Psalm 62:1-12 David gives excellent advice in the psalm. He exhorts us to trust in the Lord at all times and to pour out our concerns and cares before Him. I learned how much God does love for us to cast our cares upon Him several years ago.

My usual time with the Lord is in the early morning. For some reason I missed my usual time and did not have this special time with the Lord until it was 2 p.m. As I went to prayer, the Lord spoke the following to my heart: “Linda, I love you because you cast every care upon Me. Thank you.”

At that moment, I saw with my spiritual eyes my cares wrapped as gift-wrapped packages. They were ascending to the throne room, and Jesus was there to catch each package. He held the gifts of my cares to His bosom and danced around heaven rejoicing because now He could perfect all those things that concerned me. One of the cares I cast upon the Lord was my concern for my boys to marry wonderful Christian girls who were also called to be laborers in God’s vineyard. Five minutes after I released this to the Lord, I received a telephone call from one of my “daughters in the Lord.” I had grown weary of waiting for daughters-in-law, so I adopted and mentored several younger women I knew. Rebecca, one of these special daughters, called and said, “Linda, I believe I have a message for you from the Lord. I really wrestled with the Lord about calling you since I knew I would be seeing you this afternoon at 4 at our prayer time. But when I was in a Christian bookstore I saw a sign that I knew was a message for you. The sign said, ‘Daughters-in-law are worth waiting for.'” The timing of this call was too perfect to be a coincidence. I believe God dropped a post card from heaven through Rebecca to me telling me to be patient. The daughters-in-law were on the way. Today I have three of the most beautiful daughters-in-law, and they all adore God and their husbands. They all are servants in God’s vineyard.

Is there a burden or care this morning that you want to cast upon the Lord? He is waiting expectantly to receive it, and He will perfect all those things that are a concern to you.

Lord, forgive me for not pouring out my heart to You. Help me to cast every care upon You, because I know You do care for me. Amen.

READ: Numbers 28:15-29:40; Luke 3:3-38; Psalm 62:1-12; Proverbs 11:18-19

Numbers 26:52-28:14 One morning I was waking from a night’s sleep, and I heard the name “Jochebed” in my spirit. I knew it was the Lord calling me Jochebed. I got up and looked up the name in the Strong’s Concordance and found that Jochebed was the mother of two sons and a daughter. Both of her sons were priests. She was the mother of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. The name Jochebed in Hebrew means “the Lord glorified.”

For over a year I pondered about why God would call me Jochebed. One night coming home from church I was listening to Chuck Swindoll on my car radio as he shared the Hebrew meaning for priests. He said that the word priests in Hebrew means “bridge builder.” When my boys were very young I asked the Lord to show me their call in life. He was faithful to do this and spoke to me the following:

• Your oldest son, Russ, will be a bridge between races.

• Your middle son, Ron, will be a bridge between nations.

• Your youngest son, Ray, will be a bridge between families. He is a peacemaker.

This prophetic word has been fulfilled in all three of my son’s lives. Russ has had many opportunities to bridge the races, and Ron and his wife and two children left for China in 2001 to teach English as a second language to Chinese college students. Ray and his wife, Teri, are reaching out to Jewish people in Budapest, Hungary. Through their witness to the Jewish people, they are joining the two families of God—Jew and Gentile—together as one.

The Lord called me Jochebed because I too am a mother of priests—bridge builders in the kingdom of God. If you have children or grandchildren, why don’t you spend some time seeking the Lord about their call in life? I know God will be faithful to reveal this to you.

Lord, Your Word tells me that there are works You have prepared for me to do even before I was born. The same is true of my children and grandchildren. I desire to know what these works are so that my whole family can walk in every work You have prepared. Show me clearly the call You have on each of my loved ones. Thank You.

READ: Numbers 26:52-28:14; Luke 3:1-22; Psalm 61:1-8; Proverbs 11:16-17

Luke 2:36-52 From the time my boys were very young I prayed they would all have the same excellent spirit that Daniel had. Daniel had favor with man, and he had much wisdom. He also lived to be an old man. In this passage we see Jesus as a young boy honoring both His heavenly Father and His earthly father. Even though He knew He had to be about His Father’s business, He was willing to subject Himself to Mary and Joseph and return with them to their home when they found Him in the temple. Our pastor recently preached a good sermon about how Mary should have first looked in the temple for Jesus because it was considered the house of God. She knew Jesus was the Son of God. After looking for three days, Mary and Joseph finally found Jesus among the doctors in the temple. He was intently listening, but He also shared with them some of His thoughts. They were astonished at His wisdom. The Bible tells us that Jesus returned to Nazareth and increased in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man.

In this passage, we discover a wonderful prayer we can pray for our children. Combining verses 40 and 52, we can pray the following effective prayer for our children:

Father, in the name of Jesus we pray that our children will wax strong in the spirit and that they will be filled with wisdom. May Your grace be upon them always. May our children be subject to God and to us as parents, and may they increase not only in stature, but also in wisdom and favor with God and man. Amen.

READ: Numbers 26:1-51; Luke 2:36-52; Psalm 60:1-12; Proverbs 11:15

Psalm 59:1-17 When we were in St. Petersburg, Russia, for an evangelical music festival designed to reach Jewish people, one of the musicians sang a song that I’ll never forget. The phrase “He is my defense” was repeated over and over again in the song. That phrase still resounds in my spiritual ears. God truly is our defense, and David knew this even though his enemies surrounded him and used their tongues as swords against him. He knew that God was his strong defense. David said, “God shall let me see my desire upon my enemies.”

David also knew the secret of dressing himself in the garment of praise continually. After reviewing what he wanted God to do to defeat his enemies, he said, “But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my God is my defense” (Ps. 59:16-17). When we sing aloud to the Lord, demons are put to confusion, and all of our enemies have to flee. Praise is the devil’s death knell. When we praise the Lord, we place an invisible shield around us, and we can say with David, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” (Ps. 23:5).

My twin sister one time had a vivid picture of just how the Lord’s table looks as it is prepared in the midst of our enemies. She saw a table beautifully set with gold and silver, and laden with different kinds of fruits. The Lord Himself was at the head of this huge table. Above Him and all the people gathered was a shield that resembled a glass enclosure. The shield was in reality just a shelter of light. It was God’s glory shield over all those present at His table. Just past this shield was total darkness. The people gathered, however, could see through the darkness, and they saw that although Satan with all of his demonic spirits was trying to penetrate this shield—they could not. Those dining were singing beautiful songs of praise as they partook of their wonderful feast.

God is our defense. He is our rock, our high tower and our hiding place. The clothing worn by the guests at this wonderful feast were garments of light that glistened brighter as the guests began to praise the Lord. These were the garments of praise mentioned in Isaiah 61:3—the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. The Bible tells us that God dwells in the midst of our praises. Something supernatural happens when we praise the Lord. As we praise Him, we are dressed in these special glory garments. We cannot see it, but Satan sees it, and he hates it because he knows he is unable to get to us. One morning as I was singing an old hymn, “Oh worship the King all glorious above,” the phrase “pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise” stood out to me. At that moment I heard the Lord speak this to my spirit: “Yes, I do dwell in the midst of the praises of My people. As they praise Me, I too am dressed with the glory garments of praise. My glory intensifies as My saints on earth praise Me.”

READ: Numbers 24:1-25:18; Luke 2:1-35; Psalm 59:1-17; Proverbs 11:14

Numbers 22:21-23:30 This passage relates the story of Balaam, a prophet who was certainly not perfect, but a prophet who knew God was true to His Word. Balaam said, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Num. 23:19, KJV).

God always makes His Word good. He keeps His Word, and He performs His Word. He makes His Word good. When we believe this about God’s character, we will be able to trust Him and trust His Word. The only reason why we would hesitate to trust the Lord would be that we believe somehow that He will not do what He has said He will do. If we doubt His trustworthiness, then we will not trust Him.

How can we build our trust in the Lord? The only way this will happen is if we read His Word and see His faithfulness to His own Word to perform it throughout history. When we read God’s Word, we will see that His Word always performs that which it is sent out to do. When we know this, we can trust Him.

Father, You have proven over and over again in Your Word that You are trustworthy. You never lie, and all of Your promises are “yes and amen” through Jesus Christ. As I read through the Bible this year, help me to be built up in faith. I never want to doubt Your Word, because Your Word is Truth. Amen.

READ: Numbers 22:21-23:30; Luke 1:57-80; Psalm 58:1-11; Proverbs 11:12-13

Luke 1:26-56 We like to quote so often the phrase in this passage, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” If God did not have to work through men, His power on earth would be unlimited. However, even though nothing is impossible with God and He does all things well, the stark reality is that we as Christians do not allow Him to do the impossible in our lives because of our lack of faith. The story comes to mind when the disciples came to Jesus for help in casting a deaf and dumb spirit out of a little boy. Jesus told them they were unable to do this because of their lack of faith. Then He said, “O faithless generation.” Nothing is impossible with God when we put our complete faith and trust in Him.

Mary in this passage is a prime example of complete faith and trust. The angel told her, “Fear not.” As we studied yesterday, fear has to be dealt with or we will lose our effectiveness in overcoming the devil. Mary had no fear. Then when Mary heard all that would be done to her in the conception of Jesus Christ, she had faith. She said simply, “Be it unto me according to Your word.” Now the way was paved for God to do the impossible. Nothing is impossible when we overcome fear through faith and trust in God.

We hear of report after report of miracles happening in countries like Africa and Indonesia, yet we seem to have a famine in the United States of miracles. Why? We as Christians in America often do not display the simple childlike faith that people in other countries do.

What has choked out our faith? I believe it is the materialism and the instant gratification syndrome that have overtaken many of us. We are not willing to spend time in prayer and the Word to build our faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Often in these small villages in other lands where there is no TV, no Walmart, we see mighty miracles. The people in these villages are not distracted from what is most important—doing the will of God and believing Him when they pray. Jesus said that unless a man became like a little child, he could not enter the kingdom of heaven. A small baby is completely dependent upon his parents for every need, and he trusts his parents to meet them. Is this where God wants every Christian? If we could strip ourselves of all the materialism and business in our lives, perhaps we could become as a little child—totally dependent upon God for everything and ever hanging on His Word.

Nothing is impossible with God when we trust in His Word and fear not.

Lord, I earnestly pray, be it done unto me today according to Your Word. Place within me the faith of a little child, and give me the courage to step out in faith. Faith was the substance Peter walked on when he was coming toward You on the sea. Help me to walk in faith today.

READ: Numbers 21:1-22:20; Luke 1:26-56; Psalm 57:1-11; Proverbs 11:9-11

Psalm 56:1-13 The Bible exhorts us in many verses to trust in the Lord at all times. There is, however, a special time when we need to say aloud, “I trust in the Lord.” That special time is when fear comes upon us. David writes in this psalm,”What time I am afraid, I will trust in You.” If you are familiar with David’s history, you will know he was provided with many opportunities to be afraid. He constantly was surrounded by enemies, and in the psalms David reveals some of the secrets to overcoming fear. He certainly became an expert at this. David was quite sure that fear would always present its cold, clammy handshake throughout his life. David, however, learned not to shake hands with the devil and receive fear.

Fear is the frontal assault the enemy uses against us. If he can get us in fear, then he has neutralized any effort of ours to overcome him. We must have faith to overcome the enemy, and fear always negates faith. Fear is the anesthesia Satan uses to paralyze so he can then perform his surgery on his victims. If we learn to refuse fear, we will spare ourselves from much of what Satan would love to accomplish in our lives. Jesus said, “Fear not,” and the words “be not afraid” and “fear not” are written over 365 times in the Bible. We see over and over again people who began in faith, but then were overwhelmed by fear. The moment fear entered in, they were neutralized in their effectiveness. An example of this, of course, was Peter when he was walking on the water. Everything was going fine until Peter took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the angry sea. He was overcome with fear and began to sink.

In this psalm David tells us what to do when fear comes. David knew that Satan would never stop trying to put fear on him, but David learned how to resist Satan when he came knocking at the door of his heart with the special delivery marked “FEAR.” The moment fear knocked, David said, “I will trust in the Lord.” Not one of us is skillful enough to overcome Satan’s tactics in our own strength. If, however, we put our trust in the Lord to fight our battles for us, we will have the victory every time.

The next time fear comes knocking at your door, say aloud, “I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid.” The moment these words leave your mouth, you will feel a surge of faith and strength rising within you. The Bible tells us not to be anxious about anything, but instead to pray about everything. We have learned today not to be fearful in anything, but to trust the Lord in everything. When we do this, the peace of God will mount guard over our hearts with His peace. Fear always attacks the heart and upper part of the body. Fear causes our hearts to race, and also causes that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. The moment you feel either of these sensations, immediately say aloud, “I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid.” A blanket of God’s peace will flow over you, and you will be able to fulfill all God desires for you on this earth.

READ: Numbers 19:1-20:29; Luke 1:1-25; Psalm 56:1-13; Proverbs 11:8

Mark 16:1-20 God is a God of infinite detail. He made sure that Jesus fulfilled every requirement for a sin sacrifice according to His laws. The account in Mark of Mary Magdalene bringing sweet spices on the Sabbath to anoint Jesus’ body reveals a very important fact about Jesus’ burial.

Jesus died around 3 p.m. in the afternoon just before sundown on a Friday. At sundown the Sabbath would begin, and the body could not be prepared on that day. When Jesus delivered His spirit into the hands of the Father and died, He was taken off the cross and wrapped for burial. There was not sufficient time to prepare His body completely for burial because those tending Him were rushing to get the job done before sundown.

When the Sabbath was past, the two Marys brought sweet spices to anoint the body of Jesus and thus complete the embalming process that could not be completed before the Sabbath. Along with these sweet spices I believe frankincense was included. Frankincense is a sweet white gum that comes from a tree in Israel. It has a sweet odor and was mixed with other sweet spices to make the holy perfume mentioned in Exodus 30:34. Frankincense was used with oil to cover most of the sacrificial offerings required by the Levitical law. There was one sacrifice, however, upon which frankincense was forbidden for anointing. This sacrifice was the sin offering. We find this in Leviticus 5:11: “He shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering” (KJV).

God is a God of infinite detail. He made sure frankincense was never laid on the body of Jesus, because if it had been, He would not have fulfilled the requirements as the perfect sin sacrifice. I believe Mary was carrying the very frankincense that was given to her by the Magi on the night Jesus was born. She probably kept it in a safe place and treasured it for years.

The scriptures do not tell us that Mary was carrying frankincense, but it is a natural assumption since she was carrying sweet spices. I believe this was the case and that it proves how awesome our God is. He has marked the heavens with the span of His hand and can hold all the waters on earth in the hollow of His hand (Isa. 40:12), yet He humbles Himself to number the hairs on our heads and to see the hearts of men. He has named every star in the universes (Ps. 147:4-5), and yet He saw the need to prevent frankincense from being applied to the body of our Lord, which would have nullified His acceptance as the perfect sin sacrifice.

All we have talked about this morning should give us strong confidence that God can meet our needs through Jesus Christ because He loves us. Jesus fulfilled every requirement to be the perfect sin offering for our sake, and because He did, we now can have access to the throne room of God through prayer and can approach His throne of grace and find help in time of need. So what are you worried about?

READ: Numbers 16:41-18:32; Mark 16:1-20; Psalm 55:1-23; Proverbs 11:7

Mark 15:1-47 This passage in Mark gives the details of what led to the crucifixion of our Lord. Pilate was warned by his wife in a dream not to harm Jesus, but Pilate was a man pleaser. We hear these chilling words: “And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified” (Mark 15:15, KJV).

Pilate listened to the people, and he put their desires above anything else. He wanted to be popular with the people, and so he gave into their demands. One might say that Pilate was subject to peer pressure.

Peer pressure is one of the main causes for teenagers to get into drugs. Our youngest son, Ray, got into drugs because he wanted to have friends. He was rejected in his late grammar school days because of his faith in Jesus. When he reached high school, he found a group of friends who accepted him, but unfortunately they were drug users. It was not long before Ray got into drugs. Even though he knew the Bible and had been raised in a Christian home where prayers went up for him daily, he got into drugs. Why? The answer is that he wanted to be popular with the people. When Pilate chose to please man over pleasing God or his wife, the result was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

When we choose to please men above God, we are in a sense crucifying Christ afresh. We are exhorted to crucify our own flesh or reckon it dead daily so that we might be alive to Jesus Christ. Just the opposite happens when we choose to please men rather than God. We reckon ourselves alive to sin and dead to Christ whenever we willfully please men rather than God.

The good report is that God is a redeemer and restorer, and He sent Jesus Christ to make a way of escape when we are tempted. God in his mercy redeemed and restored Ray, and he now is serving Christ in Budapest, Hungary as a missionary with his wife. The fear of the Lord became evident in Ray’s life when he wanted to please God more than himself or other people. Could it be that “peer pressure” is one of the reasons for America’s steady moral decay? The Bible speaks about how in the last days men will be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God and they will seek their own rather than the welfare of others. Some politicians are even willing to sell their soul for the almighty vote.

There is only one vote I am concerned about in this life, and that is God’s vote. Is He for me and will He support me when the campaign of life gets rough? The answer is “yes,” because He said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Even though Ray for a season was seeking the vote of acceptance from his peers, God was giving him His vote of confidence. God knew that Ray would turn back to Him, and God was with Ray even during his rebellious season of life. Whose vote are you seeking? Are you seeking God’s approval or man’s approval? The truth is that God already approves of you. After all, He gave His only begotten Son to save you. If you were the only person living on the earth, God would still have sent His Son to die for you.

READ: Numbers 15:17-16:40; Mark 15:1-47; Psalm 54:1-7; Proverbs 11:5-6

Numbers 14:1-15:16 God told Moses, “As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Moses was pleading with God not to destroy the Israelites for their disobedience. He made his appeal on the basis that all of Israel’s enemies would see their destruction and would believe that God was not able to save them. God’s response was that His ultimate plan for the earth would be fulfilled no matter how disobedient man was. He told Moses that the day will come when His glory will fill the whole earth.

When I was Presbyterian, I had to learn the Presbyterian Catechism. One of the questions asked in the Catechism was, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer that we memorized was, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This answer gives us our part on earth. We were created for God’s glory, and the whole earth will only be filled with His glory if we cooperate with His Holy Spirit.

As God views the earth, He sees particles of light here and there on the dark surface of the earth. These lights shining in the midst of darkness are people who allow God’s glory light to shine through them. One day God will look upon the earth, and He will see no darkness at all because the whole earth will be filled with His glory—people who allow His glory to shine through them. I don’t believe this will happen in all of its fullness until the millennium when Jesus reigns on earth. It is exciting, however, to know that we can brighten the corner where we are.

When New Jerusalem descends from heaven, the whole earth will be filled with God’s glory. New Jerusalem has no need for a light, because the glory of the Lord will be a light for the people. Until that day, we can let our lights shine brightly each day of our lives. “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.”

Father, Your glory will shine throughout the earth and fill it one day. In the meantime, help me to stay lit with the fire of Your Holy Spirit. Help me to shine brighter and brighter as the day draws near to Your coming. I desire to brighten every room I enter, every person I meet, every situation I encounter today. Never let me walk in darkness. Help me to always walk in Your light and carry Your light to others. Amen.

READ: Numbers 14:1-15:16; Mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4