Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I really need this verse today. No matter what struggles we're going through, we can make a choice. We can either hyper focus on them and allow them to affect the way we go about our day or we can choose to think about these things and continue to go about our day bringing glory to God.

Lord, please help me to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Lord, I will focus on these good things and go about my day bringing glory to you. Help me to deal with the negative thoughts and things occurring around me. Thank you Lord for the Spirit living inside of me.  Without him, I could not do this. Amen.

Joshua 24:23

"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel."

What are the foreign gods I need to throw away? What is a god? It is anything that takes his place. I guess that means anything I go to in times of trouble. Anything I rely on for peace, comfort, solace, guidance, or personal value. Anything I constantly think about and worship. Anything I allow to get in the way of doing God's work or fulfilling his purpose. How do I spend my time, money, energy, and thoughts?

Lord, I want you and only you as the God of my life. Lord please help me to throw away the foreign gods in my life. I want to yield my heart to only you. Amen.

Joshua 24:15

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

This is such a famous verse. we usually hear a shorter version but here is the whole verse. God has always given his people a choice. He has never forced anyone to love him. God loves all of us, everyone, unsaved and saved. He gives us all the same good gifts here on the earth. If we choose to love him and develop a relationship with him, we get to enjoy that while we are here on earth, plus after death we will continue to be with him

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to choose. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to have a relationship with you right now and eternally. Lord, please help us to make the right choice. Amen.

Joshua 24:13

So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.

I came across this verse a few months ago when I was studying a survey of the Old Testament. God uses even the wicked for his purpose. God had these groups of people prepare these cities and lands for his people.

Lord, if you will use even the wicked to your purpose then I know you can use me to your purpose. Lord, please don't let me get in your way. Please Lord, use me to the glory of your kingdom. Amen.

Joshua 23:13b

Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the Lord your God has given you.

When the Israelites were conquering the land God had promised them, he told them to destroy all the people. God knew that these people would lead Israel astray. In our lives we have choice. Almost everything that occurs in our lives happens as a result of one of our choices. When we allow ungodly people to remain our lives, like the verse says they will become snares and traps for us. We may have to make the hard choice and remove people from our lives.

Lord, please help us and guide us to know when there is a person in our life that we need to remove. Amen.

Joshua 22:27

On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the Lord.'

A few of the tribes were given land on the east side of the Jordan while the majoity were on the west side of the Jordan. When the group left to go back to the east side they stopped to build a alter. I guess this must have looked like the altar in the tabernacle because the other side took great offense. They were ready to go to war against the east side group. It turns out it was just a miscommunication. These tribes almost went to war together because of a misunderstanding. As we go about our day how many times do we get angry and upset over things and they may just be a misunderstanding ? We can save ourselves so much bitterness in anger by assuming good intent.

Lord, please help me to react as you would react in all situations. Help me to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Amen.

Joshua 22:5

But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Wow! What a verse! That pretty much sums up our whole relationship with God.

Lord, I love you. I plan to obey you and keep your commands. I will hold fast to you and serve you with all my heart and soul. Amen.

Joshua 21:45

Not one of all the Lord's good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

The Lord gave all this land to the Israelites. He gave all their enemies into their hands. Now he is giving them rest. The last thing he asked of the Israelites was to give. Each tribe had to give some of their land to the Levites. If the Lord fulfilled His promises to the Israelites, we can be confident he will fulfill his promises to us. We can thank God for that fulfillment by giving when we are given the opportunity to do so.

Lord, thank you so much for all your good and holy gifts. Thank you for promising to always be there for us. Please help us to remember to cheerfully give back to you. Amen.

Monday, Monday

Well, I had to do something for my son which he needed for school this morning and of course it took longer than anticipated so I did not have time to do my study. I can either be frustrated and angry or I can be grateful for the opportunity to serve my son. I will choose gratefulness. (although that was not my first reaction)

Lord, please help me to be thankful for the daily interruptions that allow me to serve others. Amen.

Joshua 20:9

Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

I have always liked the concept of the cities of refuge. I think we could compare our time on earth as our city of refuge. We have all sinned and our sin has put Christ on the cross. We all deserve death, but we have the opportunity while here on earth to do something about it. We have the opportunity to accept the saving grace Christ offers us. We may even have the opportunity to express our thankfulness while we are still here on earth. And we have the opportunity to share with others how they can be cleansed of their guilt.

Lord, I pray that I use my time here on earth, in my city of refuge, to do all that you want me to do. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Joshua 18 & 19

In these two chapters Joshua completes the division of the land between the tribes. This is their inheritance. Last night at ladies class we talked about inheritance Our earthly inheritance may be nothing, but with God as our Father our eternal inheritance is monumental.

Lord, thank you so much for a hope of an eternal inheritance. Lord, you know as humans we need something beyond the here and now to look forward to. Thank you for that gift. Thank you for being our father. Amen.

Joshua 15:16-19; 17:3-6

Both of the scriptures listed above are stories of women. Amongst this big story of conquering and dividing land there are very few mentions of women, so they stand out. The first notable woman is offered as a prize, then bravely asks for land. The second lists the daughters of a man who has no sons, so they are given land. As a woman, I love reading stories of women in the Bible.

Lord, thank you for giving us stories of women. These special women speak to your daughters is a special way. Amen.

Joshua 14:14

So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.

Caleb was one of the spies who believed they could take the land. Because of his faithfulness he was given that land.

Lord,  I want to follow you wholeheartedly. Amen.

Bad Morning

Lord, help me to get through today without hurting anyone else. Amen.

Joshua 12:7a

Here is a list of the kings of the land that Joshua and the Israelites conquered

Here and throughout the Bible God seems to be quite a list maker. Here he lists the Kings that were conquered, other places he lists genealogies, he even gave a list of 10 commandments. What kind of list do we make? Do we keep a list of the wrongs people have done? Do we keep a list of our sins? Do we keep a list of our failures? With God as our example, let's make list of our successes, our history,  and our plans to do good things.

Lord, help us to remember only what we can learn from. Help us to remember when we have followed your will. Help us plan for success in the future. Amen.

Joshua 11:20

For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them with out mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

At first this seems so cruel. how can God exterminate huge groups of people? The word exterminate makes me think of the flood. Everyone and everything on planet Earth was destroyed except Noah and what was in the Ark. As humans, we are so concerned for the rights of the individual. I think we sometimes forget that this world belongs to God, not us. He does what he does for His purposes. There were some people who survived these attacks. Maybe these people's hearts were being stoftened to God like Rahab.

Lord, I pray that I always remember that life is a gift and this is your world established for your purposes. Amen.

Joshua 10:42

All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

At this point I expect Israel was feeling pretty invincible. They were sweeping through the land defeating everyone. when we have that kind of success it's hard to not become prideful. We always have to remember God is the one in charge. These things are happening for His purposes. We are just the vessel.

Lord, I know if I am living in your will and doing the things you want me to do, success or failure, it is all for you and for your purpose. Help me not to be prideful in success or defeated in failure. Amen.

Joshua 10:8

The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."

At this point Joshua and the Israelites were doing exactly what God was telling them to do. They had nothing to fear. In this battle God ends up killing more of the enemy with hail than the warriors do. If we are following God's will, truly listening to him and doing what he asks, then we also have nothing to fear.

Lord, thank you so much for leading us. Help us to always walk in your path so that we may never need to fear. Amen.

Joshua 9:14

The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.

The Gibeonites deceived Israel so they would not destroy them. They did a good job. Their plan worked. They made a treaty with Israel and were saved. The problem is that it sounded like a good idea to make a treaty with these people but nobody bothered to ask to God. Everyday we face challenges and decisions. Everyday we face these challenges and decisions without consulting God. Why we do that? We have direct access to the Spirit, to Christ, to the Father, yet we just rely on ourselves.  Some decisions turn out okay, some don't, but if we invite God into our choices then all of our decisions will be made for his glory and his purpose.

Lord, help me to invite you into every decision I make. Amen.

Just a Closer Walk With Thee Part 2

God has really been working on me about the concept of walking with Jesus. Yesterday when I was on my walk I was envisioning Jesus walking beside me. When I did I realized I would need to make room for Jesus on the sidewalk. That struck a chord with me and I thought if Jesus is always beside me then I always need to make room for him.

I need to make room for him when I walk.
I need to make room for him at the office.
I need to make room for him at home.
I need to make room for him in the car.

If I always envision Jesus right there with me how different would my life be? "What would Jesus do?" is a good question, but a more practical one might be "What would I do if Jesus was right next to me?"

Lord,  Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for making him our savior and our brother. Amen.

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain:
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

I have heard this song three times in the last 2 days in 3 completely different circumstances. When things come in threes I pay attention because sometimes its God talking to me.

I like to think of Jesus as by my side. He's a friend and a brother. Someone I can hold hands with and talk to. The Spirit is inside of me. He guides me and directs the way I respond to things. And if I let him he will completely take over when he needs to. God the Father is everywhere. He is omnipotent and knows everything and can see my entire life like a huge rolodex before him. He sees the big picture and knows how the game ends.

Lord,  with my Savior by my side, the spirit inside, and you on the outside, I am completely covered. I am surrounded by you and I have nothing to fear. Amen.

Joshua 8:2

You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city."

So, the Israelites destroy Jericho but are not to take any plunder. One person does and he and his whole family are destroyed. Now in the attack on Ai they are allowed to take plunder. Wow! If we just wait on God often he will give us what we want, but it's on his time and his terms, not ours.

Lord, help me to not be anxious or greedy, but to wait on you. Amen.