Weekly Devotion

The Israelites were camped on the banks of the Jordan river, ready to go and possess their Promised Land. But before they could enter into the land, Moses was giving them his last and final speech. Their 40 year journey had finally come to an end.

The Israelites took 40 years to complete a journey that should have taken 11 days. First of all it was due to their disobedience that it took so long and second of all, God used the time in preparing them into the people that they should become. If they had possessed the land within 11 days, they would have entered the Promised Land with a slave mentality and they would have quite quickly turned into the same wicked people already possessing the land. We clearly saw that on their journey, how many times they fell for temptations and how many times they tested the Lord. God knew their hearts and therefore He had to prepare them for what was to come. He had to mould them into the people that He wanted them to be. He wanted them to represent His character and He wanted them to be a shining light to other nations and by being that draw other nations to Him as well.

And today God is the same. He will sometimes let us walk on pathways that we don't understand; wilderness walkways that cause discomfort and pain. And sometimes He will lead us on ways that do not make sense, but at the end of the day He is getting us ready for the role He wants us to play. Sometimes our journey will be tough and sometimes we will cry and wonder where all this is leading us, but if we place our lives in God's hands, He will lead us where He wants us to be. He will lead us towards our Promised Land where we can serve Him and be a shining light for other people to see. God wants us to draw our brothers and sisters towards Him as well, and therefore He wants us to be on a level where we can be the magnet drawing them in.

God wasn't just keeping the Israelites alive in the wilderness. He was looking after them and creating His character in them. And the same goes for you. Don't just survive, but work alongside God to fashion His character in you. Grow into the mature Christian God wants you to be and enter confidently into your Promised Land, knowing that you are a representation of Him and a living part of Him here on earth. We are here to grow His kingdom on earth. Do a good job of it and make Him proud. Don't be like the Israelites that failed quite soon after entering Canaan, but look past the temptations of this life unto the treasures awaiting us in His kingdom.

Dear Father, thank you that we have a Promised Land to look forward to. Thank you that You are preparing us for that. Help us to work alongside with You and to be the best representative that You want us to be. In Jesus Name. Amen

The Israelites are on the verge of entering into the Promised Land, but before they do, Moses was going to give them a speech. The whole of Deuteronomy records Moses' speech to the Israelites. Here he reminds them of what God had done for them, he reminds them of the Law of God and encourages them to follow the principles of Godly living. He also calls on them for a renewed commitment towards God. We will have a look at the speech in the next couple of weeks. But what astounded me was that Moses gave this long a speech, in front of 2 million people. How they heard him is another story, but the fact is that he did speak to them. This is the same Moses that told God that he couldn't speak:

"Moses pleaded with the Lord, "O Lord, I am just not a good speaker. I never have been, and I'm not now, even after You have spoken to me. I'm clumsy with words." "Who makes mouths?" the Lord asked him. "Who makes people so they can speak or not speak, hear or not hear, see or not see? Is it not I the Lord? Now go and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say." Exodus 4:10-12

And here is Moses, 40 years later, giving a massive speech to 2 million people. Isn't that just amazing? God did help him. He was with him every single step of the way. God didn't fail Moses. The moment Moses stood up and followed God, God took over and turned his weaknesses into strengths.

There are several examples in the Bible of people that didn't think that they were good enough, but God used them mightily. For example Gideon didn't believe in himself, the moment God called him he pointed out that his clan was the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh and that he was the least in his whole family. But God used him mightily to defeat the Midianites. Another example is Paul. Paul felt that he wasn't good enough to serve Jesus due to his past. He was the one persecuting and killing the Christians, in fact persecuting Jesus Himself. But Jesus didn't let Paul's past stop Him, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul became the most well known and respected Apostle. He wrote most of the New Testament books and has saint status today.

God sees the potential in every one of us and can use us despite our disabilities, past and weaknesses. He will lift us up and take over by His strength when we need it the most. We just need to follow in His footsteps and where He leads us and the rest is in His hands. We are good enough and we are royalty, part of His Kingdom and therefore we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. If God calls you, all things are possible. How does the saying go? Do your best and God will do the rest. What more can I say....

Thank you God that You see the potential in each one of us. We stand in awe of You. Thank you for believing in us and for helping us on our life's journey. We love and praise You. Amen

Whilst camping out close to the Jordan river, God gave Moses several instructions to follow once they enter the Promised Land. Moses in turn told Joshua and the leaders as he was not allowed to enter into Canaan. Now one instruction that God gave Moses was the boundaries of the land that they should conquer.

"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries." Numbers 34:1,2

And then God gave them the boundaries of the land. The size of the land was generous and there was more than enough space for everyone. The sad part is that the Israelites never conquered the whole portion of the land given to them. They got tired before occupying the whole area destined for them. They got tired of fighting and settled for less than what God wanted to give them. In David's day they did occupy most of the land given to them after he conquered most of their enemies, but after the split of Israel and Judah they never again occupied their 'birthright'. They drifted away from God and in the end they were exiled from their land. Only in 1948 were they given the chance to return to their land, Israel, as rulers. But they are still not occupying the whole portion of land that God had promised them.

It makes me feel sad when I look at the Bible as a whole and realise that the Israelites never reached their full potential as God had planned for them. I know one day in the Millenium they will be the top nation and will stay in the area God had ordained for them. But for now, they haven't measured up. Why? In short, they loved this world and this world's gods too much.

The same applies to us. God wants to give us a generous portion of the 'Promised Land' here on earth. He wants to bless us and to lead us unto new heights. But we need to do our part. Last week I spoke about leaving sin in our lives behind and I would like to motivate you this week to not give up in your quest. We shouldn't get tired in the process of getting the 'Canaanites' out of our lives. We shouldn't slack and think that if we can get rid of 80% it is good enough. It is not. We need to continue moving forward, step by step and gaining the territory that is ours for the taking. Leave all sinful desires out on the curb, it is not worth it. God and the generous land He wants to bless us with is waiting, don't let it slip through your fingers just because you love this world's gods too much. Rather reach your full potential and be the vessel that God can use for the furtherance of His kingdom!

Father, thank you for blessing us with so much. We are so sorry that we don't always grab onto all that You want to give us. Please help us to leave our sinful desires and to gain victory in our lives over areas that don't please You. We want to follow You and Your ways. In Jesus Name. Amen

The Israelites were camped close to the Jordan river, ready to move into the Promised Land. And whilst camping there, God gave them the following command:

"Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan river into the land of Canaan, you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish their pagan shrines. Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy." Numbers 33:51-53.

God told them to totally destroy the Canaanites, because He knew, that if the Israelites allow them to live, they will become like them and follow their customs and worship their gods. God also gave them a warning:

"But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. And I will do to you, what I had planned to do to them." Numbers 33:55,56

This was serious. If they obeyed they would prosper, if they didn't, God will punish them like He planned to punish the Canaanites. The choice was clear and the consequences spelt out. Unfortunately they didn't listen...

And this lesson applies to us today as well. We have to get rid of sinful behaviour in our lives. Jesus died to free us from our sinful natures and to give us a new nature that is like His. He died to set us free from the power of sin, just like the Israelites were freed from the power of Pharoah. And just as God led them to the Promised Land, Jesus also guides us to our own Promised Land, filled with all He wants to offer us. But we need to let go of sin in our lives that are like the Canaanites. Listen to what Paul had to say:

"Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven where Christ sits at God's right hand in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts. Do not only think about things down here on earth. For you died when Christ died, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust and shameful desires. Don't be greedy for the good things of this life, for that is idolatry." Colossians 3:1-3,5

The choice for us is clear as well. Follow the ways of God with all your heart and set your sights on heaven, or continue with the sinful practices in your life and see how they become splinters in your life like the Canaanites of old was to the Israelites. I know most of us don't see anything wrong with 'small' sins, but the problem is 'small' sins, like small splinters, can cause a lot of discomfort and pain in the long run. God wants us free, He wants to bless us in our Promised Land and He wants us to thrive. But if we continue in sin and nurture the sin in our lives, we are inviting pain into our lives that are totally unnecessary and we might also experience the discipline of God. Hebrews 12 clearly speaks about God disciplining His children to leave sin behind and to follow His ways. But wouldn't it be better to rather leave the sin ourselves? And strive to be more like Jesus?

I know that to be sinless is wishful thinking, but as we move into maturity, it is possible to come close. Leave the sin you clearly know is prevalent in your life and start to experience the joy of living in the Promised Land.

Father, please forgive us for following and loving sinful practices in our lives. Please give us the strength and the determination to 'put to death' all sin lurking around in our lives. We want to follow You and Your loving ways and we want to live in the Promised Land without splinters hindering our joy there. In Jesus Name. Amen

The Israelites were ready to go in and conquer their Promised Land. But before they could, they reflected on several things first. Amongst others, the whole Law of God was recited to them again in order to ensure that they knew it off by heart before they encountered the godless Canaanites. Another thing they reflected on was the journey that they took. God had told Moses to keep record of their progress throughout the wilderness.

"At the Lord's direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress. These are the stages of their march, identified by the different places they stopped along the way." Numbers 33:2

Here Moses reflected again on the journey that they took. Each place where they have been are mentioned and recorded here. And I can just imagine Moses reflecting on each and being grateful to God that they had come this far.

In our Christian journey it is also helpful to keep record of things that God had placed in your heart and of the progress that you are making on a spiritual level. I have a journal where I write down what God has placed in my heart, text verses that people give me, prophecies that have been spoken over my life as well as spiritual events that happen in my life.

I have found this journal to be very helpful for three reasons. One, I can see the story of my spiritual growth unfolding. It is wonderful to see the similarities between different events and to realise that God is confirming certain things for me. It gives me hope and it strengthens my faith. Secondly when I reach a low point in my spiritual journey, it is helpful to page through my high points and to be comforted again that God is busy with something big in my life. It also helps me to realise the growth that have taken place in my life and to be grateful for God's hand in my circumstances. It comforts me to see His provision and it makes me realise that He will provide again in the future. Nothing is too big or too difficult for Him. And thirdly, reading through my journal helps me not to make the same spiritual mistakes again. I have found myself battling with the same issue a couple of times, only months apart and it was only when I started to record it and read it on an ad hoc basis that I realised that I am not making progress in this area. I had to force myself then to rethink my situation and to really put an end to my struggle with it. God is gracious and good en He certainly helped me to do just that.

Try and keep a spiritual journal. You don't need to record something every day, but only when something relevant happens in your journey. You will find that it will aid your spiritual growth and will lift you up when you need it the most. It is worth a try.

Father God, thank you that we are growing spiritually with You. Thank you that You aid us in our growth. We want to grow closer to You every day, that is our deepest heart's desire. And thank you that we can know that Your Spirit is always there to help us. Thank you Jesus. Amen

South Africa, My country, My heart bleeds for you. You bring so many calamities on yourself, so many heartaches that could have been avoided. Yet My Will will stand tall. My plan for South Africa will prevail.

My plan is for a light to shine brightly within the darkness in South Africa. And this light, even though it is small, will ripple out for all to notice. My people, My children just need to continue in prayer. Don't get tired and discouraged if you don't see change. Keep on praying, I need determined prayer warriors to take a stand for My values in this country.

The battle with evil in this country will only be won spiritually, not in the natural. No fight in the natural will accomplish much. Only dedicated prayer will drive the evil away. So stand tall and don't allow the negativity surrounding you to influence you. You need to be focused on the job at hand. And if you are, breakthroughs will start to happen. And it will. Little by little My kingdom will obtain a foothold where it matters most and My glory will shine forth for all to see.

Wonders are in My hands, ready to be unleashed, but you are My hands and feet. You need to set it free through your prayers. Stand up and stand tall, don't look around you, but look up to Me. I am your hope and your Savior. I am the One with the universe in My hands. Turn therefore to Me and I will unleash My heavenly hosts upon the forces of darkness and you will stand amazed at the power of prayer. I am the morning star, promising a better day.

The tribes of Gad, Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh owned vast numbers of livestock. And when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead on the east side of the Jordan river were well suited for their livestock, they wanted to remain there. They didn't want to go and live in the Promised Land with the other tribes, as all that they ever wanted were right there. But even though they didn't want to live in the Promised Land, they were prepared to help the other nine and a half tribes to conquer their portion of the land. They were prepared to do just that, because the other tribes helped them in conquering the land that they were going to live in.

So they went to Moses to ask him whether it would be okay if they can have the land on the east side of the Jordan river. Moses immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion. He didn't finish listening to them and started to argue with them.

"Do you mean you want to stay back here while your brothers go across and do all the fighting?" Moses asked the Reubenites and Gadites. "Are you trying to discourage the rest of the people of Israel from going across to the land the Lord has given them?" Numbers 32:6,7. "The Lord was furious with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the whole generation that sinned against Him had died. But here you are, a brood of sinners, doing exactly the same thing! You are making the Lord even angrier with Israel." Numbers 32:13,14

Moses immediately reacted and thought the worst of them. He gave a whole speech to them without even giving them a chance to respond. I only excerpted a piece of the speech here, but he certainly gave them a piece of his mind. It was only when he gave them a chance to respond that they could put his mind at ease that they were merely asking for the land, after they had helped their brothers to defeat their enemies.

We are sometimes like Moses as well. We respond too quickly and easily jump to the wrong conclusions. We assume the worst even before we have heard the other side of the story. A story always has two sides and we need to make sure that we have the whole picture before we respond. We also need to think before we speak. We need to rather gather all the facts together and carefully contemplate as to what to say, before we open our mouths. If we do that, we will save ourselves a lot of heartache. Words said can never be withdrawn. It is better to breathe in deeply and carefully think what needs to be said.

David tells us the secret to having a long life in Psalm 34:12-14:

"Do any of you want to live a life that is long and good? Then watch your tongue! Keep your lips from telling lies! Turn away from evil and do good. Work hard at living in peace with others."

Did you notice the first secret to a long life? Watch your tongue! James also warns against this in James 1:26:

"If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself and your religion is worthless."

Don't have a worthless religion. Get all the facts of a situation together and think before you speak. You will save yourself a lot of regret and heartache.

Father please give us the patience and self control before we open our mouths. Please help us to rather consider all the aspects to a certain situation, to pray about it and then to speak Your words over a situation. We pray it in Jesus' Name. Amen

As we have seen last week, the Israelites took vengeance on the Midianites and killed all 5 their kings as well as all their men. They totally demolished the tribe, because God was with Israel. Afterward with the division of the spoils the military commanders noticed something:

"Then all the military commanders came to Moses and said, "Sir, we have accounted for all the men who went out to battle under our command; not one of them is missing!" Numbers 31:48, 49

How amazing is that? I don't think we see many battles now or in the past without even one casualty. It is a miracle in itself and clear to see that God was with them and helped them in this battle. And what did the commanders do?

"We are therefore presenting the items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share of the plunder - armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces. This will make atonement for our lives before the Lord." Numbers 31:50

How beautiful as that? They didn't take the glory and the honor for themselves, but they recognised God's hand in it all and gave glory to Him. And they gave glory to Him in a tangible form through giving their gold to Him. They praised Him for His help.

When I read this I immediately thought of all the times that I prayed over something and God listened to my prayers and I never went back and thanked Him for the wonderful way that things turned out. We are so inclined to go on and think that the way things turn out is just the way it is supposed to be and we never consider God's hand in it. Or even worse, afterward we take credit for the smooth way things turned out. We credit the turn of events to our talents or the hard work that we put in that paid off, or to fate. But God is ever present turning events into His and our favour. He is always there to help His children and gratitude on our parts would be well received.

Only one of the ten lepers that were healed returned to thank Jesus for what He had done for them. And Jesus immediately asked where the other nine were. Why didn't they return to thank Him? We shouldn't be like the other nine cured lepers. We should be like the one that came back and thanked God. And even more than that we should be like the military commanders that physically did something to thank God for His provision. We shouldn't just sit back and receive, but we should reach out to others and bless them and thereby live a life of gratitude towards God.

Remember next time to thank God for listening to your prayers and acting on your behalf. Maybe even keep a prayer journal if you are worried that you forget. We tend to forget so easily in our rushed lives. And when you page through your prayer journal praise and thank God for the way He looks after you.

Father please forgive us if we take all that You do for us for granted. We appreciate the fact that we do have a Father that is always there for us. We love You and thank You for Your ever present provision and kindness towards us. In Jesus Name. Amen

As you might remember, the Midianites led the Israelites into idolatry through their woman enticing the Israelite men to rather worship their gods. And you all know how furious God was and how God commanded that everyone that worshipped Baal of Peor be executed. It was a horrific sin in God's eyes.

So now before the Israelites enter into their Promised Land, God tells them to take vengeance on the Midianites for leading the Israelites into idolatry. The Israelites didn't hesitate, but immediately obeyed and attacked the Midianites. They were very successful in their attack and killed all five of the Midianite kings in the attack as well as all the men. Then the Israelites gathered all the plunder, the Midianite women, the children, life stock and all the Midianites' wealth. They returned triumphantly back to their camp. But Moses was unhappy with them.

"Why have you let the women live?" He demanded. "These are the very ones who followed Balaam's advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the Lord at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the Lord's people." Numbers 31:15,16

Moses had a right to be unhappy. They were once again falling for their lustful desires for the Midianite women. And before long these women would have led them astray again. God wanted them to get rid of the temptation to obey other gods, but they didn't listen. As you all know throughout history that foreign women kept on leading God's people astray. You can look at all of Israelites' history and you will see the lure of foreign women keeping them away from God. Just look at Delilah from the Philistynes enticing Samson to sin, look at all of Solomon's foreign wives leading him away from the Lord, look at how evil Jezebel from the Sidonians led King Ahab of Israel to worship Baal and so I can go on. Foreign women were a thorn in Israel's side, they led the Israelites to worship other gods which eventually led to their downfall and exile from their own land.

Today our weakness might not be foreign women leading us away from God, but it might be other sin. All of us sin. We were born with a sinful nature. None can ever claim that they have never sinned, except for Jesus of course. But the type of sin that we commit might differ from person to person. Some might be inclined to get addicted to something very quickly, whilst others cannot contain themselves when it comes to gossip, whilst others love the status and prestige that money brings and yet others are drawn to pornography, adultery and lustful pleasures. The main type of sin that draws us in differs, but we need to stand up against it. We need to take a stand against the sin that lure us in and keep us from God's best plan for our lives. Sin is like a cancer that spreads and devours the precious relationship that we have with God. It eats away at the connection that we have with Him and we need to be relentless in keeping it out of our lives. We cannot allow the 'foreign women' to live amongst us like the Israelites did. I am sure none of us would wilfully choose to follow in their downward spiral.

I believe their life stories are there to warn us and to flicker a red light for us today. And we need to heed that call. We need to deal with sin in our lives and not allow it to linger. We all know what happens to a small flickering flame in a dry grass field, soon everything is destroyed. Stop the sin in your life, before it ruins precious relationships. I know being sinless might be wishful thinking, but we can strive towards it. Being complacent concerning sin and having the attitude 'that is just the way that I am', is not God's way. God wants us to try and live a life to the glory of His Name.

Father, please help us in our struggle against sin. Sin is so prevalent all around us, and our sinful natures are so prone to sin. But please help us in our quest to rather follow Your ways. Sin is not our master anymore, but You are and we proclaim that over our lives. Amen

The Israelites were on the verge of entering the Promised Land. But before they did, God wanted to remind them of a couple of things. First of all He wanted to remind them again of the Law given and some aspects related to it. One of the aspects that I would like to share with you today is the laws relating to vows. God commanded the following concerning vows:

"A man who makes a vow to the Lord or makes a pledge under oath must never break it. He must do exactly what He said He would do." Numbers 30:2

It was law. And remember that in those days not many could read or write and paper wasn't even invented yet. Therefore written contracts were a scarcity. Thus their word was law. They had to do what they said they would do.

And in the New Testament, Jesus expands on this topic and tells us that we shouldn't make vows today, but we should keep to our word.

"Just say a simple, "Yes, I will," or "No, I won't." Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong." Matthew 5:37

Wouldn't that be a wonderful world! If one's 'Yes' is 'yes' and one's 'no' is 'no'. How many stories haven't we heard where things were promised and not delivered. How many instances have we experienced where someone didn't keep their word. A promotion was promised but never given, a tender was promised but never allocated, help was promised but it never arrived, a promise was given that they will attend you function but they never came etcetera. It leaves a sour taste in your mouth if that happens.

Now there is nothing we can do concerning promises made to us that were never kept, but we can certainly make sure that we keep to our word. Our word is our honour. We need to have so much respect for our word that we think three times before we answer. How many times have you said that you would do something and when the time comes to do it, you are very sorry that you ever said it? You wished that you had kept your mouth and never promised something, but now unfortunately you did. I think the lesson for all of us today is to think before we speak. We need to think it through carefully, because once you said that you are going to do something, you have to. There is no turning back if you want to honour your word.

Think before you commit to something, you will be very glad that you did!

Father please give us the patience to first think before we commit to something. We know that it pleases You if we keep to our word. Please help us to stand strong and to do just that. In Jesus Name. Amen