Devotion

“..they..were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,” (Acts16:6) Paul and Silas were sent out on a missionary journey in order to preach the gospel. Yet, the Bible says that they were “forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.” The purpose of this devotion is not to […]

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…” (2 Tim. 3:1) We are living in troubling times. The Bible says that in the last days “perilous” (or dangerous) times would come. The Bible tells us how to have peace no matter how difficult our circumstances may become. So far we’ve seen

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 13) We are living in troubling times. The Bible says that in the last days “perilous” (or dangerous) times would come. The Bible tells us how to have

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” (2 Tim. 3:1, 13) We are living in troubling times. The Bible says that in the last days “perilous” (or dangerous) times would come. We are living in those days right

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” (Rom. 5:1) Millions of dollars are spent each year on products or services promising to relieve stress and hopefully bring a measure of peace to a person. They even have stress balls a person can keep in their hand and

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Prov. 13:20)

There is an old saying, “Birds of a feather flock together,” meaning that people tend to hang around with others just like themselves. I’ve seen this happen year after year at teen camp when I was a youth pastor. Within hours of arriving at camp, I would see teens in my youth group finding teens in other youth groups that were just like them. The most rebellious teen would somehow find another rebellious teen and the most spiritual teen would somehow locate other spiritual teens to hang around. It’s really an amazing thing to watch.

But this verse isn’t so much talking about what IS but what WILL BE. It gives us a glimpse into

“But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.” (Joshua 17:18)

The tribe of Manasseh came to Joshua asking for more land because part of the land God gave to them was covered in trees and the other part was inhabited by Canaanites. They couldn’t get victory because of the trees and the Canaanites.

Yesterday, we saw that the first thing Joshua told Manasseh to do in order to get complete victory was to:

FIRST—Remove the Things That Were CLUTTERING the Land.

“But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.” (Joshua 17:18)

The tribe of Manasseh came to Joshua asking for more land because part of the land God gave to them was covered in trees and the other part was inhabited by Canaanites. They couldn’t get victory because of the trees and the Canaanites.

So, God answered their request by telling them to do two things which would give them all the land they would need. It is the same two things we are to do if we are going to have complete victory in our Christian life.

“But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.” (Joshua 17:18)

God had given the tribe of Manasseh a piece of land but there were two problems with it: 1) Part of it was covered with trees and 2) There were Canaanites (ungodly people) in the land that God said were to be driven out. Manasseh asked Joshua for MORE land so they wouldn’t have to fight the enemy. But, instead of giving them more land, God’s solution for these people who said, “Give me BIGGER and BETTER,” was He said to them, “Before you ask for more, take care of what you already have. Clean up your own backyard, first.”

God said, “When you clear the forest, and drive out the giants and the Canaanites—then you’ll have plenty of land.” You say, “Does that apply to us today?” It sure does!

What would you do with more

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Isa. 6:1)

Isaiah saw the Lord in all His greatness and glory. He got a glimpse of God never before seen, but it’s interesting that he says this happened “In the year that king Uzziah died…”

You have to understand that Uzziah was a great king who was blessed by God. The country was blessed financially under his reign because the Bible says the land was flowing with milk and honey. The country was also blessed with protection under Uzziah’s reign because he never fought a battle he didn’t win. So, for the king to die, meant there was a lot of uncertainty and insecurity.

Everywhere you looked, faces were sad. Everyone else saw despair and discouragement but you know what Isaiah saw? Isaiah saw