One Year Bible, March 5

NUMBERS 4:1-5:31
Levite job description: Levites began their ministry at age of 30 (like Jesus). There were 8,580 between the ages of 30 and 50, whose job was to carry all the implements and the tabernacle. The "packing up" was done by Aaron and his sons so that the Levites wouldn't die from handling the holy things.

A Holy Camp/Church: The people were to remain separated from anything unclean. Here, being separated meant to be isolated from it, not just distinctive from it. Unconfessed sin was not allowed, and restitution must always be made. Discernment of the "spirit of Jealousy" as opposed to actual adultery: the adulterous woman is exposed by a swollen belly (the appearance of life/fetus) and a rotten thigh ("rotten" walk). A lying spirit is discerned by the virtuous woman's actual pregnancy and holy walk.

RESPONSE:   Disunity can be caused by a "spirit of jealousy" - a lying spirit trying to get something that is joined, to split in two, by making accusations. How is that spirit discerned? By "the accused" producing good fruit. It takes time (about 9 months in this case). If "the accused" is actually guilty, then "the water" becomes bitter on the inside and rots until it manifests outwardly. Stay holy and you won't have to worry about it. All this is really saying is that eventually your sin will expose itself by your fruit and by your walk!

MARK 12:18-37
(Mark 12:18-27 were addressed yesterday.)

Priorities: Loving God is the Key to Life. We love God by responding to His love for us in obedience. It involves my heart-decision, my mind, my emotions, and my "strength" or energy. When we respond that way to God's love, then we can love others. Scripture never tells us to love ourselves.  (It assumes we already do, and so Jesus tells us to "lose our lives" and Paul tells us to "mortify" it or kill it.)  In fact, we overcome the devil because we don't love ourselves, even if it means we die because of it (Rev 12:11; Job 2:4). Jesus calls self-love, self-preservation and sends the fire of the Holy Spirit into our lives to purge it out because it causes us to betray God at some point. We love others because the assumption is that GOD loves us and makes us fully satisfied in that love. BUT, for that to happen, Jesus must first be LORD because that is how we enter the Kingdom to receive the Life.

RESPONSE:   When I was NOT convinced that God loved me, I was not able to love anyone else. Oh, I "loved myself", all right. I put myself ahead of everyone. I was very self-defensive and self-interested. I thought that the only reason God loved me was because He HAD TO (God is Love, after all.). But, when I actually believed the Word of God concerning me, I taught my heart to love God. I taught my soul and my emotions to love God. I taught my mind to love God. I learned to love God with my strength. I assumed that God loved me because the Word says He does. I formed new thought habits based on this assumption. My understanding came because I was submitted to the Word of God. I had wanted to understanding it first. But it doesn't work that way because spiritual understanding is based on obedience, not intellect. I HOPE YOU ARE GETTING THIS BECAUSE THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STUFF I HAVE WRITTEN SO FAR. Let me know how you are responding to this.

PSALM 48:1-14
Mt. Zion is "the City of our God", where God's throne is. In Hebrews 12:22-23 Mt. Zion is equated with the Church, visible and invisible. It is a place IN GOD. It is where we stand when we pray - just the other side of the veil. It is the realm of the spirit, the Presence of God. When we stand there, we can't help but exalt the the goodness and greatness of our God.

PROVERBS 10:26
Vinegar sets my teeth on edge; smoke burns my eyes; and someone who is supposed to pass on a message and just takes his time or forgets, is just as irritating as the vinegar and the smoke!

RESPONSE:    I love Psalm 48 and love to read it to the Lord when we are alone. Do it often so it gets memorized - you will have words to express your praise and thanks to God. The Presence of God needs description. "Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise." Praise and thanks to God is how we train our hearts, how we teach our minds, how we instruct our emotions. How we reign in our run-away thoughts.