We begin the fourth book of the Pentateuch today with Numbers chapter 1, and we’ll read Mark chapter 12 from the Common English Bible, and Psalms chapter 10 from the Good News Bible.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
We saw from Numbers today that Israel had a very large army. Over 603,000. So obviously their total population was well over a million. Needless to say, Moses had his hands full!
Today in Mark 12 we heard about the poor widow who gave all she had. Two things immediately come to mind. 1) Many of us today are suffering financially. We aren’t making the kind of money we used to. It’s probably harder to be faithful with our giving than it was when money was more plentiful. But it is still important to give, even though the amount may be less. We learn from this account in Mark that the amount of the gift is less important than the amount of sacrifice. God looks at the heart…always. And the second thing that comes to mind is that God does truly notice our giving. He notices when it doesn’t cost us much, and he notices when it costs us everything. And one last observation: We don’t give to God because He needs it. We give because WE need it. Giving is an expression of our love and faith in God. Giving is much more for us than it is for Him.
Psalm 10 is another one to illustrate that humankind really has not changed. The same things that David wrote about are still facing us today. I’m so glad that we have the book of Psalms to help lead us in worship and prayers to a God that never changes.
That should do it for today. I’ll see you tomorrow. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.