Joshua 2:1-7 – Then Joshua secretly sent out two spies from the Israelite camp at Acacia Grove.  He instructed them, “Scout out the land on the other side of the Jordan River, especially around Jericho.” So, the two men set out and came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there that night.  2 But someone told the king of Jericho, “Some Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” 33 So the king of Jericho sent orders to Rahab: “Bring out the men who have come into your house, for they have come here to spy out the whole land.”  4  Rahab had hidden the two men, but she replied, “Yes, the men were here earlier, but I didn’t know where they were from. 5  They left the town at dusk, as the gates were about to close. I don’t know where they went. If you hurry, you can probably catch up with them.” 6  (Actually, she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them beneath bundles of flax she had laid out.) 7  So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, I was brought to a renewed awareness of transition and anointing. I was reminded of the dangers of following human reason and the power of following the anointing of God.

In Joshua 1, we are made aware of Israel’s plight.   Moses, the man who had become larger than life, was gone.   His assistant, Joshua, was now pressed into the role of leadership.  Joshua was untested and unproven as a leader. Joshua and the people were in danger of becoming confused, filled with fear, and defeated.

God immediately acted. Joshua 2:1-7: God said, “Joshua, change has come, and you need to be fully aware: Moses is no longer your focus; I AM!”  In verses 8-9, God gave a pattern and practice that would enable Joshua and Israel to succeed. “This Law (Torah) is to be meditated on day & night. You must carefully and diligently do everything in it. If you do, that knowledge will enable you to make your way prosperous and successful. But you can’t give in to fear. Trust Me!”   That is easier said than done.  Joshua had seen it but never done it.  He had to move from theory to experience. So do we!  Hearing about it must become doing it.   God said, “Jump,” now JUMP!

In Joshua 3, we see the absolute necessity of following the Ark (the Holy Spirit).   In Acts 4, the disciples were persecuted but chose to obey God.  In their surrender, God refilled them with the Holy Spirit, which gave them a holy boldness.

The most important thing to them became GOD!  In Acts 5:41-42, we see a group of people who were consumed with the purposes of God.  It was not an occasional investment; it was daily, in the Temple and house to house, being consumed by God and His Word. They had a mission and a commission, and it was more important than life.

Joshua and the early church all followed the directive to make God their consuming passion and yield 100% of their lives to Him.  They trusted Him! Trusted His love, grace, compassion, promise, protection, and power!

We pray for revival.  God demands repentance.  Repentance brings revival; revival brings renewal; renewal results in revision; revision produces reformation, which leads to restoration!

What we have is determined by our hunger and thirst. How desperate are we for God’s fullness? We will receive according to the level of our desperation!

Keep looking up; Redemption is at the Door!

Consequences

Numbers 32:23 – “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the Holy Spirit challenged me to think.  Think?  Yes, but specifically about consequences.

Consequences?  Yes, the Law of Sowing and Reaping is always in force in Everything.  Always!   In Numbers 32:23, Moses said to the two and one-half tribes before Israel moved into their Promised Land regarding explicit obedience: “Be assured! (Emphatic). “Be sure! Your sin will find you out!”

Consequences!   In life, sin has residue, including forgiven sin.  God forgives, but the consequences may still bring pain and likely will.  Excess in anything has lasting effects, mentally, emotionally, materially, physically, and spiritually.   Forgiveness opens the door for entrance into the promised land. But remember, the promised land is occupied.  Explicit obedience is the only pathway to liberty.

The process:

• Drive out the inhabitants.

(That would be the influences of the demonic, the acts of sin, and the habits of excess). You cannot hold on to the habits and practices of the world and live in the Freedom of peace at the same time.

• Destroy the idols and houses or systems of darkness.

Get rid of sin. Walk away from the past.

• Possess and occupy the newness of life.

Like springs, you cannot produce sweet and bitter water simultaneously. You cannot exhibit the fruits of darkness and have the fruits of righteousness at the same time.

• Embrace your inheritance.

God owns Everything, and through Grace and Faith, He has given us His Promise of Newness of Life!

John 8:12 reveals that Jesus is the Light of Life! He has declared Freedom for those who believe and receive.

John 8:31-32 – “If you ABIDE in My Word, THEN you are truly My disciples. You will KNOW (γινώσκω – ginosko = to know absolutely, absolute oneness. Know through personal experience) the TRUTH, and the Truth (that you know and become intimate with) will SET you FREE!”

John 10:37 reminds us that the proof is in the pudding.  If we do not walk the walk, talking the talk will be hollow.

But to encourage everyone, even though consequences have a lingering power, God’s Love will carry us through IF.   If?   If we continue in Him in explicit obedience.   Shun the very appearance of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

Walk away from sin by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Do not dabble in darkness.  Do not be deceived.  Play with fire, and you will get burned.  It takes God’s power to be free and requires our total commitment and the exercise of willpower.  It is Grace, but that requires us to give God ALL.   In God, it is all or nothing.   You cannot be a little pregnant, nor can you be a little committed.  All in or not in.  Which do we choose?  He awaits our choice and stands ready to help those who go ALL IN.

LORD, help us make the right choices so we enjoy the blessings, not the consequences!

Luke 21:34-36 – “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that Day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I sensed an urgency to warn to ‘Stay Ready.’ I am certain that Jesus is coming soon.  I am certain that the world is growing darker.  I am certain that we must guard our perception because perception becomes our reality.

When the disciples asked Jesus for signs to alert them to His coming and the end of the age, He told them the number one sign would be rampant deception.

We tend to think of deception externally, and that is real. However, the most dangerous and destructive deception is internal. Self-deception is not only dangerous but also deadly.

In verse 34, Jesus gave a powerful warning. “But watch out so your hearts are not weighed down by carousing, strong drink, and the worries of life. Do not let that Day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

Some people deceive themselves into thinking that because they know Scripture, have had a past relationship with God, and enjoyed the working of the Holy Spirit, their present dive into drunkenness and sin is somehow permissible, or they will somehow be excused or drawn in at the last minute. That is a risk one dare not take. This could be the Day we stand before God.

I am praying for the LORD to do for each of us what He did for the disciples after the resurrection. Luke 24:45 – “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures…”

Three things are vital:

• True Repentance.
• Persistent Prayer.
• Saturation of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ last words: “Wait until you are clothed, encompassed, saturated with power from on high.”

We must follow the cloud, resist evil, submit to God, and pray.   Do not be one whom the Day catches you unaware and unprepared.

LORD, help us to stay ready always!

Luke 16:15 – “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, something stirred in me and made me think.   Numbers 5 tells an unusual story about jealousy and infidelity.   I think it is unfortunate that we focus on the natural and some on the seeming inequality in the story.  The woman, not a man, is being examined and judged.  Some cannot get past the natural and even wonder about the magic potion used.  That is to miss the message.

I see a treatise focusing on the power of words and covenant oaths or commitments.   This woman was asked to say certain things and then swear to their truthfulness.   The priest pronounced a curse for lying.  Breaking the oath (commitment) of the Covenant (marriage in this case) makes the curses immediately real.

The power of words is seen in the Aaronic Blessing of Numbers 6:22-27.  In Luke 16, the central message is faithfulness in responsibility and the importance of accountability. An interesting statement appears in verse 15: “God knows your heart.”    Self-justification flows out of self-deception. It does not impress God.

Each of us has been offered salvation and full deliverance in Jesus.   Our problem is that too often we follow the mentality of the Pharisee of Luke 18, “Thank God, I’m not like THEM.”   Our only legitimate comparison is Jesus, and none of us measure up.

The bottom line is choice. With Blessing comes responsibility and accountability.  Self-justification blinds us to the truth and binds us to our bondage. Honesty shines a light on us and exposes every blemish.

Stop saying, “I took a step back, but overall, I am making progress.” Yet, you keep going back to the bondage.  Why?   One reason is that it owns you; another is that you like its company.  Everything in life is rooted in choice!  If I continually revert to a bondage lifestyle, it is because I have rejected the victory Jesus offers and prefer to wallow in my mud hole of misery.  That is harsh, but it is reality.

“Whom the Son set free is FREE indeed.” (John 8:36).   No ambiguity there. No one steps forward and two back there.   No fallacious belief that I am getting better my way.  It is simply to give it to Jesus in total surrender, and He breaks the bondage.  It is choice, accountability, responsibility, and persistence.

Today, if there is any area of bondage in your life, place it on the altar to Jesus.  Do not justify it.  Do not excuse it.  Do not ignore it.  Do not compare it to others.  Admit it, confess it, repent of it, and receive your full deliverance! Then, with perseverance and accountability, replace the bondage with God’s precepts and promises.   Is that difficult? Usually, YES! But we are not doing this alone. But it begins with our choice!

LORD, help us never to be guilty of self-justification!

Luke 11:9-10 – “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the words “persistence” and “perseverance” filled my thoughts.  How many times do we fail in the area of persistence and perseverance?  How many times are we inconsistent and give in to temptation?  How many times do we lament our situation and even adopt a victim mentality rather than standing firm and resisting the devil?  Once is too many!

I love the story in Luke 11, where Jesus illustrates persistent prayer.   We tend to read “Ask, seek, and knock” in a nonchalant manner. The context and the Greek debunk that attitude.

The idea, need, and benefit of persistence are impossible to miss. Then, Jesus said, “Ask, seek, and knock.”   The Greek is “Ask and keep on asking. Knock and keep on knocking. Seek and keep on seeking.”   Literally, yell out with extreme urgency, beat on the door persistently, and search almost frantically for the answer.

Some say that they want freedom from sin and ask casually for God’s help, then succumb.  They come back, almost justifying themselves or blaming external stimuli or God, and ask nonchalantly for help, then return to the mire.

No!  The answer must become a matter of life or death.   The urgency must be impossible to ignore.  Desire and determination must become all-consuming as you press into God’s presence.  Then the Holy Spirit, and even angelic help, comes. Then, deliverance comes.

In Luke 13:23, Jesus was asked, “Are only a few being saved?”   His answer says, “Although the invitation extends to everyone, FEW will find the door.” Prayer for ourselves or others must be fervent and prayed persistently with perseverance: no more flippant asking, but persistent pursuit of the answer.

James 5:16 – “The effective (fervent, persistent) prayer of a righteous person is powerful.” How important is the answer?  How serious are we about the deliverance?  How willing are we to admit our need, confess our sin, and pursue the answer (Jesus)?

God will answer the cries of persistent perseverance.   When we get serious, God responds.    That will not automatically remove consequences, but it will give a new start.

LORD, help us to persevere persistently!