Edevotional

bible devotions

Attaining the Victory Little by Little (Deut 7)

Little River

Deuteronomy Chapter 7 verses 21-23 says:

21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.

God’ plan for you to take possession of the promised land He has given you is not to possess it over night or even in a day. Rather we possess it “little by little”.

Whilst we love the “suddenly”s of the Lord, the truth is victory and the promises of God are attained “little by little”.

  • One aspect of character at a time
  • One family member at a time
  • One financial breakthrough at a time

One step at a time, little by little, we walk in the promises of God more and more. Contrary to our schedule, God is not in a hurry. He works according to His pace and plan and it is a wise Christian who comes to realise that.

Why does God give us the victory “little by little”?

  1. It is as much the process as the outcome that counts – Like Enoch, God wants to walk with Him. And when we walk with Him we are changed to become more like Him. Little by little we walk with Him, need Him and allow Him to work for us.
  2. There is always more to God for us to discover – We don’t ever “make it” or “arrive” this side of eternity. As long as we have breath we are all works in progress. Little by little also discover more of WHO God is.
  3. We are being prepared for Eternity – Taking ground, taking authority, taking up who we are in Christ little by little is preparation for eternity where we will rule and reign with Him.

PRAYER: Father, I choose to walk with you and take ground for you little by little. I resolve to keep walking and stay faithful trusting you to fulfil your word to me. In Jesus name, Amen

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Five Steps to Crossing Over (Numbers 33)

Numbers 33:51-53 says:

…pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. 53 And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

God has a “promised land”, over the river Jordan, for each of His children. It is a place in the Spirit for us to live in where the promises of God for our lives, our callings and our ministries are made manifest.

The command to cross over and possess that land involves the following five steps according to this passage:

  1. “Cross over the Jordan” – Passing over the Jordan is symbolic of the baptism of the Spirit. We need to first pass through the waters of the river Jordan, exchanging the ways of the flesh for being filled with the Holy Spirit.
  2. “…drive out the inhabitants” – Who is possessing the arena of your inheritance? If it’s your family – what strongmen are present in your line? If it is business – what strongholds are at work? If it is an area of ministry – what spirit is opposing you? Discern it, ask God for His strategy and pray taking authority over it.
  3. “Destroy…” – By taking ground you will encounter new temptations and new battles. Identify the idolatry and remove yourself far from them. Renounce any rights they have over you in all humility and the fear of the Lord.
  4. “Take possession” – Once you have identified the land of promise and consecrated yourself to the Lord for it, claim it for the Lordship of Jesus. Not for yourself or your glory – but for His! Declare His Lordship over it!
  5. “Settle in it” – Now you are ready to make the shift, from the old to the new. You no longer live in the old circumstance, you are living in the dimension of the promise of the Spirit. Settle in it by aligning your thoughts and words to this truth in God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you for my promised land inheritance in you. I thank you you are faithful and desire to lead me into it. I ask you for understanding and revelation for how I can possess it, in Jesus name, Amen

Photo by Herman. io from Pexels

The Sabbath, Egypt and God’s Deliverance (Deuteronomy 5)

Egypt Deliverance Sabbath

Deuteronomy 5:15 says:

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

In the new covenant we often don’t give much place to sabbath and how it relates to us. We often associate the sabbath with the excesses of the Pharisees and their regime of rules that went with it.

But are there sabbath implications for the new covenant believer? Of course there is.

One of the purposes of the day of rest laid out in this passage is very relevant to us today. It is an opportunity to stop, remember and reflect on deliverance of the Lord that brought us out of Egypt.

Remember, each believer has been delivered from Egypt – spiritual Egypt where we were in bondage to sin in our old, pre-Christ life. Before Jesus, we lived under heavy bondage to sin, slaves to Pharaoh (satan) and on the path to destruction. But, “the Lord your God brought you out”!

Why do we need to stop, remember and reflect on this? There are many benefits for us to do this. Here’s three:

  1. To Give God the Praise He is Due – we need to continue to marvel at the wonder of His amazing Grace
  2. To Keep a Believing Heart Soft – Israel were condemned for their unbelief because they overlooked the deliverance of God
  3. To Prepare us to the Promised Land – we all need regular “life” maintenance and readjustments to keep us on course for the purposes of God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank you and praise you for the gift of my salvation. My heart is moved and thankful for all you’ve done. I love you and worship you Lord. Amen.

 

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Living the Life (Philippians 1)

Playing the gamePhilippians 1:27-28 says:

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Paul issues a command to all believers: your manner of life needs to reflect your belief in Jesus, and His call for us to follow Him.

What does this “manner of life” look like?

  • “One Spirit” – All believers have the Holy Spirit in common and it is the work of the Spirit which unites us. A Spirit-led life – not one driven by our own abilities, feelings or desire – is a life worthy of the gospel.
  • “One Mind” – The one mind we all have in the “mind of Christ”. It is easy for other pursuits, thoughts, novelties and arguments to divide. Instead, together, we have the mind of Christ when we draw near to Him in humility.
  • “Striving side by side” – the result of one-ness of Spirit and mind is the body of Christ pulling together, under the yoke of Jesus, for the purpose of His Kingdom.

This is the manner of life Jesus has called us to. This is the manner of life that is worthy of the gospel. And what is the result of this manner of life? It tells the world the message of the cross by the substance of our life: with Jesus we are saved, without Him we are lost (v28).

PRAYER: Father, manifest the life of your Spirit within me. Let your light shine through me and my brothers and sisters that all the world around us might know you are real and your heart is to save us from ourselves. In Jesus name, Amen.

 

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The Temptation of Balaam (Numbers 22)

fame temptation

Numbers 22 verses 15-17 says:

Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”

The scheme of Balak is the same scheme that the enemy uses today. The enemy is not a creator, he is a copier. Because of this we can learn to identify how the enemy works from the examples in the Word.

The scheme of Balak is to appeal to the flesh that desires esteem and honour in the sight of others. This scheme seeks to woo the flesh. It appeals seductively to the desire for “fame”.

All of us want to do well in life. It is a normal desire to want to achieve and this in itself is not a bad thing. But it must be tempered by other, more important values and priorities. These include a love for God and for others. A desire to walk by faith in obedience to God. Humility and service. Faithfulness to the full range of our responsibilities.

Where things can go astray for us is when we are seduced by the promise of popularity, acceptance and fame and so compromise our other convictions.

The scheme of Balak says “Do what I want and people will love you, you will be thought of more highly, it will be great for you – BUT you need to do what I say”. This same temptation is found all the way back in the garden of Eden and is ever present today.

Resist this temptation by submitting to God, holding fast to your convictions and believing the truth of God’s word over the lies of the enemy.

PRAYER: Father, I choose to submit myself to you today. You are my Lord and my saviour. Lead me into all truth. I choose your way over the lies and temptation of the enemy. Thank you for your grace in Jesus name, Amen.

 

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Between the Living and the Dead (Numbers 16)

fire

Numbers 16 verse 48 says:

 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped.

The grumbling of the people of Israel had kindled the wrath of the Lord against them. As a result, a plague was sent against them.

But Moses acted as an intercessor for the people and told Aaron to take a censer full of the alter fire to the people to make atonement for their sin. As Aaron rushed to do this and avert the wrath of God, some were already dead as a result of this plague.

But then, the plague stopped.

Like Aaron, we carry the censer of the gospel that is able to stop of the plague of sin in the lives of people all around us. Like the people of Israel those all around us are oblivious to the seriousness of our predicament. People are under a curse of sin and, unless there is intervention, it will end in death.

But just like Moses intervened on behalf of the people, so too Jesus is our great deliverer.

Jesus, through His death, burial and resurrection, breaks the plague of sin and, in fact stands between us and the wrath of God.

Like Aaron, we are carries of the remedy and the intervention of God to man’s problem. Where ever you go, you carry that solution by the Holy Spirit.

Who is God send you to rescue from sin? Who has God surrounded you with, in need of salvation?

PRAYER: Father, thank you for your precious son Jesus who has rescued me from sin. Help me to see the plague of sin and those you have sent me to rescue in Jesus name. I ask for boldness, faith and strength to do your work, in Jesus name, Amen. 

 

 

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