Welcome to Youngsville Free Methodist Church

A variety of different thoughts today.  Let’s call it a hodgepodge…that’s a fun word.

The fastest way to get your kids to do something is to tell them they aren’t allowed to do it.   Why is that?

Ever since I realized (through the teaching of others) that holiness is the primary goal of the Christian, I see it everywhere I read.

This observation probably seems a little “off topic”, but I don’t know that I had ever thought about it before…

Answers to some popular questions are to be found in this chapter.   Why so many laws?  Why did God command such violence against others? What is holiness?  Is the Old Testament still relevant today?

Have you ever been reading along and suddenly realized something that you hadn’t thought of before?    That happened to me today!

We have an advantage that the fledgling nation of Israel didn’t have.

I have read through the Bible several times, and I can’t explain why I haven’t ever seen this statement before.

On one hand, this passage is the equivalent of watching slides of someone elses vacation, using a sheet as a screen.   On the other hand, there are a couple of interesting things here, sort of like finding a light blue stone in a gravel parking lot…or a 4 leaf clover.   Oh, and by the way…splinters are bad.

I understand why God is angry with Midian, and wants them punished.   But why was the prophet who spoke in the Lord’s name killed?   What did Balaam do to deserve death with the unrighteous?

The sheer number of animals being sacrificed is staggering.  Why so many?

I know names are important…but, wow.  If it weren’t for Moses turning the reigns over to Joshua in today’s reading I shudder to think about what this blog might contain…

Sometimes you can’t say what people want you to.  That’s always uncomfortable.

Are there any pastors left that haven’t heard someone say “well, I guess God can make a donkey talk?”   Finally, we have here the true account of a donkey that really did speak.   But check out what’s happening that leads up to it..

Numbers 19, the red heifer….sorry, I couldn’t resist.

This is the  kind of thing that drives me crazy.   It’s been over 30 years since the last chapter.   What’s up with Edom?   Wow.   Hate much?

Gibbs rule #51  “Sometimes, you’re wrong”.   That pretty much sums up what happened here.   These leaders were positive they were right….but they weren’t.

Having read yesterday’s devotion, we know that the people are now crying because they are afraid.   But their fear is not rational, and it lands them in real trouble.

This passage begins with an account that is so contemporary it could have been written yesterday.   The people complained, God heard them…and what happens then might surprise you.

Too much going on in this passage to talk about all of it, so I’m just going to make a few notes.

Actually,… you aren’t imagining it.  This paragraph is repeated 12 times.   There’s only one thing that changes every time…

Sending a sick person away seems harsh, doesn’t it?   But there is a much larger point being made here about what God’s people should act like.

redeeming what you have offered as a sacrifice

Good old Jacob had 12 sons, and there are 12 names listed here identifying 12 families.  But Levi was one of the 12 and he isn’t listed..what’s going on?

This is a passage that has helped shape the way that I think and act.   

This is one of those rules that was revised slightly when Jesus came.    I’m talking of course about the “eye for an eye” law….

And now we discover something really amazing.

All these rules can seem cumbersome, but they are pointing to one critical thought that the nation must get right…

Several huge topics in today’s readings.  Wow..

I’m thinking this passage may just answer the age old question about whether or not we have sexual relations in heaven….I’ll bet you want to read further now…

Sometimes reading sections like this are difficult because of repetition and lack of cultural relevance.  But there is still something that we need to learn.  Check this out:

To understand what Jesus did, and continues to do for us you need to read this passage.