The Plan Behind the Chaos - Day 97 Month 4-7 Week 14-6

 Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)


Numbers 9:15-10:36 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%209%3A15-10%3A36&version=NASB1995 

Psalm 78:17-33 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2078%3A17-33&version=NASB1995

Jeremiah 2:4-8 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%202%3A4-8&version=NASB1995

Luke 10:17-42 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010%3A17-42&version=NASB1995


The Plan Behind the Chaos


1. I grew up near Toronto which is currently the largest city in Canada.  Its population is about 3.5 million people.  It’s estimated that Israel was a nation of over 2 million people in the part of the book of Numbers we are reading (we know the number of Israelite men, twenty and older, prepared for military service was 603,550 - this calculation does not include women or children).  There were times when Moses had to gather the whole camp to speak to them and there were times that Moses had to call only the leaders in the camp to speak to them.  It is hard to imagine how to manage that many people.  The largest crowd that gathered for a Billy Graham crusade in one place was in Seoul, South Korea in 1971.  I’ve included a photo of that crowd and it was estimated as 1.1 million people.  As someone whose career was predominantly sound system operation, I know the size of sound system required for a crowd of over 1 million and it’s incredibly large.   Imagine the logistics required to move that many people at once.  

God was very specific on how the camp would move and in what order it would be done.  What I’ve learned today is that God is a God of order.  When God plans something he recognizes all the details and includes them in His plan.   I am thankful for this because very often, I don’t understand how God’s specific plans involve me.  I am not always privy to all of God’s details.  I know I’ve heard the illustration of God’s plans being like a tapestry in the process.  What we are seeing is the back of the tapestry and for us it looks like a mess.  When you turn it over you see the work of the master weaver.


2. If you are reading this blog but did not do today's reading, I encourage you to go back and at least read the Luke verses.  There is so much to learn from one page but I’ll give you a few thoughts that I got out of it:

  • Luke 10:21:  When Jesus is rejoicing in the spirit, (I don’t know how that looks but they could hear Him), talking to God and He says “You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”  I learned Jesus cares for the outliers first - those who are outcast from society for various reasons.  Syl and I are reading a book right now by the late Rachel Held Evans and for the last 2 nights we’ve read how Jesus came for the outliers.  Those are the people who naturally connected with Him because there was something so welcoming, so inclusive and loving about Jesus which they had not experienced in anyone else.  

  • Luke 10:25-27:  A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life.  Jesus asks him what’s written in the law.  The lawyer answers “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.”  Jesus responds with “You have answered correctly.”  I’ve said this many times in this blog but here I’m saying it again.  The 2 greatest commandments.  Love God, Love your neighbour!  It’s our reason for being, our purpose!  “Who’s my neighbour?”, the lawyer asks.

  • Luke 10:30-37:  The Good Samaritan parable teaches you are loving your neighbour when you are caring for and loving anyone other than yourself.  In the story, the Samaritans would have nothing to do with the Jews.  But this Samaritan did!  He’s the definition of a good neighbour.  He did not know the person (most likely a Jew who had been robbed) but he showed mercy and love.

  • Luke 10:38-42:  Sometimes we get too busy to just take Jesus in.  The story of Mary and Martha shows Martha, upset with Mary, because she was doing all the preparations for guests while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to Him.  I find sitting down every morning to write the blog difficult when there’s a bunch of stuff to do.  However, to stay consistent, I need to sit at Jesus' feet every day.  I tell you, He’s changing me through His words and His Spirit that helps me understand them!


Jesus' whole message was about Love and He always reached out to the Outliers (we are all outliers in one way or another).  His message is Love God and Love your neighbour.  Jesus lived what He preached.  We can all learn from that!


Have a great Day

Steve

steve.d.pauls@gmail.com 


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