One Year Bible, March 9

NUMBERS 11:24-13:33
Meek: Those who willingly endure with submission what they might otherwise escape from, because the self-preservation and "fight" has gone out of them. Moses didn't even stick up for himself! God stuck up for him.

The Turning point: The Land represents the unseen realms of the spirit. Giants are obvious overwhelming obstacles. Enemies are anything that oppose the purposes of God or anything that pollutes. Only 2 out of 12 believed what God said about giving them the Land. This time the majority was wrong!   It was not walled cities that kept Israel out of Canaan. It was fear, unbelief and disobedience. Not only that, but unbelief is contagious.

RESPONSE:   Excuses! Excuses! Excuses! Fear will paralyze you and keep you from obeying God. It's still another form of self-preservation. Sometimes I have to decide whether I will fear God, or fear something else ..... usually some person. Once you decide to believe and obey God no matter what, everything else becomes a non-issue. There are time when I have a good reason to complain, just not the right.  Maybe all those times that I complained, I should have just shut up and grown up - then I would be prepared for the challenge to my faith. The whole tribe should learn meekness!

MARK 14:22-52
Gethsemane: The "showdown" for Peter and Jesus was in Gethsemane. Peter and Jesus both had a difficult experience ahead of them. Peter didn't pass his test; Jesus did. The difference? Prayer. Sheer grit and teeth-clenching determination isn't enough. Who wants to obey God in that condition anyway? God wants willing obedience. Peter was self-confident and slept when he should have been praying. Prayer will strengthen our faith and make us able to obey with joy. All the real work was done in prayer. Jesus bled before even one nail was hammered in.

RESPONSE:   I'll admit that I don't always remember to pray, as if it doesn't matter. But, the truth of the matter is, "the flesh is weak" - it has an inability to achieve God's results.  And my flesh knows only what I tell it. The flesh is ignorant, arrogant, self-confident, rude, lazy, indecisive, cowardly, selfish - and on and on.   It is energized by humanness - which isn't enough in a crisis.  What you when you are offended, is what you are. And it will come out under pressure. So pray. And pray some more! Independence from God must be repented of! We can do NOTHING without God!

PSALM 52:1-9
Doeg, a servant of Saul's, betrayed David and, on Saul's orders, killed 85 priests of Nob (house of Ahimelech) 1 Sam 22:9-23. God will uproot the wicked man while the righteous laugh at him, but the righteous will flourish like a vigorous green olive tree. Doeg is an Edomite, which is an OT type of the flesh - which is boastful, lying, deceitful, unbelieving, and self-destructive.

PROVERBS 11:1-3
You cannot be considered godly without these three character traits: honesty, humble spirit, and integrity. Shame always and immediately follows arrogance.

RESPONSE:   From David's experience, we learn how the flesh always persecutes the spirit. And a fleshly unbeliever will persecute the godly. We don't have to defend ourselves.  God always has the last word.  The Edomites were eventually destroyed by fire. (Oba 18) - much like being purged by the Holy Spirit.