Staying Focused on the Lord - Numbers 28-30 and Mark 8:22-38
From reading Numbers 28-30 I think it is obvious what the Lord had in mind by the schedule of sacrifices and feasts He set up for Israel. He realized how hard it is for people to stay focused on Him, so He told them to be sure and institute His system. What was His system? There were sacrifices each day, one in the morning and one in the evening. There was a special sacrifice on the Sabbath. Then, there was a special sacrifice at the beginning of the month. Finally, there were special feasts scattered through the year, which caused people to spend a week focusing on the Lord. That is pretty comprehensive, isn't it? I believe it points us all to have a daily focus on the Lord in the morning and in the evening. It points us to take a Sabbath each week to worship God and to rest. It points out the need to take a monthly inventory of our relationship with Him and to spend special times with Him like our present day revivals and retreats. If we will do this, it will be much more difficult for us to lose our focus on God. Think about it in contrast to the lifestyle of many Christians today. They go to church once a week for an hour. How easy is it for them to have their minds drawn away to the world and the flesh the rest of the week? However, if a person has a daily "unhurried time," a weekly worship time, and a monthly evaluation time, it is so much easier to stay focused on the Lord and His ways.
That is what Jesus is pointing us to in Mark 8, also. He healed a blind man and told him not to tell anyone what had happened. He asked His disciples who men said He was and who they said He was. They said correctly that He was the Christ, which meant the one sent from God to save the world. He even had to rebuke Peter for not listening and to tell them to deny themselves, to take up their crosses, and to follow Him. What was He saying? He was telling them and us, not to focus on what He did, but on who He is. We are to focus on Him, not on ourselves and on the things of this world. If we focus on this life, we will lose our soul. If we give it all to Him and focus on Him in faith, we will gain our souls and eternal life. What a blessing! However, this doesn't come to someone who is ashamed to follow Him. It comes to those who forsake self and this world to follow Him as the focus of life. How is your focus? Is your focus constantly on Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 31-33 and Mark 9:1-29.
That is what Jesus is pointing us to in Mark 8, also. He healed a blind man and told him not to tell anyone what had happened. He asked His disciples who men said He was and who they said He was. They said correctly that He was the Christ, which meant the one sent from God to save the world. He even had to rebuke Peter for not listening and to tell them to deny themselves, to take up their crosses, and to follow Him. What was He saying? He was telling them and us, not to focus on what He did, but on who He is. We are to focus on Him, not on ourselves and on the things of this world. If we focus on this life, we will lose our soul. If we give it all to Him and focus on Him in faith, we will gain our souls and eternal life. What a blessing! However, this doesn't come to someone who is ashamed to follow Him. It comes to those who forsake self and this world to follow Him as the focus of life. How is your focus? Is your focus constantly on Jesus?
Tomorrow, I intend to read Numbers 31-33 and Mark 9:1-29.