Read Joshua 14
When we had our first child, a boy, we were trying to select the right name for him. One of my many suggestions was "Caleb". Dave said, "No, we have to name him 'Joshua' and the next one 'Caleb'; which is exactly what we did. Reading this chapter makes me so glad we did.
In verse 6, Caleb and his delegation came to Joshua to remind him of the land God had promise him and about what Caleb had done for God. When they first arrived at the Promise land, Moses had sent out 12 spies, one from each tribe. Only Joshua and Caleb came back saying the land was good and they should take it. The rest of the men had only seen the giants in the land so they frightened the people from entering and they had to wait 40 more years as punishment. Caleb is now wanting the land Moses had promised him because he had "wholeheartedly followed the Lord." He even reminded Joshua that even though he was now 85 years old, he was still as strong as he was when he was 45.
How sweet of God! Caleb was ready and willing to take his land at the time God had planned for them to take it, but because his people lacked faith, he suffered and had to wait. I see this happen in families where one person is ready to go on with God and the other is not "there yet" and they have to wait. But God restores back to the one who has to be patient by giving him the same strength, the same promise, and the same result at the later date. There are things that God has promised all of us that we have not seen happen even though we have "wholeheartedly served the Lord". Don't give up. There will be another chance and everyone who is suppose to be with you will be ready. That is a whole lot better that doing it sooner and alone. God is so concerned about people. He has many children that he has entrusted to our care. They may seem to "hold us back", but God makes allowances for that and rewards us for having to wait. "They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up with wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not faint."
Lord, help us to realize that You are so in love with all your children. You patiently wait for me, help me to patiently wait for others.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday's devotion Mind Blowing
Read Joshua 11
More battles...... A few things stood out to me. Hazor was a king who rounded up other kings and their people to fight Israel. Hazor means "intelligent". Human intelligence is a huge enemy to God's ways because his ways are higher than ours. Ro. 8:7 says that the carnal mind is always hostile toward God. It never did obey God's laws and it never will. God told Joshua to utterly kill all of them with the edge of the sword, even their horses. I quess that is what we have to do with our own reasoning. Kill it with the sword God has given us -- the Bible. God wants to put our hope totally in Him, no matter what things look like on the surface. The Word of God is a 2-edged sword that divides soul and spirit, bone and marrow, and thoughts and intentions. It will renew your mind and give you the mind of Jesus.
Joshua did all that God told him to do. Vs. 19 says that there was not a city that made peace with them except for the Hivites that had tricked them into making a covenant with them. The next verse said that God hardened the hearts of their enemies so that when they attacked them they would be defeated. James tells us in the NT that trials come to make us strong. God sends trials our way so that we can get mad enough to fight the enemy that is dwelling in our land and kick him out. Trials act as a mirror into our soul. You never know what is in a bottle until you turn it upside down and squeeze it. That is what God does to us. He turns our worlds upside down and puts the squeeze on us. Whatever we have fed on will come out. If you feed on the Word, it will come out of your mouth and save you.
Joshua was relentless. He went after the strongholds in the mountains. They are more strategically located so that they can see the enemy approaching and be ready for it. But Joshua had God on his side. It doesn't matter if you are battling something that has been in your family for a long time and has become a "high place"; God can defeat it through you.
The last verse says, "And the land rested from war." AHHHHH! Wouldn't you like to enter into God's rest? We can, after we have taken our land.
Lord, show us the enemies in our land and show us how to use our sword, the Word of God, to defeat every enemy. Thank you Jesus.
More battles...... A few things stood out to me. Hazor was a king who rounded up other kings and their people to fight Israel. Hazor means "intelligent". Human intelligence is a huge enemy to God's ways because his ways are higher than ours. Ro. 8:7 says that the carnal mind is always hostile toward God. It never did obey God's laws and it never will. God told Joshua to utterly kill all of them with the edge of the sword, even their horses. I quess that is what we have to do with our own reasoning. Kill it with the sword God has given us -- the Bible. God wants to put our hope totally in Him, no matter what things look like on the surface. The Word of God is a 2-edged sword that divides soul and spirit, bone and marrow, and thoughts and intentions. It will renew your mind and give you the mind of Jesus.
Joshua did all that God told him to do. Vs. 19 says that there was not a city that made peace with them except for the Hivites that had tricked them into making a covenant with them. The next verse said that God hardened the hearts of their enemies so that when they attacked them they would be defeated. James tells us in the NT that trials come to make us strong. God sends trials our way so that we can get mad enough to fight the enemy that is dwelling in our land and kick him out. Trials act as a mirror into our soul. You never know what is in a bottle until you turn it upside down and squeeze it. That is what God does to us. He turns our worlds upside down and puts the squeeze on us. Whatever we have fed on will come out. If you feed on the Word, it will come out of your mouth and save you.
Joshua was relentless. He went after the strongholds in the mountains. They are more strategically located so that they can see the enemy approaching and be ready for it. But Joshua had God on his side. It doesn't matter if you are battling something that has been in your family for a long time and has become a "high place"; God can defeat it through you.
The last verse says, "And the land rested from war." AHHHHH! Wouldn't you like to enter into God's rest? We can, after we have taken our land.
Lord, show us the enemies in our land and show us how to use our sword, the Word of God, to defeat every enemy. Thank you Jesus.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wed Devo - What a Day!
Read Joshua 10
When I get mad I sometimes want to throw things, usually my computer. I don't----- because I know that whatever I break, I will have to pay for and I will have to explain to Dave why the window and my computer both crashed in the same day. When God gets mad he throws water (in the form of rain), hailstones, fire, and brimestone (whatever that is-Oh, it's sulfer). Talk about a mess! In today's reading he threw hailstones on the 10 evil kings that had banded together to fight the Israelites. God killed more men with his stones than the Israelites did with thier swords. Go God!!! Then, if that wasn't enough, Joshua asked God for a little more daylight so they could keep fighting. God made the sun to stand still for a whole day!!!
Five of the kings fled and hid in a cave. When Joshua found out, he ordered stones to seal these kings in the cave until he could come back and kill them. Joshua brought the kings out and commanded his men to put their feet on the king's necks. Then he hung them on a tree. That night they took their bodies down and put them back into the same cave and put stones over the mouth of the cave, "which remains until this very day." After that day Joshua and his army picked off the cities that remained one by one.
What a contrast to when Jesus hung on the cross and the sky went dark in the middle of the day. (Luke 23:45) The veil in the temple was torn in two signifying that there was no longer any need for a high priest to go to God for us; we are all welcome into the presence of God! That was the day that Jesus put Satan under his feet and gave us the right to do the same thing to our enemies. Unlike Jesus, these kings are still in that cave. Our Jesus ROSE from the grave.
We are called to be children of the light. If we walk in the spirit, we are always walking in the light. There is no night in our life. Jesus said, You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill CANNOT be hid. It is impossible for us to hide this light inside us. Thank you Jesus! Help us to always walk in the light and glorify your name.
When I get mad I sometimes want to throw things, usually my computer. I don't----- because I know that whatever I break, I will have to pay for and I will have to explain to Dave why the window and my computer both crashed in the same day. When God gets mad he throws water (in the form of rain), hailstones, fire, and brimestone (whatever that is-Oh, it's sulfer). Talk about a mess! In today's reading he threw hailstones on the 10 evil kings that had banded together to fight the Israelites. God killed more men with his stones than the Israelites did with thier swords. Go God!!! Then, if that wasn't enough, Joshua asked God for a little more daylight so they could keep fighting. God made the sun to stand still for a whole day!!!
Five of the kings fled and hid in a cave. When Joshua found out, he ordered stones to seal these kings in the cave until he could come back and kill them. Joshua brought the kings out and commanded his men to put their feet on the king's necks. Then he hung them on a tree. That night they took their bodies down and put them back into the same cave and put stones over the mouth of the cave, "which remains until this very day." After that day Joshua and his army picked off the cities that remained one by one.
What a contrast to when Jesus hung on the cross and the sky went dark in the middle of the day. (Luke 23:45) The veil in the temple was torn in two signifying that there was no longer any need for a high priest to go to God for us; we are all welcome into the presence of God! That was the day that Jesus put Satan under his feet and gave us the right to do the same thing to our enemies. Unlike Jesus, these kings are still in that cave. Our Jesus ROSE from the grave.
We are called to be children of the light. If we walk in the spirit, we are always walking in the light. There is no night in our life. Jesus said, You are the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill CANNOT be hid. It is impossible for us to hide this light inside us. Thank you Jesus! Help us to always walk in the light and glorify your name.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesdays devo - Hills, wells, villages, and forests
Read Joshua 9
Have you ever made a rash decision and regretted it? I know I have. That is what Joshua and the princes did in this story. Joshua had just detroyed Jericho and Ai and were making there way to the little town of Gibeon. The people of Gibeon had heard of all God was doing through the men of Israel so they decided to trick them. They dressed in worn out close and took food that was stale and moldy and went to meet Joshua. They lied and said they were from a city far, far away and had heard of their fame and their God. They asked to make a league with Joshua. This meant that they would not kill them or their people. Since Joshua thought they were from a long way away, he knew they were not from the land God had given him. He forgot to ask God about it. Instead, he got carried away in their compliments and made a pact with them. Three days later, he found out he had made a pact with neighboring towns and now he was bound by his agreement not to kill them. Now, what would he do? God told him to take these towns and kill the inhabitants. So he had to compromise God's perfect will and come up with something that would please God and his promise. He decided to let them live, but make them slaves. They were from 4 towns whose names meant; hills, villages, wells, and forests. Vs. 23: As their slaves, they were cursed and had to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of God. I find it interesting that they probably had to hew wood from their forests and draw water from their wells.
I know that in every battle in the OT we can learn how to fight spiritual battles in our NT lives. Maybe we made an irreversable mistake, but like Joshua, we can sstill find a way to curse our enemy. We can demand he serve us in the very thing he tripped us up in. Example: we have a child out of wedlock (not married). We can pray that that child grow up to serve God with all his might and do the devil much harm. We turn his curse back on him. Maybe he has robbed you of peace in your family. So you determine that your family will serve God and be peacemakers. God says in Joel 2:25 that he will restore back to us the years that the locust and cankerworm have eaten. In other words, we demand back the things Satan has robbed from us. Joel goes on to say that we will eat and be satisfied, and praise the Lord because he has dealt wondrously with us and that we will never be ashamed. All these things come for those who pray and wait patiently upon the Lord.
Lord, we ask you to forgive us for jumping ahead of you when we make decisions and don't even think to ask your wisdom. But, thank you for your forgiveness and that when we do act rashly, you make a way of escape for us. You always have a plan to deliver us from ourselves and the devil. Let us be offensive toward the devil and turn his curses back on him. Remind us that because of Jesus, we are the "head" and not the "tail", even when we act like one.
Have you ever made a rash decision and regretted it? I know I have. That is what Joshua and the princes did in this story. Joshua had just detroyed Jericho and Ai and were making there way to the little town of Gibeon. The people of Gibeon had heard of all God was doing through the men of Israel so they decided to trick them. They dressed in worn out close and took food that was stale and moldy and went to meet Joshua. They lied and said they were from a city far, far away and had heard of their fame and their God. They asked to make a league with Joshua. This meant that they would not kill them or their people. Since Joshua thought they were from a long way away, he knew they were not from the land God had given him. He forgot to ask God about it. Instead, he got carried away in their compliments and made a pact with them. Three days later, he found out he had made a pact with neighboring towns and now he was bound by his agreement not to kill them. Now, what would he do? God told him to take these towns and kill the inhabitants. So he had to compromise God's perfect will and come up with something that would please God and his promise. He decided to let them live, but make them slaves. They were from 4 towns whose names meant; hills, villages, wells, and forests. Vs. 23: As their slaves, they were cursed and had to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of God. I find it interesting that they probably had to hew wood from their forests and draw water from their wells.
I know that in every battle in the OT we can learn how to fight spiritual battles in our NT lives. Maybe we made an irreversable mistake, but like Joshua, we can sstill find a way to curse our enemy. We can demand he serve us in the very thing he tripped us up in. Example: we have a child out of wedlock (not married). We can pray that that child grow up to serve God with all his might and do the devil much harm. We turn his curse back on him. Maybe he has robbed you of peace in your family. So you determine that your family will serve God and be peacemakers. God says in Joel 2:25 that he will restore back to us the years that the locust and cankerworm have eaten. In other words, we demand back the things Satan has robbed from us. Joel goes on to say that we will eat and be satisfied, and praise the Lord because he has dealt wondrously with us and that we will never be ashamed. All these things come for those who pray and wait patiently upon the Lord.
Lord, we ask you to forgive us for jumping ahead of you when we make decisions and don't even think to ask your wisdom. But, thank you for your forgiveness and that when we do act rashly, you make a way of escape for us. You always have a plan to deliver us from ourselves and the devil. Let us be offensive toward the devil and turn his curses back on him. Remind us that because of Jesus, we are the "head" and not the "tail", even when we act like one.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday's Devo. Ambush at Ai
Read Joshua 8.
God tells Joshua to go and take Ai because God is with him and he will succeed. He tells Joshua just how to do it. He is to put some of his men behind the city to wait. The majority are to attack from the front. They will draw the people out of the city to fight then turn and run. so that the men of Ai will chase them. This will leave their city unprotected. The men will then attack from the rear and burn it with fire. When the men of Ai turn and see their city on fire the children of Israel will ambush them on all sides and kill them.
I couldn't help thinking that that is one of the strategies Satan uses on us. He distracts us away from "the path" by drawing us away from our home (where we belong). He will use money, friends, popularity, a boyfriend, anything that turns our head, to draw us away from our relationship with God. Why is it so easy to get side-tracked? Maybe, because God is invisible and it takes faith, trust, and commitment to stay "plugged in." Once we have strayed away far enough then we are easy pickings for the devil to destroy. He comes at us on all sides. But, there is hope. God says in Psa. 18:17 - "He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me; for they were too strong for me." God will rescue us when we call out to him, but how can we keep from getting in that place where we need to be rescued?
1) read God's word daily. If you don't know where to start John is a great book to start in. The word is your sword. You can't fight without a weapon and that is the only one God gave us so it must be pretty important and effective.
2) Get to know God. Talk to him, include him in what you do. Let him become your father, your best friend, all that you need.
3) get active in a group (rcg's, church, some small group). We are much stronger in a group. God told us in Heb. 10:25 to not quit meeting together because we need each other.
4) protect ourselves. Eph 6 talks about having faith which shields us from the enemies darts, putting God's salvation as our covering. It says to wear our salvation like a helmet so that it completely surrounds our head and the thoughts of our mind. Everything needs to be filtered through that helmet. We are to reproduce truth so that what comes out of our mouth is truth. Our heart is to be covered with righteousness. The only way our heart can love right things is to filter our gates: our eyes, ears, and mouth. "Be careful little eyes what you see..." is not a child's song. It is TRUTH! If we are dressed in God's armor then our feet will be ready to walk in peace and we will walk in places God has prepared for us to speak so that His name will go forth and not return void (of no effect).
These are just a few things we can do that will keep us from being lured out of our camp and into the enemies hands. I pray that God's power will permeate your being and help you to fight with His might!
God tells Joshua to go and take Ai because God is with him and he will succeed. He tells Joshua just how to do it. He is to put some of his men behind the city to wait. The majority are to attack from the front. They will draw the people out of the city to fight then turn and run. so that the men of Ai will chase them. This will leave their city unprotected. The men will then attack from the rear and burn it with fire. When the men of Ai turn and see their city on fire the children of Israel will ambush them on all sides and kill them.
I couldn't help thinking that that is one of the strategies Satan uses on us. He distracts us away from "the path" by drawing us away from our home (where we belong). He will use money, friends, popularity, a boyfriend, anything that turns our head, to draw us away from our relationship with God. Why is it so easy to get side-tracked? Maybe, because God is invisible and it takes faith, trust, and commitment to stay "plugged in." Once we have strayed away far enough then we are easy pickings for the devil to destroy. He comes at us on all sides. But, there is hope. God says in Psa. 18:17 - "He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me; for they were too strong for me." God will rescue us when we call out to him, but how can we keep from getting in that place where we need to be rescued?
1) read God's word daily. If you don't know where to start John is a great book to start in. The word is your sword. You can't fight without a weapon and that is the only one God gave us so it must be pretty important and effective.
2) Get to know God. Talk to him, include him in what you do. Let him become your father, your best friend, all that you need.
3) get active in a group (rcg's, church, some small group). We are much stronger in a group. God told us in Heb. 10:25 to not quit meeting together because we need each other.
4) protect ourselves. Eph 6 talks about having faith which shields us from the enemies darts, putting God's salvation as our covering. It says to wear our salvation like a helmet so that it completely surrounds our head and the thoughts of our mind. Everything needs to be filtered through that helmet. We are to reproduce truth so that what comes out of our mouth is truth. Our heart is to be covered with righteousness. The only way our heart can love right things is to filter our gates: our eyes, ears, and mouth. "Be careful little eyes what you see..." is not a child's song. It is TRUTH! If we are dressed in God's armor then our feet will be ready to walk in peace and we will walk in places God has prepared for us to speak so that His name will go forth and not return void (of no effect).
These are just a few things we can do that will keep us from being lured out of our camp and into the enemies hands. I pray that God's power will permeate your being and help you to fight with His might!
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday's devotion - Am I in trouble????!!!
Our next RCG lesson is about Deborah so I decided our devotions will be about what happened from the fall of Jericho till the story of Deborah. That sounds good to me!
When Joshua and the children of Israel faced Jericho, God told them not to take any of the spoils (the loot of the city) for themselves. They had to give all the gold and silver and precious metals for the Temple they would someday build. Achan sinned and took some of the spoils. He hid them under his tent and noone knew except God.
They came to the next city which was Ai. (Read Joshua 7) Joshua sent our spies to check our the strength of the city. The spies came back saying that it would only take a few thousand warriors to take Ai because it was so small. So they took 3,000 men and were surprisingly defeated. When Joshua found out he cried out to God and asked him why this happened. God answered him and said it was because someone sinned and took what He had told them not to take. God called all the people together and exposed the sinner, Achan. Amazingly Achan's name means "trouble". They found out he had seen this Babylonian garment, some silver and gold and took it. God told the people to stone him with stones and burn him with fire. Then they buried him under a heap of stones as a memorial so they wouldn't forget.
What does this mean to us? Jericho was the tithe. There were 10 cities they were going to take and Jerich was the first. God said that the first tenth goes to him. If it doesn't and we refuse to give God the tenth? It looks like we get trouble and when we go against our enemy we get defeated. It is just a whole lot better if we obey God. What Achan didn't know was that all the rest of the battles they fought, they would get to keep the spoils. He would have gotten 9 times what he took the first time and he would have gotten to live. God's ways are always to prosper us and for our good. The key is in obeying and waiting for His timing.
Lord, help us hear your voice and obey. Give us hearts to give to you all that we have. Help us to trust you completly and wait on your timing.
When Joshua and the children of Israel faced Jericho, God told them not to take any of the spoils (the loot of the city) for themselves. They had to give all the gold and silver and precious metals for the Temple they would someday build. Achan sinned and took some of the spoils. He hid them under his tent and noone knew except God.
They came to the next city which was Ai. (Read Joshua 7) Joshua sent our spies to check our the strength of the city. The spies came back saying that it would only take a few thousand warriors to take Ai because it was so small. So they took 3,000 men and were surprisingly defeated. When Joshua found out he cried out to God and asked him why this happened. God answered him and said it was because someone sinned and took what He had told them not to take. God called all the people together and exposed the sinner, Achan. Amazingly Achan's name means "trouble". They found out he had seen this Babylonian garment, some silver and gold and took it. God told the people to stone him with stones and burn him with fire. Then they buried him under a heap of stones as a memorial so they wouldn't forget.
What does this mean to us? Jericho was the tithe. There were 10 cities they were going to take and Jerich was the first. God said that the first tenth goes to him. If it doesn't and we refuse to give God the tenth? It looks like we get trouble and when we go against our enemy we get defeated. It is just a whole lot better if we obey God. What Achan didn't know was that all the rest of the battles they fought, they would get to keep the spoils. He would have gotten 9 times what he took the first time and he would have gotten to live. God's ways are always to prosper us and for our good. The key is in obeying and waiting for His timing.
Lord, help us hear your voice and obey. Give us hearts to give to you all that we have. Help us to trust you completly and wait on your timing.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Thursday's devotion
I have been asking God how I can help yall in your walk with God everyday. So I feel like He gave me this idea of giving yall a devotion you can do every day. Here it is. I love yall!!!
John 4:7-29 Read this!
Last night in RCG's we were talking about the fall of Jericho (Jos. 5) and how Rahab, the harlot was saved. We saw that it was a type of Jesus' return. He will return with a shout and the blast of a trumpet and the walls of false religion, pride, complacency, materialism, etc. will fall down and only those who have put their trust in Jesus will be saved and rise with him. (I Thes. 4:13-18) Crissy asked a question about if it was significant that she was a harlot. I have been meditating on that and I thought of how God always referred to nations that had forgotten Him as a harlot. (Jer. 3:6) Then I remembered a harlot in the New Testament: the woman at the well. This woman, like Rahab, was a foreigner and a prostitute which make them both outcasts of society. The spies chose Rahab just as Jesus chose to meet this woman. He was waiting for her to come to the well because he knew that her spirit was thirstier than her body. But when she got there he asked her for water. When she asked him why a Jew would ask water from a lowly Samaritan he doesn't answer her question but instead He answered the question of her spirit. He then tells her of living water that will completely quench your thirst forever. It will be a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Well, she immediately wanted this water. Who wouldn't? Jesus told her to go get her husband. She replied she didn't have one and he told her she had spoken the truth and that she not only didn't have a husband, but she had been with 5 men and the man she was with now wasn't her husband. She realized that he had to be a prophet so she asked him a religious question about where they were suppose to worship God; this mountain or Jerusalem. It is amazing how when people realize you are a Christian, they start asking you "religious" questions to draw your attention away from them. Jesus wasn't distracted and told her that the only thing that mattered was to worship God in spirit and in truth.
When you drink of God's word His living water will flow out of you and people will be drawn to you to drink from that fountain. Keep your well full of God's water.
Lord, we are all harlots and have chased many lovers other than you. We ask you to forgive us and give us living water today that will enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth.
John 4:7-29 Read this!
Last night in RCG's we were talking about the fall of Jericho (Jos. 5) and how Rahab, the harlot was saved. We saw that it was a type of Jesus' return. He will return with a shout and the blast of a trumpet and the walls of false religion, pride, complacency, materialism, etc. will fall down and only those who have put their trust in Jesus will be saved and rise with him. (I Thes. 4:13-18) Crissy asked a question about if it was significant that she was a harlot. I have been meditating on that and I thought of how God always referred to nations that had forgotten Him as a harlot. (Jer. 3:6) Then I remembered a harlot in the New Testament: the woman at the well. This woman, like Rahab, was a foreigner and a prostitute which make them both outcasts of society. The spies chose Rahab just as Jesus chose to meet this woman. He was waiting for her to come to the well because he knew that her spirit was thirstier than her body. But when she got there he asked her for water. When she asked him why a Jew would ask water from a lowly Samaritan he doesn't answer her question but instead He answered the question of her spirit. He then tells her of living water that will completely quench your thirst forever. It will be a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Well, she immediately wanted this water. Who wouldn't? Jesus told her to go get her husband. She replied she didn't have one and he told her she had spoken the truth and that she not only didn't have a husband, but she had been with 5 men and the man she was with now wasn't her husband. She realized that he had to be a prophet so she asked him a religious question about where they were suppose to worship God; this mountain or Jerusalem. It is amazing how when people realize you are a Christian, they start asking you "religious" questions to draw your attention away from them. Jesus wasn't distracted and told her that the only thing that mattered was to worship God in spirit and in truth.
When you drink of God's word His living water will flow out of you and people will be drawn to you to drink from that fountain. Keep your well full of God's water.
Lord, we are all harlots and have chased many lovers other than you. We ask you to forgive us and give us living water today that will enable us to worship you in spirit and in truth.
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