Wishing or Willing

1 Samuel 9:21

"And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?"

My brother and I were recently in a conversation where he told me about a quote from a Louis L'amour book that said, "There are two kinds of people in this world, those who wish, and those who will. The world and its goods will belong to those who will."We discussed how our society is filled with people who wish they had things but never do anything about it, but that there are a few people who, in spite of background and obstacles, will their way into success.

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Harmful Stubborn Ways

Judges 2:19

"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way."

Stubbornness isn't always a bad thing. I often teach my daughter that stubbornness can be good if you use it in a right manner. We ought to be stubborn concerning truth. We ought to be stubborn and oppose temptation. Stubbornness in itself is not bad if it is used properly.

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Wasting God's Power

Joshua 2:10

"For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed."

The children of Israel were at the brink of the Jordan River. Forty years had passed since they were at this point, and now they were ready to go and take the Promised Land.

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Don't Avoid Mercy and Grace


Psalm 116:4-5

"Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful."

Most of the trouble in which we find ourselves is our own fault. Certainly there are times when trouble comes our way that we have done nothing to cause it, but the majority of the time our troubles are self-inflicted. When this happens we tend to avoid running to God to ask for His help. The Devil whispers in our ear that we don't deserve God's help and that we shouldn't bother Him with something that we caused. Though the Devil may be right in that we don't deserve God's help, that still shouldn't keep us from going to God to ask Him for help.

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It's Time to Move On

Deuteronomy 1:6

"The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:"

Horeb is a two-mile long mountain range that had significant impact upon the children of Israel. In this mountain range is Mount Sinai, the mount where Moses received the ten commandments. This is the mountain range where the rock of Horeb was, the rock from which the water came out. As you can see, Horeb had a significant spiritual impact on God's people.

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What Do You See?

Numbers 13:17-18

"And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;"

God told Moses to choose twelve men, one from each tribe, to go into the land of Canaan to spy out the land and to come back and tell the people what they saw. For forty days these men were in the land of Canaan and saw the future that God had promised to them. Sadly, when they came back, ten men gave an evil report and two men gave a positive report. Because of the evil report of the ten men, the children of Israel followed the advice of the ten men to their detriment.

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The Rest Principle


Leviticus 25:4

"But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard."

This devotional is not for the lazy person. This devotional is for the person who finds themselves guilty because they are not working. There are many people who can feel guilty when they stop to rest, but they must understand that God gives us a rest principle on purpose.

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Preparing for God

Leviticus 9:4

"Also a bullock and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD; and a meat offering mingled with oil: for to day the LORD will appear unto you."

I fear too often we are very flippant about how we come to God in prayer. Because Jesus died on the cross, we have clear access to God through prayer at any time. This access to God can be taken for granted if we are not careful, which will cause us to come before God unprepared.

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Salvaging a People

Exodus 29:14

"But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering."

I seriously doubt that we will ever understand the sacrifice Christ made to save us from our sins. When you look at the sacrifices God commanded the children of Israel to observe, you get a small picture of the sacrifice Christ made for mankind. The sacrifice that He made shows the great love that He has for every person.

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