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.
Saturday, April 14, 2018
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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