Vows and Victory (March 10)

  "Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel: "This is what the Lord commands: When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said."
                           Numbers 30:1-2 NIV

A vow is: a solemn pledge (to oneself or to another, or to a deity) to do something or to behave in a certain manner; a promise; or to dedicate to a deity by a vow.  This action may or may not be of free will, need, duty, or other motive.  In a vow there is a sense of  value, worth, importance and quality.  God commands us to carry through on our vows, one might consider that God wants our word to be our bond that we have a duty to fulfill. 

Let your word be your bond, however consider the weight your words can have.  To increase the value of your words, consider carefully before you make a statement, for words can be cheap if they are not followed by action. 

Ask for the Spirit's guidance to speak, especially when making a vow or promise so that integrity shows through.  Roget's thesaurus describes integrity with words like character, honesty, honor, durability, firmness, wholeness, oneness and others.  These words lead one to entertain the fruits of the Spirit.


"Then the officers who were over the units of the army-the commanders of the thousands and commanders of hundreds-went to Moses and said to him, "Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord, the gold articles each of us acquired-armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earings and neclaces- to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord" 
                               Numbers 31:48-50 NIV

One is lead to realize the protective arm of God  was active in these battles in view of the result of no casualties.

Thoughts:

How does what you say reflect your faith, walk, and value of the Lord?

How does God's integrity, patience, and love with or of Israel strenghten you today? 

Pray for time management skills of the pastoral staff, that they are able to make effective use of their time and that the Spirit speaks through them this weekend.  Pray for hearts and minds to be prepared to hear, receive and act on the sermon message.

In Christ,


David P