Weekly Devotion

Probably, one of the most calming verses in scripture is from Numbers 6

‘”The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”‘

It doesn’t shout, sneer, or condemn. It lifts up. It is easy to understand and applies to all. People have asked me what does it mean to be a Christian and I always tell them that it’s about a man — Jesus Christ.

If you had to answer how you should live your life with so much anger and adversity surrounding you, what would you say? Would you point to others faults and blame them for what’s going on in the world? Would you blame government or our President who seems to polarize opinions about him? Or would you choose a different path?

Reading Exodus 32 this morning, I was dumbfounded when I came across Aaron’s reply to Moses about creating the golden calf in his absence. Moses had gone up the mountain to talk with God and to listen to God’s commands. Apparently, the conversation took too long for Moses’s people because they started complaining to his brother Aaron.

2020. What a year. Anxiety, stress, fear, and hatred are at an all time high. Just when we think things can’t get worse, we have a flashpoint event like what happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis. More than ever, we need to reach out to each other and show love. We need to look at the light and fire in each other’s souls and embrace (from a distance) one another.

Did you know that God made 5,467 promises in the Bible? Since God made all these promises, by definition, He must keep them all. God’s promises are irrevocable, His word is trustworthy, and God has always been faithful in keeping His promises.

The last chapter of Hebrews contains a powerful summary of wisdom and encouragement the early Christians and contemporary Christians need. Amongst all the advise in this closing of Hebrews, the writer made a very basic statement, talk the talk and walk the walk. Christians need to not only understand the Scripture, but to let it shape their lives.

As of the writing of this post, the Coronavirus has claimed 307,000 people worldwide. Add to that horrific number, more than 90,000 new cases, closed businesses, laid off workers, financial stress, suicide, and depression. We have a worldwide crisis and a perceived time for panic. Panic or looking for hope? Believers of Jesus Christ have hope.

This was way out of my comfort zone. Spiritually, I was still pretty unsure of myself, I was self-conscious of what others thought of my faith — and I was not a hugger. In the meantime, my son attended a youth version of the retreat that I was invited to. But when I saw the pure joy in him, my decision was made. I agreed.

The writer of Hebrews, used the phrase “by faith” 18 times in Hebrews 11. You think he was trying to make a point? He was encouraging his followers to value and trust faith above all things.

Hebrews 10 was a direct and clear message to Jewish Christians about authenticity. It served as a flash of light to those people struggling with their new Christian faith preferring to resort to obeying the thousands of old testament laws to make them right. Year after year they would try to appease God with their animal sacrifices and hedge laws. I have no doubt that God paid notice of their gestures, but they were sadly missing the point. They were missing what Christ had told his followers.