All Nations

 Scripture:

“He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭4‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

The Jordan River had just opened for God’s people to cross on dry ground. Joshua told 12 men to build a memorial out of 12 stones from the middle of the river. He wanted his people to be reminded of what the Lord had done for them in opening the river. It then says he did it “do all the nations of the earth might know the Lord’s hand is powerful.”Joshua wanted the whole world to know how powerful God was.

Application:

The heart of God from the beginning has been that all nations would know Him and follow Him and His ways. Throughout the Bible we see God favoring Israel, but constantly telling us His “why.” God’s “why” has always been so that all nations will see His goodness and turn to Him. God has always had a heart for the Gentiles. Paul’s mystery was that God had a plan all along for the Gentiles and not only for the Jews. I want my life to let “all nations” know the goodness and the power of my God. He is worthy of the whole world knowing about Him.

Prayer:

Father, help me to love every nation as You love every nation. Let my church be in the position to do more in the nations to proclaim Your great name to all the earth. Enable and empower us to carry Your message to the ends of the earth. I want all nations to know Your glory! You are amazing and have blessed my life. I want the whole world to know what You have given me.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Helping Others Win Their Battles

 Scripture:

“Your wives, children, and livestock may remain here in the land Moses assigned to you on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them” ‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Joshua is speaking to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. They had already received their portion of land on the east side of the Jordan River. Joshua and the rest were about to cross the river to go possess the land of promise and kick out all the enemies found there. Joshua told the 2-1/2 tribes that the fighting men from their tribes needed to go across and help everyone else fight, even though they already had their own property. They were to stay with the rest until everyone had their land, then they could go back to their own land.

Application:

When God blesses our lives, it doesn’t mean we don’t need to fight for others to inherit their blessings. Rest comes when everyone has their possession of land. Once we have grasped our promises by faith, we must help others into God’s precious kingdom. We are not saved to just inherit our promises. We are saved to help others inherit theirs as well. Serving and helping others is always something the Lord loves. 

Prayer:

Father, thank You for giving me salvation, healing, deliverance, and freedom. Help me to walk with others and help them receive what I have been blessed with. Teach me to love others the way Your love others. Help me to not get lazy, but to continue to help doing the work of the Kingdom. Give me the strength to bring many into the kingdom before I see You face to face. Let me see the extension of Your kingdom through my life around the world. I give myself to You for Your purposes in my life.

Your Son,

Jeff

God‘s Not Afraid of Our Questions

 Scripture:

“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”” ‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to all His disciples, but Thomas wasn’t there at that time. He didn’t believe Jesus was alive when the other disciples told him. When Jesus appeared a second time, Thomas was there. Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for his lack of faith. He simply told him to put his finger into the wound in His side and to look at His hands. Jesus wanted to increase the faith often Thomas, not make him feel bad.

Application:

Jesus isn’t afraid of our questions. He isn’t condemning us for our lack of faith. He allows us to have questions while following Him. Rather than rebuke Thomas, He simply confirmed truth for Thomas. He demonstrated the miracle instead of destroying him as a person. We need to know that it is okay to wrestle with our faith once in a while, God will confirm who He is in our time of questioning. God loves us enough to demonstrate His goodness to us. 

Prayer:

Father, increase my faith. Thank You for not rebuking me when I don’t understand things or walk in perfect faith and obedience. Help me to know Your voice and to do Your works on this earth. Let my faith increase and develop as I age. I want to walk more intimately with You in my senior years than in the past. Let me live a life that pleases You and that You can bless.

Yours Forever,

Jeff 

Finish the Work

 Scripture:

“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” ‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

This simple verse says so much! Jesus, in His prayer tells the Father that He brought the Father glory on earth by completing His work. That work was given by God the Father for Jesus to do. He completed His assignments and was ready to give His life. The most important thing I see is that God gets glory when we do what He wants us to do. Our lives should bring Him glory and His glory comes when we obey Him and do His will.

Application:

Our lives should not be for our own glory, but for the glory of God. We bring Him glory when we do what he tells us to do. When we live according to God’s ways instead of our own thinking, He gets glory. When we operate from Scripture and not our own minds, He gets glory. The bottom line is that obedience to God bring glory to God.

Prayer:

Father, I want my life to bring Your glory. Help me to live a life of obedience at all times. Teach me to walk with You and to fulfill Your purposes and plans for my life. Open doors and make Your plan clear so I can walk in it. Show me Your ways and teach me Your paths. I want to fulfill everything You have for me and bring Your the greatest glory. Be glorified in and through my life! 

I Am Yours,

Jeff

Much Fruit

 Scripture:

“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

Jesus, in this passage, is approaching His death, burial, and resurrection. He is going deep with His disciples about what is coming and how to live when it happens. He told them to remain in Him and they would be able to ask for anything they wanted and it would be granted. He also told them that producing much fruit makes them His disciples and brings glory to the Father. 

Application:

We must learn to abide, dwell, live, and remain in Christ at all times and all His words to remain in us as well. We must learn to walk in the Spirit and be led by Him. When we do, Jesus made some really powerful promises. I also see here that producing much fruit is important to God. I don’t want to settle for having a little fruit. I want to produce much fruit for the Kingdom. 

Prayer:

Lord God, let me abide in Christ and walk in the Spirit at all times. Let my life be consumed with the life of God. Fill me with Your Spirit and let me walk in step with You at all times. Let my life produce much fruit! Help me to be productive in everything I do. Let my life become more effective as I grow older. I want to bring glory to my Father. 

Yours,

Jeff

Know His Voice

 Scripture:

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,” ‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

Jesus said here that He was the shepherd and that His sheep listen to His voice. He said that they know Him and follow Him, therefore He gives them eternal life. They will not be snatched away from Him. Jesus compared Himself to a shepherd and said that they sheep know the voice of the shepherd. 

Application:

We are to be led by the Spirit and know the voice of the Lord in our lives. We cannot follow what we cannot hear. We must live to hear and do what the Father tells us to do. We must learn to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Hearing His voice and following Him is crucial to our walk as believers. We are not to just follow His writings, but hear and follow His voice.

Prayer:

Teach me to hear Your voice clearly and to walk accordingly. I want to know the voice of my shepherd. I long to hear Your thoughts on everything I do. Speak clearly and open my ears to know Your voice. Show me Your ways and teach me Your paths. I want to work with You to build Your kingdom on the earth as it is in heaven.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

The Devil is a Liar

 Scripture:

“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” ‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Jesus tells the people concerning Satan, “When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Grace and truth are found in Jesus, lies and deception are found in Satan. Out of Jesus flow grace and truth. Out of the devil flow lies and deception. Satan not only lies, he is the father of lies. They originate in him and he fathers them.

Application:

In our walks with God, we must always remember that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He devours those who listen to his lies. We cannot be deceived by the enemy’s lies and deception. We fight against deception by knowing the truth. Jesus is truth so we must focus our attention on him, then when deception comes, we will be quick to know it. We must also prepare ourselves because Satan loves to whisper to us that God doesn’t love us or isn’t happy with us. He loves to put false statements into our brains. We combat that with the truth of God’s word. We must believe God.

Prayer:

Father, help me walk out my life knowing You more intimately. I want to know You because You are truth and grace. Help me to walk in truth and never in deception. Teach me to walk as Jesus walked. I want to flow in the fullness of what Christ died to give me. Let my life be influenced by Christ and truth, never Satan and his deception.

Yours,

Jeff