Thurs.’s Devo - The Nazarite Vow -

Read: Numbers 6:1-7:89; Mark 12:38-13:13; Psalm 49:1-20; Proverbs 10:27-28 A woman or a man could take a special vow of a Nazarite. Nazarite in the Hebrew means “a prince consecrated to the Lord.” This was their way in the Old Testament of saying they wanted their lives to be given to serve the Lord. *** They were to give up wine and other alcoholic drinks which are substitutes for joy. They were to let their hair grow long to show that their sins were covered. This was a picture of how the blood of Christ covers our sins and we are drinking from the new wine. They were not to be near a dead person which is a picture of us not associating with sin which leads to death. *** If they did come in contact with something dead, they could wait seven days, shave their heads and on the eighth day bring a sacrifice to the Lord. Eight means “new beginning.” This means they repented and will be cleansed from their sins and can begin again. They were to present a guilt offering to take the guilt away. *** When their set time of separation was over, they would bring all the offerings to the priest to offer before the Lord. The Nazarite would shave their heads and take the hair and place it on the fire beneath the peace offering. The priest would put the parts of the man’s sacrifice he saved into his hands and lift them before the Lord. These are the good deeds of this man’s life given to the Lord. After this, the Nazarite could drink wine again. *** *** This is a picture of the man presenting himself to the Lord at the end of his life and his body dying in peace. His deeds are put in the fire and his offering is what remains. The man is given back his life and may drink wine again with the Lord. Mark 14:23 says, “And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” *** On the day Moses set up the Tabernacle, all the tribes brought their offerings. Two tribes put their offerings on one wagon and they were brought in the order in which the troops marched. The list was the same for each tribe and all the prescribed offerings would be used in the ministry of the Tabernacle. *** Whenever Moses went into the Holy of Holies, God spoke to him from between the two cherubim. *** In Mark, Jesus made a comparison of the widow who gave all she had and the Pharisees who made a big production about what they gave. Jesus made it clear that what was important to God was how you give, not what you give. It is a heart matter. *** The disciples commented on the great structure of the buildings around the Temple. Jesus told him that the day would come when they would be completely demolished. When they asked him when it would happen, he answered them with when it would not happen. He told them events to come: wars and threats of wars, earthquakes, famines, trials they would testify in. But, he warned them not to worry about what to say because the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. He encouraged them to endure to the end for they would be saved. *** May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. Math the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.

Weds.’s Devo - Taking Down the Tabernacle

Read: Numbers 4:1-5:31; Mark 12:18-27; Psalm 48:1-14; Proverbs 10:26 The Kohathites were the clan of Levites that were in charge of the most holy objects for the Tabernacle. There were 2,750 Kohathites recorded by name who were thirty to fifty years old and eligible to work in the Tabernacle. When it was time to move, Aaron and his sons were to go with them and assign the duties to the Levites. Aaron’s son, Eleazar was put over the Kohathites and responsible for the entire Tabernacle and all its furnishings. His name means “God is helper”. He was like the Holy Spirit. *** They would first take down the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies and cover the Ark with it. This curtain stood for the veil between God and man. It was placed first. The next covering was the goat skin and would represent the sacrifice made for man’s sin. The last covering was blue and represented God’s realm. Jesus made a way for man to reconnect with God. This blue cloth also meant that this piece is also in Heaven. Moses was shown these pieces in heaven and was to duplicate them on earth. Then the poles for carrying were inserted. The Table of Shewbread was to be covered with a blue cloth indicating this piece was in heaven. Then the cups and plates and other utensils were put on the blue cloth and covered with a red cloth. Jesus’ blood made a way for us to dine with Him. Over this would be a covering of goat skin leather. Then the poles were inserted. *** The lamp stand and the altar of incense were each covered with the blue cloth first and then the goatskin leather. They were both put on carrying frames to carry. *** The bronze altar that represented the cross had a purple cloth to show the perfect meshing of the blood of Christ with heaven since blue and red make purple. It was covered with the goat skin. *** Practically, the goatskin leather protected the holy furniture from the weather and other elements just like our skin protects our internal organs that give us life. Only on the Ark was the blue fabric on the outside. How very appropriate - heaven protected God’s presence. *** The Gershonite men ages 30-50 were also recorded and their job was to carry loads. They numbered 2,630. They carried the curtains in and around the Tabernacle, directed by Aaron and his sons. They were directly responsible to Ithamar, Aaron’s son. Ithamar means “a coast of palms” which gives the connotation of resting. How interesting his name means “rest” when he is carrying the loads. We are supposed to find that place of rest when we are carrying heavy burdens. That is the way we make it through. *** Lastly, the clan of Merarites was numbered from the ages of 30-50 or their men and their total came to 3,200. Their job was to carry the frames of the Tabernacle with all that pertained to the skeletal building of the Tabernacle. They were directly responsible to Ithamar whose name means “bitterness.” *** Moses was commanded by God to remove from he camp those who were unclean so they wouldn’t defile the others. Then he told the people to restore anything they had stolen from another and how to deal with their transgressions. *** God have them a test to prove if a wife suspected of adultery was guilty. If the husband suspected she had been unfaithful to him, the husband was to bring her before the priest along with an offering of two quarts of barley flour. The priest would take some holy water in a clay jar and pour dust from the Tabernacle floor in it. The priest then presents the woman before the Lord. He unbinds her hair and places the offering in her hand. The priest proclaims that if she is innocent, she is immune from the effects of the bitter water, but if she is guilty of being unfaithful, then she will feel the curse. It will make her infertile causing her womb to shrink and her abdomen to swell. It will appear she is pregnant, but there will be no baby. *** She must agree to what he says, then drink the water. When she drinks it, it will cause bitter suffering if she is guilty. But, before he gives it to her, he will take the offering from her hand and lift it up to the Lord and carry it to the altar. He will burn some of it on the altar and then require the woman to drink the rest. The results will prove if she is guilty or not. *** When Israel was put to this test, they were found guilty and had to drink the water of suffering which amounted to 40 more years of wandering in the wilderness where they died and their children received their promise. Many times in their history they have had to drink this water of suffering. *** In Acts, the Sadducees came to Jesus with a trick question about the resurrection. Jesus saw through the smoke screen and went to the point. He explained to them why the resurrection was true which silenced them. *** But, standing there was a man who had a legitimate question from a hungry heart. He asked which commandment was the most important. Jesus told him to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second was equally important which was to love your neighbor as yourself. *** The man agreed with Jesus and added that he understood that loving the Lord was more important than sacrifices. Jesus told this man that he wasn’t far from the Kingdom of God. *** Later, Jesus was teaching in the Temple and dispelled another of the religious leaders’ teachings. They taught that the Messiah was the son of David making the Messiah lesser than David. Jesus explained that David called the Messiah his Lord. *** Lord, may we put emphasis on what you put emphasis and minor on what you minor on. May we be fruitful and produce a harvest of righteousness for your Kingdom.

Tue.’s Devo - The Cross

Read: Numbers 2:1-3:51; Mark 11:27-12:17; Psalm 47:1-9; Proverbs 10:24-25 God told Moses that when the Israelites set up their camp, they were to set it up in a certain order. Every tribe would have their own place. All the tribes, when they camped made the shape of the cross. To the east would be Judah, Issachar and Zebulun and their total would be 186,400 people. They made up the bottom of the cross. These three tribes led the way when they traveled. *** The next three were Reuben, Simeon and Gad. They were to settle on the south side making one of the sides of the cross. Their total was 151,450. *** The Tabernacle carried by the Levites was next to travel and settled in the middle of the cross. *** Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin were next making the north side of the cross. They totaled 157,600. *** Dan, Asher and Naphtali were next and camped making the top of the cross. Their total was 108,100. *** Each tribe camped under their own banners. From heaven, God looked down and saw his cross moving over the earth. *** The Levites served Aaron as his assistants. They served the whole community with things pertaining to the Tabernacle. They were the only ones who could go anywhere near the sanctuary. God had established all the first born as his when he saved them from the death angel. God told the Levites to record all the names of the members of the tribe of Levi by the families and clans from the age of one month and older. Levi had three sons: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. From Gershon’s descendants there were 7,500. They were assigned to care for the Tabernacle, the coverings of the tent, the curtains, and the entrance - all the walls and coverings for the Tabernacle. *** The Kohath descendants numbered 8,600 were to care for the sanctuary - the Ark, the table, the lamp stand, the altars, and the articles used in the sanctuary. These were the holy things. *** The Merarites numbered 6,200 and they were responsible for the frames, cross bars, pillars and bases - the structural pieces for the Tabernacle. *** The total number of male Levites were 22,000. God told Moses to count all the firstborn sons of Israel who were one month and older and make a list of their names. The Levites were now going to be substitutes for the firstborn sons of Israel. The livestock of the Levites would be substitutes for the livestock of the whole nation of Israel. The only problem was that there were 22,273 more firstborn sons which is 273 more than there were Levites. *** Nothing is ever a problem for God. He always has a solution. God’s solution was that they could just buy the extra 273 with silver. They were to collect five pieces of silver for each person and pay for the extra men. Five is the number of “grace” and silver means “redemption”. Everything God told Moses to do was a picture of what Christ would do for us one day. *** In Mark, Jesus and his disciples had been staying outside of Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. Every day they could come back to Jerusalem. This trip, Jesus walked through the Temple area and the religious leaders stopped him and asked him who gave him the authority to do the things he was doing… because it sure wasn’t them. Jesus answered their question with a question. “Who gave John the Baptist his authority?” They couldn’t answer him or it would incriminate them, so they refused to answer him. So, he refused to answer them. *** But, he did then tell them a story. A man planted a vineyard and did everything to make the vineyard thrive. Then he leased it out to tenants to care for it while he moved to another country. At grape harvest, he sent servants to collect his share of the crop, but they were beat and sent back empty handed. This happened over and over until he finally sent his own son thinking they would respect him. They ended up killing him, thinking then the vineyard would be theirs. *** Jesus asked them what they thought the owner would do. He told them. He would come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyards to others. Then he quoted Psalm 118:22-23 about the stone that the builders rejected that had now become the cornerstone. *** Amazingly, the Pharisees and religious leaders got that Jesus was talking about them. They were the wicked farmers, but they were so afraid of the people, they couldn’t arrest Jesus then. *** Their next strategy was to trick Jesus into saying something against the Roman government and get them to arrest Jesus. They asked him about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus asked for a Roman coin and asked whose picture was on it. Then he told them to pay Caesar what was his and God what was his. They were amazed at his wisdom. Busted! *** Lord, you have an answer for everything. You are the answer. Help us to come to you quickly when we feel overwhelmed with life. Thank you for your peace and comfort. Thank you that you really have written the end from the beginning and it is all going according to your plan. May we walk and participate with you to bring your kingdom to earth.

Mon.’s Devo - Dedications

Read: Leviticus 27:14- Numbers 1:54; Mark 11:1-26; Psalm 46:1-11; Proverbs 10:23 If a person dedicates his house, or land to the Lord, it is valued according to when the next Jubilee is. If that person changes his mind and wants to buy the house or land back, then he must pay the price and add twenty percent. *** If the land is a second owner who dedicates it to the Lord, at Jubilee, it returns to the original owner. First born animals already belong to the Lord and cannot be bought back. Anything consecrated as holy could not be bought back either. A person given a death sentence could not be redeemed but must be put to death. *** What I get from this, is that a person who has dedicated himself to the Lord Jesus, can never be bought back by Satan. And Satan’s off-spring who are bent on evil can never be redeemed. *** One-tenth of the produce belongs to the Lord. To redeem it, you must pay an additional 20 percent. They were to count off every tenth animal and give it to the Lord and not change out a bad animal for a good one. If you try to do this, both of them are the Lord’s and cannot be bought back. *** A year after they had left Egypt, God told Moses to take a census of just the warriors by their clans and families. They must be twenty years or older and able to go to war. One leader was to be chosen out of each tribe to assist in this endeavor. All the people were registered according to there ancestry and the ones able to go to war were numbered. Their army consisted of 603,550. The Levites were not counted with the rest. They were put in charge of the Tabernacle - to set it up and take it down and carry it to the next place. They had the responsibility of guarding it at all times. The other tribes camped under their banner in their assigned spots. *** In Mark, Jesus came to the villages of Bethany and Bethphage which were on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead of him to get a donkey for him. God had already set it up for him. A donkey, that had never been ridden would be standing outside a house. They were to untie it. When asked, they were to say, “The Lord needs it and will return it soon.” They did and were allowed to take it. *** The disciples, put their garments on it to make a saddle for Jesus to sit on and Jesus climbed on. As he rode it down the mountain to Jerusalem, people spread their garments on the road. They also spread their palm branches and sang the Hallel in Psalms 113-117 to him. *** Jesus went into the Temple and looked at all the money changers and the selling of animals and doves for the Passover celebration. He took it all in and then returned to Bethany with his disciples. *** The next morning as they were going back to Jerusalem, Jesus was hungry and noticed a fig tree in full leaf. But, when he went over to it, he saw that it only had leaves and no fruit. Jesus cursed it and said, “Many no one ever eat your fruit again.” *** This time, when Jesus entered the Temple, he began overthrowing tables and driving the people buying and selling out of the Temple. He told them that the Temple was not a marketplace but it was to be called a house of prayer for all nations, yet they had turned it into a den of thieves. *** When the leading priests and teachers of the law heard what Jesus had done, they planned how they would kill him, but their problem the people, who loved him. *** The next morning, when the disciples and Jesus left for Jerusalem again, they noticed that the fig tree had withered from the roots up. Jesus explained that it just takes faith to uproot evil. But, first make sure that there is no unforgiveness in your heart. If you have faith that what you say will happen, you can bring down mountains of opposition. *** The fig tree represented the religion of Jerusalem that would crumble from the roots up. Jesus was bringing a new kingdom with a new law of liberty and love. *** Lord, may we rejoice like our Psalm says when we see the shaking of the old order and its fall. May we embrace the joy that God’s new kingdom brings. We declare that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us and God is our fortress!

Sun.’s Devo - Redemption

Read: Leviticus 25:47-27:13; Mark 10:32-52; Psalm 45:1-17; Proverbs 10:22 God is all about redemption. If a foreigner that was living among them became rich, and an Israelite was poor, he could choose to work for him. He would not be considered a slave but a temporarily hired servant. He retained the right to be bought back by someone in their extended family or themselves. The price of redemption would be determined by the number of years till the next Jubilee when every slave and their families would be set free. *** If we look at this spiritually, a person who has fallen into sin (poverty) and lost his way, may find himself a slave to sin for a while. He can be redeemed through the prayers of his family or his own repentance. Then he must pay the consequences of his sin and be set free. *** They were not to set up idols or images to worship. They should observe God’s Sabbaths and fear the Lord and reverence his sanctuary. Great blessings of provision and goodness would fall on those who obeyed the Lord’s laws. They would enjoy plentiful harvests and peace in their land. They would prevail over their enemies. God would tabernacle with them and walk among them. *** But if they disobeyed him and worshiped other gods they would face terror, disease, sorrow and lack. God would become their adversary and they would be conquered by their enemies. God would do all he could do to break their pride. Nothing they tried to do would prosper until eventually their land would became desolate. If they continued to walk against the Lord, he would give them up to lawlessness and they would end up killing their own children. God would destroy their places of idolatry and cause their enemies to take them captive scattering them among the nations. *** If they then accepted their guilt and repented of their rebellion against God, he would remember his covenant with them and their ancestors and how he brought them out of Egypt. *** People could give themselves or a family member to the service of the Tabernacle as a vow to the Lord. Hannah is an example of this. She vowed to give her child to the Lord and gave Samuel to Eli to serve the Lord in the Temple. The value of the person would equal the amount of service he would be able to give. The younger the person, the greater value they accumulated. A male given from birth would have added value up to 90 shekels of silver by the time they were old. When Jesus was sold in betrayal, the priest valued him at the price of 30 shekels of silver as an insult. *** An animal that was offered to the Lord could only be substituted by one of equal value. If the offer an unclean animal, the priest would value his worth. If the man wants to redeem it he must pay its worth plus one-fifth. This penalty was to keep them from making rash promises to the Lord. *** In Mark, Jesus was taking his disciples to Jerusalem where he was going to be crucified. They were filled with awe, while the people with them were filled with fear. The proximity to Jesus made the difference. Jesus had told his disciples what was going to happen and yet they were still not getting it because it must have felt so safe being that close to Jesus. The crowds with him did not have the same feeling. *** Jesus told them again what was going to happen when they got there and still, all they could think of was him sitting on his throne in victory. James and John asked him if they could have the seats of honor right next to him. Jesus asked them if they were willing to do what it would take to obtain them, because it would take much suffering to sit there. They assured him they were. *** The other disciples were indignant that James and John had beat them to asking for that honor. Jesus explained that to be a leader is to really be a servant. Jesus had not come to rule, but to serve and to lay down his life to redeem others. *** As they reached Jericho, they were met by a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who was sitting beside the road. He began crying out for mercy from Jesus. He called him the son of David. He would only know that by the Holy Spirit. The people told him to stop saying that, but Jesus called for him to come to him. He threw off his coat and jumped up and came to Jesus. Jesus asked him what he wanted and he said, “to see.” Jesus told him to go, because his faith had healed him. He was instantly healed. *** The disciples had been given every reason to be rich in faith and yet were blind. Bartemaeus was poor and blind but rich in faith and got it all. His name means “son of one esteemed: son of one unclean.” He had been the son of someone the world esteemed but through his blindness became unclean. Now, he was both esteemed by God and made clean. *** Lord, may we not be blinded by our religion and all that has been given to us. May Your Word be the lamp for our walk and the light we follow. May we not stop being awed by your Word and your ways.

Sat.’s Devo - The Jubilee

Read: Leviticus 24:1-25-46; Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 44:9-26; Proverbs 10:20-21 The lamp stand in the tabernacle was to be lit continually just like the light of Jesus in us is to be always burning. *** Twelve loaves of unleavened bread was to be made and laid out on the Sabbath. They were for the priests to eat as his portion every week. The loaves represented Jesus’ body that they were partake of. Frankincense was to be put near the loaves to remind them of his death, even though they didn’t know Jesus or his death. Jesus was slain from the foundation of the earth, it just hadn’t been manifested on earth yet. *** Two men got into a fight where one of them blasphemed the name of the Lord. He was brought to Moses for him to decide what would happen to the man. His mother was an Israelite and his father was an Egyptian. Moses said he must be put to death by stoning for blaspheming the Name of the Lord. Murder was also punishable by death. *** Stealing was punished by restoring what was stolen. Physical harm was punished with the same physical harm done… an eye for an eye. Jesus told them to do unto others as they wanted done to them. The reverse of the curse is the blessing. If you want others to do good to you, you do good to them. *** God had instituted the Sabbath every week for the person to rest. Now, he was instituting a Sabbath for the land to rest every seven years. Then every seven Sabbath years was to be a Sabbath called a Jubilee. On the Day of Atonement in that fiftieth year a ram’s horn was to be blown throughout the land. This would be a year set apart to proclaim freedom through the land. The people would return to the land that was given to their ancestors. All deeds of land were bought and sold with this in mind. When you bought another person’s land, you were buying harvests until Jubilee so the price should reflect that. *** Pertaining to the Sabbaths of the land every seven years, They were not to work the land that seventh year so God would bless the harvest of the sixth year so abundantly that it would be enough to last until the ninth year when the land was harvesting again. *** Every business dealing in the land was to be honest and fair. They were to treat each other like they would want someone to treat them. They were not to charge interest on loans. *** Our land is about to go through a Jubilee and it is very exciting as we are about to see interest returned to us and loans forgiven. Glory to God! *** In Mark, Jesus rebuked his disciples when they tried to shoo the children away from Jesus. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God belonged to those who were like them. He blessed them. *** A very wealthy man came to Jesus and asked him what he could do to obtain eternal life. Jesus loved the man and told him to sell all he had and come and follow him. The man couldn’t do it and went away sad. He was hoping for something he could “do.” Jesus was trying to give him someone he could “be.” There is a difference between being good and being righteous. One is fueled by will power and the other is fueled by God power. God power takes grace and humility. Will power takes pride. Jesus explained that the one who controlled much on earth had a hard time coming into the Kingdom because it is the way of the weak and humble. But, with God, even those with much on earth can be saved. In heaven the least important on earth who follow the Lord will become the most important in heaven and the most important in the world’s eyes will become the least in God’s . *** Lord, may we learn to live in abundance with hearts of humility and generosity. May we navigate your Jubilee in a way that honors you.

Fri.’s Devo - God’s Feasts -

Read: Leviticus 22:17-23:44; Mark 9:30-10:12; Psalm 44:1-8; Proverbs 10:19 God had laws for offerings that were acceptable to him and those not acceptable to him. It boils down to the fact that God deserves our best. He gave us his best when he gave Jesus, and he is a holy, jealous God. Our gift should give honor to him and come from our heart. We are to do unto others as we want them to do to us and it is the same with God - we respond to God like we want him to respond to us. *** God set up the Sabbath as a day of complete rest where we honor the Lord on that day. God also invited us to participate in his feasts with him. The first four feasts happened in the spring and were around the barley and wheat harvests. The first feast is Passover which begins at sundown on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan or Abib. The next day began the celebration of the Festival of Unleavened Bread which lasted seven days. During that week they were to eat no bread with yeast in it. Day one and day seven were to be days of no work and were holy to the Lord. *** Once they entered the land, they were to begin celebrating First Fruits where they brought their first fruits to the Lord - on the day after the Sabbath. The priest would lift their offering up before the Lord. On that day, a burnt, grain and liquid offering must be made. *** Seven full weeks and one day (50 days) later they were to celebrate the Festival of Weeks or Pentecost. Two loaves of bread were to be brought and lifted up and waved before the Lord as an offering. On this day burnt, grain and liquid offerings plus a sin offering and a peace offering was to be made. *** When they harvested their grain, they were to leave the part around the edges for the poor and foreigners to pick up. *** The last three feast happened in the fall and were centered around the harvests of grapes, olive oil, and figs. The first day of Tishri was their New Year’s Day on their civil calendar. It was the Feast of Trumpets. They assembled and trumpets were blown and gifts were given to the Lord. On the tenth of that month was the Day of Atonement. It was a day of fasting and bringing presents to the Lord. They were not to work and if they didn’t bring a gift to the Lord, they would be cut off from God’s people. It was the holiest day of the year and no work was done on this day. It was also a Sabbath day. *** On the fifteenth day of that same month they were to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacle for seven days. It was a celebration of joy where gifts were given to the Lord. The eighth day was another holy day where no work was to be done. The first and eighth day were days of complete rest. On the first day of this festival, they were to gather certain branches from certain plants and make temporary shelters to live in during the entire feast. This was to remind them of their journey from Egypt when they lived in temporary tents. *** All of these feasts were to represent the events on God’s calendar. They were to practice them every year and on the appointed year, God would fulfill them. These holy events institute and orchestrate God’s will on the earth. *** God fulfilled Passover by giving Jesus as the Passover lamb to die for our sins. Jesus died on Passover, was buried on Unleavened Bread. He rose on First Fruits to be the first fruit to rise from the dead. God sent his Spirit on Pentecost and birthed his Church. *** We may be witnessing the Feast of Trumpets as God sent President Trump to blast out all the things that were going on in secret that God wanted exposed. This is leading us to the Day of Atonement when the nations will see the great sins our nations have been participating in and will need to, and want to repent. When we do, we will enter into the Feast of Tabernacles where God will dwell with us and we will be his people. Jesus prayer will be answered “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” *** In Mark, Jesus told them again that he was going to be betrayed into enemy hands and killed, but three days later, he would rise from the dead. Since the disciples couldn’t get that, they argued about how they wanted to see things - their perspective. They wanted to see Jesus become a king on earth and argued about who would be the greatest in his kingdom. Jesus brought a child and told them that whoever wanted to be first, must go to the end of the line and serve. Then he brought a child in his arms and told them that whoever welcomed this little child in his name welcomed him and God. *** John reported to Jesus that he stopped this man who was using his name to cast out demons. Jesus rebuked John and told him that no one can do a miracle in his name and then speak evil of him, and anyone who is not against us, is for us. Even the smallest thing we do in his name will be rewarded. *** Jesus added a severe warning against causing an innocent believer to fall into sin. Great consequences would come to the one who did. *** Everyone will be tested with fire and trials. That is how we stay seasoned and clean. *** The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking him about divorce. Jesus asked them what Moses said and they gave him the answer. Then Jesus explained that Moses only wrote that law because they were so hard hearted. Divorce was not God’s plan from the beginning. He added, do not let anyone divide what God has joined together. That is the key…”what God has joined together.” God made a way of escape for those who married outside of God’s will. *** In their day, they were divorcing but not giving a writ of divorcement so they weren’t legally divorced. If either of them remarried, they were committing adultery because they were never legally, under God, divorced from the first wife. *** Lord, may we not get entangled with the law of your commands, but understand the Spirit of them. May we give grace for the things we do not understand but strive to live holy lives as our freewill gift to God.