Category: Strength for Today

Judges 18:19
“And they said unto him, Hold thy peace, lay thine hand upon thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest: is it better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?”

One of the things people often use in determining God’s will is found in the verse above. The men of Dan came to the house of Micah and demanded the priest to come and be a priest for them. They reasoned with this priest by asking if it was “…better for thee to be a priest unto the house of one man, or that thou be a priest unto a tribe and a family in Israel?” They used the influence card to get this man to leave where he was supposed to be which eventually resulted in this man’s compromise.

I have watched many people determine God’s will with the influence card. They look at which decision will allow them to influence, and they take the side of more influence. Yet, they never pray and ask the mind of God to determine what His mind is concerning His will for their life. One would think that if you want to know the will of God that you would go to God to find it out. Yet, many people have left God’s will for the influence card.

Let me remind you that God’s will is not based upon numbers. These men used numbers to successfully influence this man that it was God’s will to go with them. Numbers have never been the determining factor in God’s will. For instance, God had Philip leave a revival where people were getting saved to go witness to one person in the desert. Never let numbers influence your decision towards God’s will.

Moreover, God’s will is not based upon what you feel is better. In other words, just because you feel it would be good for you to go somewhere or do something doesn’t make it right. Just because you feel it will help someone else better doesn’t make it right. This man felt it was better to help many, and he was wrong. God’s will is never based upon a feeling; instead, it is based upon God’s desire for your life.

Furthermore, God’s will is not based upon influence by position. This man was offered to be a priest unto a whole tribe, but that didn’t make it right. Just because you obtain a better position doesn’t make something right. Balaam followed that thinking and it led to his disobedience and compromise. Just because you may gain a better position that allows you to influence more people doesn’t make it God’s will. Again, God doesn’t need your influence to do His will through your life.

God’s will is based upon what He called you to do. You need to find the will of God more than you need to worry about the influence card. Knowing the mind of God for what He wants you to do is the most important thing you can determine. You won’t find His mind when you are concerned with the influence card. You will only find His mind by spending much time in the Scriptures and in prayer.

The next time you are faced with determining God’s will for your life and someone uses the influence card to persuade you, remember this story and where it led this priest. If you start determining God’s will because of influence, then you will eventually compromise because compromise always gives you greater influence. The most important thing you can follow is the mind of God for your life. Let nothing else influence His will for your life.

Judges 8:23
“And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”

The one thing that separates a person from anyone else is whether or not they are a life changer. Life changers make an impact upon a society. Life changers make the best leaders. Life changers are the best Christians who make the greatest impact in their ministry and church. There are many people serving the LORD, but it is the life changers who are making the difference in their world.

There are four groups of people who are represented in this chapter, but only one was worthy of God using to lead His people and that was Gideon. God used Gideon because he was a life changer. When you look at these four groups, it is very evident what component made Gideon a life changer.

The first group who could not change lives were the men of Ephraim. These men were glory seekers. After Gideon and his army of three hundred men came back from the battle, the men of Ephraim were upset because they wanted to be part of the battle so they could get the glory. Glory seekers never change lives for the better because they are in it for themselves. Selfish glory seekers will hurt people if they must for the sake of getting the glory. If you are serving the LORD for the sake of recognition, then your glory seeking will keep you from becoming a life changer.

The second group who could not change lives were the men of Succoth. These men were fear mongers. They would not help Gideon because he had yet to kill their enemy. They allowed fear to keep them from helping in the battle. Those who are always holding back because of fear will never become a life changer. Life changers are not out for self preservation, but they are willing to risk all to change lives. If you are afraid to step out and help people because of what might happen to you, then you will never become a life changer.

The third group who could not change lives were the men of Israel because they were men seekers. They wanted Gideon to be their leader because of his great victory. Men seekers never change lives because their eyes are upon man. Men seekers follow the “in crowd” and are never willing to stand alone if that is what is needed to defend truth. As long as you have your eyes upon man, you will never be able to become a life changer.

The fourth group is found in Gideon, and the reason he was a life changer is because he was a God seeker. He said in the verse above that God was to rule in the lives of men. Friend, this is the sole component needed to become a life changer. Keeping your eyes on God will keep these other three areas from becoming a part of your life. God is the One Who changes lives, and until you keep your eyes solely upon Him you will never change one life.

Which component drives you? If you want to be a life changer, then you need to become a God seeker. God seekers are the only ones who make an impact on the lives of others. I encourage you to become a God seeker so that the lives of those with whom you come in contact can be changed.

Judges 1:19
“And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.”

There is always a real story behind why people settle for the status quo. It says in the verse above that Judah “could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.” I truly find this hard to believe. They were saying that God had the power to deliver them from Egypt, and that He had the power to bring them into the Promised Land and conquer Jericho, but that He did not have the power to drive out the inhabitants of this valley.

The real story is found a few verses later as to why they did not drive out the inhabitants of the land. It says in verse 28, “And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.” The reason they did not want to drive these people out is because they thought they could control them and make them servants. The real story for settling for the status quo was that they didn’t want to do the work in the land, but they wanted others to do the work for them.

There is always a real story as to why anyone would settle for the status quo. Why would anyone settle for average? Why would anyone settle for anything less than excellence? That makes no sense! When you settle for the status quo, you are saying that God doesn’t have the power to help you achieve excellence. When you settle for the status quo, you are telling the enemy that your God has limits as to what He is capable of doing. Settling for the status quo is the catalyst for demise and defeat.

There is a result that is often missed when people settle for the status quo. Because Israel settled for the status quo, they taught the next generation that the status quo was acceptable. Judges 2:10 shows us the next generation didn’t know the LORD or His works. Why? Because they were taught the status quo was acceptable. Because their parents didn’t strive for excellence, they just accepted the lie that God could no longer work in their generation.

Go ahead and settle for the status quo, but you will teach your children that God can no longer work in their generation. Your acceptance for the status quo may make you comfortable, but your children and grandchildren will suffer the consequences. God desires to do great works in every generation, but He can’t do the great works when you settle for the status quo.

Furthermore, settling for the status quo will cause you to lose the power of God. It says in Judges 2:23, that the LORD left those nations in the land which shows us that they lost God’s power in their lives. Friend, you may settle for the status quo but it will come at the pricey cost of losing God’s power on your life. God’s power is for those who go beyond the status quo and need Him to help them achieve excellence.

Let this devotional be a catalyst to light the fire in your soul to achieve excellence. Every time you are tempted to settle for the status quo, ask yourself if you will also be satisfied with the next generation never seeing God’s mighty works and losing His power on your life. In whatever area you have settled for the status quo, light the fire again and strive to rise above the average.

Joshua 13:1
“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.”

We often hear how the “good ole days” were much better than they were today. Every generation has heard how the previous generation was much better than the present one. Yet, what many fail to see is that God leaves something for every generation to conquer.

Joshua had come to the end of his life. He, of all people, had seen the works done in Moses’ lifetime and of course in his own. He saw the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea. He saw the manna fall every day from Heaven and the water come from a rock. He saw the pillar of fire that led Israel through the wilderness at night and the pillar of a cloud by day. He saw the parting of the Jordan River and the falling of the walls of Jericho. He saw the LORD keep the sun from going down as they conquered the Promised Land.

Yet, when he came to the end of his life, he didn’t discourage the next generation by telling them how much better the “good ole days” were, but he encouraged them by telling them there was more land to conquer. He could have easily told them that they were lazy and had no character; instead, he challenged them to go and conquer the land as the previous generations conquered theirs.

There is no doubt that God has worked in the previous generations, but that does not mean that God cannot work through today’s generation. The older you get, the easier it will be to use comparisons of how you see the past generation compared to the present, but you must be careful that you don’t discourage the present generation from even trying.

Friend, there is still much land to be possessed. Certainly, God built some great churches in years gone by, but He is still building great churches today and continually desires to build more great churches. It doesn’t matter what size of church you may attend, let me remind you that there is much land to be possessed. Don’t fall for the Devil’s trick that great works can no longer be built. God can build great works today if we will realize there is much land to be possessed.

Moreover, there is much land to be possessed in your personal life. You may hear about God using those from yesteryear in a mighty way, but why not take that as a personal challenge to see God work through you in a mighty way? The same God Who worked through people in yesteryear can still work through you today. There is much land to be possessed in your prayer life. Conquer it! There is much land to be possessed in personal holiness. Conquer it! There is much land to be possessed in your knowledge of the Scriptures. Conquer it! There is much land to be possessed in your personal soul winning. Conquer it!

Don’t let the land that God has left for you to possess go unconquered. Every generation has land that needs to be possessed. What are you going to do with yours? If God has left land for you to possess, then that means that He is waiting to empower you and help you to possess that land. Decide right now that you will spend the rest of your life conquering the land that has yet to be possessed.

Joshua 8:1
“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:”

Israel found out first hand the negative impact sin has on success. They had just experienced two major victories with the crossing of the Jordan River and the conquering of Jericho, but sin quickly squelched their success when they came to the small city of Ai. In the verse above, God was trying to reverse the negative impact sin had on Israel by challenging them to go and take the city now that sin was removed. In God’s encouragement to these people, you find the negative impact sin has on one’s success.

First, sin causes a person to fear. God told them to “fear not” because sin had taken their confidence. One of the hardest things to acquire in life is confidence, but sin will take your confidence and cause you to fear. Sin will keep a person from having the faith to step out and trust God. Sin blinds you from God’s presence, and that is why you fear when asked to do something by faith. Ai was just a little city, but they didn’t even have the confidence to conquer that city because of fear. Sin will amazingly cause once great Christians to cower at the expectations of faith. You must be careful that sin doesn’t replace your confidence with fear.

Second, sin causes a person to live with stress. God also said to Israel, “…neither be thou dismayed…” Israel was dismayed because of the stress sin gave them. You will always find that those living in sin live a stress-filled life. If you want to remove stress from your life, then you would be wise to remove sin. Because sin causes a person to fear, stress at the prospect of stepping out by faith will set in.

Third, sin will take a person’s drive from them. It is interesting that God challenged Israel to “arise.” They lost their drive to conquer because of the fear and stress. One of the key ingredients of success is personal drive. A person who is driven is a person who overcomes any obstacle until they succeed. You will find that sin takes that drive away. Where once a person used to be self-motivated, sin takes that motivation away and causes them to settle short of their potential. The only way to get the drive to reach your potential is to remove sin from your life.

Fourth, sin causes a person to have poor judgment. What is not seen in the verse above is Isreal’s poor judgment concerning the battle of Ai the first time. Sin always clouds a person’s judgment so that they cannot clearly see what they should be doing. Many people have never achieved success because of their poor judgment.

Friend, the negative impact that sin will have on your life is tremendous. It will turn you into a fearful person who lives a stress-filled life with no drive to go after God’s will. Don’t let sin do that to you. Remove whatever sin you may have in your life. Don’t let sin rob you of your potential and success.

Deuteronomy 33:29
“Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.”

The last thing Moses said to Israel is found in the verse above. He reminded them of how happy they should be. They were about ready to go possess the land God promised to them, but their happiness was not so much in a place, but in a person. He reminded them that their happiness was found in the person of the LORD.

Far too many Christians fall for the trap of thinking a place will make them happy when a person will make you happy. Anytime we take our focus off the person of Jesus Christ and place it upon man or a place, we will find that happiness will flee. There are five things that we must be careful not to forget, for if we forget these things happiness will flee.

First, don’t forget your uniqueness. Moses said to Israel, “O Israel: who is like unto thee…” Israel was a unique nation molded by the hand of God. Just like Israel is unique, you are also unique. You are molded by the hand of God. There is no part of you that is an uh-oh with God. You are uniquely designed by God to perform a task for Him. When you forget that, you will find happiness flee. When you run from it by trying to be like another, you will find happiness will flee. Embrace who God made you to be, and you will be happy.

Second, don’t forget your salvation. Moses continued by saying, “O people saved by the LORD…” If the only thing you have is salvation, then you have a reason to be happy. Don’t ever forget what the LORD did for you when you got saved. Don’t take it for granted, but daily take time to remember the benefits of salvation.

Third, don’t forget your protector. Moses said that the LORD was “the shield of thy help.” If you are saved, you have a God who will protect you from the enemy’s attack. He will make sure that their attack will never touch you.

Fourth, don’t forget your defender. This is different than your protecter because God not only defends you from the enemy’s attack, but He also fights for you with His sword. You don’t have to get revenge with those who attack you for the LORD will do the work for you if you will let Him. When you take it upon yourself to attack others, you will find that happiness will flee. It is not your place to attack the enemy, it is your place to serve the LORD and let Him silence the enemy if He so chooses.

Fifth, don’t forget the end of the enemy. The last thing Moses reminded Israel of was that their enemies would be destroyed. Friend, don’t focus upon what the enemy is getting away with, but realize they will eventually pay for what they are doing.

Your happiness all comes down to one thing, your focus. If you place your focus upon a place or man, you will find that happiness will flee; whereas, if you stay focused upon the person of Jesus Christ, you will find it results in happiness. I challenge you to stay focused upon Jesus Christ, for in Him alone is where happiness is found.

Deuteronomy 26:1
“And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;”

The day would come when Israel would conquer the Promised Land. God understood that when they were blessed that it could be a very dangerous time in their lives to forget some things that brought those blessings. God wanted them to continuously live in His blessings, but He knew that there were four things that they must do to keep those blessings coming.

First, they needed to remember God. The very first act they were to do was to take a portion of their blessings and set it down before the altar of the LORD. When God chooses to bless you, don’t forget God. Our first reaction to any blessing is to get so wrapped up in it that we forget to take time to thank God for it. Friend, always respond to blessing by quickly stopping and thanking God for allowing you to have His blessings on your life.

Second, God wanted them to remember from whence they came. You will see that after they presented the basket of thankfulness to the altar that the next step was to stop and remember from whence they came. They were to never forget from where God took them. It is so easy in the midst of blessings to forget from whence we came. This is so important to not becoming prideful. God wants us to continually keep our humble beginnings in mind so that we don’t treat others wrongly who are not blessed and to remember we had nothing to do with getting us to where we presently have arrived.

Third, God wanted them to remember Who got them to the Promised Land. You will notice that each step in this process helps us to do the next step. If we remember from whence we came, then we will easily remember Who brought us to where we are. Always remember that you had nothing to do with bringing you to where you are. There were times you wanted to quit because of hardships, but God stepped in and removed the hardships. There were times when you would have been defeated had it not been for God fighting the battles for you. Every blessing you have is because of God. Be careful not to take credit for God’s deliverance. The same God Who delivered you can stop delivering if He so chooses.

Fourth, God wanted them to keep serving Him. God reminded them of their promise to serve Him. He reminded them not to forget those promises when the blessings come and continue to serve Him. When God blesses you, keep doing what brought those blessings. It is not time to step back from what you are doing for God. When blessings come, you must continue to serve Him.

Don’t take God’s blessings for granted. You don’t want God’s blessings to be the curse of your life. If you don’t do these four things then the blessing will become the curse. The only way to keep the blessings coming is to remember to do these four things when God blesses you.

Deuteronomy 11:10
“For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:”

I have had the privilege of living in several states that are in many different regions of the country. I spent most of my youth years in California, but have since lived in the Chicago region, West Virginia and presently in Texas. One thing I have learned about each area is that they are all different. People oftentimes ask me which part of the country I love the most. I can’t tell them which part I love the most because there is something about each place that I like. If I were to ever compare where I presently live to a place where I previously lived, then I would be very disappointed in life.

God warned Israel of this very danger. God told them bluntly that the land where He was taking them would not be like the land of Egypt. The land of Egypt was as a “garden of herbs;” whereas, the land where they were going would be a land of hills and valleys that depended upon the rain to water. If Israel were to fall into the trap of comparing where they used to live to the land where God was taking them, then they would not be happy with the Promised Land.

Many people struggle with wanting the new place to be like the old. It could be that someone moved from one church to another and became disappointed because the newer church didn’t do things like the old church. It could be a job where you work, a home you purchased or a region of the country where you live. Comparing one place to another always lead to disappointment. Let me give you some thoughts that will help you appreciate where you are.

First, enjoy the benefits of where you are. Every place has its good and bad. No, the place where you are may not be like the past, but it has some things you like that the past did not have. Don’t lose the benefits of where you are by trying to compare the past to the present. You went to where you are because of something you liked, so don’t lose focus on that because you learned the warts of a place.

Second, keep good memories of your past, but move on. I believe you ought to enjoy what God did for you in a past place, but you must move on. Always remember that the past had good times, but it also had its own problems as well. Don’t fall for the trap that the past had no difficulties or issues.

Third, it is impossible to go back to where you used to be. If you choose to move back to a place where you used to be, you will find that it is not the same once you get there. They moved on without you and things have changed. Many people went back to a place where they used to be and became very disappointed with life because it wasn’t the same.

Friend, bury your roots where you are and enjoy the blessings of God. It’s time you unload the moving truck in your mind and plant yourself where you are. You will never enjoy life until you do this.

Deuteronomy 4:32
“For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?”

Moses had run his course. His days upon Earth were numbered. The miracles that God performed in His lifetime were numerous from his deliverance as a baby, to the burning bush experience, to the deliverance from Egypt to the border of the Jordan River.

As Moses addressed the younger generation who had only heard of those miracles, he challenged them to “ask now of the days that are past.” In other words, he was saying that they didn’t have to settle on just hearing the stories from the past, but they could see the same miracles if they would simply ask God to do it again.

I’m afraid that we oftentimes settle for only hearing the stories of the past. We hear how God answered the prayers of people in the past in a mighty fashion and settle that it won’t happen to us. We hear how God built churches in the past and think that those days are over. We hear how God saved souls in abundance and think that people are too hardened for that to happen again. We hear of the miraculous of the past and settle that those things will never happen again.

Let me remind you that God wants us to ask Him to do it again. He says, “For ask now of the days that are past…” In other words, stop saying it can’t happen and realize that God can still do it. Stop listening to the naysayers who have settled for a faithless life and determine to see God do something again in your lifetime. There were three things God was saying He could do again.

First, He was saying He could perform the miracles of the past. Israel saw the parting of the Red Sea and the miracles in Egypt, and God was saying to ask for them again. Friend, if God did something in the past, then He can do it again. You can see the miracles of the past if you will just ask Him to do it again.

Second, He was saying that He could answer prayers as He did in the past. Israel asked for deliverance, and God answered that prayer. God can still answer prayers today. The same God that answered prayers for men of yesteryear can still answer prayers today. God hasn’t closed down the answering prayer business; we have simply stopped going to the store to get the prayers answered. If God answered prayers in the past, then ask Him to do it again.

Third, He was saying that His powerful presence can still be present today. They saw God’s presence in Mt. Sinai, and He was saying to ask for His presence again. Christian, God’s power is still for today. God’s power was not just for Christians of the past, it is still for today. God’s power was not just for the early church, but it is for the church today. You will never have His power and presence on your life until you ask Him for His presence.

Could God do it again? Absolutely! It all comes down to whether you will “ask now of the days that are past.” Don’t accept the mentality that the powerful works were only for yesteryear, start asking God to do those works again today in your life.