Today you should read: Numbers 35
The two verses I want to focus on are verses 33-34. These two verses are so key because God is establishing the reason as to why He is commanding these things. He does not want the Promise Land to be polluted or filled with wickedness. The reason Israel is about to take this land is because (1) God promised it to Abraham and (2) the people living in it were acting wickedly. God is about to punish the Canaanites because of their constant disobedience, and He is going to use Israel as His means.
But here is the thing: God is giving these commands because He is trying to keep His people holy and righteous. God does not establish rules to be mean, instead, He is trying to protect His people. God wants them to live holy and upright, and His commandments are the way to judge if they are. And this is not to support legalism either, because a relationship must come before the commandments. A relationship does not come from keeping the commandments.
And we need to understand this too. The basis for your relationship with God is always Jesus. It is not because you keep some rules. Instead, God put the rules in place so that we can be more like Jesus. We can know how to walk holy and blameless lives. Now, we all struggle to live each day blameless. But God is gracious in giving us commandments because they teach us how to live.
What commandments or teachings has God shown you lately? Are you following them because you “have to” or are you following them because you love God and want to be more like Jesus?
By: Brice Stockton — Student Ministry Associate
God is honored when we intentionally seek Him in prayer. As a church, we want dependent prayer to be something that marks us. Use the comment section to post prayer requests and experiences of how God has answered prayer and/or changed you through prayer! If you would like to be enrolled to get weekly prayer reminders, text @cpclex to 81010.
JumpstartCPC.com 