March 5: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 12

Not going to change now!

Scripture: Deuteronomy (NIV) 2:7 The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

Observation: Moses is reviewing history with the Israelites. They had been in the desert forty years. God had blest them. God had protected them. God had been with them all the time. Everything they needed (water, food, clothing) God had provided for them. Their history was truly HIS-story!

Application: As I look back over the past forty years, I find the same thing: my story is really HIS-story! He has blest me. He has protected me. He has been with me. He has provided for me.

Prayer: Lord, You proved Yourself faithful to the Israelites 3500 years ago and you have proved Yourself faithful to me during these last 40 years. Surely You are not going to change now! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

S.O.A.P.

March 4: Numbers 34-36; Mark 11

Fretting or Focusing?

Scripture: Numbers (NIV) 34:1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance will have these boundaries:

Observation: The following verses describe the southern boundary, the western, the northern, and the eastern boundaries. This was the land allotted by God for the nation of Israel.
The boundaries were both limiting and freeing. They limited or restricted Israel. All the land was not theirs; only that which God specified. But the boundaries freed them to focus on what God had given. The boundaries freed their faith. God would help them acquire, develop, maintain and protect what He had given them, but not that outside the boundaries.

Application: God given boundaries limit me. They limit my relationships, they limit business associations, but they are given to help me focus on what God has given. Instead of wasting brain power fretting about what I do not have or cannot do, I must focus on what I do have and what I can do.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I need you to remind me that limitations can serve to focus me. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

March 3: Numbers 32-33; Mark 10

MY perspective

Scripture: Mark (NIV) 10: 13 ¶ People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.
14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Observation: Consider the changes in perspectives of those involved:
– The children from being shunned to becoming the most important people present.
– The parent from having their most prized possession disregarded to having it greatly valued.
– The disciples from trying to protect Jesus from unnecessary distractions to learning his priority.
-Jesus from seeing what he had created in his image being kept from him to not just touching them as requested, but giving them a hug.

Application: As a school bus driver I know that children do not have my wisdom and understanding of driving a bus in traffic. At times I may ignore them to tend to driving, but I do need to make sure that they know they are valuable. In fact, they are the reason for the bus and for my job as a driver! That should be my perspective. My job was not created to give me an opportunity to earn money. It was created to provide safe transportation for valuable lives to and from school. God did not tell me to drive a bus to earn money, but because He loves children and he wants me to love them too.

Prayer: Lord, help me to see things as you see them—especially children. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

March 2: Numbers 30-31; Mark 9

Welcoming a child

Scripture: Mark 9:36 He (Jesus) took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them,
37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

Observation: United States ambassadors live in foreign countries representing our government. They act in the name of the United States. They represent our government. They speak to national leaders as though our President himself were present and speaking.

Receiving children “in his name” would mean that we are doing it on his behalf. We are receiving the child as His representative and treating them in the way He would treat them.

Application: I am to treat children as Jesus would treat them. On behalf of heaven I am to welcome them into my presence. And in welcoming a child I find that I have welcomed Jesus and the One who sent him. (NOTE: If people understood these verses, churches would have no shortage of children’s workers.)

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the children you bring into our lives. We learn from watching them and we are blest as we bless them. When we receive them in your name, you take it as though we were doing it unto you! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

March 1: Numbers 28-29; Mark 8

Pleasing the Lord!

Scripture: Numbers (NIV) 28:1 The LORD said to Moses,
2 "Give this command to the Israelites and say to them: ‘See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offerings made by fire, as an aroma pleasing to me.’
3 Say to them: ‘This is the offering made by fire that you are to present to the LORD: two lambs a year old without defect, as a regular burnt offering each day.

Observation: Here are some keys to those who want to please the Lord. First: pleasing the Lord is willingly and joyfully doing what He likes. Second: pleasing the Lord is the regular way we are to live our lives. We should not consider pleasing Him something extreme or beyond expectation. Third: pleasing the Lord is a daily thing.

Application: When I give a present to a friend, I do not give what I would like to receive, but try to give what he would like to receive. The better I know him, the better I know what to give. And so it is with the Lord; the better I know Him, the better I know what gives Him joy. Pleasing the Lord is my regular way of living my daily life.

Prayer: Lord, I do not have to look far to see things in the world that obviously bring you much pain and sorrow. I want my life to bring You joy, much joy, great joy. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

February 29

The extra…

Scripture: John (The Message) 10:10 A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Observation: Today is the extra day added in for leap year. The normal 28 days of February have become 29. It makes me think of all the extras that God has placed in this world for us to enjoy. I remember a small box of coloring crayons I had as a young boy. As I recall there were 8 basic colors: red, blue, yellow, green, black, etc. They were beautiful and I enjoyed them. Later I got a box of 16, then one of 32! There was more than just one green; there was a dark green and a light green; there was a blue green and a turquoise. The basic colors had been shaded and mixed!

God could have made the world in eight basic colors, but that would not have displayed the wonderful variety of a God who loves beauty.

Application: Today is an extra day to notice and thank God for the extra things He has brought into my life. I could have made it through life without even missing them, but He put them there for me to enjoy.

Prayer: Lord, I appreciate the variety of colors, the variety of food, the variety of sounds, etc. that You have placed in this world for me to enjoy. Indeed, You are AMAZING!!! Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

February 28: Numbers 24-27; 1Corinthians 13

What a promise!

Scripture: 1Corinthians (NIV) 13:12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Observation: What a promise! The limitations of my present knowledge will be gone. Through the smudges on the glass I see now. But a time is coming when there will be no smudges. My knowledge of God will not be through the commentaries and explanations of others, but I will know personally and perfectly.

Application: If what I know now of God is so amazing, I cannot imagine how wonderful it will be to know Him so personally and perfectly! From what I now know of His wisdom, might and power the “how’s” do not bother me too much. But I have trouble at time with the “why’s.” I am finding that when His peace fills my heart, I can leave the “why’s” to later.

Prayer: Lord, to “fully know” you as you “fully know” me! To understand the “whys” of life… Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

February 27: Numbers 21-23; Mark 6-7

In My Heart

Scripture: Mark (NIV) 7:20 He (Jesus) went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean’.
21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.
23 All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean’."

Observation: The disciples had been accused for eating with unclean hands because they had not washed their hands before eating. In these verses Jesus is explaining to His disciples what really makes a person unclean.

Application: My problem is not in the world, it is in my heart. The Victor over sin becomes the Forgiver of my sins and takes up residence within my heart as my Helper against sin. He sharpens my conscience to an acute awareness of sin and gives me strength to resist temptation. He imparts His hatred for sin within me yet He forgives and restores me when I fall. He uses His Word to build a strong wall of defense against sin and implants His Word in my memory banks to use as arrows against temptation. He makes my heart a fortress that is both holy and wholly for Him! In the center of the fortress is a fountain of praise in honor of this Victor. My heart becomes a base from which the Holy Spirit can direct my words and deeds. People coming through the gate of this fortress meet Jesus!

Prayer: Lord, like I learned to sing as a child, “Into my heart, into my heart, Come into my heart Lord Jesus. Come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart Lord Jesus.” Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

February 26: Numbers 19-20; Psalm 28; Mark 5

Pigs

Scripture: Mark (NIV) 5:15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well.
17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

Observation: The man had been extremely tormented by the demons (verses 2-5), but was now free. The demons had requested and been given permission to go into a herd of pigs which then stampeded down a hill into a lake and were drowned (verses 11-13). Now the people from the area who all knew of this man were gathering to see if what they had heard was really true. But when they heard about the pigs, they begged Jesus to leave their area! The pigs were more important than the person now free! The pigs were more important than the presence of Jesus!

Application: There are many things in life that can be, or become, like those pigs. They may be my source of income, my hobbies, my entertainment, my preferences, etc. If I am not careful, I can choose “pigs” over Jesus! If I leave the TV on while I am doing my devotions, my mind can be drawn to what the news anchor is saying over what Jesus is saying. Duh! Sometimes getting rid of the pigs is as simple as turning off the TV.

Prayer: Lord, There is nothing as important as You in my life. Holy Spirit help me to say it with my choices and actions as easily as I say it with my mouth. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!

February 25: Numbers 17-18; Psalm 29; Mark 4

What’s got my attention?

Scripture: Mark (NIV) 4:18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Observation: Jesus was giving a parable about a farmer sowing seed on various types of ground. The same seed (the Word of God) was sown on various types of ground (put within a human heart), but the results were different. In the verses above the growing seed had competition. The seed which had potential of great good was choked out by things that appeared more important and desirable.

Application: There is always something that says, “Do me now; I can’t wait. You can read the Bible and pray later.” I have to learn that things appearing most urgent are not always most important. Things that cry for my attention are not always the most deserving of my attention.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to be fooled by all the voices vying for my attention. Amen.

Pastor Leon

Making friends for time and eternity!