Day 77 Numbers 26:52‐28:15; Luke 3:1‐22; Psalm 61:1‐8; Proverbs 11:16‐17 Ain’t No Rock Gonna Cry in My Place In the Gospel of Luke, we see John the Baptist challenging the people who approach him for baptism. John, whose primary responsibility was to preach repentance and the coming of the Messiah, pulls no punches as he…
Day 76 Numbers 26:1‐51; Luke 2:36‐52; Psalm 60:1‐12; Proverbs 11:15 God Is Our Inheritance There are several books in the early part of the Bible where it is easy to get bogged down. One of those places is our Numbers reading for today, as it is primarily a list of the tribes of Israel for…
Day 75 Numbers 24:1‐25:18; Luke 2:1‐35; Psalm 59:1‐17; Proverbs 11:14 Make Room In his illuminating book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Dr. Kenneth Bailey places the events and stories of the gospels within the cultural context of Palestine. We have interpreted the events in Luke to match our nativity sets. But Dr. Bailey insists that…
Day 74 Numbers 22:21‐23:30; Luke 1:57‐80; Psalm 58:1‐11; Proverbs 11:12‐13 An Ordinary Birth? Isn’t it awesome how God intervenes on Planet Earth through predictable and typical events? A child is born to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and their neighbors and family rejoice. Eight days later, the baby boy is circumcised. All expect his parents to name…
Day 73 Numbers 21:1‐22:20; Luke 1:26‐56; Psalm 57:1‐11; Proverbs 11:9‐11 The Sheep Have Teeth “I am in the midst of lions; I am forced to dwell among man-eating beasts, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.” – Psalm 57:4 Before he was the leader of Israel, David penned a lot of…
Day 72 Numbers 19:1‐20:29; Luke 1:1‐25; Psalm 56:1‐13; Proverbs 11:8 Zechariah’s Non-Routine Encounter Zechariah was a Jewish priest and was of the division of Abiathar, one of the twenty-four divisions of priests carrying out responsibilities in the temple. Each day one priest from the division of priests on duty was chosen by lot to go…
Day 71 Numbers 16:41-18:32; Mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7 Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability Throughout their years in the desert, God prepared the Children of Israel for their future as a nation. He did this, in part, through the stern discipline of the march, and, when they grumbled and rebelled, through severe punishments which included…
Day 70 Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6 Our Guarantee Guarantees—we put our trust in a secured outcome. In uncertain times, we demand certainty. We want a real deal, a good value. As Jesus approached and suffered the cross, we have no doubts to whom He turned and relied to give Him the…
Day 69 Numbers 14:1‐15:16; Mark 14:53‐72; Psalm 53:1‐6; Proverbs 11:4 Denying the Jesus We Love Most of us would be the very first to say that we would not deny Jesus, just like Peter told Jesus Himself that he would never deny Him. However, I believe that we are far too often like Peter. If…
Day 68 Numbers 11:24‐13:33; Mark 14:22‐52; Psalm 52:1‐9; Proverbs 11:1‐3 Integrity or Treachery One of the aspects of the Bible that make it so believable is how thoroughly human the men and women are. There is a thread of humanity that runs through each of this days readings. A great man such as Peter is…
Day 67 Numbers 10:1‐11:23; Mark 14:1‐21; Psalm 51:1‐19; Proverbs 10:31‐32 Preparation “…Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ He…
Day 66 Numbers 8:1‐9:23; Mark 13:14‐37; Psalm 50:1‐23; Proverbs 10:29‐30 The Brightness of God As I reflect on the passages from Numbers, Mark, and Psalms, I am aware of the recurring references to light. These references call to mind a hymn by Kathleen Thomerson, the text of which begins “I want to walk as a…
