April 12, 2023
  Daily Reading – Joshua 23-24 / Luke 10:1-24

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 24:14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

       What would be a good portrait of fear? I guess that depends on how you describe that fear. When I worked in the warehouse, we had storage racks with skids of boxes on them. Once while working on one side of the racks, I saw another guy reaching into the area that I was already in from the other side of that rack. When he bent down and reached in, I made a growling sound like a mad dog. He jumped back and let out a high-pitched scream. That might be what many picture as fear. However, many times at church, I will see people bending a knee in prayer to the Lord, or lifting their voices in praise to Him in song. This is also a picture of fear.

 

       In Joshua 24:14 Joshua tells the people; “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.” This verse tells us how to fear the Lord. We should not live afraid of a loving God. However, we should have a reverent respect of who He is and His authority. I am not afraid of walking near a semi-truck, but I do not stand in front of one going 60 MPH. Joshua says, serve God with sincerity and truth. That means willingly. Because you want to, not have to. He also said put away all other gods. You cannot serve the world and God. The portrait becomes clear with; “Serve ye the LORD.” 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

       The portrait of fear that the world needs to see is an undivided Holy respect for this awesome loving God. Respect for His Word by living it out. Respect for our worship with adoration for His love through Christ.

 

What portrait of love for a Holy God
does the world see through you?

 

 

  April 11, 2023
  Daily Reading – Joshua 21-22 / Luke 9:28-62

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 21:43 And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

       Over the years I have had people say things to me about my dad. They have told me about his fairness, about his work ethic, and about him being an honest man who kept his word. People for the most part seemed to like my dad. My dad’s good name opened several doors for me in life. Who he was, is who people assumed I would be as well. I have tried to live up to that and leave a good name for my children also. However, that has not always been true. For a time in my younger years, I did not value the heritage of a good family name. I, like many others, thought that I was going to do it all on my own. Be my own man. Carve my own path. While it is true that my dad and I are different in many ways, it is also true that I am blessed because of who he was. A good family heritage is of great value.

 

       As we move toward the end of the book of Joshua we see that the land God had promised to Israel is now theirs. God has kept His Word, as we all know, He always does. However, this did not begin with Joshua. It did not begin with Moses. It began with a promise that God had made to their fathers. It was the faith of Abraham in God’s Word that earned them this heritage. This heritage was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There was a delay in receiving that land because of their sinfulness. Yet, even the sins of an entire nation of people could not stop God from fulfilling His promise to their fathers. He promised! 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      God always completes what He sets out to do. What a blessed assurance we have in His promises of old. Phil. 1:6 says; “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” 

 

Has God began a work in you?

 

 

  April 10, 2023
  Daily Reading – Joshua 18-20 / Luke 9:1-27

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 19:49 When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them:

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      It never dawned on me what was going on when I was a little boy. I always just saw my mom scooping food on mine and my sister’s plate. I was not really paying attention to mom and dad eating, I was hungry and all I cared about was me! However, as I got older I noticed that my mom would always stay busy helping us get our food and moving food from the stove to the table, until everyone had something on their plate. Then she would sit down and get her servings. There was always enough, but mom always made sure everyone else was fed first. It was not a self-sacrificing or self-aggrandizing effort. She just genuinely cared for others first.

 

      Joshua has been busy over the last few chapters. He has been making sure that each and every tribe of Israel had received all that they needed and what was awarded by God. I really do not think He was putting himself last as some self-sacrificing or a “look at how humble I am,” sort of gesture. I believe he cared for those people and wanted to make sure everyone was taken care of. Yet we find when it was all said and done, the Lord had kept a certain area set aside just for Joshua. It was the area he originally wanted. In the New Testament Jesus mentions this same characteristic to the disciples when He said in Matthew 19:30, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” If we put others first, God will watch over us. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      Jesus had that attitude toward us. Paul wrote of it in Phil. 2:5 when He said; “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Jesus put us first when took our sin upon Himself. Then it says in vs 9 that God highly exalted Him. 

 

How might you put others first today?

 

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 17:12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      OK I am Cheap! You can call it thrifty. You can call it being a good steward. You can put lipstick on a pig and tie a bow on its tail, but it is still a pig. Call it what you will, I am cheap at times. When rebuilding my house that had caught fire, there were times I decided to reuse some of the wood that was there. As hard as I tried, there were some nails left behind in that old wood that were easier to just pound into the wood than to try to pull out. However, there were also times when that came back to haunt me. Like when I tried to cut that wood and did not see the nail until the saw hit it and sparks flew everywhere.

      God had given very clear instructions to Israel. In Deut. 7. They were to expel all the people off the land that He was to give them. Deut. 7:2 says; “And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:” That chapter goes on to say that if they did not do this, those people would turn Israel’s hearts away from Him. Still we find that several tribes of Israel allowed people to stay in the land. It says they made them their servants. Later we will see how the sins of these people seeped into the nation of Israel and they then became servants to their sin. Leaving these people there seemed like the easy thing to do at the time. Yet, in the long run, they became an affliction to their soul. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    A little sin today, can be a huge affliction down the road. Just as the Canaanites were left behind, so we see in ourselves the old sin nature left behind as well. We must daily be on guard not to yield to, or become servant of any old sin. 
 

Are you standing guard against old sin?

 THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

    I can still hear my parents saying over and again, “Listen to me!” God says the same thing, and everything God says comes true. That is why Israel said;

● We Have Arrived
● We Have Assisted
● We Have Assurance
● We Have Accomplished
● We Have Alliance
● We Have Afflictions

    We also can have blessings or avoid trials in this life, “Only If we Listen!”

     Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 SUNDAYS:

    Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

April 10, 2023	Joshua 18-20	Luke 9:1-27
April 11, 2023	Joshua 21-22	Luke 9:28-62
April 12, 2023	Joshua 23-24	Luke 10:1-24
April 13, 2023	Judges 1-2	Luke 10:25-42
April 14, 2023	Judges 3-5	Luke 11:1-28
April 15, 2023	Judges 6-7	Luke 11:29-54
April 16, 2023	No Passages Assigned

Only If We Listen

  April 7, 2023
  Daily Reading – Joshua 12-14 / Luke 8:1-39

 

 GOD’S WORD:

Joshua 14:14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      A Promise is a promise, that is until it is broken. Today people often do not trust people as they once did. It used to be that a man’s word or a handshake was enough to seal any deal. Today you must sign contracts, give deposits, and have things notarized for a promise to be believed. Even then most people are not sure of a promise until it has been fulfilled. Arbitrators and attorneys have full-time jobs making incredibly good wages sorting out signed contracts that were not fulfilled as promised.

 

      God had made a promise to Caleb concerning Hebron. Although the previous promises made to him in Numbers 14:24 and Deuteronomy 1:36 do not specifically mention Hebron, it is clear that everyone understood this to be the place mentioned in today’s passages. Yet even prior to Caleb, God had made an alliance with Abram about this land. In Genesis 13 God tells Abram that all the land that he sees will one day be inhabited by his family. In Genesis 13:18 it says; “Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.” Way before Caleb was promised by God that he would possess Hebron, God had made a promise to Abram that this place would be Israels land. Even the name “Hebron” means alliance, or fellowship. There were no contracts, deposits or notaries. We can always take God at His word. That is a promise. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      God has made an alliance with believers today. He promises to never leave or forsake us. He promised us a home in heaven. He promised to save us from our sin if we believe in Christ. It is comforting to know; God always keeps His word.

 

Do you have real faith in God’s promises?