Phew!

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Today marks the end of the third week of the 90-Day Bible Challenge. I just made it. Phew is right! I let a lot of things slide over the last few days for various reasons. I thought briefly about quitting but I knew that I need to break a pattern of behavior I seem to fall back to. So, I sat and read a lot the last two days and got caught up. I am now officially back on track. Yeah!

Here are some of the verses and themes that jumped out at me while I read through Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. 

• Leviticus 17:11b "...it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life." This was in regards to the sacrifices the Israelites were told to make for their sins. What struck me though was the blood that Jesus shed for us to make atonement for our sin. 
• Numbers. Yeah. It was a lot of numbers and I am so not a number type person. Ask anyone who knows me. The Lord was so specific though in this book. He had all the numbers for the census. He even told the Israelites where to camp. 
• Numbers 11:17 "...and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone." Moses had the Spirit of God helping him and this was passed on to those designated to help Moses with his huge burden of caring for over 600,000+ people (check the math in Numbers for an accurate count - it's there). 
• Numbers 14:18a "The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love, and forgiving sin and rebellion." This is something I need to remind myself of daily. No matter how much I sin and rebel (and we are very much like the Israelites in that regard), God will forgive me. Thankfully.
• The Israelites could have been in the desert on 40 days but they complained and rebelled so much that God made them wait 40 years and he didn't let the ones who left Egypt enter. They all had to die first (those 20 years and older). Even Moses and Aaron - the leaders - weren't allowed in. What must that had been like? 
• Deuteronomy 4:15-31 - This tells what will happen later. Even after everything that happened in the desert (or maybe because of it?), God still allowed the Israelites in to the Promised Land. However, he also knew that they would continue to rebel. They would get comfortable and start taking on the customs of the people and lands they were living in. These verses give foreshadowing of what's to come. 
• Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Don't leave anything back. Give it all to God. Everything. 
• Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Reassurance. 

I'm glad I'm persevering. It's something I'm trying to learn to be better at. I know that God has great things planned for me. After all, he's promised never to leave me nor forsake me.