Daily Devotional
June 19, 2006
Judges 2:18
"When enemies made life miserable for the
Israelites, the LORD would feel sorry for them.
He would choose a judge and help that judge
rescue Israel from its enemies. The LORD would be
kind to Israel as long as that judge lived."
After Moses died, Joshua became the leader. It
was Joshua who led the people to their promised
land. As long as Joshua lived, the people of
Israel remained faithful to God and followed His
laws, worshipping no other. But there were
Canaanites and other foreign people living among
the Israelites, just as there are today. Those
foreign people worshipped other gods, followed
other laws and lived by other customs and habits.
For a while after Joshua died, people remembered
the good things God had done for them, and stayed
faithful to Him. But then they started following
after the laws and customs, and soon the gods, of
the foreigners. God became angry with them, and
allowed their enemies to defeat them in battle and make them slaves.
After the people had been slaves for many years,
they would cry out to God and He would hear them.
He would feel sorrow for their situation, and
remember how much he loves them. So God would
send a person to be the 'Judge', a general to
lead their armies and a leader to get them
organized and return their focus to heaven.
For 299 years, every time the people would cry
out God would send a judge. Then the people
would obey God - as long as the judge
lived. After that Judge died, the people would
turn their eyes and hearts away from God again,
become captives and slaves for their enemies again, and then cry out to God.
God is merciful. He never stops listening to the
cries of His people, even when they have turned
away from Him on purpose. But when things went
wrong in the lives of the Israelite people they
always remembered to turn back to God. And He always sends help.
If we need help today, what do we turn to? Do we
beg God for help with our enemies, and then turn
back to them when the crisis is over? Or do we
keep our eyes on God alone, and remain faithful to Him all the time?
The number of enemies we must fight depends a lot
on the answers to those questions, doesn't it?
June 20, 2006
Judges 2:18
"And the LORD had another reason for letting
these enemies stay. The Israelites needed to
learn how to fight in war, just as their
ancestors had done. Each new generation would have to learn by fighting."
Sometimes the reason God has for allowing
something is beyond our understanding. But God
always has a reason, and His reason is based on
past and future events that we cannot see.
In the case of the Israelite people after Joshua
died, the reason God did not help the people
conquer all of their enemies at once was so the
people could really learn to fight.
Sometimes, we expect God to fight all of our
battles for us. We expect Him to smooth every
step and calm every angry heart and fix
everything that is broken. The truth is: God
wants us to learn to take care of ourselves sometimes, too.
Enjoy the tough situations. They are there to
teach us to get tougher. Then when the little
battles come, we can step aside and let the
battle rage around us - and never even get our hands dirty. June 21, 2006
Judges 3:4
"Moses had told the Israelites what the LORD had
commanded them to do, and now the LORD was using
these nations to find out if Israel would obey."
The Word of God is always encouraging and
positive. Sometimes, though, it isn't
comfortable. This is one of those times.
Yesterday we read that God allowed the enemies of
Israel to live so that the Israelite people could
learn to fight. Here we read that the Lord used
the enemy nations to find out if Israel would obey. Ouch!
Many times the Lord tests our obedience. He
allows some temptation, some old habit or old
friend, to come against us to see if we will obey
Him and turn our back on the sin. Every time we
fail we become more humble, more trusting, more
certain of our weakness. It is in those times of
humility that God can truly work in our hearts
and minds to make us stronger. If we did not
fail and ask forgiveness, we would never be
humble enough for God to mold and shape us to His will.
Are you facing a battle today? Trust God - He is
your shield and your high tower. Obey His Word,
and try your best to stand against the
enemies. Just remember, if you fall (and we all
fall sometimes) seek the Lord and His
forgiveness. He is ready to forgive, and willing
to help you stand stronger the next time that same temptation comes.
And it will come. It will keep coming until you
learn to resist. That's how God makes you
stronger! And then He will allow you to be
tested again. Why? That's how He will prove to YOU that you will obey.
Jesus loves you enough to make you stronger, and
help you become all that you can be. He is able,
He is ready and He is close at hand.
June 22, 2006
Judges 1
"After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, "Which of
our tribes should attack the Canaanites first?" "Judah!" the LORD
answered. "I'll help them take the land." The people of Judah went
to their relatives, the Simeon tribe, and said, "Canaanites live in
the land God gave us. Help us fight them, and we will help you."
Troops from Simeon came to help Judah. Together they attacked an
army of ten thousand Canaanites and Perizzites at Bezek, and the LORD
helped Judah defeat them. During the battle, Judah's army found out
where the king of Bezek was, and they attacked there. Bezek tried to
escape, but soldiers from Judah caught him. They cut off his thumbs
and big toes, and he said, "I've cut off the thumbs and big toes of
seventy kings and made those kings crawl around under my table for
scraps of food. Now, God is paying me back." The army of Judah took
the king of Bezek along with them to Jerusalem, where he died.
There are many stories about battles in the Bible. Each of them has
something to teach us, and this one is a very simple lesson.
All of the Israelite people were asking God the same question: who
will be our champion against our enemies? The Bible tells us that
wherever two or more people agree on something it will be
done. There were 603,550 men of Israel that left Egypt together, not
counting women, children and priests. So the number of people
praying together after 30 years or so in the wilderness was a very
large number of people in agreement. God answered their prayer, and
chose the family of Judah to go to war, representing the Israelites.
Then, the family of Simeon came to help. Together the two families
of soldiers attacked a very large army and defeated them. They even
found the leader of the enemy army and took him into
captivity. Eventually, he died a captive, believing that he had been
punished for his cruelty.
None of us are in this battle alone. None of us can win a battle
alone. We need God's help, we need the agreement of our brothers and
sisters in prayer, and we need to work together as a team if we want
to be successful in our work for the Lord - or any other work for that matter.
Who can you stand in faith with today? Whose prayers can you agree
with? How can you get on the team that is successful for God
today? Get in there and be a team player. One day, you'll need a
whole team of God's people to stand with you in battle. The best way
to make sure they'll be there when you need them is to become part of
a winning team now!
June 23, 2006
Judges 3:7-11
"The Israelites sinned against the LORD by
forgetting him and worshiping idols of Baal and
Astarte. This made the LORD angry, so he let
Israel be defeated by King Cushan Rishathaim of
northern Syria, who ruled Israel eight years and
made everyone pay taxes. The Israelites begged
the LORD for help, and he chose Othniel to rescue
them. Othniel was the son of Caleb's younger
brother Kenaz. The Spirit of the LORD took
control of Othniel, and he led Israel in a war
against Cushan Rishathaim. The LORD gave Othniel
victory, and Israel was at peace until Othniel died about forty years later."
The people of Israel quickly forgot all that God
had done for them and all that God had commanded
them. After that, God allowed the entire family
of Israel to be conquered by a King who made them
pay taxes. The people complained. They were in slavery for 8 years.
But . they turned back to God. The people cried
out to the Lord to help them, and because He
loves His children, God sent help. He sent
Othniel to be the first of the judges of
Israel. Othniel led the people into battle,
turned their focus back to God, and brought peace
to the entire nation. Even though there were
still enemies living in the land, the peace of
God was stronger than the conflict between the Israelites and the Canaanites.
The people led themselves into bondage by being
disobedient to God. They were in bondage for 8
years. After they turned their hearts and minds
back to God, a deliverer was sent to them. He
was the judge, Othniel. The people then had peace for 40 years.
Two thousand years ago, God sent Jesus to be the
New Testament judge and Deliverer of the
people. He is here to lead us out of bondage and
help us turn our focus back to the ways of the
Father. Even if there still enemies in our life,
June 24, 2006
Judges 3:15
"The Israelites begged the LORD for help, and the LORD chose Ehud
from the Benjamin tribe to rescue them. They put Ehud in charge of
taking the taxes to King Eglon, but before Ehud went, he made a
double-edged dagger. Ehud was left-handed, so he strapped the dagger
to his right thigh, where it would be hidden under his robes."
Please read the entire passage from Judges 3:12-30.
After the 40 years of peace under Othniel's leadership, the Israelite
people began to disobey God and worship other gods again. They were
taken captive by a king named Eglon, who made them pay very heavy
taxes. Eglon was a very fat man, and may have been a very cruel king.
The Israelites called out to God, and God selected Ehud to be the new
judge to rescue Israel. It seems like the only qualification Ehud
had for becoming the new leader is that he was left-handed. He
wasn't a great military leader, he wasn't a wise politician or a very
rich man; he was just left-handed.
God has a special plan for every person. He has given special gifts
and talents to each of us. Ehud needed a way to kill a cruel king
and free the people from slavery, so God made Ehud left-handed. That
way, Ehud could hide the knife on the right side of his body, pull
the knife from the right side and swing with all his strength to stab
the fat king hard enough to kill him. Because the king was so fat, a
right handed person could not have swung the knife with enough force
in the right direction.
Sometimes we think we don't have a skill or talent that God can
use. Or maybe we think there is something about us that isn't a good
thing. Maybe Ehud thought that being left-handed made him unsuitable
for God's work. Maybe people told Ehud that he was broken or damaged
because he was left handed, and most other people are right
handed. The point is this: God made Ehud left-handed because a
left-handed man was needed to do the job.
God didn't make any mistakes. He didn't make me right handed, short,
redhaired, hazel eyed, with a low voice and fair skin by
accident. He didn't make you the way you are by accident either. He
has a special plan for your life, a job that only you can do, and He
gave you all the skills and talents and natural preparation for that job.
Rejoice today in who you are. You are the only 'you' there will ever
be. God made you because He wanted a friend with just your special
mix of everything, and He made you to be the perfect you. He thinks
you are wonderful, and He has only good will and favor and grace for
you today. The least you can do is agree with Him!
June 26, 2006
Judges 4
"After the death of Ehud, the Israelites again
started disobeying the LORD. So the LORD let the
Canaanite King Jabin of Hazor conquer Israel.
Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, lived in
Harosheth-Ha-Goiim. Jabin's army had nine
hundred iron chariots, and for twenty years he
made life miserable for the Israelites, until
finally they begged the LORD for help."
The next judge of Israel was Debra. Chapter 4 is
the story of Barak, general of the Israelite
army, and Sisera, general of the Canaanite army, and Debra.
The Israelites people disobeyed God- again -
after Shamgar and Ehud were both dead. God
allowed the Canaanite king to conquer the
Israelite people. They were very afraid of his
armies because he had war material. He had 900
iron chariots. To a people who had always
traveled, lived and fought on foot, an iron
chariot must have been a scary thing. 900 iron
chariots was too overwhelming for them to
consider starting a war to overthrow that king.
Debra was a prophetess. God told her things to
tell the people and He expected her word to be
obeyed because it was His will that she
spoke. When Sisera's army had all the Israelite
people scared, God told Debra to tell the general
Barak to go to war against Sisera. She also told
him a woman would bring victory. Barak refused
to go to war unless Debra went with him. God
told Debra to tell Barak to go, and He would help win the battle.
Debra went to her tent and waited. Sisera's army
was defeated because God helped Barak's army
win. But Sisera escaped, and it is certain he
planned to raise another army. But he found the
tent of Debra and wanted to hide there. Debra
was nice to Sisera, invited him in to rest, and
when he was asleep she drove a tent peg through
his head. After that, the Canaanite king didn't
have a chance. The Israelite people were free
once more, freed by the power of God to help His servants do their work.
One thing is certain. The Lord has called each
of us to do a job, and if we don't do it, He will
call someone else to do it. It isn't about
us. It's about God's plan being fulfilled.
What would have happened if Jesus said, 'No, I
won't go, I won't do it, I don't want to be
crucified'? Where would we be today? We would
be in bondage, captive and suffering, still crying out to God for help.
There may be someone out there waiting for you to
tell them about Jesus. That person may be your
task. If you don't go, God will send someone
else, that's true. But why make a person wait to
hear the gospel when you could be telling them the good news today?
_______________________________________________
June 17, 2006
Psalm 5:11
"Let all who run to You for protection always sing joyful songs.
Provide shelter for those who truly love You and let them rejoice."
Christian people have a happy life. There is never any reason for us
to be sad or unhappy. Why? You can always be happy because Jesus loves you!
When we run to God for protection, we can be happy and sing His
praises. Why? We know He will answer our prayers. We know He will
provide everything we need, and we know He is happy to do it.
We could go to God with our heads held low and moan and grumble,
acting like we are begging for something we shouldn't have. Nut the
Bible tells us that He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His
servant. If He enjoys the success of His servant, don't you think He
really delights in the success of His precious children?
That's you, today. You are God's precious child, joined back to His
heart by His Son Jesus. Just imagine how happy God is when you come
and ask Him for protection and shelter, comfort and advise, love and
reassurance? Wow! He is so happy when you trust Him to give you
everything you need!
Now, how can you be sad when you stand before the Lord, knowing how
happy you have made Him with your love, faith and gratitude?
Be happy in the Lord! Laugh with joy when you talk together. He does.
_____
June 16, 2006
Joshua 21:45
"The LORD promised to do many good things for
Israel, and he kept his promise every time."
The people in the Old Testament stories were real
people, with real lives and real troubles. The
reason we read about them is so that we will have comfort and reassurance.
Every time we feel that our trouble is more than
we can handle, we can read the stories of the
people who loved long ago, and we can take
encouragement from their testimony. Why? God is
the same - yesterday, today and forever.
If God kept His promise to the Israelites, He
will keep His promises to you. If God defeated
the enemy of the Israelites with hailstones, your
enemy had better take care when bad weather
comes. God doesn't change. His promises and His love are forever.
You can believe that today. That's why God led
the people to write the stories: so you would
have an example. God wants you to be safe and
have comfort, trusting Him every
minute. Otherwise, He would never have made the promise i in the first place!
_____
June 15, 2006
Joshua 14:7-11
Caleb said, "I was forty years old at the time
Moses sent me from Kadesh-Barnea into Canaan as a
spy. When I came back and told him about the
land, everything I said was true. The other
spies said things that made our people afraid,
but I completely trusted the LORD God. The same
day I came back, Moses told me, "Since you were
faithful to the LORD God, I promise that the
places where you went as a spy will belong to you
and your descendants forever." Joshua, it was
forty-five years ago that the LORD told Moses to
make that promise, and now I am eighty-five. Even
though Israel has moved from place to place in
the desert, the LORD has kept me alive all this
time as he said he would. I'm just as strong
today as I was then, and I can still fight as well in battle."
It is very easy for people to get in a
hurry. Patience comes hard to people because we
seem to want everything now. We think - if I
don't get the desire of my heart today I'll be
too old, or too lazy or something. We're so
busy thinking about what we can't do that we forget about what God can do!
Here is a perfect story of how patience paid off
for Caleb. Caleb believed the promise of God,
and he waited patiently until the promise became
the reality. He waited 45 years!!!
Caleb was not a young man when he answered the
call of God. God told Joshua to send spies, and
Joshua sent Caleb, who was already 40 years
old. God told Moses to make a promise to Caleb
that day, and Caleb took the promise for the truth - that day.
After 45 years, when the promise became real,
Caleb was still strong, still clear of mind and
still serving God with patience. His patience didn't hurt him a bit.
Wait. Trust God, just like Caleb did. The time
for your promise is coming. God only makes
promises He intends to keep. And He'll keep you
able, until your promise becomes the reality.
____
June 14, 2006
Joshua 13:33 CEV
"But Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the LORD
had promised that he would always provide for them."
Moses had given land to the families of Gad and Rueben and half of
the family of Manasseh. A family needed land to raise food and
animals for skins and food. It was very important that a family had
land to care for and pass down to their children through the generations.
Why didn't God give land to the family of Levi? Levi and his sons
were called by God to be His priests. God didn't give them land
because they didn't need to raise food or care for animals. Their
job was to care for the temple and the things of the Lord, to study
the Word of God and to care for His people.
Maybe today you think you should have land or lots of money. Maybe
you think you should have lots of things, toys to play with and fine
things in your home. Maybe you are looking at it from the wrong angle.
If God has called you to care for His people, He will provide all of
your needs. He will give you every tool you need to do the job, and
supplies and money and help to finish the work if you need it.
Ask Him today. 'What am I called to do, Lord? Am I called to do
your work in the world, or in the temple?'
The answer might surprise you.
____June 13, 2006
Joshua 11:23
"That's how Joshua captured the land, just as the LORD had commanded
Moses, and Joshua divided it up among the tribes. Finally, there was
peace in the land."
This verse is a perfect plan for success.
Do as God commands, and you will 'capture' the land. Do just as the
Lord commands, without trying to change the plan to suit yourself.
You will have so many blessings with your success, you'll have plenty
to share. Make sure to share it: don't keep the blessings for yourself.
You will have peace. Keep it. Don't start trouble, or keep trying
to get more blessings than you already have. Be content with what
you have. Peace is a rare commodity in the world these days.
God has already given us all things that pertain to life and
godliness. The most important thing is His wisdom, which He shares
just as freely as His love.
Have a blessed day!.
_______
June 12, 2006
Isaiah 40:31 CEV
"But those who trust the LORD will find new
strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring
upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired."
This morning I was up in the mountains near Crown
King. The shadow of a very large bird - perhaps
an eagle, maybe a large hawk - crossed the road
in front of our car. At the same moment I
realized there was a very steep cliff dropping
down to the left, I saw the shadow of the bird go right over the edge.
You can picture it in your mind. The bird flying
higher than the treetops, drops over the edge of
the mountain in a steep dive. Suddenly, his
wings stiff and his eyes nearly closed in
concentration, he catches a warm air current and
levels out, flying just at the treetop level, now
looking at the ground, watching for a meal on the
run. His wings don't move, his eyes don't look
from side to side - he floats on the current,
focused on his search, covering miles of forest below with no effort.
Some birds fly with great effort. Their wings
flap and flap, and they don't cover much
territory. But the eagle seems to move through
the air as though it were held by an invisible hand.
We can fly through the life the same
way. How? For us, the warm current is the Holy
Spirit. As soon as we dive into the work He
calls us to, His mighty hand takes us through
life without flapping of wings - or stress or fear or second thoughts.
Trust His hand today. Pray that you will be
sensitive to His warm current, that you will know
when to dive and when to rest in His
strength. His plan for you never included wing flapping.
____
June 12, 2006
Isaiah 40:31 CEV
"But those who trust the LORD will find new
strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring
upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired."
This morning I was up in the mountains near Crown
King. The shadow of a very large bird - perhaps
an eagle, maybe a large hawk - crossed the road
in front of our car. At the same moment I
realized there was a very steep cliff dropping
down to the left, I saw the shadow of the bird go right over the edge.
You can picture it in your mind. The bird flying
higher than the treetops, drops over the edge of
the mountain in a steep dive. Suddenly, his
wings stiff and his eyes nearly closed in
concentration, he catches a warm air current and
levels out, flying just at the treetop level, now
looking at the ground, watching for a meal on the
run. His wings don't move, his eyes don't look
from side to side - he floats on the current,
focused on his search, covering miles of forest below with no effort.
Some birds fly with great effort. Their wings
flap and flap, and they don't cover much
territory. But the eagle seems to move through
the air as though it were held by an invisible hand.
We can fly through the life the same
way. How? For us, the warm current is the Holy
Spirit. As soon as we dive into the work He
calls us to, His mighty hand takes us through
life without flapping of wings - or stress or fear or second thoughts.
Trust His hand today. Pray that you will be
sensitive to His warm current, that you will know
when to dive and when to rest in His
strength. His plan for you never included wing flapping.
Submitted by Tina Anderson
An Angel to Watch Over Me
Through faith and prayer, a deaf woman discovers divine protection.
By Lynn Fullman
Reprinted with permission from Joan Wester Anderson's website.
Rebecca lost her hearing when she was only fifteen. Not only was she hard of hearing, noise actually caused her pain. "Although I was considered profoundly deaf, I could hear some deep-toned sounds," she explains. "Most deaf people can. But if there were more than two people in a room, it was hard for me to follow the conversation because there was too much distraction." Rebecca found it difficult going to church too, since she couldn’t understand sounds in this environment. A deaf friend realized that straining to understand the church services was probably the reason why Rebecca developed migraines afterwards. Ultimately she stopped going. Instead, she began to ask God’s angels to watch over her, and to be there when she needed some special help. But like all of us, Rebecca sometimes wondered if heavenly help was really there.
Life could have become even more isolated for Rebecca, but eventually (at the urging of another friend), she purchased a little Schnauzer named Hans. "Hans did many things for me," Rebecca says. "When the phone would ring, he’d touch me with his paws, or simply stare at me. He protected me, told me when someone was at the door...When we were together, he gave his total attention to my needs, and I felt so safe." Rebecca could even hear his bark, because its tone was very deep.
Rebecca depended on Hans so much that she often begged God to let her little dog live forever. She knew this was unrealistic, but she prayed anyway. One night she had a dream in which she was walking the dog and for no apparent reason suddenly felt herself enveloped in a cocoon of the purest love she had ever experienced. Just a few weeks later, at the age of thirteen, her faithful companion died. "I wondered then if God had sent me that dream--and the love--as a preparation for Hans’ death," Rebecca says.
Whatever the reason, Rebecca couldn’t help but feel fearful after Hans died. How was she going to be safe without her little companion to warn her? She had surgery for cochlear implants, but it was unsuccessful. Again, she began to pray each night that God would send His angels. "I asked that they protect EVERY entrance to me house, even the windows." After this prayer, she found that she could go to sleep without any fear. However, she never discussed this new prayer--or her faith--with anyone. It was just between God and herself and, of course, the angels who--hopefully--were guarding her. How she wished she could see them and put any final doubts to rest!
One afternoon, an excited young boy knocked on her door. He wanted to tell her about something he and his friend, Ben—who lived across the street--had seen the previous night. This boy was staying overnight with Ben, and "We wanted to play with our remote control cars on the mound of clay near your house," he told Rebecca. "But we had to wait until late when Ben’s parents had gone to sleep." Finally the boys tiptoed down the steps, eased the front door open and ran toward the clay mound.
But as they ran, they both looked up and gasped. A man in a long white robe was standing on top of the highest pine tree, on a hill that overlooked Rebecca’s home. The man was watching the boys, with his arms crossed over his chest. "He must have been ten feet tall!" the boy insisted. "Me and Ben were scared!"
Rebecca was sure he was telling her the truth, and joy flooded her heart. "Do you know who you saw?" she asked. The boy shook his head. "I then told him about my fear of being alone at night since I’d lost Hans, and my prayer that God would send angels to watch over me at night. I had thought it would take an angel at every entrance of my house! But it was obvious that only one angel was needed, and God had sent him to protect me."
The boy’s eyes were huge, and he appeared to be overwhelmed by it all as he turned and gave Rebecca a wave. She was sure he would never forget the experience. It was then that she realized she had received another gift. "I normally can’t hear children, nor even ‘speech-read’ them," she says. "But this boy and I had understood each other perfectly."
Today Rebecca teaches the Bible to young Christians on the Internet ("God sends them to me," she says)! Although she continues to pray for a healing (and let’s pray for her too), God is the Center of her life, no matter what. And she knows she is never alone.
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