Fri.’s Devo - Have Faith!

Read: Numbers 14:1-15:16; Mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4 The people chose to believe the fearful report of the ten and refused to hear Caleb’s cry that the Lord was with them - He would help them take the land. *** God was so upset with their lack of faith that he wanted to kill them all right then and begin a new family through Moses, Joshua and Caleb, but Moses talked him out of it. He reminded God of all the heathen people who had been watching them and saw what God did to the Egyptians. For God’s name’s sake, he needed to let the people live. *** God finally said that he would not kill them, but they would never step foot in the land that he had promised - only Joshua and Caleb since they had a different spirit than the rest. They believed God. *** Moses told the people God’s decision. This generation would drop dead in the wilderness, but their children would enter the land. Because of their sin, they would be sentenced to forty years of wandering in the wilderness. The forty years would stand for the forty days they walked through the land. The ten men who had gone as spies and brought back evil reports fell dead of a plague. *** A group of the men were so grieved they decided to repent and go anyway. They were chased back by the Amealekites and Canaanites because God did not go with them. *** God gave them a liquid offering of wine to give along with the other offerings when they finally did get to their land. *** In Mark, Jesus had been taken to the house of the high priest and given a mock trial. It was a set up. They were looking for anything they could legally use to give him the death sentence. When all the witnesses contradicted each other they asked Jesus if he was the Messiah. He told him, “I AM, and you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven.” *** This was what they had been waiting to hear. They accused him of blasphemy and proclaimed him “guilty”. Their hatred moved them to spit on him, and beat and mock him. *** Meanwhile, out in the courtyard where Peter was waiting, he denied Jesus three times just like Jesus had said he would. When the rouser crowed, he realized his sin and wept bitterly. *** Lord, I never tire of reading your story and what you did for us. May we not lose faith like the children of Israel or miss your visitation like the people of Jesus’ day. May we be awake and aware of the times we are living in and have faith.