And the tabernacle of meeting shall move out with the camp of the Levites in the middle of the camps; as they camp, so they shall move out, everyone in his place, by their standards.  Numbers 2:17 NKJV)

When I read through the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, I see there was divine order in everything.  It wasn’t, “Wherever you want to sleep, sleep.  Wherever you want to camp, camp.” It wasn’t that way at all!  It was very much in order.

For example, there were detailed instructions on setting up the Tabernacle—the dwelling place of the Divine—which included it having only one door (see Exodus 26:36).  Why is this important?  What does it tell us about divine order?  Well, Jesus Himself said, “I am the door…” (John 10:9a KJV).  There is only one way to the Father, and that is through Jesus Christ!

God also had very specific instructions about the arrangement of the camps and how they moved together (see Numbers 1-2).  As God prepared the Israelites for their journey to the Promised Land, He told Moses He wanted three tribes to the north, three tribes to the south, three tribes to the east, and three tribes to the west.  And He named the tribes.  So, these tribes came in by layers and camped.  And they camped around the tabernacle.  They formed a cross and made the tabernacle the center of their lives.  What does this tell us?  Jesus needs to be the center of our lives!

Reading about the design of the tabernacle, the regulations for sacrifices, and the order of the tribes may initially come across as boring and tedious, but not when you see that through the divine details, God is pointing us to the Cross!

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for caring about the details of our lives!  Help us to maintain proper order – always keeping Jesus first!

Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:6 NKJV

God wants our conversation to be salty.  Why?  Because our talk makes people thirsty!  It can make others thirsty for what we have.

One time I was interviewed on a secular news program.  I was just starting to go on daily television and this interviewer asked me, “Why would you want to go on daily television?  You’re already on television on Sundays.  And there are all kinds of religious programs.  Why would you want to be another one?”  I heard in my spirit what to say.  I said, “Why do you think religious programs are on the air?” He said, “Well, to help people.”  And I said, “Do you think everyone is helped?” I got him!  And that was the end of it.  That, my friends, was salt!

Friend, we need to let our speech have salt in it.  Numbers 18:19 says that God made an “everlasting covenant of salt” with us, so His holiness enables us to be the salt of the earth to everyone we meet.  Don’t just agree with everything.  Don’t just gossip.  Don’t just say how bad the weather is.  Get salty!  Say, “God can change this!  God can do anything!” We are the ones charged with bringing the salt of God’s Word to the thirsty.

Jesus, You said we are to be the salt of the earth.  Help me to never lose my saltiness!

With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies.  Psalm 108:13

After a crusade, a middle-aged woman shared her dynamic testimony with me.

The woman’s son was involved in deep sin and crime in Chicago.  He had been using and selling drugs.  One night his mother felt strongly impressed by the Lord to pray in the Spirit for an hour for her son.  At 10:00 pm her son called and said, “Mother, what have you been doing for the last hour?” She told him that the Spirit of God had directed her to pray for him.

The son explained that he had recently sold some bad drugs to a man, who had returned that very evening with a gun and the intent to kill!  But the man couldn’t pull the trigger.  He kept trying to pull the trigger, and finally he threw the gun on the floor and said, “I can’t fire this gun!  There’s something your mother is doing that is keeping me from killing you.” The man ran from the room.

Needless to say, the son came home and gave his heart to Jesus.  And guess what?  He is now preaching the Gospel!

Folks, God is for your family.  He wants your family safe.  I have members of my family that are not saved yet, but I’m believing for it.  I’m standing in faith with them.  With God, we will gain the victory!

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You today that no man or situation is impossible.  With Your Word and Your loving support, we shall do valiantly in any situation.  We shall tread down our enemies.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them:  The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.  – (I Samuel 2:10 KJV)

Who is the Lord’s anointed that Hannah sings about in the Scripture above?  That is the Messiah!  In Hannah’s song of gratitude to God for blessing her with a son, she is the first to sing about Jesus.

In Luke 1, we hear a similar song from Mary, called the “Magnificat.” In fact, some of Hannah’s song is even quoted when Mary sings about her own son.

Hannah prays: “My heart rejoices in the Lord.” And Mary sings: “And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”

Mary prays: “Holy is His Name.” And Hannah sings: “No one is holy like the Lord.”

Hannah and Mary certainly had much to sing about and be grateful for, and so do we!  Because we, too, know the revelation of Jesus.

The Bible tells us to speak to ourselves in psalms and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts unto the Lord (see Ephesians 5:18-20).  This is how Jesus is revealed to us, how we show gratitude, and how we keep our hearts and minds focused on Jesus.

Sing unto the Lord the words of Hannah:  my heart rejoices in You; I rejoice in Your salvation.  No one is holy like You; There is none besides You; there is no rock like our God!