The Sun’s Coming Up In The Morning – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Passage – 1 Samuel 4 – 7 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 13 – 15; Proverbs 30; Psalms 146 – 150
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 121
Read previous posts from this passage – “A Good Luck Charm”; and “Get It Out“
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “When You Can Borrow A Tomb, Steps to the Resurrection, Part 6“
Read the “0330 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
Good morning! One of my favorite hymns is ‘The Sun’s Coming Up’ by Dee Gaskin. Every time I read Revelation chapter 21 and 22, I think about this hymn and what Heaven is like.
“And the sun’s coming up in the morning. Every tear will be gone from my eye…”
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” (Revelation 21:1-5)
One day God will make all things new. We will get to talk with Him face to face. All the pain, the suffering, the wrongs done to us will pass away with all the other former things. No more death. No more sorrow. No more pain. And no more crying: God will wipe away all the tears from our eyes.
“And the sun’s coming up in the morning. Every tear will be gone from my eye; This old clay’s gonna give way to glory, And like an eagle, I’ll take to the sky.”
One day we will all be changed in the twinkling of an eye, as this old clay gives way to glory. Paul explains in 1Corinthians 15…
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1Corinthians 15:50-58)
But what I love the most about this passage in Revelation is the end of verse 5, where God tells John, “Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
“And the sun’s coming up in the morning. Every tear will be gone from my eye; This old clay’s gonna give way to glory, And like an eagle, I’ll take to the sky.”
Peace. (Revelation 22:20)
Posted in Guest Posts by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Things Are Looking Up
Today’s Passage – Ruth 1 – 4 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 7 – 9; Proverbs 28; Psalms 136 – 140
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 92:1
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Through His Eyes, Pictorial Steps to the Resurrection, Part 4“
Read the “0328 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?” – (Ruth 1:20-21)
“And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.” – (Ruth 4:14 & 15)
Did you ever have a day like the man in the picture is having. Nothing seems to go as you wanted it to. Sometimes life is that way, and often it may be more than just a day that goes poorly; it may be many days, even years. But hang in there. Stay faithful. Don’t lose hope. God may just turn things around.
I have read this story of Ruth and Naomi many times, but every time I have written or preached on the subject my focus would either be on Ruth or Boaz, the kinsman redeemer. However, this morning I got to thinking about Naomi. Naomi was a great lady, who in many ways was a victim of circumstance. Things just didn’t work out for her in life as she had probably hoped and dreamed they would. I can relate to that. Sometimes I reflect on my own life and wish that I could re-do some things; perhaps make some better choices. Hindsight always reveals the wisdom of our choices. Anyway, Naomi left the land of Canaan with her husband and two sons many years prior to the time of our text. They intended only to sojourn in the land of Moab for a short time, until the famine was over in their homeland. I appears that they stayed a lot longer than they intended. While living in Moab, her two sons marry women from Moab, which was also not according to God’s perfect plan because these women were not worshippers of the God of Israel. To make matters worse, her husband, and both of her sons die while she is there. Now she is left in a strange land with two daughters-in-law that were in many ways still strangers to her.
Naomi is faced with a decision. Life is not working out for her in Moab, and she realizes she needs to get back to her people; to the worship of her God. Good decision. But what was she to do with her daughters-in-law? She understands that feel obligated to her, and in a very real way, both of them had become very attached to her. She must have demonstrated much love toward them, because both of them loved her; and one of them (Ruth) was willing to forsake her own happiness in order to go with Naomi. In facy, Ruth was willing to become a worshipper of Naomi’s God. It appears that Naomi represented her God very well.
The point of all of this is that though Naomi didn’t make all of the right decisions through the years, and although things did not work out for her as she would have hoped, God was still very gracious to her, and was willing to use her. She left Canaan full: full of dreams and full of hope. She left Moab empty: empty of a husband, empty of her sons, and empty of material possessions; but she did have Ruth. God had graciously given her a wonderful daughter-in-law in, Ruth, who proved to be more of a blessing to her than her sons ever were. I bet if there were another chapter to the Book of Ruth we would heae Naomi say, “change my name back to Naomi, I was ‘Mara’ for a while, but things are looking up.
Can you notice a pattern here that you and I can relate to? Life sometimes starts with hopes, dreams, and ambitions. They rarely work out the way we want them to. We make many mistakes along the way that further complicate things. But, God just may turn our lives around before it’s all over. We may find that delight (Naomi means delight) after all; and it may just come through an unexpected source. Don’t lose hope. Keep following God. Better days are coming.
Posted in Thoughts from Ruth by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Civil War
Today’s Passage – Judges 20 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 4 – 6; Proverbs 27; Psalms 131 – 135
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “I Am Not Ashamed, Pictorial Steps to the Resurrection, Part 3“
Read the “0327 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first. And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah. And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah. And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.” – (Judges 20:18-21)
This is a particularly sad story in the history of the tribes of Israel. Yesterday’s reading revealed a crime that was committed by the people of Gibeah, which belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, against a man of Israel and his concubine. (Read blogpost from yesterday’s reading) The men of Israel all rallied around this man, and demanded punishment for the people of Gibeah for the heinous crime that they committed. The tribe of Benjamin, however, defended the people of Gibeah, and stood up to fight against the rest of the tribes of Israel. Civil war had broken out for the first time in the history of God’s people.
What happens next is even more sad. Though the people of Israel were right in their cause against Gibeah and the rest of the tribe of Benjamin, God allowed Israel to suffer two devastating defeats, which resulted in the deaths of 40,000 men. The people of Israel had even asked the Lord prior to both of these catastrophic losses, and the Lord had given them the green light to attack. Finally, God gave them total victory on the third day of battle; but why did God allow the eleven innocent tribes suffer to such a degree, when their cause was just?
I believe the answer to this question lies in the fact that God is very displeased when brethren don’t dwell together in unity. Battles against foreign enemies are hard enough, but battles within a family, or even within a nation, are especially difficult. I believe God wanted the Israelites, including Benjamin, to pay a very high price for their dissolving of the union that God had established. Our Civil War was a similar situation. Though the North was right in their cause to free the slaves, the price they had to pay in order to settle the conflict was extremely high. In fact, I am no expert, but I believe the losses sustained by the North were probably greater in many respects as those of the South. The price of war between brothers is brutal.
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The Women at the Cross – JUST FOR LADIES – BY CAMILLE STAHL
Today’s Passage – Judges 18 – 19 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 1 – 3; Proverbs 26; Psalms 126 – 130
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3
Read a blog post from today’s passage in Judges – “Speak Your Minds“
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “The Price of Prayer“
Read the “0326 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
A Study Of Women Of The Bible
The Women At The Cross
“And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.” (Luke 23:27)
“Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” (John 19:25)
“And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him: Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.” (Matthew 27:55-56)
“There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; (Who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him;) and many other women which came up with him unto Jerusalem.” (Mark 15:40-41)
Last week, we talked about the women who cried “Hosanna” and “Crucify Him”. We saw that these women were fickle. They were “the follow the crowd” group. This week’s women were “the faithful through good and bad” group. These women not only cried Hosanna when Jesus entered Jerusalem, but stood fast when all others had turned against Him. When other’s hearts were cold in anger, theirs were drowned in sorrow. The One who they were waiting to come and loved so dearly; the One who was being treated worse then any other guilty criminal they had ever seen. They stood by the cross at Jesus’ feet, not knowing if they too would be persecuted. Not even Jesus’ disciples, except one, was there; and another one stood “afar off”. These women were always close to Jesus and they weren’t going to leave Him now. They heard the mocking of the soldiers and the striking of the hammer on the nails. They turned their eyes downward as they took our Lord’s garments. Where were the crowds? Where were the people He healed? Only a hand full of women and one man.
As I sit here writing this blog, I think to myself how many times have I left the foot of the cross? Jesus has giving me everything I need and even things I didn’t know I needed. Even at times when I feel He is nowhere to be found, He is always right by my side.
“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5)
He has shown me time and again, how much He loves me. He loves you, too. He loves us in a way we could never understand.
Ladies, look around you. The signs of the time are all around us. Men of God are being arrested in our world for preaching the Gospel. You can say the name of Jesus as a curse word, but not in worship. The list is unending.
We too must stand strong at the foot of the cross. We must take a stand for our Lord. If your not involved at your church, ask how you can help. Give Gospel tracts to people you meet. Read your Bible and pray everyday. Develop a close relationship with the Lord. We must teach our children, and encourage other women not to leave the feet of Jesus. Don’t be ashamed of our Lord and Saviour. When times get rough, and they will, stay at His feet.
Where will Jesus find you?
Thank You, and have A blessed Resurrection Sunday
1 John 5:13
Posted in Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
(No Title)
Today’s Passage – Judges 11 – 13 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 John 1 – 5; Proverbs 24; Psalms 116 – 120
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Just the Facts“
Read the “0324 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.” – (Judges 13:8)
In Judges chapter 13, we see the story surrounding the birth of Samson. Samson’s birth came at a time when Israel was once again away from God, and was suffering at the hands of the Philistines. An angel appeared to Samson’s mother, and told her that she was going to have a son, and that this son was to be a Nazarite from the womb. You may recall that God gave instructions regarding the vow of the Nazarite in Numbers 6; but this child, Samson, is the first example of a Nazarite in the Bible. We do not know all everything about this vow, but we do know that it was a vow of separation; and we also know that the person who had taken the vow was not to drink wine, cut his hair, or touch a dead body. The interesting point about this particular case is that Samson was to be a Nazarite from birth. He never makes a vow. His separation was chosen for him by the Lord. Anyway, the angel did not appear to her husband, yet Manoah believed what the angel had told his wife. Manoah then “intreats” the Lord and asks Him to send the angel back, not to prove that it really happened, but to instruct them as to what they were supposed to do. Interestingly, the angel comes back, but only tells Manoah exactly what he had already told his wife.
I like the petition made by Manoah in Judges 13:8. He wants God to “teach” them regarding what to do with the child. Manoah acknowledged that he didn’t know what to do. He was demonstrating a dependence upon the Lord. I find myself often not knowing what to do. I often pray the prayer that Solomon prayed:
“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” – (1 Kings 3:7-9)
And sometimes I pray the prayer that Hezekiah prayed:
“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” – (2 Chronicles 20:12)
The funny thing about Manoah’s prayer is that God never did give him any more information than He already gave His wife; but He did talk to him, and somehow assured him that He was going to be with him as he raised this special child for the Lord. Manoah was just going to have to continue walking by faith. It it is often frustrationg for me to walk by faith. I want God to reveal every step of the plan to me ahead of time, but He never does. He tells me what I need to know for today, and expects me to just keep walking, and keep trusting Him. But I do not think that He is upset with me for asking Him. Those prayers are my declaration of dependence upon Him.
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When Good Men Do Nothing
Today’s Passage – Judges 9 – 10 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Peter 1 – 3; Proverbs 23; Psalms 111 – 115
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2
Read a great article by Pastor Paul Chappell – “Romans 13 in Action“
Read the “0323 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:15)
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke
This is a very strange passage of Scripture, but I think it contains a very valuable lesson for us. In chapter 8, we have Gideon who was mightily used of the Lord to rid the land of Israel from the hand of the Mideonites. After the battle was over, the people of Israel ask Gideon to be their leader, but he refuses, saying that the Lord is their ruler. However, without a good man leading them, the people once again begin to stray away from the Lord, forcing God to bring about judgment. Now when we get to todays passage, we see that one of the sons of Gideon does desire to reign over the people, and goes to all of his brothers asking them to support him, and they do. The problem is that this man, Abimelech, is a very wicked man. Once he gets his power, the first thing he does is have all of his brothers (70 of them) put to death. One of the brothers escapes, and stands upon a mountain and delivers this parable unto the people of the city of Shechem:
“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:8-15)
The olive tree refused to act; the fig tree refused to act; the vine refused to act; so there was nobody left but the bramble, a sticker bush.
What he was saying through this parable was that oftentime good men will refuse to take ther place of leadership, perhaps because they are already busy doing good things. However, when good men refuse to act, there will always be an evil person that will sieze the opportunity to gain power, and use it for his own purposes. This is what happens to the people of Shechem. Gideon refused to lead, and then his sons willingly turn over control of the city to this one brother. Eventually, as a result of all of this, just about everybody is put to death.
Bad things happen when good men do nothing. By refusing to get involved, we sometimes create a scenario where the wrong kind of people start calling the shots. Let’s apply this to the local church. Often times there are carnal people within the church that are hungry for power, and they are always looking for opportunities to advance themselves. And there are others within the body, who are good men, who just sit back and let it happen: perhaps because they have a lot of things going on in their lives, or maybe because they are just trusting men, who are willing to yield to others. By the way, it is never a good sign when an individual is seeking position. Truly spiritual people will often be reluctant to take positions because they either feel unworthy, or doubt their own ability. However, we need to not neglect the opportunities and responsibilities that God places in front of us, because when we refuse, it opens up the door to someone else who may not be God’s choice.
We can also see this in government. Good people often refuse to get involved, leaving the door wide open to men who may not have the best interests of the people at hand. The end result of all of this is that things begin to change for the worse for everybody. Good people need to stay in the process, so that we all can keep the good things that God has entrusted to us. How involved are you in the process? Do you get involved in the local church, and in your community and local government? Do you even vote? We need good people to do their part. The devil never stops trying to advance his agenda. We need to stay in the game in order to keep him from taking from us the wonderful blessings that God has given us.
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Just for Women by Camille Stahl
Today’s Passage – Joshua 22 – 24 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Hebrews 5 – 8; Proverbs 19; Psalms 91 – 95
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 25
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0319 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
A Study Of Women Of The Bible
Fickled Women
“Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death; Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus. On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:9-13)
“The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record. For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.” (John 12:17-18)
The fame of Jesus spread quickly. People of Jerusalem flocked to see Him, hear Him, and to be healed by Him. Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead and the people were amazed and excited. Men, women and children lined the street and waited with great anticipation. Mothers gathered their children and pushed their way to the front of the crowd to get a better view of Jesus. There were palm leaves being cut down by the dozen to be placed in the road and for waving in the air. “Look here comes Jesus.” The crowd goes wild. Mothers and Fathers putting their young children on their shoulders so they could see better. Everyone shouting ‘Hosanna, Hosanna’! What excitment!
“When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” (Matthew 27:19-24)
Wow! What happened? We went from winning the world series parade, to throwing rotten tomatoes at the players. This was the same crowed that was just screaming Hosanna. It seems that the people caved in to the pressure of the leaders. They wouldn’t stand for what was right. They all knew Barabbas was guilty of his crime, but no one would stand for truth. How could they change their excitment to anger so quickly? If there were more people then leaders, they could have out voiced them.
Athough there was no mention of a woman’s name or even the fact of any women were there at all, there is still a lesson we can learn from these passages.
You don’t have to look too deep to see that the time is near for the Lord’s return. Things will get rougher as we approach that day. We will have to take a stand for what we believe. We teach our children to be grateful that we live in a country where we can carry our Bibles, and go to church openly – HOSANNA! We can hand out gospel tracts to them too – HOSANNA! We can take our children to church where the preachers have liberty to preach aganist sin – HOSANNA! We can freely say “I am a follower of Jesus Christ” – HOSANNA! But very soon this freedom will be taken away, and we’re seeing this on a small scale already. Church doors will be locked and they will burn our Bibles – CRUCIFY HIM! We will be arrested for handing out gospel tracts – CRUCIFY HIM! Preachers will be thrown in jail or even put to death, for preaching against sin – CRUCIFY HIM. The pressure of the shouting voices of our leaders will try to shame us for being followers of Christ – CRUCIFY HIM.
When the pressure comes, what will you be shouting? Will you shout with the crowd, or will you shout for Truth? It’s up to you!
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Get to Work
Today’s Passage – Joshua 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – Titus 1 – 3; Proverbs 17; Psalms 81 – 85
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 18:3 & 46
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Schmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0317 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” – (Joshua 17:15)
In Joshua chapter seventeen, we see the land of Israel being divided up among the twelve tribes. The two half tribes that belonged to the sons of Joseph were a little concerned because they felt that they needed more land than what was given to them. They reasoned that because they were a “great people”, one portion of land would not be sufficient for them. The leader of Israel, Joshua, basically tells them that there is plenty more land available, but they would have to work a little to get it. The land he offered them was very mountainous and wooded, and needed to be cleared; and it also contained some pretty heavily armed Canaanites that also needed to be removed. I think the tribe of Joseph really wanted to just move right into a place where they would not have to put forth too much effort.
There is a great lesson to be learned here for us today. We often have desires for great things in life, but we usually are reluctant to work for those things. I know a man who today is very wealthy. He and his family enjoy many material possessions, and are very well off. However, those things did not come easy to him. He worked very hard over the course of many years to accumulate the wealth that he enjoys today. In fact, I knew this man when he was a boy in school. He studied hard, and applied himself. He continued to work hard through college; and when he received his first employment opportunity, he applied himself diligently there as well. Nobody handed his wealth to him. He had to work for it. He is envied by many people today who want what he has, but most of those people would not want to pay the price that he paid in time and sweat in order to achieve what he has.
As Christians, we need to get away from this entitlement mentality that everything is owed to us. There are plenty of opportunities out there for us to take advantage of, but few of them will come without a sacrifice on our part. We can see this lazy attitude in the ministry today. Some preachers, right out of Bible college, want a large ministry handed to them. They look for the perfect opportunity. Yet, there are millions of people out there who need a preacher. I remember when I came to Jersey Shore, there was no parsonage,there was no salary. We did have a beautiful little building, and a good group of people gathered together, but there were few perks that would attract many prospective preachers today. I was just thrilled that somebody wanted me to be their pastor. The church has grown some since then. By God’s grace we have been able to add on to our building, purchase more land, and add new ministries. But it took work. We had to cut down the woods, and drive out some of the Canaanites. It wasn’t easy, but God has blessed us all through the process.
Don’t expect all of the good things in life to be handed to you. Our God is a wonderful, gracious, and very giving God; but aside from our salvation, He often doesn’t hand us things on a silver platter. What He does do, however, is offer us opportunities to fight and work for things. Do you want something more in life? Go get it. Work for it.
Posted in Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Give Me This Mountain
Today’s Passage – Joshua 13 – 15 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 2 Timothy 1 – 4; Proverbs 16; Psalms 76 – 80
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Joshua 1:8
Read a great article by Pastor Cary Scmidt – “Eight Ways to Help Those Who Grieve“
Read the “0316 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.” – (Joshua 14:12)
One of my favorite men in the Bible is Caleb. He had an unshakable and an unwavering faith in the Lord. He wholly followed the Lord his God, and there was no obstacle that was too large, and no enemy that was too powerful, to keep Caleb from fulfilling God’s will for his life. You will remember that when the spies were sent in to check out the land of Canaan there were only two of them that came back with a positive report; only two that knew that God was much bigger than and giant Canaanite. One of those two men was Caleb. Ten of those spies came back and said, “It can’t be done; it’s too hard; we’re not ready yet. Not Caleb. He and Joshua were ready for a fight:
“And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” – (Numbers 14:6-9)
In our passage today, it is now forty-five years after the spies came back, and Caleb is an old man; yet, he still has a lot of fight left in him. He is not thinking about retirement. He is still looking to conquer more giants for the Lord. We need more Calebs in the church today! Men and women who trust the Lord wholly to do “greater works than these”. We need people who are willing to fight for what is right; people who still see areas that need to be conquered for the Lord.
What does God want you to conquer for Him? What giant obstacle is in your path that God is waiting for you to trust Him to remove in His power? What neighborhood, or city remains unreached with the gospel? What are you afraid of. I know it’s not going to be easy. I know that there are giants trying to stop you, but your God is greater than any Giant. Trust Him and take the mountain!
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Moldy Bread, Broken Bottles, and Old Shoes
Today’s Passage – Joshua 8 – 9 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)
(Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 1 – 3; Proverbs 14; Psalms 66 – 70
Scripture Memorization for March – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – 20
Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8
Read a great article by Dr. Steve Elwart – “The War on Guns“
Read the “0314 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.” – (Joshua 9:14)
In Joshua chapter nine, we see the children of Israel after their second successful battle in the land of Canaan. They had just destroyed the cities of Jericho and Ai, and they were on their way to conquer all of the other cities of Canaan that were in their path. The inhabitants of the land realized that this new nation coming in could not be beaten in battle, so they resorted to trickery in order to save themselves. The Gibeonites that inhabited four cities nearby that would have soon been destroyed came to the Joshua and the princes of Israel and pretended to be from a very far country, presumably outside of the land of Canaan. They even brought props with them in order to convince the Israelites that what they were saying was true. They brought with them mouldy bread, old and worn out shoes, and broken wine bottles; all designed to convince the Israelites that had travelled from far away. They were very deceptive, yet very convincing. They desired that Israel would make a covenant of peace with them, and Israel does. Without consulting the Lord, Israel takes the victuals that these people offer them, and promise them that they will not be destroyed.
The part about this story that I have the toughest time with is that even though the people of Israel were deceived, God still expected them to honor their covenant with these Gibeonites. It would seem to me that because the Gibeonites had not been truthful about where they came from, God would not expect His people to live up to their end of the bargain. I have struggled with this passage of Scripture for years, but I think I have it figured out now. You see, the people did not consult with God before they entered into this covenant. Had they talked to God about it, He would have told them not to believe the Gibeonites. As a result, Israel makes a tragic mistake, and God is going to make them live with their choice.
By the way, this is the second time that the Joshua Administration has acted without consulting God first. Remember when they went into the city of Ai the first time? They were defeated. Why? Because Achan stole the accursed thing back in the battle of Jericho. Again, it almost looked as if God was punishing the whole nation unfairly for the act of one man, which nobody else in Israel even knew about. But God knew, and God would have told Joshua, too, had Joshua only prayed before going into the battle with Ai. It seems that God’s people have this bad habit of praying after tragedy strikes, rather than doing a little preventive praying. Have you prayed today? Satan might right now be preparing a trap for you. You’d better be careful. What decisions are you about to make without a consultation with God; or perhaps at least a look into God’s principles found in His Word? What actions are you about to take? You had better take them to God first. You just may be on the verge of making a tragic mistake. God knows, and He can help you prevent it, but He wants you to come to Him first.
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