Tag: Joshua

Take Time to Talk and Listen to God

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/29

I read two devotionals this morning that had a recurring theme, that of talking to God before carrying out my plans. As Tina Wilson said in her book “Step into Scripture” for today’s devotional, “We blaze ahead with our plans, not thinking of what God wants or seeking him first. Then, when things fall apart, we wonder why God let it happen.” The important words are OUR plans and not seeking God first. I confess that this is a great fault of mine, to make plans and forge ahead. Then, in the middle of a mess and chaos that I never expected, I ask God what happened and why He wasn’t there. You know why, don’t you? I didn’t pause to talk to Him first, ask Him what plan He would like me to follow and then listen to Him. Joshua made this mistake in attacking Ai, and there was a consequence to pay for it. We don’t get out of the messes that we make unscathed. God wants us to learn the important lesson of calling on him FIRST, then executing the plan that He has put into our hearts. Good to remember that God loves us enough to keep us straight about just Who is in control!

Joining God in His Plan

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/22

This is a thought-provoking devotional today. I never considered the fact that an angel would not permit a man to worship him, so the Commander of God’s Armies does seem to be an appearance of the Lord Jesus. I think, if I recall correctly, that is called a Christophany, an appearance of Christ before He was sent to earth in human form. Anyway, I think it is important to note that Joshua was ready to be led by God. Joshua was a strong leader, yet he had to come to the realization that we are not the leaders of God’s army; God is. I like how this devotional puts into focus that when we go into the world, we are not taking God to the lost. God is already there. We go in order to get into step with God’s plans for those people who are lost and need to have a relationship with their Creator. All we do to promote God’s kingdom should be falling under the umbrella of God’s plan, not our own. Thought-provoking to me, and perhaps to you, too.

Resolution, Resolve, Promise

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App1 Comment

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/9

This devotional hits all of the high points of Joshua’s taking over after Moses’s death. He was commissioned by God and he had a high calling, but he had to take the first step away from Moses and on his own. So often, we get caught up in the trap of living in the past instead of pressing on toward a hopeful future. May each of us know in our hearts that God has a perfect plan and promise for each of us and may we all resolve to follow Him to the end.

Character Over Comfort

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App3 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/8

Think about why you sometimes find yourself in difficult situations, questioning why God would allow challenges to constantly assail you. One answer is in this short devotional. Developing your character is much more important to God than providing for your comfort. Which is more important to you? For me, I don’t like the tough times, but I do want to be more like Jesus…so whatever it takes and with total confidence that God will be with me, I choose character over comfort.

Being a Good Mentor

On By vickleaIn Scripture, YouVersion App2 Comments

www.bible.com/reading-plans/13696/day/2

I don’t think that I have ever considered Moses a mentor to Joshua because I did not see before the truths pointed out in this devotional. In order to be a good mentor, you have to lead the way and then step back and give credit to the one to whom credit is due. Moses and Joshua both knew all of the glory belongs to God, and that is the greatest truth that Moses taught Joshua.

Choices

On By vickleaIn Dr. Denison’s Forum, Quotation and Citations, Scripture, Song4 Comments

The inspiration for today’s post came from Dr. Denison’s Forum on October 13, 2022. You can read the entire article here: Dr. Denison’s Forum, 10-13-22

This is kind of a different way of saying “What would Jesus do?” But this quotation made me ponder deeply. None of us knows when we will take our last breath, so it’s worth noting that our choices might be different if we had an inkling that our end is imminent. Food for thought, for sure!

We definitely learn from our choices, both good and bad. I think of life as a test with a steep learning curve. It is up to us to use what we have learned to grow spiritually so that we don’t continue to make the same mistakes over and over. It is not a coincidence that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years; they made bad choices and didn’t learn from them. God was patient in continuing to lead them, in my opinion. It’s a good thing that He is also patient with me because sometimes I get stubbornly stuck in trying to force Him to accept my way instead of accepting that His way is best.

From http://www.dailyverse.net

Yes, we make choices daily and those choices have consequences, but I go back to the first question that I asked. “Would you change what you are about to do if you knew it would be the last thing you would do?” Think about it as you listen to the song below. If you read the “Forum” article, you know that this is the last song that a twenty-three year old sang before he died in an accident. May we ever be mindful that tomorrow is not a promise, but a gift.

“You Are My Hiding Place”-Selah