Scripture:

Numbers 32:11-12

11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

"Keeping My Blessing"

Joshua and Caleb, men who wholly followed the Lord, in fact, in Joshua 24:15, he makes this statement: "Choose this day whom you will serve."  See, the people of God had a choice, when the Lord sent them into the land to spy it out and see that what He said is true, that it is a land of promise, flowing with milk and honey.   "Free Will," you and I have the choice to choose Him, to choose to follow the Lord with our whole hearts, that is what Joshua 24:15 says, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”   Joshua said, "I choose the LORD."  I know that life starts with Him, in Him, that all the good in my life has been because of Him.  

"Follow the LORD"

Life and death lie in our choices. We can choose to live without Him, but that is not life; we can choose to live with Him, and the Bible says that is life and life more abundant.  Decide if you are going to be "ALL IN."  That is today's God Shot!

Father, I pray we always choose you, that our lives reflect your presence, your covering, that we would take you into every decision, every victory, every struggle, that you would have an "All Access" pass to our lives, and as a result, we would experience the blessed life you intended for us.  Let our ears and our hearts be attentive to your leading in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Numbers 30:2
If a man makes a vow to the LORD,. or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

"The Value of Your Word"
Your word should be your bond, that saying is not as rich as it should be in our generation, people have lost connection with the value of your word, but Proverbs 21:2 says that a good name is better than riches, it has more value. When you say you will do something, then do it. For instance when someone tells you, I have been going through such and such and you say: "I will pray for you." Don't just say it, do it. When you say you will help, then keep your word don't at the last minute because other things come up cancel on your word, do it. Bible says let your "yeses" be yes and your "noes" be no (Matt 5:37.)

Simple: "Keep Your Word"
Like Jesus said they way we avoid breaking our promise is to let our yesses be yes and our noes be no, because in doing so we only do what we are willing to do right? Don't make promises you don't intend to keep, don't say you will do something you don't do or won't do. Repent for the promises you have broken, even now as they are brought to memory as the Lord to forgive you for them, and to bring to memory any things that you have promises with your mouth but did not follow through and take today as a path correction.

Lord, forgive us for when we made a promise and broke it, and Lord help us be people of our word, to keep our word, to guard what we promise so that our name would be good, that people would say there is "one thing I know," if he/she says they will, they will, let our name be good in the ears of those who hear it, may it always glorify you Lord, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Numbers 22:38

"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But I can't say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

"At Your Word, Lord"

There is a lot to unpack here, but today, let's focus on the two things: obedience and reverence.  It is in this that you and I can move in the spiritual realm.  

See, this story really emphasises that Balaam understood that everything he had in the spirit was tied to the Lord, that the power he had was from the Lord, blessing and cursing.  He understood clearly that his authority was from the Lord.  This is a reminder that when God puts His word in our mouths, we are intended to speak it, but only and not to add or subtract anything from it.   There is great power when we are obedient, and we speak the word of the Lord in reverence, mountains move, demons flee, and sicknesses break.   

And this is the takeaway for you. If you’re a follower of Jesus, you have the Spirit of God in you, and you have the Word of God in you. And to use Balaam’s words from Numbers 22:38, “The word that God puts in your mouth, that must you speak,” just as a prophet in the Old Testament had the responsibility and privilege. What an honor to speak for God.   Paul said you and I should desire Prophecy more than any other gift; I agree. 

Father, I pray that you would raise up even more prophets among us, that we would hear your voice with clarity, that we would be obedient and faithful to speak it, may the words of our mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to you, may you work in power through us in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Numbers 20:8

8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

"What You Do Matters"

I love the word of God. Today, we find Moses in an interesting situation: he is told by the LORD to take the staff, and then he is told, "Speak to the Rock!"   This should make you pause and say, "Wait, what?"  LORD, why bring the staff if you want me to speak to the rock?  Why didn't Moses catch it? Why didn't he ask?  On one hand, you might say it is blind obedience, that the LORD spoke and Moses obeyed, well, sort of, because when he went to face the people, then he struck the rock instead of speaking to it.  Something happened on the way, somewhere on the way, he lost the faith that God could use him to speak to the rock, why. 

Three things:

• God wants us to be obedient.
• God wants us to be faithful.
• God wants us to TRUST Him.

Moses only passed one of the three tests. See, God will entrust us with many blessings, gifts, and power, but that doesn't mean that He won't test our faithfulness in them.

The application here today is not only to be obedient to the leading of the Lord, but to be careful to do what He is leading you to do, to not deviate from it.   To fully trust Him that He will do what He said, so if He told you to speak to the rock, or speak to the illness someone is facing, or speak to the situation that you are facing, or to cast off the work of the enemy, then do it.

• Trust Him
• Be Faithful
• Be Obedient

Lord, I thank you for your word today, as I read it reminds me to be careful to listen, to follow your instruction. Lord, may I not miss the details, or the power, or the opportunity to display your power in every situation you are sending me into, may I do just as you say and never lose heart, lose faith when I step into it, may I always speak to the situation, or circumstance, or my rock and may it bring forth just what you intended, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Numbers 17:8

The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.

"The Lord Decides"

In the book Daniel, we read these words: "The Lord is Sovereign over the Kingdoms of men, and He gives them to whomever He pleases."  It is God who establishes us; He is the one who gives us favor and empowers us to serve Him, to serve His purposes.  Here we see two incidents where the people try to take positions, first in Numbers 16, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and here the heads of the tribes question God's decision to put Moses and Aaron in leadership.   But is God who decides.  I want to point a few things out about what God does when He calls us to do something:

When the Lord Sends, When He is in it:

• Growth:   He will produce growth at a rate you could not have done on your own.

The staff went from deadwood to fruit-bearing in a single night

• Sprouts, Blossoms, and then Produce Ripe Fruit: He will do things impossible for you

This is impossible for an almond tree to do naturally.  

Never let people discourage you from what God has sent you to do.  Whatever the Lord has called you to do, He will bless and provide for what He has sent you to do.  The impossible will become possible because He is in it.   The validation is:  Is it producing fruit, are things moving that you could not have moved?  

Lord, I thank you for the things that you have called us to do, the things we could not have done on our own, I thank you Lord that is you that raises us up and takes us down, and no one else can decide, I thank you Lord that in this we can find peace, and joy because when you are with us the impossible becomes possible, I thank you for this in Jesus' name, Amen!