Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Self-control”
Our Bible verse for today: “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Give the following instructions to the people of Israel …” Numbers 5:5 (NLT)
Our thought for today: “A holy life is the best advertisement for Christianity.”
In the previous devotional message I wrote of how the book of Leviticus was intended to provide the people of God with the instructions they needed in order to live a life that was clearly and distinctly different (and better) than the lives of the pagan people around them.
In the book of Numbers we find more of the same, only now God is preparing His people to come out of their isolation in the wilderness and to actually live among the pagan nations. The reason God wanted this was so that His people would be a visible example to the world of what holiness looks like when it is lived-out in the lives of everyday people. His people were to witness to the world with their lifestyle. Only as Israel’s pagan neighbors saw their godly lifestyle would they be influenced to look to God themselves.
What was true for the people of God in the days of Moses is equally true for the people of God in our day. God has you and me exactly where He wants us. He has us in the country, state, city, neighborhood, and work place that He wants us to be in, and our role is to be the same as that of the ancient Israelites. We are to live among the pagan nations and show them a life of holiness that brings honor to the Lord.
And, just like with the ancient Israelites, God has provided us with very specific written instructions on how He wants us to live. Please note Numbers 5:5 above. It’s a simple statement designed to serve as a lead-in to a specific instruction. The books of Leviticus and the book of Numbers are filled with such lead-ins. So is the New Testament. Therefore we, the people of God, need to study the word of God, so we will know how to live a life that brings honor to God.
And if we don’t, then we need to remember the other purpose served by the book of Numbers. Numbers is also a chronicle of divine discipline which shows the painful consequences suffered by the people of God when they disobey the commands of God.
Obedience to God requires self-control. It requires us to first of all know the commands of God and second, we must be intentional about obeying the commands of God. That takes effort and self-control, but the end result is a holy life that is distinctly different from that of a pagan culture. A holy life is the best advertisement for Christianity.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 