Tag Archives: daily walk

Be Strong and Courageous

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Joshua 1

One of my goals in writing this blog is to encourage people to fall in love with God’s Word. I hope you are all reading it every day and allowing God to speak His Words directly to you.

Today, I just want to share what God said to Joshua as he was to begin leading Israel after the death of Moses. In the times in which we live, it just might be exactly what God wants to say to us, too. May it challenge and bless you as it has me this morning.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. This is my command – be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:8-9)

Are You Taking Notes?

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Deuteronomy 17

In Good News Club yesterday, one of the third graders got out his notebook and began to take notes. One of the volunteers, not knowing what he was doing, asked him to put it away. He obeyed.

Later, he let me look at what he’d written. He’d copied the memory verse, our five rules, our “Word Up” which was: God Can Change Me. He jotted down things from the lesson like, “All have sinned,” “Not everyone goes to heaven,” “Jesus died for our sins,” and John 3:16. He did such a good job!

One of the commands God gave the kings of Israel was to copy His law in their own hand. Then they were to keep their copy and read it every day.

This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way…” (17:20)

Moses also said that in writing and reading the Law, the king would learn to fear God and learn to obey the instructions.

Here’s a thought: if you are one who says you have trouble understanding Scripture, or have trouble concentrating on what you’re reading, get a notebook and a pen and begin to copy a portion of Scripture in your own hand.

Maybe copy the book of John. Or some psalms. Or copy James or one of Paul’s letters. You might be surprised at how that simple act can help your understanding, and retention of God’s Word.

It was commanded of Old Testament kings. It might be useful for God’s servants in 2022.

But even if it doesn’t help – it certainly can’t hurt!

The Most Important Word in The Bible

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Deuteronomy 13

God gave specific instructions to the Jews concerning worship, sacrifices, how to treat one another, caring for the poor, etc. The nuts and bolts of it were fulfilled by Jesus on the cross so today we don’t sacrifice animals on a stone altar, and we don’t kill idolators. But God’s instructions to the Jews speaks volumes to us today.

Deuteronomy 13:18 is the lesson God wants us to understand from His instructions:

The Lord your God will be merciful only IF you listen to His voice and keep all His commands that I am giving you today, doing what pleases Him. (emphasis mine)

Gods words in Deuteronomy are still true today, and only through the substitutionary work of Jesus can our sins be forgiven without the physical sacrificing of animals. Without blood, there is still no forgiveness of sin. Jesus shed His own blood as the ultimate, perfect substitute.

What we read in Deuteronomy is a picture of what Jesus did on the cross. He became those sacrifices for us. And therefore, the same principle applies:

God will show mercy IF we obey Him.

We can’t expect God’s blessings unless we do ALL His Word demands. That’s a tall order on our own.

IF I accept Jesus as my Savior I am obeying the Law spelled out in Deuteronomy. And IF I live my life like Jesus spelled out in the New Testament, then and only then can God bless me.

And, oh what blessings!

I think “IF” might be the most important word in the Bible.

See You In Church!

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Deuteronomy 12

God was adamant that the Jews go to church to worship Him. They were not to do their own thing, or worship at a more convenient place. And they were not supposed to stay home and worship Him there. That was because the Holy Spirit had not been given, and the only place they could meet God was at the place He chose.

I know we live after the cross. We have God’s Holy Spirit with us 24/7. I am worshiping God sitting in my enclosed porch this morning. But I wonder if we can’t learn something from God’s words to Israel about worshiping together with fellow believers.

The writer of Hebrews (10:25) tells us:

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – all the more as you see the Day approaching.

The COVID thing has made it so easy to neglect corporate worship. Many of you are simply out of the habit of getting up on a Sunday morning to go to church. You might turn on a live-stream or TV preacher and feel you’ve satisfied God. And maybe you have. I’m not your judge.

I’m thankful for technology for legitimately homebound people to be able to hear God’s Word preached, to sing and worship along with their church family. But I think even they would say they are missing something important. That face to face, hand-shaking, bear-hug kind of fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ can’t be had through the TV. The writer of Hebrews tells us the “meeting together” is the encouragement we need during these times.

You may truly worship God sitting in your jammies in front of the TV. At least I hope you do, without distraction. Your attention to the service is no less important than if you were sitting in your pew.

But if you are one who is able to get out, and simply choose to stay home instead of attending your church’s worship service, let me ask you why? Are your reasons those that honor God? Or just excuses out of your own comfort and convenience? Have you convinced yourself you don’t “need” church?

God, in Hebrews 10:25, tells us it’s important as the day of Christ’s return draws near. And that was written 2,000 years ago. Could it be even more important today?

See you in church!

A Diary

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Numbers 33

Matthew Henry suggests Moses may have kept a diary of his forty years as Israel’s leader. In chapter 33 of Numbers, we may be seeing an expert from that diary or a summary of one. We see the route the Jews took from Egypt to the Promised Land, and it’s more like a maze than a straight line. The names of the places where they stayed reminds us of some their experiences along the way – experiences meant to teach us today.

So, would keeping a diary be important for a Christian?

I had never watched “The Amazing Race” on TV until this past season. A married couple whose You Tube channel I enjoy were contestants, so I thought I’d watch to see how far they got in the competition – and they won! I actually enjoyed watching what amounts to a race around the world, with some “roadblocks” along the way. (the maggot infested cheese was a roadblock that would have sent me home!)

Here is what this winning couple attributed to their success: Kim’s diary. Every night she would get out her notebook and write what they had done. She would draw pictures of what they had seen. Then she and her husband would study the diary in case there was a memory test at the end of the race. There was. And they won pretty easily.

So what does that have to do with anything? I don’t know about your memory, but mine isn’t what it used to be. I kind of regret not having a diary, from let’s say 2002 or 1992, so I could look back and see how God was working in my life. I’m sure the things I thought were challenging – or impossible- at the time were worked out by God, and I’d like to see how. I think that would be encouraging in my walk today.

If you are one who has been keeping a diary, let me encourage you to go back and read it. Let God show you how He’s brought you to today.

If you aren’t in the habit of keeping a diary, you might want to begin. I’m one that isn’t comfortable writing down my “feelings,” but a diary can be just the facts. You might say, well nothing happened today that would be important to journal. Maybe not at the moment. But God IS working in your life one day at a time. Maybe this “unimportant” day will play an important roll down the road.

I know keeping a diary isn’t for everyone. I guess you won’t know until you try. But there is something valuable about remembering, about looking back and appreciating the road God has walked with you. And trust me, you young folk, remembering gets harder the older you get!

What Do Your Tassels Look Like?

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Numbers 15

One Christmas my niece and her husband gave me a wind chime that plays the most beautiful tones I think I’ve ever heard in a wind chime. Sometimes when there is a breeze I hear the music and stop what I’m doing just to enjoy the sound. Sometimes I’ll pray for Libby and Seth as their gift delights my soul. Sometimes I’ll just listen – but I always remember those two precious people who gave it to me. (Happy Anniversary by the way, dear ones!)

God told the Israelites to make tassels for the hems of their clothing so that when they saw the tassels they would remember and obey God’s commands “instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.” (verse 39)

I sat here and wondered what my “tassels” look like, what it is that reminds me to obey, and not defile myself as I am prone to do. I believe God brought His Name to mind.

As I wear the name, “Christian,” shouldn’t that be enough for me to remember to obey the One whose Name I wear? Should that be enough to do what I need to do to NOT defile myself even though temptation is always in front of me? If I identify with Jesus by calling myself a Christian, shouldn’t my choices, my life be lived in obedience?

I will admit that my wind chimes sing out on occasion and maybe I hear them, and maybe I’m so used to hearing them the beautiful tones don’t penetrate my hearing. I don’t stop and listen.

And maybe I’m so used to wearing the name, “Christian,” I stop hearing the beautiful tones of my Savior’s voice telling me to be holy, to confess sin, to obey, to love, to stand for Truth, to go and make disciples.

God gave the Israelites tassels to remind them to obey. God gave me His Name that ought to remind me of the same.

So, what “tassels” are you wearing that remind you to obey your Savior? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

You May Not… But If You Do…

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Leviticus 27

I had to do some digging to understand what appeared to be a contradiction. Do you need to offer an acceptable animal to God, or is there a loophole?

What I came to realize is that this chapter is not about offering sacrifices for sin. Those animals had to be perfect, without defect or God would not forgive sin. Leviticus 27 is talking about something else all together.

What we see here are offerings to God that accompany a vow to serve Him. Matthew Henry gave the example of people wanting to sweep the tabernacle or run errands for the priests. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary in One Volume; Zondervan Publishing House; 1961; page 141) These willing servants would pay for the privilege of serving, rather than expecting payment for their services.

So God gave them guidelines. The offerings were not sin sacrifices, yet the offerings still needed to be worthy of God. “Good animals” rather than “bad animals;” a fair price for a man willing to serve or the price of a house or land of the person willing to serve.

It costs to serve God. Don’t think it doesn’t.

Now, if a willing servant had only a “bad animal” it did not mean he couldn’t serve. But that “bad animal” would not be acceptable to God. In that case, the servant could bring what they had and exchange the inferior animal for a “good animal,” and offer that to God.

But that didn’t mean he could take his “bad animal” home. Both animals were accepted as the offering, and neither could be bought back.

God didn’t lower the standard because all the guy had was a “bad animal.” God didn’t say, “Well, your heart is in the right place. You had good intentions. That’s good enough.”

It wasn’t good enough. God’s requirement for this offering was a “good animal.” Period.

If the willing servant could have exchanged his inferior animal for the proper one, then taken his inferior animal home, it would have cost him nothing to serve God. And it always costs to serve God.

In fact, in this case the cost of serving God was now TWO animals instead of one. The cost went up. Warren Wiersbe talks about the cost of making rash promises to God. Those can be very costly. (With The Word; Oliver Nelson Publishing; 1991; page 84).

Do you remember the young man who told Jesus he wanted to follow Him? (see Matthew 19, Mark 10, Luke 18). I believe he meant it, until he heard Jesus tell him the cost of following Him:

EVERYTHING!

The young man, though willing, could not bring himself to pay the price when it came right down to it.

I hope you’ve determined to follow Jesus. But don’t get caught up in emotion and make a promise you can’t keep. Count the cost. Because, just as God keeps His promises to us, He expects us to keep our promises to Him.

The Name of God

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Leviticus 24

For those of you Christians who still use the Name of God like an exclamation mark, let me suggest you read Leviticus 24 today.

Now, you need not fear stoning for saying “OMG.” But I think you need to ask yourself how important the Name of God and the precious Name of of Jesus is to you.

Then, ask yourself what your use of the Name says to people who hear it used in such a casual and irreverent way. As a representative of Jesus, does your vocabulary reveal Him the way He deserves?

What does your use of His Name say to God Himself? God is very serious about His Name.

We’d better be, too.

It’s Not Forever

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Job 42

I wonder how long Job suffered. From the moment he received the terrible news of his losses, to the moment he repented after hearing God speak, was it weeks? Months? Years? I don’t know. And I don’t pretend to know the degree of pain he endured during that time, however long.

But God pointed out something to me today I think some of us need to hear:

Job’s trial didn’t last forever.

Scripture tells us he lived 140 years after the events we read about in the book of Job. The reality is, as awful as it was, Job’s problems were a blip in the span of his lifetime. After God brought him through that period, he enjoyed life for another 140 years.

Are you going through something you feel might break you? You see no way out? No silver lining? If you know Jesus as your Savior, let God assure you this is a “light and momentary affliction.” Do you know who said that? It was the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:17. If you know anything about Paul, I don’t think you’d define what he went through as light, or even momentary. The man suffered for the name of Jesus, nearly all of his adult life.

Whatever it is you are facing, God is able to see you through, even if you can’t see how. I’m not minimizing the pain you are feeling. Some of you are going through hard, hard situations right now. And some of you who went through hard times in the past, still carry the burden of loss. I know.

But I think God would have you know there is hope. Do you believe that? Do you trust Him?

Yesterday in Sunday School we talked about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. I’m not going to tell you their story, but if you don’t know let me encourage you to read Daniel 3. It’s worth your time!

As the boys faced the fiery furnace, they declared their total trust in God by telling the king three things:

  1. God can rescue us
  2. We believe He will rescue us
  3. We trust Him alone with however He chooses to do that.

God doesn’t promise to keep us out of difficult situations. In fact, He tells us to expect them. What He does promise to His children is His Presence every step of the way. The king could see God’s Presence with the boys IN the fire!

And what I learn from these boys and Job is that if God brings us through our trial and gives us 140 more years to enjoy life on planet Earth, we win. If He chooses us to take us home to be with Him, we win.

Your difficulty right now will not last forever. I don’t know how God will end it, or when, but if you are His through the blood of Jesus, if you trust Him, He’s got this. Do you believe that?

I am praying that you will rest in the confidence that no matter how difficult life is right now, God is with you, God loves you, and there is a blessed solution to the problem.

It’s not going to last forever.

Remember The Day

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Job 29

Was Job wrong to long for the days before tragedy struck? He had been wealthy, respected, and revered. He’d been healthy and happy. Now, after losing it all he wished he could go back when life was easy and all his children were around him. Who wouldn’t?

Sometimes I think how nice it would be to go back to my childhood, in our comfortable home, hanging out with my little sisters. It was a time when our parents worried about paying the bills, putting food on the table, the need of a newer car… and I never gave those things a thought.

It was a time when my parents went to work, and we went outside to play.Oh, there were awful things happening in the world at that time. But our parents protected us from the worry of most of it.

I don’t think it’s wrong to look back. In fact, memory is a blessing to encourage us, teach us, comfort us, and to challenge us to do better and be better. But don’t live in the past.

Longing for the good old days shouldn’t prevent us from living today. We can’t go back. Those days are gone and will never return. But we have today.

We have today to do better and be better, to be nurturing a relationship with the LORD and being His servant. We have today to grow, and to represent Jesus to our neighbors and friends.

In fact, Paul tells us his philosophy:

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.(Philippians 3:13b-14)

Someday, years from now, someone is going to long for life the way it was in 2022. Maybe they’ll be remembering the day you introduced them to their Savior.