February 2019 – Page 3

79. “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:12 You did not do it with your own sword and bow. So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.” But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

It is one thing to say “I will serve the Lord” and another to do it. Speaking the words are easy but the commitment of the heart to serve Jesus Christ over self is where the problem occurs. There is a moment of commitment in our thought process but for some reason, it does not make it into a heart and soul deep desire. We need a commitment so deep in our soul that life its self is second to humbly serving, honoring, worshiping, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ. We need a commitment so firm and reliant on Jesus that life’s purpose, this side of eternity, is only fulfilled when serving, following, and obeying Him.

There is so much that can pull at our walk with Jesus. In our prosperity and ease of life, we allow neglect and complacency to slide into our lives and erode our daily foundational time in His word. Intentionally choose to serve Him, commit fully to honoring and obeying Him, and keep your heart, mind, and soul fixed on Him every moment of every day.

78. I have broken the bars of your yoke

Joshua 23:14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you.

Exodus 23:27-30 I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and possess the land.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

There is peace when our heart, mind, and soul, cling to, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ. There is strength for today and hope tomorrow. There is courage to face each and every trial. Our heart, mind, and soul expect to see the work of Jesus Christ in our lives and through the trials and troubles common to all. There is fruit in our lives because of Jesus. There is discernment in our thoughts. Our eyes and ears are opened to see truth and as well that which is false. There is purpose and meaning to our life.

Stay in His word each day. Fight against neglect, busyness, and complacency. Be intentional with your walk with Jesus.

77. They do not know me, declares the LORD.

Joshua 23:6 “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Proverbs 4:26-27     Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

1 Corinthians 16:13     Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Ephesians 6:10-19     Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Jeremiah 9:3     They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the LORD.

Be strong, stand firm, ponder your path, do not swerve left or right, put on the whole armor of God, do not turn aside, hold fast, and be watchful – these are all words of warning and encouragement. We would not have words encouraging us to be strong, stand firm, hold fast, and our on the whole armor of God if there was not going to be something to fight against. We are to stand firm against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. They are very real and you do not have to look very hard to find their cunning and deceptive work in the lives of people.

We are not to allow ourselves to be drawn in, influenced, and enticed by our culture and the dark forces that lead it. We are to be watchful and stand firm in faith to God. Just because our culture tolerates (in the name of being progressive) pornography is called adult entertainment, abortion is called women’s right to choose, LBGTQ is alternative lifestyles, does not make it right or progressive or in line with serving God. Be watchful. If God’s word is not ever present in our daily lives how are we to see these dark forces at work in our world. If God’s word is not daily present in our lives how are we to know right from wrong when our culture has adopted and called right that which is wrong. If God’s word is not daily present how are we to know false from the truth? I saw this quote yesterday and thought it appropriate for today. “And gradually though, no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable, and then acceptable, and then legal, and then applaudable.”

We will not be able to stand before God and plead we did not know. The very fact that we choose to neglect and become complacent with His word condemns us because we chose to ignore. Do not spend another day blindly following a world heading straight to hell. Pick up His word and intentionally choose to spend time in it with all your heart, mind, and soul with the purpose of humbly serving, honoring, trusting, following, and obeying God.

76. “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.”

Joshua 10:24 And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings.” Then they came near and put their feet on their necks. And Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or dismayed; be strong and courageous. For thus the Lord will do to all your enemies against whom you fight.”

Deuteronomy 31:6    Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:8     It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

1 Samuel 17:37     And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the bear

Psalms 77:11     I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

2 Timothy 4:17-18    The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 6:10     Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Romans 8:37     No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Be strong. Be courageous. Do not fear. Do not be in dread. Do not fear. Do not be dismayed. WHY????? Because the Lord goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you. He will not forsake you. He will deliver you. He loves you.

We may not have kingdoms to fight or people seeking to destroy and kill us but we do have battles each of us our fighting that requires strength above self. Hope beyond self. A power greater than self. We face things that only God can intervene and overcome. He is able and willing but are you seeking His intervention or trying to do it on your own or have you completely given up and not even turned to God for help. Certainly, you have experienced some of God’s mighty works in your life if you would just give it a thought. When you look back and remember that time when the hand of God protected you, relieved your spirit, overcame certain impossible roadblocks, healed your heart, etc….. God has not changed.

What changes is in us. We become neglectful and complacent with His word and living for Him. God doesn’t change but we do. We can be continually growing in trust, reliance, hope, faith, and love and in our service and obedience to Him. Likewise, if we are neglectful and complacent we lose trust, reliance, hope, faith, love and service and obedience to Him. We lose connection and site of Him in our lives. We find ourselves on paths that give us no purpose and meaning but they seem to occupy all of our heart, soul, and mind.

Do you want to see the awesome power, might, strength, and love of God? Walk with Him each day. Be intentional in your time in His word and humbly serve honor, trust, rely upon, follow and obey Him. You will see His power, might, strength, and love more and more each day. Come forward and place your feet on the necks of the trials that battle against you. Do not fear them but go in the strength and might of Jesus.