March 22   Numbers 21-22 Psalm 36:7-12 Proverbs 8:27-29 Mark 16 Balaam’s Donkey   “Then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand;  and he bowed his head down and prostrated himself to the ground.  And the angel of Yahweh said to him, ‘Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary because your way was contrary to me.  And the donkey saw me and turned aside

March 21   Numbers 19-20 Psalm 36:1-6 Proverbs 8:25-26 Mark 15:21-47 Courage   “And when evening had already come, because it was Preparation day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea came, a prominent Council member, who himself was waiting for the kingdom of God; and he gathered up the courage and went before Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus….And ascertaining this from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  And when Joseph had bought a line

March 20   Numbers 18 Psalm 35:22-28 Proverbs 8:22-24 Mark 15:1-20 Vengeance   “You have seen it, O Yahweh, do not keep silent;  O Lord, do not be far from me.  Stir up Yourself, and awake to my justice and to my cause, my God and my Lord.”  Psalm 35:22-23 LSB   Psalm 35 is an imprecatory psalm.  In it David laid out his case to God and prayed for the defeat of his enemies.  We are not told when David wrote this psalm or the enemies he was referring to but it may have been wr

March 19   Numbers 16-17 Psalm 35:17-21 Proverbs 8:20-21 Mark 14:43-72 The Path Of Righteousness   “I walk in the path of righteousness, in the midst of the pathways of justice, to give those who love me an inheritance of wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.”  Proverbs 8:20-21 LSB   The speaker in Proverbs 8 is “Lady Wisdom,”  a personification of God’s wisdom.  She is calling out to people to listen to her and embrace the value of choosing her way.  She explains that wi

March 18   Numbers 15 Psalm 35:9-16 Proverbs 8:17-19 Mark 14:27-42 Blue Cords   “Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue.  And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of Yahweh, so as to do them and not follow your own eyes, after which

March 17   Numbers 14 Psalm 35:1-8 Proverbs 8:14-16 Mark 14:1-26 The Lord’s Supper   “And while they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is My body.’  And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.  Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine

March 16   Numbers 12-13 Psalm 34:15-22 Proverbs 8:10-13 Mark 13:24-37 The Woodshed   “And they said, ‘Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses?  Has He not spoken through us as well?’  And Yahweh heard it.  (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the Earth.)  Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, ‘You three come out to the tent of meeting.’  So the three of them came out.”  Numbers 12:2-4 LSB   Thankfully I was never t

March 15   Numbers 10-11 Psalm 34:8-14 Proverbs 8:8-9 Mark 13:1-23 Divine Words   “And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”  Mark 13:11  LSB   In this passage, Jesus was warning His disciples about the difficult times of persecution they were going to face.  He told them that they didn’t need to worry beforehand what

March 14   Numbers 8-9 Psalm 34:1-7 Proverbs 8:6-7 Mark 12:28-44 Divine Guidance   “Whether it was two days or a month or a year that the cloud lingered over the tabernacle, dwelling above it, the sons of Israel remained camped and did not set out; but when it was lifted, they did set out.  At the command of Yahweh they camped, and at the command of Yahweh they set out; they kept the charge of Yahweh, according to the command of Yahweh by the hand of Moses.”  Numbers 9:22-23 

March 13   Numbers 7 Psalm 33:18-22 Proverbs 8:4-5 Mark 12:1-27 The Chief Cornerstone   “Have you not even read this Scripture:  ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the Chief Cornerstone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”  Mark 12:10  LSB   The cornerstone is the most important stone laid in the construction of a building.  It is the first stone that is laid and it serves as the reference point for every other stone to make

March 12   Numbers 6 Psalm 33:10-17 Proverbs 8:1-3 Mark 11:12-33 Blessing   “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.”  Number 6:24-26 ESV   This passage in Numbers 6 is known as the Aaronic Blessing.  It is the blessing that God instructed Aaron and his sons to speak over the people of Israel.  It has been used throughout the centuries, long after the Aaroni

March 11   Numbers 4-5 Psalm 33:1-9 Proverbs 7:24-27 Mark 11:1-11 Hosanna In The Highest!   “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”  Mark 11:9b-10 LSB   The Sunday before Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection is referred to in modern times as Palm Sunday.  The day began with Jesus and His disciples travelling over the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem.  Jesus sent two of His disciples ah

March 10   Numbers 3 Psalm 32:8-11 Proverbs 7:21-23 Mark 10:32-52 Numbered   “Then Yahweh spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, saying, ‘Number the sons of Levi by their father’s households, by their families; every male from a month old and upward you shall number.’  So Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh just as he had been commanded.”  Numbers 3:14-16 LSB   The Bible contains multiple genealogical records.  When we encounter them in our reading, we oft

March 9   Numbers 2 Psalm 32:1-7 Proverbs 7:18-20 Mark 10:13-31 Forgiven   “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh will not take into account, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!”  Psalm 32:1-2 LSB   The last couple of days we have looked at the destructive power of sin in our lives.  We have examined the costly nature of evil physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually.  And we have

March 8   Numbers 1 Psalm 31:19-24 Proverbs 7:13-17 Mark 9:42-10:12 Unsalty Salt   “For everyone will be salted with fire.  Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again?  Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.  Mark 9:49-50 LSB   Salt has gotten a bad reputation in the past few decades.  Most of us have grown up with the idea that salt is bad for you and you need to limit your intake of it.  It has been linked to con

March 7   Leviticus 27 Psalm 31:9-18 Proverbs 7:9-12 Mark 9:30-41 The Toll Of Sin   “Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, for I am in distress;  My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also.  For my life is worn down with sorrow and my years with sighing;  my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.”  Psalm 31:9-10 LSB   The toll of sin is heavy.  We are not told what sin David was referring to in this passage, but it may have been the sins of com

March 6   Leviticus 26 Psalm 31:1-8 Proverbs 7:6-8 Mark 9:1-29 Help My Unbelief   “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!  And Jesus said to him, ‘If I can?  All things are possible to him who believes.’  Immediately the boy’s father cried out and was saying, ‘I do believe; help my unbelief.’”  Mark 9:22b-24 LSB   This man brought his son who was possessed with an evil spirit to Jesus.  He asked Jesus’ disciples to cast the demon out but they were unable to

March 5   Leviticus 25 Psalm 30:7-12 Proverbs 7:4-5 Mark 8 Mourning To Dancing   “Hear, O Yahweh, and be gracious to me;  O Yahweh, be my helper.  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;  You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent.  O Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to You forever.”  Psalm 30:11-12 LSB   We live in a fallen world and difficult times are common to everyone.  None of us escape this

March 4   Leviticus 23-24 Psalm 30:1-6 Proverbs 7:1-3 Mark 7:17-37 Treasure The Law   “My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within you. Keep my commandments and live, and my law as the apple of your eye.  Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.”  Proverbs 7:1-3 LSB   “And He said to them, ‘Are you lacking understanding in this way as well?  Do you not perceive that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, because it d

March 3   Leviticus 21-22 Psalm 29:7-11 Proverbs 6:34-35 Mark 7:1-16 Our Best   “Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘Any man of the house of Israel or of the sojourners in Israel who brings near his offering……which they bring near to Yahweh for a burnt offering—for you to be accepted—it must be a male without blemish from the cattle, sheep, or the goats.  Whatever has a defect, you shall not bring it near, for it will not be accepted