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Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Deuteronomy 31:17
New King James Version (NKJV)
Joshua the New Leader of Israel
1 Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said. 4 And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. 5 The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
7 Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8 And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
God is preparing His people for a change. They are about to enter the Promised Land, but it will not be under the leadership of Moses. God knows how hard change can be for people especially when it has to do with leadership. The people were not always pleased with Moses, often they complained against Moses, but Moses was the one who had led them out of bondage in Egypt and through the desert for 40 years. The people had come to trust that Moses could get them out of a tight spot. Now Moses tells the people he is too old to continue leading the people and God has said that Moses would not enter the Promised Land. Moses reminds the people that it was God, not Moses, who has gone before the people as they traveled. It is God, not Moses, who defeated the Amorites and gave their land to the Israelites and God will continue to go before the Israelites and defeat their enemies. They are instructed to remain strong and courageous because God will never leave them nor forsake them.
God has called Joshua to take Moses' place as the leader of His people. If you have ever been called to replace a beloved leader you can imagine how Joshua may have felt. He may have had feelings of insecurity and doubt. God does two things to encourage and strengthen Joshua. He has Moses appoint Joshua in front of the entire Hebrew Nation and He tells Joshua that He is with him. God tells Joshua to be strong and of good courage because He will cause Joshua to be successful as He follows God's command. The people will inherit the land God has promised to them because God will go before Joshua and cause it to happen. He also tells Joshua personally that He will never leave nor forsake him.
God is still a close and personal God! He desires to have a close personal relationship with each of us. His promise to go before and never leave nor forsake is not only for Joshua and the Israelites it is for each of us. I don't know what changes you are facing in your life or what positions God has called you to but I do know that He is telling you that He is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. So remain strong and courageous my friend, your God is with you! He is going before you and He will be successful as He leads you!
Father, Source of my strength, thank You for being close beside me! Thank You Jesus that through You I can draw on the strength of the Father! Thank You that You are the same yesterday, today and forever and that the promises in your Word are for me as well! Go before me today I pray. help me to remain stron and courageous as I walk through this life and do all the things You call me to do! In Jesus strong and powerful name, amen!
4 Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
2 Samuel 9:1-3, 5-7, 9-11
New King James Version (NKJV)
1Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
2 And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
He said, “At your service!”
3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”
5 Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”
And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.”
9 And the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given to your master’s son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 10 You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master’s son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master’s son shall eat bread at my table always.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
11 Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do.”
“As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.”
At a recent church service, just before partaking in the LORD's Supper, I heard a beautiful song. Immediately God brought the story of Mephibosheth and David to mind. Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, grandson of king Saul. Now Jonathan had a son who was injured at age five. His injury caused him to be lame in his feet. Mephobisheth would need someone to care for him for the rest of his life. No problem, right!? His father was next in line to become king. But God has given each of us free will and we do not always make good choices. Such was the case with Saul. God had given Saul explicit instructions that he chose not to follow completely. When Samuel confronted Saul he lied and made excuses. Saul lost his kingship because of unconfessed sin. God made David king, not Jonathan. This meant Saul's transgression had cost his family their inheritance and Mephibosheth his security.
But God had a plan. He had brought Jonathan and David together early and they had a friendship based with God in the center. David had promised Jonathan that he would never forget Jonathan or any of his descendants when he became king. David was true to his word!
Our ancestors, Adam and Eve forfeited our inheritance in paradise when they sinned in the garden. But God had a plan for us too! He sent His Son, Who calls us to Himself. When we come to Him He restores our inheritance and carries our broken, lame, helpless spirits and set us where we could never earn the right to be, His table! Won't you come to Him today!
Father, Creator, Provider, Healer, I come to You just as I am, broken and lame by the things of this world. A sinner, undeserving to receive the gift of life You offer me. I know I am a sinner. Today I confess me sins to You. I open the door of my heart that You have been knocking at and ask You to come into my life. Create in me a clean heart O God. Carry me to Your table! In Jesus saving name, Amen!
46-48 They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, "Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!" Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, "Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!"
49-50 Jesus stopped in his tracks. "Call him over."
They called him. "It's your lucky day! Get up! He's calling you to come!" Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.
When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing by he called out to Him. The crowd tried to hush him up. He was a blind beggar and Jesus shouldn't be bothered. But Bartimaeus was undaunted by the crowed and yelled even louder. Jesus stopped and called Bartimaeus to come to him. Bartimaeus threw off his coat and immediately went to see Jesus. I was struck by the fact that Bartimaeus threw off his coat. Why and why was that fact important? Often we cloak ourselves from the world to cover our failures, blemishes and insecurities. Did Bartimaeus use his coat to hide himself as he sat beside the road and now that Jesus had acknowledged him he felt free to shed his coat?
As I drove down the street today I saw two people walking. One was headed north and the other south. One was a teenage girl and the other a young woman. They had not yet met and clearly did not intend to, as each one looked down and away from the other, changing course slightly to create more space as they passed each other. Neither one was over weight and there had never been any danger of them actually passing by close enough to touch but still they each widened the gap slightly. Perhaps they were each having a bad day. Maybe they did not want to bother the other or maybe they were afraid of what the other might think if they spoke. Whatever the reason they passed by each other in silence. I was struck by the sadness of it. Then I though of all of the times I had been in a similar situation in the grocery store, post office, or elevator and done the same thing. Immediately Matthew 28:19-20 came to mind. Jesus told us to "Go" and keep going into our community and all of the world talking to them about the Gospel of Christ. God created us for fellowship with Him and with each other. How sad it must make Him when we blindly walk by each other.
Father we cry out to You today, heal our blindness. Help us to shed our coats of insecurity and reach out to those around us. When we find ourselves blinded by our fears and insecurities help us to cry out to You in faith just like Bartimaeus did. Open our eyes Father. In Jesus
Hebrews 13:8
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Psalm 103:17-18 (NKJV)
"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To such as keep His covenant, And to those who remember His commandments to do them.”
We live in an ever changing world. It wasn't so long go that if you wanted to see someone you had to travel to where they were. Now all we need to have is a internet access, a computer or smart phone, and Skype or a similar program. It brings a whole new meaning to "Reach out and touch someone"! Governments change, nations leadership changes, stocks, world economy, and weather. We change jobs or careers, move, buy new cars, furniture, clothing and shoes. It seems as if nothing in our lives is constant. We enjoy variety when it comes to food, clothing, cars, television show, and music. We do not like variety when it involves things we had counted on to remain in our lives such as our job or home, those types of changes bring stress.
God is unchanging! He is the same yesterday, today and forever! The words He spoke to the prophets and to the apostles He speaks to you today. His words of encouragement and promise are meant for each of us today! His love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and restoration are still available to all who will believe and ask! What a comfort to know that in this ever changing world there is a solid Rock upon which we can stand, a Fortress we can hide in! Great is God's faithfulness!
Father You are unchanging! You are still God! You can still supply our every need, calm our every fear and dry our every tear! You still answer prayers and bless our lives with wonderful gifts! You change the seasons and keep each planet and star in place! I thank You and praise You O God my Father for all of the gifts You have given me, especially the gift of salvation! Continue to transform me into Your likeness! I pray in Jesus unchanging name, amen.
* Conversion - by Julie Ackerman
2 Corinthians 12:14-21
New King James Version (NKJV)
Love for the Church
14 Now for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
16 But be that as it may, I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! 17 Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?
19 Again, do you think[a] that we excuse ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. But we do all things, beloved, for your edification. 20 For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; 21 lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.
Before my husband and I travel, we go to the bank and trade in our US dollars for the currency of the country we’ll be visiting. We do this so we can pay for expenses while we’re away from home.
When we become Christians, another kind of exchange takes place. Our lives are like currency that we convert from one medium to another. We trade our old life for a new one so that we can begin “spending” ourselves in a different kingdom. Instead of spending ourselves for the causes of this world, we are able to start spending ourselves for the cause of Christ.
The apostle Paul is a good example of this difference. After his dramatic conversion on the way to Damascus (Acts 9), he began spending his life in a dramatically different way. Instead of pursuing Christians to imprison and kill them, he began pursuing non-Christians to convert them. Then he spent the rest of his life for their welfare. He wrote to the church at Corinth, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Cor. 12:15). Everything he did was for the edification of his spiritual children (vv.14,19).
Conversion is far more than just changing our final destination. It’s changing the way we spend each day of our lives.
Lord, help me to spend myself on what will last,not on what will fade away one day.I give my life to You that I might spend and be spentfor others and Your will. Amen.Conversion takes only a moment—transformation takes a lifetime.
Esther 4:11-16
New King James Version (NKJV)
11 “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” 12 So they told Mordecai Esther’s words.
13 And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
15 Then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, gather all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me; neither eat nor drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will fast likewise. And so I will go to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish!”
Esther, and orphan who had been crowned queen, has been called to a task that could cost her her life. Her cousin Mordecai has just disclosed the evil plot to annihilate all of the Jews from the Mede-Persian Empire and asked her to plead their case before the king. Esther had some real fears to contend with. She had become queen because the first queen, Vashti, had refused to obey the king, she knew first-hand the cost of disobedience. She had hidden her Jewish heritage from everyone when she had been taken as a candidate for queen and now she had not been called into the king's presence for 30 days and it would violate the law to go before the king without being called. The task itself seemed fruitless as Persian law stated that an edict from the king could not be overturned even by the king himself.
The fears were real, the task seemed hopeless yet her cousin reminded her that she may have been called "for such a time as this." Esther asks for fasting from everyone. Fasting in the Jewish culture was a time of intimate prayer and fellowship with God. Esther needed courage to do what God had called her to do, so she prayed. Not only did she pray but she enlisted an entire people group of believers to prayer with her and for her and then she resolved that God's will be done in her life. She would do what she was called to do no matter the cost.
Today what has called called you to do. Perhaps, like Esther, you have been called to such a time as this! You may feel insignificant, invisible, unworthy or ill-equipped. Drop to your knees and pray and enlist prayer warriors to pray for you and with you! Then, like Esther, confidently do what God has called you to do. He will equip you and go with you!
Father, Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Thank You for the power we have in prayer. Thank You for friends and family that You have given us who will pray with us and for us! Thank You for going with us into every situation and equipping us for the tasks You have created us for! Father I pray that You would be with me and each one that feels they are not ready, worthy, equipped or fearful of what might come from obedience to You. Give us Your courage and strength to be obedient and do all that You have created us to do. Thank You for Prayer! In Jesus powerful name, amen!
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