We especially thank you for Jesus, our Lord and Savior. May we never forget to remember and celebrate all that you have done for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him” (Psalm 62:1 NLT).

From: March 19, 2022

LEARNING TO WAIT QUIETLY BEFORE GOD

David learned to wait quietly before God. He understood that his victory, his success, would not come from human wisdom nor strength, but from the Lord. Therefore, he trusted God for his reward.

Much of our worry and anxiety comes from our inability to control results and outcomes. We plan. We work. We worry. Yet, we often feel that all of our effort is in vain. This was how the prophet Isaiah must have felt when he wrote:

“My work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward” (Isa. 49:4).

Just like David, Isaiah felt that all his work for the Lord had come to nothing. Yet, he trusted God for his reward.

Never dig up in doubt, what you planted in faith. Wait quietly before the Lord in prayer, trusting that the harvest is in His hands. Quiet your troubled soul before the Lord. He is God and you are not.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we wait quietly before You this day. Speak Lord, for we your servants are listening. We look to You, remembering that it is not by power, nor by might, but by Your Spirit, O Lord. Fill us afresh. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“So Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him” (Numbers 29:40 HCSB).

From: March 19, 2021

TELL EVERYTHING GOD COMMANDED

Moses was a faithful servant to the Lord. He passed along “everything” that the Lord had commanded him to say to the children of Israel. He did not add to, nor subtract from, nor water down the Word of the Lord. He told them all, just as the Lord had said to him. The Lord commended him for this.

Where is the witness for Christ today that would say all that the Lord has told them? Where is the pastor that would preach from Genesis to Revelation? Where is the father and mother who would teach their children the whole Word of God? Where is one that would be faithful like Moses in communicating everything that God has commanded?

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. Strengthen us and give us wisdom to proclaim and teach the whole of it. For Your Word is food for our souls. And Your Living Word, Christ Jesus, is our salvation. In His name we pray, amen.

“My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved” (Psalms 62:5-6 NKJV).

From: March 19, 2020

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WAIT SILENTLY FOR GOD ALONE?

David instructed his soul to wait silently for God alone. Perhaps his soul was feeling impatient and anxious. The two often go hand in hand. Impatience leads to worry, which leads to questions and doubts. David knew this, so he stilled his own soul, reminding himself of who God is. Depending on the Lord, he confidently declared that nothing could move him or shake him loose from God’s protection and care.

Are you becoming impatient in these difficult days? Has your impatience led to a “noisy soul,” an inner voice that constantly speaks with a questioning and anxious sound? Remember the fruit of the Spirit includes several important helps for us, especially at times like these. A recipe for a quiet soul that waits on the Lord must include some of these ingredients: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

Which of these might we exercise today to help quiet our soul and wait silently for the Lord? “Self-control” would help us command our inner life to be quiet, much like Jesus commanded the storm, “Peace, be still.” And speaking of “peace,” we certainly could use a large dose of that today. But let’s not forget “longsuffering,” which is Christian patience, for the Spirit that lives within us gives us great perseverance through difficulty and suffering.

As believers, the quiet patience of the Spirit dwells within us, so we are able to speak to our own souls as David did and not only that we are able in Jesus’ name, to speak a word of, “Peace, be still” to the world around us too.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we wait patiently and quietly for You today, knowing that You are in control. You are our Rock and Savior, our Defender. We shall not be moved. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“You must present these offerings to the Lord at your annual festivals…” (Numbers 28:39 NLT).

From: March 19, 2019

REMEMBERING AND CELEBRATING WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Reading through all the instructions concerning offerings and festivals in the Old Testament is pretty overwhelming. It seems impossible to keep up with them all. Yet, God was teaching His people to remember Him and what He had done for them. These holy-days/holidays were meant for remembrance, worship and to remind them of their identity as one people belonging to God. In Numbers 28, the following holiday/festivals are mentioned:

– PASSOVER (Hebrew: פסח Pesach): Which commemorates the story of the Exodus, also called The Feast of Unleavened Bread. Takes place in the Hebrew month of Nisan (Mar/Apr).

-FESTIVAL OF HARVEST (Hebrew: שבועות Shavuot): Also called The Festival of Weeks and The Festival of Pentecost. It commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah. Begins at sundown in the month of Sivan (May/June).

– FESTIVAL OF TRUMPETS (Hebrew: ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah, literally “head of the year”): is the 7th month in the biblical account, but became the first month of the Jewish New Year. It is celebrated by the sounding of the shofar (trumpets). It begins at sundown on Tishri 1 (Sept/Oct).

– DAY OF ATONEMENT (Heb: יום כפור Yom Kippur): It is the holiest day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Begins at sundown on Tishri 10 (Sept/Oct).

– FESTIVAL OF SHELTERS (Heb. סוכות Sukkot): Also called The Feast of Booths and The Feast of Tabernacles. It commemorates the way the Israelites were sustained by God in the wilderness for 40 years living in tents. Takes place on Tishri 15-22 (Sept/Oct).

The Jewish holidays of Hanukkah and Purim were not named in the Torah. Hanukkah commemorates the rededication during the 2nd century B.C. of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where God miraculously caused the holy oil in the Temple lamps to last until more could be made. Purim commemorates God’s protection of the Jews as told in the book of Esther.

PRAYER: Lord, thank you for the miraculous way you have protected and provided for your people throughout the ages. We especially thank you for Jesus, our Lord and Savior. May we never forget to remember and celebrate all that you have done for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his public ministry” (Luke 3:23 NLT).

From: March 19, 2018

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIRTY YEARS

With the exception of the birth accounts in Matthew and Luke and the twelve-year old in the Temple account in Luke, the gospels contain little detail about Jesus before thirty. All four gospels focus their attention on Christ’s ministry that began with His baptism at thirty and concluded with the cross, the tomb and the ascension three years later. So, why was it significant for Jesus to begin His public ministry at age thirty?

Perhaps these examples from Scripture will shed light on this question:

1) Joseph was thirty when he began serving as Pharoah’s second-in-command over Egypt (Gen. 41:46).

2) Levite priests began their public ministry at age thirty (Ex. 4:3).

3) David became king at age thirty (2 Sam. 5:4).

4) Ezekiel the prophet saw his first vision at thirty (Ez. 1:1).

While the Bible doesn’t answer our question directly, perhaps we might infer by example and type that thirty is the biblical age for one to be publicly acknowledged as a prophet, priest or king. For in Jesus, we see all three offices fulfilled.

It was on my thirtieth birthday that I first studied these Scriptures and finally answered the call of God that had been on my life since I was a boy.

“So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the Lord commanded Moses” (Numbers 29:40 NKJV).

From: March 19, 2017

Moses was a faithful servant to the Lord. He passed along “everything” that the Lord had commanded him to say to the children of Israel. He did not add to, nor subtract from, nor water down the Word of the Lord. He told them all, just as the Lord had said to him. The Lord commended him for this.

Where is the witness for Christ today that would say all that the Lord has told them? Where is the expositor that would preach the whole Word of God? Where is one that would be faithful like Moses in communicating everything that God has commanded?

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him” (Psalm 62:5 ESV)

From: March 19, 2016

David knew how to get alone with God and find hope and encouragement from Him. He was careful to silence his own self-talk and listen for the voice of the Lord. When we allow the voice of worry (anxious self-talk) to fill our heads, discouragement abounds. At times like this we can say to ourselves, “Be quiet soul, wait and listen for God to speak.” For our hope is anchored not in our own ability, but in God’s power.

” Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed)

From: March 19, 2015

the son of Joseph, the son of Heli…” (Luke 3:23 NKJV).
Some point to the differences between the two genealogies found in Matthew and Luke as evidence of error in the Bible. However, the better explanation is that Matthew and Luke were writing from different perspectives. Matthew’s gospel presented Christ as King, while Luke’s presented him as Son of Man. Matthew followed the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke followed the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Since there was no Greek word for “son-in-law,” Joseph was called the “son of Heli” by marriage to Mary, Heli’s daughter. Through either Mary’s or Joseph’s line, Jesus is a descendant of David. Tracing a genealogy through the mother’s side is unusual, but so was the virgin birth. Luke’s explanation is that Jesus was the son of Joseph, “as was supposed.” Matthew’s genealogy started with Abraham and ended with Jesus, showing his legal right to the Davidic throne, while Luke began with Jesus and traced his humanity all the way back to Adam and to God.