WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: Learning from the way others behave is part of life. What do you do as a result of someone else’s positive – or negative – example?

Deceived and disobedient
We continue with the story of Moses until the time when the Israelites were on the brink of entering the Promised Land of Canaan. They rebelled against God and refused to go any further because of the negative report of all but two (Joshua and Caleb) of those who were sent out to explore it (Numbers 13,14).

Their disobedience condemned them to 40 years of wilderness travel; instead of trusting in what God had promised them, their hearts were deceived and they turned away.

Encourage one another
We can learn as much from things that go wrong as we can from things that go right. The behaviour of their ancestors so many centuries earlier is used as another warning to contemporary readers and to us – ‘See what happened to them? Don’t let it happen to you!’

Disobedience always has consequences, sometimes for ourselves, sometimes for others as well, and they may last a long time. So this reminder of our responsibility to and for each other (v 13) is timely. While salvation involves our own individual relationship with Christ, we can do a great deal to encourage each other to persevere in faith.

Respond: Are you ‘responsible’ for anyone as a Christian? Maybe a house group member or someone who came to faith through you? Do something new this week to encourage them.

http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-02-25