Monday, April 30, 2018

Mon.’s Devo - A Deliverer

Read: Judges 11:1-12:5; John 1:1-28; Psalm 101:1-8; Proverbs 14:13-14
Gilead needed a war commander and they knew who it needed to be. They had driven their step brother, Jephthah, out of town and now they had to humble themselves and go get him. They convinced him to come back and help by bribing him with being their leader when it was over. He finally agreed.
Even though he was the son of a prostitute, he knew what God had done for Israel. He knew their history. When the Ammonites stated why they were fighting for their land, Jephthah knew the truth and told them that God had given them their land and He would decide who got to keep it.
When the Ammonites refused to hear that, the Spirit of God came upon him and gave him the victory. Jephthah made a foolish vow before he went to battle that whatever came out of his door first when he got back, he would offer as a burnt offering. He must have had cattle and animals that roamed freely in and out of his door. He never dreamed his one and only daughter would come out first. But, when she did, he kept his promise. She was granted two months to mourn the fact that she would never marry and then she gave herself to be sacrificed. This is hard for us to fathom but this was the time of the judges where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. Human sacrifices were the norm in the religion of those around them so they had gotten immune to the inhumanity of it.
We cringe at this, but it is the same as abortion in our day or neglect or abuse. At least this girl died thinking she was dying for a cause.
The Ephraimites complained to Jephthah that they weren’t included in the battle and wanted to kill him. Jephthah had to fight his own brothers to defend his honor. Jephthah led Israel 6 years.
Ibiza was judge for 7 years followed by Elon who judged 10. He was followed by Abdon who ruled for 8 years.
John begins just like Genesis and speaks of the beginning of time also. He tells us that Jesus was with God when he created the world and that Jesus is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among men. John was the voice that prepared the world for Jesus coming. He never claimed to be the Messiah or even Elijah or the Prophet although he came in the spirit of Elijah and was definitely the last of the Old Testament prophets. Jesus was all three.
Lord, today, may we walk in your Spirit preparing hearts to receive you.

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - Live With Expectation

Read: Judges 9:22-10:28; Luke 24:13-53; Psalm 100:1-; Proverbs 14:11-12
God is justice and will repay evil in his time. Abimelech had usurped the power to lead from Gideon’s sons and killed all of them so God was ready to avenge their blood. The people were serving other gods and had forsaken the Lord also so God forsook them. Abimelech was killed as he was killing all the people. The whole city of Shechem was destroyed. Years later, Jesus would sit with a women at a well in Shechem and she would be shown living water.
The people went through two more judges: Tola, Jair who delivered them. But, they kept turning from the Lord and serving the gods of the land until God was tired of rescuing them. When they cried out to him again to save them from the 18 years of oppressive rule of the Ammonites God sent them to cry to the gods they kept turning back to. Maybe they could save them.
They got serious and got rid of all their idols and launched an attack against the Ammonites. The leaders of the people said that whoever would lead the attack would be their leader after it was over.
In Luke, Jesus comes back to encourage his disciples and followers. Just when these two men felt so depressed and disillusioned because their Messiah had died, Jesus came and opened the scriptures to them to show them that God’s Word was being fulfilled just as it was written. When they realized it was Jesus they had spent the day with, they ran back to Jerusalem to tell the disciples. They put some steps on their Fit Bit that day!
That is just how the Holy Spirit is for us today, at our weakest moments when we feel like giving up, God sends us encouragement. We must keep going and keep fulfilling our mission on earth.
Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait because he was going to clothe them with power from heaven. Then Jesus blessed them and went back to heaven. They returned to Jerusalem praising God and waited with expectation.
That is the position we need to always be in - expectation. God is about to do some powerful things. I got a call from a dear friend yesterday whose husband has been suffering with chronic pain and took pain killers four times a day just to make it through the day. He was prayed for and totally healed! No more pain! We are going to hear about more and more miracles because God is once again visiting his people.
I am having so many encounters with angels in dreams because God is meshing heaven with earth. So lets live with expectation - this is the day that the Lord has made!

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Sat.'s Devo - Shechem

Read: Judges 8:9-21; Luke 23:44-24:12; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 14:9-10
Gideon captured the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna and asked them about the men they had killed at Tabor. They described them as children of a king. Gideon then knew that they had killed his brothers so to avenge their blood, he had to kill them. He told his son to slay them and his son was young and couldn’t do it so Gideon did it himself.
After this, the people wanted to make Gideon their king but Gideon said that God must be their king. Good answer. He asked them each for an earring and made an ephod which is what the priest would wear. His effort to set up a form of religion turned into idol worship because they worshiped the office of priesthood rather than the calling.
Gideon had 70 sons with his wives and one son named Abimelech from a concubine from Shechem. As soon as Gideon died, the nation returned to worshipping Baal. The nation forgot all God had done for them through Gideon. Gideon, obviously didn’t teach any of his sons to fear God and hate Baal because they didn’t oppose the sin. Abimelech went to his hometown of Shechem and tried to raise support to be the king since his father was Gideon. The people of Shechem rallied behind their hometown boy and helped him kill all 70 of his brothers. One of the youngest sons escaped named Jotham. The men of Shechem crowned Abimelech king. When Jotham found out, he went and stood on top of Mt. Gerizim and told the people a parable about four different trees that were asked to be the king. The last tree was the bramble tree or the thorn tree. He was referring this tree to represent Abimelech. He explained that this bramble tree, Abimelech, devoured all the cedars of Lebanon. The cedars of Lebanon were prized above all trees and they represented his brothers. His father had risked his life to save them and this was how they were repaying him and his posterity.
In Luke, Jesus was on the cross and the sun refused to shine for three hours (the sixth hour to the ninth). When the light came back on, the veil in the temple was torn from the top down. The Roman centurion saw all this happen and was convinced that Jesus was a righteous man. The people knew it too.
Joseph of Arimathea or Ramah, who had not agreed with what they did to Jesus, took him down, wrapped him in a cloth and placed him in his own tomb - in a rock.
If you remember, Joseph of the Old Testament refused to let his bones stay in Egypt but had them brought to Shechem and buried (Joshua 24:32). Shechem became a city of refuge. Joseph of the New Testament had his graved emptied when Jesus died and rose from it. Both of Joseph’s tombs were emptied and the bodies taken to their promised land. Arimathea, or Ramah was also a city of refuge.
Lord, your Word never fails to bring life!

Friday, April 27, 2018

Fri.’s Devo - By My Spirit

Read: Judges 7:1-8:17; Luke 23:13-43; Psalms 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 14:7-8
The story of Gideon is a story of the underdog rising up and doing an impossible feat with a small amount of support. His encouragement came from the Lord. God wouldn’t let him take a large army and whittled it down to 300 just so they wouldn’t boast they had won by their own strength.
Every time Gideon got weak and afraid, God would send him another confirmation that He was with him and would give him the victory. God even used the dream of the enemy to encourage him but he ran upon most of his opposition from his own people. The leaders of Ephraim were upset that they weren’t included from the very beginning, and the town of Succoth and Peniel wouldn’t feed his troops because they didn’t believe he was credible. Gideon proved his credibility and came back and punished them for not helping him.
I can’t help but relate this to ministry today. We measure ministries by their numbers and their reputation in the world. If a new person with a calling rises up and he doesn’t have credentials yet, we tend to not listen to what he has to say. Gideon proved that it is not by power or might but by God’s spirit that anything worthwhile is done.
In Luke, Jesus has come back to Pilate and Pilate tries to have him released saying he has done nothing wrong. The lamb has been pronounced spotless.
The people won’t hear anything about releasing Jesus and trade him for Barabbas. Jesus becomes the scapegoat and Barabbas goes free. Jesus died sinless for our sins that we might be clean and forgiven.
Jesus forgave them for what they did because they didn’t have eyes to see who he was. He also forgave the thief on the cross because his eyes were opened.
Lord, may we have your heart of forgiveness and your eyes to see and understand. Remind us that what happens on this earth is not the real picture. The reality is in heaven.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Thurs.’s Devo - Confirmation

Read: Judges 6:1-40; Luke 22:54-23:12; Psalms 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 14:5-6
Israel went into sin…again and God gave them over to the Midianites for 7 years. Israel cried out to the Lord and he sent his angel to Gideon which means “warrior”. Gideon didn’t feel too much like a warrior at the time. He was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide from the Midianites. You need to thresh wheat on a hill where lots of wind can blow away the chaff; not in a winepress which is below ground level. The angel told Gideon to go and save Israel from the hand of the Midanites. Gideon complained that he was the youngest in his family and his family was poor. That is just the kind of people God loves to use. God gave him this promise - He would be with Gideon and Gideon would win. That is all we really need because if God is for us, who can be against us.
Gideon asked God for confirmation and God gladly gave it to him. When Gideon knew for sure that God had called him to defeat the Midianites he did some cleaning house first. God told him to tear down his father’s altar to Baal and to cut down the Ashram pole beside it. He was to build an altar to the Lord and present a sacrifice on it. Gideon took ten of his father’s servants and did it at night.
The next day, the people of the town came for Gideon because they figured out that he had destroyed their altar. They were afraid that Baal would come for revenge. Gideon’s father told them to leave his son alone because Baal could avenge himself. They were satisfied with his answer.
Gideon now became the warrior he always was and rallied the troops to fight the Midianites. He asked for more confirmation to make sure he was on the right track. God gladly gave it to him.
God’s language is signs and wonders and he loves to give us confirmation. All we have to do is ask.
In Luke, Peter entered into the sifting process that Jesus warned him about. It looked like Peter failed but we know he turned back and repented.
In the meantime, Jesus was tortured and mocked and finally brought before Pilate who asked him if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus answered him affirmatively and Pilate was warmed by his humility. He found no fault in him even after hearing the lies they claim Jesus did. When Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to Herod to get him off his hands. Herod was pleased to meet Jesus because he had heard all about him and wanted to see one of his miracles. Jesus wouldn’t answer any of his questions so Herod was insulted and joined in the mocking. He put a robe on Jesus as a joke and sent him back to Pilate.
Lord, help us to know when to be quiet and when to fight. Give us confirmation about our next step.

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Wed.’s Devo - Exposing Darkness

Read: Judges 4:1-5:31; Luke 22:35-53; Psalm 94:1-23; Proverbs 14:3-4
Once again, Israel rebelled and God gave them over to Jabin, king of Canaan. They cruelly oppressed Israel for 20 years. God raised up a prophetess named Deborah to deliver them. She told Barak to lead Israel to victory but he wouldn’t go without her so she told him that since he was afraid, he would not get the victory.
Sure enough, since he hid behind a woman, a woman got the victory. Jael killed Sisera, the commander of Barak’s army with a tent peg. She became the hero and the land had peace for 40 years.
In Luke, Jesus had led his disciples to the Mount of Olives where he spent his last night with them in prayer. While Jesus prayed so fervently that he sweat drops of blood, his disciples nodded off to sleep. When Judas walked up and kissed him, Jesus confronted him with his real reason - which was to betray him. He also confronted the chief priests and elders about how were wrongly arresting him. He asked them why they didn’t do it in the daylight and then answered his own question with, “But this is your hour - when darkness reigns.” He was letting them know that he knew their source and it wasn’t God.
I love how Jesus is not afraid to confront deception. He loves the truth.
Lord, help us to stand up for the truth and not be afraid to confront the darkness and expose it. Help us to be children of the light.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Tues.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God

Read: Judges 2:10-3:31; Luke 22:14-34; Psalms 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2
Sadly, the next generation grew up with no personal experience with the Lord and they rebelled. There is no way to have a walk with the Lord without experiencing him personally.
Israel got off track. They associated with the people of the land and even intermarried and worshipped their gods. True to God’s Word, their enemies’ gods were a snare to them and thorns in their sides and they turned them away from God. God raised up judges to deliver the people out of their trouble when they turned to him. God sent Cushan-Rishathaim to rule over them for 8 years. His name means “blackness of double wickedness”. When Israel cried out to the Lord, he sent Othniel to save them. Othniel means “the seasonal Word of the Lord”. Their season lasted for 40 years.
They went into sin again and the Lord gave them over to Eglon for 18 years. When Israel cried out to the Lord, he raise up Ehud, a left-handed man. His name means “undivided”. To be left-handed means that you operate in the spirit. We are mostly a right-handed society so we naturally do things better with our right hand. Right has to do with the natural. Ehud took a two-edged sword and killed Eglon. That is how we kill our enemies when we walk in the spirit. We kill them with the Word of God.
Ehud brought 80 years of peace to Israel.
Notice how the years of captivity went from 8 to18 and the years of peace went from 40 to 80.
In Luke, Jesus explained that the kingdom of God would come at his death. The kingdom of God was in heaven and it was coming also to earth. The disciples got excited and discussed among themselves which one of them would be the greatest in this kingdom. They weren’t quite getting the picture. Jesus explained that his kingdom was different than the kingdoms of the world. The greatest in God’s kingdom is like the youngest (the least likely) and the leader is the one who serves. Jesus was the greatest example of being the servant. He demonstrated the kingdom.
Jesus knew that Peter was about to enter one of his greatest temptations so Jesus told him he had prayed for him. When the time came, he would remember what Jesus said and it would help him get back on track. He would be able to use his experience to help others down the road.
Lord, help us to walk in the Kingdom today, wielding the Sword of the Spirit.

Monday, April 23, 2018

Mon.’s Devo - Stay Awake

Read: Judges 1:1-2:9; Luke 21:29-22:13; Psalms 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25
After Joshua died, the Israelites went to attack the Canaanites, they asked God which tribe should go first and Judah was chosen. Judah was the tribe of Jesus and it means “praise”. Jesus must be the one who leads us into battle and we fight through praise. They killed 10,000 warriors and captured their king, Adoni-bezek which means the god of lightning. They chopped off his big toes and thumbs just as he had done to 70 kings he had captured. Talk about reaping what you sow!
So many of the tribes had failed to drive out the enemies of the land that God finally sent his angel to tell them that since they hadn’t obeyed him, he would not drive out their enemies any more. Instead, they would remain and be thorns in their sides and their gods would be a constant temptation to them.
In Luke, Jesus continued his explanation of the end days. He warned them not to let their hearts be weighed down with headaches from being drunk, intoxication, and the anxieties of life. If we stay spiritually awake and watching then we will be able to escape all that is about to happen. He was talking about the rapture. We don’t have to go through all the things he just described if we stay awake. We will be like the wise virgins who got to go in the wedding party the first time.
Everything started unfolding like a blanket. Satan entered Judas and he made plans to betray Jesus while Jesus made preparations to eat his last meal with his disciples.
Lord, may we walk in your spirit as Jesus did, making every day Your day.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - God’s Perspective

Read: Josua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 13:20-23
Joshua assembled all the people one last time to remind them of their story - their history of how God had birthed their nation through Abraham and delivered them through Moses. Now, he had brought them to their own land and was setting them free to prosper and grow. He called them to choose what God they would serve - the gods of the people whose land they had taken or the God who had given them the land and been their God all these years. They chose the Lord God.
Joshua reminded them that God was a jealous God and would not put up with idolatry or rebellion. The people still promised to serve the living God, so Joshua drew up a covenant and recorded what they had said in a book. He then took a large stone and set it up as a witness saying that this rock had heard everything they said and would be a witness against them.
Scientists have proven that rocks hold memory and what has been said in their hearing can be played back. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the rocks knew who he was and if the people hadn’t praised him, they would have. In Corinthians we read that the rock that followed the children of Israel was Jesus.
Joshua died and was buried in Shechem which later became a city of refuge.
In Luke, Jesus pointed out a very poor widow who only gave two mites into the treasury and compared her to the rich who were giving much. He was explaining the economy of heaven. It isn’t the size of your gift, but the size of your heart and your faith. She gave everything she had because she understood that the true riches were not the things of this world, but eternal. The rich gave out of their abundance to impress their peers.
Jesus then went into a description of the last days. He ended with stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. It is all good for us!
Lord, help us not to get overwhelmed with what is going on in this world, because this is not our reality. Our reality is You and heaven. Give us a heavenly perspective.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Sat.’s Devo - Live With Expectation

Read: Joshua 22:21-23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19
The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh were confronted by the other tribes about the monument they had set up. They were able to explain that that was not an altar to worship at but a memorial to remind them all God had done. The didn’t want their future generations to forget that they were a part of Israel since the Jordan separated them.
Joshua gave them instructions that would help them stay true to the Lord:
1) don’t deviate to the left or the right
2) don’t associate with the other people still in the land
3) don’t mention the name of their gods or swear by them
4) cling tightly to the Lord
5) don’t intermarry with the people of the land
If they were not careful to do these things then God would stop driving them out and they would be a snare to them. Eventually, their enemies would trap them and become their masters and they would cloud their understanding. The blessing of God would fade from their reach.
He reminded them that God had made good on every promise he had given them.
What a great reminder to us of the snares of the world. When we engage with sin then it seeps into our soul and becomes a trap to us. We walk out of God’s blessings into the curses and things begin to go wrong. The answer is in clinging closely to the Lord.
In Luke, the Sadducees tried to trap Jesus in a scenario about the resurrection. They didn’t believe in the resurrection. Jesus silenced them when he gave them scriptures that proved that God was not a god of the dead but of the living, and to him all are alive.
It is interesting to me that the Old Testament is all about remembering and looking back at what God had done for them when the New Testament is all about looking forward to what God is going to do. It is about expectation.
Lord, help us to live today with expectation of what you are going to do today.

Friday, April 20, 2018

Fri.’s Devo - We Have the Answer

Read: Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:113; Proverbs 13:15-16
Every tribe assigned cities for the Levites within their tribe. The Levites were the spiritual leaders that were to keep the tribes faithful to the Lord. The people were truly blessed in every way. They had peace from their enemies and plenty of good pastureland. They had gold and silver from their conquests and all that God had promised them was fulfilled.
Joshua commended the tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh) that had stayed on the other side of the Jordan for fighting for their brothers. They were now released to go back home and enjoy the goodness God had given them. Joshua blessed them and sent them on their way with all their bounty and told them to divide their wealth with the people back home. On their way back these three tribes built an altar by the Jordan.
The other tribes were all in an uproar about this remembering the golden calf that Aaron built. They came to them and confronted them about their altar. We will read their response tomorrow.
In Luke, the Pharisees and teachers of the law were always following Jesus trying to find a way to trick him. They asked who gave him the authority to do the things he did. He responded with a question. He asked them by what authority John baptized all those people.
They knew that whatever answer they gave, it would expose their hearts so they refused to answer Jesus. Jesus refused to answer their question. Then he gave them the parable about the owner of the vineyard. The owner was God. The vineyard was the world and the tenants were the teachers of the law. The servants were the prophets and judges that God had sent to the world. Now, God had sent his son, Jesus and they would do to him what they did to all the other prophets.
The teachers of the law knew Jesus was referring to them so this made them even more determined to get rid of him any way they could.
So, they tried to get him to offend the Roman government about the issue of taxes. Jesus answered so shrewdly that it shut them up.
Lord, give us wisdom and insight into how to answer the world for the hope we have in Jesus.

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Thurs.’s Devo - Jesus’ Last Days

Read: Joshua 19:1-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14
Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan received their assigned land which completed the allotments. In every tribe’s land there were to be cities of refuge where the priests lived. These were for anyone who accidentally killed someone. He could run to one of these cities and present his case at the gates to the Levites and they would hear his case. If they believed he was innocent, they would allow him to live in the city safe from the avenger of blood. The avenger of blood was a close family member of the one slain. It is his duty to avenge the blood of his relative. The people who lived in the city of refuge would live there until the death of the high priest and then they were set free.
In Luke, Jesus was in his last days on earth. There were set things he was to do. He entered the city as the pascal lamb and was received as the temple lamb which had just walked the same path he did. The people were gathered with palm branches, as they did this every year, to praise the temple lamb as he entered the city on that path. Jesus came moments behind him and the people couldn’t help but respond in praise.
He also had to have his last supper with his disciples so he could give them his parting words. Everything about the place was prepared by the Holy Spirit. He next went to the temple to cleanse it and speak prophecy over it. He foretold of the day it would be taken and destroyed. He told them the purpose of the temple was not to be a place to make money, but a house of prayer.
We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the temple of God. We are not to be concerned with things of the world but be people of prayer.
Lord, help us to live like Jesus did - totally consumed in prayer and God’s kingdom.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Wed.’s Devo - Taking Our Land

Read: Joshua 16:1-18:28; Lue 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11
Joseph’s inheritance was in his two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim was given the land around the Jordan River. They drove out all the people except the Canaanites who were the peddlers and merchants.
Manasseh was a tribe of warriors but they were not able to drive out the Canaanites from their land either so they made them their servants.
The people of Joseph went to Joshua to complain that they were too large for the land they had been given so Joshua told them to take the hill country also. The Perizzites and the Rephaites lived there and they were giants with iron chariots. When they complained about this, Joshua reminded them that they were many and powerful. They could drive them out.
Joshua met with all the people at Shiloh to set up a sanctuary. Seven of the twelve tribes had not taken their land yet or received their inheritance. Joshua wanted to know what they were waiting for. He instructed them to map out the land and divide it up so the tribes could cast lots for their land.
The first lot fell to Benjamin who land fell between Judah and Joseph.
I think that God is asking us the same question Joshua asked the seven tribes. What are we waiting for in taking possession of the things God has promised us. God is waiting for us to take his Word and live by it believing everything in it. It is the formula for life and the road map for the world we live in. To me, that means taking possession of my emotions and trusting in what I feel is my next step no matter what my circumstances look like.
Yesterday, Jesus said that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven and today we read about a rich man doing just that. Zacchaeus was a wealthy shrew tax collector who had one encounter with Jesus and his heart was totally changed. Jesus was nearing Jerusalem where he knew he was going to die so he told the parable about the nobleman and his servants. The noble man was Jesus and the servants were the keepers of the law. The noble man was leaving to become king and had given three of them money to invest with until he returned. The servants hated the man and didn’t want him to become king. The first two did what they were told but the third hid his because he was afraid of the king. He and the other people who hated him were put to death, but the ones who invested for him were rewarded. The investors were the disciples who loved Jesus and took what he had and multiplied it.
Lord, help us to be wise in all you have given us. May we take our possessions and use them for the kingdom’s sake.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Tues.’s Devo - God’s Timing

Read: Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-41; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 13:9-10
Today we have the description of the land of Judah. God gave detailed description of all the land and its boundaries. Judah was Caleb’s tribe and he was given Hebron which became a city of refuge where the priests lived.
The only people that the tribe of Judah could not dislodge were the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. Jerusalem has alway been a city of conflict and strife.
In Luke, Jesus met a man who was good but very wealthy. He asked Jesus what he needed to do to receive eternal life. Jesus touched on the one thing that had was keeping him from God which was his love of money. Having money is not a sin, it is when money has you. Jesus explained that to follow him costs everything. Once you give it all to him then he can bless you with both natural and eternal things.
Jesus explained to his disciples again what was about to happen. He was going to Jerusalem to be handed over to the Gentiles, the Romans. They would make a mockery of him and kill him but on the third day, he would rise. They didn’t understand any of what he said because it was hidden from them. One day, it would be revealed and they would understand it.
That is the way God still talks. He tells us things we don’t understand at the time and when it is time, we remember what he said and we understand it. That is especially true about dreams and prophecy. Sometimes, I will dream something and years later, I will understand what it means. Dave and I received a prophecy years ago that I didn’t understand at the time. I listened to it the other day and it totally makes sense to me because it is for now.
Lord, help us to learn to hide your words in our heart so we can bring it back when it is time.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Mon.’s Devo - True Humility


Read: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8
Joshua was getting old and there were still areas that they had not taken over from the Philistines and the Geshurites. They were the spirits of of self-pity and pride. They were to drive them out. But God told them he would drive out the Sidionites which were the hunters.
God had preserved Joshua’s strength through the wandering through the wilderness those forty years. He was forty years old when he spied out the land and now was eighty-five. He was still as strong as he was at forty and still able to be a warrior. Obedience preserves our strength and gives quality to our lives. It keeps us young.
Joshua was so fit, he asked for the hardest land to take - the mountains where the Anakims lived. The Anakims were the giants and their cities were great and fortified. Joshua was not afraid because he knew God was with him. Caleb was given Hebron which was the city of the four giants. To whom much is given; much is required. Joshua and Caleb had proved themselves faithful and fearless so they were given the harder assignments. God knew they would win because they trusted in Him.
God never sets us up for defeat, but for success. He knows what we have faith for and he pushes us beyond our natural ability so we will reach out in faith. Nothing is impossible with the Lord.
In Luke we read about humility. Sometimes humility looks like never giving up. The widow wouldn’t stop asking because she knew that the judge had the power to change her situation. She didn’t care about her reputation and how much she had to humble herself to ask. She asked until she got what she needed. Other times, humility looks like the publican. He knew his sin and understood God’s holiness. The Pharisee compared himself to everyone else instead of comparing himself to God. We can always find someone else who is a greater sinner than us to make us feel justified, but they are not our standard. God is the standard and he is sinless and holy.
Lord, help us to live in true humility and gratefulness.

Sunday, April 15, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God

Read: Joshua 11:1-12:24; Luke 17:11-37; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 13:5-6
Today’s reading is one of the most exciting readings because we see God’s promises fulfilled from the start to the end. God promised to help them drive out the enemies and the giants in the land and in the end they overtook 31 kings!
Joshua did exactly what the Lord told him to do to the letter. He killed all the people, burned their chariots and hamstrung their horses. Keep in mind these people and horses had spirits that hated the Lord. God wasn’t being unmerciful, he was bringing down judgement on evil and cleansing the land so that Israel could walk with him unhindered.
In Luke, Jesus shows us a new way to conquer our enemies. He travels through the land cleansing the people instead of killing them. He healed 10 lepers. He told them to go show the priests so they could go through the process laid out in the law. One of the men was from Samaria. He would not have been able to enter the temple, not being a Jew. He came back to Jesus, his priest and the real High Priest to show him and thank him. Jesus told him that he didn’t need to go through a series of tests to see if he was healed; his faith had made him whole.
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus knew that they didn’t understand the kingdom. He told them that it wasn’t going to be something they could see with their natural eyes. It wasn’t tangible. The kingdom of God is in the heart. The kingdom came when Jesus came to earth. They were talking to him and didn’t recognize him and in the end it would be the same. The people of Noah’s day didn’t realize the day the flood would come and destroy them. Nor did the people of Sodom. They were doing what they did every day when fire and brimstone fell from heaven and killed them all. So it will be when Jesus returns. No one will know when it will happen and no one will be ready.
God’s people will know because we will come back with him on horses.
Lord, help us to live for eternity and see the kingdom of God in our hearts.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

Sat.’s Devo - Strategies of War

Read: Joshua9:3-10:43; Luke 16:19-17:10; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 13:4
We can learn a lot about spiritual warfare by reading the conquest of the promised land. We all have promises that God has given us, but Satan is guarding our blessings and doesn’t want us to have them. Today we read about the town of Gibeon that was a royal city. the people of Gibeon had heard about the conquests that Israel had made so far and they were next on the map. So they came up with a scam. (The devil is the master of deception.) They decided to pack stale bread and wear old clothes to trick the Israelites into thinking they had traveled from a land beyond their boundaries. Israel could have known easily if they had just asked God, but they didn’t. They had gotten cocky with their wins and made the decision themselves. It was the wrong one. They made a treaty with Gibeon only to find out three days later that they lived near by.
If Satan can’t hurt us from afar, he will secretly join us. Not everyone who attends our churches is on the Lord’s side. It is not our responsibility to find out who they are, God will separate them in the end. But, it is our responsibility to ask the Lord about any one we are making covenant with or making decisions with. A covenant is binding unto the Lord unless we annul it the same way we make it. We can repent of wrong covenants and undo them but damage is usually already done. Joshua couldn’t kill the Gibeonites because of the covenant he had made with them so he made them his slaves to cut their wood and carry their water.
Joshua’s hastily-made covenant with the Gibeonites meant that he now had to fight for them. The five kings of the Amorites found out about how the Gibeonites had joined forces with Israel and came to attack Gibeon. Joshua and his army went out against them in the power of God and fought them. God’s army fought from heaven throwing down hailstones. God’s army killed more than Joshua’s.
Joshua and his army proceeded to defeat four more cities before returning home.
In Luke, Jesus gave a parable about a rich man named Lazareth and a poor beggar. Lazareth stood for the rich Pharisees and teachers of the law. The poor were the Jews who had been beaten down by the laws of the synagogue. Lazareth found the truth too late but begged God to send someone from the dead to tell his brothers about hell. God told him that it wouldn’t do any good because they didn’t listen to Moses and the Prophets so they won’t hear it if someone rose from the dead. God was right. They didn’t believe Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus explained in the next chapter that we will be tempted to be offended by people but we must not be the one that offends with sin. We must be the one who forgives over and over.
Lord, help us to have forgiving hearts and seek your wisdom in every step we take.

Friday, April 13, 2018

Fri.’s Devo - Divorce

Read: Joshua 7:16-9:2; Luke 16:1-18; Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 13:2-3
God had told them not to take any plunder from the conquest of Jericho, but Achan saw a beautiful robe from Babylon, some silver and gold and couldn’t leave it behind. The love of things came at the cost of the lives of thirty-six Israelites and the whole battle against Ai. It also cost Achan the loss of his life and his families. Such a sad ending but God was making the point that his Word is uncompromisable.
After the Israelites took care of the sin in their own camp, they were able to take Ai with an ambush. They were allowed to keep all the plunder and the king was hung from a tree.
What a lesson to us. The way we win against the devil is to be clean ourselves. Jesus said it so well, “we can’t serve two masters.” We can’t love the world and the things of the world and love him with all our hearts. If we had a glimpse of heaven and what awaits us there, we would have patience. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who love him.
In Luke, Jesus used the illustration about the shrewd manager to expose their management over the law. They had taken the law and twisted it to benefit their pocket books and defraud the people.
Jesus was trying to make the point that every single word of the law would stand. They were divorcing their wives without following Moses’ law in Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is says that a man can divorce a woman by writing a writ of divorcement. A writ of divorcement was a legal document written by a scribe that required consent of both parties and the signature of two witnesses. It laid out support payments and custody arrangements. They call this document a Get. Without the Get, the couple was still married.
They were divorcing without this document or the consent of their wives causing them to commit adultery with their next wife since they weren’t legally divorced from their first.
We are now the “managers” of God’s Word. It is an awesome responsibility to rightly divide it and watch over it. The Word of God is the absolute truth.
Lord, thank you for your Word. Help us to rightly divide it and understand what you want to say to us.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Thurs.’s Devo - Jericho

Read: Joshua 5:1-7:15: Luke 15:1-32; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 13:1
The children of Israel are about to enter into the promised land and God gives them another altar call. It is Passover and time to come to salvation and be cleansed. The way they did that in the Old Testament was the same way we do it in the New Testament - by choice and by faith. Joshua took the men and circumcised them as a sign of sanctification. They celebrated Passover which was a sign of their salvation, then their manna stopped falling and they ate of the fruit of the promised land.
The commander or the Lord’s army came to Joshua and gave him strategy into how to take the city of Jericho. Jericho meant fragrant which was the first thing they would possess. They would start smelling like the promises of God.
They were to encircle the camp once every seven days and on the seventh day they were to march around it seven times. Then Joshua would sound the trumpet and the army was to shout and the walls, that were wide enough to ride chariots on, would fall down.
After they took the city, they were to kill everyone except Rahab and her family. All the booty of gold, silver, bronze and iron was to go in the Lord’s treasury.
The Lord put a curse on Jericho saying that whoever tries to rebuild this city will do it at the cost of his first born son when he lays the foundation, and his youngest when he sets up its gates. When Dave and I went to Jerusalem, we were told this story by our guide. Several years ago, a wealthy man decided to reconstruct Jericho. He had three sons. His oldest son died the day he poured the foundation. He decided to stop. God’s word never times out; it is eternal.
After taking Jericho they moved to the next small town of Ai. Because of Ai’s size, they took only a few thousand men and were sorely defeated. When Joshua went to the Lord for an answer, the Lord told him that someone had taken some of the booty at Jericho instead of giving it all to Him. Joshua was to call out each tribe and God would show him who did it.
Jericho was to be their first fruit or tithe to the Lord. After that, they could take all the booty they wanted. Sometimes we balk when it comes to giving to the Lord but God has a plan to bless us far beyond what we give if we will trust him.
In Luke, Jesus was stressing the importance of the individual and how personal God is. We are all his prized, created possessions. He cares dearly about each one of us, no matter how much mud and filth we have accumulated in our lives. He wants to wash us, heal us and use us for his glory.
Lord, help us to see other people as you see them. Give us love for the lowly and poor. May we freely give you the first of everything we are blessed with. You are the giver of all good things.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Wed.’s Devo - Our New Season

Read: Joshua 3:1-4:24; Luke 14:7-35; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 12:27-28
Today’s reading seems to be exactly where we are now. We are crossing into a new land, a new assignment, a new adventure and we have never been this way before. God is standing in the middle of our impossibility to make the way possible. God gave the children of Israel two reasons why he did this great miracle. The first was so the people on the earth might know that the Lord is powerful and the second was so that his people would always fear him. That is the same reason he does if for us.
But… he told them like he would say to us “…tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” All we have to do is the next thing he is telling us to do. The next thing for them was to cross over and pick up a stone to carry to the other side. This would be their reminder of what God had done for them. A rock stands for a Word. All we have to do is find a scripture that pertains to our situation and remind ourselves of that verse over and over. One of my rocks is Isaiah 44:3-4. It says, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your seed, and my blessing upon your off-spring and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.” That is my rock for my family.
We can be assured that there were spies from the other nations watching all this take place just as their are people that aren’t in the kingdom of God watching us. They see what God does for us and how we react when we go through struggles and trials. They either accept us and what we carry, reject us totally, or file it away for another day. Everything we do affects the kingdom. Our job is to scatter seed and it is the Holy Spirit’s job to do the rest.
Luke explains the kingdom of God. To be exalted you must be humbled; to receive you must give; to live you must die. To be a follower of Jesus you must give up everything, but you will gain eternity.
Lord, help us to move into our next season fearlessly, looking to you who goes ahead of us.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Tues.’s Devo - Taking the Land

Read: Deuteronomy 34:1-Joshua 2:24; Luke 13:22-14:6; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 12:26
For the second time we read that Moses was one hundred and twenty years old. God betrothed Israel to himself on Mt. Sinai which was the first Pentecost (fifty days after their first Passover). Two thousand years later, one hundred and twenty disciples of Jesus were gathered on the day of Pentecost to receive the gift Jesus would give them. On that day the Holy Spirit was given and the Church was betrothed to the Lord. Moses stood for the law. The law had to die so that the Spirit could come and bring life. Three thousand were killed at the giving of the law in the Old Testament and three thousand were saved on the day of Pentecost when Peter stood up and preached.
When Moses died, Joshua took over. He was a type of Jesus who would take the people into the promised land. Only Jesus can take us into heavenly life. Joshua was told that everywhere his feet walked would be his and that God would never leave him or forsake him. We are told the same thing. We are to walk this land and claim our possession. They were to help one another take their possessions just as we are to help one another walk this Christian life.
Joshua sent out two spies to Jericho, the first city, and the ended up at Rahab’s house. Rahab was a prostitute and her name means “proud”. How awesome that she who was proud would humble herself before these men and tell them how afraid her people were of them. She protected and trusted these men to keep their word and save her life and the lives of her family. She put out a scarlet cord which was a picture of her life being saved through the blood of Jesus. She had a new life line. She would go on to marry a man named Salmon and have a boy named Boaz. He would marry Ruth and be named in the lineage of Jesus. What a picture of the Gentile bride being grafted into the vine.
In Luke, Jesus lets us see a picture of the people he chooses. He chooses people the world looks over, like the Rehab’s and the tax collectors - the common people who would be chosen last.
Jesus was told that Herod wanted to kill him. He called Herod a fox then explained that he couldn’t worry about him because he had a goal and that was to get to Jerusalem. He had to die in Jerusalem because that was where they killed all the other prophets.
Lord, help us to see with your eyes and not be afraid of a defeated enemy. You have given us this land and we need to be bold and take it for you.

Monday, April 9, 2018

Mon.’s Devo - Blessings

Read: Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Luke 13:1-21; Psalm 78:65-72; Proverbs 12:25
Before Moses died he pronounced a blessing over Jeshurun which means “the upright of Israel”. He totally leaves Simeon out though some scholars believe he was talking about Simeon in Judah’s blessing when he said “nor your men not be few”. Simeon was one of the smallest tribes. Simeon means “hearing” so maybe God was saying may the people of Israel one day hear my voice again. I’m not sure why Simeon’s name is not mentioned but I can see that there are no negative things spoken over the tribes like the prophecy Israel gave them when he was about to die so these blessing had to be for the remnant that would hold to the truth no matter what. Each blessing was so unique to their people, their land and their future. God is so individual and each tribe had his work that fit his gifts. I see this at work in our church where everyone is asked to serve in some way. When people give of their gifts the church runs so smoothly and it is beautiful to see.
We are all a member of one of the tribes of Israel. We all have a bent toward one or two that identify our place in the body. I would encourage you to ask the Lord which one you are a member of.
In Luke, Jesus was asked about the Galileans who had refused to pay tribute to the Roman government and were killed. The people saw this as their just payment for not obeying the law but Jesus gave them heaven’s view. Their fate was no different from any other person who did not repent of their sin. In the end, all will die and be judged. The choices are eternal life or eternal judgement depending on whether they repented.
Jesus healed a woman who had been crippled for eighteen years by an evil spirit and the Pharisees tried to condemn Jesus on a practicality. Their jealousy knew no end. Jesus humiliated them by revealing their hearts.
Jesus explained that the kingdom of God was like a mustard seed which stands for a little faith. That is all it takes to grow into a mature tree. It is not the amount of faith we have, it is that we have it. It will grow as we use it.
Lord, I pray words of cheer and encouragement on your people so that we can be strong against the devil.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - Steadfast Faith

Read: Deuteronomy 32:28-52; Luke 12:35-59; Psalm 78;56-64; Proverbs 12:24
Today we read about what happened to Israel that God turned away from them. They had no discernment. Discernment is the ability to know what is evil and what is holy. They had lost theirs. God would let them go their own way till their own way killed them, then they would cry out to him and he would rescue them. Then God will take vengeance on his enemy, the devil.
After Moses read the words of this song to them, he told them to memorize the law because it would be their very life. Moses would die before entering the promised land and many of them would do the same spiritually.
Luke reminds us to stay dressed for service and keep our lamp burning. Dressed for service means our hearts are always ready to do whatever God asks us whenever that may be. We can’t decide we are just not in the mood to minister because we are tired or just not feeling it. The way we stay motivated is to keep the Holy Spirit alive in our hearts. We have to stir ourselves up constantly. I do that by reading my Bible daily, listening to Christian music and great sermons, praying and enjoying my relationship with the Lord, and fellowshipping and loving people. When I feel the devil is talking to me and trying to discourage me I grab my Bible and find a Psalm and read it out loud. He usually doesn’t stay around too long after that.
Our Psalm tells the story too well about what happened to Israel. I pray that this will not happen to us and our nation.
Lord, bring revival to our land and the nations. May we return to you and make your our king. May President Trump have discernment and faith to stand against the enemy and stand for you.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

Sat.’s Devo - Changing of the Guard

Read: Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27; LUke 12:8-34:Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 12:21-23
Moses had always led them and now he was going to die. The Lord himself was going to pass over the Jordan into the Promised Land ahead of them. He would destroy the nations before them and take possession of their land for them. He kept telling them over and over to be strong and courageous.
Moses wrote down the law and told them to read it every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles. (I can’t imagine only getting to hear God’s Word once every seven years!) When he finished writing it he had it put in the ark of the covenant.
Moses called Joshua to the Tent of Meeting where he commissioned him to be the new leader. Moses taught them a song of praise commemorating everything the Lord had done for them so they would not forget. In his song he tells how the Lord divided the earth into sections and gave them out to nations. He took one man out of these sections which was Jacob. Jacob was just a man he found in the desert that he decided he would love him and raise him to be his inheritance out of the whole earth. There was no foreign god in Jacob so he chose him. He raised him up to follow him but his children would rebel and abandon God for other gods. Then God would raise up a different people and make them his people. These Gentiles would provoke his first children, the Jews, to turn back to him. God would have totally blotted out the name of the Jews except he didn’t want his enemy, the devil to be able to taunt him with winning.
In Luke, Jesus is trying to teach his disciples the difference between the riches of the world and the true riches of God. It is not evil to be rich in material things, but the riches of God far surpass anything money can buy. There is no comparison. We, as his children, never have to worry about whether we will be taken care of. Our father in heaven is more than willing to do that.
Lord, increase our trust in you.

Friday, April 6, 2018

Fri.’s Devo - Choose This Day


Read: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Luke 11:37-12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20
Moses called the people together to remind them of their past with the Lord. He reminded them of how God provided for them in the wilderness and helped them to defeat their enemies. If they would worship him and obey his commands then they would prosper in the new land he was giving them. If they refused to obey his commands then they would be uprooted from the land and taken to another land where they would be slaves.
He started his speech out telling them that after everything the Lord had done for them, they didn’t have a mind to understand or eyes to see or hears to hear the Lord. He told them in the middle that God reveals his secrets to his children if they can catch it. He ends with telling them to choose what they want - the curses or the blessings - life or death.
We all know they chose the curse and death, but God gave them a “way back” clause. All they had to do was to return and he would shift them from the curses to the blessings.
In Luke, Jesus had just nailed the Pharisees for their rituals of washing and tithing when their hearts were so corrupt. They told Jesus that what he told them offended them so he continued to list their offenses. (I would have loved to have been there to see their faces.) The experts of the law were responsible for showing the people who God was but instead, they showed them how impossible it was for them to come to God because they were so unclean. The Pharisees were all talk, no heart. They looked good on the outside but Jesus knew their hearts.
They left mad and more determined than ever to shut Jesus up and catch him in a lie. The followers of Jesus, however, were growing and growing in number. Jesus knew what was in the heart of the Pharisees so he tried to prepare his disciples for the persecution he knew was coming for them.
This same persecution may one day come to us. We need to remember that we overcome by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony and that we love our lives not unto death. Death is victory for a Christian!
Lord, give us a heart to understand your revelation and truth. We choose this day to walk with you.

Read: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Luke 11:37-12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20
Moses called the people together to remind them of their past with the Lord. He reminded them of how God provided for them in the wilderness and helped them to defeat their enemies. If they would worship him and obey his commands then they would prosper in the new land he was giving them. If they refused to obey his commands then they would be uprooted from the land and taken to another land where they would be slaves.
He started his speech out telling them that after everything the Lord had done for them, they didn’t have a mind to understand or eyes to see or hears to hear the Lord. He told them in the middle that God reveals his secrets to his children if they can catch it. He ends with telling them to choose what they want - the curses or the blessings - life or death.
We all know they chose the curse and death, but God gave them a “way back” clause. All they had to do was to return and he would shift them from the curses to the blessings.
In Luke, Jesus had just nailed the Pharisees for their rituals of washing and tithing when their hearts were so corrupt. They told Jesus that what he told them offended them so he continued to list their offenses. (I would have loved to have been there to see their faces.) The experts of the law were responsible for showing the people who God was but instead, they showed them how impossible it was for them to come to God because they were so unclean. The Pharisees were all talk, no heart. They looked good on the outside but Jesus knew their hearts.
They left mad and more determined than ever to shut Jesus up and catch him in a lie. The followers of Jesus, however, were growing and growing in number. Jesus knew what was in the heart of the Pharisees so he tried to prepare his disciples for the persecution he knew was coming for them.
This same persecution may one day come to us. We need to remember that we overcome by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony and that we love our lives not unto death. Death is victory for a Christian!
Lord, give us a heart to understand your revelation and truth. We choose this day to walk with you.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Thurs.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God

Read: Deuteronomy 28:1-68; Luke 11:14-36; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 12:18
I would encourage you to read the blessings out loud over yourself and your family. These are our promises and the reward of obedience. Who wouldn’t want these blessings? Obviously, many people. The curses take up so much more room to write because God wanted to spell it out to them what would happen if they disobeyed and went after other gods. They would be able to see themselves when they read it and know exactly which one they were living in.
In Luke, Jesus cast out a demon from a man that was mute and the Pharisees explained he did this by the power of Beelzebub who was the prince of demons. Jesus pretty much told them they needed to choose sides. They either needed to decide Jesus did his miracles by the finger of God or by the devil. If he did them by the finger of God then the kingdom had come. A kingdom is a government ruled by a king. Jesus was declaring God’s kingdom had come to earth.
Jesus was also teaching them about demons. Demons need a host to live in and prefer to dwell in people. If they get cast out then they will look for a place to live. If they can’t find some place to rest then they will come back to the person he left and bring many more with them. If the person they left has filled the empty space with God, then there won’t be any room for them and they will have to leave again. They will keep coming back but not as often. Satan and his demons are really bad losers so they don’t like to lose their home. But, it’s not their home…we are to be the temple of the Holy Spirit and they are not welcome there.
The religious leaders wanted a sign from Jesus that he was the Messiah. He had already given them a plethora of signs so he told them the only one he would give them would be the sign of Jonah. Jonah was the sign of resurrection from the dead. Then he spoke of the Queen of Sheba who would be at the resurrection condemning them because she believed after she saw the natural things of Solomon. These people had seen so much more than the natural at work; they had seen the supernatural.
Lord, we choose your kingdom! May we be filled up with your Word and your truth.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Wed.’s Devo - Blessings or Curses

Read: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17
I wondered why first fruits was not mentioned when the feasts were talked about but it was because First Fruits was a feast of the promise land. When you have no land you can’t have any first fruits. So, today, God gave them the law about the First Fruit festival. By the third year they would have their fields producing and ready to give to the Lord. A tenth was to be set aside for the Levite, the fatherless and the widows so they would be taken care of.
When they crossed the Jordan, they were to set up some large stones that they coated with white plaster and wrote the law on them. They were to set them up on Mt. Ebal. Half of the tribes would stand on Mt. El and pronounce the curses of the law and the other half of the tribes would stand on Mt. Gerizim and pronounce the blessings. First they did the curses. It is a choice which mountain we want to live on. Looking at the curses the way to avoid them is just to put the Lord first and honor all people. Sounds a lot like the same thing Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31.
We can all relate with Martha and Mary. It is much easier to do than to be still. It is our nature to try to make things happen and work when God desires most that we be still and wait on Him.
God promises to give us as much as we need. All we have to do is ask, seek and knock.
Lord, we choose to live in the blessings. We pray for discernment to know when we are unknowingly choosing the curses.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Tues.’s Devo -Walk in Holiness and Truth

Read: Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19; Luke 10:13-37; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 12:12-14
God is a holy God and he demands that we be holy if we want to walk near to him. Can you be a Christian and not be holy… I don’t know, but you can’t be a follower of Christ and walk unholy because he didn’t walk in sin. Every sin or unclean thing had to go outside the camp.
Vows are really important to God. Vows are made with our mouth - we speak them. When we do, we either bring a blessing or a curse on ourselves depending on what the vow is and if we fulfill it. Satan is a legalist and he will make sure we are punished or the curse will come on us if we don’t annul it. We do that by asking God to forgive us for making it and pronouncing that it is of no affect, out loud.
God had many laws protecting the poor. We judge them and say they could find a job and choose to live better but God doesn’t do that. He makes allowances for them and tells us to be generous and kind to them. He always reminds them that they were once slaves and poor.
We are to always remember that once we were not saved and didn’t have the truth. We cannot judge the life of an unbeliever because they haven’t been given a new heart. Nor can we judge the lifestyle of a new believer, because they have not yet been discipled. We need to have compassion and patience like Jesus did.
Jesus told his disciples a very important thing. He said that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Satan has no more power and authority than what we give him. He is a deceiver and a smoke screen. He wants us to believe that he still has power but he doesn’t. Jesus’ disciples saw this when they went out and cast out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus gave us power and authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm us.
Jesus didn’t give this revelation to the religious leaders but to the common man. We are the ones who he invested his great secrets with.
Lord, may we walk in your truth and in holiness and love.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Mon.’s Devo - Strange Laws

Read: Deuteronomy 21:1-22:30; Luke 9:51-10:12; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 12:11
Today, we read about some of God’s laws that seem strange. They were pertinent to their time but we have to remember that they are spiritual to us. Murder had to be atoned for and the elders of the closest town were responsible. Every life is important to the Lord.
God wanted women to be honored and treated fairly. By the time Jesus came to earth, the Pharisees had added over one hundred laws against women. They believed they were inherently evil. That is why Jesus was so tender towards women. He wanted to give them back their dignity and status.
I’ll address a few of these strange laws. The one about men not wearing women’s clothing and vice versa is a picture of men taking on women’s roles and women taking on men’s roles. Men are to be the picture of God who we all submit to and women are a picture of the church which we all honor and respect. God lovingly rules and we faithfully submit.
Another strange law was that they were not to plant two kinds of seeds in their garden. Our garden is our heart and their are only two kinds of seeds. One is the Word of God and the other is the tares of the devil. When we plant both seeds we are defiling our hearts. The clothes of wool and linen are the same thing.
The rest of the chapter has to do with honoring women and making sure she is protected and justified. This is how the Lord feels about the Church.
In Luke, it was getting closer to the time Jesus was to be taken to heaven. I love that it says that rather than, it was getting closer to the time of his death. The way Luke says it is so positive. Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples to go ahead of him and prepare the hearts of the people so that when he got there, they would be ready to hear the good news. Jesus was setting a prototype. He sent them in pairs as lambs among wolves. He sends us out the same way.
Lord, may we walk in love proclaiming the good news.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Sun.’s Devo - Spiritual Warfare

Read: Deuteronomy 18:1-20:20; Luke 9:28-50; Psalm 73:1-28; Proverbs 12:10
The Levites were to be totally provided for by the people They were to receive the people’s tithe of grain, wine, oil and wool. The Levites would represent the mature believers or church leaders. We pay our tithe to the church and the church pays salaries out of the tithe to the people who work for the church. Special offerings were designated for the upkeep of the temple.
Since the people freaked out when God spoke to them out of the fire on Mt. Sinai, they asked God to speak to them through men instead. God agreed and sent them prophets. He gave them ways to know if they were true prophets of him or not. If what the prophet prophesied came true, then he was God’s prophet.
When they got into their land and settled, they were to set up cities of refuge where people could run to if they accidentally killed someone ad there was no witness. If they had no malice or history of malice in their heart toward this person then they could present their case to the priest of the city and stay there in safety. But if the person had reason in his heart to want to hurt this person, the elders of his town would come to the city and bring him back for punishment.
God wanted justice and truth to be the rule of his land. If they went to war and realized that the odds were against them, the priests were to come out and encourage them reminding them that it was the Lord who was going to battle for them and He would win.
The officers were to send home the men of three different scenarios. They all stand for the same type of person. It was a person who was not ready or mature enough to fight. We don’t fight against flesh and blood but against principalities and spiritual beings in the heavenlies. As we mature, we learn how to wield the Word of God in war against the devil.