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How can we fail? (Luke 9:3-5) October 19, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 120-121

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 9:3-5
These were Jesus’ instructions:
Travel light on your journey: don’t take a staff, backpack, bread, money, or even an extra change of clothes.
When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that city.
If a town rejects you, shake the dust from your feet as you leave as a witness against them.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I wonder if Jesus’ disciples thought He had lost His mind when He gave them these instructions as He sent them out into the surrounding towns and villages to share God’s message that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Are you kidding me? Take off without food or money or even anything to change into so I can wash my clothes from one day to the next? Where am I supposed to sleep? How am I supposed to eat? How will I make my way from place to place? Will God really take care of me as I take this message from one village to the next?

If you read a little further in Luke, you’ll find the reports about the disciples’ success. They were amazed at the provisions of a mighty God. They found listening ears. They found unbridled hospitality. They found villages and towns anxious to hear the good news they had to share as they traveled from place to place. Their challenge was trusting God enough to believe He would take care of their needs from day to day. But when they trusted Him, He took care of them.

It’s not unlike so many of the missionaries’ stories you hear from those our churches send into other places to share God’s word and message of salvation. God provides. Sometimes it’s money at just the right time. Sometimes it’s the right person to give guidance or assistance through a particular problem. Sometimes it’s the right place or property or building that seems impossible to secure for God’s use, but suddenly miracles take place and the spot is in your hands. God works through incredible means to secure the things we need to carry out the tasks He has given us to accomplish. When we follow His will for our lives, we cannot fail because it’s really not our mission, it’s His mission. And He can never fail.

What about this find a house and stay there? No invitation? No prior arrangements? Just go knock on the door and tell them we’re staying for a while? Tell them to vacate a bed and make room at the table?

“Well, how long are you staying?” they ask.

“Oh, until we leave.”

“How long will that be?”

“God will let us know. But thanks for the room until then.”

Now that sounds like a plan, doesn’t it? I’m ready to barge into a stranger’s house and tell them I’m taking up residence until God tells me to leave, aren’t you? But see, that’s the interesting thing about how God works. Sometimes God uses what looks like foolishness to the world to accomplish what He wants just to show us that He is in charge. He is God and we are not. He can make things happen behind the scenes that we have no idea is happening.

Jesus told His disciples to kick the dust off their feet in the towns that wouldn’t accept their message as a curse against them. But as you read their reports, I expect they didn’t use those curses much. That was one of the rules Jesus gave them, but God moves ahead of us when He gives us a job to do. I’m not sure they ever exercised that last rule. At least they never reported using it when they returned.

So the message for us today is to recognize that God gives us jobs to do. He doesn’t expect us to sit idle in our pews and just listen to sermons every week and feel good about what the preacher tells us. He doesn’t expect us to just enjoy the music we hear on Sunday or when we happen to turn on a religious radio station. God has jobs He wants us to do. If you listen for Him, you’ll hear Him and He will give you a mission to further His plans to expand His kingdom. He will put you in the path of individuals that need to hear your story and know that God is good and can free them from the bondage of sin just as He freed you from the bondage of sin.

The world will think you foolish in the undertaking of God’s plan. But the world is blinded by Satan’s lies. Remember God created this place and makes everything work. While the world listens to Satan’s lies about what won’t work, God makes it happen. Just listen to Him. Follow His directions. Do what He says. You’ll find that His instructions turn out well every time. After all, He wrote the book. He does the impossible. He is God. How can we fail if we follow in His path?

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Learn from David’s experiences (1 Chronicles 15:1-24), May 1, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 1 Chronicles 15:1-24
Set – 1 Chronicles 15; Matthew 18
Go! – 1 Chronicles 14-15; Psalms 132; Matthew 18

1 Chronicles 15:1-24
1 David founded the city of David as his capital and built his palaces there. But in his zeal to rebuild Jerusalem and build his palaces, He prepared a place for the covenant chest of God in a tent adjacent to the palace. 2-3 Then David invited the people of Israel to Jerusalem for a parade celebrating the arrival of the covenant chest of the Eternal.

David (to the assembly): Because of Uzza’s fiasco when we tried to move the chest three months ago, no one but the Levites may carry the covenant chest of God. The Eternal has selected them and them alone to bear it and to serve Him forever.

4 So David gathered the men of Aaron and the other Levites: 5 the men of Kohath (Uriel the chief and 120 of his relatives), 6 the men of Merari (Asaiah the chief and 220 of his relatives), 7 the men of Gershom (Joel the chief and 130 of his relatives), 8 the men of Elizaphan (Shemaiah the chief and 200 of his relatives), 9 the men of Hebron (Eliel the chief and 80 of his relatives), and 10 the men of Uzziel (Amminadab the chief and 112 of his relatives).

11 When they had all gathered together, David summoned Zadok and Abiathar (two priests) and the other Levites: Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and Amminadab.

David (commissioning them): 12 You are the heads of the households of the Levites. You are the ones whom God wants to carry His covenant chest. Sanctify yourselves and your relatives, so you may deliver the covenant chest of the Eternal One, God of Israel, to the tent I have prepared for it next to my palace in Jerusalem. 13 You did not carry the chest from Kiriath-jearim the first time we moved it, so the Eternal our God was infuriated at us for ignoring His commands. This time, we will bring it to Jerusalem in the way He told us to.

14 After the priests and the Levites were consecrated for their duty, David and the Levites organized the city’s processional in honor of the chest of the Eternal, the God of Israel. 15 The Levites picked up the covenant chest of God and carried it by wooden poles on their shoulders as the Eternal commanded them to do through His prophet Moses. 16 David told the leaders of the Levites to select their relatives as musicians and singers in the parade, playing instruments such as lutes, lyres, and cymbals and raising their voices in joy. 17 So the Levites appointed Heman (son of Joel) and his kinsmen, Asaph (son of Berechiah), the sons of Merari, and Ethan (son of Kushaiah). 18 With these men were their assistants: Zechariah, Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, and Mikneiah, along with Obed-edom and Jeiel who were gatekeepers.

19 The celebration began with a parade. The assembled singers (Heman, Asaph, and Ethan) sounded their bronze cymbals; 20 Zechariah, Aziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Unni, Eliab, Maaseiah, and Benaiah played their lutes tuned to alamoth, 21 and Mattithiah, Eliphelehu, Mikneiah, Obed-edom, Jeiel, and Azaziah played their lyres tuned to sheminith. 22 Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, directed the singing because of his musical ability, 23 while Berechia and Elkanah led the gatekeepers. 24 Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer (all priests) blew their clarions at the front of the parade in front of the covenant chest of God, as Obed-edom and Jehiah carried it.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

David learned from his fiasco with Uzzah I expect people to obey My commands when it comes to things I’ve set apart for Me. Uzzah’s death shook David to his core and caused him to become pretty angry with Me. But he did what he needed to do and asked why it happened. When he called in the priests as he should have done in the first place, David discovered the reason and began to put a lot of effort into moving the tabernacle correctly the next time he attempted the move.

David had Abiathar and Zadok trace the lineage of the other Levite families and made sure the assignment of their duties in regard to the tabernacle aligned with My directions, not his. David ensured the singers, load bearers, instrument players, and all the other roles associated with worship of Me were strictly aligned according to the instructions I gave Moses.

Then David invited everyone to the celebration… And what a celebration it was! The music. The dancing. The prayers. The praise. David knew Me. He knew I was the real leader of the kingdom and wanted everyone else in the kingdom to know it, also. So why not begin with a parade? Let everyone know by making My mercy seat visible for all to see as I passed through the countryside. There hasn’t been a parade like it since.

The lessons for you in David’s parade? First, when I give you directions, follow them. Not doing so carries grave consequences. Second, everyone has specific jobs to do. When you do yours things go well. When you try to do someone else’s things don’t go so well. Third, it’s okay to celebrate My presence.

Learn from David’s experiences moving the symbol of My presence to Jerusalem. It just might make a difference in your life today.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God keeps His promises (2 Samuel 6:1-15), Apr 30, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – 2 Samuel 6:1-15
Set – 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; Psalms 139
Go! – 2 Samuel 6; 1 Chronicles 13; Psalms 68; Matthew 17

2 Samuel 6:1-15
1 Once again David gathered the elite soldiers of Israel, some 30,000, 2 and they went down to Baale-judah to bring back the covenant chest of the True God, called by the Name: the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, who sits enthroned above the winged creatures who protect the chest.

3-4 They carried the covenant chest of the True God on a new cart from the house of Abinadab on the hill where it had rested, and Abinadab’s sons Uzzah and Ahio directed the new cart, with Ahio walking in front of the chest. 5 David and all the Israelites were joyous before the Eternal; and they were accompanied by wooden lyres and harps, tambourines, castanets, and cymbals.

6 When they came alongside the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to steady the covenant chest. 7 The Eternal burned with anger against Uzzah, and the True God struck Uzzah dead on the spot for daring to touch the covenant chest.

8 David was angry that the Eternal One had broken through to strike Uzzah, so the place was named Perez-uzzah, meaning “Breech against Uzzah,” to remember that act. 9 David was also frightened of the Eternal that day.

David: How can I be responsible for the covenant chest of the Eternal One?

10 So he decided he did not want to take the chest of the Eternal into the city of David, and he left it there in the care of Obed-edom, a man from the Philistine city Gath. 11 The covenant chest of the Eternal One remained there for three months; and in that time, the Eternal One blessed the household and farms of Obed-edom the Gittite.

12 When news was taken to King David that the Eternal had blessed Obed-edom and all his household because of the covenant chest of God, the king went down and brought the chest from Obed-edom’s house up to the city of David, again accompanying it with rejoicing and ceremony. 13 When the people carrying the chest of the Eternal had gone six steps, David sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf; 14 and he danced before the Eternal One with all his might, clad in a priestly vest.

15-16 So David and the house of Israel carried the covenant chest of the Eternal One up to the city of David with shouts and the sounding of the trumpet. When Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked out the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Eternal without thought for how he looked, she hated him.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

David was angry with Me for his failure to read the instructions. I didn’t mind that he wanted to move the covenant chest to Jerusalem. I wanted the ark near the king as a reminder that it was My power, not his that made Israel strong. I put the idea into his mind to bring the sacred chest into Jerusalem. The problem was David forgot that I also have very strict requirements about handling the sacred implements of My worship.

The ark of the covenant holds the most sacred of the treasures of the Israelite people. It holds the tables of stone on which I wrote the commands I gave Moses. It holds a jar of manna to remind the people I provide their needs. It represents My presence with them. And no one is to touch the chest. It is fitted with rings through which poles can slide to lift the lid and through which the chest can be lifted and carried. No one is to touch the chest, the seat of My presence. It is holy.

Many thought Uzzah did a good thing putting out his hand to steady the chest. The problem was, the chest should never have ridden on a cart in the first place. If David had read My word, he would know only My priests could carry the covenant chests. It didn’t belong on a cart carried by oxen. The symbol of My presence is too precious to entrust to a wooden cart on rugged roads.

But David didn’t take the time to confer with My priests. He didn’t read My words concerning the care of My tabernacle and My sacred implements of worship. He didn’t think about the dangers of mishandling the sacred symbol of My presence. Consequently, it cost one of his men his life. David could be angry with Me, but David could only find that I am just in My actions if he had only read My instructions.

Sometimes people pour their anger out on Me like David did. That’s okay. I can take it. But when you do, stop and read the instruction manual. Take a look at My word and see if the instruction manual explains things before you stay angry too long. You might find, like David did, I’m acting exactly like I said I would. I always keep My promises.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.