Daily Prayers – Page 256

Promises

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune

Joshua 21:44
And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass

Exodus 33:14
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth

Nehemiah 9:8
And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God

Hebrews 6:11
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises

2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self- control, and self- control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind

Do you ever read God’s word with the intent of seeing His promises? They are numerous and are showing us how God’s faithfulness in the past, present and future. How we look at these promises will determine how we live our life for Him. If I were to only look at the promises of blessings (grace, mercy, love) and never give thought to those of penalty (discipline, wrath, destruction, curse) how is it possible to understand the fullness of the blessings. If I do not understand, that in my sinful nature, I deserve penalty how will I live a humble, thankful, faithful, servant life for Him. It is good for us to remember who we are and who God is. Our purpose is not for the purpose in this life is not for collecting blessings but rather to live a humble submissive servant life that honors and glorifies Him. When you read of God’s promises there is none greater than John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. In this we see both eternal destruction and eternal life. When we understand the promise with both of it’s outcomes it opens our heart to see just how great God’s love is for those who hear His calling and follow him.

Wholly Committed

shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever.

Joshua 14:9
And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God

Numbers 14:24
But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it

Numbers 32:12
‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord

Deuteronomy 11:22
For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.

What does it mean to “Fully Follow God”? What do we use to determine if we are following Him fully? I remember 40 years ago it was normal to attend Sunday morning bible study, Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship, Wednesday evening prayer, and some morning or evening throughout the week in bible study. This was normal and considered to the region I lived. As I look around now the norm is to attend a worship service on Sunday morning and maybe a bible study once per week. What has changed? Our culture seems to have been able to pull us away from continually meeting together to worship, pray, fellowship, disciple making, and hold each other accountable. When this happens the first thing we leave behind is His word which leads to loss of focus and the repeated reminder of who God is and what our purpose is. God wants us to serve Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. How is that possible if we live for Him straddling the fence of commitment? Out of the twelve that Moses sent to scout out the land only two were found to fully follow Him with a heart and mind and soul. I ask myself many times if I would be one of these two or one of the ten. There are times I am one of the two but more often than not I am one of the ten who sees the battle before me and am not seeing it in the hands of God and His awesome power, strength and might. Do you want rest from the battles before you – commit fully to serving God, give all your battles into His hands, and give the victory to His glory.

God’s Sovereignty

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy

Joshua 11:20
For it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed, just as the Lord commanded Moses.

Exodus 4:21
And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.

Deuteronomy 2:30
But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day

Romans 9:15
What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved. ’”
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.

When Joshua went through the land, obeying God, and destroying all that was living it says that God had hardened the hearts of these people in order that they would be devoted to destruction. I don’t know about you but when I think about how we are living in a time of grace and mercy we often forget about God’s sovereignty, purpose, and plan that in the past included hardening entire nation’s hearts. I read this and wonder what it must would like to have your heart hardened by God and meant for the single purpose of destruction. I have the human thought of “is this fair”??? We can not put our thoughts above God’s. Scripture says our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. I am also so thankful for Romans where Paul addressed this issue of fairness. Man says: “why does He find fault”?, “Who can resist His will”? Why have you made me like this”? Paul continues with who is man that he should question God. The creator can do what He pleases for the purpose He determines without needing our approval or understanding. All I can say is that I am so thankful God softened my heart to hear His calling for the need of redemption, forgiveness, and salvation. Do not neglect His salvation plan and purpose for your life.

Whose Battle Is It?

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent

Joshua 10:25
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 3:22
You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you

Exodus 14:14
The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent

2 Chronicles 20:15
Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s

Nehemiah 4:20
Our God will fight for us

Deuteronomy 1:30
The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you

Joshua 1:5
Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you

How many things do we do battle with something every day in our own strength? How many battles do we try to handle on our own? How many battles are we facing and worrying about? How does it make you feel to know you have neither the strength, courage, or will to handle it? I already know the answer. I face this all the time in my own life. Many times I worry and fret without even giving thought to turn it over to God. Why do I want to do this? Don’t I believe in the power of God? Certainly I do but for some reason I choose to keep the issue to myself. Sometimes I just want to bury my head in the sand and hope it blows by. Does this in any way sound like it is a life that is being lived to honor and glorify God. No it does not. I have work to do in this area. I am not sure about you but I must confess it and turn these over to God and watch His power intercede over it. I hope to share what God has shown me today in these scriptures with you in the future. Honor and glorify Him by giving your battles and issues into His capable hands.

Trust His Power

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of AijalonAnd the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

Joshua 10:12
At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,
and moon, in the Valley of AijalonAnd the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,
until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel

Amos 2:9
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.

Habakuk 3:11
The sun and moon stood still in their place
at the light of your arrows as they sped,
at the flash of your glittering spear.
You marched through the earth in fury;
you threshed the nations in anger.
You went out for the salvation of your people,
for the salvation of your anointed.
You crushed the head of the house of the wicked,
laying him bare from

Joshua went up against not one but, five armies that had banded together to fight against them. It was not the might of the Israelites that overcame their enemies, it was God. God threw the enemies into a state of confusion and then while they were running away He destroyed many of them with a hail storm. We read stories like this throughout scripture where time and time again the battle is God’s. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Think about this for a moment. God has not changed. His power has not changed. His love for those who hear His voice and surrender to Him will not change. Do you want to have power over the battles you are facing? Surrender them to God – Trust His Power

Examples we can learn from

but did not ask counsel from the Lord

but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.

Joshua 9:3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn- out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn- out and torn and mended, with worn- out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn- out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn- out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn- out and torn and mended, with worn- out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn- out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

“We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them.

Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. This we will do to them:let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.
So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

Psalms 106:36
They did not destroy the peoples,
as the Lord commanded them,
but they mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was polluted with blood.
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and played the whore in their deeds

The story related in Joshua has to do with Joshua and the leaders being caught up in the moment. What they saw and heard was a lie. But what they saw and heard made them believe they were doing the right thing. Having compassion on a nation who spoke well of their God and acknowledged what God had done. The problem that the Israelites had was not seeking God before they made the decision. This is a very good point to remember. In Psalms the people willing disobeyed God. They did not do what He said to do and in fact they went even further and doing the opposite. We face both of these scenarios in our lives every day and we would do well to take careful read of these scriptures. There are times when we are lulled into making decision(s) when it would benefit our walk with God to pause and seek His guidance. There are other times we follow the culture rather than spend time knowing what Gods plan is for our lives. We need to know what is right, pure, and pleasing to God. For this to happen we need to spend time with Him through His word and in prayer. Do you seem to be experiencing satisfaction with this world and not feeling the senselessness that people are spending time on. Imagine what your life would be like if it was fully and totally committed to serving God and living to bring honor and glory to Him. What does a life like this look like? I imagine that every day this life would strive to make a difference in lives it comes into contact with. I imagine it would be filled with holy sorrow in what it sees. I imagine it would feel convicted by the Holy Spirit. I imagine it would find hope when there seems to be none. I imagine it would show love when there is no earthly reason to show it. I imagine it would be willing to speak of God’s grace in their life. I imagine it would live on a growing faith day by day. What do you imagine????????????

Attentive

“And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law”

Joshua 8:34
And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them

Deuteronomy 28:58
“If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting

Deuteronomy 31:12
Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess

Nehemiah 8:3
And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law

Being attentive is a choice. Sometimes we make this choice more because we are going through a trial or hardship in our life or the life of family or friend. Just take a moment and look back at when you were very attentive to God and wanting/needing to hear His voice, know His presence, feel His peace and forgiveness. Did He ever let you down – no He did not – His promise that He would never leave us or forsake us stands true and firm. This leads me to the question I often ask myself – Am I being attentive? Am I seeking God with my whole heart, mind, and soul? Am I being a good servant of what He has blessed me with? Am I seeking to be used by Him? Am I allowing His Holy Spirit to fill and lead me? If I am to be truthful there are days I would say absolutely and other days not at all. I do know that those days when I am seeking more of myself than God, God uses other bother and sisters to encourage me through some word or action. Be an encourager to those around you – stay close to God – serve Him – honor and glorify Him – always be ready to be used by Him – Listen for His leading – and OBEY.

Keep Him First

“Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.”

Joshua 7:24
And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.

Numbers 16:27
And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

Nehemiah 9:26
“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. Therefore you gave them into the hand of their enemies

Numerous times the sins of the fathers affect their families and children. Achan coveted material goods and all he had was destroyed. Imagine the last thoughts he had as he watched his family being stoned and burned. When we covet our wants and desires over God there are not only affects on us but on our family as well. Dads, moms – take a look at your heart, mind, and soul – what time is spent on your personal desires and what time is spent on growing desires of and for God? How much time is spent searching for that next thing to satisfy our wants? Trust me when I say this is so easy to fall into. We are saturated with our culture telling us we work hard and that our time away from work is ours to do pleasing us. This seems correct when we think about all that is said concerning work life balance. I do know from past experience that nothing of this world will give lasting satisfaction it is all temporary. The only thing that will give us lasting peace, joy, hope, love, and purpose is to seek first the kingdom of God, desiring to know Him – hear Him – obey Him more and more each day. Our purpose this side of eternity is to live to honor and glorify Him alone. Keep Him first!!!

Choose Wisely

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them

Joshua 7:19
Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and give praise to him. And tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.” And Achan answered Joshua, “Truly I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath

Isaiah 65:11
But you who forsake the Lord,
who forget my holy mountain,
who set a table for Fortune
and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,
I will destine you to the sword,
and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,
because, when I called, you did not answer;
when I spoke, you did not listen,
but you did what was evil in my eyes
and chose what I did not delight in
“Behold, my servants shall eat,
but you shall be hungry;
behold, my servants shall drink,
but you shall be thirsty;
behold, my servants shall rejoice,
but you shall be put to shame;
behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit

Ephesians 5:6
For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Achan coveted and took what he was not to have taken. In Isaiah it speaks of those who sit at the table of Fortune and covet it over listening to God. And in Ephesians it gives warning to being disobedient and telling us we should walk as children of the light – doing, thinking, and discerning what is good, right, and true. Yesterday God impressed on me the importance of being able to battle temptations and how nearly impossible it is to do this without staying close to God through staying in His word filling our heart with desire to honor and glorify Him through worship, praise, prayer and obedience. It is hard to discern what is good, right, and true if the only thing we use as a guide is the thoughts and tendencies of the culture we live in. Just because the culture and laws say it s right and ok does not mean in anyway that it is right before God. We are encouraged to discern what is pleasing to God, what it means to be children of light, what it means to have fruit of this light. Choose to desire daily time with God in His word, let it speak to your heart. Choose to listen. Choose to meditate/think one His holiness, mercy, grace, and love. Choose to obey. Choose to live to honor and glorify Him. Life will try to fill your time and convince you that there is no time for this. Choose wisely.

Bring To Light

He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart

Joshua 6:18
But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it.

Deuteronomy 20:17
but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God

1 Chronicles 2:7
The son of Carmi:Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing

Joshua 7:10
The Lord said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.

1 Corinthians 4:5
wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart

There will always be temptations before us. Some of those we can turn from and never look back again. Others are seam to be right in front of us all the time and we can’t seem to shake them from our thoughts and wants. Each day seems to be a battle against our will and what God wants for us. Some of this want comes from our sinful nature and desire. The barrier to acting on these desires is God’s word and our desire and faith to honor and glorify Him. However we live in a sinful culture which easily can easily weaken our barrier if this is what is feeding our heart, mind, and soul. Think about it we spend all our waking hours in a lost world and what it sees as important. Trust me most if not all of what it chases after is contrary to God’s honor and glory. This is why we are continually reminded to write His laws and promises on our heart. Why we are reminded to meditated on these day and night. Why we are to write these on our door posts and teach them to our children. Why we are to continually worship Him. Why we are to be in continual prayer with Him. How are we to be a light to this world if those around us see no difference in us. How are we to recognize what is right, pure, holy, safe, wonderful, worth pursuing, if we don’t spend time with God and His word. Trust me one day a week in study, prayer, and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ will never equip us to fight the battles we face each day.