February Day 10

Exodus 27-29 - God gave very specific instructions for sacrifices.  This may have been for a few reasons.  Maybe so when they entered the land of the Canaanites who worshiped pagan gods and would offer sacrifices whenever and however they wanted, the Israelites worship of God would be set apart.  Or maybe the detailed instructions were so they understood how serious God was about their relationship and wanted them to take it serious too. Regardless of the reason, it is comforting to know that now longer do we have to offer sacrifices through a priest to experience God's presence in our life.  Now, because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we can experience God's presence in our lives daily. 

Psalm 33 - When we understand God's power and authority over all things, we have great reason to sing praises to him and trust his strength in our lives over our own. 

Matthew 14:1-21 - Herodious hated John because he disapproved of Herod marrying her.  Herod acted in his flesh and made a promise he could not take back and it cost John his life.  When we act in our flesh, it doesn't just hurt us, but hurt others as well.  
Jesus heard the news and went to be alone.  I love this passage because it shows that we have a God who has experienced the grief of loss.  He then reaches the place where he was stopping and sees the crowd and has compassion on them.  Even in his grief, he had compassion on others.  He then feeds the 5000 from 5 loaves and 2 fish.  Jesus did the miracle and used the disciples to distribute the miracle.  He is still in the business of using his followers to pass out the miracle of life.   When they were finished feeding the crowd, they collected what was left and had 12 baskets.  When they started, not a single one of the disciples had food - even the 5 loves and 2 fish weren't theirs, but when they finished, there was enough left over for each of them to have a basket.  When you allow God to use you in His ministry, it will leave you with more than you started. 

Acts 20:1-12 - It is amazing to see how hungry people were to hear Paul speak. The boy who fell from the window to his death not only lived, but went home without an injury.  God can turn around any tragedy.