March 31 - Judges 1:1-3:30

Good morning everyone,

My goodness, another new book. We are rockin’ this ‘Year Through the Bible’. I am most impressed and totally blessed by how many of you are going on this journey with me. Are you feeling God’s blessing on you? It is ever so subtle but it is amazing how my walk with the Lord is feeling more … I think, “colored in” kind of describes it, more full. Definitely more intimate. I love it! 

So, here we go, the Book of Judges, although the author is unknown is thought to be written, at least in part, by Samuel. Israel, having failed to obey God’s instructions to drive out all the inhabitants of the land will readily attach themselves to Canaan’s people, social life, morals (or lack of) and over and over again fall victims of the false gods. It is in these times of crisis that they will cry out for help and God will send in a judge to save them out of the hands of the raiders. 

The judges in this book are not the kind that would first pop into your mind when you see the word “judge”. They did not sit behind a big desk in a black robe and preside over a trial. No, they are more like a collection of hand picked super heroes. Twelve men and one woman will over the course of 400 years ride in and save the day when the Israelites, time after time become enslaved to the sinful ways of the land. 

Judges chapter one basically is a recap of where the book of Joshua left off. In chapter two we see another Christophany. The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and essentially called them out, wanting to know why they had disobeyed Him. He also told them He would not drive the people out of the land for them and these people would be thorns in Israel’s side. They were told straight up the gods would ensnare them and so Israel then offered sacrifices and wept. Though their sorrow would not last for long as we see in chapter three Israel has forgotten about God and were serving Baal and the Asherah poles.

Ahh, but God wants nothing more than for us to love Him and serve Him. Over the years I have gone to many Harvest Crusades put on by Harvest Ministries and Pastor Greg Laurie. The crusades are free and held in huge venues such as Angel Stadium in Anaheim with the sole intention of spreading God’s Word and winning hearts to the kingdom of heaven. I have seen literally thousands and thousands of people over the years walk down on the field from several stories up, with tears in their eyes acknowledging their need for God pledging their allegiance to Him. Every single one of them absolutely wanting to change their lives for Christ, believing they will, knowing they have God there to guide them and help them but … but … but, then many of them put themselves right back in the same ole routine of their old world. Worshiping the same gods as they did before they went to the crusade, the god of money, or exercise or sport or sleep or  _____, fill in the blank, not wanting to drive out the gods of the old land themselves, expecting God to do it all. Friends, we have got to put forth an effort if we want to be close to God. If we want to experience the fullness of the joyful life He has for us we have got to toss the old ways aside and make room for Jesus. It is not enough to go to church once a week only to watch hours and hours television filled with promiscuity, back biting, vulgar language and so many other worldly influences which will cause God to ask, “Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?”  I would encourage you to take a look at your life and the gods you may be enslaved to, then toss them aside and choose Christ, so that you may live. The rewards are well worth the effort.

I pray you have a great day to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 30 - Joshua 22:1-24:33

Good morning everyone,

In our reading today we will finish up the book of Joshua, which while one of my favorite books anyway, was especially fun for me this year. God showed me many new things as day to day the characters came to life on the pages. It is my hope you too enjoyed the story and look forward to Judges as much as I do; but I am getting ahead of myself, we have a few chapters to finish up first.

We will begin this morning with Joshua summoning the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh to commend them for being as good as their word and not deserting their fellow Israelites in battle and to let them know they can go home to their families on the other side of the river. Joshua does give them a reminder to, vs. 5 “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 

While on the way home the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh had apparently been doing some thinking and allowed a little bit of paranoia to enter their heads. Afraid that future generations may forget that those on the east and west side of the river were on the same team they built a replica of the stone alter, certainly not for burnt offerings but
to be a witness for generations that follow. In chapter 24:28, we read that when Joshua puts up a large stone he too called the stone to be a witness against them if they are untrue to God. “What!?” You’re saying, “A rock a witness?” I know … right! That stopped me in my reading for a moment but then I remembered that in Luke when the Pharisees wanted Jesus to make His disciples be quiet Jesus said said to them “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  Even the stones will cry out! Thought I have never seen one do so, I am pretty confident stones can talk. So, now when you are out walking and you happen upon someone chatting it up with a rock you won’t look at them in quite the same way as you did last week, right?

Now, when the Israelites first heard about the alter they reacted in a way that is a perfect picture of how we as Christians should NOT behave. We’re told 22:11-12. “And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.” What does that break down to? They “heard”, listened to gossip, formed an opinion and then got angry and attacked on that opinion. That is always how the enemy will try to divide us. What can start off as an enthusiastic “hey did you see?” can explode into an out and out fabrication with just a few passings of the rumor. May I suggest that first, off don’t listen to rumors, if it is not kind, not edifying we should not be listening to it; also, know that what you are acting on is the truth, and the context is accurate. This can avoid a lot of hurt feelings and embarrassment. Make sense?

Just one other thing today, I find myself wondering why would you want to be like the tribe of Reuben, Gad or the half tribe of Manasseh? Now matter how lush the grazing fields, how prosperous the town, how much better the economy, why would you want to separate yourself from the body of Christians on the other side of the river? Why would you want to settle for “almost” instead of going the extra preverbal mile and having all God wanted to bless you with? Being so far on the outside of the main body will prove to be disastrous for Rueben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. They will, indeed allow the gods of the world to infiltrate their lives, devoting less and less time to God in heaven. When we get to 1 Chronicles 5 we’ll read how because they were unfaithful, God allows the Assyrians come in, overtake them, then march them out of the city in a most humiliating way. 

Over and over and over again we read to “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” God loves you. He LOVES us! God does not lie, so it is because He loves us that He makes us aware of consequence of choice. Be mindful of what “gods” you are allowing to infiltrate your lives. Surround yourself with like minded people and be in God’s loving and dependable Word. That is the best place ever to be! Amen?

I pray you have a great day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …

March 29 - Joshua 19:49-21:45 | 1 Chronicles 6:54-81

Good morning everyone,

Today we begin our reading with Joshua finally receiving his allotment of the Promised Land. As a great leader would, Joshua waited until everyone else had been assigned their portion and were settling in before he claimed the land he wanted,Timnath Serah, which situated on the northern slope in the hill country of Ephraim. Joshua rebuilt the town and would in years to come, be buried there.

Chapter 20 lists the six cities of refuge. You’ll remember a city of refuge is a city designated to protect a person, who accidentally killed another person, from revenge being taken on them.They could flee from their home to these cities and safely live until they could receive a fair trial, however if they went outside the city once they got there, the city could do nothing to protect them from the avenger of blood. Just a few things about these cities; 1) They were strategically located so that anyone could easily get to them. The land was only about the size of Maryland, so nobody was ever too far away. 2) The gates of the city were never locked. 3)The city was to be well stocked providing not only safety but food and shelter as well. 4) Once you were to the city you stayed at the city, even if found innocent of murder it was still manslaughter and you were there for life. 

Oh my gosh, for a moment would you please just stop and ask your minds eye to give you an image of what this might look like? In “our world” as you walked down the main street this is what you may see; Over there, a heavy set, tattooed, bearded biker working on his hog. Across the street, there’s a kid with dark skin, hoodie up, smoking a cigarette, earbuds in, walking with swag. Just down the walk from him is a guy in a business suit and shiny loafers, leaning against a lamp post, nervously tapping his toe while texting back and forth with someone and then take a look at that skinny kid over there, looking very anxious, shaking his head mumbling “it was just an accident” as a tear rolls down his face. The point is, this melting pot of a town with streets of dirt and dust floating in the air, more of an open market place atmosphere, I imagine, had the same sort of people as we would see today, all sorts of people waiting and wondering what their future held for them, while standing on street corners, hanging out, trying to stay busy in their new life as a fugitive. They would not have a lot, if any, family there, so while it would be much better than the death sentence awaiting them outside the gates, I rather imagine it would be a very lonely and intimidating place.

As believers in Jesus Christ the only running we have to do is to the cross. Psalm 18:2 says “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” How do we run to Him? By clinging to the hope God has promised us. Hebrews 6:18 says “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.” Don’t let the words “promised, oath and it is impossible for God to lie” go unnoticed. Crazy important words to live by! It is God’s assurance that Jesus Christ is your Hope. He is my Hope. He is the Hope for all who will but seek His face. Right!? Many a time at CCM I heard, “God said it, I believe it and that settles it!” I echo those words today. Amen?!

I pray you all have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless everyone …

March 28 - Joshua18:1-19:48

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading today, most of the fighting is behind Joshua and the troops of Israel and it seemed like a good time to move the tabernacle from Gilgal to a more central location at Shiloh, a walled city in the Ephraimite hill country, where it would remain until King David moved it to Jerusalem several hundred years later. 

In 18:2 we read that there were seven tribes that had not yet taken possession of their land and Joshua asks them, what’s up with that? Then gave them instructions for getting out there to, survey the land, map it out and bring back a written report so the property cold be divided.
Personally, I am not quite sure what they were thinking. After forty some years of wandering I would be more than ready to find the land God picked out just for me and set up house. Right?
Get the garden going, the kitchen in order, lay a few rugs down, put up a few preserves, find a church family, settle in. I would not have to wait around for an invitation or be asked twice.

There are so many Christians in the world today that are like those seven tribes; they float around, they don’t want to commit to one church, if any church at all, believing there is always time to jump in, later in life, when there is nothing else better going on. When “they’re older”. Worse yet, some do attend a church regularly but churches that are flimsy in their doctrine and their beliefs. These churches allow their congregations to sail through life much like a balloon floats through sky, they have no Rock and are prepared to accept what feels good, or is popular or is “easy” as their religion. They have lost sight of theTruth and probably wouldn’t recognize it even if they did see it. They pick and choose from the Bible what they want to live by and toss the rest aside. My heart hurts for these people who are embracing the lies the devil is handing them. I sometimes feel at a loss in a world full of people who do not want to be saved. I absolutely cringe when I read someone posting words such as “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say, sorry. I mean I would rather go to the other place”. They have not the slightest clue of how real, how repulsive and pungent, how forever, hell is. It makes me shiver! 

James 4:2 says “You do not have because you do not ask God.” Our God is a God of miracles. Our God is bigger than we could ever begin to wrap our heads around. Our God can reach those we love who are still not saved and change their hearts so we need to have hope and continue to pray for them. C.H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying, “Whether we like it or not, asking is the rule of the Kingdom. If you may have everything by asking in His Name, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is.”

So today I ask that you join me in this prayer: Oh Father God, I pray that you would bring a revival to our great nation. That you would send the Holy Spirit to burst down on us with the same mighty wind and unrestrained power Luke wrote about in Acts. I pray God that you’d create a spiritual hunger in your people and draw them to be zealous for you. I pray for eyes to be opened, knees to be bent and hearts humbly given over to you, but above all else, God in heaven, my Abba, I pray Your that will be done and we will give You all glory, honor and praise. Amen.

I pray you have a really good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 27 - Joshua 15:20-17:18

Good morning everyone,

Before we get started on today’s scripture I want to take a brief look at where we finished off yesterday. 15:13-19 Caleb offered the hand of his daughter, Acsah, in marriage to the one who would attack and capture the town Debir, which means “sanctuary”, (formerly called Kiriath-sepher which means “city of books”.) It was Caleb’s own nephew Othniel, who later will become the first judge after the death of Joshua, that took the challenge to heart, conquered the city, winning the hand of the fair maiden, Acsah, who then asked her father for a wedding present. She wished to receive a field in the Negev, which he promptly bestowed upon her, however, she was not satisfied with the portion her father gave her, and as she was proceeding toward her new home, she jumped down off her donkey and boldly asked for further blessing, a second gift, springs of water. What father could resist the pleading look in the eyes of his daughter? So it was that Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs. 

Chapters 16 and 17 describe the inheritance Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh were to receive. With both tribes we read that “they did not drive out” the people of the land. Totally disobeying what God had specifically told them to do. Why is this important? By failing to remove all of the pagan people and their gods, the infestation will once again grow which will prove to cause many problems for the nation Israel. 

Why is it so difficult to obey God? In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. We should not be obeying God because we have to. When you love someone the way we should love our God you will, I will, we all will want to do all that we possibly can to please God, to make Him smile, to give Him glory and honor. If we love God, we will obey Him, not always and not perfectly, but that will be our desire our hearts and our lives will reflect that and we will tell others about Him. Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.”

When I was researching this morning I came upon a story that immediately brought to mind a “share” my life group leader had last night; how we never know when God will call us home and are we doing all we can to spread God’s Word and change lives. If you will but plant the seeds, God will help them grow. I don’t normally do this, but today I am going to leave you with that story. Hopefully it will encourage all of us to be more obedient when God calls us to plant seeds asking the question “Do ‘oo love Jesus?” 

Do You Love Jesus 
by J. Vaughan, M.A. 

A long time ago, a gentleman, a young man, was traveling in a coach, and opposite to him there sat a lady, and the lady had a very little girl on her lap, a very sweet pretty little girl. This young man was very much pleased with the little girl: he played with her, took great notice of her, he lent her his penknife to play with; and he sang to her, and he told her little stories; he liked her so exceedingly. When the coach arrived at the hotel where they were to stop, this little girl put her face close to the young man's, and said, "Does 'oo love Jesus?" The young man could not catch it, and so he asked, "What do you say, my dear?" She said again, "Does 'oo love Jesus?" He blushed, and went out of the coach, but he could not forget the question. There was a large party to dinner, but he could hear nothing but, "Does 'oo love Jesus?" After dinner, he went to play billiards, and while playing he could not forget it "Does 'oo love Jesus?" He went to bed, uncomfortable in his mind. When on his bed at night, in his wakeful moments and in his dreams, he could only hear the same question, "Does 'oo love Jesus?" The next day he had to meet a lady by appointment, he was still thinking about it, he could not forget it, but spoke a little out loud, and when the young lady came in, he said, "Does 'oo love Jesus?" She said, "What are you talking about?" He said, "I forgot you were present. I was saying what a very little girl said to me yesterday, 'Does 'oo love Jesus?'" She said, "What did you say to her?" He replied, "I said nothing. I did not know what to say." So it went on. Five years afterwards, that gentleman was walking, I think it was through the city of Bath. As he was going along the streets, he saw at the window the very lady who had had the little girl on her lap. Seeing her, he could not help ringing the bell, and asked if he might speak to her. He introduced himself to her thus: "I am the gentleman you will remember, perhaps, who travelled with you in a coach some years since." She said, "I remember it quite well." He said, "Do you remember your little girl asking me a question?" She said, "I do, and I remember how confused you were about it." He said, "May I see that little girl?" The lady looked out of the window, she was crying. He said, "What! what! is she dead?" "Yes, yes," was the reply. "She is in heaven. But come with me, and I will show you her room. I will show you all her treasures." And the gentleman went into the room, and there he saw her Bible, and a great many prize books, very prettily bound; and he saw all her childish playthings, and the lady said, "That is all that is now left of my sweet Lettie." And the gentleman replied, "No, madam, that is not all that is left of her. I am left. I am left. I owe my soul to her. I was a wicked man when I first saw her, and I was living among other wicked people, and living a very bad life. But she said those words to me, and I never forgot them. And since that time I am quite changed. I am not the man I was. I am now God's. I can answer that question now. Don't say that all of little Lettie is gone." And now I say to you, and to everybody in this church, "Does 'oo love Jesus?” 

I pray you have a great day to God be the glory. 

God bless you all…

March 26 - Joshua 12:7-15:19

Good morning everyone,

We begin our reading this morning with a detailed list of the kings and the land Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the west side of the Jordan River. The boundaries are more largely described consisting of plains and springs to water them, forests, and wilderness, the different types of land prove to have something for everyone, a delightful balance beautiful and bountiful. God had kept his promise to the faithful. For the next couple of days in chapters 13-19 we will be reading on the breakdowns of the Promised Land, how that will look to each tribe.

Today we read in chapter 13 that Joshua had grown old, “very old” according to the Lord, and there were still large areas of land to be taken over. Now, you may be remembering from chapter 11:23 where we read that Joshua had taken the whole land and that the land then rested from war, and be thinking … what?! But I assure you, it is not a contradiction. The main battle was over and it was then up to the individual tribes to “clean up”, so to speak, their own areas. It is like when firefighters go in to put out a huge forest fire. While they will contain it, knock all the flames down, completely extinguish it, there can still be what’s known as “hot spots”, embers that have scattered in the process, that need to be addressed or they too can rekindle into another fire and the battle would begin all over. The tribes, by God’s deliverance, had secured victory, now they just needed to clean house of what had scattered in their own individual plots.

Sound familiar? When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts to be our personal Savior we too have victory in Jesus, 2 Corinthians 5:17 assures us that “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” We have won the war but there are still pockets of resistance in our soul that the enemy searches for. Why? Because he knows we find them comfortable and too often even enjoyable, for some crazy reason, to us humans, sin is appealing. I shake my head at that, but it’s true.  The enemy delights in rekindling these, hot spots into a roaring fires of sin that he hopes to devour me, to devour you, to all of us with. Make no mistake, the devil roams about all of the earth searching for someone to attack then he will greedily gobble up and gorge himself on those who are not sober and alert . (1Peter 5:8 totally paraphrased) How can we protect ourselves? With God’s armor of course. Ephesians 6:10-17 gives us a full description of that armor and how it is used an then we are to pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. Talk to God, always have an open line of communication with Him. Though we know the end of the story, our prayer is essential in the ongoing warfare with the enemy. 

As I write this I am reminded of an old hymn we sang often at the church I attended in Ridgecrest, CA. I can still see my then pastor, a dear man, with Bible in hand keeping tune to the chorus, “O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood; He loved me ere I knew Him And all my love is due Him, He plunged me to victory, Beneath the cleansing flood.” Our God is an awesome God! ~ Amen?!

I pray you have an amazing day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 25 - Joshua 10:1-12:6

Good morning everyone,

Today as we begin our reading, Adoni-Zedek the king of Jerusalem has heard a train a comin’ down the track; this train’s name … Israel. He’d discovered that Gibeon, an already powerful city, had worked an agreement with Joshua and alarmed by this, sent word to four of the neighboring kings to come up and help him attack Gibeon. Of course the Gibeonites sent to Joshua for help and with the Lord’s blessing Joshua marched his groups on an all-nighter to take them by surprise. The Lord threw the five king’s soldiers into a state of confusion allowing Joshua and his army a complete victory. Thus begins Joshua’s march to take over the whole land, devouring kingdom by kingdom.

Now some may read these chapters and wonder, “How is it that a God who says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’” equips the army of Israel to, kingdom by kingdom, attack and completely conquer, leaving no one alive; after all God did create them too, right? - I think to completely “get” what’s going on here we first have to always remember God’s plan is SO much bigger than ours. He sees all; thousands of years of the past and all of eternity while we can only see a very small time frame. Also, we need to remember that the Canaanites and other tribes in the land were ugly wicked people. They practiced child sacrifice, incest, bestiality, and other behaviors that you, that me, that almost everyone in history, including today, rightly regard as unspeakably, grossly immoral, sick (not the good kind) behavior. So, much the same as when God used Noah and the flood, after giving them 400 years to repent God knew these folks were not going to turn from their evil ways and it is with the army of Israel that the Lord swept through the land and cleaned house. 

I would be remiss if I did not mention Joshua’s prayer to the Lord, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon”, to allow him extra daylight to finish the task. Vs.13 reads, “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” First off … how awesome is that? I seriously want that much faith. Anyway, the book of Jashar is also mentioned in 2 Samuel and though unavailable to us, was a book well known to the people of those days. God saw fit to use this reference so we can believe it is true. 

While we all know that it is not the sun that moves, we can also know, without any doubt, by whatever miracle God chose to accomplish the task, on that day time stood still. We read in  Habakkuk 3:11 “Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. When we get to 2 Kings 20:11 we will read that at the request of Hezekiah, Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. 

Joshua and Hezekiah both made colossal requests of the Lord, and God answered their prayers. The sun, moon, and stars obey the Creator who placed them in the sky by the power of His word. I ask you, if your God, our God can turn back time is there anything that He can not do for us? Matthew 19:26 “Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” All things are possible through God, great promise!! Mark 9:23 "Everything is possible for one who believes.” All we have to do is ask in faith and His will will be done. God loves us, He is always there for us and so much bigger than the box we tend to keep Him in.

Psalm 147:5 How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! Amen?

I pray you all have a good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all 

March 24 - Joshua7:1 | 1 Chronicles 2:7 | Joshua 7:2-9:27

Good morning everyone,

This morning we begin our reading with the words “but the Israelites were unfaithful”. Now that’s never a good. You will remember yesterday in chapter six the Israelites were told not to take any of the plunder for themselves; well, Achan was weak that day and made a poor choice. Instead of obeying the Lord he pocketed some of the loot. That did not bode well with the God.

So now, without any knowledge of Achan’s sin Joshua sent about 3000 men to attack Ai. Sadly Joshua had made that decision without consulting the Lord and they suffered a terrible defeat. Too often, especially when the task seems small, we rely on our own strength to complete it. Perhaps if Joshua had thought to consult God things would have gone differently. Only God knows what the future holds for us, so even when “life is good” we should be seeking His guidance. Had Joshua spoken to God, Achan could have been dealt with before the battle, resulting in a totally different outcome. 

Nonetheless, Joshua has found out the hard way that God was not happy with the disobedience of Israel and is assigned with the task of finding out who exactly the guilty person is. By process of elimination, they will examine all the tribes, clans, families and then men until the thief is exposed. Imagine, for a moment if you will, everyone standing around; they are confused by the seeming abandonment of the Lord and now they find out that one of their own people has brought this judgement down on them. They are looking around from person to person with the question in their eyes, “did you do this?” Now, let’s imagine the relief you’d experience when you find out your family is in the clear, and then if you can, imagine the fear, probably terror Achan must have been feeling as the suspect pool grew smaller and smaller. Finally the spotlight falls on him, he’s busted and as a consequence of choice he and all that belonged to him would be stoned then burned. 

To some that may seem harsh, but Achan’s sin was more than just indifference to evil, more than just greed for riches. Achan’s sin was in disobeying God’s direct order, in blatantly disregarding God’s command. Oh sure, Achan was probably a very good man; I can hear it now, “Achan? We go to church together. Wonderful guy, always there to help, would never hurt anyone.” How easily, though, Achan was distracted and gave in, when he thought no one was looking, by the bangles the enemy dangled before him. God does not want a “part time” Christian, it is not okay to pick and choose when we will obey. Matthew 12:30 says “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Again in Luke 11:23 says “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” God wants us “with Him” all of the time. All the time! God has commanded us to eliminate false gods from our lives. That is to say any thoughts, practices or possessions that hinder our obedience and devotion to Him. 

When we obey God’s word we choose life, to disobey is to choose death, passing that sentence, either way, along to our families. Ultimately everyone is responsible for their own decision for Christ but the example of peace and light and speaking God’s truth to your children while they are young, starts them out on the right path. 

Let your’s be the prayer of David in Psalm 25:4-7 “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me,for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord.”

I pray you have a wonderful day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 23 - Joshua 3:1-6:27

Good morning everyone,

Today’s reading is nothing short of amazing! I encourage you to get your minds eye working because the events  that we read about today are filled with visuals and even audios if you are willing to go there. So, as we begin it is a long awaited, thrilling day for the tribes of Israel. Imagine the excitement in the air, adults and children alike giddy with the anticipation of finally being abel to cross the Jordan into the land of milk and honey, but I am getting ahead of myself. (I am a little excited for them:-) ) Joshua goes through the camp and told everyone they had three days to get ready to go, when they saw the priests carrying the ark of the covenant to fall in line behind them but they were to keep a distance of 2000 cubits (about 3/5 of a mile) between them.

Now the priests were to be the first to set foot in the Jordan and when they did, we’re told vs. 13 “it’s waters will be cut off and stand up in a heap”, then they were to remain there until everyone had crossed over. The 40,000 armed fighting men, along with the women, children, priests and elderly would mean there were at least 2.5 million people shuffling across the river. To put things in perspective, Century Link Field, where the Seahawks play football, holds 67,000 people, you could fill the stadium 37 times and still have folks standing outside. Oh and about the Jordan … no one can say exactly how deep and wide it was on that day the Israelites crossed but we’re told it was at flood stage and so it is estimated to have been up to a mile wide, probably twelve-ish feet deep and very swift. Now you may be thinking “they’d seen that before”, but not these kids, they’d only heard the story of the Red Sea, now they too get a look at a wall of water. Awesome!! 

The People made camp at Gilgal, just east of Jericho where Joshua piled the twelve stones from the river, telling the Israelites that in the future when their descendants ask about the stones, tell them the story. Then God asks Joshua to make flint knives and reestablish the covenant ceremonies, that is to say the men because they had not been circumcised while in the desert would all have to be, and then on the evening of the fourteenth day the Israelites celebrated the Passover, ate from the land and the manna stopped.

In 5:13 Joshua while out, probably praying, and sizing up the enemy, experiences a Christophany, an Old Testament appearance of Jesus Christ. Joshua looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand who identified himself as the commander of the Lord’s army and asked Joshua to “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” 

In chapter 6 Joshua gets his marching instructions and carries them out. There is so very much  to ponder on, to realize when reading of how the “ great wall of Jericho” came down. I mean after all this was not your run of the mill 6 foot high wobbly, chain link or cedar plank fence. It was even a bit more challenging than an 8 foot cinder block wall. 

TheBiblenet.org Says “ Now the city of Jericho was built upon a large mound of earth surrounded by an embankment with a stone retaining wall at its base. On top of this 12-15 foot high retaining wall was another mud brick wall that was 6 foot thick and about 25 feet tall. Also, at the crest of this embankment was another similarly sized wall whose base was about 45 feet above the ground level outside the retaining wall. So if you were standing in front of the retaining wall, it would appear to you that the wall was over 70 feet tall.” 

Arguably the best protected city in all of Canaan;  the soldiers must have thought that to be an immovable wall having an “Oh! No!! We’re going to die.” moment. It took incredible faith to carry out the instructions of the Lord with no explanation of when or how. 

So I ask, have you come up against a large, unmovable wall in your life? Are you standing there thinking about how there is no way to overcome this obstacle? By yourself there is not, but look up. See the Commander of the Lord’s Army standing there with His sword drawn and his legions of warriors eager to go to battle for you!  Put your faith in Jesus.

Don’t get caught up with how God is going to do it, just have faith that He will. 

I pray you all have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you …

March 22 - Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12 | Joshua 1:1-2:24

Good morning everyone,

This morning we conclude the book of Deuteronomy thus ending the Tora. Moses blesses the tribes then goes up to Mount Nebo, climbed Pisgah Peak, where he died. It is worth noting that the Lord himself buried Moses and no one knows the exact place. It is also worth noting that when we get to Jude 9 we will read that the devil was fighting with the archangel Michael for the body of Moses. It begs the question, why? Some commentators believe it’s because Moses will be one of the two witnesses in Revelation 11 preaching the truth, trying to reach the hearts of those left behind. Curious!

We read in vs. 10 “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face”. Moses was the only person who ever spoke with God face to face, he was called Israel’s greatest prophet. Moses was a man who, when God called upon him, did not want to be sent to Egypt. He told God “ I am not very good with words. I never have been and I am not now”, and yet God equipped him with self confidence, and the words to lead a nation out of bondage and prepare them for the Promised Land. Moses understood that any greatness that he knew or achieved was because of God and through all of his success Moses remained humbled. Moses loved and respected God. God was Moses’ best friend.

Here begins the book of Joshua. You’ll remember that Joshua was one of only two adults from the first generation of Israelites to enter the Promised Land. He was known for his deep trust in God and as we read in Num. 27:18 “a man in whom is the spirit”. Only Joshua was allowed to accompany Moses up to the holy mountain where the tablets with the Ten Commandments were received. Joshua will prove to be a good military strategist in the battles that follow and an equally good leader for the tribes of Israel. 

In Joshua 1 the people are camped on the east bank of the Jordan, they have completed the thirty day mourning period for the death of Moses, now it is time to prepare to cross the river. As qualified and as geared up as Joshua was for the task, with and through God, on some level, I can’t help but feel he has got to be questioning himself, wondering “ Am I really ready for this?” I do believe I would be wondering that … you? But I love how God is right there to encourage vs. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead”. vs.7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey” vs. 9, now a command, “be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” How awesome is that!? God told Joshua , “You’re the one for the job, obey all the rules, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” I am pretty sure that would settle any “rookie” nerves.

In chapter 2 we see that Joshua sent out two spies to gather information and what better place then the house of a prostitute, right? Let’s face it, she would see a lot of people and hear a lot of “stuff”, but also God knew Rahab’s heart would be open to Him. It is a beautiful picture of how even what most would consider the lowliest of people, God will use to accomplish His perfect plan and …. and how we never have to let our past hold us captive. When we choose Jesus we shed that old life like a snake sheds it’s skin. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” That’s what I’m talkin’ about :-) Our God is an awesome God!!

I pray you have an amazing day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 21 - Deuteronomy 31:30-32:52 | Psalm 90

Good morning everyone,

This morning we begin our reading with a song God asked Moses to write for the Israelites. God knew that His precious children were going to fall prey to the temptations, idols and false gods of the people dwelling in the land they were to take possession of, the Promised Land so He said to Moses “ There’s one more thing I want you to do, write down this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them.” So Moses did, he wrote down the song God had for him that day and taught it to the Israelites. He had already written down the entire book of Deuteronomy that was to be read aloud every seven years so the people would not forget but here God is making it so much easier for the people to remember. Seriously, think about how easy it is for you, for us to remember song lyrics. I see an ad for Flintstone vitamins and I immediately start singing, “Flintstones. meet the Flintsones, their a modern stone age fam-il-eeee. From the town of Bedrock … well you get the picture. My brother and nephew are all the time putting one line from a random song up on Facebook and the other will almost immediately follow with the next line or chorus. Songs stay with us forever, and so it was, God had Moses put into song the brief history of Israel, reminding the people of their mistakes, warning them to avoid repeating those mistakes and offering hope that comes only by trusting God.

That same day the Lord told Moses to climb Mount Nebo where he could take a last look at the land he would not enter and then he would die there, joining his ancestors. Not once do we read that Moses was angry or bitter because he would not get to set foot in the Promised Land. He was not vengeful or ever unwilling to complete any task God asked him to do. He knew he had dishonored God, betrayed Him with the Israelites at the waters of Meribah, in the wilderness of Zin and therefore accepted the consequence of that choice. Moses was 120 years old when he died and what a full life He lived.

We also read today Psalm 90, the oldest Psalm in the Bible and the only Psalm that Moses wrote. A prayer to God to have compassion on His people, a plea that He will show them His love, give them cause for joy and continue to bless them. To me it paints a picture of how huge and forever our God is and how we, as humans, mere mortals, are not. The short time we have on earth is but a blip on a radar screen compared to the eternity we will spend in heaven. While here, we should be making every moment count, living our lives for the day we’ll go through those pearly gates to our heavenly home, where our Lord will say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Amen?

I pray you have a truly wonderful day and to God be the Glory.

God bless you all …

March 20 - Deuteronomy 29:2-31:29

Good morning everyone,

As we read chapter 29 this morning, we were reminded of how God has taken such good care of His children, the Israelites, who are so dear to His heart; how he has shown them miraculous signs and wonders over the last forty years, beginning with Pharaoh and the exodus all the way up to conquering the the lands of Hesbon and Bashan to give to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh. He clothed them with clothes and sandals that did not wear out, and food from heaven. Their every need was met but as the children of Israel were prone to do, the complained and murmured about it all. Over and over God reminds the Israelites that if they obey His commands they will prosper but …. but if they don’t disaster will fall upon them. 

It gave me pause to think of what we as parents go through with our own children. How from the time they are born we provide for them, guide them and do our best to encourage them preparing them for the time they will have to stand on their own, hoping that the choices they make will be smart ones. We will say to them things like,”don’t drink and drive”, “if you don’t do your homework you can not go out this weekend” or “if you don’t leave your sister alone you’ll go to your room” “if you eat your dinner you can have ice cream”, the point being there is always, whether good or bad a consequence of choice. Just as we want our kids to do well, God so wanted for His people to prosper, He totally wanted them to “get it” and not have to suffer the result of disobedience.

Chapter 30:19-20 says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.” This is the plea of every parent, “choose life” so that you may live. Oh my word! Can’t you just feel the love in His heart, see the desire in His eyes for His precious children, not just those that could hear that day but everyone for generations to follow, begging us to choose life, follow Jesus, know the truth the light and the way. He loves us! He wants us to know His peace, and receive the full measure of His blessings.

Then in chapter 31 says “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Is that a super great promise, or what!? I am here to tell you that the enemy thrives on fear. He will eat you up, piece by piece if you allow yourself to live in fear. There is NO fear in the Lord, God is all about faith, we are to embrace that faith and hang on to it with all our might especially when it does not make sense to us. God has a plan, His plan is perfect we just need to believe in it.

Oh just one more thing, in 31:29 it says The Lord gave the command to Joshua “Be strong and courageous” at first I thought “how awesome and how terrifying all at the same time it would be to have the Lord right there saying to your face “be strong and courageous”” it was then the Lord very clearly reminded me that He IS right there in front of me, in front of you, all of us hearing our every word, and direction our every move if only we would but listen and heed to Him. Be strong in the Lord! What a great promise and comfort to have. Amen?

I pray you have a great day today, to God our Abba Father be all the glory.

God bless you all …

March 19 - Deuteronomy 26:1-29:1

Good morning everyone,

This morning we begin our reading with the Israelites once more being instructed to, upon entering the promised land, express their gratitude to God for saving them and keeping them safe by giving Him the first fruits of the land. In addition they were to go to the priest in charge and verbally acknowledge how it was they were brought out of Egypt. I wonder, how often do we stop and express our gratitude to God for providing a way for us to the promised land? How often do we stop to realize all Jesus gave up when He moved out of heaven to dwell amongst us on earth; the pain and suffering He endured so that we may live. 

In chapter 27 we will read that when the Israelites crossed the Jordan they were to set up some large stones and cover them with plaster then they were to write the law on them. At Mount Ebal they were to build a simple alter from uncut stones:

Fun fact ~ In April of 1980, Adam Zertal, Ph.D, Prof. Of Archeology, Univ. of Haifa was doing a formal archaeological survey of the traditional lands of Manasseh at Mount Ebal and discovered a Hebrew Altar that dated to 1250 BC, which is believed to be the alter Joshua built. The article from www.bible.ca goes on to say:
In a discussion with Adam Zertal, he said that this archeological site has made a Bible believer out of him. Amen! Adam Zertal has undergone a transformation of faith that is truly remarkable. Like most of his fellow Israeli archeologists, he did not believe the Bible stories of the exodus to be true….After studying the structure for three years with no idea what is was used for, he suddenly realized that it was the site of Joshua's Altar. We agree with him and now he believes the Bible.
Is that amazing or what!?!

The instructions to the Israelites were to take half the tribes and go to the top of Mount Ebal while the others went to the top of Mount Gerizim, both were approximately 2000 ft. high with a valley between. Can you imagine the acoustics there. Go ahead, in your minds eye let yourself stand on the edge for just a moment and shout at the top of your lungs HELLO. Now close your eyes and hear it amplify off the walls of the canyon. Now imagine if you will these two sets of people, as the law was read the Israelites on Mount Ebal would say “Amen” to the curses while those on Mount Gerizim would affirm the blessings. What a life lesson for these people. Hearing the curses and the blessings reverberating would be over the top. When you walked down off that hill, there would be no question in your mind or your heart about God’s will for your life. 

In chapter 28 as Moses continues to prepare the people he tells them that if they do what the Lord tells them then they won’t have to go looking for blessings, they will come naturally. Oh how I love that God wants to bless us, He wants for us to succeed. God is dependable. He keep His promises. He doesn't lie. He doesn't change. He so loves us!

Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Amen?!

I pray you have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 18 - Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19

Good morning everyone,

Today we are going to read of a lot more “do’s and don’t’s” the Israelites were governed by, everything from what to do with a woman captured from the enemy camp one wanted to marry to how a man was to care for his brother’s widow. Some of the rules and laws just seem so “out there” to us, right? What we need to remember, though, is that these are Old Testament times, laws given to Jews who had previously been imprisoned as slaves knowing only the Egyptian way of doing things. People do not change over night or even over 40 years sometimes. There are certain things ingrained in us from the time we are born that we have to consciously work at to purge from our heads and behavior. Make sense?

Some of the Old Testament laws, the ones relating to sacrifices, were to show the Israelites how to worship God and atone for sin. While other laws were intended to make the Israelites distinct from other nations by the food they ate and the way they dressed. None of the Old Testament laws, and we read some really, oh shall we say different laws, are binding on us today. When Jesus died on the cross, He put an end to most of the Old Testament law, we are now under the law, the blood, of Christ. Matthew 22:37-39 says we are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind…and to love your neighbor as yourself” If we obey those two commands, we will be fulfilling all that Christ requires of us: vs. 40 “All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”

Now, this does not mean all Old Testament law is irrelevant today; the Ten Commandments, essentially a summary of the entire Old Testament law, serves to show us how to love God, what’s right and wrong behavior and know what goes into loving your neighbor. God’s commands for us are not burdensome, if we are loving God, we will not be worshipping false gods or bowing down before idols. If we are loving our neighbors, we will not be murdering them, lying to them, committing adultery against them, or coveting what belongs to them. The Old Testament law was never intended by God to be the universal law for all people for all of time. We are to love God and love our neighbors. If we obey those two commands faithfully, we will be upholding all that God requires of us. Right on?

I pray you have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 17 - Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9

Good morning everyone,

We begin reading this morning with Moses instructing the people to appoint fair and impartial  judges and officials for themselves. Knowing there would be situations that would require mediation. Then it went on to say, which I found super interesting, in 17:21 from my NIV “Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God” but in the KJV that I study out of that same verse reads,  “Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee.”, it got me to wondering, what are they talking about? Well, an Asherah pole was a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the pagan goddess Asherah, also known as Astarte the goddess of motherhood and fertility. While it is not real clear exactly what the carving on an Asherah pole looked like, it is clear that the ancient Israelites, after entering the land of Canaan, could be easily influenced by the pagan religion it represented. I think we will all agree that Asherah was a false God, right? It would also be safe to agree that a “grove” of asherah trees could look like a forest, right? Having said that, it’s not stretching the imagination too far to see that the forest is a mostly shaded area; oh there will be rays of sunlight breaking through the trees but by and large it is pretty shady in the forest. 

That got me to thinking, what forest of false gods do we saunter through every single day of our lives? What do we do first thing in the morning? Turn on the radio or the television where we are influenced by the “world’s” opinion? Maybe we have an exercise regime, laundry to throw into the washer then off to work we go, on with our day, clearly not idols in and of themselves, but certainly in the shade. Many head off to their jobs: ahhh, the work force which is a constant input of information and decision making, people rushing here and there, how hectic and busy it can be makes my head spin. For others it could be running after kiddos all day, or volunteering at a school, or nursing homes, there’s endless errands and chores. Some are students, with unending stacks of reading and homework; only to come home to making meals and cleaning up after all that is left in the wake of activity? By the time evening rolls around we are ready to bury ourselves in the television or a book or just veg on the internet and while all of this may not seem like a false god, they are all distractions that keep us from being with God. Make sense? The “forest” of false gods in an average day for anyone can be very shaded with little light coming in where the enemy, who is a very clever guy, is hiding everywhere in those shadows of false gods. It can cause our character and our actions to be contrary to what we say and believe if we let it. 1Peter 5:8 reminds us “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Proverbs 1:32 says For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them.”

I would encourage you to always be alert, to purpose to find the light shining in the forest of your life. Don’t let the doldrums in the forest of everyday living block out the brilliance of the Son that we so desperately need to keep us walking down the right path. Jesus said in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Friends, stay in the light, and keep your eyes on the prize.

I pray you have a surer great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

March 16 - Deuteronomy 13:1-16:17

Good morning everyone,

This morning we begin our reading with Moses warning the Israelites against false prophets who encourage the worship of false gods. Some speakers or “door to door-ers” can be pretty persuasive, twisting words from the Bible, using them out of context to try to convince you to worship other gods or convince you to buy into what their idea of life with god looks like is more accurate than what God himself tells us in the Bible. In 13:8-9 says “do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death.” Now, does this mean that when you see those nice young men in their black suits, with white shirts and black ties, carrying the book of Mormon, come walking up to your door that you run to get a butter knife to kill them? No, no, no. It means we are to put to death any time we are giving any such talk. We should never entertain talk of any other religious system, even from a friend or family member; when you do you are allowing a foothold for the enemy. Beware of the smooth talker who says all the “right” things for instead of leading you toward a deeper knowledge in God of the Bible they may be directing you toward a god that’s got nothing for you or maybe even themselves. I would encourage you to carefully test any ideas some one is feeding you against the truth of God’s word. See what the Bible has to say about it before you claim it for your life.

Chapter 14 begins with “Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead”, this was how the Canaanites would mourn their dead, it was a cult behavior. God clearly wanted the Israelites to have nothing to do with this form of worshiping the dead rather to focus on the living.

Also in chapter 14 we read about animals that were clean and unclean for eating. I personally love very clear “do’s and don’t’s”, they grey areas always get me waffling “should I??? shouldn’t I???” but it was abundantly clear what the Israelites should not eat and there were many reasons for it. One of the reasons being because the people were not to eat blood or animals they found dead, so nor could they eat the predatory animals who would do just that.

Running our of room here but I do want to touch for just a moment on tithing; the Bible makes it perfectly clear we are to tithe. We are to give back to God a portion of what He has allowed us. Not only that, but as we read today we are to care for all those less fortunate than ourselves. In a world where it seems like everyone is trying to get into your wallet, it is hard to know where to draw the line. It is easy to say “forget it” to everyone and just keep your money, but that is not what we are called to do. We are to give and give with a cheerful heart. It may not necessarily be money that you are to share, there are plenty of ways to give of your time and service so I would encourage you to pray about where God would have you help with your tithe, offerings or what ever else He has in mind for you to share and then be obedient to His direction. 

Have a super good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …