Knowing God - He Will Explain Our Defeat

Josh 7:10-11

                                                    

 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned…..

There was a defeat for the armies of Israel and Joshua was crying out to the Lord.  Perhaps Joshua thought the Lord had let them down.  Joshua had received the promise that if he meditated on the Word of God he would have good success.  Why would this happen?  The Lord tells Joshua that it is because of Israel’s sin that they were defeated.  Sometimes there is defeat in our lives and we cry out to God because we think it is our fault or maybe we feel the Lord is letting us down.  The Lord answers Joshua and tells him to get off the ground and quit feeling sorry for himself.  The defeat was related to someone else’s sin.  A defeat that affects us may, in fact, be due to someone else’s sin.  Let us be cautious to jump to conclusions about the cause of defeat and be willing to go through hard times because of someone else’s sin.  Our God will speak to us and help us avoid the victim mentality and help us get up and seek Him for what to do next.

Proverbs - His Counsel is Sure

Proverbs 21:30

There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD.

Sometimes we hear of researchers or councils coming up with findings that are directly opposed to what the Lord reveals in His Word.  We may even be a bit discouraged by this and some of the recommendations might even seem to work at first although the Lord might declare it won’t.  Usually this is due to the short term effect of man’s counsel.  You see, the word of the Lord endures forever.  His counsel is proven and tried and definitely to be trusted.  Man’s counsel is often based in the current trends or partial research done in these matters.  If we wait long enough, God will be proven right again.  After all, He IS God you know!  Don’t be discouraged if others seem to be doing fine disregarding and opposing what the Lord has said.  Stick with His counsel.  Nothing compares with it and nothing will outlast it.  

Knowing God - God Intimidates His Enemies

Josh 2:11

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 earth beneath.

The inhabitants of Jericho found themselves in a place of awe and reverence after hearing about the Lord God.  They had heard that the Lord had dried up the Red Sea and that the Lord had fought for His people in the wilderness.  Because of what the Lord had done for His people, the enemies of His people were weak and discouraged.  Our God has done great things for us.  Because of His great works, our enemies find themselves confounded and lacking the confidence they often have in the presence of those who do not have the Lord as their God.  The enemy hears of these great works and our God’s awesome power resonates through the spiritual kingdom.  We might do well to praise Him today for the seas He has parted in our lives so that we might avoid unnecessary intimidation from our enemies.

Proverbs - Don't Harden Your Face

Proverbs 21:29

A wicked man hardeneth his face: but as for the upright, he directeth his way.

Hardening our faces mean that we are stubborn.  A wicked mans makes his face look in a certain direction without reconsidering his steps.  He puts his foot to the gas and goes in a direction he wants to go in without noticing any warning signs or signals that might in fact be trying to redirect his way.  An upright person will direct his way.  Directing our way is to be always alert to our environment, dangers and opportunities along the way.  Directing implies a plan.  Hardening our face is to be arrogant and determined to go in a direction regardless of wisdom or warnings.  Directing our way implies flexibility and humility.  May the voice of the Lord direct our way and may we order our steps in line with His voice.

Knowing God - God Came in a Human Body

1 Tim 3:16

 “…God was manifest in the flesh,….”

What a tremendous truth!  Our God showed Himself to us in a human body!  He wanted us to see Him.  The disciples said that they handled Him.   They touched God!  Incredible!  Our God loved us so much that He manifested, revealed, Himself in a human body.  This verse clearly reveals that Jesus Christ is God.  We are to treat Him as such.  It doesn’t matter what any other group or theologian says, God was manifested in the flesh.  Jesus was God in the flesh and we are to worship, obey and preach Jesus to others.  Today, as you walk through your day, enjoy the fellowship you have with a God who wanted to fellowship with us enough that He became flesh and lived among us.  

Proverbs - Lies and Perishing

Proverbs 21:28

A false witness shall perish: but the man that heareth speaketh constantly.

Lies are an abomination to the Lord and when we give details slanted out of laziness or even with an agenda behind it, we will perish.  Our credibility and our ability to be used by the Lord in a situation will perish.  If we are good listeners, both to the facts and to the Holy Spirit, our words will be constant and consistent.  We won’t be changing our facts or retelling the story differently to the next person.  We won’t have to keep track of which story we told to which person.  Truth is a belt for us and love rejoices in the truth.  If we are to walk in love we must walk in truth.  Lord, give us the fear of You and the humility to be quiet when we don’t have details where we would like them.   Keep us from ‘filling in the blanks’ and help us be slower to speak.  Let our words be aligned with truth and help us to hear and speak constantly.

Knowing God - The Lord Publishes His Word

Ps 68:11

 The Lord gave the word:

great was the company of those that published it.

The Lord Publishes His Word

The Word of the Lord is powerful.  He speaks and the reverberation of His voice is absolutely predictable.  His voice is like the thunders and goes wherever He sends it.  His Word is alive and goes on and on touching lives and revealing God’s heart and presence.  Great was the company of those that published it.  When we expose ourselves to His Word, whether by pastoral teaching, personal reading or other means, we open ourselves up to a source of life that resonates through our lives and can’t help but manifest itself to this dying world around us.  Never underestimate the potential that God’s Word has when the Lord gives it.  Stand in awe.  Mix it with faith and know that you and I are part of that great company who publish it!