Tag: joshua

2.s. “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.”

2 Chronicles 23:16  And Jehoiada made a covenant between himself and all the people and the king that they should be the Lord’s people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Deuteronomy 26:17-19    You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice.  And the LORD has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,  and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he promised.”

Joshua 24:21-25   And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.”  Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.”  He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”  And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”  So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day

Multiple times throughout history there have been people of God declaring their intentional choices to serve Him, walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes, rules, and obey His voice.  They did this as a personal choice and as one voice collectively.  For some, this may have been a shallow commitment and for others, it was heart and soul-deep.

When the commitment is shallow you still may not see any difference between them and others with deep commitment.  For all outward appearance looks the same.  They may have gotten caught up in the moment and gave lip service to make this commitment.  We see this today when a seed of commitment is acted upon it to trust Jesus Christ. Yet the seed does not take root and over time withers dies.  Jesus gave a parable about this and we should take note of the importance of it.  It is up to those with heart and soul-deep service and obedience to nurture and help water and grow these shallow seeds.  This can only happen when there is continual growth and maturing.  And this can only happen when there is a desire to do so.  An intentional choice that is made every day.  An intentional choice that places service to Jesus Christ first.  An intentional choice to feed on His word, to listen to the whispers of the Holy Spirit, to trust Him when chaos and confusion attack, and to take every thought captive and ensure it is in line with God’s word.

Every small decision over time will yield good or bad.  These insignificant decisions in our mind have long term effects for both now and eternity.

We can rejoice when there has been a commitment made to trust, serve, follow, and obey but we must help and encourage each other in this life long commitment or we risk drifting away.  We don’t have to read far after each of these personal and nationwide commitments to see a drifting and falling away from serving, following, trusting and obeying God.  Be mindful that our sinful nature and self-centered interests are always being tempted by Satan or self to leave our commitment to God.  Our commitment is more than a one and done decision.  It is an intentional, mindful, heart full, and soul-deep choice every moment of every day.  Stay in His word, serve Him, follow Him, trust Him, listen to Him, and obey Him.  In doing this we are able to fight the good fight and encourage, lead, and instruct our brothers and sisters in Christ.

1.h. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Chronicles 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the princes of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer-sheba even to Dan; and bring me word, that I may know the sum of them. And Joab said, Jehovah make his people a hundred times as many as they are: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? why doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of guilt unto Israel? Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. And Joab gave up the sum of the numbering of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them; for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing: but now put away, I beseech thee, the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.

Job 1:6-12    Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.  The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”

Zechariah 3:1   Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Matthew 4:3    And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

John 13:2   During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,

Acts 5:3     But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?

James 1:13     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

James 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Satan is very real.  Satan temps us and is able to see weaknesses within us.  Satan is able to temp our lust for sex, want of and reliance in wealth and intelligence, and exploitation of our anger, pride, honor, and need for recognition, and a host of other self-seeking, self-centered fleshly and earthly desires.  Do we think we are immune to these attacks?  Do we even know when we are being attacked?  Is it possible that we give in so easily to our sinful nature that we don’t even need to be tempted?

If God’s word is not in our heart, mind, and soul there will be a good chance that we will yield to our sinful natures’ desires rather than needing to be tempted by Satan.  If God’s word is in our heart, mind, and soul then we need to be mindful of Satan’s temptations.  Satan’s attacks and temptations are to get us to yield to our sinful nature.  The only way we will know these attacks, is by knowing God’s word and testing our thoughts, actions, and words against it.  We need to seek to be filled with the wisdom and understanding of God’s word through time in it and yielding to the indwelling and filling and leading of the Holy Spirit.

God’s word within our heart, mind, and soul will strengthen us to be courageous, empower us to be victorious, and give us hope and faith to rely on, cling too, and trust in Jesus Christ.  Do not yield.  Do not give in.  Stay in His word and learn what is sinful nature and what is tempting to it.  Combat it with the word of God and an intentional choice to live humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, and obeying Jesus Christ.

197. How would our life change were we to give our whole heart, soul, and mind to God?

2 Kings 23:4   And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one’s left at the gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech. And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts. And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.

Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 13:5    But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

We read all of the actions Josiah took after he made a covenant to walk after the Lord.  We went city by city and destroyed the false idols, altars, and anything that was a compromise in serving God with their whole heart, mind, and soul.  What a testimony to a changed life.  What a testimony to humbly serving, following, honoring, trusting, relying on, and obeying God.

How would our life change were we to give our whole heart, soul, and mind to God?  What would be changing in how we think? What would change in where we go? What would change in what we say?  What would change in how we act?  What would change in what we allow to influence our lives?  What would change in how much time we spend in His word?  What would change?

When we come to God’s word with hunger and thirst for it, when we come to God’s word with a seeking and a desire, when we come to God’s word with a want to hear and be led by the Holy Spirit, we will filled with a continual hunger for more and more knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of Jesus Christ, and we will be able to discern the deceptions and illusions this world has to offer.

188. I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears.

2 Kings 20:1  In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.’” Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Now, O Lord, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David’s sake.” And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.”

And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord on the third day?” And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” And Isaiah the prophet called to the Lord, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz.

Joshua 10:12-14     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 Aijalon.”  And 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

God creator, author of all there is, all powerful, and all mighty spoke all there is into being.  All of nature and science obeys the voice of God from creation to forever.  Why do we find it hard to understand that the author and creator can control and manipulate what He has created?  Stopping the sun and moon for a full day, retreating the sun for however far it takes to go back ten steps is nothing compared to what God can do.  He is unlimited.  Scripture says He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.  And we still have doubts.  We still have anxious thoughts. We worry and fret. We become afraid.  When we come to the place where we have surrendered our trial/trouble in the hands of Jesus, and we say not my will but yours be done, it is then we find the blessed assurance, peace that passes all understanding, faith that moves mountains, hope that conquers fears, and trust that gives us strength and courage in the midst of our trials/troubles.  Stay close to Him, seek Him, desire Him, and above all lay your burdens at His feet and rest in His unfailing love.

136. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Kings 3:23  Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

Exodus 14:31    Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses.

Joshua 4:14    On that day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they stood in awe of him just as they had stood in awe of Moses, all the days of his life.

1 Samuel 12:18    So Samuel called upon the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Proverbs 24:21     My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,

Ecclesiastes 7:19    Wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city.

Ezra 7:25    “And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And those who do not know them, you shall teach.

1 Corinthians 1:24    but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:30    And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Colossians 2:2   to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I am always amazed at the power of God in the lives of men of God who have humbled themselves before Him and live to honor and glorify Him.  God does amazing things in the lives of those who are called to His purpose.  I wonder if we look at these examples and say this is not going to happen in my life, I am not like one of these great men.  Are we limiting God in our life?  Are we saying God has changed and will not be active like this in our life?  Is it possible we are just coasting along and happy with a lukewarm walk this God?

God does not change, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  What are we to do to see the hand of God in our life?  We have been given all things (wisdom and Knowledge) in Christ.  We have been given many great and precious promises in His word.  I will never leave you or forsake you.  I seek to prosper you, not to harm you. Cast your burdens on Me and I will give you rest. I gave my only Son to redeem you.  I will be your rock, fortress, refuge, strength, courage, hope, joy, peace, and rest.  I am God and there is no other.  I created you.  I created all there is in heaven and earth.  I know the cattle on a thousand hills and the hairs on your head.  A sparrow does not fall to the ground without Me knowing.  I am the Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end. I love you with steadfast love. I will create a new heaven and earth.  I create a home for you. I can do more than you ask and much more than you can imagine. I am just. I chose you before creation to be with Me.  I am retiring to my Father so that where I am you may be also.  I stand at the door and knock and everyone who opens that door will be with me.  I will lead and guide you.  I am the bread of life.  I am the living water.

If we would just have faith the size of a muster seed we would see great and powerful things of God in our life.  We would not walk with lukewarm hearts and minds but with seeing hot desire to humbly serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, and obey Him.  Maybe then we would see the wisdom and knowledge of God permeate our lives.

God, please forgive my lack of faith in your power, strength, and love for me.

81. That he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart,

Judges 2:20  Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.”

Exodus 24:3-8     Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.”

Deuteronomy 29:10-13    “You are standing today, all of you, before the LORD your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel,  your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,  so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the LORD your God, which the LORD your God is making with you today,  that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Deuteronomy 8:2    And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

What is it that would test your heart, mind, and soul for God?  What is it that you keep or allow time in your heart that is not in line with honoring God?  How is a person to know if what is in their heart is pure and not just head nod words without commitment, fruit, action?  Serving God, living for Jesus, and being filled with the Holy Spirit comes from a heart and soul that has been opened to the word of God and has intentionally chosen a life of obedience and reliance.   Staying in His word each day gives our heart and mind foundational reinforcement (everlasting food) and confidence in Jesus today with hope for tomorrow.  When our heart, mind, and soul are not nourished with the word of God what is it that fills that void?  Could it be job recognition, coveted lifestyle and all that goes with it, more money, more stuff, busyness, sports, work, family, friends, and anything else that can occupy time alone with God’s word (commitment), being attentive to what it is saying to your heart (seeking/listening), and being willing to humbly act in line with His word (obedience).  Time away from His word allows our heart, mind, and soul to be filled with that which does not honor and glorify God.

80. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

Judges 2:6   After Joshua had dismissed the Israelites, they went to take possession of the land, each to their own inheritance. The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel.  Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.  After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the Lord gave them into the hands of raiders who plundered them. He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress.  Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

In one generation God was forgotten and what He had commanded was discarded. How can this happen?  How can a generation of believers and followers be succeeded by a generation that does not know God or what He had done for them?  If you laid out a plan for this to happen what would absolutely need to happen to be successful.

Get people comfortable with life by giving them prosperity and ease of life.  Introduce some other thoughts and religions into their culture so that they question what and who to worship.  Erode away the truth of God by tolerating complacency and neglect in your life. Do not think or speak of what God has done in the past, nor look for His hand in your life today.  Do not speak of God’s warnings. Do not speak of sin. Do not speak of God’s promises.

There is a reason we are told to faithfully walk with Jesus Christ.  There is a reason we are to meditate on His word when we wake, throughout the day, and when we lie down at night.  There is a reason we are to speak of His awesome deeds and wonders.  There is a reason we are to place His word around out neck and over our doorposts.  There is a reason we are to seek and desire to know Him more and more each day.  There is a reason we are to be faithful in humble service, reliance, and obedience to Him.

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.

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.

75. And 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 Aijalon.” And 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.

Job 9:7  who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars;

Psalms 74:16  Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

Isaiah 28:21  For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim; as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused; to do his deed—strange is his deed! and to work his work—alien is his work!

Habakkuk 2:20  But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.”

Zechariah 2:13  Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

It is hard to try to understand how the Sun and moon could stand still for about a whole day.  Likewise, it is hard to understand how God created heaven and earth, light and darkness, man, animals, plants, and everything else that was created.  Our minds do not have the capacity to understand the vastness of God or what He can do.  Scripture says He can do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.  Who can imagine the 8 plagues He caused on Egypt, the host of miracles performed in the wilderness, and the numerous works, deeds, and wonders of Jesus Christ?  All of these are beyond our knowledge but not our believing.  With our heart and mind and soul, we trust in God and believe He is able, sovereign, all-powerful, mighty, and awesome, capable to do more than our limited understanding.  It is good to rest in His awesome unlimited love and power.  In Him, we find peace, rest, comfort, hope, and purpose.  

 

Do not limit what God is capable of doing by your lack of belief.