The Target is God’s Will

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

Joshua had accomplished much of what God had wanted him to as a large portion of the land promised to the Israelites had been conquered by Joshua and his army. As pointed out in the post “Fulfilling Our Purpose”, Joshua had done the will of God. Reading in Joshua 13, he was now up in age, yet God’s purpose for him was not finished.

Like Joshua, let God be a part of evaluating your current activities to discover if you are on target to fulfilling your purpose in life. The target is God’s will and I hope this song called Thy Will by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family moves in you the need to evaluate your current activities to discover if you are on target to fulfilling the purpose God has for you.

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Perfect Clarity

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. - 1 Corinthians 13:12

God is involved in the movement of history just as was shared in the post “Obedient and Persistent”. Keeping track of history gives us insight into what could happen in the future and in turn, help us to make informed decisions for today.

Historical data helps us predict the weather. Of course, being able to predict the weather in Texas is not that easy. Our county fair in Waco is in October and some years it can be freezing and other years, it can be sunny and in the low nineties with everyone wearing shorts.

Even though the future can be hard to predict, the Good News for us is that God knows what we need and like the song Good, Good Father – Chris Tomlin, He is perfect in all His ways to us.

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Jump into Life with Enthusiasm

Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” – Joshua 10:25

As shared in the post “Victory Builds Momentum for Future Victories”, the Ammonites were the people of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. The kings of each joined together to attack Gibeon. But Joshua and his army came to their rescue and God was with them as He produced hail stones to kill the enemy. He even stopped the sun so that Joshua and his army had the extra daylight to pursue the five kings.

The kings could not get away so they hid in a cave at Makkedah (vv. 16-17) but they were found and Joshua told his officers to put their feet on the king’s necks to engender trust in God for future victories (v. 24).

Joshua’s army always returned to Gilgal (v. 43) for rest, encouragement, inspiration, and to develop a strategy. My friend, let us daily return to God for study, prayer, and encouragement. He inspires us to jump into life with enthusiasm. We can pray, listen for instructions, and get things done now. Opportunities to do great things are right in front of us so let’s give God our best.

When we believe God is for us and if we see God at work in our life; confidence grows, victories come our way, and these victories can be used to build momentum to face future challenges just like in the song  Live with Abandon by Newsboys.

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The Straight Path

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6

Written about in the post “Seek Direction“, was how the leaders of Israel were fooled by a plan of deception. They were caught off guard by the misleading plan of the Gibeonites but the biggest mistake was their failure to seek direction from God to follow the straight path.

The lesson for us is to always let God be a part of our decision and approval process. This includes concerns with our family, business, organization, or job. The good news is that as the title of the song Grace is Enough by Matt Maher, we have grace to always fall back on when we make mistakes. We can take in the lessons, seek God’s direction, and be guided to better decisions in the future.

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ONE True God

I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from …the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me. - Exodus 20:2-3

The first battle at Ai was not a success because Joshua and the Israelites were not in sync with God. They lacked gratefulness and they lacked focus. Sometimes we do not appreciated what we have as much when things are going good and we lose our focus.

In our technological world today, all the systems must be in sync to operate correctly. It’s the same with our spiritual life. Sometimes we just need to be synced up to the ONE that provides what we need; the ONE True God.

I hope today’s song I Am by Mark Schultz will get you synced up with our Creator and I hope the victories will keep coming your way today.

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Who Can Be Against Us

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God be with us, who can be against us? - Romans 8:31

In the post “When Life Falls Apart”, shared were thoughts after reading Joshua 7 and how Joshua gained a great victory at Jericho but then found out that past victories do not guarantee future victories. He had a soldier that disobeyed a command and this caused God to turn away from the Israelites.

The result was a defeat at the next battle. Back in the day of Joshua, atonement was the death of the soldier and his whole family. In current times, we have the luxury of a much easier way because through Jesus, God has smoothed out the path so that returning back to Him is much easier. All we have to do is be humble, accept Jesus in our heart, and let God provide the power. Then there is a freedom and we can get the most out of life.

Everyone needs God's grace. Once received, one can gain wisdom to live the way life is meant to be lived. As the main point given to us in the song Dear Younger Me by MercyMe, our tomorrows can be better than our yesterdays and today can be amazing because our growing faith can never be taken away or depleted. The gospel message has a beautiful and refreshing simplicity about it that sets us free and never let us down.

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Impossible Becomes Possible

Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God. – Luke 18:27

If we are worried so much about what we need to do and not aware of what God can do, our true potential will not be realized. Just as shared in the post “Winning Battles”, God provides the power to make what seems impossible possible.

Worry only gives us stress and keeps us from being at our best. It takes away our freedom but confidence in God gives a lift as if on the wings of an eagle.

In sports, many times it is one missed opportunity that makes all the difference between victory and defeat; a dropped pass in football; a fielding error in baseball; a missed free throw in basketball. It’s the same in the game of life but if we take the opportunity to accept God’s plan for us, there is only victory.

Even though there are defeats in life, we have grace that provides the ultimate victory. Be lifted up today by this video Only Grace – Matthew West and know that God gives you the upper hand so that what seems impossible becomes possible.

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Trust in the Name of the Lord

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. – Psalm 20:7

The Israelites had been through difficult times but as shared in the post, “Steadily Heading Towards the Victory”, God leads them through all of it. They came to the point when the battle at Jericho was in the near future and before the battle, God told Joshua how to prepare for battle.

It was a time of renewal. We need times of renewal in our lives today to win our battles. With God on our side, there is nothing we can’t do. We are ready to take on the challenges life brings our way just like in the song Through All of It by Colton Dixon.

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Getting Through the Storms of Life

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

God stopped the flowing river of the Jordan so the Israelites could cross over to the Promised Land. Studying Joshua 4, I shared in the post “Step Ahead with Faith” about the Lord telling Joshua to instruct twelve men to gather twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River. These stone memorials became a reminder of what God had done and will do to help them get through the challenges in life.

 We face difficult challenges in our world today but we can be assured that we have what we need in getting through the storms of life if we step ahead with faith. The storms we face can serve as a testimony of how God can pull us through just as highlighted in today’s video Eye of the Storm – Ryan Stevenson.

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