Numbers 20-21, Mark 10:1-31

Today we read about Moses’ sin and why he was kept out of the promised land. Now a person can read this passage and think, “Why is God punishing Moses?”. Moses went to God to solve the problem and did what he told him to. He didn’t really though. Moses took what God said to do and twisted it. Moses’ sin wasn’t really about the actual striking of the Rock, it was about his giving the appearance that it was his own power rather than God’s that brought them water. He took part of the glory away from God. If he had merely spoken to the Rock, it would have obviously all been God. I am facing a similar situation right now. I’ve been called to minister and I do what I can to do that, and I give the glory to God. The problem is that sometimes it can look like I am the one helping that person, but it’s not. God is the only one that can change lives. I can’t do it, no matter what I say or do, or how much I give to that person. God has to be the one to change the life and that person has to accept it. How often do we “do ministry” and do it without thinking about how best to bring glory to God through it. We should always do the things that bring the most glory to God and show that he is the one who’s power is being used.
Aaron was part of the water from the rock curse. He was not to enter the promised land. God took his life before they even got close. It doesn’t say exactly how, but Aaron died. When God gives us consequences for our actions, he follows through. He is a merciful God because he gave his life to give us a future in heaven, but he is also a just God, so we must pay for our actions. When you run around saying that it’s okay to do whatever because God is forgiving, you take away the glory from him. You say that you don’t have to obey him because he’ll forgive you. It’s like lying to someone who is a believer and telling yourself that it is okay because they will forgive you. Yes, they probably will forgive you, but the damage done to that relationship is real. There is more to it than forgiveness. There is reconciliation and without that, there is no relationship. It is better to avoid sinning than to deal with the consequences.
God then gave the Israelites an amazing victory and they turned around whining and crying that they had to “suffer”. Again they whined that they were better off in Egypt as slaves. This is something I see people do all the time. They accept Christ, and they start working on their walk with God. Then something happens and they lose their focus. Or they see their friends doing things they used to do that they were trying to escape from when they embraced Christ and instead of remembering how painful it was, they only remember how easy it was. We glamorize our sin, we choose to remember all of the “good” things it brought us and forget what the consequences were. Sometimes this is because we choose to not completely cut ourselves off from that sin. We stay in our old patterns and expect something to be different. We want to be accepted where we are, but we don’t realize that where we are is a trash heap. Then they start blaming the people who helped them get out of the trash in the first place. It becomes that person’s fault that they are having to actually do something to change their life. That is our immaturity. I read a great quote yesterday and added it to my page. "Maturity doesn't come with age. It begins with the acceptance of responsibility." - Ed Cole We want for change to be easy. We want God to teleport us from Egypt to the promised land just like in Star Trek. That isn’t how it works. God will do amazing things to provide for us and give us victories in the journey but he does require us to make the journey. We have to choose to continue to obey him and trust that he will help us. After all the miracles and victories God gave to the Israelites, they continued to complain and glamorize their past life. When they did it, there were fiery serpents, plague and death. What will your consequences be? Israel was saved by God over and over again. I hope that today you will start to remind yourself of the reality of your past life and begin to truly walk in the light of Christ.
I was doing okay today until I read our passage in Mark. I hope that you will truly pay attention to what it says. Believe the words of Jesus and remember that it’s not about what we want, it’s about what God wants. So often people use this verse to justify what they want to do in their selfishness. The Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus, but he used scripture and taught a real truth about God. God doesn’t want us to sin, but he knows we are human. He made us that way. That is why he had to come to die for our sins and take care of all of that. The Pharisees were trying to find out how much they could get away with. This has been a topic in youth group for a few months now. The Pharisees are asking the wrong questions. They didn’t really want to learn from him, they were testing him and trying to find out how far into sin they could delve without being outside of God’s law. The Law stated that a man could divorce a wife, but he had to write out a certificate of divorce listing his reasons for wanting that for all to see. This kept him accountable for his own actions. Jesus challenged this by pointing out that this was because man refused to obey God, not because it was okay with God. God’s plan is for two people to work together as one in a marriage, for them to put the other first and not bring hurt to the other. Most people don’t seem to be willing to do that. They want what they want, when they want it and if someone is keeping them from getting it, they push past them. The key to this is not how much can we get away with, but what will bring Glory to God. If we are walking closely to him, we will know God’s will.
Jesus called the children to himself and wanted to bless them. This brought a horde of kids running around Jesus. The disciples were trying to calm the crowd by removing the kids. That isn’t what Jesus wanted and they disciples forgot that a little chaos is good sometimes. I love when all the kids are over here playing and we can sit and watch them. My kids are my greatest blessing and I am amazed at how much joy they bring me. Jesus uses this moment to make a point. These kids were wild with glee at being able to be close to Jesus. They couldn’t contain themselves. They trusted him completely and didn’t hesitate to go into his embrace and let him touch them. It isn’t easy to have that attitude. We face things every day that wear away our trust. The thing I fail to realize a lot of the time is that it’s not God who has let me down but other people. God isn’t the one causing me pain, it is the imperfect people in my life. He doesn’t make them treat me badly, lie about me or to me. He merely comforts me when they do.
Now we are to a tricky passage. This man wants to know how to go to heaven. I don’t know about you guys but I have been asked that a million times. Jesus starts to state the case for the new covenant here. He begins by associating himself with God. Only God is good. So if Jesus is good, then Jesus is God. You’ll also notice that Jesus throws one in there for this wealthy man. “Do not defraud”. The man says he has done all of this, which means he knows inside that something besides works is needed. Jesus tells him that surrendering everything to God is necessary for salvation. The one thing he does not want to let go of must be given to God or there is something in the way of him being in communion with God. We must all give up our idols. It may be comics, sports, cigarettes or other addictions, relationships, or anything else that we put before God. You can’t play games with God. You are either all in or all out. That may seem really impossible to you, but Jesus addresses it. “But then Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God, all things are possible.” (v27) So what are you going to give to God today?
Tomorrow’s reading is Numbers 22:1-23:26 and Mark 10:32-52.