Thurs.’s Devo - Victory!

Read: Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20; Luke 7:36-8:3; Pslam 69:1-18; Proverbs 12:1 God listed the seven nations they were to conquer. They were stronger and more in number than the Israelites but the Lord would hand them over to them. They were to completely destroy them and make no treaty of peace with them or make marriages with them. If they did, these nations would lead them to worship their false gods and it would lead to their destruction. God would become their adversary. *** God made it clear that the reason he was helping them was because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had chosen to love them. His covenant would last a thousand generations. “A thousand generations” is mentioned in 1 Chronicles 16:15 and Psalms 105:8 talking about this same promise. If this is a literal time period then it means 4,000 years. He adds, that he lavishes his love on all who love him and obeys his commands, but doesn’t hesitate to punish those who don’t. *** Besides his love, God’s blessings include abundant provision, fertility, protection, health and victory. He will put the diseases, meant for them on their enemies instead. They were to show their enemy no mercy or it would come back to bite them. *** The same power that God used to take out the Egyptians, he would use against these enemies. God would drive them out little by little so they would be able to take the land as soon as they were destroyed. He would make them so confused, they would not be able to stand against God’s people. *** They were to plunder them but not take the gold or silver used to make their idols. This must be destroyed because it is defiled. *** God warned them to not let all the years they spent in the wilderness be in vain. They were tested and refined in the wilderness so they would be able to obey the Lord now in their time of victory. This is a word for us today. We are witnessing the take down of a very evil system that has plagued us for thousands of generations. Now that it is slowly being dismantled, we must occupy its place and remember all we have learned as slaves. Our only hope of being successful is to follow the Lord and do it his way. We must not forget the Lord who brought us out of bondage and rescued us from slavery. We must remember that he is the one who gives us power to succeed. If we don’t we will be destroyed just like them. *** In Luke, Jesus had been invited to eat at the home of a Pharisee named Simon. A woman who was known for her immoral lifestyle came in and began pouring perfume on his feet. She began weeping and wiped her tears from his feet with her hair. Then she began kissing his feet. It was obvious, this woman was having a spiritual moment of intense emotion. We can only guess what was going on in her heart as she did this. But, the Pharisee thought that if Jesus was a prophet, he should know what kind of woman she was and not received her. *** Jesus, being a prophet, did know who she was and what Simon was thinking. He told Simon a story about two men who each owed a man unequal amounts of money. The man forgave them both. Jesus asked Simon, who he thought would be the most grateful. Simon said, probably the man who was forgiven the greatest debt. Good answer. *** Simon fell right into the trap. Jesus told him that he hadn’t offered Jesus water to wash his feet when he entered his house or the courtesy of oil for his head. She had offered both. She was the man in the story who had owed the greater debt of sin and God had forgiven her. Now she is so grateful that she is offering what she has. Jesus turned to the woman and told her that her sins were forgiven and that her faith had saved her; she could go in peace. *** The Pharisees at the table missed the whole meaning of the parable and stumbled over the fact that Jesus forgave her sin. It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 23:24 to the Pharisees, “You strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.” *** In the last paragraph it talks about the women who followed Jesus. Mary Magdalene had had seven demons cast out of her. I wonder if they were the same seven principalities over the nations that had to be cast out of the land God was giving them. *** Lord, thank you for salvation for us who recognized we need a savior. Thank you for setting us free from slavery, not only in our soul but in our nation. Uphold our leaders to follow you with wisdom and discernment. Let them win victory after victory. To you be all the glory!