Scripture:

Joshua 4:5-7

5 and Joshua said to them: “Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ 7 Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

"Remember the Victories"

Our testimony is so important.   It may, in fact, be the only encounter someone you know has with the Lord.   On that day, the children of Israel were commanded to take up stones from the place of their miracle, the place where God met them, where He took them into the promised land.   You and I have days of victory, places we can clearly highlight in our minds,  and our testimonies matter.   For two reasons, one, they remind our souls that God is not distant, but active in our lives, taking us from victory to victory, and they remind others of the realness of God.

We should remember the places of our victory, we should share them with all who will listen so that when they hear them, they too may experience the victories we have seen, and in turn glorify God and turn to Him.   In Revelations, it says we are saved by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.   Never underestimate the power of your testimony to work in the lives of others.

Lord, I pray that we would tell of your ways, your victories in our lives, that we would never be silent, that we would shout them from the rooftops, in the valleys, in the workplace, in our homes, that all who know us would know of your wondrous ways in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Psalm 91:9-10

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”

    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.

"Life With Him"

Psalm 91 reminds us of what it looks like to live "With Him!" Notice that you have a choice, you can live "With Him" and live under the covering of His protection, His provision, His direction, or you could live "Without Him" and live outside of those things.   Notice the author reminds us that it is our "choice."   If you say, if you declare, if you make the "LORD" your refuge, you make Him the place of your safety, your dwelling and you live in that space, look what it says:

"No harm will overtake you."

"No disaster will come near your tent."

"CHOOSE"

The application is clear, that we choose the LORD, that we would not choose to do live without Him, but there is a stipulation that we must live in the pursuit of Him, His ways, that we would get His word in us that we would stand in the protection of His promises, but the promise is that we would have a blessed life, a full life, that our days would be great because of His presence.

Lord, today we choose you, we say of our God, you are our REFUGE, the place of our safety, how we desire to be with you, to be in your presence, to experience the freedom that comes from being with you, cover us, guide us, lead us into the places you have laid out for us, into the promises you have kept for us, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
11 “For this commandment which I command you today is [a]not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

The Lord lays out what following Him looks like and the blessings of keeping the word, and He describes what will happen for those who had turned away but now turn back. He describes what a blessed life looks like, how you will prosper in every way, in your physical life, in your spiritual life, in the work you do, in every place in your life, then He describes what it looks like to live outside of a covenant relationship with the Lord, how it is a curse. Whenever we remove ourselves from God's covering, it is bad.

But in today's portion, the Lord reminds us that living in covenant with the Lord is possible, it's obtainable. I love how He says it is not out of reach, and that He emphasises this twice. He reminds us that it is in us, it is near us, that He has put it in our hearts, on our lips. This is why it is so important to be in the word, that it would be in us, in our hearts.

Today's God shot for us is to live our lives in covenant, to get the word in us, so that our lives begin to be shaped by it; it is intended to get into us so that it comes out of us. If you and I want to live a blessed life, we have the formula. Seek Him, seek His direction, live in His precepts.

Lord, I pray that we would not only keep your word but that it would get in us, that it would come out of us, that our lives would be completely transformed by your word and your ways, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 21:22-23

22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God

When we read the Bible, we begin to see and even understand the parallels between the Old and New Testaments.  This morning in our God shot, we are going to catch something deep.    

Romans 6:23 tells us that all of us in our fallen nature deserve death: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

And today, we find our parallel in Galatians 3:13

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ~Galatians 3:13

Our takeaway:

• God sent His Son to die for us
• To take our punishment, the curse for our sins on himself
• We were deserving of death, but He gave us life

To remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us, to live in the freedom that Christ died for.   To not squander its power, to live for Him.

Lord, we thank you for your immeasurable love for us, that you gave it all that we might have it all, that you set us free from sin and death by taking our curse, by giving your life, Lord let our lives be given over to you, let us live in the freedom you died for, in Jesus' name,  Amen!

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

"Big God Big Victories"

The Big picture of Exodus to Deuteronomy and throughout the Bible is that if you "Go with God," you will taste victory, you will overcome the difficult bits of life, and you will be blessed and highly favored.   When the enemy seems big and even more numerous than you, "don't be afraid of them."  This is a reminder that nothing we face with the LORD is too big.  If you ever wanted a reason to be God-reliant, here it is.   "For the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight against your enemies, to save you."

The application here is to remember my victory is in being with God, to not step into life, into circumstances on my own, to invite God into all the areas of my life, the ups, the downs, the battles, the victories, and in all the little bits of life.  Because with Him nothing is impossible, with Him I have everything I need, with Him I am better.

Lord, thank you that your presence in my life is the "victory."   That as I intentionally walk with you, I can walk in boldness because you are with me, you fight my battles, you bring my victories, you make our lives better, it is your presence that changes everything, we praise you in Jesus' name, Amen!