June 3, 2024; Day 2 of Week 10

Daily Dose of Hope

June 3, 2024

Day 2 of Week 10

Scripture:  Numbers 12-14; Psalm 28; Colossians 2

Welcome back to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s daily Bible reading plan.  Happy Monday!  Let’s get right into our Scripture for today, starting with Numbers.

Well, the Israelites have done it again.  They sent some recon units into the land of Canaan to scope out the land and they discover it really is a land of milk and honey.  But it is also a land with big, strong enemy tribes.  Those who returned told stories of how scary the people were who inhabited the land and how there was no way the Israelites could defeat them.  Only two of the spies reported otherwise, Joshua and Caleb.  Both of these men were confident that God would ensure their victory, trusting God at his word.  But the others were so angry that they almost stoned Joshua and Caleb for their statements. 

Then, the whole community got worked up.  They wailed and yelled, complaining to Aaron and Moses, again lamenting that none of this would be happening if they were still slaves back in Egypt.  Not surprisingly, this enraged God and he was ready to be done with them all.  But Moses, once again, stands up for these stiff-necked people.  God declares that he won’t kill them but he will not allow any of them to actually see the promised land, except for the spies (and their families) who trusted God. 

Let’s think about this.  This is year two and none of them will be allowed to enter the land of Canaan.  Now, it makes a lot of sense why they wandered around a fairly small area of desert for forty years.  It wasn’t because they were really bad at navigation; it was because God needed this first generation to pass on.  I guess you can take the Israelites out of Egypt but you can’t quite get the Egypt out the Israelites. 

The psalm is another written by King David.  He is pleading with God to hear his cries and answer him.  What’s interesting to me is that he starts by asking God to help him personally, to save him from his enemies.  But as the psalm makes its way to a close, he prays for all of God’s people.  Verses 8-9, The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.  Do your prayers tend to be self-focused or others-focused?  Why are both important?

Let’s move on to Colossians 2.  Paul was very concerned that the people of the Colossian church would be swayed by fancy and smart-sounding arguments.  The arguments of false teachers often sound very convincing.  They typically take a small bit of truth and twist it so that it sounds just right enough that people will be convinced.  Paul knew this.  His goal was for them to grow in their knowledge of Christ, become mature, well-developed disciples, so they would see through the untruths. 

If they were rooted in Christ, like a solid tree with deep roots, then they would be less apt to be affected by the winds of false teachings.  I love this idea of growing our roots deep into Jesus Christ.  If we look at plants, we tend to focus on that which we can see.  We see the trunk, the branches, and the leaves, and they maybe very beautiful.  But what's most important is what we can't see-the deep roots which are vital to the health and longevity of the tree.  If a bad storm comes, the tree will stay put because its roots are deep and strong.  Paul wanted the Colossian church to have a deep root system as well, one that was firmly based in Jesus Christ.  If they grew into strong, mature believers with strong roots, then they would be much less likely to be swayed by the fancy, sophisticated arguments of false teachers.

Historically, we haven't focused on having deep roots.  In fact, our discipleship in most American churches has been quite shallow.  We have required little of our members; we've asked them to simply warm a pew.  Where has that gotten us?  Being rooted in Jesus Christ means so much more than church attendance.  It means reading and knowing God's Word and abiding with Jesus through prayer and Scripture reading.  It means connecting with others for real accountability and listening to others who tell us hard truths about life and faith.  It means serving others with the love of Jesus.  It means giving sacrificially.  And when the strong winds blow, we are ready.  We stay solid and united in Jesus Christ, our roots strong and steady.

Let’s convene again tomorrow.

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki