Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 3, Numbers 29-31
On December 23, 1994, I vowed before God and a room full of witnesses to remain faithful to my husband until parted by death.
It’s been 30 years now and by God’s grace I’ve kept that vow, through sickness and health, good times and bad. Today, after reading Numbers 30 about a woman making vows, I wanted to write here the actual words of those vows that I wrote and uttered. I pray they would remind me (and you) of the solemnity of the marriage covenant.
Before God and these witnesses,
I vow to be your partner, your dearest friend, and your wife.
I promise to love, trust, and respect you.
I will love you in sickness & in health, in good times and in bad.
I will share with you my joys and sorrows, my hopes and dreams.
I promise to challenge you spiritually and encourage you in our Christian walk together.
I will put you first in my life, knowing that our love is my most precious possession.
I promise that the home we are founding today will be a sanctuary of love, honor, and faith.
I pledge myself now to be ever faithful to you with all my body, mind, heart, and soul.
All that I am, and all that I ever will be is yours.
Today is the beginning of the rest of my life.
I will love you for today and all of our tomorrows.
Heavenly Father, I need Your strength to remain faithful. I can’t do it on my own. In my own flesh, I’m more like a dog chasing squirrels than like Horton the faithful elephant. I need Your help, Father. Help me to be a humble helpmate. Help me to be patient and kind. Help me not to be irritable and resentful. Help me to forgive and trust and persevere. I pray that my husband and I would be found faithful – faithful to each other and faithful to You – pointing a lost world to You, the only One who is faithful one-hundred percent. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen .
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 2; Numbers 27-28
The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)
Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
Numbers 27:12-17 ESV
In yesterday’s post, I wrote about godly jealousy – being jealous for the Lord’s honor and affection, rather than your own. Today, reading Moses’s humble response to the Lord’s pronouncement that he would not enter the promised land because of his earlier disobedience, I was again convicted about how often I’m more concerned with my own honor than my Lord’s.
Moses could’ve complained, “Lord, that’s not fair. I’ve worked so hard. I’ve led these people for all these years. I’ve tried my best. Why take away this blessing just because of one little mistake?”
Moses could’ve argued, “Lord, You’re wrong. You have forgotten all the good things I’ve done, all the times that I’ve obeyed. I quit! You can find somebody else to lead these horrible people.”
Moses could’ve made his own suggestions, “Ok, Lord, I get it. I’m awfully old, and I don’t have many years left. Thankfully I have these two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Surely, You will choose one of them to lead the Israelites into this promised land.”
But he didn’t do any of those things. Rather he humbly asks the Lord to “appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” He put into practice the words of Philippians 2:3-4 and so should we.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:3-4 ESV
Heavenly Father, I pray that You would make me more like Moses, loving You and loving others, submitting humbly to Your will for me and those I love. Increase my faith. Help me to remember that You are on Your throne, working all things together for good for those who love You and have been called according to Your purposes. Help me to remember that all too often the way that seems right to me is actually the way to death. I want to want what You want because Your way is always the best way. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen
Philippians 2:3-4 Scripture Song by David Talaguit
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 1; Numbers 25-26
While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel….
And the LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”
Numbers 25:1-3, 10-13 ESV
Usually jealousy is closely tied to covetousness, which is a sin. We’re jealous of someone’s marriage, children, house, job, appearance, whatever… We want what they have. In some way or other, some other person has it better than us, and we’re not happy about it.
But what about righteous jealousy? What about being jealous for your husband’s honor, or affection? Is it right to turn a deaf ear to someone slandering your husband’s name? Would a godly wife look the other way while some woman flirts with her husband … Or what if she sees her husband holding hands with his secretary?
Likewise, it is only right for us to be jealous for our Heavenly Father’s honor and affection.
How should we feel if we see a brother or sister in Christ smearing the Lord’s reputation through the dirt, chasing after idols and smut? What about when we hear someone spreading lies about our Lord Jesus?
I’m afraid we’re nothing more than selfish cowards when we close our eyes, ears, and mouths to someone slandering our great Savior’s name.
Our Gracious Father God says, “you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” (Exodus 34:14) In perfect righteousness, the Lord “yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” (James 4:5) Certainly, we need to not sin in our jealousy for our Lord’s Name. Surely, we need to speak the truth in love, having words full of grace and seasoned with salt, not repaying wrong with wrong but overcoming evil with good, but let’s look more like God’s spotless bride and less like the world’s.
I pray that our hearts would be free from selfish jealousy, envy, and covetousness, while remaining full of zealous love for our Savior’s honor, reputation, and affection.
Heavenly Father, You have loved me with a fervent, faithful love. Help me to love You back with that same kind of pursuing passion and devotion. I pray that my heart and life would be free of covetousness which is idolatry. I want to love what You love and hate what You hate. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind that I may be conformed into the image of Your Perfect Son. In the Holy, Righteous Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
One Pure and Holy Passion – Amy Nobles
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 150; Numbers 22-24
Am I largely confused by the story of Balaam and Balak? Yes, frankly, I am. But … is there any question in my mind that God is a promise-keeping, miracle-working God who never changes and has all authority over all things in heaven and on earth? No, truthfully, there isn’t. I believe with all my heart the words of Numbers 23:19,
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
Numbers 23:19 ESV
I remember one morning, too long long ago when the Mid-South was in the midst of a major heat wave which was made all the more devastating by coming right on the heels of a major thunderstorm with high winds that left a large portion of our city without power and therefore without air conditionally. Thankfully, we never lost power, but we were still having to work around the extreme heat outside. So, my husband got up early so he could mow our 2-acre yard before it got too hot. Shortly after he’d finished mowing, suddenly the sky grew dark, and we could hear the rumbling of thunder in the distance. Suddenly, I had this thought,
The sun is as present and bright right now as it was an hour ago. The clouds might hide it from view, but the sun hasn’t changed one bit.
Likewise, God is the same no matter what circumstances I find myself in. He is unmoving. He is unchanging. He is the rock of ages. Like Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” May we learn to “kiss the waves that throw [us] against the Rock of Ages,” as Charles Spurgeon so brilliantly said.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise…. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.”
Hebrews 6:13-15, 17-19 ESV
Today, as my daughter and her new husband exchange vows, promising for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do they part, I pray they would recognize God’s abiding faithfulness, and that His Holy Spirit is the One who gives them the power to keep those vows.
Great is Thy Faithfulness – Hymnology – Hymns of Grace
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 148-149; Numbers 21
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.”
So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
“We have no food. Well, I mean, this food that You miraculously give us every morning is worthless, and we hate it. Why did you deliver us out of slavery? You’re a mean god. We want to go back home.”
I wish I could say that I can’t relate, but that would be a lie. All too often the thoughts in my head sound all too much like them.
“Father, what are you doing? Why is life so hard? Why did you lead me to this place only to abandon me here? I thought you loved me?”
When the snakes were biting (and killing) the people, the Israelites simply wanted the Lord to take the snakes away.
“Make this pain go away, God! Take it away! Get me out of this desert and put me in the promised land. Now!”
But that’s not what God does. Rather, He sends a Savior, a Rescuer.
He says, “Look up here! Look up at this bronze serpent up here on this pole. Look at it and have faith. Trust Me. Don’t look down at those snakes or that snake bite. Look up here at Me! I love you. Trust Me.”
Jesus referred to this very event when He was explaining to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Him secretly by night, that he must be born again if he wants to enter the kingdom of God.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 3:14-19 ESV
What happened to the Israelites who didn’t gaze up at that snake on the pole that had been sent by God to save them? They died in their sins.
What happens to people today who don’t turn their eyes to Jesus, the God-Man sent by God to save them? They, too, will die in their sins.
Is that scary? Yes. Yes, it is. But is God good to provide a way of escape for each of us who are dying in our sin? Yes! Yes, He is!
I’ll end with these words of Jesus, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:40)
Heavenly Father, Please draw us to turn our eyes to You. You have already provided a Savior. You have already sent Your son Jesus to pay the price for our sin. Now, Lord, give us the desire and the strength to turn to You instead of turning to ourselves, our circumstances, and other fallen men. Forgive us for our complaining. Forgive us for our lack of faith. Thank You for Your steadfast faithfulness and mercy toward us, a sinful people. We pray for those around us who are running headlong away from Jesus. Draw them to know You. Please, Father. We cry, Holy! Mercy! Save us, Lord! In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
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Turn your Eyes – The Glorious Christ Live – Sovereign Grace Music
Help Us See Christ – Sovereign Grace Music
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 147; Numbers 19-20
Even when I was an atheist, I knew I messed up. I knew I did things I shouldn’t. I couldn’t even obey the rules that I made for myself. I didn’t call these things “sin,” and I didn’t call myself a sinner, but I knew I was far from perfect. I said mean things behind people’s backs and sometimes even to their faces. I gossiped and slandered and lied. I cussed. I yelled. I manipulated. Yet, I had no solution to this ongoing problem, other than trying harder. Trying harder and failing again.
I was a lone soldier against an army of tanks. I was a lone woman scaling the Rocky Mountains in a blizzard with nothing and no one to protect or guide me.
Then, one day, at God’s appointed time, I heard about the solution to this age-old problem, and it wasn’t found in my own self will or strength. It was found in Jesus, in His will and His strength, for Jesus had gone before me, living the perfect life and dying a sinless death.
He has already won the battle. He’s already standing on the mountaintop. He’s already seated on His heavenly throne.
The victory is His. As His born-again child, I am already forgiven, and my sins have already been washed away by His blood. The blood of Jesus does what no human work can do; it washes clean not only our outer flesh, it purifies even our conscience, giving us the freedom to serve the Living God.
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
Hebrews 9:13-14 ESV
And now by the strength of His Holy Spirit working in me, I’m still fighting and climbing, but not so I can be forgiven – I’m already forgiven. I’m fighting and climbing because I’m His soldier in a war that’s worth fighting. I’m in the Lord’s army, looking for souls in need of rescue. Want to join me?
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your forgiveness and grace. Thank You for the gift the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus. Thank You for not only forgiving me but for purifying my conscience and cleansing my heart. Give me the strength to get back in the battle. You have already won, yet You have called me to be a soldier in Your mighty army. This is a battle that cannot be won by my own strength, but only by Your Holy Spirit. Your Word is my weapon. Have Your way in me and through me. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Nothing but the Blood – Jadon Lavik
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 146; Numbers 17-18
God had chosen the Levites for a special purpose. They were a gift to the Israelites to guard them from the Lord’s holy wrath. The Lord did not give them any allocation of land in Israel. Rather, they were to receive tithes and offerings from the Israelite people. The Lord said, “You shall have no inheritance in [the] land …. I am your portion and inheritance among the people of Israel.” (Numbers 18:20)
This got me thinking again about the whole “Is my belly is my god?” idea that I wrote about a few days ago. Again I asked myself,
Is Jesus enough for me?
Can my belly be full with just Him?
Can I honestly, truly, genuinely say from my heart the words of Psalm 73:26, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”?
Did any of you notice the image I chose for today’s post? It features a line of ice cream cones being filled with fruit rather than ice cream.
In the last twenty years or so, my husband has had four “throat stretching” procedure. He was diagnosed about twenty years ago with a condition called Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE). EoE causes his throat to be narrow and ridged, making it difficult for him to swallow.
One suggestion the doctor made after the most recent procedure was that my husband should try to completely eliminate all forms of dairy from his diet because dairy is a common trigger for EoE. To clarify, in order for this to work, you have to completely – I said completely – eliminate dairy. No dairy. Not a spoonful. Not a drop. No milk on your cereal. No yogurt for your breakfast. No butter slathered on your bread or popcorn. No chicken alfredo for dinner. No glass of cold milk with your Oreos. Not even a single scoop of ice cream for dessert. No dairy.
And the truth is that over a decade ago I heard about a plan called the Six Food Elimination Diet (SFED) which has been proven to help most people who have EoE. I even talked to a local friend who had done it successfully. SFED has you completely eliminate not only dairy, but also wheat, eggs, nuts, soy, and fish, and then you gradually reintroduce these foods one at a time to figure out what your triggers are.
But, here’s the deal: people (including my husband and I) are rarely willing or able to do it. It’s simply too hard. We prize not only our dairy, but also our bread and pasta and Oreos.
So, friends, here we are again. Where is our hope? In these earthly things, things that trickle down our throats and fill our bellies, or in the Lord who is our eternal portion and treasure, our everlasting inheritance and hope?
Heavenly Father, You are my eternal hope, my rock, my refuge, my hiding place. Because You are with me, I do not lose hope. Though my flesh and my heart may fail, You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Please bless my family with Your strength, comfort, wisdom, and peace. Heal my husband’s body and have compassion on him according to the abundance of Your steadfast love. Let him not faint or lose heart. Great indeed is Your faithfulness. We love you. In the good name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Friend, Amen.
What Joy (Psalm 146) – Sarah Emerson
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 145, Numbers 15-16
Initially as I began reading Numbers 16, I thought I’d write about the extreme humility and meekness that Moses continued showing again and again, begging God to spare His people again and again. Moses didn’t just grab a sword and start cutting people down left and right, but instead asked the Lord to have mercy. But then, when I got to the end of the chapter, verse 48 hit me like a ton of bricks.
“And [Aaron] stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.”
Numbers 16:48 ESV
Maybe your reaction doesn’t look like mine, but that’s because your life hasn’t looked like mine. I’ve had the unique honor of standing in the gap, interceding for and reasoning with atheists who are angry with God and angry with His servants. It’s an honor, a privilege, and a calling.
But it’s hard. It’s hard to get in the ring with a mustang that you know is going to lash out at any moment. Yet the only way to gentle a mustang is to get in the ring with it.
Will you please help me to lift up my hands? Will you please stand in the gap with me? Will you pray for me and will you intercede for them, too?
Let’s remember the words Christ spoke from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
Jesus pursued me while I was His enemy. I want to do likewise.
Oh, Heavenly Father, thank You for the examples of Moses and Aaron, brave men who ran into the plague to rescue people who deserved Your wrath. Fill me with Your Mighty Spirit that I might do likewise. Make me like Jesus who came to seek and save the lost. Make me meek and gentle and humble. Keep me from pride, and keep me from complacency. I need You, Lord, and I need Your people to stand with me. None of us can do this on our own. In the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Want to know how I went from evangelical atheist to evangelical Christian? Tune in here.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 144; Numbers 14
It is so convicting to read Numbers 14 and see how desperately Moses desires God’s Name to be glorified among the nations. Moses’s top priority isn’t his own comfort, nor the comfort of the Israelites. Rather Moses’s top priority is that God would not be profaned among the Egyptians. Moses feared that “if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.'” (Numbers 14:15-16 ESV)
Moses isn’t the only one who put such a high priority on God’s name among the nations. Read Daniel’s prayer from Daniel 9,
“O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.
Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act.
Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”
– Daniel 9:16-19 ESV
And don’t forget Psalm 79:9-10, “Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes! “
Heavenly Father, I echo the words of the psalmist and cry out, “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”” (Psalm 115:1-2) Father, so many other nations see America as a Christian nation, so we ask for Your sake, for the sake of Your Holy Name, that You will save our land. Draw us back into a right relationship with You, Lord. Heal our land. Forgive us our sins. Give us a heart of repentance, that we would turn to You and turn away from our wicked ways. In the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior and King, Amen.
Not to Us (Psalm 115) – The Worship Initiative (featuring Davy Flowers)
Psalm 115 (Not to Us) with Actions – CCBC Kids Sing
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 143; Numbers 13
Yesterday I wrote my thoughts from Numbers 11-12, that the Israelites had made their belly their God – and the truth is that all too often, so do I. Well, today, reading Numbers 13, about that promised land flowing with milk and honey, full of figs and pomegranates and enormous clusters of grapes, I thought, “What about your bellies now? Why are you wishing for fish and onions when you could have milk and honey and grapes?”
And then, again, I remembered how often that’s just how I am, too. All too frequently I’m still wishing for the comfortable, worn-in life that I had in the “good ol’ days” – days that weren’t really all that good if I were honest with myself – rather than being willing to take the risk of pursuing the new, fresh joys that the Lord has waiting for me.
When our heads are turned to look behind us, we can’t see clearly what God has in store for us in the future. Sometimes the only way to press on into the future is to quit thinking about what lies behind.
The greatest gifts God has for you aren’t found on this earth. His greatest gifts aren’t found in food and phones, or family and freedom. His greatest gifts are found in faith in Jesus Christ. He is our promised land. He is our hope and joy and crown. He is our peace. He is the door to that eternal city in the unshakeable kingdom to come.
And He invites us to come to Him. Now. Today.
There is an enemy fighting against us, the devil, that crafty deceiver, that sneaky thief, that stealthy lion who masquerades as an angel of light. He is indeed a powerful adversary, but he was defeated the moment Christ rose from the grave.
The winner has already been announced. Jesus wins! Christ is victorious!
Come and see. Taste and see. God is good! He’s way better than fish and onions, and milk and figs and honey.
Heavenly Father, help me to stop thinking about those days of the past where I sat around meat pots and ate fish and onions. I was a slave then, a slave to my belly and a slave to my sin. Jesus has freed me by His blood and welcomed me into Your eternal promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, full of the abundance of joy found in fellowship with You. Help me to trust and obey, to remember that my foe has been defeated by Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Jesus has triumphed over sin and death, and invited me to do the same through the power of His Holy spirit! Praise the Lord! In the Almighty name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!
Teach What is Good 
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