Week 13 Devotions

March 26 - - Have you ever said, or heard someone else say, “It’s time to let the younger generation take over”? We have been programmed to think that retirement is a right, not just from our labors in the work force, but also from our labors in the Lord. One would almost think it was an eleventh commandment that scripture somehow omitted. How refreshing it is to see the example of Caleb. Only he and Joshua believed that God would give His people victory over the giants living in the Land of Promise (Numbers 13:30; 14:6-9). Ten of the twelve spies sent into the land to assess the situation, walked by sight and thought it unwise to invade a land filled with a very imposing foe. But, Caleb and Joshua walked by faith in the God who is able to do, “exceedingly, abundantly above anything we ask or even imagine asking” (Ephesians 3:20). Consequently, Caleb and Joshua were the only two adults over the age of twenty to enter into the Promised Land forty years later. Joshua had been an awesome leader and a tremendous replacement for Moses. His faith in God and obedience to God, had served as an example and inspiration to an entire nation of people. With Joshua as their leader, Israel had conquered much of the land promised to them by God many generations earlier. But, there was still some pockets of Canaan needing to be conquered. And who is it that steps forward and says, “Here am I, Lord use me”, but Caleb. Caleb says, “I was forty years old when I was sent as a spy into Canaan. I am now eighty-five and as strong as I was back then. Even though the land is yet to be conquered, I am quite willing to go in and finish the job” (Joshua 14:10-12). And then, just like forty-five years earlier, Caleb puts his trust in the Lord. “If the Lord is with me, I will drive them out, just as the Lord has said.” If Caleb is our example, then there is no age at which we are allowed to kick back and enjoy our last years in the Lord. The spiritual gifts we have received from the Holy Spirit, and the opportunities afforded us by God are intended to be used in service to Him as long as we shall live. Not until God calls us home will we have the luxury of “retiring” from our labors here on earth. Until that time, “be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (I Corinthians 15:58). March 29 - - In his letter to Titus, the apostle Paul wrote, “This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to bring faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. This truth gives them the confidence of eternal life, which God promised them before the world began - - and He cannot lie” (Titus 1:1&2). It is impossible for God to lie. It simply is not within His nature to do so. “God is not a man that He should lie. He is not a human, that He should change His mind” (Numbers 23:19; see also I Samuel 15:29). The One who came to represent God in human flesh, said of himself, “I am the Way. I am the Truth. I am the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). How many times have we heard someone say, “If there are two things I can’t stand, it’s a liar and a thief”? No matter how committed to the core we may be about telling the truth, it’s amazing how we rationalize or justify the need to “stretch the truth” once in awhile to protect ourselves or someone else. God has gone on record with many hundreds of promises. All we need do is examine His record to know whether God is a truth-teller or not. And while there are some of God’s promises yet to be fulfilled, past experience would indicate that God will honor them in time, also. God had promised Abram that He would make from his family, a great nation of people (Genesis 12: 1-3) and the nation of Israel was God’s fulfillment to His promise. God had also promised to bring the nation of Israel out of Egypt, where it had resided for over 400 years (Exodus 3:16-18; 4:29-31) and God did. After the Israelites had conquered those residing in Canaan, and after the Israelites had divided up the land amongst the twelve tribes, and after the twelve tribes had each settled in their respective territory, the Bible reminds it’s readers: “And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as He had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. All of the good promises that the Lord had given Israel came true” (Joshua 21:44&45; 23:10,14). The good news for us today, is that God’s character has not changed. And we can be sure that the God who honored His promises to the Israelites, is the same God who will honor His promises to Christians.

Week 12 Devotions

March 19 - - “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 33:12). Israel was the first nation to find out that God isn’t just interested in blessing individuals, but in also blessing entire nations of people, IF they walk in obedience to Him. “The Lord has declared today that you are His people, His own special treasure, just as He promised, and that you must obey all His commands. And if you do, He will make you greater than any other nation. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as He promised” (Deuteronomy 26:18&19). The history of Israel shows us that God is true to His promise. When they obeyed God and did as He commanded, they were the greatest nation on the earth. As if to make sure they heard what He was promising them, that assurance is repeated over and over in scripture. “If you fully obey the Lord your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world.....The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!” (28:1,7). “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways, the Lord will establish you as His holy people as He solemnly promised to do. Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you” (28:9&10). “You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand” (28:12&13). But, IF they chose not to listen to God, their punishment would be just as severe.(28:15-68). “You will be cursed wherever you go, both in coming and in going” (28:19). “The Lord will cause you to be defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction, but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth” (28:25). “You will grope around in broad daylight, just like a blind person groping in the darkness, and you will not succeed at anything you do. You will be oppressed and robbed continually, and no one will come to save you” (28:29). “Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in helping you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you, until you disappear from the land you are about to enter and occupy” (28:63). Given the options of being blessed IF a nation of people obeys God, or being cursed IF a nation of people ignores and disobeys God, why would anyone want anything other than God’s blessings? And what is true of nations is also true of individuals. The choice of what we do with God is ours, as are the consequences of our choice. What will your choice be? March 22 - - It would be difficult to follow a legend in any field; whether it is a great football coach, an outstanding preacher, a President, etc. The successor would always be laboring in the shadows of, and being compared to, his/her predecessor. The Bible says of Moses, “there has never been another prophet like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.....it was through Moses that the Lord demonstrated His mighty power and terrifying acts in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:10,12). Those are very strong words of commendation. But, someone had to follow Moses and lead Israel, and that someone was Joshua. God spoke to Joshua and gave him the formula for success. “Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. I command you - - be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7-9). Those words sound like good advice for all of us, no matter who we are or what we do. They serve us well whether we are parents, a business owner, a foreman at work, the manager of a team, an elected representative, the leader of a nation, etc. Solomon was smart enough to know that if he was to do a good job of leading the people of Israel, he would need more than his own abilities and knowledge. That is why when God offered to give Solomon whatever he wanted, Solomon did not request the usual things most of us would, like: riches, long life, fame, etc. Solomon exercised wisdom when he asked, “Give me an understanding mind so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great nation of yours?” (I Kings 3:9). How important is the Word of God to us? How disciplined are we in reading God’s Word, meditating on God’s Word, claiming the promises of God’s Word in our prayers, memorizing God’s Word, and utilizing God’s Word in the decisions we make? God, Himself, tells us that the success of anything we do in life, will be in direct correlation to our love of His Word and our obedience to it. As a matter of fact, because Joshua did as God told him to, the Bible tells us, “for the rest of Joshua’s life, the Israelites revered him as much as they had revered Moses” (Joshua 4:14).

Week 11 Devotions

March 12 - - There are times as we read through Scripture that profound statements are made and in our haste to complete our reading, we barely take note of what we just read. Moses’ brother and sister were complaining about their brother’s position as God’s spokesman. Afterall, they were both older than Moses. They said, “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t He spoken through us, too?” The answer was of course, “yes.” But, the implication was that maybe they deserved to be elevated before the people as highly as Moses was. Now, one of the reasons Moses was given the position he was, was because of his humility. He had it. They didn’t. The Bible tells us in words we sometimes skim right over, “Now Moses was more humble than any other person on earth” (Numbers 12:3). That’s a pretty strong statement. God hates the proud (Proverbs 8:13; 16:18; James 4:6; I Peter 5:5). Pride takes stock in one’s own abilities and leaves God out of the equation. Aaron and Miriam thought pretty highly of themselves and they reaped the consequences of their pride (Numbers 12:5-16), as do we all. We are what we are and we are who we are because of God. And, when we recognize that, God blesses us with His wisdom (Proverbs 11:2; 13:10). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul gives us this warning, “Be honest in your estimate of yourselves” (Romans 12:3). God is the One who “has given each of us the ability to do certain things well” (12:6). So, when we accomplish anything noteworthy, the credit and the honor go to Him and not to us. That is why some of Moses’ remarks to the Israelites before he dies and they enter into the Promised Land, are interesting. Moses blames the fact that God would not let him enter into the Promised Land on them. “And the Lord was angry with me because of you” (Deuteronomy 1:37; 3:26; 4:21). Translated, “it’s your fault I can’t enter into the Promised Land with you.” The fact is, Moses had not followed God’s command when the people had demanded water. Instead of giving glory to God, Moses took some of the credit unto himself (Numbers 20:1-13). Like all of us, even Moses fought this battle between giving God the glory He deserves and keeping some of God’s glory unto himself. It is a battle all of us have raging on inside of us, as well. It should be encouraging to us that the most humble man on earth struggled with the issue of pride. And if God accepted and loved Moses as He did, then there is room for God to do the same with us, in spite of our occasional relapses with pride. March 15 - - As Moses talks to the Israelites in the book of Deuteronomy, he is talking to people who were either younger than twenty years of age when the nation left Egypt (Numbers 14:29), or born during the forty years the nation wandered in the wilderness (14:33-35). If we assume that most children don’t remember much before they are five years of age, then only those forty-five years of age and older would have any recollection of the miracles God did in Egypt prior to their leaving Egypt, or any recollection of the miracles God performed for the Israelites after they left Egypt. But, it is that group of people whom Moses appeals to as the Israelites prepare to enter the Promised Land. “You have seen the many miracles God has done in the past, with your own eyes! You, as much as anyone, should understand the necessity of obeying God, and you, more than anyone, should set the example for everyone else by obeying God!” (Deuteronomy 11:1-7). Eyewitness accounts are always given more credibility than reports heard second hand. The apostle John would write about Jesus, “the one who existed from the beginning is the one we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is Jesus Christ, the Word of life. This one who is life from God was shown to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and announce to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was shown to us. We are telling you about what we ourselves have actually seen and heard, so that you may have fellowship with us” (I John 1:1-3). There will be those, like Thomas, who refuse to believe unless they actually, personally see Jesus for them-selves (John 20:24-29). But, while none of us has literally seen Jesus, many of us have seen what Jesus has done in our lives. Many of us have experienced changes, been blessed by his miraculous provisions, and more to know that he is alive and still at work in us. Now, even though many do not believe the testimony of our lips when we say we have seen the Lord at work, they will believe the testimony of our lives, if the change in our lives verifies the testimony of our lips. If you have seen the Lord’s mighty deeds with your own eyes, then prove it in the way you live!

Week 10 Devotions

March 5 - - It is an encouragement to see how even great people of faith in the Bible, sometimes had their moments of being human like the rest of us. It's somewhat reassuring to know that sinful people can still be close to God, in spite of their sinfulness. David is described in scripture as, “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22; I Samuel 13:14). And yet, we know how David messed up by committing adultery with Bathsheba (I Samuel 11) and how he covered up his sin by having Bathsheba’s husband killed at war. Moses is described as being “more humble than any other person on earth” (Numbers 12:3), in spite of having some “not so humble” moments in his life. God had demonstrated His provisions for the Israelites on several occasions after they left Egypt; whether their need was for water, food, protection, etc. So, when the Israelites complained again about their being no water to drink (Numbers 20:3-5), God gave Moses instructions on what to do. “You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire com-munity. As the people watch, command the rock over there to pour out it’s water. You will get enough water from the rock to satisfy all the people and their livestock” (20:8). Moses and Aaron assembled the people at the rock where God told Moses water would come from. But, Moses took it upon himself to add to the instructions God had given him by arrogantly blasting the people of Israel with a tongue-lashing. “Listen you rebels! Must we bring you water from the rock?” Who is this WE stuff? Moses and Aaron? Moses and God? God is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) and Moses was being quite presumptuous in taking credit for also being their provider. In fact, Moses was so caught up in himself that instead of obeying God’s instructions and speaking to the rock, Moses twice struck the rock with his staff. This angered God so much that Moses, the one whom God had chosen to lead the people out of Egypt, the one who would guide the Israelites through the wilderness for forty years, and the one whom the scriptures called, “the most humble person on earth”, would be punished by God. He would not be allowed to see the Promised Land (20:12; Deuteronomy 32:48-52). All of us can be thankful that God does not punish us as “our sins deserve” (Psalm 103:10; Lamentations 3:22&23). This is called grace. Though none of us deserves God’s grace. All of us have been recipients of it, and for that we should all be eternally grateful. March 8 - - Relationships require time. Without people spending time together, they can’t adequately develop their relationship. That is true whether one is talking about a marriage, friendship, re-lationship between parents and children, etc. It is also true of our relationship with God. We can talk about having a personal relationship with God, but if we aren’t spending time with Him, our relationship isn’t really personal. It’s more superficial. He is always ready and willing to spend time with us. But, somehow we rationalize how we are too busy for Him. That’s why God says that we must find time with Him to, “be still”. We must find time to spend with Him in the silence. And God promises that when we do, we will sense His presence. And, we will, “know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Jesus set a great example for those who would claim to love God. No one was busier than was Jesus. None of us deals with as many people as Jesus dealt with on a daily basis. And yet, Jesus would often carve out time to spend with God; alone, and in silence; whether it was early in the morning (Mark 1:35) or up in the mountains (Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12), or in a Garden (Matthew 26:36-39). Even in the Old Testament, God had the Israelites devote several festivals to Him (Numbers 28:16-29:40) and part of the purpose for doing so was so they would spend time with Him and develop their relationship with Him. It is easy to become so busy with all the things we want to do, that we forget to do the things we have to do, like spending time with God. How are you doing in the time you spend with God? Is it exclusive time spent with Him or is it shared with the television on, music playing, or other noise distracting us? Discipline yourself and carve out time alone with God on a regular basis. You won’t regret doing so.