Day 65 – Above all, LOVE.

Today’s reading: Judges 18:1-Ruth 1:22.

Ruth 1:16 “But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, I sure hope you are sticking with me like Ruth stuck with Naomi. Her “sticking with” was out of a deep devotion and love for her mother-in-law, but I hope yours is out of Love for God’s Word. You have officially made it to the Book of Ruth, and I believe she got her own book because of her love and devotion…..well that and the fact she would be the future grandmother to King David, the future lineage of God’s Son, Jesus.

Ruth left her family and culture, married into a family of 4, mom, Naomi, dad, Elimelech, and sons, Mahlon and Chilion. But soon after wedding bells no longer sounded all the men of the family passed away and all that was left was 3 widows, Naomi and her 2 daughters-in-law. Naomi became bitter and decided to leave for her hometown. She bid her daughters-in-law farewell, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi. It was out of her love and devotion for Naomi that Ruth said she would let nothing but death part her from Naomi. Ruth loved like no other. She was willing to do whatever Naomi did, believe whatever she believed, and live wherever she lived.

Ruth committed her love to Naomi like God commits his love to us. This is the Greatest Love there is, Unconditional. Ruth has nothing to gain by following Naomi, but Love abided. We have this same Love available to us.

Abide in Him and He will Abide in you. Above all Love!

Day 64 – Not often can it be good to have your heart in one place and your feet in another.

Today’s reading: Judges 15:1-17:13

Judges 16:15 “And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”

Today I will continue my focus on Samson. He was your all out strong-willed child, but God had great plans for him from conception. He’s already been judge over the Israelites, but he finds himself still in a predicament with the ladies. They tend to pull him in 2 different directions. Women would pull his eyes and body in one direction but his heart would remain with the Lord. When Samson met Delilah he didn’t realize it, but he had met his match. She would manipulate him to the point of him relinquishing his heart from the Lord and giving it over to her.

Now to us this doesn’t seem right or good, but honestly when we are in 2 places with our mind and our heart Jesus calls us lukewarm.

Samson made a decision by following the desires of his body and that lead to the completed plan for God. Samson was taken captive, literally and physically, to his selfish will. Until he laid down his life for God, God’s plans couldn’t be furthered. He finally realized it was wrong to go in the direction he did. So, Samson fully laid down his life for God and God’s Will was done.

Have you ever stood in one place but one foot was in one state and one is in another, so you were physically in two places at once. But when our heart and our body are in two different places we are essentially worshipping 2 gods: Our selfish desires and Our God.

Our God is a jealous God and he wants us to worship Him alone. As the saying goes, we can’t have our cake and eat it too! But when our Body and Heart align with God, His will be done.

Day 63 – God can use the most unlikely situations to bring about His plan for salvation.

Judges 14:3-4 “But his father and mother said to him, “Is there not a woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you must go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she is right in my eyes.” His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines. At that time the Philistines ruled over Israel.”

Today’s reading is from Judges 12:1-14:20.

Manoah and his wife had been married for quite some time, and they loved and trusted each other deeply. But they were burdened by barrenness, a sign of being not blessed by the Lord to the Israelites. However, God sent an angel to Manoah’s wife to encourage her and say that salvation from the Philistines would come through their future son. In great excitement, she ran to her husband to tell him the news, and Manoah was so joyful he went to the Lord with Thanksgiving to find out what more should be done.

Soon, a son named Samson was born to the couple and he was to be set aside as a Nazarite to the Lord. He did everything right in the Lord’s sight, but God allowed him to have an eye for beautiful women as well. When Samson was old enough to marry, he saw a beautiful Philistine daughter. He told his parents he wanted her as a wife, but they begged him to choose someone from their own people and relatives. Samson knew this was the woman for him even if his parents couldn’t see it. His parents were unaware that this marriage was the working of the Lord to bring about salvation from the Philistines.

As I sit in my chair, I ponder on the unlikely situations that have occurred in my life that have brought me to where I am today. Who would have thought that God would use the burdens in my life, the unhealthy relationships, 2 very different families to bring together 2 people, Brett and I, together for His purpose, to bring salvation to others through His work in our life. God has a crazy sense of humor, but an even bigger heart. He works out all things for His good, to all those who are called according to his plan.

Day 62 – Make the most of each moment, breath in the fresh air, let love rise above the mountains, and hate sink to the bottom of the waters. Kneel fast at His feet, leave each burden behind, for you were called for this moment, and you were made to SHINE!

Today’s reading: Judges 9:1-11:40.

Judges 11:1, 3 “Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah….Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him.

Jephthah’s life was anything but easy. He was born to a prostitute, not the rightful wife of his father. He was despised by his brothers and kicked out of his fathers house. Yet Jephthah had one thing going for him, he was a mighty warrior for the Lord.

God chose to redeem Jephthah’s past with a better future, but sometimes even when God gives you a better future, your hardest moments may still be yet to come.

You see at this time the Israelites were captured by the Ammonites and the elders of Gilead came to Jephthah and begged him to save them and lead the people of Israel. After some deep consideration, Jephthah tried to speak with the Ammonites, but they wouldn’t listen to Him. So he went to the Lord and said, if you will give these people into my hand, I will give to you the first thing that greets me as I arrive home. Jephthah was probably hoping this would be a cow, maybe a goat, or even a chicken from the coup, but instead it was his daughter.

I can feel his pain through the pages, I can see him fall to his knees and beg the Lord…No, not my child. I can see this because I know this pain, just like the Lord knows our pain. Whether you have lost a small child, miscarried during a pregnancy, delivered a stillborn baby, or lost an adult child, they are all flesh of your flesh. To lose them feels like losing a piece of yourself, yet, even after the pain has pierced you, if you allow God, He will renew your Joy. You are now connected on an even deeper level with Him, See, He lost His child to save us, and He knows our pain. Let Him heal you and fill you Peace. He chose you for today.

Day 61 – Fear can hold us back from some of the greatest callings on our life. ***Today is the beginning of Lent – 40 days in the Wilderness to the Cross

Today’s Reading: Judges 6 – 8

Judges 6:15 “And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

Gideon was just a small town boy, doing his chores, and minding his own business when his life got interrupted. God called him to save Israel from the hands of the Midianites.

You can almost see the sweat running down his brow and the clamminess coming from his hands as he rubbed them together to say, you can’t mean me? I’m the youngest of my family and we really are the weakest family in this town. But the Lord said, “I am with you.” Quickly Gideon responded, “Prove to me you will make it all work out.”

We all face times in our life when we can’t believe what God just asked us to do. We fear we will fail, maybe we didn’t hear Him right, we may lose our family, our friends, our jobs, or what about the future we had planned?! But God says, I’ll be there, don’t fear, this is what I have for you to do; I want to SHINE my Glory through your life.

We have to fight off the fear to follow the call.

Satan is all over FEAR because he knows if we says Yes to God we will succeed.

Even Gideon had fears try and trip him up, but he pushed on toward the victory and won the battle in an even mightier way. So Go ahead, Push off those fears and pull on your armor! You were made for this!

Day 60 – For God’s Glory to shine most brightly we have to trust Solely in His help and not look for someone else.

Today’s reading: Judges 3:1-5:31.

Judges 4:8-9 “Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.”

While each judge ruled over Israel, the people would follow after the Lord, but once they passed away the Israelites would fall away from their walk.

It was a difficult wave to ride, Faith was coming and going. A lot of times this causes anxiety and rightly so, because when you don’t have Faith you have Fear and Fear is the driving Force of anxiety.

One of the judges of Israel was the prophetess, Deborah, and she called for Barak to fight off the Canaanites and bring peace once again to the land. However, with the ebb and flow of his fears and his faith, anxiousness caused Barak to doubt his abilities on his own and refuse to go without Deborah by his side. Deborah had full faith and responded with a “yes” but warned Barak that the Glory God wanted to shine wouldn’t be as bright because Barak wouldn’t do it on his own.

Have you ever watched as your child said “I can’t do it.” You know they can, but instead of forcing them to try you give in and help which really may not be helping at all. That’s how God feels when we say we can’t do it on our own after He’s called us, and we start looking for someone to help us.

To be honest, if God is always with us He is the only help we need, and if we rely solely on Him, how much more will His Glory shine? Next time He asks you to do something, take the time to see if this ocean in front of you is for you to cross alone or if you are to get in the boat with someone else.

Day 59 – Even when your circumstances take a turn, keep your eyes focused on the only right way.

Today’s reading: Joshua 22:1-Judges 2:23.

Joshua 24:15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Israel was used to having Moses lead them, and he was gone. So Joshua was raised up as their leader, but he too was at the end of his life on earth. There wasn’t another natural leader to take over Joshua’s position and the Israelites were inclined to worry about what was yet to come. Joshua urged them to not worry about who would lead them on earth because God would set judges before them.

The Israelites were encouraged and reminded to put their focus on the Word that was given to them through Moses in the wilderness.

There were many cultures around them trying to influence their beliefs but there was only one true God. Joshua wanted them to decide who they would follow and make that their final decision. So Joshua told them that as long he lived he and his family would serve the Lord.

We have these changing circumstances all around us. Always so many ways to turn, so many choices to make, but only one way that leads to life. It’s not always the easiest way, actually it’s probably never the easiest way, but it is the best way and the blessed way. As for me and my house, we choose to Serve the Lord!

Day 58– Fight for your inheritance!

Today’s Reading: Joshua 17:1-21:45.

Joshua 17:17-18 “Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

Though we have many trials in front of us, our Faith deserves the Fight. Our inheritance in Christ is under attack, there are powers and authorities in this world that want to take away the inheritance God has for us. But our inheritance is in eternity, given to us through Christ and though we must stay in this world and deal with the evil, we shouldn’t succumb to it.

The sons of Joseph believed their inheritance wasn’t their’s for the taking because it was the wilderness filled with forests and powerful people with a lot of military equipment, but Joshua encouraged them to pursue their inheritance, overpower the people, and tear down the forest.

Our wilderness of forests and powerful people come in the form of anger, drugs, sexual promiscuity, bullying, jealousy, pride, and selfishness; really anything that comes in the way of our walk that seems to big to overcome. We need to go to prayer for one another, address each situation with kindness, accept help when offered, not get offended by criticism, and look within to see how we can work on our example in Christ.

Fight for your inheritance, fight for your friends, fight for your family, fight for your child. Don’t let Satan win.

1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Day 57- Celebrate the memory of each milestone because each stone along the mile built the path in which God’s had you on.

Today’s reading is from Joshua 14:1-16:10.

Joshua 14:11 “I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming.”

While God moved the Israelite tribes into their new communities and new land, Caleb reminded Joshua of the promise Moses made to him 45 years before.

Caleb was now celebrating the gift of faithfulness and trust in the Lord.

As we end the week of celebrating Hayden’s birthday, I’m reminded of the passion God placed in my heart. The passion of my burden for others. My heart breaks for the way the world has gone and the people it has taken with it. But this really is a gift, a reminder of the passion God gave me years ago when I knew God was going to use me to help others.

Celebrating Hayden helps me to remember the path and Journey God has has me on and refills me with the Joy to bring back into vision the future.

Are you ready for your journey ahead? Celebrate the memory of each milestone along the road to your future.

Day 56– Always remember, even if the whole world turns against you, but the Lord says He’s with you, you’ve got nothing to fear. Take up your Shield of Faith!

Todays Reading: Joshua 11:1-13:33.

Joshua 11:5-6 “And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel. And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.”

There have been many times in my life where I’ve felt like everyone turned their back on me.

Now in reality they hadn’t, but it sure felt like it? But Have you ever felt that way? Like everything you had planned was somehow wrong, but everyone else was somehow right? Or what about those times you truly believe you are doing what God wants you to be doing, but everyone else believes you’re a fool.

Even the Israelites felt this pressure. They had started taking over all the land that was promised to them by God, but the Kings and Kingdoms thought they would get wise and team up against them. However, they had the mightiest power in all the world and all the earth on their side, God. So, the Israelites went on to conquer the area they were told to takeover.

It isn’t our duty to make the plan, but it is our duty to stay obedient to God’s plan. Don’t worry when you feel all alone while doing the thing God has called you to do because when God is for you no one can be against you.