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.
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.
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.
The 01/11/15 FBC Hammond bulletin is up at Baptist City.
The amazing thing about the American left is the way that any action by itself or its pet groups is the action of deranged individuals and any action by someone vaguely connected with conservatism is an indictment of everyone who holds a political ideology. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to the actions of muslim extremists.
From Redstate.com
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.
Number 16:3
"And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?"
The Devil is always out to destroy the work of the LORD. He was out to destroy the children of Israel because they were God's people and He was doing His work through them. Likewise, the church is the work of the LORD, and the Devil will do everything he can to destroy it.