[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR FRIDAY FEBRUARY 18

WORD OF WISDOM

There is a fine line between a numerator and a denominator. Only a fraction
of people will find this funny.

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DAILY DEVOTION

"I Adulted"


And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with
meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife,
and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 3:1-3

Every year new words come into the language to explain or identify trends
and changes in society. One of the relatively recent new words is
"adulting." It is used mostly by young adults to identify ways in which they
are acting grown up and responsible. You can even buy "I Adulted" wall
calendars. Each one comes with stickers you can place on different dates to
mark these events. Some of the stickers that come with the calendar are: I
paid a bill on time, I cooked a meal, I kept a secret, I took a shower, I
did the laundry, I put away my phone, I matched my socks, and I only took
one selfie. The idea of celebrating such things as milestones strikes most
Baby Boomers as immature. That's what we were taught to do growing up, and
that's what we do everyday-even without getting a sticker for it.
But spiritual adulthood is something that should be cultivated and
celebrated. We are not meant to remain as baby Christians. We are commanded
to grow and mature and become more like Jesus. It is shameful for someone
who has been saved for years to still be a childish Christian. "For when for
the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again
which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as
have need of milk, and not of strong meat" (Hebrews 5:12). Our world
desperately needs Christian men and women who are full grown adults in their
faith to stand against the rising tide of evil around us.
If we devote our hearts and minds to the Word of God and prayer, our faith
will strengthen and grow.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Numbers 31-33 New King James Version
Vengeance on the Midianites
31 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites
for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."

3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm some of yourselves for war, and
let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian.
4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to
the war."

5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from
each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the
war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the
son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in
his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord
commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of
Midian with the rest of those who were killed-Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and
Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with
the sword.

9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their
little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all
their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt,
and all their forts. 11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty-of man
and beast.

Return from the War
12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to
Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to
the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And
Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to
meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the
army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had
come from the battle.

15 And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look,
these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to
trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague
among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among
the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But
keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man
intimately. 19 And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever
has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves
and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 Purify every
garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats' hair, and
everything made of wood."

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the
battle, "This is the [a]ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses:
22 Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it
shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But
all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. 24 And you shall
wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may
come into the camp."

Division of the Plunder
25 Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 26 "Count up the plunder that was
[b]taken-of man and beast-you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers
of the congregation; 27 and divide the plunder into two parts, between those
who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.
28 And levy a [c]tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to
battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys,
and the sheep; 29 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest
as a heave offering to the Lord. 30 And from the children of Israel's half
you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the
donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites
who [d]keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord." 31 So Moses and Eleazar
the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was
six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle,
34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of
women who had not known a man intimately. 36 And the half, the portion for
those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven
thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and the Lord's [e]tribute of the sheep was
six hundred and seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of
which the Lord's tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty
thousand five hundred, of which the Lord's tribute was sixty-one. 40 The
persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord's tribute was thirty-two
persons. 41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord's heave offering to
Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

42 And from the children of Israel's half, which Moses separated from the
men who fought- 43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three
hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand
cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand
persons- 47 and from the children of Israel's half Moses took one of every
fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept
charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of
thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to
Moses, "Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our
command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an
offering for the Lord, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets
and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make
[f]atonement for ourselves before the Lord." 51 So Moses and Eleazar the
priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all
the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of
thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and
fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of
thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as
a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan
32 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great
multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of
Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of
Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the
priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 "Ataroth, Dibon,
Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which
the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for
livestock, and your servants have livestock." 5 Therefore they said, "If we
have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a
possession. Do not take us over the Jordan."

6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben:
"Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7 Now why will you
discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land
which the Lord has given them? 8 Thus your fathers did when I sent them away
from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of
Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of
Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.
10 So the Lord's anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath,
saying, 11 'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years
old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly
followed the Lord.' 13 So the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, and
He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation
that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone. 14 And look! You have
risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more
the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from
following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will
destroy all these people."

16 Then they came near to him and said: "We will build sheepfolds here for
our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we ourselves will be
armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them
to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities
because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes
until every one of the children of Israel has [g]received his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and
beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the
Jordan."

20 Then Moses said to them: "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves
before the Lord for the war, 21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan
before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22 and
the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be
blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your
possession before the Lord. 23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you
have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out. 24
Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do [h]what
has proceeded out of your mouth."

25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses,
saying: "Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our
wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of
Gilead; 27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war,
before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says."

28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua
the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of
Israel. 29 And Moses said to them: "If the children of Gad and the children
of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before
the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the
land of Gilead as a possession. 30 But if they do not cross over armed with
you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan."

31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: "As
the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 We will cross over
armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our
inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan."

33 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to
half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of
the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities
within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. 34 And the
children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35 Atroth and Shophan and
Jazer and Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and
folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and
Kirjathaim, 38 Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah;
and they gave other names to the cities which they built.

39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took
it, and [i]dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave Gilead
to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. 41 Also Jair the son of
Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair.[j] 42
Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah,
after his own name.

Israel's Journey from Egypt Reviewed
33 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the
land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2 Now Moses
wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord.
And these are their journeys according to their starting points:

3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the
first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out
with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 For the Egyptians were
burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them. Also on
their gods the Lord had executed judgments.

5 Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6
They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the
wilderness. 7 They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is
east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol. 8 They departed [k]from
before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness,
went three days' journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. 9
They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water
and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.

10 They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 They moved from the
Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin. 12 They journeyed from the
Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They departed from Dophkah and
camped at Alush. 14 They moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where
there was no water for the people to drink.

15 They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai. 16
They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at [l]Kibroth Hattaavah.
17 They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18 They
departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 They departed from Rithmah
and camped at Rimmon Perez. 20 They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at
Libnah. 21 They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They journeyed
from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 They went from Kehelathah and
camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They moved from Mount Shepher and camped at
Haradah. 25 They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They moved
from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They departed from Tahath and camped
at Terah. 28 They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They went from
Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They departed from Hashmonah and camped
at Moseroth. 31 They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. 32
They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad. 33 They went from
Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 They moved from Jotbathah and
camped at Abronah. 35 They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
36 They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is
Kadesh. 37 They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary
of the land of Edom.

38 Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord,
and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come
out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Aaron was
one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

40 Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land
of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.

41 So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They departed
from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They departed from Punon and camped at
Oboth. 44 They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border
of Moab. 45 They departed from [m]Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad. 46 They
moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim. 47 They moved from
Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 They
departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by
the Jordan, across from Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth
Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove[n] in the plains of Moab.

Instructions for the Conquest of Canaan
50 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across
from Jericho, saying, 51 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them:
'When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall
drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their
engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their
[o]high places; 53 you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and
dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 And you shall
divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger
you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a
smaller inheritance; there everyone's inheritance shall be whatever falls to
him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you,
then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your
eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where
you dwell. 56 Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do
to them.' "

Footnotes
Numbers 31:21 statute
Numbers 31:26 captured
Numbers 31:28 tax
Numbers 31:30 perform the service
Numbers 31:37 tax
Numbers 31:50 Lit. covering
Numbers 32:18 possessed
Numbers 32:24 what you said you would do
Numbers 32:39 drove out
Numbers 32:41 Lit. Towns of Jair
Numbers 33:8 Many Heb. mss., Sam., Syr., Tg., Vg. from Pi Hahiroth; cf. Num.
33:7
Numbers 33:16 Lit. Graves of Craving
Numbers 33:45 Same as Ije Abarim, v. 44
Numbers 33:49 Heb. Abel Shittim
Numbers 33:52 Places for pagan worship