ALWAYS SEEK GOD’ S DIRECTION​​​​​​!

Joshua 9:14-15 – Devotional

Joshua 9:14-15

“Joshua and the men of Israel did not ask counsel of the Lord. Joshua and the rulers of the congregation made a covenant with the deceitful Gibeonites to let them live; and so swore an oath to them without seeking counsel from the LORD.”

Heartbreak and defeat are always the result of not seeking God’s counsel before taking a particular action. Over the years of my ministry I have counseled many people concerning their relationship with God and with individuals. Frequently, people have wanted their own way rather than taking the time to discover God’s way.

When Joshua and the leaders of Israel sought the face of God and then obeyed, there was victory. Every time they failed to seek God’s will, there was always failure and disaster.

The crafty Gibeonites knew that Israel was an unstoppable force. So the Gibeonites devised a plan whereby it appeared they were a group from far away rather than residents near at hand. Joshua and Israel relied upon what they saw rather than calling on the Lord. They were deceived!

In our own lives we can also be deceived by appearances. Rather than taking the time to seek God’s will for us, we think we know enough to make our own decisions. That is never the case! We always need God’s direction.

Blessings dear hearts walk with God today and become a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

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If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

CHOOSE GOD’S WAY​!

Joshua 24:15 – Devotional

Joshua 24:15

“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.“

When we go to an eating establishment we are faced with many appealing choices. We may know that whatever we chose will be delicious, but would it be good for us? Ah! That’s a different story isn’t it?

From time to time we all are called upon to make choices. As a matter of fact, we are faced with choices each and every day. Some of these choices are relatively insignificant (such as what to order off a restaurant menu), while others could be life changing.

The Israelites had seen the powerful hand of the Lord as He led them from their bondage in Egypt to go and possess the Promised Land. You would think that they would never want to turn their back on God, but they did! Why? Because they yielded to the temptation of Satan!

I have no idea what temptation you are facing right now in your life, but I urge you to make the right choice and, like Joshua, choose to serve the Lord!

Blessings dear hearts! Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

A TREATY WITH THE ENEMY​​​!

Joshua 9:14-15 – Devotional

Joshua 9:14-15

“The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.“

Listen to today’s Message of the Week, “A Treaty With The Enemy!” by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s DailyEvotional emails by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

GOD’S CHECKLIST?

Joshua 1:6-8 – Devotional

Joshua 1:6-8

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.“

Many of you know that I am fascinated by the space program. It is a delight to watch flights of the Space Shuttle from the time of its lift-off until touchdown. But throughout the mission there is a function that might completely by-pass most people, but it is of particular interest to me—the checklist!

In my colorful past, I once was a missile launch control officer for the Minuteman Missile program. Each of our capsules controlled ten missiles. Our control centers were located deep underground and over ten miles from even the closest missile.

Before we were ever allowed to serve as a missile crew member, we had to go through a considerable amount of training. We also had to spend time in a training capsule that simulated the real thing. Through all of this training we had to learn to follow the checklist. Each crew member carried a large briefcase with our checklist notebooks. We were never allowed to do things on our own, but always did things in sequence and checked them off the list.

As I watch the space crew on the shuttle and the space station, I notice that they are always following their own checklists. Many times you will hear the controllers on ground calling out pages and numbers for them to take actions in the correct order.

In today’s Scripture, God is speaking directly to Joshua about his new position as leader of the Israelites. He is not to rely upon his experience of serving as an assistant to Moses, but rather rely upon the law which Moses wrote down and left for Joshua. It was not simply Moses’ words, but the inspired words which God gave for him to write.

The Lord is saying to Joshua—Follow the checklist! Let’s take a little visit to the list God gave Joshua:

_____ 1. “Be strong and very courageous.” Things may seem to be threatening and overwhelming, but we read the checklist and see that we are to react with His strength and our courage to believe what God says, not simply what we see.

_____ 2. “Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left.” Not part of God’s law, but all of His law. It is not a selective process, a pick and choose which of His laws we will obey. We are to have a totally obedient heart.

_____ 3. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth.” Not only are we to read God’s Word and obey it, we are to make it a part of our conversation.

_____ 4. “Meditate on it day and night.” It is impossible to meditate upon God’s Word if we have not spent time reading and studying it.

You will notice that I left spaces at the beginning of each item to check. How many of them can you check off on a daily basis? As a motivation, look at what God promises for following His checklist: “That you may be successful wherever you go… then you will be prosperous and successful.”

God has provided us with checklists throughout His Word. May we be careful to obey and check them off!

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today. Trust Him completely and be a blessing.

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

KEEP THE RIGHT COMPANY​!

Joshua 13:20 –  Devotional

Joshua 13:20

“The one who walks with the wise will be wise, but the one who keeps company with fools will reap destruction.”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week & Prayer by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.

STILL MUCH TO CLAIM​!

Joshua 13:1 –  Devotional

Joshua 13:1

“When Joshua had grown old, the LORD said to him, ‘You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to claim.’”

Listen to today’s Message of the Week & Prayer by Pastor Cecil by clicking above on the play button.

Blessings dear hearts. Walk with God today and be a blessing!

– – – Pastor Cecil

Share a blessing by inviting your friends and family to subscribe to Pastor Cecil’s Daily E-Votional by clicking on the Subscribe button above.

Share the Lord with someone by directing them to https://PastorCecil.com.

If you have watched The Sands of Eternity video above and prayed the prayer at the end, please go to https://PastorCecil.com/ and use the form on the webpage to let us know so we can send you follow up resources and/or send an email to pastorcecil@dailyevotional.com and let him know.