Wildwood Assembly

2 Corinthians 6:1 says we are “God’s fellow workers.”  Rather than report to God, we work with God.  We are always in the presence of God.  There is never a nonsacred moment!

Is it possible to live—minute by minute—in the presence of God? Jesus enjoyed unbroken communion with God, and God wants that same abiding intimacy with you and me.  He wants to be as close to us as a branch is to a vine.  You know it’s impossible to tell where one starts and the other ends. What good news!  We are NEVER away from God!  And He is NEVER away from us!

As we search the Bible, we realize that unbroken communion with God is the intent and not the exception.  Within the reach of every Christian is the unending presence of God.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Vows, Jealousy, and the Blessing That Never Fails

The opening laws of this reading deal with the unglamorous mechanics of community life—removing the unclean from camp, making restitution for wrongs, resolving suspicions of infidelity. The jealousy ritual is difficult for modern readers, and perhaps it should be. It belongs to a world where a woman’s word alone could not settle a dispute, and the ritual, for all its strangeness, placed the verdict in God’s hands rather than a husband’s anger. Then comes the Nazirite vow—a voluntary act of radical consecration. No wine, no haircuts, no contact with the dead. The Nazirite’s uncut hair is a visible testimony that this person belongs entirely to God for a season. It is not a permanent state but a temporary intensification of devotion, and when the vow is complete, the Nazirite shaves and places the hair on the fire beneath the peace offering. What was set apart is returned to God. But the passage that crowns today’s reading is the Aaronic blessing—six lines of staggering beauty: ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Three times the Lord’s name is spoken, and the movement is from blessing to grace to peace. These are the words God gives His priests to speak over His people, and His promise is astonishing: ‘Whenever they bless the people in my name, I myself will bless them.’ The priest speaks the words, but God performs them.

00:00 Removing the Unclean from Camp
01:00 Restitution for Wrongs
02:00 The Test for an Unfaithful Wife
05:00 The Nazirite Vow
07:00 Defilement During the Vow
08:00 Completing the Nazirite Vow
09:00 The Aaronic Blessing

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

God had His hand on Sarah Zagorski through every step of her life. She shares her amazing story of surviving an attempted abortion by her mother, who then ended up saving her life! You’ll hear about her journey in and out of foster care, being adopted into a Christian home, and how the Adventures in Odyssey Audio radio drama helped lead her to Christ. It’s an incredible story of redemption, with many surprising twists and turns.

Receive a copy of Choose Life and an audio download of "From Abortion Survivor to Pro‑Life Advocate: A Redemption Story" for your donation of any amount!

Get More Episode Resources 

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

I believe we can learn to listen to God if we are equipped with the right tools. The first tool is a regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and in a corner of your world, and claim it for God. Take enough time to say what you want and for God to say what he wants.

The second tool is an open Bible. Pray first, asking God to help you understand it. Study the Bible a little at a time. Read until a verse “hits” you. Then meditate on it and write it down.

The third tool is a listening heart. We know we’re listening when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives. If you want to be just like Jesus, spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day, and then apply it.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

The Levites: Guardians of the Sacred

The Levites are counted separately because they serve a separate purpose. They are not warriors but guardians—substitutes for the firstborn of all Israel, claimed by God on the night the firstborn of Egypt died. There are exactly 22,000 Levite males, and since there are 22,273 firstborn Israelites, the remaining 273 must be redeemed with silver. God keeps precise accounts because every life is precious. The three Levite clans—Gershon, Kohath, and Merari—each receive specific duties. The Gershonites carry the curtains and coverings, the soft furnishings of the tabernacle. The Merarites carry the heavy infrastructure—frames, crossbars, posts, and bases. And the Kohathites carry the most sacred objects: the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars. But they must not touch them directly or even look at them uncovered—Aaron and his sons must wrap each item first. The Kohathites carry the holiest things in Israel, shrouded in blue cloth and goatskin leather, balanced on poles. They bear a weight they cannot see and must not touch. There is something profound in that image: serving God often means carrying sacred things with reverence, trusting that what is hidden beneath the covering is more glorious than we can imagine.

00:00 Aaron’s Sons and the Levites
01:00 Levites as Substitutes for the Firstborn
02:00 The Gershonite Clans
03:00 The Kohathite Clans
04:00 The Merarite Clans
05:00 Counting the Firstborn
07:00 Kohathite Duties: Wrapping the Sacred Objects
10:00 Warning: Do Not Touch
11:00 Gershonite Duties
12:00 Merarite Duties
13:00 Census of Levite Workers

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

God had His hand on Sarah Zagorski through every step of her life. She shares her amazing story of surviving an attempted abortion by her mother, who then ended up saving her life! You’ll hear about her journey in and out of foster care, being adopted into a Christian home, and how the Adventures in Odyssey Audio radio drama helped lead her to Christ. It’s an incredible story of redemption, with many surprising twists and turns.

Receive a copy of Choose Life and an audio download of "From Abortion Survivor to Pro‑Life Advocate: A Redemption Story" for your donation of any amount!

Get More Episode Resources 

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time with God and have not been successful. And all of us are busy. So we let others tell us what God is saying. Isn’t that why we pay preachers? Isn’t that why we read Christian books? If that is your approach, your spiritual experiences are second-hand. Do you do that with other parts of your life—vacation, romance, eating? I don’t think so. There are certain things no one can do for you.

When God asks for your attention, he doesn’t want you to send a substitute. He invites you to vacation in his splendor. He invites you to feel the touch of his hand. He invites you to feast at his table.  He wants to spend time with you. And with a little training, your time with God can be the highlight of your day.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Numbered for the March: Israel’s Census and Camp

The book of Numbers opens with an act of accounting—603,550 men of fighting age, registered tribe by tribe, clan by clan. It may seem like the driest possible way to begin a book, but there is something deeply meaningful in the counting. God numbers His people not because He needs a headcount but because every person matters. Each name registered is a life known, a family acknowledged, a man who will march under his tribal banner toward the land of promise. The Levites are deliberately excluded from the military census because they have a different assignment: they will carry the tabernacle, camp around it, and guard it. While the rest of Israel is organized for war, the Levites are organized for worship. The camp arrangement is itself a sermon: the tabernacle sits at the center, and the twelve tribes surround it on four sides. Judah leads from the east, Reuben holds the south, Ephraim guards the west, and Dan anchors the north. God’s dwelling place is literally at the heart of the nation. Wherever Israel goes, they carry the presence of God in their midst—not at the front like a mascot, not at the rear like an afterthought, but at the center, where He belongs.

00:00 Introduction to Numbers
04:00 The Census Begins
05:00 Tribal Leaders Named
07:00 The Census Totals
08:00 The Levites Set Apart
09:00 Camp Arrangement: East and South
11:00 Camp Arrangement: West and North
12:00 Summary: 603,550 Men

Buy Immerse Beginnings today!

4 Questions to get your conversations started:
1.    What stood out to you this week?
2.    Was there anything confusing or troubling?
3.    Did anything make you think differently about God?
4.    How might this change the way we live?

QUICK START GUIDE
3 ways to get the most out of your experience

1.    Use Immerse: Beginnings instead of your regular chapter and verse Bible. This special reader’s edition restores the Bible to its natural simplicity and beauty by removing chapter and verse numbers and other historical additions. Letters look like letters, songs look like songs, and the original literary structures are visible in each book.

2.    Commit to making this a community experience. Immerse is designed for groups to encounter large portions of the Bible together for 8 weeks–more like a book club, less like a Bible study. By meeting every week in small groups and discussing what you read in open, honest conversations, you and your community can come together to be transformed through an authentic experience with the Scriptures.

3.    Aim to understand the big story. Read through “The Stories and the Story” (p. 329) to see how the books of the Bible work together to tell God’s story of his creation’s restoration. As you read through Immerse: Beginnings, rather than ask, “How do I fit God into my busy life?” begin asking, “How can I join in God’s great plan by living out my part in his story?”

And for more great Bible podcasts for Christians and small groups, check out https://lumivoz.com or search for Lumivoz in your podcast app of choice.

Anxiety doesn’t have to be your story! Caroline Shankle and her mom, Melanie, open up about the real challenges facing teens – bullying, comparison, anxiety – and how to trust God with your future. You’ll be encouraged to “face your giants” with faith and courage, inspired by Caroline’s new devotional, The Lion and the Bear.

Receive a copy of The Lion and the Bear and an audio download of "Helping Your Child Approach Anxiety, Bullying, and Identity" for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive.

Get More Episode Resources 

If you enjoyed listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, please give us your feedback.

“Let he who has ears to hear, use them.” Eight times in the Gospels and eight times in the book of Revelation we are reminded that it’s not enough just to have ears—it’s necessary to use them.

Jesus spent regular time with God, praying and listening. Luke 5:16 (NIV) tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same? Jesus also spent regular time in God’s Word. Three times in the wilderness temptation he used the Word of God to repel the attack of Satan.

If we are to be just like Jesus, then we need to imitate his habits of prayer and Bible reading.

Read more Just Like Jesus

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.