Prepare for Battle

Joshua and the Isrealites were finally in. No surprise really. God had promised the land to them. Each tribe was given their portion of land. It was theirs and all they had to do was drive out the inhabitants to claim the land as their own.

But there were problems

"But the tribe of Judah could not drive our the Jebusites, who lived in the city of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there among the people of Judah to this day." Joshua 15:63

Some tribes asked for a bigger spot because the inhabitants were taking up so much space.

"The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, "Why have you given us only one portion of land when the Lord has given us so many people?"…They said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and the Canaanites in the lowlands around Beth-shan and the valley of Jezreel have iron chariots-they are too strong for us." (Joshua 17:14-16)

Joshua agreed to give them the forest areas to clear out, which pacified them, but in the end they didn't clear that out either. (Judges 1:27)

So many Isrealites chose to live out their days co-mingling with the people they were supposed to run out. Although they would have been victorious by God's promise, they simply thought it was too hard, or too much work. And the book of Judges records lots of problems later on because of this co-habitation.

This makes me think of myself, my friends, my family, my church, and all believers. It makes me wonder.

How many of us are living with the enemy simply because it's "too hard" to drive them out?

No, we don't have Jebusites in our neighborhoods, but we defiantly have hurts that we refuse to forgive, addictions that we haven't kicked, weight that needs to be shed, debt that has to be paid, sin that we put off confessing, relationships that should to be healed, and apologies that need to be made.

Sure we walk around quoting Phillipians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" but yet we don't even attempt the hard stuff. Or when we attempt it once, and get defeated by the iron chariots, sigh, and throw our hands up saying, "Well I tried, but they were too strong for me."

We continue to settle for less than what God has promised us. Even though we have the promise of victory, we continue to live with the sin in our lives because it's too hard to conquer it.

Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone. I was recovering from the flu but still ate like a champ and had a good time with my family. I fell asleep on Christmas Eve wondering where I'll be next year.
I sometimes long to have a little kiddie at Christmas to experience Christmas through their eyes again. However this year, I got to experience Christmas morning with Gabby, my mom's 3 year old dog. She's more entertaining than any kid. She was so excited to open presents and just played and played. Then she gathered all of her toys together in a pile and slept in the middle of them. Later she longed for desert, but, that was just for people.

Another interesting twist was the double sweater present. I'd bought my step dad a great sweater the day after Thanksgiving. I knew he'd love it! I couldn't wait to give it to him. On Christmas morning he opened it... and then just looked confused. I couldn't understand why he wasn't excited. Then he reached down and opened another present,- the same sweater. He'd found it at the mall a few days before and bought it for himself! Well, at least I know he likes it!

Praise the Lord

"The voice of the LORD will shatter Assyria; with his scepter he will strike them down. Every stroke the LORD lays on them with his punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps, as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm." Isaiah 30:31-32 NKJV

"After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." 2 Chronicles 20: 21-22

"You have taught children and nursing infants to give you praise. They silence your enemies who were seeking revenge" Psalm 8:2

"I will sing praises to your name, O Most High. My enemies turn away in retreat; They are overthrown and destroyed before you" Psalm 9:2

Verse after verse I'm hearing lately has to do with Praising God. Okay, Okay I get it. There's something in here I really need to get hold of. Through all of the devotionals I've read lately, there is a thread. Our praising God does 2 things here in the natural. It stops the enemy in his tracks and brings about mighty moves of God on our behalf.

And on reflecting on these verses I think I see a case in my own life where this applies, even though I didn't know I was applying this principal.

As many of you know my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1990. Well a couple of summers ago, I went home to visit and returned to North Carolina. While nothing unusual or concerning happened during my visit, a few weeks after my return, I got a very unsettling feeling that I would loose my dad. I remember standing in my kitchen and crying, telling Jennifer, "I don't know why, but I feel like my dad is going to die." The weeks passed on and nothing ever happened, but occasionally that feeling would pop into my head and haunt me.
Then December came and I got the phone call. My brother called and said our dad's cancer had come out of remission and he'd been hiding it from me for a while because he didn't want me to worry.
I sat there numb.
This was it.
This is what the feeling had been all about.
And as strange as it felt at the time, all I felt like doing was praising God. So I did. It was the only thing that felt right, normal, good.
After a while I emailed my small group and pastor with this:

....But this is what I'd ask of you: First: PRAISE GOD!!! My mind tells me praising God at a time like this seems strange, yet my spirit has been singing all morning. I've been playing my cds all and I can't seem to get enough. So please join me in praising our father with all of your sincerity and all of your heart. He is a loving, powerful, awesome God who has placed me in a difficult situation yet not abandoned me. I feel his presence and strength today. And while I'm afraid of the outcome of my dad's battle I know that god's plan is so much bigger than me, my dad, or our family. Thank you Father, and Thank you Jesus.

I'm sure there were lots of people everywhere praying. I tried to get people praisin'.

Of course that was 2 years ago and my dad is still going stong. When the average lung cancer patient dies within 4 months of their diagnosis, my dad is aproaching his 17 year anniversary.
Could I have "heard wrong" that summer? It wouldn't be the first time.
Could Satan have been lying to me. Sure, he's good at that.
But maybe, just maybe, something in the spiritual realm was effected and changed that day when lots and lots of people stoped "asking" and starting celebrating who God is.

Get yo' praise on .

Don't have Time for Friends?

okay maybe you don't have 30 minutes to sit down and watch a 30 minute episode, let alone 10 seasons. I know we're all busy people
So here:

http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=e2e02ad6d9d1646cfa12ec8f270ae1ad.1293548&cache=1


This is a 90 second video of the entire series!!

Christmas Bells are Ringing

I've been volunteering as a Salvation Army bell ringer this year. It's been quite an unexpected blessing. It's nice to see how people will go out of their way to give a bit of money. Thursday night was rainy, but people would still stop and dig through their purse or pocket to find some change or a small bill. They wanted to do it, it was important to them.
You know somedays I think everyone is a big stingy scrooge. But this has helped me see that people still go out of their way to help others. :0)