Day 103: 2 Sam 23:39 - 1 Kings 1:52

I always have somewhat of a difficult time reading stories like this one at the beginning of the book of 1 Kings because it's so hard to understand how such secrecy and dishonesty could be incorporated into God's big plan. The only thing I can really come up with is the fact that although God may not have necessarily orchestrated the events leading up to Solomon being anointed as the King of Israel, Solomon's was God's man for the job, and He will take advantage of any opportunity to make His will happen. There are alot of things that happen in life outside of the will of God, whether by the devil or just through the hands of selfish, sinful men, but regardless of the motivation or reasoning behind them, God can take any negative situation and turn it around to work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. 

- Lord, help me to remember that You can take any situation and turn it into something amazing as long as my eyes are on You and as long as I am striving to do Your will. Help me to always have faith in You and not worry if something doesn't quite go like I wanted it to. You have always been and will always be so much more faithful than the situations around me could ever be. -

Day 102: 2 Sam 21:22 - 23:38

It's an obvious point to make that David didn't become the man that he was on his own. We saw time and time again where God came through and made a way where things seemed impossible, but I think it's great to note that David had a very close group of comrades that helped take him through it all. There's no doubt that God could've take David as far as he wanted to completely alone, but we can really see the importance of being in true covenant with real men of God. We must never take for granted the relationships and the covenants that God has blessed us with. I can honestly say that I have a few close friends who have always been right beside me keeping me on track and praying for me when I needed it and I'm I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I am today if God hadn't blessed me with such covenant partners. God is faithful to help us out and bless us, but we must never take for granted that one way He brings us to the next level is in the arms of our truest friends.

- Lord, thank You for blessing me with friends that I know would never leave me in a million years. My relationship with You is the most important one of all, but I know that without those around me building me up and pushing me on, I may not  even have a relationship with You. Help me to continue in those relationships and never take them for granted as long as I live. -

Day 101: 2 Sam 19:1 - 21:21

For this passage, I'd like to focus on the last part where it talks about the famine that went on in the land. I believe that there occasionally comes a point in our lives where perhaps everything that we're doing right now is OK, but for some reason there seems to be a lingering curse that we just can't shake. I believe in those circumstances, we must do just like David did and go back to find the root of the problem. Although David went right back to talk to the Gibeonites, I think it's our responsibility to go back and talk to God to find out what could possibly be holding us back. Whether it's a relationship that was never mended properly or a sinful act that was never given the proper repentance, We can't go forward with our Father until we've gotten rid of all of the baggage weighing us down. And once those things are taken care of, just like we saw with David, God will once again have the freedom to present us blessing after blessing in Him.

- Lord, show me if there's anything from the past that You want me to clean up before I can move onward with You. I don't want to end up in a terrible famine wondering where I went wrong. Help me to throw off all of the baggage holding me back so I can  run freely right into the place where You've called me to. -

Day 100: 2 Sam 16:1 - 18:33

This entire passage seems to be a little unnecessary in my opinion. What I mean is, I think it's totally necessary to be mentioned in the life of David, but I can't help but feel like it was just a big waste of David's time that never would've happened if he had been more careful about his relationship with Absalom. I know it's a little redundant to make 2 entries about the same basic principle, but at least in this story we see God bringing David out of this mess and restoring him back to where he belonged. It's very refreshing to note that even when things start to fall apart in our lives, whether by our direct disobedience or simply by our carelessness, God is always there willing to clean things up if we'll just let him. But just like in the case of this story, we must be aware of the fact that there may be collateral damage that just can't be reversed. We can only learn from the past, and fortunately we have David's past to learn from so that we don't have to learn from our own experience in this issue. 

- Lord, help me to handle my relationships according to Your Word. And if for some reason something goes south and I've messed up, thank You for being faithful to pick me up off of the floor and set me back on track. You've always been there to rescue me and You always will be. -

Day 99: 2 Sam 13:27 - 15:37

In these verses we see what happens when we allow cancerous relationships to remain in our lives without being dealt with. It's difficult to say whether David should have killed Absalom, just continued to ignore him, or allow him to come back with some very very stringent restraints, but nonetheless, their relationship was one that proved to be a very difficult and problematic one for David. Even after David allowed him to return, there were some very obvious signs that Absalom was still up to no good. I can't stress enough how important it is to make sure to check our relationships against the Word. I don't know how many people I've known who stayed in or formed relationships that weren't righteous and they ended up crashing and getting hurt because they weren't careful about how they dealt with other people. Your relationships with those around you is one of the most important aspects of your Christian walk, if those aren't in line, I have a hard time believing that anything else will be.

- Lord, help me to keep my relationships in line at all times. It's very difficult sometimes to keep things in check with my friends, but help me to remember that the most important relationship in my life is the one with You and if there are any others that get in the way, they must be dealt with. -

Day 98: 2 Sam 10:19 - 13:26

This story has always been one that I've tried my hardest to overlook and pretend never happened, but it absolutely did happen. I think it's really important to note that this story isn't in the Bible to show people that even huge "Biblical giants" like David can make stupid mistakes, it's in the Bible to show us that we serve a merciful God. It's always sad to see such a big hero fall from his place up there on some level far above any normal human, but it's very important to go through this story along with the others because it reminds us that David was never the hero of this story to begin with. God is the hero of this story and there's no other passage in the history of David that shows it better than this one. David was called, anointed, and blessed by God and God had every right to destroy him and completely undo everything that He had done for David, but He chose to send a prophet to let David know what was going on, and then He did what only God has the ability to truly do - He forgave Him.

- Lord, thank You for Your mercy. It's easy to be scared sometimes that serving a huge, perfect, and just God like You means that one mistake will make us lose it all and start back at square one, but You've shown us in Your word that You are a God of mercy and if we will come to You repentant and broken, You'll forgive us not because of who we are, but because of who You are. -

Day 97: 2 Sam 6:23 - 10:18

It's difficult to read about the blessing that God gave to David and not be impressed. I know that alot of people put a big emphasis on the blessing of Abraham, but I have to say that this blessing is definitely not something to be taken lightly. God not only promised King David and his family huge blessings, but He also promised that He wouldn't take the blessing away from them like He did with Saul. It's one thing to be given a gift, it's something totally different when that gift comes with a guarantee.

Also, I have always loved the story of Mephibosheth. Believe it or not, it totally falls in line with the recurring theme of this wonderful book we call the Bible - Redemption. Here is a poor crippled man who undoubtedly had spent most of his life afraid of King David and wondering when someone was going to break down the door to take him away. But instead of ending up being punished for all of the wrong things that his grandfather did, he was rewarded and completely redeemed from all of it based on the deep meaningful covenant that David made with his father years earlier. God made us a promise nearly 2000 years ago that if we would accept Jesus as our Savior, He would forgive us of our sins and redeem us, buy us back for His glory. We don't have to look at the bad things we've done or our society has done, if God made a promise, He will stick to it no matter what.

- Lord, thank You for being our redeemer. It's so easy to fall into a hole and be so afraid to come out for fear of what You would do us, but help us to remember that You are a just God and You will always honor Your word before anything else. Thank You for picking us up out of that hole of being crippled and poor and sitting us down at Your table where we can partake in all of Your blessings without any conditions or strings attached! - 

Day 96: 2 Sam 3:1 - 6:22

Finally, after all these years and after going through struggle after struggle after struggle, David was finally chosen to be the King of Israel. Something interesting to point out though, is the fact that even though he was finally accepted as the King of Israel, there was still plenty of drama and there were still plenty of troubles and issues that he had to deal with. It's important to remember this because I think alot of people have this silly notion that once we've stepped into the role that God has for us, all of the problems and issues will just disappear. The truth is that The devil will always see us as a target and once we've really stepped up and begun walking in the capacity that God has for us, we will be just that much more of a target. We must always remember though, that if God can take us through the little troubles that we're seeing right now, he can surely take us above and beyond them in the next level that God has for us.

- Lord, help me to be mindful of the fact that the devil will never stop trying to attack me even when I an standing right in the middle of the place that You've called me to. Help me to always keep my trust in You regardless of whether or not things are "going my way." You will always be my strength and my portion and success, whether real or imagined, can never change that. -

Day 95: I Sam 30:31 - 2 Sam 2:32

In these verses, we learn about an aspect of David's heart that I pray someday I'll be able to emulate. Even despite all of the horrible things that Saul did to David either out in the open, or in private, When David heard of Saul's death, he mourned. I know I would definitely not have that same reaction if I had been in David's position. I hate to admit it, but if there was someone out there who wanted to end my life, I would be dancing in the streets if I found out that he had died first. David was not only a man anointed by God to lead His people, he was a man after God's own heart, and he was man enough to know that regardless how a man lived, if the anointed of God had ever been on his life, he deserved a proper burial and he deserved to have someone mourn his death. He understood that we serve a merciful God and that each of us deserves respect and dignity, not because of who we are, but because of who God is.

- Lord, help me to remember once again that vengeance belongs to You, not me. In fact, You've commanded us in Your word to love our enemies as ourselves. Help me to love those who oppose me and show respect to those who treat me like dirt not just because it's the smart thing to do, but because it's the right thing to do. -

Day 94: I Sam 26:14 - 30:30

We are now moving into the final stages of David gaining power and influence and Saul loosing his. I can't even imagine how terrible it would feel to be told that God has turned away from you and He is now on the side of your enemy, but that's exactly what happened. This group of Scriptures is interesting because it shows us how God is continuing to bless David and give him more and more victory, and it shows Saul slowly losing everything that he had worked for. This is very encouraging because there are so many times when we find ourselves in a state of disillusion and it feels like we're standing on the sidelines watching someone else wrongfully do what we were called to. But the truth is, God knows what He's doing and not only will their current situation be adjusted, but our situation can be turned around into training because whether we realize it or not, the kingship is just around the corner and we had better take every opportunity to get ready for it.

- Lord, help me to stay strong and keep my eyes on You even through the times when it looks like everything is going wrong. The truth is, I don't always know what's happening outside of my situation, but if I will keep my eyes on You, I can trust You to take care of everything while I stay faithful in learning what You want me to learn. -  

Day 93: I Sam 23:29 - 26:13

Wow, what better reminder that vengeance is from God than reading this passage? I have to be honest and say that I don't think I would have what it takes to be that close to my enemy and have mercy on him. There are so many amazing lessons we can learn from reading about the life of David, and the lesson here is such an amazing reminder that even if someone isn't treating you right and even if they are operating in a sinful way at the time, that doesn't mean that they're not anointed and it surely doesn't mean that it's our responsibility to take matters into our own hands and get rid of them. In this one passage we see three wonderful examples of the importance of leaving vengeance up to God. We saw immediately in the story of Nabal that God will avenge us and I have a pretty good feeling that the story of King Saul will likely end in a similar manner. 

-Lord, help me to never try to take revenge into my own hands. I've learned from the story of David and king Saul that even if it's someone in charge of me treating me like a worthless dog, it's only my responsibility to honor them and I know that when the time is right, You will see to it that I am taken care of and that they get exactly what they deserve. - 

Day 92: I Sam 20:19 - 23:28

Now we begin to see the circumstances get considerably harder for David, and yet he continues to stand firm and carry out the mission that God has for him. I know there are alot of people who would just fold up and let Saul come in and get rid of them, but David remained strong. Not that it's ever really "inspirational" when people fall into difficult situations, but it is great to see that God still had favor on David's life even if it wasn't necessarily with the same people. It's so awesome to see that even in the midst of a difficult and horribly low spot in his life, he still had the favor and the blessing to go out, fight against a big Philistine army, and totally destroy them. I believe there's definitely a time when we need to "lay low" and be careful not get run over by our enemies, but it's important to understand that even in those times, we still have a job to do and if we'll make ourselves available, God will make it happen.

- Lord, thank You for the encouragement and reminder that even when life is seems to be going downhill and everything seems to be going wrong, You are still there and I still have Your favor even if it's in a different form. Help me to continue to win the battles regardless of where I am, and give me the strength I need to climb out of this valley so I can lead Your people to the destiny that You've called them to! - 

Day 91: I Sam 17:41 - 20:18

And today, the word of the day is favor. If you don't believe that God can grant somebody supernatural favor, just read these verses about David and the favor that God put on his life. This passage has always been such an inspiration because we can see in these passages that God totally and completely promoted David without David ever even asking God to do so. In fact, David had so much favor from God that even King Saul, the man who hated David, couldn't resist loving him and promoting him more than once. I think there are alot of Christian people out there who believe that the only way to get ahead in this life is by making your own way and pushing hard to so you can make it happen for yourself, but we see very clearly that if we will just be faithful to do the right thing in the right place at the right time, God will honor our faithfulness and give us the favor required to reach higher than we ever could have on our own.

- Lord, help me not to rely on myself or my own devices to get me ahead. You are the One who can lift us up higher than any man could and You are the only trustworthy One to put our faith in. Thank You for the favor that You've put on the lives of Your people and help me to always walk in it no matter the circumstance. - 

Day 90: I Sam 15:13 - 17:40

So in this passage we see the beginning of one of the most famous passages in the Bible - The story of David and Goliath. I, like so many others, used to think that this story began with an unknown little kid who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but we can see in this passage that there were certain events that led up to David being the man picked for this job. Although it's always been obvious that God picked him for this job, we see in these verses that God made opportunities for him to get close to and be seen with Kind Saul long before he had to deal with Goliath. Alot of times we think that what's going on right now in our lives is just pointless, but the truth is, if we are in the middle of God's will, He is either teaching us something that will help us in the future or He's positioning us for the next big thing that He wants to do through us.

- Lord, help me to be in the right position to be used by You whenever You're ready to use me. Help me to not get upset or anxious about where my life is right now, but Help me to keep my eyes on You and my faith in You. I know that if I'll be faithful in these things, one day when the time comes for the giant to be killed, I'll be first in line! -

Day 89: I Sam 13:1 - 15:12

In this story we see the downfall of the first king of Israel. It's interesting to note that Saul really wasn't an evil man and he really didn't do anything that could be considered blatantly evil. The problem with a man in that position is that he was basically the ultimate authority and if there's just a small amount of impurity at the core of the nation, then the rest will be contaminated. There are two very important lessons that we can learn from this story. Number one, we can't just be looking to guard ourselves from the huge problems that will surely bring us down, we must also be mindful of the small bits of rebellion that can sneak in and destroy us from the inside out. Secondly, we must never put all of our faith in a man because when that man does something against the will of God, if all of our faith is in him, everything in submission to him will fall.

- Father, guard me against the little seeds of contamination that can creep in and ruin me from the inside out. Help me to stay faithful to You and serve You with the kind of integrity that is the same both inside and out whether in front of a big crowd or no crowd at all. -

Day 88: I Sam 9:12 - 12:25

It's difficult to read these passages and even now feel sorry for Saul. I can't even imagine how difficult it would be to be chosen to rule an entire nation when he didn't even really want to in the first place, and the just the fact that the people want a king is a slap in the face of God. The best thing I can think of regarding this passage is the saying the good is the worst enemy of best. We can even begin to see now that having a king has turned out to work pretty good for the Israelites, but it will ultimately lead to them being captured and having an even harder life than before. There's no way to tell how things would have been if the Israelites had just continued to let God lead them, but as we've seen in the past, even when they totally turned from God, He was still standing right there and many times delivered them from the enemy right there on the spot. We know that as we go through the Bible, God will eventually put His people back in their land, but it will end up taking alot longer than they would have preferred.

- Lord, help me to never accept the good over what is best for me. There are alot of decisions in this life and I don't ever want to fall into the lie that the easiest choice is the best choice. I want to always listen to You to find out what's best so I can consistently defeat the enemies that I will face. - 

Day 87: I Sam 4:22 - 9:11

It's a sad day when people stop relying on what God will tell them and start relying on a man leading them. I believe there are alot of churches out there today who have turned into something exactly like the Children of Israel. They're tired of God leading the way, so they decide to appoint a human being so they can rely on him and trust him more than they ever even tried to trust in God. I believe with all my heart that God puts people in our lives to help us give direction and lead us towards the right goals, but we should never put a man in the highest authority in our lives. Just as we will eventually see with the Israelites, it will end up having some short-term benefits, but if they continue to keep their trust in a man, things will begin to fall apart and God won't be there to clean it all up for them.

- Lord, help me not to idolize and put all of my faith in a man. I know that you've put people in my life to help walk with me and lead me in the right direction, but I know that their word will never take the place of Yours and their leadership should never overstep You. -

Day 86: I Sam 1:28 - 4:21

The story in these passages isn't exactly the most happy and positive message, but it definitely shows us the truth and the importance of faithfulness. Here we have Samuel, a little kid who was given no choice but to spend the rest of his life working for God, and yet he was more than happy to do it. Not only that, but the two young men who were supposed to be taking care of the temple and helping Samuel develop were out cheating God and doing whatever they wanted. Samuel was in the perfect position to join right in with Hophni and Phinehas, but he chose to stay faithful and God honored that. It's too bad that the only 2 sons of Eli the Priest were killed in battle, but God knew that they never would have gotten to the place where they would be able to anoint the new king David. So God allowed the road to be straightened again so that His faithful servant Samuel would have the opportunity to do what God had called Him to do.

- I want to always be faithful no matter what's going on around me. It's easy to get sucked into the same routine that everyone else is in and slip away from the Father's hand, but I won't allow that to happen to me. I want to stand firm and always be there so that when the time comes and everything around me is falling apart, I will remain strong so God can do His work through me. -

Day 85: Ruth 1:22 - I Sam 1:27

As we conclude the very short book of Ruth, we learn a concept very similar to, yet very different from the book of Judges. In Judges we learn about a group of man and women who did huge things and made monumental decisions and although most were terribly flawed, they all played very obviously enormous roles in the history of the Jewish culture. The book of Ruth, however, is about two lowly widows who did a seemingly tiny act of obedience and yet they changed the course of History just as much, if not more than, all of the judges before them. The point is, it doesn't matter how "big" you think your role is or how much of an impact you think it will have. Staying faithful and being obedient to the Father will generate results that we could never even imagine. All we have to do  is remain faithful and be exactly who God has called us to be.

- Father, help me to never take for granted the small things that You've called me to do. It's natural to want to carry out the big mission and make the biggest impact right now, but I know that Your plan goes so far beyond what my imagination can see and if I will do my job and be obedient, You'll honor that and use my obedience as the blessing You have planned. -

Day 84: Judg 20:1 - Ruth 1:21

Although short, The book of Judges holds a very big message and one of the biggest in the entire Bible - God doesn't rely on perfect people in perfect situations to carry out His will. He can use terribly flawed, helpless individuals from horrible situations to carry out His will as long as they're obedient to Him. It seems like alot of times, people think that they have to "get their act together," and make sure everything is perfect before God will use them, but God is ready to utilize us as soon as we're ready for Him. The fact is, it doesn't matter how hard or how long we try, we'll never be able to make ourselves "good enough" for God, so there's really not point trying. We were all born with a sin nature, but God won't let that get in His way. The call of God on our lives isn't dependent on our ability or our own righteousness, the only thing that we can control is our obedience to His will.

- Lord, thank You for being able to use me regardless of my many flaws. I know that You can take any vessel and make it new again, so I ask that You take this imperfect vessel and use me however You want to use it and not simply how I want to be used. All you need from my is obedience and that's all that I can offer. -

Day 83: Judg 16:31 - 19:30

All I can say about this passage is wow. It's somewhat difficult reading through this book of the Bible because it's so factual and doesn't really even touch on the morals of the people in these books. I do know enough though to know that the things that the people of Israel had gotten themselves into up to this point were not good. It's sad to think of the roller coaster that the Israelites had gone through and would continue to go through as time progressed. I suppose if nothing else can be gleaned from these verses of Scripture, we can always go back that recurring theme of redemption. I know for a fact that they days of David and Solomon have not yet come so I know that regardless of how bad things are right now, God will eventually redeem His people and put them back on top where they belong.

- Lord, I don't want to end up in a while like the Children of Israel are at this point in the Bible. Sure there's always the promise of redemption and reconciliation with You, but I would much rather stay with you the entire time. Help me to keep my focus on You so that I don't have to stumble a hundred times before I get it right. -

Day 82: Judg 13:1 - 16:30

The story of Samson is the classic story of what happens when people forget where the blessing is coming from. The book of Judges is such an interesting book because it really doesn't discuss the moral values of any of the Judges, it simply tells the facts. It's hard to say that Samson wasted all that God had given him because we clearly see what God did through him with the hundreds of Philistines prior to him falling into Delilah's trap, but I'm sure there was alot more that he could've done. The place where he went wrong was when he starting thinking that he was invincible and that he was a "self-made" man. I've known alot of people in the ministry who thought that they had climbed the ladder and made themselves a success when God was really the one who had made it happen. As soon as we start thinking that it was all our own personal success, Gad takes a step back and lets us see just how successful we are on our own, and that's never a good thing. 

- Lord, help me to never be as arrogant as Samson became. I know that you have blessed me with certain gifts and talents, but I know that the moment I start trusting in the gifts more than the one who gave them to me, I will crash and burn just like Samson and just like all of the others who took matters into their own hands. -

Day 81: Judg 9:57 - 12:15

Once again we see the lovely picture of redemption in these passages. After a couple more judges, the Children of Israel went back to their sinful ways and totally ignored God for quite a few years. It's interesting to note that they asked God for help once, but God basically told them to get help from their fancy new gods because He wasn't going to waste His time helping them out. It wasn't until they decided to burn all of their old god paraphernalia that the One True God decided to look towards them again and lift them up. Alot of times, people think that they can beg God for help with a joint in one hand holding on to all of their sinful lives with the other, but God requires us to at least make an attempt to set ourselves apart before He's willing to step in and take over. He can't share the space with anything or anyone else. It's either God's way or no way.

- Thank You so much for being a God of mercy, but not simply pointless mercy that can be taken advantage of over and over again. You always require out obedience before You are willing to take our hands and lead us out of the pit that we've gotten ourselves into. I hope that I'm never in this type of situation, but if ever I am, give me the strength and the presence of mind to get rid of all of my false gods so You can move in and take control. -

Day 80: Judg 8:1 - 9: 56

In this passage we learn about what happens when we try to take matters into our own hands. I don't doubt that Abimelech's goal was originally to help the nation of Israel succeed, but instead of asking God what he should do, he took matters into his own hands and ended up being a horrible leader. If I had written the book of Judges, I would have definitely left out this story because it just shows and untrustworthy one of the judges was and it shows how unintelligent the people of Israel were to follow him. It's very easy for us to get so caught up in what's going on around us that we decide to take matters into our own hands, but we must always remember that if God didn't tell us to do it, we run the huge risk of messing it all up with our own ideas and opinions. 

- Father help me to always trust in You regardless of how difficult things get. There will always be the temptation to take matters into my own hands, but help me to learn from Abimelech's example and just let You show me the way. -

Day 79: Judg 5:15 - 7:25

I've always loved the story of Gideon because it's about an unlikely person taking unlikely measures to completely and utterly achieve an unlikely victory. It seems the human race has always had the tendency to expect God to do things their way. When God called Gideon, he immediately assumed that God had made the wrong decision because no human would have ever picked him to save the nation of Israel. God told Gideon to take really strange and seemingly pointless measures to whittle down the size of his army to one that had not apparent chance of winning against such a military giant. And then God showed Gideon how he was going to defeat the enemy and it just seemed ridiculous. And yet after all of these things, Gideon was able to rescue the children of Israel and defeat the enemy. God doesn't care if you're qualified or if the plan makes sense to you, all He wants is obedience and He'll take care of the rest.

- Father, I know that sometimes I feel like I'm the least likely around to carry out the call that You've placed on my life, but help me to remember that all You require is obedience. If I will just stay faithful and obedient to Your Call, You'll take care of all of the small details like who, what, when, why, where, and how. -

Day 78: Judg 2:1 - 5:14

Here we see a picture of what seems to happen to alot of believers as well as certain sections of the body of Christ. The children of Israel had been taken through an incredible hardship and had been given an amazing victory finally moving into the land that God promised them and achieving the call that He had placed on their lives, and yet, they ended up turning their back on God and relying on their own ideas and "know-how." And sure enough, God allowed their enemies to attack them like a flood breaking upon the rocks. It's interesting to read the stories of these judges sent by God to help Israel in these tough times, but I think even the judges are a perfect example of what you get when you treat the symptoms and not the disease. When the judges were in power, things were going great for the Children of Israel; and, naturally, they were more than happy to follow the right path while that judge was alive. After all, things went pretty well when the judge was in power so why not try to "be good." But we see as soon as adversity came back and the judge was no longer there to stand in the gap, they all just fell apart and totally ignored their Creator.

- Father, help us not to be like the Children of Israel in those days when they were only good if someone was watching them. I don't want to live the roller-coaster life that they did, but I want to stand firm under Your blessings and not waiver regardless of how comfortable I get. Help me to stay the course and see everything You've called me to do to the very end. I know that partial obedience is no obedience, and I do not want to wander down that road. -

Day 77: Josh 23:8 - Judg 1:36

So it appears that we have come to the end of the book of Joshua and the story of the children of Israel finding their way home has finally come to an end. It's incredible how far this group of beaten up, exhausted wanderers has come. I know for a fact that the next few books of the Bible will tell a story that is less than happy regarding God's people, but for now, I think it's a wonderful time to reflect on the blessings and the wonderful lessons that came about through this journey. God has proven through these last few books His earth shattering power, His incredible love, His relentless resistance to unrighteousness, and His undying mercy for His children. We see in these passages that God is willing to stop the earth's rotation to help His children win a battle as well as open up the earth and allow a person's world to be destroyed as a result of rebellion and unbelief. If there's one thing that I've learned from these passages so far, it's that God is capable of doing anything and regardless how big or how small it is, if it's in God's will and we submit ourselves to His will, He will make it happen.

- Father thank You for the amazing things You've shown me over the last 77 days. I have seen very clearly in these passages that You are both willing and able to completely  turn my world around if I will just hand You the keys. You are all-powerful and all-knowing and I would be crazy to follow anyone other than You. -

Day 76: Josh 21:1 - 23:7

There's a very interesting exchange between the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh and the rest of the Children of Israel that I just couldn't ignore. In fact, the disagreement reminded me alot of the body of Christ as far as denominations are concerned. The argument was something that one could really agree with either side, but when it came down to it, neither was right or wrong, it was simply a matter of miscommunication. Now, that's not to say that no denomination is wrong or sinful, but I really do believe that there are members of the body of Christ who have devoted their lives to fighting pointless battles to prove irrelevant opinions when people are dying and going to hell each and every day. Instead of trying to prove that our opinions are the right opinions, let's let God test the hearts of each and every individual and turn our focus towards reaching the lost and doing what God truly intends for us to do.

- Lord help me to stop trying to prove my own opinions or feelings and start doing what You've put me on this earth to do - reach out to the lost and bring them back to You. Help me to put aside petty differences with other believers and work together with them to reach a sick and dying world. You're opinion is the only one that matters and I know that right now, You're opinion is that we haven't yet done all there is to do for Your Kingdom. - 

Day 75: Josh 18:1 - 20:9

One thing that really stuck out to me in this passage is how the leaders of Israel "cast lots" to decide how to split the land up. I think this is definitely one of those times when modern translation has done alot to confuse the meaning of what's being said. When you initially read that they "cast lots" you can't help but think that they somehow gambled to determine who got what. The truth is, none of it had anything to do with them making a gamble or leaving it all to chance. They were simply giving it up to God and letting Him decide what needed to happen. The Children of Israel "casting lots" on who got what piece of land is about as much of a gamble as a perfectly healthy person taking a breath and "gambling" on whether or not the air will enter their lungs. When we're relying on God to lead us through, it's never a gamble, in fact, it's the only sure bet we'll ever have.

- Lord, help me to "cast my lot" with you. There are alot of gambles that we take each and every day, but following you should never and will never be one of them. Give me peace and help me to remember that You will always provide the right way out and I can always count on You to show me exactly what needs to be done. -