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Christian Devotional – March 29, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 24 VERSE: Joshua 24:22–Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied. TRUTH: Joshua knew this was his last chance to address the entire assembly of Israel and he wanted to be sure and share with them his commitment to follow God. Plus, he wanted to make sure that they were also committed to following God as well. The people indicated that they would follow God and so Joshua is holding them accountable to the works they have spoken. Have we spoken a commitment to follow God? Did we tell someone, somewhere, at some…
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Christian Devotional – March 28, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 23 VERSE: Joshua 23:6–Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without tuning aside to the right or to the left. TRUTH: So many times when Joshua took over for Moses did God remind him of this phrase. As we look back at the beginning of the book, we find the phrase “Be strong” over and over again as God was giving direction to Joshua. Now, as Joshua is giving his final speech to the people, he tells them the very thing. We’ll find that the direction that God gives to us is often the very…
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Christian Devotional – March 26, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 22 VERSE: 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. TRUTH: What are we commanded to do first and foremost? We are to love God. That’s it. There’s no long list of to-dos and requirements that we must fulfill. We are to love God. Now, if we love God, we will want to obey Him and keep His commands and…
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Christian Devotional – March 25, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 21 VERSE: Joshua 21:45–Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed, every one was fulfilled. TRUTH: Every one of God’s promises to Israel was fulfilled. There wasn’t a single one that God forgot about or let slip. If God promised it to Israel, He did it. God hasn’t changed who He is and so even today when God promises us something, we can count on it being fulfilled. Do we act and live each day confident in the promises of God? We should! God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19) so we can hope in the promises of God. RESPONSE:…
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Christian Devotional – March 24, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 20 VERSE: Joshua 20:3–so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. TRUTH: God knew that there would be accidents and He set up a method for people to be able to plead their case before having judgment enacted upon them. I love that God set up a contingency plan, however, the people in that situation had to actually do it. If something happened, the person still had to go to the city of refuge as that was the only place where they could be safe. Often we know what we need to do in…
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Christian Devotional – March 23, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 19 VERSE: Joshua 19:49–When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them. TRUTH: Joshua and Caleb, the two men who remained faithful to God and trusted in God throughout the entire time of coming from Egypt until the Promised land, were both given an inheritance along with the rest of the tribes. The people honored their commitment to God and all that both of these men had done for them. God will take care of the needs of those people who are serving Him. God is not a debtor and He will never allow…
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Christian Devotional – March 22, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 18 VERSE: Joshua 18:3–So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of you ancestors, has give to you?” TRUTH: It kind of sounds strange. God gives you a gift, yet you wait and wait to and take it. Finally, Joshua had to ask the question, “How long until you get up and go get the gift that God has given you?” When God has promised to be with us and to give us victory over the things that we are going to encounter as we are obedient to Him, why…
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Christian Devotional – March 21, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 17 VERSE: Joshua 17:4–They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command. TRUTH: Several years back, this issue of an inheritance for a man who only had daughters had been brought to Moses and he went to the Lord and they discussed it and the Lord indicated that they were to give an inheritance to these daughters as well. Now that the time has come to hand out the inheritance, the…
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Christian Devotional – March 19, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 16 VERSE: Joshua 16:10–They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor. TRUTH: So close, but not close enough. The Ephraimites were given their section of land and they were excited about it, but they didn’t completely follow through on the command to rid the land of all the prior occupants. The Canaanites persisted and the Ephraimites decided that they didn’t mind so much. They could accept having the people there, as long as they did forced labor. Surely that was good enough right? Unfortunately, this lazy attitude would…
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Christian Devotional – March 17, 2016
Read Joshua chapter 14 VERSE: Joshua 14:12–Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. TRUTH: “Do you see that really large, difficult, overwhelming problem over there? That’s what I want. Give that area to me!” Essentially, that’s exactly what Caleb said when he made this statement to Joshua. Caleb had trusted God to see Him through, even when almost no one else believed him and even when his entire country disagreed with him and caused…