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Good morning. It's 5am and here I am at my computer and unfortunately I don't even have a cup of coffee. My sweet hubby makes the coffee, but that doesn't usually happen till 7:30 or later. I don't have the luxury of waiting till Sesame St. time to post today because I have a morning jam packed with errands... Walmart, Target, Office Max, Abigail's school and many more.

Anyway, without the benefit of caffeine, here we go. Last night I studied in the book of Numbers. At this point, I can barely read my notes from Sunday's message. I was writing so fast and furiously and I ran out of room on my bulletin. What I read in my Bible last night was actually very sad. The Israelites had been wandering in the desert for 40 years and they were finally on the border of the promised land and they lost faith. They complained that it would have been better to die in Egypt as slaves. This angered God and he denied access into the promised land to all but two, Joshua and Caleb. Even Moses, who was so loyal to God for so many years, faltered and as a result died in the desert.

Numbers 20:12

¹² But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

Our pastor said the message here is that God has no favorites when disciplining disobedience.

I also have something in my notes about the grasshopper mentality...

Numbers 13:33

³³ We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

I actually had to google that one and I found an interesting article on Overcoming The Grasshopper Mentality. Basically, If we want to seize what God has promised us, we must conquer our giants.

So what did I come away with after my study time? Don't lose faith and trust that God will keep his promises. I will cling to that when I face my own giants.

Finally, I want to leave you with this prayer...

Numbers 6:24-26

²⁴ " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep you;

²⁵ the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '