The Blessing of the Lord's Leading Hand

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him."

"And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel."

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.'"

Numbers 3:5-6, 9, 11-13

Brothers,

If you are like me, some of the Old Testament verses like the ones above can seem a bit boring and lacking in application. Before my devotions this morning I prayed that the Lord would make my reading productive. When I read these verses, it struck me that the Levites could not even choose their own occupation. Then I thought, "Well, is that a bad thing?" Do we "control our destinies," as corporate America would say? Of course not! Each and every one of us is called to follow Christ's leading in all our decision-making--including career choices.

The only difference between us and the Levites is how we determine God's will for our lives. Whereas God gave a direct decree through Moses telling the Levites what they would do, we discern this through prayer, counsel from godly authorities, etc. The end result is the same--we do NOT control our lives. If you think about it, that’s actually a blessing. Our loving, Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Heavenly Father orchestrates our lives for our good and ultimately for His Glory! This realization convicted me that I have been focusing on my own material betterment and not on finding my God ordained place in the Body of Christ.

It is so easy to focus on good goals and treat them as an end in themselves--finishing high school/college, finding a good career, finding a spouse, raising a family some day, etc... However, as the catechism puts it, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"! That goal trumps all others! Have you taken time to enjoy God this week?

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Your brother in Christ,

Joel C.

God's Absolute Authority

"In You, O Lord, I put my trust..." ~ Psalm 71:1

Nick,
One of the greatest temptations we suffer is to disregard God's authority. I don't mean a flagrant violation of the laws He has put in place. What I'm talking about is a much more general category. When I say, "disregard God's authority" I'm also saying, "substitute man's foolishness for God's authority." God's laws are perfect, just, and wise; they are the first thing we should look at in any type of situtation, whether it is an argument at a discussion or edification. In contrast man's laws, though often based off God's laws, are often twisted a little bit. The laws of man, when they are against what God says in the Bible, are foolish and have no goodness in them.

Now I'm not saying that we should disregard the authority of man. I'm just saying we should check it agianst Scripture, which we should be doing with everything. The best way to do this is to have God's law written on your heart and your soul wholly given over to the Lord. Why is this the best way? Because we can check things against Scripture if we know what the Word says. However, we must also have our trust be fully in the Lord. We can only do things because the Lord allows us.

So put your trust in the Lord and "lean not on your own understanding." Let us make God's standards our standards and His law our law. Do not give 90% of your heart to God; give him 100%. You may have to give it to Him several times, because you have taken your heart back for yourself. Daily, even hourly, reaffirm that your heart is the Lord's.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15) Let that be your motto.

Think about all the things God did to make it so that you could enjoy His creation. Though we constantly rely on our own foolishness, He does not impute the punishement of our iniquity upon us. No, He sent His Son, His own, only begotten Son, perfect, blameless, just, merciful Son. Jesus was present before the world began and will exist forever. Yet He became flesh and took on the full punishment of our sins. He suffered the wrath of God, so that we might gain eternal life. He was willing to be made a curse for His people. He was willing to be separated from the Father, because as a result, you would be joined to the Father. If the Lord was willing to make such great sacrifices for you, why shouldn't you give your life to Him?

Your Brother in Christ,
our Savior and Lord,
Corey