Got your armor? You're ready

Tori Short is joining the Daily Bible Blast team. She will be providing the devotion for the first Friday of each month. Welcome Tori, I know we will all be blessed by your words.

I often think I am not ready or capable to do God's work or to share in His ministry or his gospel...I often will play out scenarios in my head and say "I don't know enough" or "I have to do this...." or "It's not the right time." But do you know what you and I both need to realize is: the time is now, the knowledge is known and God is with us.

In Leviticus 8:1-13, we start with reading that God spoke to Moses directly...God showed up and spoke.

Wouldn't that be awesome if God just said "Ok, let's go?" God speaks to us, maybe even in the same way He spoke to Moses but are we listening? Are we listening to hear that voice inside our heart saying “Get ready, get your stuff and let’s go.”

Moses prepared Aaron and his sons in a very specific way...Moses equipped each with a breastpiece, robe, waistband, a turban just as the Lord commanded Moses.

In the same way God equipped Aaron for ministry and the faith battle that awaited in the world, He equips you and I today. I imagine God saying “Be strong in Me because I am power and might. Let me put My full armor on you to equip you and guide you.”

“4 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”---Ephesians 6:10-17

So strap on your armor, your beautiful protection, shield and strength.

You are ready, keep listening!

The Story - Chapter 6 - Numbers 20-21

Grumbling Continues
Today we see first-hand that God does not play favorites. Pride and disobedience are sinful ways and sinful ways will be punished by God. While this particular incident may seem like a judgment call to us, God had repeatedly explained His expectations and Moses and Aaron were the leaders. Scripture tells us leaders are held to a higher standard and are responsible for setting the example for those they lead.

Numbers 20:12 (NIV)
“But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

It is difficult to grasp just how long and drawn out this journey had been. Thirty-seven years have passed since the first scouting party entered the Promised Land and 40 years since the Exodus from Egypt. We don’t know anything much about those 37 years of wandering, but it is a fairly safe bet it was filled with grumbling, complaining and dissatisfaction. For, here we are once again, listening to the people moaning their famous ‘poor me’, chant.

Numbers 20:2-3 (NIV)
”Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD!”

Does any of this sound familiar? Do we find that we are constantly standing before God and bemoaning the same issues, day after day? Can’t we learn from our past and get beyond our petty grievances and embrace all the good which is around us? We need to daily open our eyes and close our mouths; we need to confess those times of doubt and dissatisfaction and embrace the gifts of life which God has given.

An entire generation of Israelites had passed and the next generation was preparing to accept their inheritance of the Promised Land, had they not learned from their parents’ mistakes? Have we learned from ours? Sin is all around us, there is no escaping that fact. What we can escape is the inevitability of our actions, our next moves. The act of repentance is to turn our life around, to make an about face and go in the opposite direction from the sin which imprisons.

Today let us examine our ways. Are we still wandering the dry desert sands or are we opting for the soul-quenching oasis of God’s grace and forgiveness?


Read Numbers 20-21 here

Listen to Numbers 20-21 here