Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.-—Matthew 18:19–20
No question about it, when Christians get together and pray, things will happen. It is good to join forces with other believers. But let's not misunderstand. It doesn't mean that if two Christians agree to pray together that God will give them a Learjet, God will answer their prayers. What Jesus was saying is that if two people get their wills in alignment with the will of God, agree together in that area, and keep praying about it, then they will see results.
That is why we need to pray with our Christian friends. That is why we need to call up people and say, "Let's pray about this together." That is why Christians need to be involved in church. If you want to grow spiritually, then you must be a part of a congregation of believers. It isn't optional. You need to become part of a group of believers, build friendships with them, and become a productive part of that body. If you aren't involved in a church on a regular basis, then I would venture to say you that you are probably floundering spiritually.
Just as you must eat, drink, and breathe to live, you must read the Bible, pray, and be involved in a church to stay spiritually alive and vital. You never will outgrow these things. You will need them until your final day on this earth. And if you neglect these things, I guarantee that you will have a spiritual breakdown.
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No man is an island, as the saying goes, and that's especially true for Christians. Here are some key reasons why Christians need each other.
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Today's Bible Reading:
Numbers 34:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders), 3 then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward. 4 Your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and it shall pass southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go from there to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5 The border shall turn about from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the sea.
6 “‘For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its border. This shall be your west border.
7 “‘This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for yourselves Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the border shall pass by Zedad. 9 Then the border shall go to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your north border.
10 “‘You shall mark out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 The border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. The border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward. 12 The border shall go down to the Jordan, and end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders around it.’”
13 Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe; 14 for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
16 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 Of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 Of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are they whom Yahweh commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
35:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel to give to the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in. You shall give suburbs for the cities around them to the Levites. 3 They shall have the cities to dwell in. Their suburbs shall be for their livestock, and for their possessions, and for all their animals.
4 “The suburbs of the cities, which you shall give to the Levites, shall be from the wall of the city and outward one thousand cubits[a] around it. 5 You shall measure outside of the city for the east side two thousand cubits, and for the south side two thousand cubits, and for the west side two thousand cubits, and for the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This shall be the suburbs of their cities.
6 “The cities which you shall give to the Levites, they shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the man slayer to flee to. Besides them you shall give forty-two cities. 7 All the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be forty-eight cities together with their suburbs. 8 Concerning the cities which you shall give of the possession of the children of Israel, from the many you shall take many; and from the few you shall take few. Everyone according to his inheritance which he inherits shall give some of his cities to the Levites.” 9 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you shall appoint for yourselves cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the man slayer who kills any person unwittingly may flee there. 12 The cities shall be to you for refuge from the avenger, that the man slayer not die, until he stands before the congregation for judgment. 13 The cities which you shall give shall be for you six cities of refuge. 14 You shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and you shall give three cities in the land of Canaan. They shall be cities of refuge. 15 For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the foreigner living among them, shall these six cities be for refuge; that everyone who kills any person unwittingly may flee there.
16 “‘But if he struck him with an instrument of iron, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 If he struck him with a stone in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him with a weapon of wood in the hand, by which a man may die, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death. When he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 If he shoved him out of hatred, or hurled at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21 or in hostility struck him with his hand, so that he died, he who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death, when he meets him.
22 “‘But if he shoved him suddenly without hostility, or hurled on him anything without lying in wait, 23 or with any stone, by which a man may die, not seeing him, and cast it on him, so that he died, and he was not his enemy, neither sought his harm; 24 then the congregation shall judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. 25 The congregation shall deliver the man slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge, where he had fled. He shall dwell therein until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
26 “‘But if the man slayer shall at any time go beyond the border of his city of refuge, where he flees, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside of the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the man slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood, 28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the man slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
29 “‘These things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
30 “‘Whoever kills any person, the murderer shall be slain at the mouth of witnesses; but one witness shall not testify against any person that he die.
31 “‘Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death; but he shall surely be put to death.
32 “‘You shall take no ransom for him who is fled to his city of refuge, that he may come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
33 “‘So you shall not pollute the land in which you are; for blood pollutes the land. No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, but by the blood of him who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land which you inhabit, in the middle of which I dwell; for I, Yahweh, dwell in the middle of the children of Israel.’”
36:1 The heads of the fathers’ households of the family of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses, and before the princes, the heads of the fathers’ households of the children of Israel. 2 They said, “Yahweh commanded my lord to give the land for inheritance by lot to the children of Israel. My lord was commanded by Yahweh to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. 3 If they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then will their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of our fathers, and will be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So will it be taken away from the lot of our inheritance. 4 When the jubilee of the children of Israel shall be, then will their inheritance be added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they shall belong. So their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.”
5 Moses commanded the children of Israel according to Yahweh’s word, saying, “The tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks right. 6 This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them be married to whom they think best; only they shall marry into the family of the tribe of their father. 7 So shall no inheritance of the children of Israel move from tribe to tribe; for the children of Israel shall all keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may each possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 So shall no inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; for the tribes of the children of Israel shall each keep his own inheritance.’”
10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as Yahweh commanded Moses: 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to their father’s brothers’ sons. 12 They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph. Their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. 13 These are the commandments and the ordinances which Yahweh commanded by Moses to the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
Footnotes:
a. Numbers 35:4 a cubit is the length from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow on a man's arm, or about 18 inches or 46 centimeters.
Mark 11:1 When they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethsphage[a] and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go your way into the village that is opposite you. Immediately as you enter into it, you will find a young donkey tied, on which no one has sat. Untie him, and bring him. 3 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs him;’ and immediately he will send him back here.”
4 They went away, and found a young donkey tied at the door outside in the open street, and they untied him. 5 Some of those who stood there asked them, “What are you doing, untying the young donkey?” 6 They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
7 They brought the young donkey to Jesus, and threw their garments on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many spread their garments on the way, and others were cutting down branches from the trees, and spreading them on the road. 9 Those who went in front, and those who followed, cried out, “Hosanna! [b] Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord![c] 10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered into the temple in Jerusalem. When he had looked around at everything, it being now evening, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
12 The next day, when they had come out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came to see if perhaps he might find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 Jesus told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” and his disciples heard it.
15 They came to Jerusalem, and Jesus entered into the temple, and began to throw out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of those who sold the doves. 16 He would not allow anyone to carry a container through the temple. 17 He taught, saying to them, “Isn’t it written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations?’[d] But you have made it a den of robbers!”[e]
18 The chief priests and the scribes heard it, and sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because all the multitude was astonished at his teaching.
19 When evening came, he went out of the city. 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. 21 Peter, remembering, said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”
22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. 25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
27 They came again to Jerusalem, and as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders came to him, 28 and they began saying to him, “By what authority do you do these things? Or who gave you this authority to do these things?”
29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 The baptism of John—was it from heaven, or from men? Answer me.”
31 They reasoned with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven;’ he will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 32 If we should say, ‘From men’”—they feared the people, for all held John to really be a prophet. 33 They answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said to them, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 11:1 TR & NU read “Bethphage” instead of “Bethsphage”
b. Mark 11:9 “Hosanna” means “save us” or “help us, we pray”.
c. Mark 11:9 Psalm 118:25-26
d. Mark 11:17 Isaiah 56:7
e. Mark 11:17 Jeremiah 7:11
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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie
P.O. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514-4000
Phone: 1(800)821-3300
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