God's Welfare Program

Deuteronomy 15:4–6 (HCSB)

"There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD is certain to bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance—if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today. When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised you, you will lend to many nations but not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

This is God's welfare program. It is our duty to take care of our neighbors--not the government's! If we as a nation will obey God He will bless us. There will be abundance--plenty to go around.

There is no bureaucracy in God's welfare program. We do not give to the state and the state gives to our neighbor. We give it directly to our neighbor. This direct method is the most efficient. Being personally connected we are more familiar with the need. And by giving directly we are promised a special blessing. Another benefit of God's method is that it keeps our eyes and hearts open.

The fact that we are now the greatest debtor nation on earth is evidence that we have turned away from following God. He is blessing people within our borders, but He is not blessing us as a nation.

We need to repent! It is not too late to return to God and return to obedience.

May God have mercy on America!

Rejoice in God!

Deuteronomy 12:18 (HCSB)

“Rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you do….”

I read this and I thought: “I am so glad that God does not want us to be bored!” Our Christianity is not to be dull and lifeless and boring. It is to be filled with rejoicing and fun and smiling and laughter and good times! The joy in our religion is a witness to the nations. Most other religions of the world are joyless. There is no reason for rejoicing. They don’t know if there is a heaven or if there is if they are going to make it. But we know that heaven is real and we are assured a place there! We also know—and this is something else the other religions of the world do not have—our God is with us right now… right here! He loves us and accepts us. He is our Father. He carries us as a father carries his children in his arms. We belong to Him. He cannot abandon us. He is always with us. We have the best religion in the world! How can we be sad? How can we not but rejoice and be glad in our God? So, praise your God today—and have a good time doing it too! He commands it!

The Key to Success Today

Deuteronomy 11:26–28

“Look, today I set before you a blessing and a curse: ‹there will be› a blessing, if you obey the commands of the LORD your God I am giving you today, and a curse, if you do not obey the commands of the LORD your God, and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known” (HCSB).

There is nothing deep or fancy about this devotion today. The key to the Christian life as I see it is this: obedience. We are to obey God.

What are we to obey? His Word. It is right here in black and white… and red.

I heard about this older Christian gentleman who was known to have a remarkable knowledge of God’s Word. A seminarian with his nose up in the air asked him a question: “Sir, I understand you know a lot about the Bible. Please, tell me, what are the ‘Urim and the Thummin’?”

The older gentlemen responded: “You probably know a lot more about that than I do. I do know that the Hebrew words mean ‘lights’ and ‘completeness.’ The priests used them to discern God’s will. But I’ve found that the ‘Usin’ and Thumin’ method works best for me.”

The seminarian exclaimed: “Usin’ and Thumin’? I’ve never heard of those! What are you talking about?”

“Young fella, it’s simple: I use my Bible and thumb my why through it until I find God’s answer.”

If it is not clearly written in His Word (“Should I take this job?” or “Should I go to this college?”) then it is a simple matter of praying and listening. God speaks to us through His Spirit. This is the relationship part. If everything were spelled out for us there would be no need for relationship.

The results are plain: if we obey we are blessed or if we disobey we are cursed. There are two paths before us today: there is the path of obedience and the path of disobedience. It is up to us to chose which path we take and which outcome we experience.

The Lord Goes Before You Today

Deuteronomy 9:2–3

“The people are strong and tall, the descendants of the Anakim. You know about them and you have heard it said about them, ‘Who can stand up to the sons of Anak?’ But understand that today the LORD your God will cross over ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will devastate and subdue them before you. You will drive them out and destroy them swiftly, as the LORD has told you” (HCSB).

What are you fears? Who are the giants you face? Don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord is with you. His Holy Spirit lives in you.

“You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4, HCSB).

He who dwells within you is more than a match for anything you encounter today. The devil will tell you that you cannot stand against temptation today. He will tell you that you cannot stand against that habit. He will tell you that you cannot stand against that antagonist you comes against you. But remember what Jesus said about the devil: “There is not truth in him… he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

You can stand! You can win! Paul said we are “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). You see, everything points to victory in your life.

What are the giants you face today? The Lord will go before you. His Holy Spirit lives inside of you. His glory will follow you. You are no match for them by yourself, but you are not by yourself. The Lord will give you victory!

God's Wilderness Testing

Deuteronomy 8:15–19 (HCSB)

“He led you through the great and terrible wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty land where there was no water. He brought water out of the flintlike rock for you. He fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers had not known, in order to humble and test you, so that in the end He might cause you to prosper. You may say to yourself, ‘My power and my own ability have gained this wealth for me,’ but remember that the LORD your God gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant He swore to your fathers, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods to worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will perish.”

Has the Lord brought you through a time of testing? Has He humbled you? God humbles us and tests us in order that He might use us and bless us.

This is part of God’s refining process. Remember this?

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.”

“If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you want and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this: that you produce much fruit and prove to be My disciples” (John 15:1–8, HCSB).

So hang in there. God is not through with you. He is only preparing for greater usefulness.

Praise His Holy Name!

The Jealousy of God

“For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

“He will not leave you, destroy you, or forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them by oath, because the LORD your God is a compassionate God” (Deuteronomy 4:24, 31, HCSB).

Seems contradictory to be a “compassionate God” and “a consuming fire.” Our God is jealous for us. Jealousy is an emotion—a reminder that this God of ours has feelings. Jealousy is the feeling one gets when a love object is threatened. If we think that someone we love may be stolen away a feeling grips us. It is a mixture of fear and anger. We fear for ourselves, that we may lose something of great value to us. We feel anger for the rival who trespasses unto our property. We feel violated. We may express our anger toward the one we love in words or by trying to exercise control. Jealousy is one of those emotions that can be suffocating to a relationship. Better to talk about it… get it out on the table—but only if that person knows of our love for them and we have felt assured of their love for us. If they love us they should attempt to reassure us.

How does God feel jealousy over us? He knows the inclination of our hearts is always to pursue the thing we can see with our eyes and feel with our hands. Our natural tendency is always to pursue the thing that we think will give us immediate pleasure. The Lord God wants to be the sole object of our love and devotion. He tells us He is jealous of us. We should be flattered!

But He is also a compassionate God. He knows our weakness. He knows our frailty. Even when we blow it He is still there. He never abandons us. His hand is constantly stretched out to us. He wants us to come back to Him. And if we will return to Him we shall find Him waiting, ready and happy to receive us without any condemnation.

Are Children Safe?

What about children and salvation? What about children who die? Where do they go? Do they go to heaven even though they have not made a profession of faith in Christ? Is there an “age of accountability”—a magical age that a person reaches when they are accountable for their soul? I think this verse speaks to that:

“Your little children whom you said would be plunder, your sons who don’t know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it” (Deuteronomy 1:39, HCSB).

This gives us a glimpse into the mind of God in this matter. Those children who were too young to “know good from evil” were not just allowed to enter the land, they were promised the land. God said these children “will enter there.” He said, “I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.” This is strong language! The more you read it, the more impressive it is.

These children were not responsible for the rebellion of their parents. Their parents refused to enter the Promised Land. I think that had it been up to those children they would have marched right in!

When is this “age of accountability”? We do not know. This is different for every child. Every child matures at a different pace. Surely those children who grow up in a Christian home come to this understanding more quickly. I believe that these children also put their trust in Christ more readily.

The time when a child becomes aware of their guilt and need for forgiveness is different for each one. But before that time I believe they were promised heaven and guaranteed the privilege of entering into it. This is what Jesus meant when He said to the disciples, “I assure you…unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, HCSB). Faith is a quality we naturally grow out of, not into. Humility is also a quality children seem to possess quite naturally, but as adults we struggle to let go of our pride.

Do children go to heaven? We cannot know for sure when they cross that line from innocence to accountability, but we can know for certain that until that line is crossed they are completely safe.

I don’t worry about them. I’m more concerned for us.

Drive Out All the Old Occupants

Numbers 33:55–56 (HCSB)

“But if you don’t drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become thorns in your eyes and in your sides; they will harass you in the land where you will live. And what I had planned to do to them, I will do to you.”

The Israelites did not do what God instructed them to do. They did not completely drive out the inhabitants of the land. They grew tired of fighting. They wanted peace. They wanted to settle down—and they did before they finished the job.

What God promised is exactly what happened. The people they allowed to remain in the land became “thorns” in their eyes all the years they were in the land—even to this very day! The Arabs who dwell in Gaza are completely dependent on the Jews for their sustenance. The Gaza Strip is a welfare state. They are also the means by which Hamas comes in and attacks Israel. “Thorns” in their eyes and sides.

There are things that, if we allow them to remain in our lives, will become thorns in our lives as well. Those habits we carried over from the old life still tempt us. Those friendships we held on to continued to drag us down. There must be a clean break. All the inhabitants (sins) of the old life must be driven out of our lives. The Holy Spirit will go with us and fight for us. He is on our side to help us. With His help all the previous occupants can be driven from our land and we can be free and clean to live for Christ.

Balaam Got His!

Numbers 31:7–8 (HCSB)

“They waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses, and killed every male. Along with the others slain by them, they killed the Midianite kings—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.”

Numbers 31:14–16 (HCSB)

“But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign. ‘Have you let every female live?’ he asked them. ‘Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the LORD in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the LORD’s community.’”

The best commentary on Scripture is the Scripture itself. Yesterday we talked about Balaam. God told Balaam to go and meet with Balak, king of Median. But then God was angry with him because he went! On the surface it appears that God was being inconsistent. But you have to look at the whole story. Balaam may have appeared outwardly to obey God, but inwardly his heart was not right.

Balak offered to pay Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam answered that it was not possible to curse them because God had blessed them. But it was possible to get them to bring a curse on themselves. Balak conceived a plan to get Israel to sin. His scheme worked. I imagine that the prophet was rewarded handsomely for his service, but God would not allow him to enjoy his bonus.

We need to be very careful when we instigate plans against any of God’s people. I have known jealous or spiteful (or whatever) Christians to use slander or gossip or manipulation (or whatever) as a means to discredit another Christian or church. Ultimately, none of these plans can succeed—and I would not want to be in the shoes of those who instigate such plans!

Balaam had it coming to him. Eventually he got his. We must guard our hearts and our ways so that we never have it coming to us.

You Never Know What is In A Man's Heart

Numbers 22:20–22 (HCSB)

“God came to Balaam at night and said to him, ‘Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.’ When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab. But God was incensed that Balaam was going….”

Balak king of Moab hired Balaam the prophet to curse the Israelites.

This really confused me. God told Balaam to go, and then was angry with him for going. That is confusing. Is God fickle?

First—in the category of things that make you go “Hmmm”—what was a prophet doing living outside the camp of God’s people? Answer: he was a different kind of prophet. He was a hired gun. His business card should have read: “Balaam: Prophet for Profit.”

Second, you cannot know what is in a man’s heart when he appears to obey God. Here again Scripture is the best commentary on Scripture.

Peter, talking about false prophets, wrote:

"By abandoning the straight path, they have gone astray and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, but received a rebuke for his transgression: a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness” (2 Peter 2:15–16, HCSB).

Jude writing also of false prophets says: “Woe to them! For they have traveled in the way of Cain, have abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion” (1:11, HCSB).

Jesus, dictating to the church in Pergamum, said:

“But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block in front of the sons of Israel: to eat meat sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14, HCSB).

Now go back to the book of Numbers chapter 25:

“While Israel was staying in Acacia Grove, the people began to have sexual relations with the women of Moab.The women invited them to the sacrifices for their gods, and the people ate and bowed in worship to their gods.

So Israel aligned itself with Baal of Peor, and the LORD’s anger burned against Israel” (1–3, HCSB).

We can put the picture together. Balaam was not able to curse Isreal, but he gave Balak some advice. “I cannot curse them, but if you can get them to sin against the LORD, they will bring a curse on themselves..”

The Acacia Grove was nearby. Part of their pagan worship involved having sex with the priestesses under the trees. Israelite men, curious about what was doing on, checked it out. They accepted an invitation to participate and defiled themselves. Balaam could not curse them, but his plan worked to perfection!

You never know what is in a man’s heart when he appears to be following the Lord. Balaam is an example. He was headed for trouble, and his donkey had better sense than him!

Look and Live!

Numbers 21:4–9 (HCSB)

“Then they set out from Mount Hor by way of the Red Sea to bypass the land of Edom, but the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses: ‘Why have you led us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!’ Then the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and they bit them so that many Israelites died. The people then came to Moses and said, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so that He will take the snakes away from us.’ And Moses interceded for the people. Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Make a snake ‹image› and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover. So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, and he looked at the bronze snake, he recovered.’”

What is your quarrel with God? Has He been unfair to you? Has He somehow deceived you? Has He not kept His promises to you? Has He abandoned you in your time of need?

I don’t know about you, but I get convicted when I complain to God.

The people said, “We have sinned in speaking against the LORD and you.” We have sinned, but do we realize it? Do we confess it as sin? Or do we excuse it?

Moses interceded and God said, “Make a snake out of bronze….” Why a snake? Why not a cross? The snake was the offending creature.

Think with me about the inclination of man’s heart. Had God instructed Moses to make a cross they would have worshipped that cross. Had he made a giraffe they would have worshipped the giraffe. But the snake was the very thing killing them! This is the brilliance of God. Even humans are not so stupid as to make an idol out of something they know is causing them misery.

God said, “Look and live!” That is the cross! That is the Gospel! It is not “Do this and live” but “Look and live.” We have nothing to do with looking. We cannot take credit for looking. God did all the work. All He requires of us is the faith to lift our eyes to His Son.

Is Jesus the snake? The snake was singled out for God’s curse. Sin is under a curse. The Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.” Listen: All sin has within it the nature of the serpent—destruction. And Jesus became sin (the serpent) for us.

Do you think that looking at a hanging Jesus on a cross would inspire our hearts to love and wonder? We are filled with wonder that He would really do that for us, but…. Do you think that a convict slumping lifeless in an electric chair would inspire love and wonder? I think we might throw up! I think we might turn away in disgust and revulsion.

“But He did it for us!” I know—but think with me—He became sin—our sin. The Christ of the cross, mangled and bloody, is what God thinks of our sin! The effect of the cross on us should be to make us hate our sin!

I love the cross, but I hate the cross! Jesus is my Savior because He became the serpent of my sin. Thank God for the cross! And thank God for the empty tomb!

Defiled Management

Numbers 18:30–32 (HCSB)

“Tell them further: Once you have presented the best part of the tenth, and it is credited to you Levites as the produce of the threshing floor or the winepress, then you and your household may eat it anywhere. It is your wage in return for your work at the tent of meeting. You will not incur guilt because of it once you have presented the best part of it, but you must not defile the Israelites’ holy offerings, so that you will not die.”

God decreed that the priests were to live off the people’s offerings. The people were to give a tenth, a tithe, to the Lord. They were to bring it to the tabernacle. This was for the priests, for their income. But the priests were also required to tithe. There were to give a tenth of their income to God. The priests were not excluded from giving.

Every preacher should tithe. It is inexcusable for a preacher not to tithe. Any man who makes his living from the ministry must be faithful to give ten percent of his income to God. He should give more, but he must certainly give no less.

I am sick and tired of hearing people give the sorry excuse: “I don’t have to obey the Old Testament—I’m under grace, not the Law!” We are not under the Law to get to heaven, but we are under the Law as a rule for righteous living. I am still under the command not to commit adultery. I am still under the command not to steal. I am still under the command to worship the LORD God only.

But as ministers we are also stewards of the people’s offerings. What the people give is holy. If we misuse it we defile it. We speak of “defiled worship.” What about “defiled management”? The offerings people give to God are holy, and they are to be managed with holy discretion. God give us wisdom to do exactly that! And I think we will be better managers if we are faithful stewards ourselves.

Not Entering the Promised Land

Numbers 13:31–32, 14:1–4 (HCSB)

“But the men who had gone up with him responded, ‘We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!’ So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted…. Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ So they said to one another, ‘Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.’”

The majority is not always correct. There is a common tendency to believe the negative report. Mark Twain said, “A lie can travel halfway around the world before truth has even got her boots on.” Rumors and negative reports sure travel quickly.

The Israelites paid a heavy price for their faithlessness. They said, “If only we had died in this wilderness!” God gave them exactly what they requested—they died in the wilderness.

We can spend the whole of our Christian lives wandering in the wilderness of spiritual immaturity. It takes bold, believing steps of obedience to enter the Promised Land. Hebrews 4:9 tells us that there is a Sabbath rest for God’s people. There is a rest in His grace—we are no longer working our way into heaven but we are trusting in His grace to take us there. But there is also a rest of faith for the child of God, a promised land of spiritual accomplishment through His Spirit we may enter into. We walk by faith, and not by sight—trusting in His Spirit, not struggling in the energy of our flesh to get through.

The Burden of Leadership

Numbers 11:18–20 (HCSB)

“Tell the people: Purify yourselves ‹in readiness› for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the LORD: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ The LORD will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and cried to Him: ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

“Who will give us meat? Why did we ever leave Egypt? We really had it good back there.”

What?? How quickly we forget! They were miserable slaves in Egypt.

Moses learned "You don't have to be a cannibal to get fed up with people!"

It seemed all these people ever did was whine. No wonder Moses cried, “I can’t bear these people any more. Lord, go ahead and kill me.” Those who have ever been in a position of leadership know how Moses felt.

There are some people you can please some of the time;

There some people cannot please any of the time,

But no leader can please all of the people all of the time.

Nope, just can’t do it. Not possible. Never was… never will be. Just realize it and get over it.

Are you a leader? There are those times when the people will cry for your head on a stick. Just be sure you can live with yourself. Be sure, as much as you can be, that what you are doing is the right thing. Pray… pray… and pray some more. Then make your decision and be prepared for the consequences.

A white pastor decided his church needed to be multiracial. He hired a black staff member. 800 people left his church! He stuck by his guns, but he paid a heavy price.

We applaud his courage, but we're not in his shoes. As a pastor and I know how it rips your heart to see those people leave—many of them good people. It casts a cloud over the entire church. It hurts. But that pastor did the right thing.

Leadership is never easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. God bless those who do it right.

The Holy Nudging

Numbers 9:15–18 (HCSB)

“On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. At the LORD’s command the Israelites set out, and at the LORD’s command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped.”

He led them by the cloud. It was hard to mistake His guidance. A moving cloud of fire is obvious.

Does the Lord guide us today? Absolutely. The difference now is that the guidance is not external but internal. Now He leads us by His Holy Spirit.

We can read passages like this and wish we were in their place. It would wonderful to be guided by a pillar of fire. It would be awesome to see the presence of God resting on His tabernacle.

A burning cloud is an advantage in the guidance department. But we have a greater advantage, something they could not in their wildest dreams even imagine. We have a relationship! We have His Holy Spirit living in our hearts!

We have to train ourselves to recognize His moving. This training comes by responding to His nudging. The more we respond, the more acute His nudging becomes.

May the promptings of the Holy Spirit become as obvious in us as the moving cloud was to them.

Let Us Invoke His Blessing

Numbers 6:22–27 (HCSB)

“The LORD spoke to Moses: ‘Tell Aaron and his sons how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: The LORD bless you and protect you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD look with favor on you and give you peace.’ In this way they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”

This has been on my heart lately. I have actually wondered about this blessing and thought about looking it up in Scripture. We are in a time when people need a blessing! Low and behold, it shows up in my devotion time this morning. Is this a coincidence? I think not. I’m committing this to memory so I can use it tomorrow.

It is a great privilege those of us in ministry have to represent the Lord and pronounce His blessing on His people. This is not just a privilege, but also a responsibility we have and seldom practice. It may sound cheesy to us, or high church and traditional, to stand up and say a blessing over our people. But if God gives us that right we should take full advantage of it. There is great power in the blessing—maybe much greater power than we imagine. I plan on finding out for myself. People need this blessing, and must give it.

But there is something else here that I noticed this morning: the last verse says, “In this way they will put My name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” What does God mean by “put My name on” them? We say there is power in the name of Jesus. The only reason there is power in His name is because He is God. The Bible is very clear in stating that there is a curse on those who abuse His name. Conversely is there an equal blessing for those who invoke His name as such? I do not think that we use God’s name for good enough. Let us put His name on His people beginning now—and then see what happens.