I'm Following Jesus – Page 1867 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

“Little faith will save a man, but little faith cannot do great things for God.” – Charles Spurgeon

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Chapters: Joshua 12-15
Message: Do Not Settle

Hello My Friend,

I was thinking as I was reading the chapters for today how much we settle for what we have, and while we ought to be thankful and grateful for every bit of it, we are to never settle. God has much more to give us than we have in front of us, and as long as we are faithful to Him, and wait patiently for it, He will give it to us. Oh, and there is one other thing we must do, ask Him for it. God does not just give us everything on our own, salvation only comes by His grace through our faith in Jesus Christ upon our asking Him for it, the same applies to anything, if we want something, ask Him. “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – I John 5:13-15.

“And this is the confidence that we have in him,” Here is the key right there, confidence. What is confidence? A trusting, or reliance; an assurance of mind or firm belief in something or someone. So, if we have ask God for the things we have need of, and even desire with confidence than we shall receive it, according to His will. Remember, we have to be reasonable about this, not demand that He give us fifteen million dollars right now, and expect Him to give it to us. God told the children of Israel that He would give them the land of Canaan, and He gave it to them, but if they wanted to live peaceably without any outside influence they needed to drive out the people that were there already. Why? They were abominable, worshiping false gods, idols, sacrificing children, and if they remained they would turn Israel to these horrible things. And just like God commanded, Israel went in full force, an account is given of all the towns they took possession of.

“Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east: Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:” – Joshua 12:1-2,6-8.

“In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains,” God really does want to give us more than the little bit that we ask for, while it is the little bit that increases our faith to ask Him for much bigger things, it is our confidence in getting them that keeps us reaching for more. Let me tell you, there is a difference between being content where we are, and settling, to settle means to place in a permanent condition after wandering, in other words, we have been searching all over, and instead of going that extra mile we settle. Again, God does not want us to settle, He wants us to go out and get the things that one, He promises us, and two, the things we desire as well. While Joshua and all of Israel, successfully took possession of thirty-one territories, there was still much more to possess, God reminds Joshua of this.

“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them; These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward. But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.” – Joshua 13:1-2,6-8,32-33.

“only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance,” God is telling them, “This is what I am giving you, now go get it.” You know, if we are honest with ourselves, the majority of the time we just settle because we do not want to do the extra work to go get it. I admit that if I could just sit at my desk all day working on websites instead of going outside and fighting with Orlando traffic and all the people I would be doing that, but I must go outside once in a while because God commands it as we are told to go out into the world and preach the Gospel. How is that for honesty, and conviction from God? “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” – Mark 16:15-16.

“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;” Of course, this is a spiritual baptism, and not water baptism as our faith in Christ is what baptizes us with the Holy Spirit, or in other words, the Spirit of God, water baptism is merely a profession of faith. And as always, whenever God directs me to write something down, and puts Scripture in my head to relate to it, we come to Caleb, the only man alive other than Joshua who came out of Egypt and live to tell about their journey. As Joshua was dividing the land, Caleb comes up to him, reminding him of the day they first stepped foot on Canaan forty-five years ago, and how he had been faithful to God.

“Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children’s for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God. And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.” – Joshua 14:7-13.

“if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out,” You see, Caleb wanted that mountain, but he was also willing to fight for it as long as it was in God’s will to give it to him. God does not want us to settle, He wants is to fight for what He is willing to give us. Think about it, salvation is given to us freely, and that means there is no work to be done to receive it before or after we are saved, but if we want the greatest blessings from God, we need to be willing to fight, not for our salvation, but to drive out whoever or whatever it is that is in our way from getting the things we desire. Caleb did as he said, Judah drove out the majority of the people that were on the land they inherited, an account is given of what land they inherited.

“This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher. And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou? Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.” – Joshua 1,14-19.

“give me also springs of water.” Oh my, and there is another conviction given to me, I am too quick to wave the white flag, and give up lately rather than surrender to God. Let me tell you, surrendering to God is not being weak or giving up, it is the most powerful thing we can do. Surrendering to God is not only telling Him that we are not settling, it is knowing that with Him we can get, and move mountains. Praise God! “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” – Matthew 17:20-21.

“Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.” You know, sometimes that extra mile needed to take is simple prayer and fasting. Oh yes, it is easy to pray, it is the fasting that we do not like too much, we do not want to give up the things we already enjoy in order to get the things we desire. I have to tell you, that when you are fasting make sure it is for spiritual reasons and not for person gain, yes, we can fast for a job to pay the bills, but do not fast for, as an example, just to lose weight or get vengeance on someone, it needs to be for the purpose of getting God’s attention. Jesus said it this way, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” – Matthew 6:16-18.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.” – Joshua 15:19.

Today’s Prayer: God, I hate to admit it, but I know I have settled more times than I care to admit, instead of going in and getting the things You actually desire for me, I waved the white flag in defeat, and just took what was handed to me. Oh, I know that my salvation is bought and paid for with my Saviour, and that I could never do anything to repay You for that, but also know without works faith is dead. If I want the things You promise me I must fight for it, I must remove anything that is blocking my way, and I must let You lead me in the battle. I want that mountain, and by Your power, might, will, and strength I know I can get it, because I know with You, all things are possible, with You, I can do anything, with You, I will receive my inheritance, and with You, nothing or no one can stop me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, fill me with Your power, grace, mercy, love, faith, discernment, wisdom, will, and strength to not only receive, but move that mountain. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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