Numbers 14

"The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness." 

Numbers 14:16 {NIV} 

I have much to learn about prayer, especially intercessory prayer, and so I pay attention to the great intercessory prayers in the Bible. This passage records a particularly tragic episode in Israel's history, caused entirely by their lack of faith. Hebrews 4 teaches us that the episode itself has application to us as Christians living our lives through faith in the Son of God, yet I would like to focus our attention on the logic that Moses used with God in order to prevail in prayer and see the Israelites spared destruction. 

He told God a truth - that the people of the world watch God's people and they either glorify God or demean God based on how our lives turn out. This is true in our day in age as well, and therefore this type of apprach to God is relevant to our prayers today. We make a mistake if we think Moses isn manipulating God. NO - He is genuinely concerned about God's reputation and God's glory. Our lives would be different if we were that concerned with God's glory and our prayers would be different as well. 

Moses prevailed with God; not only did God not destroy the people, God displayed His great strength by forgiving them! May we prevail with God like this great intercessor did! 

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Philippians 4:1-13

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 4:7 (NIV) 

What an emphatic statement. This peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. Oh that my heart and mind were locked up for God. Guarded by a mighty angel who will not let me stray, a mighty spiritual guardian angel who filters all my thoughts and quenches all my evil desires! 

There is no promise of an angel that will do that for us, but this is a promise that the peace of Christ through His Spirit will be that guarding of our minds and hearts. How do we put this wonderful guard into position? By not being anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, presenting our requests to God. The alarm bell should be anxiousness. When we feel it, pray. Don't wait until you are so anxious that you have shortness of breath. Pray as soon as you have any sense at all that you are becoming anxious. Better yet, pray about everything before you get anxious. Talk to God constantly about every situation, and you will have a heaven-sent guardian called peace, that will keep you focused on our Lord. 

What haven't I prayed about today, that I should pray about? Let us take it to the Lord in prayer now! 

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John 20:19-31

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus cam and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" 

John 20:19 (NIV) 

Our Lord's first words to His disciples - and what blessed words they are - our greatest need is peace with our Creator God! John had recorded in chapter 14 that Jesus had said to them, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." Yet here are the disciples, huddled in hiding with the door locked because of fear. Jesus said "Peace be with you" to this group of men, and then when He appeared again to Thomas He said exactly the same thing. In both cases, He showed them His wounds, for His sacrifice is what our peace with God is based on. He also gave them the Holy Spirit for it is through the presence of the Spirit of God in us, that peace comes to us.

Thomas was challenged to believe after seeing the Lord, and a blessing was promised to all of us who believe without seeing. May we be blessed this day as we, by faith, believe that we have peace with God through the sacrifice and resurrection of His one and only Son.

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Luke 19:26-48

"As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes." 

Luke 19:41, 42 (NIV) 

They want to kill Him. They hate Him more than they hate their enemies. Yet our Lord weeps as He sees their city. This is compassion; this is love - this is the Lord weeping over the people He longs to bless. 

Psalm 122 tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and these people had been praying this prayer for hundreds of years. Yet instead of peace and life, they will face war and destruction. Their answer to their prayer is right in their midst. The people have sung the song of their Messiah, and yet the leaders will not recognize HIm as King and therefore they will receive war and destruction instead of peace and life. 

Our Lord tells us that the knowledge that He was the Messiah was "hidden" from them. Paul tells us in Romans 11 that they "experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in". 

Friend, in this age of the "Gentiles" may we take full advantage of the grace offered to us! May we make Jesus Lord and King over every area of our lives. Which do we want: war and destruction? Or peace and life? 

May we stop resisting His rule over our lives. Let us surrender today! 

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Isaiah 26

"We were with child, we writhed in labor, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life." 

{Isaiah 26:18} (NIV) 

Now this verse has to grab our attention! What did he just say?? We thought we were pregnant, nine months of discomfort, we went through the pains of childbirth and all we did was pass some wind. This verse is the best summary in the Bible of Israel and the Old Covenant. All that pain over all those years, all that work to be God's people and yet they couldn't bring salvation to the world. Isaiah saw clearly that Israel's purpose was to bring salvation to the world. To bring life to those who were dead. He also saw clearly that Israel had failed. Yet this holy man of faith looked ahead through the ages and saw the dead rise because of the dew of the LORD. Isaiah knew that salvation is the work of God. It is His work alone and this great prophet was willing to wait and to trust God alone. May we who have been wakened from the dead shout for joy! May we praise our Saviour's holy name, for He alone has done it!

Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

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Isaiah 26

"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." 

{Isaiah 26:3} (NIV) 

Perfect means complete, without blemish. Peace means there is harmony instead of conflict and strife. To have perfect peace is to be in complete harmony with your Creator God, and with yourself. People try all kinds of things to manufacture this type of harmony in their lives, and none of the external things work. We end up with a form of peace which is really no peace at all, and there is always some kind of denial or some kind of drug involved. 

Isaiah declares that if we would fix our minds on God, trusting in Him, and remaining true to Him, that He would in return give us perfect peace. A person whose mind is steadfast and who trusts the LORD is a person who walks in the way of God's laws, while waiting for God to move on their behalf. They desire the name and renown of the LORD with all their hearts, their soul yearns for God at night and their spirit longs for God in the morning. This is a description of a person in love! Your concern is their name not yours. You want to be close to them day and night, and you live in such a way as to please them. 

Oh friend, may we be like this. May we love our LORD God with everything we have this day, and experience the perfect peace that passes understanding. 

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