Mon.’s Devo - Honoring Others

Read: Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Ps. 60:1-12, Pr. 11:15 God’s judgment brought the earthquake, the fire and the plague which destroyed so many young men, that it was time to reassess the army. God told Moses to number those who could fight and there were 601,730. Judah had the most warriors which tells us how important it is to have worshippers and praisers when we are doing warfare since Judah means “praise”. In Luke, Anna was a priestess who was widowed after only seven years of marriage then devoted the rest of her life to intercession and fasting for the redemption of Israel. At the age of about 84, God honored her devotion by allowing her to see and prophecy over the Messiah. Twelve years later it was the Feast of Passover and Jesus would be of age to go into the temple and participate in the feast. He was also the age to enter into his father’s business as all Jewish boys did at the age of 12. Jesus’ father was God so when they went to Jerusalem for the feast he assumed his parents knew he would be staying and being about his father’s business. After 3 days of missing Jesus, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple astounding the religious leaders. Jesus was surprised that his parents were so upset, but when they didn’t understand his mission, he submitted to their wishes and honored his parents above his ministry. What a lesson for us. Sometimes it is so easy to put our ministries above our families or the feelings of others. Our greatest ministry is to our family. We are suppose to honor those who are weaker than us and not make them stumble over our freedom in the Lord. That might mean changing our behavior and plans to accommodate their immaturity. Lord, help us to be sensitive to others and honor them.