Overcoming the Grasshopper Mentality

“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”—Numbers 13:33

The Torah portion for this week is Shelach, from Numbers 13:1–15:41 and the Haftorah from Joshua 2:1–24.

Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” What we believe to be true about ourselves often becomes our reality.

When the spies sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan returned to the desert, they described what they saw. They saw great produce and a land flowing with milk and honey. But – and this was the key word – the people were unconquerable. In describing the inhabitants of the land, the spies said that they saw the Nephilim. According to the Sages, these were actual giants. The spies explained that in the eyes of these giants, they appeared to be little grasshoppers.

But wait a second! How did the spies know what the giants were thinking about them? After all, they were spies in the land and shouldn’t have spoken to anyone along the way. How could they be so sure that they looked like grasshoppers – like insignificant, vulnerable bugs – to the inhabitants of Canaan?

Wild and Crazy Faith

 Written by Kristi Huseby

Get to know God better with our interactive study “Discover Your God” 

“But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLV)

What would cause someone to go against the tide of social influence?  What would make them stand up against a vast amount of their peers and refuse to go along with what they believe?  Peer pressure is a powerful force and few can stand against it.  However, there were two men in the Bible who did just that.

Because He Said So

"Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, 'I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,' so that we confidently say, 'THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT SHALL MAN DO TO ME?'"  Hebrews 13:5-6

When I was in college, I was introduced to a popular teaching known as “name it and claim it.”  The crux of the teaching went something like this: “What do you want?  What big item, dream, healing, or wish is in your heart?  It is yours in Jesus … so just name it and claim it.”  Multitudes of people fell in love with this teaching, and began naming and claiming everything under the sun.    

Does the Bible really teach a name it and claim it theology?  The correct answer is “sort of.”  But the one who names it is not you or me, it is the Lord Himself.  We can claim by faith anything that He has first named for us.  If He hasn’t named it, you have no claim to it.  Moses surely couldn’t name and claim going into the Promised Land, because God had given him an emphatic, “NO!  And don’t ask Me about this again!” (see Deut. 3:26).  Paul couldn’t name and claim a mission trip to Bithynia, because “the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them” (Acts 16:7). 

Aaronic Benediction Explained

Dear Friends,

Myles & Katharine Weiss

Messianic Jews have consistently experienced a presence of peace with Arab, Egyptian, and Persian Believers. The continued failure of political peace efforts is underwhelming and completely predictable. Any of us who are involved with world ministry, especially those in Israel, can recount mountaintop experiences of supernatural fellowship that supersedes human failure and historical precedent.

This is based on the power of blessing that comes directly from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is not merely a New Testament phenomenon. Blessing is a characteristic that winds throughout His-story including the Tanach (Old Testament). From the very time it was instituted in the Word, we see that Abraham could bless whomever he wanted. One of the most famous rabbis in Jewish history observes that if Abraham could bless whomever he wanted, doing so becomes a privilege that God gave to us as the children of Abraham. In fact, it is commanded. In Numbers chapter six, God told Moses to have Aaron and his sons stand before the people and “You will bless the Sons of Israel in this way….”

Zipporah : The Woman Who Wrongly Opposed Her Husband

Scripture References—Exodus 2:21, 22;4:24, 25; 18:1-6

Name Meaning—A Midian name, Zipporah means “a little bird,” “a sparrow.” Wilkinson observes that “the feminine termination ah added to the common word Zippor, which is also the father of Balak, king of Moab.” Such a name like “dove” or “lamb” would originally be a term of endearment, and thus the word passer &--;“a sparrow”—is used by the Roman poets. Passer is also being found as a Roman family name. The root of this word is an Arabic verb, signifying “to chirp.”

Family Connections—Zipporah was one of the seven daughters of Jethro who is also called Reuel and Raguel (Exodus 2:18; 4:24, 25;18:1-6; Numbers 10:29). It was to the home of this shepherd-priest in Midian that Moses came when at forty years of age he fled from Egypt, and meeting the seven girls drawing water Moses assisted them. Arriving home earlier than usual they told how the Egyptian had helped them. Brought up as a son of Pharaoh, Moses must have looked every inch a cultured Egyptian. 

“Heaven’s Solution to Our Emptiness” Part V

EXPLORATION:

I Find All My Joy In You

“I find all my joy in you,
like a friend
who invites
a beloved friend
to a garden
to breathe together
exotic air and sweet fragrances
to delight in lovely flowers
to hear an exquisite concert
and feast on luscious,
delicious fruit.”

Gertrude the Great

Do I believe God has designed a bountiful harvest in my empty life?

What do I believe that harvest will yield?

INSPIRATION:

“All the great blessings of my life are present in my thoughts today.”

Phoebe Cory
My Blessings

Why Did God Sit Me on the Shelf?

Dr. Julie Barrier,


Just got home. Opened the frig. An odiferous gallon of sour milk reminds me that I should have pitched it days ago. Milk has a short shelf life. The rotten cow juice makes my Cheerios taste like poo.

Avocados are the food of the gods, in my estimation. Especially if you pair them with salsa and Doritos. If you grab avocados in the grocery, they are rock-hard and tasteless. Stick them in a sunny windowsill for two days and they become silky and succulent. Leave them too long and they become brown and pasty. Blech. Their shelf life is miniscule. 

Hostess Twinkies have a shelf life of fifty years. I’m not kidding. Hostess is out of business, but the cream filling may be re-purposed as cement for space stations in 2050.

Broken Things

"By reason of breakings they purify themselves" (Job 41:25).

God uses most for His glory those people and things which are most perfectly broken. The sacrifices He accepts are broken and contrite hearts. It was the breaking down of Jacob's natural strength at Peniel that got him where God could clothe him with spiritual power. It was breaking the surface of the rock at Horeb, by the stroke of Moses' rod that let out the cool waters to thirsty people.

It was when the 300 elect soldiers under Gideon broke their pitchers, a type of breaking themselves, that the hidden lights shone forth to the consternation of their adversaries. It was when the poor widow broke the seal of the little pot of oil, and poured it forth, that God multiplied it to pay her debts and supply means of support.

It was when Esther risked her life and broke through the rigid etiquette of a heathen court, that she obtained favor to rescue her people from death. It was when Jesus took the five loaves and broke them, that the bread was multiplied in the very act of breaking, sufficient to feed five thousand. 

What's Important about Jesus Not Breaking Any Bones?

the Case for Christ Study Bible

When God gave Moses and Aaron the rules for the Passover, some might have sounded unconventional—for example, the clear prohibition against breaking any bones of the lamb that was sacrificed and eaten by each household. Why did God insist on this?

This command—that the Passover lamb not have its legs broken—carries symbolic weight. When Jesus, whom John the Baptist proclaimed to be “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), was crucified, not one of his bones was broken. John 19:31–34 tells us that when the soldiers came to Jesus to break his legs to hasten his death, they found that he was already dead, so they pierced his side with a spear but did not break his legs.

Thanking God for Unanswered Prayers

March 26, 2013

Dear Reader: Happy Passover! For the next eight days, we celebrate Pesach (Passover), offering you devotional reflection tied to this very special observance as well as Torah readings for each day. Since no work is done on the holiest of these days, these devotions were prepared in advance for you.
"His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him." —Exodus 2:4

Today is Day 1 of the eight-day Passover celebration. The Torah reading for today is from Exodus 12:21–51 and the Haftorah is from Joshua 3:5–7; 5:2–6:1; 6:27.

What if God answered every prayer with a resounding "YES"? Would the world be a better and happier place or a worse one? For example, what if God had answered Miriam's prayer as she stood among the reeds next to the Nile River where her baby brother, Moses, floated in a basket designed to protect him as he drifted in the water?

As you remember the story, Miriam and her mother had placed Moses in the basket as a last resort. The Egyptians had resolved to kill every single Hebrew baby boy. Miriam and her mother hoped that a non-Egyptian would find the infant and have mercy on him.

The Broken Way

Gwen Smith

Today's Truth
Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today ... the LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14, NIV).

Friend to Friend
While at a football game of my son Preston's, I had a moving conversation with another team mom. It was the first time we'd ever dialogued beyond socially expected niceties. Between cheers that went up to our football-playing boys, she stumbled upon the fact that I was a Jesus-loving girl and was excited to share about how God has intimately drawn her heart to his over the past five years. How He met her where she was, ministered to her through the hands of others. How He sparked life into her soul through His Son Jesus Christ. She was radiant and she spoke with excitement, joy in every sentence, praise on her tongue for the God who gives her strength and life. This dear lady opened her heart and told me of her grueling battle with an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Buried Treasure

"The LORD said to Moses, 'Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I will write on them the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.'" — Exodus 34:1
The Torah portion for this week, Ki Tisa, is from Exodus 30:11–34:35 and 1 Kings 18:1–39.

There is an old Hasidic tale about a poor God-fearing Jew who lived in the city of Prague. One night, the man had a dream that he traveled to Vienna, and there, at the base of a bridge leading to the king's palace, he found a buried treasure. At first the man dismissed the dream as nonsense, but as the dream persisted, the man began to believe that perhaps its message was true.

Eventually, the man set out for Vienna and found the bridge that led to the king's palace. The problem was that the bridge was heavily guarded by armed men. The man paced back and forth near the bridge for days not knowing what to do. Finally, one of the guards demanded to know what he was up to. The poor man was frightened and told the guard all about his dream and his buried treasure.

Does the Bible allow remarriage after divorce?

Mark 10:11–12

Jesus refutes the teaching that a man is “required” to dispense with his wife when he suspects unfaithfulness. Jesus finds such behavior intolerable, saying Moses did not “command” men to divorce wives; he “permitted” it because of the hardness of people’s hearts (see Mk 10:5). The springboard for right action should not be hard-heartedness, but love. Jesus says that only if a woman has done something that irreparably ruptures the marriage can such a divorce be right. But it isn’t a necessary response.

Divine Diversions

Our Daily Bread 

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Matthew 1:18-25

And he called His name Jesus. —Matthew 1:25

I tend to get stuck in my ways, so anything that diverts me from my routines and plans can be very annoying. Worse yet, life’s diversions are sometimes unsettling and painful. But God, who said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isa. 55:8), knows that He often needs to divert us in order to make more of our lives than we would have if we had stuck to our original plans.

Our Daily Bread -- A Song To Remember

Our Daily Bread is hosted by Les Lamborn

READ: Deuteronomy 31:16-22

Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect. —Deuteronomy 32:3-4

I was delighted when I received a free gift in the mail—a CD of Scripture set to music. After listening to it several times, some of the melodies took root in my mind. Before long, I could sing the words to a couple of verses in the book of Psalms without the help of the recording.

The Big Minute

Rabbi Shaul Rosenblatt

Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16)

When God informs Moses of the tenth and final plague, he tells him that it will happen at "approximately" midnight. Rashi, the great commentator, asks why God was not more exact. Doesn't God have a watch? He answers that timekeeping was an inexact science in those days. Were God to have said "exactly" midnight, people might have confused their timings and thought that it was God, and not them, who had made a mistake. To avoid potential confusion, God says "approximately."

At first glance, this answer makes no sense. Let's put it in context for a moment. God has brought ten miraculous plagues upon Egypt - blood, locust with iron teeth, hail with fire inside, darkness that is palpable... These miracles are about to climax with the slaying of every firstborn Egyptian in a single moment. And God is worried that because someone might not have an atomic clock, he will think that God's not as cool as he says He is?!

Attitude of Gratitude

“The LORD said to Moses, ‘Tell Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.” Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.’”—Exodus 7:19

This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2—9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.

Moses and Aaron had clearly defined roles. Moses would be the leader of the children of Israel, but Aaron would be his mouthpiece since Moses felt limited by his speech impediment. Aaron would speak; Moses would take action. Aaron would make promises; Moses would deliver. The two brothers were a team bringing their strengths to the table and compensating for each other’s weaknesses.

This being the case, the Sages are puzzled when Aaron, not Moses, is commanded to bring about the first three plagues after warning Pharaoh. Wasn’t this Moses’ arena? Moses brought about the remainder of the plagues, so why not the first three?

Who Hardened the Heart?

“But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.” — Exodus 7:22

This Torah portion for this week, Vaeira, is from Exodus 6:2–9:35 and Ezekiel 28:25–29:12.

The case of the hardened heart begins when God told Moses that although Aaron would ask Pharaoh to “let my people go,”Pharaoh’s heart would be hardened and he would not relent. God told Moses, “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart… he will not listen to you” (Exodus 7:3). It appears from the text that God caused Pharaoh’s heart to become hardened, which kept him from repenting and letting the Israelites go. This begs the question: Is that really fair?

A Wild and Crazy Faith : Caleb and Joshua

Written by Kristi Huseby

    Get to know God better with our interactive study “Discover Your God”

“But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, NLV)

What would cause someone to go against the tide of social influence? What would make them stand up against a vast amount of their peers and refuse to go along with what they believe? Peer pressure is a powerful force and few can stand against it. However, there were two men in the Bible who did just that.

Caleb and Joshua were chosen, along with ten other men, to explore the promised land and give a report to Moses and the people. When they returned ten of the spies were against conquering the land. This is what they said, “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!” (Numbers 13:32-33 NLV)

Facing Marah?

"Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore, it was named Marah. So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" Exodus 15:22-24

Bitter things. No one likes bitter things. But bitter things are part of life. Life is not all honey and no bees. Roses do have thorns ... and all people face "bitter waters" from one degree or another.

The Marah story in Exodus 15 is especially significant. You see, in Exodus 14, God's people had just seen and personally experienced the greatest Old Testament miracle: the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh and his armies. The people take the first 21 verses of chapter 15 to rejoice and dance and sing over the great power of God. Life is good, and God is awesome! Hallelujah!