Your Purpose

Yesterday we read that God greets Gideon and calls him a “Mighty Warrior.” I can see Gideon’s disbelieving face respond “Who me?” He tests God several times with the fleece and comes to the conclusion that he is a mighty warrior. What is God calling you today? It’s interesting to me that God always gives someone a name that causes them to become better than what they currently are. I remember painfully struggling with public speaking. I felt a prompting to do it, but it was always an awful experience. Finally I asked God “Why does public speaking torture me so much? He replied “I gave you something important to say. Stop being afraid to say it. Use words to bless others.” My fear left. What is the purpose that God has given you?

I love how God had to dwindle the numbers of Gideon’s army down from 30,000 to 300 so that Israel couldn’t boast that they did it. Gideon takes these 300 men and defeats 135,000 soldiers with trumpets and clay jars. Wow!

I also liked the Psalm 97:10 Let those who love the Lord hate evil. . .   On the love/hate scale (1 – 10) how much do you hate evil? If you wanted to get rid of evil, would you start with someone else or yourself? I noticed several areas where I have tolerated evil in my life.  My prayer today is that God will give me the passion to hate the evil in my life, give 100% to accomplishing the purpose God has given me, and humble myself like the thief on the cross next to Jesus.

Conflict resolution

Proverbs 13:10 Pride breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. What areas do you experience the most conflict? Those are the places where you will discover pride.  “I’m right” leads to hardening of the attitudes and a rejection of advice. When we can’t learn from others, wisdom is gone. Not a good cycle. A different cycle starts with understanding from another person’s perspective. This leads to forgiveness. Who needs forgiveness in your life?   

Follow wholeheartedly

I love the story of Caleb. The statement that he made “I followed the Lord wholeheartedly” is awesome. If I were one of the 10 spies that searched the promise land, what would my report be? Either I believe that my God will deliver on his promise, or the enemies are too strong for my God. Because Caleb was one of the ones who believed that his God was bigger than the problem, he entered the promise land. The Old Testament reading today ties in well with the New Testament reading. Jesus tells a parable of an unjust judge who denied a widow justice until her persistence wore him out. Caleb had to wait patiently to see the promise land. My prayer today is that I will have the courage to wholeheartedly follow Jesus all the days of my life and to persistently pursue the calling God has given me.

Better is One Day

I love how God has to remind Joshua not to be afraid because no matter what comes against him, God will give him victory. A huge army, as numerous as the sands in the sea shore, came against Joshua. However, Joshua won. It’s amazing the level of confidence I can have when I know that I’m walking in God’s will and purpose for my life. It’s obvious that it’s not going to be easy, but I know who is going to win. I love the Psalm of today “Better is one day in your courts, than a thousand elsewhere.” I also like the story of the 10 men with leprosy. Only one, who was a foreigner, came back to praise God for what Jesus did. It reminds of some of the things that God has done for me. What has he done for you? Finally, it’s important to be ready for when Christ comes back. He said it will be like a thief coming in the middle of the night. Is there a habit that you would change if you knew Jesus was coming back this afternoon?

Pray before deciding

 Why is it important to pray before making decisions? Joshua was deceived by the Gibeon pretended to come from a distant land. They made a treaty of peace with Joshua and it turned out that they were actually neighbors. What would have happened if Joshua had asked God before he made the treaty? Next, I was fascinated by how God wiped out Joshua’s enemies. He caused hail to destroy the army that was attacking Joshua. He listened to Joshua and caused the sun to stay up so Joshua could pursue his enemies longer. Wow! That’s incredible. Verse 42 sums it up “Joshua conquered all these kings and lands in one campaign, because the Lord the God of Israel, fought for Israel.” What would it take for God to fight for our country?

Luke 16:19 – The story of the rich man going to hell is sobering. The story demonstrates the selfishness of this man. The rich man selfishly asked Abraham to send Lazarus to bring him water. Unfortunately, it is finalized. The rich man will be in torment forever. When he realized his condition, he asked for someone to go to his 5 brothers. Who do you know who needs to hear the great message of God’s love today? The new church that I’m attending is doing an outreach in a few weeks. I’m very excited about participating.

My prayer today is to have the courage to share the awesome things that God does and to be in prayer about all my decisions. I’m so thankful for my incredible family and friends.

Who is your point man?

In the military, the point man is the soldier who is first into battle. It’s the most dangerous position because he is the first one that the enemy will see. When Joshua marched against Jericho, they sent the arc and the priest in first. Why not the mightiest and strongest fighters in the army? I believe it’s because when God is my point man, my enemies don’t stand a chance. The walls of Jericho crumbled with one loud war cry and the city was quickly taken. What allowed God to be their point man? They were careful to do everything He said. I can imagine, after 6 days of marching around the city, to wonder if God was really going to do something. How tempting it must have been to say “I don’t believe God is going to take this city.” Fortunately, everyone was silent until it was time to shout.

On the other hand, Achan rebels against God’s command to give everything in the city of Jericho as a tithe to him. Achan steals gold, silver, and clothes, and hides them under his tent. Consequently, when Joshua went to take the tiny town of Ai, they failed miserably. God wasn’t enlisted as the point man due to one man’s sin. Once Achan was stoned, God was able to give his people success in accomplishing his purpose.

What is God’s purpose? Yesterday’s reading powerfully demonstrates what is most important to God – reaching the lost. Jesus gives three parables about the joy of finding what was lost: The sheep, coin, and son. There is no doubt that He wants to reach those who have never experienced his love, peace, healing . . .

My prayer today is that I can completely surrender my life to him, submit, and enlist him as my point man to fight my battles so I can accomplish the purpose he has for my life.

Rich towards God

Be rich towards God. I love the parable of the rich man who was successful in creating an abundance of food. He decided to build bigger barns and sit back and take it easy. However, his life was demanded of him that night. Jesus shares that the moral of the story is to be rich towards God. God wanted him to use his abundance to bless others instead of buying comfort for himself. Jesus goes on to say that where our treasure is, there our heart is. The rich man invested all of his money in the pleasures of life. There is no doubt that God wants us to be blessed. He told Moses and Joshua that the promise land would be flowing with milk and honey. The key is to seek the kingdom of heaven first. What % of your income do you want to go towards expanding God’s kingdom? Wouldn’t it be awesome to be a 90/10 Christian? 90% of your income goes towards doing God’s will. Today’s reading convicted me of areas where I have rebellion and pride. God commanded Moses to teach the Israelites a song so they would not forget what God had done for them to bring them into the promise land. Moses taught them the song because he knew their rebellion would increase once he died.

I also like how God commands the Israelites to be strong and courageous. He promised to go before the Israelites and fight the battles to give them the promise land. Receiving the blessing requires a strength, courage, and a fight. My prayer is that God will give me the strength, courage, and stamina to fight to share his love.