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Before There Was Good

March 16 & 17
March 16 – Daily Reading – Numbers 36-Deuteronomy 1 / Mark 15:1-23
March 17 – NO Daily Reading

GOD SAID:

Deuteronomy 1:39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it..

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      One of the hardest things I’ve been called upon to do as a Pastor is to stand beside grieving parents after the passing of a newborn child. I was called to the hospital one morning, and as I walked down onto the maternity floor, I could hear the sobs of a heartbroken mother. Her baby of only a few days, stopped breathing during the night. The doctors had done all they could, the faces of the nursing staff depicted their remorse. As I stepped into the room, the father broke down in tears, he grabbed me and looked at me and said, ”WHY Preacher? Why did God take my baby?” There’s never an answer to that question. After a while of weeping together, things started to calm a bit and the mom said, “Pastor, My baby is in heaven, right?” My answer was then and still is today, “Yes, I believe God keeps children safe until they are old enough to know good from evil, right from wrong.”

      Most Pastor you talk to believe this. 2 Samuel 12:23 is where most often we turn when David says after the death of his child “… I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” Meaning the child was in heaven and someday they would be re-united. However, in Deuteronomy 1:39 I believe we can hear the heart of God toward infant children as it says; “…and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.” 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      I like what Jesus said in Luke 18:19 “…Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” I am in no way trying to re-write scripture, but I think it would be accurate to say, that before there is good, there was God.

Don’t you just love how God loves children?

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

      No matter what the situation believers may find themselves in, you’ll always find, God Is There. We saw that in:

● A Blessed Gathering
● Before I Go…
● A Battle For Good
● Bargaining For Gilead
● Boundaries Are Given
● Before There Was Good

    God is always there. That doesn’t mean we’ll never face any trials. It simply means we’ll never face one alone.

SUNDAY’S:

        Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs

Moses still has a lot to say before God actually gathers him to his people.

You too have a lot to say for the Lord. None of us know just when that day will be that God may call us home.

Until then, keep sharing the Good News!

Living In His Word Ministries
“Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Boundaries Are Given

March 15
Daily Reading – Numbers 34-35 / Mark 14:43-72

GOD SAID:

Numbers 34:2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    We all live with boundaries. They are all around us. Some are physical boundaries. Our homes or apartments have walls and doors which make up the boundaries of our living space. These boundaries give us a sense of security and ownership. Our personal belongings are kept inside the boundaries of our home. Once we move inside the home, more boundaries are created. Bedrooms are private areas that are off limits to guests coming in our home. These are boundaries we all welcome and enjoy. As a little boy, my parents said I could go outside to play, but not to leave the yard. There was no fence, but I knew where the edge of the property was and where NOT TO GO. This was for my safety. Boundaries help us know what is ours, and where we should feel safe and protected.

  In today’s passage, God shares with Israel just where the boundaries of this promised land are. He explains not only the outer edge of what is to be the Nation of Israel, but also how to divide it up once they move in. All the boundaries were set up by God so they could know what He had given them, and they could feel safe and protected inside these boundaries. God said these boundaries are special. This is not just your new home Israel, but also mine. In Numbers 35:34 He says; “Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.”

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    God has given us some boundaries to live within as believers. These boundaries are not fences, but are meant to let us know we are safe and protected. You see, our bodies are not just what we live in, but God moved in there too.

Are we keeping His place undefiled?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Bargaining For Gilead

March 14
Daily Reading – Numbers 32-33 / Mark 14:17-42

GOD SAID:

Numbers 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    When was the last time you thought you had found a bargain, and it turned out to be a burden? Some of you may have looked at a car and seen all the pretty shinny exterior, looked inside at the fancy radio and seats and thought, I have to have this car. Only to find out later, all the glamour of the outside, did not make up for the tons of cash you had to pour into the mechanics just to keep the thing running. The old phrase, “All that Glitters is not Gold” comes to mind about then.

     The families of Reuben and Gad had seen the land just outside of the land God had promised the Children of Israel. It was the land of Gilead and was fertile ground and was good for their cattle. So they devised a plan to make this their inheritance and not go over into the promised land to live. They began bargaining for this land by saying they would help the other families fight for the promised land, but they would come back to Gilead to live after the land was secured. And so they did. Just outside of the will of God. However, in the long run, this turned out to be a horrible choice. You see, the people who stayed there, known latter as the Gadarenes, stayed away from God’s will. They became infatuated with the worldly goods. So much so that when Jesus was in their land it says in Luke 8:37 “Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear:…”

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    Sadly today many live as the Gadarenes. They go to church occasionally, but live just outside the will of God. Half in the world, half for Christ. In Matthew 6:24 it says; “No man can serve two masters:…” Trying to do so is bargaining for trouble.

Who is it that you choose to serve?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

A Battle For Good

March 13
Daily Reading – Numbers 30-31 / Mark 14:1-16

GOD SAID:

Numbers 31:3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian. 

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    Growing up, I remember times when my dad and mom would not let me play with certain kids. They would say things like, “that kid is up to no good and I don’t want you to be caught up in his problems.” I didn’t understand it then. To me that was mean. They were just children to play with. However my mom and dad saw something else that I didn’t see. When I grew up and had children of my own, I remember having the same talk with my children about some of the kids they wanted to play with. I’m sorry to say that as a parent I very seldom was wrong. I’m sorry because the children I didn’t want my child hanging around with, often grew up to be involved in many other serious issue throughout their life.

     The Midianites had been A problem for the children of Israel many times in the past. Their worship of idols and rejection of God was bad enough. However, then they enticed many from the tribes of Israel to join them. Seducing them into also rebelling against God. God told Moses as a final act before you die, I want to rid the children of Israel from this terrible influence. They are no good for Israel. Moses however sees this as getting rid of them for God because they were no good to God. Isn’t it wonderful how both Moses and God had the same idea. God was protecting Israel and their good name, and Moses was protecting God and His good name. Both saw this as a battle for good.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

       When God says in 2 Cor. 6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;…” He’s not being mean, He’s being a loving Father who sees past what we can see.

Isn’t it great to see how much He cares?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Before I Go…

March 12
Daily Reading – Numbers 28-29 / Mark 13

GOD SAID:

Numbers 29:40 And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

    For those of you who are parents, try to recall the first time you left your first child with someone who was not a relative. You made a list of all the places you could possibly imagine that they might need to be called if things did not go well. The names and numbers of each place you’re going to be that night. All the emergency phone numbers for the area doctor, hospital , fire department, and police. At least two other relatives and a couple people from the church if they could not reach you. There were instructions on how to change a diaper, burp a baby, what time they were to go to bed, the temperature of the formula and the list goes on. Then, after writing all that down, you rehearsed to them when they got there as if they could not read. After which, you had them repeat it back to you so you know they heard you. Then just to be safe, you called home every half hour to see how things were going. It is your baby after all and you just wanted to know it was well taken care of.

  Moses was told in chapter 27, go up. look into the promised land and you will be gathered up to your people. You would have almost thought that by the end of the chapter, Moses would have been gone. However, there were a few hundred details that God has him rehearse in the ears of the children of Israel before he goes. It appears that God cares very much for his children. From the first to the last.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      Jesus told the disciples, before I go this is how you share the gospel and build a church. He taught them how to pray. Finally, He impressed upon their hearts through the Holy Spirit, to leave us a list of things He knew we’d need. It’s called the bible.

How much to you think God cares?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12