Victory Belongs To All God's Faithful Servants

Joshua 22:7b-8---And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them, And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.

The tribes of Gad, Rueben, and half of Manasseh had done their duty. They stayed the extra 5 plus years fighting alongside their brothers to secure a place for them. Because of their integrity in keeping their word they were rewarded with their portion of the spoil from the enemies. They were not going back empty-handed. Those that stayed behind to watch out for their territory and protect the women and children were to receive their share of the spoils of war. They hadn't risked their lives to capture it, but they did the job assigned to them. I imagine the soldiers returned to homes that were in better condition than before because of those who stayed behind. Not everyone is called to go out on the field and win the masses. We are all called to be a witness. We are all called to be servants. Some are called to stay by the stuff and keep the home fires burning. Will they receive any less than those who risked their lives for the sake of the Gospel? Not if that was their calling. If they were obedient to God where they were, they will share in the spoils of war. They will receive their portion. It is not the role you fill but your faithfulness in doing what you are called to do. Remember, Christ, says, "Well done good and FAITHFUL servant.

The Preacher’s Wife

The preacher's wife, many times this is the label that is put on a Pastor's wife. She in her humble fashion just lets it go in one ear and out the other knowing that many don't even know her name. No one really knows how important this special precious woman is. Not only does she live with the preacher but she listens to his sermons over and over again. I looked in my wife's Bible just the other day at a Scripture that she calls her favorite sermon that I preach and it was dated over twenty times. She has been faithful to hear me preach that one sermon more than twenty times. The truth be known she could probably preach it better than me. 
Yesterday I had the honor and privilege to say a few words over a Pastor's wife, Mrs. Faye Cadwell and the gift of that journey inspires me to write this. I watched as Pastor Gary Cadwell said his goodbye to the woman who gave him children, sat by his bedside when he was ill, picked him up when he had been slammed by other Christian's and the list could go on and on. This faithful man of God like many of the rest of us knows the importance of the preacher's wife. Through this experience, I have learned to have a new respect for my wife. I sat and considered and asked myself this question, "Who is my pastor?" The one who lives with me and supports me the most is the preacher's wife. Thank you, Brother Gary, for allowing me to be a part of your wife's service yesterday because it has awakened a deeply rooted respect for the preacher's wife that I needed. I want to say God bless you Marta Ray and thank you for being a pastor to the pastor, I could not do what I do without your support. You encourage me to keep going when many times I feel like walking away. You like the Lord have never forsaken me and for the times when I was stubborn and didn't listen I say to you, I am so sorry. I have found myself in situations that if I had just listened things would have been better. Marta, Jesus is the power that holds our Ministry together but you are the glue that keeps this preacher from falling apart. I LOVE YOU!
Danny V. Ray

The LORD Rewards Those Who Follow Him With Their Whole Heart

Joshua 14:13-14---And Joshua blessed him and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. 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.

Caleb reminisced about spying out the Promised Land some 45 years earlier with Joshua. He reminded Joshua about how faithful he was to report that they could take the land because he had godly convictions. Then he reminded Joshua about the promise Moses had made to him. He could have whatever land he walked on. Caleb picked the Hebron area. There were still fortified cities with giants in them, but Caleb knew the LORD was with him. He felt as strong at 85 as he did at 40. Joshua blessed Caleb and honored Moses promise because Caleb wholeheartedly followed the God of Israel. It sounds like Caleb was going to take the area with his own clan, without the assistance of the other tribes. What a guy! 85 and he's ready to take on giants and start a new homestead. What was Caleb's secret? He wholeheartedly followed the God of Israel. He stuck with his convictions in spite of what the majority said. He did not fear but recognized the hand of God was with him, no rationalization, no justification, just convictions backed up by action.

God Can Turn Mistakes Into Victory

Joshua 10:12-13---Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

Kings of the land gathered to attack the Hivites who had made peace with Israel. Joshua was a man of integrity. He honored the treaty with the Hivites even though it had been made through deceit. The LORD encouraged Joshua to attack the kings and not be afraid. God even caused hailstones to take out the fleeing armies of the kings. There were so many soldiers that were confused that Joshua asked God to give him more time. God answered that prayer by almost doubling the hours in that day. This was not a natural phenomenon, and it just cannot be explained. It was miraculous. It was God doing what He had promised to do. It was not as though the Israelites had been perfect. This whole battle was due to not consulting the LORD. But their heart was right with God. They recognized their mistake and were obedient. This time God's instruction was to go and defeat the enemy. God took a bad situation and used it to give them a one-day victory over five kings, expediting their victory over the land. Because you made a mistake in the past that has consequences today does not mean the LORD can't use it for your good. Listen to Him today. Obey Him today and watch what looks like a problem turn into a blessing when God fights for you.

Am I Trusting God, Or My Senses

Joshua 9:14-15---And the men took of their victuals and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

After Israel conquered Ai, the Hivites that occupied nearby towns concocted a deception to save their lives. They sent a group of men that pretended they had come on a long journey. They had bags of moldy bread and looked travel weary. Actually, they were the next towns that Israel would battle. The leaders of Israel saw the dry wineskins, the patched sandals, and the worn bags with moldy bread and believed their story. Besides, it was kind of uplifting to hear how people in far-off lands had heard the testimony of what God was doing for them. Great testimony wasn't it? They ate together and made a treaty with these deceivers. They had believed what their eyes had seen instead of consulting with the LORD. Now there was nothing they could do but put those people to work serving Israel. They could not take their lands as God had purposed for them. Satan is the Great Deceiver. He often brings in subtle lies that make you feel good about yourself. It may even look like it is giving glory to God. We must consult the LORD. We must ask God to lead and not be led by our natural senses. We are easily tricked, but God is never deceived. He will always give us the best advice. It may not be a total loss, but it is not the highest and best that God had planned for us. Consult God in His Word, in prayer, through godly counsel and walk by faith, not by sight.

Have I Done Something That Would Stop The Blessing Of God?

Joshua 7:1, 4-5---But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel. So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

Everything in Jericho belonged to the LORD. He gave the victory, and as a sign of faith that the LORD would deliver the rest of their enemies into their hands, they were to give everything to God. One man, Achan, kept some of the spoils of war. He buried it under his tent. He must have thought that no one would ever know the difference. When Israel went to the next battle, they chose a small city named Ai. They sent just 3,000 soldiers, for they thought the size of the city would warrant no more than that. To their surprise, they were defeated and lost 36 men. Why? After such a miraculous victory over a much larger city, what went wrong? Joshua fell on his face and cried out to God. God told him to get up and deal with the sin of Israel. There is a principle here that relates to us today. Because God is holy, He does not bless hidden sin. He cannot overlook rebellion. Achan was just one man, but he held up the whole nation. His actions indirectly caused the death of those 36 men. God said Israel had sinned, when in fact it was one man. Until that sin was dealt with God would not bless their actions. The same can be true in our life. One area cannot slide by in rebellion and we still have the blessing of God. It is true for our families, for our churches, our cities, and our nation. We need to allow God to expose the sin so that we can forsake it, find forgiveness, and be blessed. ¹He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.  Proverbs 28:13 

Getting Your Battle Plans From The Right Source

Joshua 6:16-17---And it came to pass at the seventh time when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house because she hid the messengers that we sent.

What an unconventional battle plan the Commander gave to Joshua! We need to get our battle plans from the Lord. He knows how to go about it in a way that will bring Him all the glory. You know that when other people heard of how God brought victory over Jericho, in future wars, Israel had the psychological advantage. In Israel's case, it was an expression of praise to God. In the battle Gideon led, they shouted, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon." They probably shouted something similar here. When they did the walls fell inward and the army marched straight in. Since this was the first city (firstfruits), and God was giving the victory, everything in it was to be dedicated to God. The gold and silver were to go into the treasury and everything else was to be burned. The promise of the spies to Rahab was carefully kept. When you go into battle be sure and get your battle plans from the Commander. Give Him the praise and the glory for the victory. The honor is due Him. His way is the best way. Keep those promises you made along the way to the battle. Give to God what is God's.

Lord, What Is Your Message To Me?

Joshua 5:13-14---And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?

Joshua was ready to go to war, but He needed direction from His commander in chief. As he approached Jericho, he saw this great warrior with sword drawn. "Whose side are you on?" he asked. "Neither!" came the reply. This is none other than Jesus. He appears a number of times in the Old Testament. These appearances are referred to as Christophanies. Notice that in the following verses He told Joshua that he was on Holy Ground, just as the I Am told Moses at the burning bush. Whose side is Jesus on? Jew or Gentile? Neither! He is not willing that any should perish. The Canaanites would die because of their iniquity and the devastating pain they were inflicting on one another and their own souls. Their cup of iniquity was full. That does not mean that God did not desire for them to repent, or that He is only for Israel. Rahab and her family were about to be spared. They were the only ones that were receptive to the God of Israel. This Warrior is on her side. He is on the side of anyone of any nationality, in any place and any time, who is willing to receive the truth.

I'm On My Way To Something Better

Joshua 5:11-12---And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day. And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

Israel celebrated their first Passover in the Promised Land. As soon as they ate the food of that land, the manna stopped. I wonder if the next morning they got up by habit to go out and collect it. For forty years God had provided angels' food for them on a daily basis Now that they are home, they can eat of the good of the land that God has given them. God provides for us. He is Jehovah Jireh, "the LORD provides". He won't give us too much, but He will give us enough to sustain us. As we travel through this life, as long as we have a need, the LORD will provide. We can count on our daily manna. As long as we go out to gather it and don't try to keep it overnight, we will always be able to fill our jars. We will have just enough. But that land to which we are going will have an abundance and variety. The Lord is still our portion and our cup, but instead of coming from above, He will be all around us. One day, the angel of the second death will pass over us because of what Jesus did in our place. Then we will be home and eat freely of the abundance of the land.

God May Take You Into Precarious Situations To Teach You To Trust Him

Joshua 5:8-9---And it came to pass when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day.

Upon crossing the Jordan, Joshua was commanded to circumcise all the males, all those who crossed the Jordan that had been born during the wanderings in the wilderness. For some reason, they waited until they arrived in the Promised Land to be circumcised. This was a great act of faith. They are in their enemies' territory, and the pain makes them unable to fight. All 40,000 armed men would be lying helpless until they healed. They knew the story of their forefathers who had slaughtered a village that was unable to fight because all of their men had just been circumcised. But in their present situation, God was ordering them to be circumcised. By faith, they obeyed and trusted God to protect them. I think the Lord does something similar with us, asking us to make ourselves vulnerable to our enemies, and yet trust Him to keep us safe. All through this wilderness wandering, we had heard whining about how good they had it in Egypt. There were numerous plans to return. Once they even had a vote to elect someone to guide them back. God had taken them out of Egypt but would not get Egypt out of their hearts. They needed to cooperate but would not. Now that that generation had died and the new generation was circumcised to God, the reproach of Egypt was finally gone. Egypt was finally out of their hearts. Is the world out of you? Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew word for "roll". Let God roll Egypt out of your life so that all your desire is toward Him.

Lord, Help Us Not To Deny You!

Mark 14:70-72---And he denied it again. And a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilaean, and thy speech agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying, I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he thought thereon, he wept.

Peter, bold, blustery, confident Peter didn't run like most of the disciples. He followed Jesus to the home of Caiaphas. John was there too. John was known by the priestly family and not under the threat that the other disciples would have been. As Peter warmed himself by the fire, he could probably hear talk of taking this prisoner to Pilate for permission for execution. That was a dangerous place to be. Execution Roman style meant unspeakable pain, the most excruciating death imaginable. To sit there by that fire in the enemy's courtyard was really taking a chance. Peter had promised he would not leave Jesus alone, but then he was spotted. "Aren't you one of them? You have a Galilean accent." The third denial came with curses, anything to get out of being caught right there and then. He denied any knowledge of Jesus. Then the rooster crowed just as Jesus had predicted. Luke wrote that at that moment Jesus turned and looked straight at Peter. Peter broke down. He was not as strong as he believed himself to be. Neither am I. Neither are you. Without Him, we can do nothing. We can make all the oaths we want, but without His power, we will never keep one of them. Have you sat in that "courtyard"? I have. As I waited on a customer, they began to speak about being "born-again". Would I remain silent and deny that I knew Him to remain in this person's favor? Silence is denial. When I stand to pray at the graduation, will I say the name of my Savior or give in to the demands that I use the generic "god". JESUS! What a name! It brings division. It stirs up emotions. If I remain silent, I should weep with Peter. The Lord turns to look at you and me also. Don't deny that you know Him. I hope our lives are a dead give away that we are one of His disciples. I hope there is enough evidence to convict us of being His.

Lord, Use Me As You will

Joshua 3:5---And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.

Moses died. Now the Children of Israel stood where they stood 38 years earlier. The generation that refused to go in is now dead, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. Joshua tells them to get ready to see God at work. Sanctify, dedicate yourselves wholly. If we are about to see God at work we had better be right with Him. The people had heard of how God had met with them in power and might on the mountain. They could not stand to hear the voice of God and asked Moses to talk with God for them. They had a healthy fear of God. If God is going to work with us, all compromise must end. We need to make sure there is nothing that will cause us to be judged as unfit. Then God is free to do what He desires. We can only see the hand of God work in all its glory when we consecrate ourselves without reservation to Him. Then you will see amazing things. Do you expect God to work in the place where you fellowship? Do you expect this Sunday to see God do amazing things among you? Then get prepared by consecrating your life, by seeing that there is nothing between you and God. When a congregation does this in unity, prepare to see God move. He comes when He is invited by sincere consecrated hearts. Yes, He is always here, but if you want to see amazing things, like changed lives, consecrate yourselves

Help The Testimony Of My Life Lead People To Christ

Joshua 2:10-11---For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon, and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in the earth beneath.

Of all the people in this city, this harlot named Rahab was the one who wanted the true God. They all heard the stories of how God had been with Israel, and they were all fearful, but only Rahab had the sense to align herself with that God. Your testimony is one of your most powerful witnesses that your God is God in heaven above and earth below. Perhaps you do not have amazing stories like the Israelites did, but a godly life is an amazing story in itself. The fruits of the Spirit have their own attractive testimony. Honest people know they are evidence of God! If you have an impressive story of deliverance tell it. Don't underestimate the testimony of a godly life. There are Rahabs out there in the world watching and discerning. We should watch for them also so that we can tell them the wonder of the God who delivered us and goes before us through life. The Spirit of God goes before us, preparing hearts to be receptive. Rahab became a part of the lineage of Jesus. You never know how your testimony will affect lives. The ramifications are usually much wider than we can imagine.

Seeing With Eyes Of Faith

Joshua 1:9---Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Two times in this chapter and once from the mouth of Moses, Joshua has heard, "Be strong and courageous". See yesterday's morning devotional and Deut 31:23 Sometimes we need to hear it from God personally to really have faith. What a word this is for us when there is a change in leadership or we begin to be called to lead. Why should we never be terrified or discouraged? The LORD our God is with us wherever we are. Here we see two tools of the enemy, fear or terror, and discouragement. Today we often label discouragement as depression. If Satan can get you to forget about God's omnipotence and omnipresence, then he has a position from which he can resist God in you. When we realize that is a lie, our faith in who God has been and is today, enables God in us to be Satan's worse nightmare, an unbeatable foe. It takes faith in God to receive the enabling. Discouragement is a tough battle to fight. Moses succumbed to it at times. Joshua would surely face situations that on the surface would look discouraging. Certainly, every one of us does. We need to respond with eyes that see the spiritual realm. There, all things work together for good, and even the defeats are steps forward. Only eyes of faith that see God with us, working through the difficulty, can claim this positive attitude that keeps us strong and courageous. Are you faced with discouragement? Open your spiritual eyes and see past the difficulty to God in you working good things into your life.

The Christian Answer To Worry, Matthew 6:25-34