Don’t Be Afraid… God is With You

 Scripture:

“When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry and troops who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭20‬:‭1‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, God tells the people of Israel not to fear when they see enemies that are far bigger than them in weaponry and numbers. He told them not to fear because He was with them. God was letting them know that, no matter how big their enemies were, He would take care of them and defeat their enemies. This gave God’s people great confidence. 

Application:

When things happen in our lives, we must remember that God is greater than whatever is happening to us. Every enemy is under His feet and He is able to deliver His people out of the worst situations. He is faithful and takes care of what is His. Our job is to walk by faith and trust Him rather than always trying to fight the battles on our own. No matter how big the problem… our God is bigger!

Prayer:

Father, let me see You in all Your glory. You are incredible and I worship You. Help me to not fear when things don’t seem to be going as I thought they would. Help me to trust You more and more. Fight my battles and deliver me from every attack that comes against me. Let me fulfill everything You have in mind for me. Let my eyes always be open to see You and let my ears be attentive to Your voice. I want to serve You well.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Prophesy Accurately

 Scripture:

““But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

In this verse, we see how serious God is about prophets who represent Him and His word. He wanted to make sure prophets accurately represented Him and clearly spoke what He was speaking. They could not prophesy on their own volition. If they prophesied in God’s name, something God hadn’t authorized them to speak, they were to be killed.

Application:

God takes prophetic words very seriously. We operate in a season of grace right now, but under the Law we see the heart of God and how serious He is about certain things. He doesn’t like to be inaccurately represented. He takes is very seriously. When we give prophetic words, we need to make sure God is speaking and not our own flesh. Prophecy is powerful and is used by God to accomplish His purposes, but we must seek accurate and articulate prophecy.

Prayer:

Father, help me to speak Your words powerfully and accurately. I want to represent You well in my generation. Teach me to hear Your voice and communicate accurately and clearly what You are speaking. I love prophetic ministry and know You use it strongly, but I want to operate in it with accuracy and integrity. I want the genuine gift to flow in and through my life. I want to be a vessel that You can use.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Loyalty

 Scripture:

“You must follow the Lord your God and revere only him; and you must observe his commandments, obey him, serve him, and remain loyal to him.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

As God’s people were about to enter the Promised Land, He reminded them about how they were to live and how to be blessed in the land they were entering. In this passage, He told them they must revert Him, observe His commands, obey Him, serve Him, and remain loyal to Him. God expected total devotion and loyalty to Him for all He had done for His people.

Application:

The word that stood out to me today was loyalty. God expects loyalty from His people. He has done so much for us, we need to be loyal to Him. Loyalty means that God is first in our lives and that we don’t stray for any reason. Loyalty infers that we remain faithful to Him, when things are good and when things are not good. Loyalty means He can count on us. I want to live a life that is loyal to the Lord, a life He can trust and depend on. Loyalty infers that God doesn’t have to compete with other things in our lives.

Prayer:

Father, help me to remain loyal to You at all times. You are awesome and have done great things in my life. Teach me to follow You completely and to remain loyal at all times. Let my life be completely devoted to You. Thank You for all You have done in my life to this point. Help me to reflect You and Your will to those around me. Let Your light shine through my life. 

Forever Yours,

Jeff

Humility When Blessed

 Scripture:

“Be careful not to say, “My own ability and skill have gotten me this wealth.” You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors, even as he has to this day.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Moses, as he is approaching the end of his life and God’s people were about to enter the promised land without him, told them that when they became prosperous and eliminated their enemies, they should never forget God. He told them to never forget that it is God who gave them the power to get wealth and it was God who brought them into the land and fought their battles. It is God who gives us the ability to get wealth. Every good thing we have, has come from God. 

Application:

We must never walk in pride and arrogance, thinking we have made ourselves rich and prosperous. As God’s children, we don’t take credit for the things we accomplish. Without Him, we can do nothing and He is the reason we have everything we have. We must always walk in humility before God and let Him raise us up. He deserves all the credit and honor, not we ourselves. He can bless us and He can take it away. Our trust must never be in ourselves or our hard work, but in the Lord. Everything we accomplish is because He has been good to us.

Prayer:

Father, You have been so good to me. Thank You for always taking care of me and providing for my every need. You have always provided for me and my family. Let my life bring Your praise and glory. Let all that I do and all that I am bring You the honor for Your name. You are the source of every good thing in my life. I am Yours, and I don’t take Your blessing lightly.

Thank You,

Jeff

Chosen and Adopted

 Scripture:

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭7‬:‭6‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

God is speaking through Moses at this point and tells him that the people of Israel had been chosen to be God’s people and that they are prized above all others on the face of the earth. In the New Testament, we gentiles are grafted into Abraham’s family. We are chosen, just like the people of Israel, and inherit the promises of Abraham. 

Application:

I need to see myself as God’s chosen. He chose me when I was still unloveable. He chose me when I wasn’t very valuable. He chose me to be His and that gives me great confidence. God has chosen me to do His work on the earth in this time. I must be confident in the fact that I am chosen of God and therefore, have privileges that come with that. He is my father and I am His son.

Prayer:

Father, You are incredible! Thank You for choosing me. Thank You for adopting me into Your family. Help me to follow You well and to live according to Your ways. I want to serve You well in my days and finish all You have prepared for me to do. I want to leave nothing undone that You desired for me.

Your Son,

Jeff

Run TO God When You Mess up

 Scripture:

“But if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find him, if, indeed, you seek him with all your heart and soul.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

This passage comes just before the people of Israel came out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. The Lord told them that if they disobeyed Him, they would be scattered around the world. Then He added, “but if you seek the Lord your God from there, you will find Him, if, indeed, you seek Him with all your heart and soul.” God promised them that if they turned to Him wholeheartedly, no matter what they had done, He would be found by them.

Application:

When we mess up, often we try to run away from God. This passage reminds us that God knew the Israelites were going to mess up, but gave them a prescription for when they did. God doesn’t expect perfection, but He does require a heart and soul that seek Him. Even under God’s judgment, He made a way of escape. We should run to God when we mess up. We can trust Him!

Prayer:

Father, help me to always run to You when I mess things up. Rather than running away because I feel like I let You down, teach me to run towards You with all my heart and soul. In good times and in bad times, I want to be a pursuer of God. I want to live a life that pleases You above all else.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Encourage Them

 Scripture:

“However, Joshua son of Nun, your assistant, will go. Encourage him, because he will enable Israel to inherit the land.” ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭1‬:‭38‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Moses was describing why the people of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for forty years. It was because they didn’t want to go in due to fear of the people in the land. God told Moses that they would wander for forty years because of their unbelief, but Joshua would be enabled to lead Israel to inferior the land promised to them. God told Moses to “encourage” Joshua. The next forty years, Moses encouraged and trained Joshua for what was coming.

Application:

When you see leadership on someone’s life, encourage them. Speak into their lives. When you realize that someone has leadership potential, they will need spiritual fathers and mothers. They will need someone to help train them, encourage them, and prepare them for what God will do in and through their lives. We must be people who encourage the next generation.

Prayer:

Father, help me to serve You well in my generation. Help me to see who You are raising up and show me how to encourage them. Help me to put courage into next gen leaders. Teach me to lead well, but also to prepare and raise up the next generation of people who will lead Your church. Help me to speak into lives that will one day be in ministry. Help me to train them well.

Yours,

Jeff