Posts from February 2023 (Page 2)

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 21-23                 Homeopathic medicine is the practice of curing likes with likes. The patient receives diluted doses of substances that, at full strength, cause the same symptoms the patient already has. Shakespeare stated the idea well in Romeo and Juliet: “In the infant rind of this small flower, poison hath residence and medicine power.” Homeopathic medicine is prevalent in many parts of the world, though it remains controversial among medical experts. In this instance, God prescribed…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 18-20                         Sin is a term that has been defined as “missing the mark”.  If the “mark” is the sinless life of Christ, then we are all subjected to committing sin because we all fall short of that “mark”.  In fact, the Bible is very clear in that “we call sin and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3.23).  It isn’t enough that we must struggle with sin, we also are forced to deal…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 15-17 After disciplining Korah for leading a rebellion challenging Israel’s leadership ( Numbers 16:1-50 ), God reiterated his decision for the Levites to inherit the priesthood by holding an open casting call ( Numbers 17:1-5 ). Each of Israel’s twelve tribes submitted a personalized rod to be housed overnight in the tent of meeting. The location is significant because it was “where I [God] meet with you” ( Numbers 17:4 NASB ). God would be making…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 12-14                                   As a minister I am always looking for lessons in every aspect of my life. It might be in a drive thru, at the ball game or simply something that happens at home; regardless I feel that life offers many lessons that we can learn.  That is why I wasn’t surprised at the life lesson that I witnessed when I got a haircut.  When I arrived to receive my biweekly trim, I had to…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 9-11                 In my younger days I served as a youth minister for a few congregations.  I often joke, though tongue in cheek, that being a youth minister is one of the hardest jobs a man can have.  Not only do you serve as a youth minister, you also must be a food coordinator, travel agent, childhood counselor, athletic director, song leader, camp leader, missionary, Bible class teacher, and gaming guru.  Yet probably the most difficult…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 5-6 Throughout most of history, scientists have had no understanding whatsoever about infection. In the late 1800s, Louis Pasteur’s revolutionary discoveries in microbiology disproved the long-accepted theory of spontaneous generation, an idea that life or even disease could spring from nonliving matter. (Ironically, some evolutionary scientists still cling to a similar theory.) His work proved for the first time that diseases were caused by tiny living organisms and could be transmitted from person to person. God…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 3-4        The sons of Kohath were appointed to carry the articles that were the furnishings of the tabernacle. But their access was limited, they were only to come after the articles had been covered by the sons of Aaron the priest. We are told that if the Kohathites touched the holy things when they were not covered, they would die. The same was true if they went in to watch these articles being covered and…

  BIBLE READING: Numbers 1-2             The book of Numbers takes the reader on a long and winding path through a desert of excruciating detail. The book records census results for all twelve tribes not once, but twice; it documents priestly instructions for handling the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle; and it even spells out the placement of the tribes when they camped. But through it all, we cannot doubt God’s unfailing direction over the nation. As a…

  BIBLE READING: Leviticus 21-23                 When I was a young teenager, my father had done some trading with man and acquired a 1978 Winnebago Recreational Vehicle (more commonly known as an RV).  One of my fondest memories as a kid was the first time we packed it up and headed towards Davey Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee for a camping trip.  Notice, I said that one of the fondest memories was packing up the RV and heading to…

  BIBLE READING: Leviticus 18-20                   In Matthew 22.35 a lawyer asked Jesus a question to test him, “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  The Jews knew that it was impossible for them to be able to keep the whole Law in perfect detail, so some of them wanted to make sure they obeyed the most important ones.  One might think it strange that someone would hold one part of the Law more important than the…

  BIBLE READING: Leviticus 12-14 Leprosy was the scourge of the ancient world. Nothing evoked more fear, more dread, or more revulsion than the sight of these walking dead. That is what a leper was called, a walking dead man. The smell of his decaying flesh would announce his coming long before the tattered scraps of his clothing would be seen, or his raspy “Unclean! Unclean!” announcement he was required to declare, could be heard. The stumbling shuffle of toeless…

  BIBLE READING: Leviticus 8-11                 Recently, I was scrolling through some social media site and stumbled across this image with the caption below it that read “You had one job!”.  If you haven’t caught it yet, the shirt is supposed to be a picture of the continent Asia; but that isn’t Asia, it’s Africa.  The designers of the shirt had one job, one job, and they messed it up.  That slogan sums up the story of Nadab and Abihu. …