Generosity is Food for the Spirit

Today's Reading:

• Numbers 36:1 - 36:13
• Proverbs 11:24 - 26

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Numbers 36:1 - 36:13
The book of Numbers ended abruptly today.  I did not realize that only 13 verses remained in this book until I sat down for today's reading.  The book of Numbers ends by saying that any woman who inherits property (because of a lack of males in the family) must marry within her own tribe.  This way all the ancestral land stays within its original tribe. 

Just like that the book of Numbers was finished. I expected to see the death of Moses before Numbers ended.  I guess that is because we saw the death of Aaron earlier in the book and because the Israel people were poised to enter the promised land.  I just assumed that Numbers ended with the death of Moses, but looks like I'll get to read another book whose authorship is credited to him.

Since I had so few verses for my readings, I re-read the introduction to Numbers and then read the introduction to Deuteronomy.  I also just flipped through the bible a bit and marveled at the wonder of it.  I feel like there's an entire world's worth of secrets waiting to be exposed to me in this greatest book of all time.

In this study that started on January 1st of this year, I have read the books of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Matthew and Mark.  Additionally I have read a lot in the books of Proverbs, Psalms and Luke.  So I have read six full books and 3 partial books, yet I feel like I've learned an indescribable amount already.  There are 66 books in the bible -- a vast amount of information lies before me, waiting to be revealed.  The thought is astounding, overwhelming, and wondrous all at the same time. 

The bible is such a glorious book.  Many of us have multiple copies lying around our homes.  You can buy the New Testament for a dollar or less.  The bible is the greatest selling book of all time.  It might be hard to get a hold of a bible in some countries, but the bible will always be available and will never be eradicated.  Yet how many of us, myself included, have never read this entire book?

I am so thankful for the Lord putting this project in my heart.  By the time I am finished I will have scrutinized every single page of this bible.  I will have written about the entire book.  All of this knowledge that has been available to me at my fingertips for my entire life will finally be realized.  And then, when I'm done reading it, I will read it again and learn even more!  The bible never ceases to me amazing.

Proverbs 11:24 - 26

24  Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.

25  The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

26  People curse those who hoard their grain, but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

 These verses seem very straightforward to me -- generosity leads to prosperity.  Not everyone who is generous will prosper financially, but these verses have implications that surpass just the monetary aspect of generosity.

Generosity is good for one's spirit.  Being generous to others, sharing with others, blessing others has a profound impact on one's own life.  Who is the most generous person you know?  What do you feel when you think of that person?  Do you feel jealousy or hatred?  Most likely not.  That's what you think about when you think of the greedy person who hoards his or her wealth.  But the generous person, they are dear to your heart, no matter how well you know them or don't know them. 

We all tend to love people who are generous.  Being generous is synonymous with being a good person.  What would it feel like to be that most generous person, I wonder.  I have a feeling that generosity and happiness go hand in hand.  I try to be a generous person but I have much work left to do.  I started with donating to charities and seeing my hard earned cash help others.  The more I help others, the more I want to do more!  It feels so good.  Generosity feels good. 

I could certainly be a more generous person though.  And I aim to become one! 

Sickness, Sin, and the Healing Power of Jesus Christ

Today's Reading:

• Luke 5:12 - 28
• Psalm 65:1 - 13

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Luke 5:12 - 28
Jesus continued his ministry and healing practices amongst the people.  In 5:13, Jesus healed a man of leprosy and told him not to tell anyone what had happened.  You would think Jesus would want the man to spread his works, but apparently the crowds that were following Jesus were humongous already.  The man did not obey Jesus and more people sought him out.

Some men sought Jesus to heal a man who was paralyzed.  The crowds were so overwhelming that they could not get near Jesus with the mat the man was lying on.  So they took tiles off of the roof and literally lowered the man down to be healed.  Jesus told the man that his sins had been forgiven 5:20 and he was healed.

The New Testament is full of examples of the healing power of Jesus.  In many cases Jesus heals the person and they go on.  In this case, however, Jesus told this man his sins were forgiven and he was healed.  This says to me that sickness can be a result of sin.  I don't believe it's only the result of sin, for there are verses where Jesus is asked whose sin caused sickness in a person, yet Jesus denied any sin had occurred (John 9:2 is an example).

Whether a person's sickness/disability/etc is a result of their sin, the sin or their ancestors, or is not related to sin at all, the bottom line is that the healing power of the Lord allows us to be healed.  Just because something bad happens to a person does not mean that he or she did anything wrong to cause it befall upon them.  But regardless of how or why a person is sick, the power of Jesus can and does heal people, even to this day.

I have personally been struggling with trying to harness the healing power of Jesus.  Jesus has bestowed upon us the ability to heal and be healed in His name, yet there is so much involved in being able to utilize it.  I have written a few posts about this topic.  One of them was titled "Receiving What You Pray For".

With the power of Jesus, I have been healed from the headaches that plagued me multiple times per week.  Even though I had absolute faith that the Lord's power would and had healed me, it was a struggle.  I felt Satan fighting against me.  The first few weeks were a struggle.  Every time a headache tried to spring up, I had to fight Satan down with the power of Jesus.

I have not had a regular headache in many months now -- probably six months.  I have other health conditions, but as hard as it was for my human body to fight against Satan using the power of Jesus, I have not yet attempted to be healed of any of them.  I also have regular sicknesses -- I have had a fever for 20 days in a row now, but I have not been able to successfully break free of it yet.  I have, however, been able to call out sickness from within my children using the power of Jesus.  Why is it easier for me to do that then to fight the battle with something that is plaguing me?

I think it has to do with self doubt and self worth.  I have to remind myself that the Lord wants us to be healed, He wants us to be whole, He wants us to feel good and to be able to serve Him 100%.  And whether the sickness is a result of an attack from Satan or from my own sin, the result is the same.  With the power of Jesus I am forgiven.  With the power of Jesus I am healed.  With the awesome power of Jesus Christ I am freed.  Thank you, Lord!  Amen.

Update: The day after I wrote this post my fever finally broke!  There was no 21st day.  Praise the Lord!

Psalm 65:1 - 13
This is a Psalm of praise to the Lord.  David sings of how the Lord answers prayers and forgives our overwhelming sins.  We are told that prayers are answered with awesome deeds.  I can think of many times were I have prayed and the Lord answered those prayers more greatly than I could ever have hoped.  The Lord is so awesome and so worthy of our praise.  The Lord blesses us even when we have let a chasm come between us and Him.  The Lord loves us, and the Lord takes care of us every step of the way.  The Lord blesses us with overwhelming abundance.

This Psalm goes on to talk about how the Lord blesses the earth.  With the rains the Lord softens the earth and creates rich pastures.  Even "the hillsides blossom with joy" (65:12).

This Psalm is just a fantastic display of the Lord's blessings, and makes me truly grateful to have the Lord on my side, looking out for me and my family and my friends.  For loving every single person on this Earth and for creating such a gorgeous and wondrous place to live and thrive.  I love the Lord with all my heart, and the fact that He can love me even though I am not worthy is truly overwhelming.

Cities of Refuge; Manslaughter vs. Murder

Today's Reading:

• Numbers 33:40 - 35:34
• Proverbs 11:23

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Numbers 33:40 - 35:34
The Israelites made camp across from Jericho.  The Lord spoke to Moses, detailing how the land should be divided.  Each tribe, with the exception of the Levites, would be given a piece of land proportional to the amount of people in the tribe.  The largest tribes were given the most land and the smallest tribes were given the least amount of land.  The Levites were to be given 48 towns with pastures to live in and raise their livestock. 

Six of these towns were designed to be cities of refuge.  If someone were to accidentally kill another human being, they could flee to one of those towns and await trial.  Inside a town of refuge, a person was safe from blood vengeance if they had accidentally killed another person.  Should that person leave the town of refuge before the high priest died, they would not be subject to protection from the victim's relatives.  If they lived in the town until the high priest died, they would be allowed to return to their own property without fear of retaliation. 

The Lord makes a big distinction here between manslaughter and murder.  Manslaughter is the accidental killing of another person.  Manslaughter could only occur between people who were not enemies, and the actions could not be deliberate.  If two people were enemies, or a person deliberately struck them -- be it with a weapon or their own fist -- and that person died, then they are guilty of murder.

Chapter 35 states multiple times that a person must be put to death if they have murdered another person.  The exception here is that there must be more than one witness for this person to be put to death (35:30).  I love how this verse takes into account the deceitful, sometimes evil nature of humans.  Or, even if a person is not intentionally lying about what they saw, they could still be mistaken. 

The thing that I gain the most out of this chapter is that the Lord is telling us that human life is to be cherished.  To deliberately end another human being's life can only be redeemed by the murder of the person who did it.  Chapter 35 also tells us that no ransom is ever to be accepted for the life of another human being.  Even those people we deem least worthy of living are cherished.  Life, human life, is truly sacred.  I plan to make the most of this human life of mine that the Lord so cherishes.

Proverbs 11:23

The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgement.

I don't have much to add to this promise, except that I will always strive to be the godly and not the wicked.

Becoming Fishers of People

Today's Reading:

• Luke 4:31 - 5:11
• Psalm 64:1 - 10

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Luke 4:31 - 5:11
Jesus told Simon Peter to cast a net out into the ocean.  Simon was skeptical, for he had fished all night with no results.  Nevertheless, he cast out his net.  Simon caught so many fish that he had to get help from a second boat.  In the end there were so many fish that both boats almost sank.  Jesus then said these words to Simon in verse 5:10:

"Don't be afraid!  From now on you'll be fishing for people!"

Fishing for people.  Jesus has commanded us to follow him and to fish for people.  For the first time in my life, by way of this blog, I finally feel like I am actively casting my net out upon the world.
 
I don't know about you, but I've always been afraid to start fishing for people.  What if people rebuke me?  What if people think me crazy?  What if people don't like me anymore because I share my faith with them?

But you know what, Jesus told us right there not to be afraid.  When Simon followed the instructions of Jesus and cast his net, it came back overflowing.  There were so many fish in that net that Simon couldn't have possibly missed the few that got away from him.

I still have a lot of work to do on my journey to fish for people.  The purpose of my blog is to cast out the Word of God among people, to tantalize them into perhaps picking up their own bible, to lure them into learning more about the Lord and learning more about what the Word says to us.  I aim to show people that studying the Word is a very intimate, individualized experience.  You could put ten people in a room and have them read the same passage, and yet it will speak differently to each person there. 

There is power in the Word.  There is beauty in the Word.  There is life in the Word.  There is inspiration in the Word.  There is comfort in the Word.  There is understanding in the Word.  There is closeness in the Word.  The Word of God speaks to your own spirit.  Your spirit longs for the Word.  My spirit longs for the Word.  I am amazed by the Word.  I am enlightened by the Word.  The Word is the second greatest gift the Lord has given to us (the first being Jesus Christ, of course!).  The Word gives me a closeness to the Lord that is otherwise unobtainable.  The Word is food for my spirit.

The Word was written just for me.  Customized to my very life, to my very spirit.  The Word was written just for you -- it has been customized to your life and customized to your spirit.  The Word is amazing.  My net unto the world is the Word of God.  May each of you who come across my blog find the light of the Word and take it into your own spirit.

Psalm 64:1 - 10
This Psalm of David foretells of the justice that will befall those who seek to do harm to others.  We are told that these people will fall victim to their own acts, and that God Himself will shoot these people down.  But for those of us who love the Lord God, who seek to do right before Him, we have peace and shelter to behold.  Praise the Lord.  Amen.

Becoming a Beautiful Woman -- Inside and Out

Today's Reading:

• Numbers 32:1 - 33:39
  
• Proverbs 11:22

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Numbers 32:1 - 33:39
Today's reading in Numbers was short and consisted primarily of tribes and the territories they conquered.  The reading ends with a list of the places Israel had stopped to camp while on their way to the promised land. 

I feel the end of Numbers is drawing near.  I can't wait to read about how the Israelites finally make their way into the promised land!

Proverbs 11:22

A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig's snout.

Eeew, that is a gross thought.  A gold ring might be beautiful, but it certainly doesn't matter if that ring is in a pig's snout!  After reading that verse, I had to look up the exact meaning of discretion.

dis·cre·tion/disˈkreSHən/

Noun:

The quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid causing offense or revealing private information. The freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation

I see here two definitions for the word "discretion".  The first goes along with all I've read about controlling one's tongue.  Those who are wise choose their words sparingly.  Those who are wise do not betray the confidence of others.  So what I gather here is that a beautiful woman should be dignified, control her words, and have and display wisdom.

The second definition comes down to deciding what to do in a situation.  So, deciding how to handle something.  Doing what is right, not doing what is wrong.  A beautiful woman should make the right decisions in her life.  By choosing the right path, she chooses life and dignity.  She sets an example for others.

Have you ever met someone who is beautiful on the outside, yet ugly on the inside?  How does a woman like that make you feel?  Those type of women invoke anger and dislike among others.

Now think of a beautiful, dignified woman.  A woman with a beautiful, beaming personality.  Because she is beautiful, a woman's first reaction might be to hate her or be jealous of her.  But no matter how hard I try, I cannot dislike someone who has a beautiful personality -- whether they be ugly or pretty on the outside.

Be discreet.  Be dignified.  Be wise.  Be beautiful -- inside and out.