Monthly Archives: May 2022

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15 NKJV

When you hear about someone who is as devoted to their work as Joshua was, you might start to wonder whether they are able to have a successful family life.  Joshua was always busy—leading the people into the Promised Land, trying to hear from God, and constantly meditating on God’s Word.  But the Bible says if you meditate on the Word day and night, you will be prosperous (see Joshua 1:8), so we know he must have been successful in his family life!

Kids do what they see you do, and your children need to see you in the Bible and the Bible in you.  Don’t stop reading the Word.  By your very behavior, you are showing them what is important.  Your children need to see your obedience to God—that you put Him first—so that they too can live a prosperous life.  Trust God, because He will show you if you are out of balance.

The first thing Rahab did when she made a covenant with the Israelites was to ask protection for her family (see Joshua 2).  When you get saved, you want your whole family to get saved.  So, when we become faithful followers of Christ, meditating on His Word day and night, God will bless us and make our homes prosperous.

Jesus, I declare that as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord!

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Joshua 1:8

If you meditate on the Word, if you speak the Word, if you to the Word, you will be prosperous and successful in all that you do!

Meditate means “to think about, to consider, to mull over something in your mind.” And it can also mean to memorize, to say it over and over and over again until it gets a hold of you.

You might think, “I would love to meditate on the Word, speak the Word, and do the Word all the time, but I just can’t do that.  I just don’t have that kind of time!” But let me ask you this:  Are you busier than Joshua?  Joshua had over two million people to lead.  He had to be sure they got enough to eat and drink.  He had to instruct them in how to fight their enemies.  And he still found time to meditate on the Bible, day and night.

Was he meditating on the Psalms?  No!  All Joshua had was the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Bible.  Can you imagine meditating on Leviticus?  But Joshua meditated on Leviticus.  We can be sure of it, because Joshua was successful.  Even when he made mistakes, he was still prosperous and successful.  And I have a gut feeling that Joshua was much busier than you or I will ever be!

So, go ahead, tell me you’re too busy.  But remember this:  if you are too busy for the Word, then you are too busy to be prosperous and successful!

Dear Heavenly Father, give me the strength to make time for Your Word, to stop making excuses and start making You a priority.  The Word in me is what will make me prosperous and successful.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  Hebrews 13:8

Jesus quoted more from Deuteronomy and Psalms than any other books of the Old Testament.  He quoted from Deuteronomy in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5-7) and to fend off the devil who was trying to tempt Him in the wilderness (see Matthew 4).  Why did Jesus quote from Deuteronomy so much?  Because of the message.

Deuteronomy means “the message,” and we know that Jesus is both the Messenger and the Message.  Therefore, Deuteronomy shows the picture of the coming prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.  You must listen to him” (Deuteronomy 18:15).

Basically, “the message” in Deuteronomy comes through three big sermons: (1) a review of how God has taken care of His people, (2) a recounting of the Ten Commandments and other laws, and (3) a call for commitment to the law through obedience.  We could also say it like this:  the first sermon looks backward, the second looks inward, and the third looks forward.

Why does Moses preach these sermons?  Because that generation didn’t see the miracles that their parents saw.  Their parents saw the opening of the Red Sea, the 10 plagues removed and the presence of God as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night.  Moses wanted that generation to know it’s the same miracle-working Father and the same Divine commandments that would make them successful.

Lord, thank you for being the God who doesn’t change.  I choose today to remember

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.  Psalm 150:6

God commands us to praise Him.  He says that if we are living, if there is breath inside of us, we need to praise Him.

One of the words for praise in Hebrew is “Judah.” As we follow the tribe of Judah throughout the Bible, we see that where it goes, so goes praise.

Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy that the voice of Judah would be heard throughout the earth.

David was of the tribe of Judah and wrote most of the Psalms, which certainly have become worldwide praises for the Lord.

We find that Jesus often praised the Father and gave Him thanks.  Jesus also came from the tribe of Judah.

We who are born-again also come from a “tribe of praise.” We are in the lineage of Jesus Christ; thus, we too are of the tribe of Judah and bring praise.

Do you have breath?  Do you have life?  Then praise Him today!  Praise Him everywhere, not just at a worship service—for praise is a way of life!  We need to let the earth hear our voices as we praise the Lord.

Lord, I declare that as long as I have breath in my body, I will praise You and give thanks to You because I come from the line of Judah, the line of Jesus, a tribe of praise.

Even for believers, there are moments when fear, doubt, and disappointment crowds in. When this happens, you may struggle to find room for more of God’s presence in your life.

That’s what occurred one day for Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith. An internal medicine physician, Dalton-Smith realized she felt divine dehydration—totally empty, spiritually. Smith listened as a patient recounted physical discomfort. As Dalton-Smith cared for the patient, attaching an IV and prescribing fluid, she realized that spiritually, she was in the same condition. She needed a spiritual IV, a continual infusion of the presence of God in her life.

That experience was the impetus for her to help her patients have a deeper understanding of the spiritual side of healing. By just focusing on physical, she wasn’t giving patients everything they needed to get to a place of healing and wholeness.

Aside from the physical, there is also the spiritual and mental (emotional) part of our bodies. Dalton-Smith recognized that people suffering physical ailments also need life-giving water that quenches thirst and refreshes souls. Simply treating issues of depression, stress, or anxiety with conventional cures can create more confusion because people can’t get whole without the added component of spiritual healing. Most of the time, there’s a deeper work that has to be done.

Often painful experiences such as abuse, divorce, infidelity, insecurity, dementia, and cancer cause deep spiritual and emotional pain. Dr. Dalton-Smith advises that you don’t allow pain to be a destination, but see it as part of your journey. Pain is part of our wilderness experience, but God never allows pain to be a place we visit without Him getting glory from it.

You can dream with God again and let Him redirect your steps. Rest assured, you can come empty and be filled to overflow by pouring out life’s hurts and receive God’s healing love. God sees us, knows our pain, and has a solution for it.

Click here to watch a special program with Saundra Dalton Smith.