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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 15 April 2025:
Numbers 29:2 — …and you shall offer a burnt offering….
For Israel to obey what God commanded in Numbers 28-29, it meant that every year, the priests sacrificed at least 1,086 lambs, 113 bulls, 32 rams, more than a ton of flour, and some 1,000 bottles of oil and wine on behalf of the nation. All this sacrifice did not include the sacrifices made by individuals or households. In the days of Jesus, there is record of 255,600 Passover lambs being sacrificed at one Passover just by individuals and households. None of it was enough! Not one of these hundreds of thousands of sacrifices over the centuries could ever take away a person’s sin; that had to wait until a perfect sacrifice was offered — the sacrifice of Jesus.
Numbers 29:12 – ….you shall keep a feast to the Lord seven days.
During the Feast of Booths, all the Israelites essentially camped out for a whole week, with each day being dedicated to worship. In Israel, they would all, the entire nation, leave their homes and live in huts. In the cities they even had to put these huts, booths, on their rooftops. Can you imagine? Each year this was a reminder to the people of God’s provision and salvation in the desert; it reminded the people that even if they lost everything, God would still be there for them and see them through; it brought all the people together for a week of fellowship, away from work and distractions; it taught them that their joy did not depend on the comforts of life; and practically, it keep them proficient at camping, in the event they were ever required to live on the land again. It has been said that nothing brings a family together quite like camping. Perhaps, Christians should revive the Feast of Booths. What if your entire church spent a week each year camping together, seven days away from distractions in worship and fellowship?
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 15 April 2025: Today, in light of the price Jesus paid for your salvation, serve Him gratefully, joyfully, and wholeheartedly, not to gain His favor but rather to experience the joy of His favor and the blessing of His presence and His fellowship which are now yours in Jesus. Give Him your very best because that is what your very best is for. Don’t worry about yourself. Would not the one who didn’t spare His Son for you not also give you all things? (Romans 8:32) Take time today to step away from the distractions of the day just to be alone with the Lord and to enjoy Him. If you don’t feel you have time to spend in prayer, Bible study, meditation, and fellowship with the Lord this morning, you need to do it more than ever.
- “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” (Martin Luther)
- “If you are too busy to pray, you are busier than God wants you to be.” (Unknown)
- “A busy life makes prayer harder, but prayer makes a busy life easier” (Unknown)
- “If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation.” (John Owen)
- “He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.” (John Bunyan)
- “The best way to start the day is on your knees.” (Unknown)
- “When we meet with God before anyone else, it shows who we depend on most.” (Unknown)
- “Mornings are more peaceful when you’ve handed the day over to the Prince of Peace.” (Unknown)
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 