Thurs.’s Devo - Step Out With the Power of the Lord

Read: Judges 3:31-chapter 6
The first judge, Ehud died and Israel went back into idolatry. God turned them over to king Jabin, a Cananite king. His commander, Sisera had 900 iron chariots who abused Israel for twenty years till they cried out to the Lord. When they did, he sent them a woman, Deborah, to judge them. Her name means “a bee”. I think it was because her words were so full of truth that stung. The Lord told her to choose Barak of Abinoam to deliver them. His name means “lightning” from Kedesh which means “set apart for purpose”. He was to be the hand God had set apart for this moment in history but Barak shrunk back in fear. He told Deborah he wouldn’t go unless she went with him. Deborah must have been one tough lady! Because he couldn’t trust the Lord to use him, the victory went to a woman. It went to Jael. She drove a tent peg through Sisera’s head. She was another tough lady! Go women of God!
Sometimes God calls people to do strange things that we can’t understand at the time. Why did Heber move his tent away from the other members of his tribe? I don’t know why he did this but he was positioned at the right place. Sisera chose his tent, thinking he was in a safe place among friends. Little did he know it would lead to his demise.
We all know the story of Gideon but it is one of my favorites. God comes to the son of a Baal priest and called him to defeat the Midianites. Gideon felt the least qualified but he God promised to be with him and he would win.
Midianite means “strife and contention”. God told Gideon to tear down his father’s altars to Baal and Ashterah and erect an altar to Him and burn a sacrifice on it. Gideon did it at night so he wouldn’t get caught. When the angel of the Lord lit the sacrifice and disappeared Gideon thought he would die. The Lord assured him he would live so Gideon named the altar, “the Lord is Peace.” This was the total opposite of his enemy whose name meant contention. It was also the opposite of the reaction he knew he would get the next morning. Gideon proclaimed who God was, and that He is above our situations.
The next day he had power to challenge the god of Baal. Baal had no power to respond. Gideon continually asked God for confirmations and encouragement and God continually gave it to him. We too are called to things bigger than ourselves. God never tires of giving us encouragement and confirmations.
Lord, thank your for Gideon’s life. It helps to see a person who is timid and afraid and how you lovingly push him out of his comfort zone. Help us to step out in power and confidence in you.

Wed.’s Devo - The Downfall of Israel

Read: Judges 1-3:30
Finally Joshua died at the age of 110. Judah and Simeon banded together against the Canaanites and Perizzites and defeated them. Caleb gave his daughter to the one who attacked and captured Kiriath-sepher. Othniel, his nephew succeeded and later became Israel’s first judge. The first principality he brought down in Bezer was white magic. The second principality he brought down in Aram was black magic. The difference is that one looks good and moral and reaps deceivingly good fruit and the other is blatantly evil. Both have satanic roots and lead to death.
Sadly, we read how each of the last tribes had trouble driving out the Canaanites. Some gave up and moved in with the Canaanites and lived under their control. Others let them stay but made them slaves. God got so frustrated with them he declared he would not longer drive the people out but let them stay. (God promised to drive them out but they had to attack them in faith.) Because the Israelites let fear in, they wouldn’t attack and now their enemies would be thorns in their sides and their gods would be a constant temptation to them.
The next generation didn’t even acknowledge the Lord and what He had done for them. They didn’t know who they were. This was the parent’s fault. They were commanded to teach their children all the things God had done for them so they would know who they were and how to think. The judges is the saddest part of the Bible to me. God raised up spiritual and/or military judges throughout this period to deliver the children of Israel from their enemies but this was not the way God planned it for them. They were suppose to own the land and worship Him and be prosperous and in control. Their enemies were supposed to be able to look at them and want what they had.
We are to be the head and not the tail. We are to be the envy of the world, not the other way around. Our lives should look like joy, love, and contentment. The world should want what we have. We have a relationship with our creator and a heart for what is eternal. That supersedes anything the world can give.
Lord, may we let our light shine so the world will be drawn to You.

Tues.’s Devo - The Testimony

Read: Joshua 22-24
I had a dream last night where someone great was going home to be with the Lord this week. It was not a sad thing but a promotion. Then I read today’s reading and Joshua and Aaron both die. I know that is not what my dream was referring to but it is confirmation.
Joshua called the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh together and release them to go home. They had fought a good fight and done all God told them to do. They helped the other tribes secure their lands and gain much wealth. They were to go home and share their plunder with their families. On their way home they stopped at the Jordan and erected a large altar which quickly got the attention of the other tribes. How could they break the covenant so soon? When they confronted them they found that they didn’t build the altar to use for sacrificing or religious practice but only as a memorial to remind all the other tribes that they had an inheritance with God even though they didn’t live in the promised land. They called the structure “Witness”.
We don’t live in Israel and aren’t Jewish, but we have a covenant with the Lord. Jesus is our witness that we have been chosen to be a child of God.
Joshua gave his final words to the Israelites. He went through their history and all God had done for them. Then he gave them the chance to once again make the decision whether to follow God or not. God was always giving them a chance to renew their vows. It reminds me of our churches. Every week our pastor gives an opportunity to become a Christian.
Lord, help us to fight the good fight and accomplish our destiny on earth.

Mon.’s Devo - Ask Bigger

Read: Joshua 19:49- end of chapter 21
All the land has been divided and Joshua doesn’t have his land. God had told Joshua he could have any town he wanted. Joshua chose Temnath-serah which means “abundant portion”. It was in the hill country which means it was elevated and exalted. That is what we can ask for. God wants us to have the best - an abundant portion. Everyone else got their land by lots but Joshua chose his. We can pray “God’s will be done” and live our lives by lots or we can speak out of the abundance of our heart and get the very best. I would rather hear God’s best, from Him, and speak that into existence than settle for something that will just do. God wants us to partner with him and ask big. He is a big God and wants to do big things for us but our faith must go first.
If you have followed me for very long, you know my take on cities of refuge but I will give a quick review. Everything in the Old Testament is given to us as pictures of spiritual truths. Cities of refuge were a picture of the places the righteous people abided in after they died. Jesus hadn’t rose from the dead so they couldn’t rise either. They rested in cities of refuge under the earth in a land called Sheol. They were separated from the wicked people in these cities. All the patriarchs were buried in these cities or around them. Some of the names of the cities mean “a refuge”, “one who has crossed over”, “let him smell my fragrance”, “munition”, “their captivity; their rejoicing”, “the one in sleep”, “rolling forever”.
To get into these cities on earth, or under the earth, you had to present yourself at the gate and give your defense. You had to convince them you belonged to be protected by their walls. Then the avenger or blood, who would be a relative on the earth or the devil under the earth, would not be able to harm you. You stayed there till the death of the High Priest who was the one officiating at the time you entered the city. For those under the earth, the High Priest was Jesus who came and rescued them after his crucifixion and they rose with him.
Lord, may we think bigger and ask bigger that you might be glorified.

Sun.’s Devo - Go Possess Your Land

Read: Joshua 18-19:48
Thanks to Joshua, the land was totally under their control, all they had to do was to divide and possess it. They set up the tabernacle which housed the presence of the Lord in Shiloh. Shiloh is one of Jesus’ names. It means “Messiah”. It also means “a place of rest and bringer of prosperity”. Jesus is our refuge, a definite place of rest. He is one who causes us to prosper in every way.
When Jacob blessed his sons he said this over Judah: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” He was referring to the first appearance of Jesus. The presence of God has been set up in Jesus.
Joshua chastised the last seven tribes for not possessing their land. They were to go and spy it out first and write down a description of it. They they were to bring it to Joshua and he would cast lots and give out the land as the lot decreed.
God has given us promises and promises and we need to look into these dreams and write down exactly what needs to happen to fulfill them. Then we need to give this list to the Lord and let him give us what is ours. He will go before us and drive out the enemy. We need to possess it.
Today’s reading may be a little boring to read town after town but there is so much to today’s reading I can’t even touch. I did start looking up some of the meanings of the towns in Benjamin since Benjamin stands for the church. These towns describe the time we are living in. Some of the positives were “a place of fragrance”, “house of God”, “increased”, “feast”, “watchtower”. Some of the negatives were “perversion”, “darkness”, “variegation”, “the covertness of the people” and “desert house”. We choose which town we live in. I think I want to live in Bethel - the house of God.
Lord, help us walk as overcomers in a world that you have given us to possess. We will be strong and courageous and do all that you command us to do.

Sat.’s Devo - Take Your Land

Read Joshua 15:20- chapter 19
I can feel Joshua’s frustration as he was strong a courageous and drove out the enemies from the land God set before him, but has to watch his mentee’s fall short. Judah was not able to drive out the Jebusites from their land. Ironically “Jebusite” means “they shall be trodden down” yet Judah couldn’t seem to put them under their feet.
Manasseh had trouble with the Canaanites who were determined to stay in their region. “Canaanites” mean “traffickers”. We can assume many things from that description. The descendants of Joseph which included the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh complained that they hadn’t been given enough land for all their people. What they really meant was that there were strong enemies in parts of their lands and they didn’t think they could drive them out so they wanted more land. The people they were afraid of were the Perizzites and the Rephaites. Their names mean “squatters and enfeebled”. With their lips, the tribes of Joseph gave them a new name “strong”. Joshua didn’t buy their excuse. He told them to drive them out anyway.
The other day my husband, Dave found blood in his urine. Lots of it. We went to the Urgent Care and they ran tests. Because he didn’t have any pain with it they assumed it was cancer and sent us for CT scan and more tests. As we were leaving the place, Dave looked at me and said, “Well, we’re not taking that.” I agreed. We went on our way with joy and peace. We did go and get the CT scan and it showed a kidney stone and what they thought was a benign tumor.
I had a dream that I was siting at a long white meeting table. Other beings were seated with me and I was at the head. The word “nomenclature” flew through the air. I woke up. I once knew what that word meant but haven’t seen it or heard it for years so I looked it up. It is the art of naming things. So, I knew that I was to name some things. I put my hand on Dave’s abdomen and we named the tumor and the stone “deleted”. We have to go for another CT scan soon so I can’t wait to hear them say it’s all gone. I did the same for my business house I have been trying to sell for months. I named it “sold”. Yesterday someone looked at it and is researching how to make it work for him. This is fun! You can name your situation whatever you want it to be called. The power of life and death is in our tongue. Speak life!
Lord, help us to be strong and courageous and drive out all the enemies in our land. Teach us to name our situation what You call it.

Fri.’s Devo - Caleb’ Courage

Read: Joshua 12:7-15:19
Joshua helped the nation of Israel conquer 31 kings. There was still land to be conquered which Joshua laid out that land. God said that He would drive out the people in the rest of the land. All they needed to do was to occupy it. We talked about that yesterday. The only people they failed to drive out were the people of Geshur and Maachah. These names mean “proud beholder” and “pressure”. That translates to me as pride and peer pressure or maybe stress. Both were and are detrimental to our walk with God.
Just in case you needed another confirmation about Balaam, 13:22 says that Balaam used magic to tell the future. They killed him. He might have blessed Israel but only with his mouth because his heart was not in agreement.
I love what it says about Caleb. He wholeheartedly followed the Lord. At 85 he was as strong as when he and Joshua went into the promised land as spies. He could still fight and travel and asked to be given the hill country. That is like an 85 year old buying a three story house. He also asked for the land with the giants living in it. He was not afraid of the fiercest enemies. These are the ones the other 10 spies saw and were terrified of. Caleb asked for them. There were three different descendants of these giants living in the land Caleb wanted.
This is a picture of the baby boomer generation. They will be the fiercest of warriors in this season of life. They will not be afraid of demons they were afraid of years ago because they have seen the power of God and they wholeheartedly follow the Lord. They will not be afraid of the hill country because God will restore their health. We are living in extraordinary times where God is going to do supernatural things.
Lord, thank you that things might look worse in the world, but they are getting stronger and more wonderful in the kingdom of God. We can lift up our heads and have hope and strength because greater are those with us than those that be with our enemy.

Thurs.’s Devo - Taking the Enemy and Occupying the Land

Read: Joshua 10-12:6
Joshua was a great leader. He had spent his life living in the tabernacle in the presence of the Lord. You don’t hear much about him till it is time for him to lead the people into the promised land. Then he emmerged from the presence of the Lord in power and zeal.
Five kings came up against Gibeon who Israel had made a covenant with. They came to help defend their promise and defeated them. God did a great miracle to help them. He made the sun stand still in the middle of the sky so that it was noon for hours. They defeated them in that extended day. The five kings all hid in a cave. The interesting thing is that the names of the places they came from give us a picture of what Jesus would do in his ministry: he would teach peace (Jerusalem), have communion with his people (Hebron), be lifted up (Jarmuth), walk as a man (Lachish), and become the sacrifice (Egon). They were killed just as Jesus was - on a cross, taken down before the end of the day, buried in a cave with a stone at the entrance. The only difference is that their stone remains to this very day and Jesus blew his stone away and rose from the grave.
On that longest day, Joshua went on to capture the town of Makkedah and Libnah. I would say that was a lot to accomplish on one day. The next day he defeated Lachish, Gezer, Eglon, Hebron, Debir, and on through the land. Joshua didn’t stop till he had completely conquered the entire region of the land God told him to take. It says that Joshua did all he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses. Now the people were to occupy the land. He set the example for the other tribes to go in and take their land.
It was not enough to defeat the enemy, they had to occupy the land they conquered. In Matt. 12:43, 44 it says, “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none. Then he says, I will return into my house from where I cam out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.” Once you have cast the devil out of a situation the place it has occupied has to be filled with something. It must be replaced with the counterpart. If anger is cast out then love and mercy must occupy that space or the spirit of anger will return and be stronger than before.
The problem with the children of Israel is that they didn’t occupy their land when it was swept clean. Because they didn’t, the enemy came back in force.
Lord, help us to occupy our bodies with the fruit of the spirit and the water of the Word. May we be like Joshua who did all the Lord told him to do.

Wed.’s Devo - Obey the Lord

Read: Joshua 7-9
A tithe is the first tenth of our income. Jericho was the first town they faced in the promised land. The spoils from it were to be the tithe. God wanted all the plunder from this town. The plunder from the rest of the towns would be free for the people. Achan, whose name means “troubler” brought trouble to the camp. He lusted after a robe and some gold and silver he found in the camp at Jericho and hid it for himself. Be sure your sins will find you out. I’m sure he though he was good since he didn’t get caught right away. As they went to the next town which was a small town that should have been a steal; they were defeated. God showed them why and Achan’s sin was exposed before all Israel and he was killed. I’m sure that robe didn’t do Achan any good in the land of the dead. God told them that they would never defeat their enemies till the sin was exposed and dealt with. I wonder if that is why we can’t get victory some times. If God has told us to do something and we haven’t, things will not work out for us until we deal with what he has told us. Our pastor is always asking us to search our heart and ask God what is the last thing He told us to do, and have we done it. I find myself asking God that question a lot. Achan’s sin cost the lives of 36 men and a defeat for his nation. They ended up winning the battle but there is no way to restore those men’s lives. Our decisions do affect other people whether we understand it or not. It is important to obey God for ourselves and especially our families.
After they dealt with the sin in the camp, God gave them winning strategy and they defeated all of the inhabitants of Ai. Right after their victory, they were blind sighted by the Gibeonites. It is important to keep your guard up after a victory. That is when we seem to be the most vulnerable and prideful. Joshua didn’t consult the Lord and he ended up making a covenant with the enemy.
Lord, keep us awake especially after a victory. Help us not lust after the things of the earth but only desire You.

Tue.’s Devo - Crossing the Jordan into the Promise

Read: Joshua 3-6
Joshua led the people to the Jordan river and there they camped for three days. During this time, Joshua received his orders from the Lord and prepared the people to follow them. The priests carrying the Ark were to walk into the water. As soon as their feet hit the water it would stop flowing and stand up like a wall. It backed up all the way from a city called Adam. How interesting. It is like God was saying that the curse from Adam was being reversed and they were carrying them into this promised land.
Joshua was to choose a man from each tribe to bring a stone from the middle of the Jordan to stand as a memorial to their posterity of this day the Lord parted the waters and let them walk across on dry land. They did this in the presence of the spies from the inhabitants of the land of promise. Everything happened as the Lord said it would and when they were all safely across, God told Joshua to circumcise this new generation.
Crossing over the Red Sea was a picture of baptism in water unto salvation. Crossing over the Jordan was a picture of being baptized in the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist came baptizing in water but he said that Jesus would come after him and baptize in the Holy Spirit. These people still had to be sanctified but they were baptized into power to fight the enemy and win. Joshua met his spiritual commander near the town of Jericho. He was Jesus, standing in front of him with a sword. When Joshua asked him what he wanted him to do, he told him to take off his sandals because he was standing on holy ground. This was the same thing the Lord told Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:5). It was like the Lord was telling them both that they would need to walk in the Lord’s shoes and not their own any more.
We all know the story of the battle of Jericho. God terrorized the people for seven days until they were weak. The sound of their shout brought the walls down and gave them the victory. It is going to be the sound of our praise that brings down walls in our lives.
Lord, thank you that you have given us the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God and you have given us your Spirit and a voice. May we shout your victory and watch the walls fall down.

Mon.’s Devo - Be Strong and Courageous

Read: Deut. 33- Joshua 2
Moses gave the children of Israel a song and a prayer and today he is giving them a blessing. I found the list to be interesting. They were not listed in any sort of order I could make anything out of and Simeon was completely left out. Everything Moses blessed them with was good. It was not like Joseph’s blessing at the end of his life.
It is time for Moses to go up Mount Nebo and get a look at the promised land. How sad to live your whole life for something and not be able to obtain it. Moses was 120 when he died. Jude 9 tells us that the archangel, Michael contended with the devil for the body of Moses. He must have won because God buried Moses on that mountain. The people mourned 30 days then it was time for Joshua to lead them into their land. God told them three times to be strong and courageous and not to fear. They believed.
Joshua sent out two spies this time, instead of twelve. They had a different heart than the twelve because they were victorious warriors. As they walked the streets of Jericho, word got out that they were spying out the land so they had to run for their lives. They ended up in the house of a harlot named Rahab who saved their lives and made them promise to save hers. She let them out by a scarlet cord, the same cord that would assure her safety and life. That scarlet cord represented the blood of Jesus and Rahab represented the Gentile who would come into the kingdom. Rahab ended up being part of the Israelite nation. She married an Israelite and had children. Boaz was her grandson which put her in the lineage of David and Jesus. She gave the spies courage and strategy. She let the spies know that everyone was afraid because of their God.
This is how the world should be about us as Christians. It is not us they should fear, but our God. He is the one who can protect and bless us and exalt us and His plans.
Lord, may we be strong and courageous and not afraid. You have given us the land and we will take it.

Sun.’s Devo - Moses’ Parting Song and Prayer

Read: Deut. 31:30-32: Ps. 90
God told Moses that the children of Israel would rebel from following God and follow the gods of the people they were to destroy. So he taught them a song that prophesied exactly what would happen. This song was to teach them the discipline of the Lord and what to expect. The first verse praises God and explains who he is and about his ways. God is glorious and his deeds are perfect. He is a God of truth without sin. He is just and right.
Then he tells them what they will do with their lives. They will rebel and not follow his decrees or plans. Even though God made them and set them apart to be his special people, guided and molded them into his people, they will reject his Lordship and go their own way. They will worship foreign gods and offer sacrifices to demons. He calls them a twisted generation, a children without integrity.
Then, God expresses his anger towards their sin. It blazes like a fire and will devour their crops. God will shoot down disasters like arrows and weaken them with famine, disease and fever. He will send wild beasts and snakes to kill them. The sword will kill what is left.
We always talk about God’s love, but God is also very jealous over our affection. He wants us to love him more than any thing he has created. He is the creator of it all.
God anguishes over their decisions. He wishes they could understand how wonderful he is and how much he loves them. He longs for us to get the big picture which is so much bigger than we can see. In the last verse of his song he prophesies of a man, Jesus, who all heaven (and the Gentiles) will worship. This man will take renege against God’s enemies and cleanse his people’s land.
When Moses finished his song, he reminded the people that these instructions were not empty words but they were their life. By obeying them they would live a long enjoyable life. In his psalms he prayed that God would teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom.
Lord we pray with Moses, that our children would see you work again and see your glory. And, may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful.

Sat.’s Devo - Life or Death

Read: Deut. 29:2-31:29
Moses was always reminding the people of what God had done for them and how he had provided for them. He never wanted them to forget who they were and whose they were. He had told them the blessings of following the Lord and the curses of not. They were to choose what they were going to do. It would not only affect them but the future generations who were not yet born. Sadly, God told Moses that when he died, the people would abandon the Lord and the curses would land on them. But he gave them a way to return to him. All they had to do was to return to the Lord with all their hearts and obey the commandments he set for them. Then God would give them a new heart to love him and God will turn all the curses on their enemies. We see this happening in our day. We see God’s people turning to the Lord and finding Jesus. God has protected that little piece of real estate of Israel and is making it prosper and rise. He is also doing that in his church. Today I read of a Christian who gave one million dollars to a ministry that helps the poor rise up and compete in gymnastics. This ministry shares the gospel with each of its participants and loves them like a family. These are children who would never have the money to develop their skill. God is blessing his people once again.
I pray that we don’t get comfortable in God’s blessing but that we share with others what God has so freely given us.
We are given the choice of life or death. We choose life!

Fri.’s Devo.- The Blessings and the Curses

Read: Deut. 26-29:1
When they entered the land they were to bring their first fruits to the Lord. Notice all they were to say to the priest. They were to proclaim with their own mouth all that God had done for them and what he had delivered them from. Then they were to go and celebrate all the good things the Lord has given to you and your household.
In the third year they were to give a special offering just for the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows and make a declaration over it. God wanted the people to communicate with them. He still does.
When they crossed the Jordan they were to whitewash some stones and write the instructions of God on them so that anyone that came into their land would see the laws and know what they were.
Israel was to be a nation that was holy to the Lord that all the earth could look at and see how God deals with his people and how his people love him. Sadly, they rarely did this. We, as Christians, are to be an example to the world of how a child of God responds to their Lord and how he blesses and disciplines us.
Once they arrived in the promised land they were to split the tribes and half of them were to stand on Mt. Gerizim and respond with an “Amen” to all the blessings as Joshua stood in the valley and read them. The other half of the tribes were to stand on Mt. Elba and respond with an “Amen” every time Joshua read the curses. In this way they were agreeing with the covenant God was giving them.
All they had to do was to obey the commands of the Lord and walk in His ways and they would live in prosperity in every sense of the word. If we walk in God’s commands and choose his ways, we will live in these blessings also. Walking in God’s blessings does not mean that we will not have trials and temptations. James tells us that we can expect them and welcome them because they make us perfect.
Lord, we choose to walk in the blessings and not the curses. Help us to hide your word in our hearts.

Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Love, Justice, and Judgment

Read: Deut. 21:10- 25
In today’s reading we see the kindness, justice and judgment of God. He has sympathy for the captured woman and the son of the unloved mother but judgment for the rebellious son. All of God’s judgments were to “purge the evil from among them” and put the fear of God in them.
Today we don't stone our rebellious teenagers even though we might want to. We bring them before the priest (God) in prayer and repeat his Word (the stones) back to God. We proclaim what we want our children to become. These are kids that were raised to fear God so we have put the Word in them. We intercede for the prodigal sons.
We see God’s kindness for the neighbor’s donkey and the commandment he gives to those who witness a wrong. We are not to look the other way when we see someone who needs help, but we are to go and help our neighbor get his donkey back on his feet. We are to not ignore our responsibilities.
God always requires at least two witnesses for a wrong commited so that no one will be judged wrongly. God loves women and has some laws just to protect her. He makes the man who humbles a woman marry her and never be able to divorce her. I bet that would help men and women think twice before they slept with just any one.
God requires his people to be holy. He had rules for where they could go to the bathroom which had to be hidden and outside the camp. His reason was that He moves around in their camp to protect them and defeat their enemies. That is a good reason to want to live a holy life.
One last thing I want to bring up was that God told them to always remember where they came from. They were once slaves. We are to always remember that we were once sinners but now we are free.
Lord, thank you for your righteous justice and judgments. Thank you for moving in our lives to protect us and defeat our enemies. May we never forget the cross and what You have done for us.

Wed.’s Devo - Guidelines for the King and War

Read: Deut. 16:18-
God’s plan A was that He would be their king but he knew they would want a physical king so he gave them some guidelines for this king. (There was not one king who abided by these guidelines.) They were not to build up a large stable of horses yet David reserved one hundred chariot horses and chariots from the spoil (2 Sam. 8:4) and Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots (1 Kings 4). He was not to take many wives for himself because they would turn his heart from the Lord. 1 Kings 11:3 says of Solomon, “And he had 700 wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.”
The king was to copy the Word of God on a scroll in the presence of the priests so he would have the law at his convenience and he could use it to govern his people. I don’t remember a single king that did this.
God warned the people not to practice fortune-telling, sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft or cast spells or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the sprits of the dead. These are all things we see in cartoons, teen-age films and adult films. The devil is trying to steal our hearts away as soon as we are born. If we are not discerning, we will be deceived into thinking this is all innocent, but it is not. It is definitely alluring and entertaining because the devil is all about deception.
God gave them instructions about war. If they were fighting enemies in their promised land they were to kill every living thing in the city. This would prevent the foreign people from teaching the children of Israel their detestable customs of how to worship their gods. If they attacked a city outside their land they were to first offer them peace. If they accepted, they were to make them slaves and let them live. To me, this means that all the enemies in our household we are to totally cast out and defeat. Demons that attack from outside our authority we are to have serve us. We are never to be oppressed by the devil.
Lord, help us to choose you as our king. As we decide on who to vote for president, let us remember your guidelines and listen to the Holy Spirit. We pray for a man who will lead our nation to follow you. May we walk in victory over the devil.

Tues.’s Devo - The Truth vs. the Lie

Read Deut. 13-16:17
We read about so many different teachings in today’s reading but I want to highlight only a few things. In Deut. 13:1-3, God warns about prophets who can have prophetic dreams, and do legitimate signs and miracles. These manifestations are real. But, if then they try to get us to follow other Gods other than the one true God, we are not to follow them. It is a test to see if we will truly love the Lord with all our heart and soul.
I think I shared with you about the lady that made an offer on my shop. She was going to use it to do Raki healing and help people reach their god through channeling. She professed only one god and that he was everyones’ god. She prays life the Indians and reveres shamans and all kinds of witchcraft. The deception is that she sees results - her people get healed. Her prayers get answered. It is just like this scripture says,. She is deceived and will deceive others who are looking for results over truth. The anti-christ will do the same thing.s We have to be awake and aware of the truth.
The truth is, there are times I am tempted to wish I had taken her offer and sold my shop just so it would be over and then I would be one step closer to my goal of moving close to my grandkids. But, I know that God’s ways are better. He is the one who holds my future and I don’t want to compromise to get a quick answer to my prayers. God’s ways are better and higher and worth waiting for!
Lord, let us not be deceived by the immediate and wait for Your best. They that wait upon the Lord will receive strength and mount up like eagles!

Mon.’s Devo - Remember What God Has Done

Read: Deut. 10-12
Moses has been rehashing their history so they won’t forget what God has done for them. They are reminded once again to tell their children their story of what God did for their people. They were the Torah to their kids. These stories were to be their night time stories they told be fore they went to sleep. Praises to God were to be the first thing they were to hear when they woke up. They were to talk about the Lord as they went about their daily work. God’s words were to be written on the doorposts of their houses. Everywhere, there was to be reminders and things that sparked conversation about their God and what he had done for them. Not only were they to talk about the mighty deliverance the Lord gave them but also the judgment he poured out on those who disobeyed. They needed to know his goodness and his judgment. They were to know who they were in God’s heart.
The adults were to remind themselves by keeping God’s word tied on their hands and worn on their foreheads. That is why you see Jewish men in Israel wearing little black boxes tied around their forehead and straps wrapped around their arms. These phylacteries carry rolled up paper of scripture in the boxes and the meticulous way they tied the straps around their arms represented scripture. The scripture is Deuteronomy 6:4-9 which says that God is the only god and their Lord. It said that they promised to tell this to their children and teach them to love God with all their hearts.
God gave them the choice between a blessing and a curse. It seems like a no-brainer to us but they chose the curse. We can choose the blessing.
We are to remember what God has done for us and tell these stories to our children and grandchildren. We are to show them the joy of loving God and having him as our Lord.
Lord, we choose to obey you and love you with all our heart. We will teach your Word to our children and train them to love you also.

Sun.’s Devo - Our Blessings and Our Enemies

Read: Deut. 6-9
God gives us some wonderful promises for obedience. Here are a few:
1. a long life (Proverbs 3:2)
2. free food (Is. 55:1)
3. free clean water
4. free wine and oil
5. all will go well (problem-free) (Jer. 42:6)
6. freedom from enemies
7. healing
This sounds like heaven on earth which is exactly what Jesus prayed in the Lord’s Prayer. We are not only blessed with natural blessings but each of these stand for a spiritual counterpart. God promised to clear out their enemies before them. These enemies were flesh and blood but our enemies are spiritual. These enemies stood for the enemies we face today.
Hittites - fear; terror
Girgashites - strangers drawing near (peer pressure and oppression)
Amorites - a sayer (negative words; discouragement)
Canaanites - a trafficker (deception)
Periziasse - squatter - (robber)
Hivites - showers of life; livers (revelers)
Jebusites - he will be trodden down (depression)
These people carried these spirits and more which is why the Lord told them to conquer them and completely destroy them; make no treaty with them or show them any mercy. We are to totally conquer these spirits in our own walk and destroy them in our lives. We make treaties with them by the words we speak.
They were also not to let their children marry them. We are to not allow our children to take on fear, depression, discouragement, etc. We are to erase those names from off the earth! One day they will be.
Lord, help us to walk in the blessings of obedience. We refuse to give ourselves over to fear or discouragement. The thief will rob from us no more!

Sat.’s Devo - Live By the Spirit

Read: Deuteronomy 3:21-5
Moses had pleaded with the Lord to let him enter the promised land but God would not change his decision. He did let him go up on a mountain and see what the promised land looked like from afar.
Moses’ instructions from the Lord to those entering the promised land was to obey all his instructions and not add or subtract from them. How the priests have done this. They call it the Mismah. Each priest gets to add his understanding of the law and add to it. God said that if they obeyed his laws completely, they would display wisdom and intelligence that would be evident to all the nations around them. We have seen that through the ages. Some of the greatest scientists, inventors, and scholastic minds have come from Jewish people. He also told them not to let their memories of what God did and told them to escape from their minds but to teach them to their children and their grandchildren. Moses reminded them of what God did on Mt. Sinai and how they heard God’s voice. He also told them that when they forget God’s laws and fall away, all they have to do is call out to God and he will come to their rescue. God is merciful and promises not to abandon them or destroy them or forget his covenant with them. If they obey God’s laws they will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord is giving them. Moses read the law to them again.
This is still a promise to us. We are saved by grace and are free to live how we want. If we choose to live by our fleshly desires, we will reap the consequences here on earth which won’t be good. If we, because of our love for God and his son, allow the Holy Spirit to sanctify us and we live a righteous life then God will bless us.
Lord, we choose to be sanctified and live our lives unto you according to your plans. Help us to die to our flesh and live according to the Spirit.

Fri.’s Devo - The Occupants of the Land

Read: Duet. 1-3:20
It took the children of Israel three days to get from Egypt to Mt. Horeb and today we read that the promised land was eleven days from Mt. Horeb. So in fifteen days they could have gotten to their possession and taken the land. Notice that the first plan was to just go in and take the land. The people stalled and wanted to send spies first. They believed the report of the spies over the report of the Lord and forever lost their land. We don’t want that to happen to us. If God has given us a promise then us need to march toward it fearlessly.
I used to wonder what to think about God giving them land that was someone else’s land until reading today’s scripture. The land they took from the Ammonites used to be the land of the Rephaites. The land that the descendants of Esau lived was once the land of the Horites. The land of the Avvites was taken by the Caphtorites. In Deut. 2:22 it explains that God did this exchange of ownership. It is God’s land and he can give his land to whoever he wants. It makes me ponder how the settlers came to America and took the land from the Indians. God has purposes that are higher than our understanding. His ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts because his are higher.
Interestingly, we might know why he placed the descendants of Esau in the land and the Moabites. They allowed the children of Israel to pass through peacefully where King Sihon would not. God wanted them to defeat his people and the people in the land of Bashan.
Sometimes God parts the Red Sea for us and answers our prayers in a way that is peaceable and wonderfully easy. Other times he causes a stir because he wants us to fight. Our fight is carrying more spiritual weight than we can imagine and we are given the privilege to go to battle because God entrusts us with his victory. We need discernment to know the difference.
Lord, help us to shorten our journey through trials with obedience but know when we need to stand and fight.

Thurs.’s Devo - Cities of Refuge

Read Numbers 34; 35:1–8; 36
Today we read about a number of things but I want to talk about two of them: the towns for the Levites and the cities of refuge.
The Levites were to have cities allotted to them in the center of each tribe’s inheritance. The bigger the tribe the more land they were to allot for the Levites to have towns. The Levites were the “set apart” priests in charge of the presence of the Lord and the worship and sacrifices of the people. This shows us in a picture why we are placed where we are. If we are set apart for God’s service then we are a Levite and God will specifically place us in the land we are to occupy and minister from.
Six of these Levite cities were to be cities of refuge where the innocent could flee. If someone accidentally killed a person but had no witness to testify for him he could run to these cities, present his case and if he was allowed in he would be safe from the avenger of blood until the death of the high priest. Then he could go back to his inheritance. This is a picture of salvation. Salvation is the city of refuge we run to. Jesus, as our High Priest, sets us free to enjoy our inheritance. It is also a picture of what happened to those who died in the Old Testament before Jesus’ resurrection. God had cities of refuge under the earth - in Hades just for the innocent that died. They were safe there until the death of the High Priest - Jesus. Jesus died on Passover but he didn’t rise till the third day. So, what did he do in that time before he went to heaven? He went down to Hades and preached captivity captive. He rescued those in the cities of refuge where they awaited his release. The burial ground for all the patriarchs later became a city of refuge. After Jesus’ resurrection, many people saw their deceased loved ones walking the streets of Jerusalem. (Matthew 27:53)
I know this might sound a little far-fetched if this is the first time you have heard this but if you let it settle in your spirit I think you will get some understanding. I asked the Lord one night where the people like Abraham went when they died since Jesus was the first to rise from the dead and I knew they didn’t go to heaven. The next morning I woke up to “Cities of Refuge” being spoken almost audibly in my head. I asked the Lord what that was and he told me it was the answer to the question I had asked him. I had to think a minute to remember what I had asked him but he reminded me. I got up and started studying cities of refuge for hours. This is my conclusion.
Lord, thank you for being our refuge and our salvation. Thank you for your resurrection power!

Wed.’s Devo - Occupying the Land

Read: Numbers 32-33
Today’s reading makes me sad. Reuben and Gad and half of Manasseh had lots of cattle and saw the land outside the promise land and wanted it. They didn’t trust that God would give them good land in their inheritance. Their faith stopped with their eyes. It is always easy to take the seen than to wait on what has not manifested yet but that alleviates faith. That is what Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh did.
As sad as that seems, we see this in our churches today. The Red Sea represents our salvation and the Jordan is the river we cross over into the spirit. We can be Christians and never walk in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit is to abandon reasoning and trust God no matter what he says to do or leads us to do. We are suppose to be laying our hands on the sick and healing them, casting out devils, raising the dead and cleansing the leper. We will never do these things without learning to walk in the Spirit.
The only way God let them get away with not living in the promised land was because they promised to go over and help their brothers fight and get their land. When they crossed over they were to rid the land of idolatry. They were to take possession of the land and occupy it. God wanted the whole land filled with his people. His plan is still the same. He has placed us in families, businesses, churches, places of influence where he wants us to pray all the evil out and occupy it with the Spirit of God. This is true of our own bodies. We are to take possession of our bodies and not allow sickness or shame or condemnation to have a foothold. We are to be sanctified and holy.
Lord, help us to walk in the Spirit in health and total devotion to you. Help us to hear your every whisper and obey.

Tue.’s Devo - Revenge on the Midianites

Read: Numbers 30-31
A vow was a promise to either do or give something to God. Most of the time the wife stands for the Bride of Christ. So if we promise the Lord something, it has to go through his approval first before he will hold us responsible for fulfilling it. If we get overzealous in our pledge, the Lord will step in and release us from it. If he doesn’t then we are obligated to fulfill it. This is true in the natural also. Our husbands are our heads and our coverings. I remember one time making a financial pledge to a ministry and when my husband heard what I had pledged, he told me we couldn’t fulfill the obligation so I had to go to the ministers and remove my vow. It was embarrassing to me, but I learned a valuable lesson about talking to him first when it had to do with our finances and not being so quick to make a decision. Wisdom can wait and pray about it and hear the word of the Lord.
God told Moses to take revenge on the Midianites since they caused Israel to sin by idolatry. The Israelites attacked and killed the kings and Balaam but kept the women and children alive. Moses was irate. Weren’t these the ones that seduced Israelite men to sin? He told the priests to kill all the men and women that had had sex with the men and only keep the virgins alive. Homosexuality was a practice in their worship as was fornication and adultery. The priests did this.
All the metals they had gotten were to be purified by fire to cleanse the idolatry spirit from them and to melt the occult words and forms from them. The priests were to be pictures of the set apart ones of the New Testament. They were always the ones that were to do the right thing and purify the others. We are to be priests on the earth and we are to bring the presence of God everywhere we go. Our garments are to be pure and holy and our testimony is to honor God.
We can see by the number of cattle they rescued that this battle was huge. Just the sheep was 675,000!
Lord, help us to represent your priesthood on the earth.

Mon.’s Devo - The Wisdom of God

Read Numbers 27-29
The daughters of Zelophaehad came to Moses to present their case. Their father had died with on sons but five daughters and they wanted his name to continue. They wanted his inheritance. Moses did what he always did when he didn’t know the answer, he brought it to God. That should be our response every time we have a decision which is daily, minute by minute. Before we go to the doctor, or call our mother or friend or tell our husband. We should always go to the Lord first. He is the only one who knows the right answer. Then he can lead us to the person who will give it, or the verse in the Bible, or the nudge that tells us which one is right. God is so creative in his leading. He makes me laugh sometimes in what he choses to use to guide us. He can even speak through a donkey, which might be me! LOL! Anyway, we see Moses turn to the Lord every time he is confronted with a question. He could make up the answer but he knows better.
Moses didn’t even take for granted that Joshua would be the next leader. He asked God first. God had Moses begin to shift some of his responsibilities to Joshua so they could transition to a new leader. This was our picture of how to bring in a new leader and honor the people.
In reading the offerings it can get a little wordy but I noticed that though most of them are the same, when it gets to the Festival of Shelters or the Feast of Tabernacles, things get more interesting. There is a countdown. Remember that the Feast of Trumpets will be the rapture of the church. From that day till the Day of Atonement will be the Days of Awe or the Great Tribulation. On the Day of Atonement the books will be opened and the goats will be separated from the lambs. The lambs will be rewarded according to their works and the goats will be judged. The Feast of Tabernacles and the countdown goes for seven days. I think that during this time we will be cleaning up the earth. On the eight, it starts over. God does things in weeks. We will enter the new millennium where the lamb will rule the earth and there will be peace. It will be the new heaven and earth where we will tabernacle with the Lord.
This is only my understanding of the end. Only the Lord knows for sure and it is a mystery that is slowly being revealed.
Lord, thank you for glimpses of a better time and a time when You will rule eternal as our King on earth.

Sun.’s Devo - Balaam’s Strategy

Read: Numbers 25-26
Revelation 2:14 explains how Balaam caused Israel to sin. “But I have a few things against thee, because you have them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Second Peter 2:15 says that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. That make me wonder what the wages of unrighteousness? Money, position, power, friends, spiritual gifts of the occult. Balaam usually got paid for his prophecies and his ability to reach into the spirit world and gain information. This time Balak refused to pay him. He must have been ticked off enough to give him strategy. I wonder if he got paid for his strategy.
Today, we see what that strategy was. He sent the Moabite women to seduce the men of Israel into having sex with them. Once they had their heart, or their britches, these women brought them into their worship of idols. They brought a plague on the people and 24,000 were killed. It was stopped when Phinehas, the priest thrust a sword through the man and the woman. Because of his zeal for the Lord, the plague was stopped. So, what does that mean to us today? We cannot allow idol worship in our hearts. If it creeps in, then we need to take the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God and declare it over our lives and let it divide and conquer the sin. If we are confronted with mixture, New Age, political correctness, etc., we stop it with the Word of God. It is our weapon and it will stop the wrong doctrine from spreading. The woman’s name was Cozbi which means “false”. How appropriate.
Lord, teach us the truth of your Word so we won’t be seduced into the world’s teaching.

Sat.’s Devo - Let’s Go to War!

Read: Numbers 22-24
This story used to mess with my theology. How can a magician, soothsayer, false prophet have a relationship with God? Satan does. It is not the relationship or the faith in God that saves a person entirely. It requires making Jesus our Lord also. Balaam knew the laws of the spirit world. God is control of both kingdoms: dark and light, good and evil, godly and satanic. He tells both what they can and cannot do or say. Salaam knew this and though he accessed the spirit world through demonic means of idolatry, he could prophecy the coming of the Messiah and bless the children of Israel. This is important for us to realize in the day we are living. Eastern religions are sweeping across our nation and Americans are adopting them as their religion because they can heal, do miracles and answer prayer just like ours does. The only difference is they are deceived and sooner or later their god - Satan is going to change from being and angel of light to a destroyer.
The way we combat their influence is to know the real. Study God’s Word and get to know His voice, then the voice of another you will not hear. We are not to be afraid of the occult or Satan. He is defeated! We can gain authority in the spirit world by using our weapons and fighting. The more we fight the higher we go in God’s army just like in the natural. Fear has no place in spiritual warfare. We are on the side of greater power and we will win!
Balaam did get back at the children of Israel by turning them away from worshipping God to idolatry. We will not let that happen to us or our loved ones. God has given us some great weapons: the Word, the name of Jesus and the power to bind and loose. Let’s use them.
Lord, train our hands for battle and give us a resolve that knows no fear. Our trust is in you and your are the head of your army. You will lead us to victory!

Fri..’s Devo - The Enemies of the Lord

Read Numbers 19-21
Today’s reading covers many things. First is the red heifer. It was the picture of Jesus who removed our sins. Israelite priests and rabbis have been looking through the ages for a perfect red heifer. When they find one, they will start sacrificing again in Jerusalem. The third and seventh days are pictures of our salvation and our earthly death. We are cleansed from sin on the third when we are saved. We are forever cleansed from sin when we die which is the seventh - the day we enter into our rest.
In the twentieth chapter the children of Israel have made it back to the wilderness of Sin at the exact place they ran out of water forty years ago. The people complain once more and Moses is told to speak to the rock. Instead, he strikes it like he did the first time he was there. Water did gush out, but it messed up God’s picture and cost Moses the promise land. 1 Corinthians 10:4 tells us that the rock that followed them in the wilderness was Jesus. When Moses struck it the first time it was to show that Jesus was struck down for our sins. The second time Moses was to speak to it because we don’t crucify Christ again, we speak to him and he hears us and gives us what we need. Moses messed up the picture. No wonder it is called the “wilderness of Sin”. Also, Miriam died here. Miriam means “their rebellion”. Rebellion had to die before they could enter the promised land. Aaron also died up in the mountain. He died away from the people so none could be defiled by his dead body. Moses would die the same way.
The children of Israel had to pass through the land of Edom and the land of the Amorites. They asked both of them nicely and both of them said, “no”. All of the enemies in the promised land symbolized the demonic forces we face. These were both counterfeits of God’s gifts. Edom means “red” and he was the counterfeit of the blood of Jesus. Amorites means “sayers” they were the false prophets. God gave them victory over them both.
Lord, help us to realize that we don’t fight flesh and blood, but powers and principalities and spiritual wickedness in high places. Let us not be afraid but bold as lions.

Thur.’s Devo - The Trials of Leaders

Read: Numbers 16-18
Every aspiring leader should study the life of Moses. To be a leader you must be able to stand rejection, persecution and rebellious followers. Moses had his share of trials and today we read of another.
It seems that Izhar was the second son of Kohath who had for some unrecorded reason lost his position to his brother Amram who was fourth in line. This might have been the start of his discontentment. Then, the Ruebenite tribe who were the first born tribe of Jacob had been supplanted by the Levite tribe and to top it off, the tribe of Judah was to march first, not them. They allowed those roots of jealousy and entitlement to grow until it cost them their lives. They not only rebelled against the leader God set up but against God himself. Bitterness will blind you to truth and good judgment. Moses interceded for them and saved God from destroying the whole lot and only the offenders and their families got swallowed up in the earth.
God wanted to settle the argument once and for all about who he chose to be his priests so he had all the tribal leaders bring a staff that they had personally inscribed their name. The one that sprouted would be the one He chose. The next day, Aaron’s not only sprouted but it had full blooms and ripe almonds.
It is easy to find fault with leaders especially in the church. It is not our job to point out their faults or scrutinize their walk. God is more than able to expose what He wants to expose and discipline his children. The rod stands for our authority. The man God chooses will have authority in God and that authority should bear fruit. If it doesn’t, God will prune it. He doesn’t need our help.
In reading the responsibilities of the priests I think it is worth pointing out that they had to pay tithes of the tithes of the people. They had to give to God their very best.
Lord, may we encourage and honor the men you have placed over us both spiritually and in the natural. We pray that they would walk worthy of the calling you have called them to and be strengthened by our support and love.

Wed.’s Devo - God of Mercy and Judgment

Read: Numbers 14-15
The children of Israel are still complaining and planning treason against Moses and Aaron. They wish they had died in Egypt instead of coming out to the wilderness and being killed by the enemies here. Joshua and Caleb stood up for Moses and Aaron and told the people that the promised land was everything God had promised and that God would help them take it. So the people turned on Joshua and Caleb and talked about stoning them. God show up to defend his leaders and his word. He wanted to do away with the whole lot of people. Moses interceded for the people. What would all the people of the earth think? Everyone had heard of their great deliverance from Egypt and everyone was watching to see if their god could deliver them to their land. If God killed them all then the enemies would think God had lost. Moses gave God an earthly perspective and God listened. But God did exact judgment. The people who complained would not enter into their destiny…their children would. But for punishment, their children would have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years while their parents died off. The 8 spies who brought back an evil report all died immediately of a plague. God said, “… you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.” What a statement. We don’t want to have God as an enemy!
Some of the people refused their punishment and tried to take the land in their own strength without the presence of God and were devoured by their enemies. We are powerless without God, but with God…all things are possible!
God gave them a way to make offerings to him to atone for their sin. This was an act of mercy on his part. Even if they sinned unintentionally, once they found out, they could repent for the whole nation and be forgiven. That was good news and it is good news for us. We can repent for our nation also and we will be forgiven.
Lord, we do repent for our disobedience as a nation. Forgive us for following after other gods and not obeying your Word. We are powerless without you. We need you! Forgive us and bless us once again.

Tues.’s Devo - Too Much Complaining

Read: Numbers 11-13
The children of Israel remind me of spoiled kids. They complained they haven’t had meat since they left Egypt. So God sent fire to judge them. Then they screamed because of the fire and Moses prayed for them and the fire went away. Moses complained to God that these people are too hard to manage so God gave Moses a crash course on Management 101. Moses chose 70 leaders to help carry his load. Then God told Moses he would supply them with meat for his people. I love Moses response. He explains to God why that would be impossible!
I can’t help but relate to this myself. I have been complaining to the Lord about selling my houses while nothing is happening. He has sent me dreams showing me it’s going to happen and I still complain. Today I woke up thinking, I’m not going to complain about this today and I read this story. It’s a laugh-out-loud lesson to me - the spoiled kid!
God did do the impossible and sent meat but because of their lack of faith, God gave them so many quail they got sick on it. This is what happens when we provoke the Lord to answer our prayer before the time. They were going to have plenty of meat once they reached the Promised Land but they were to eat manna till they got there. No telling what ingredients that manna had that sustained them through the wilderness. Our food is the Word of God and sometimes we are to live in James 1 and sometimes we are to live in Phillippians 4:19. The important thing is that we don’t try to rush to the finish line without running the race.
The complaining didn’t stop at meat. Moses’ new leaders complained about two of the leaders who didn’t come to the meeting yet God poured his spirit on them and they prophesied. They tried to provoke Moses to be jealous of these men but Moses refused. Miriam and Aaron complained about Moses and were jealous of his position. Miriam didn’t pass the test and had leprosy for a week. God sent spies into the promised land and most came back complaining about the giants in the land and couldn’t see the abundance for the enemy.
Lord, I am so convicted about my attitude. Please help us to be grateful people who wait for you to act on our behalf. This is your kingdom and you are our king. You have the best planned for us so forgive us for complaining. Help us to trust you with joy!