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MARCH 9 "HE'S GOT SOMETHING YOU DON'T"

    One of my most annoying sayings is "he puts his pants on in the morning same way I do!". This is implying that we're all on the same level here buddy. We know that no man should claim to be better than another man, but that is different than saying "we're all on the same level".  Twice in our story today God makes a clear point, "we are not all equal".  God tells Moses take these 70 men and I will put the Spirit that is upon you and place it on them. In others, Moses had something they had not. This is an undeniable truth in God's Kingdom that we are not all function on the same level. When the Seven Sons of Sceva  try casting out Demons, the Demons say, "Jesus we know and Paul we know, but who are you!?" And the demons start beat these men to a pulp.And later on in our text when Miriam and Aaron decide to grumble and gossip about Moses, once again God makes his point clear, "with Moses I speak face to face who were you to th...

MARCH 8 "THOSE WERE THE GOOD 'OL DAYS"

    The Devil is a master at re-writing history.  I'm not meaning to compare Hollywood to the Devil and His works, (or maybe I am) but we know when the  read introduction says,  "Based on a true story" you're in for quite a fabrication and stretch from the truth.  Was there any truth in that? Sure, 1%, the other 99% was fabricated. The Devil takes our history and re-writes it in our minds and leaves an ounce of truth so we don't completely dismiss it. Did the Israelites eat fish in Egypt, well I guess they did if they say so, but to somehow look back at Egypt as "the good 'ol days", really?!? Had Moses stopped them at the Red Sea and say, now remember, you're going to miss this place and one day look back at this place as the "good 'ol days" are you sure you want to cross with me?" ......They would have run him over! Nostalgia is a precarious place to go in our minds. Feelings and thoughts sweep through us to create a utopia ou...

MARCH 7 "NO HEAVEN? WHAT'S THIS?"

    HEAVEN pass away, did I read right? And perhaps if it had come from another source, then it might be debatable as to whether that statement or prediction was to be worth listening to, but I'm pretty sure (correct me if I'm wrong) that Jesus is a valid source when it comes to the subject of Heaven. How can Heaven pass away? Where am I supposed to go when I die? Where will we say people have gone to, when we do funerals? Perhaps some don't really care; maybe the thought of them playing a harp on some celestial cloud, never quite appealed to them anyway (where people get this notion I don't know). Where will the people in Heaven go to when Heaven passes away? If there's not going to be a Heaven what is my hope, after I die? Okay, perhaps I have dragged this on a little to far, especially for those that already know where I'm going with this, but I am just trying to make a point...okay, maybe two points. The first point is how we can read over very serious state...

MARCH 6 "ARE YOU A NAZARITE?"

  If any of the people, either men or women, take the special vow of a Nazarite, setting themselves apart to the lord in a special way..." I've always been intrigued by this scripture, God almost seems cavalier about this. Again, "if there's any.......who want to set themselves apart to the Lord in a special way..." wouldn't all Christians want to do that? Imagine someone speaking up and saying, "no, not me, I don't want to set myself apart for the Lord in a special way, I just want to coast, I just want to do the bare minimum". I am amazed at God's understanding with his people that some "do want to" and others simply "do not want to". I get frustrated, I get angry, I want to bully people into "setting themselves up for the Lord in a special way" I want to condemn them, I want to make them feel guilty" God simply takes it in stride. Is it what He recommends...we know the answer to that is "no", T...

MARCH 5 "I KNOW WORK IS A FOUR LETTER WORD"

    How are we ever going to make advancements in our personal lives and in The Church, until we learn, work IS NOT a dirty four letter word? Question: "Well, how much am I going to get paid if I help?"  Ans:  Nothing!  Are you really going to ask God that question?  It's like the son whose Father has spent his life feeding him, clothing him, driving him to Football, taking him out of town, paying for his summer vacations, paying for his school and one day, the father's car is broke down and he needs some help from his son, whose driver's license he paid for, whose car he bought for him, and the son turns around and tells him he'll drive him around for errands, but ONLY if he gives him gas money.  The audacity of the son.   This is where most Christians are in their relationship with God, full of nerve and audacity.  Thanklessness, not Thankfulness. God has no qualms, no hesitation about asking us to work for Him; do we have hesitation i...

MARCH 4 "WAIT...WHAT PART BELONGS TO GOD?"

         Well,  JESUS may have answered the question for the Pharisees, but He left a question for us...."what belongs to God?"  "You mean part of my income belongs to God?"  And if part of my income belongs to God, how much of it belongs to God. I know I am required (and I don't like it either) to give to the Government but I have a hard time believing I also have to give to God. It is one thing throwing in a five or ten dollar bill in the plate as it comes by, but to feel I have to give? What if I want to go out to eat, what if there's something I want to buy, I shouldn't feel compelled to have to give, that's legalism! Jesus said to give "unto God what belongs to God", but the only reference to that is in the Old Testament, surely Jesus is not implying that we should still be Tithing? But what else "belongs to God, but The Tithe".  I was told Tithing was Old Testament and we weren't under The Law anymore and that I only had...

MARCH 3 "DID JESUS KNOW ABOUT THIS?"

         SOMETHING that should catch your eye in today's reading is the complete contrast in Jesus' knowledge between the situation with the colt  vs . the situation with the fig tree. The fig tree represents everyday life, eating and drinking, the home we buy, the cars we drive, the places we work;   the colt  however, is part of God's grand scheme for Jesus, this is not just a hap circumstance experience, this is part of God's Sovereign will. What we eat, where we eat, whom we marry, what we buy typically falls under God's Permissive will for our lives.  The difference  therefore between these two situations was  God's Sovereign will vs. his permissive will . It had already been prophesied in  Zechariah 9:9  [ The Coming of Zion’s King ] "Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and  riding on a donkey, on a colt,  the foal...