blessing or consequences

I have long been intrigued by the story of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Not a place that I wouwant to spend an extended period of time at all. The reason why they had to stay there was that they took their eyes of of God.

There are consequences to doing things against what God says or the way He directs. That was true for the Children of Israel. It is true for us. Think about it.

Numbers 32:10-13 nlt

Then the Lord was very angry with them, and he vowed,'Of all those I rescued from Egypt, no one who is twenty years old or older will ever see the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for they have not obeyed me wholeheartedly. The only exceptions are Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they have wholeheartedly followed the Lord.' "The Lord was angry with Israel and made them wander in the wilderness for forty years until the entire generation that sinned in the Lord's sight had died.

What a huge price these people paid when they were rebelled against God's plans. Only a couple of the people, Caleb and Joshua, would get to see the promised land. Why is that?

They were part of the team that went to look at the promised land. They were the only two who believed what God said. The other 10 said that the battle was too big, the problems would be main, and that is just isn't possible. 2 out of 12 said God is able. 10 said not even God can do that.

God rewards these two men because of their faith. God will do the same for us. We have choices to make. We can chose blessing or negative consequences. We are not puppets who only do what God dictates we do. We've been given the ability to make choices that will benefit us and others or choices that will cut and cost us and others.

That is the situation that the people of God are in. I have been there. So have you. It is kind of like looking over the proverbial fence and dreaming about what life could be or realizing that God has called you to step forward. You either do or you don't. It is time to make a choice.

I chose to be courageous and watch the blessings that God is going to bring. I don't chose the consequences of doing my own thing a part from God. What are you going to do as you look over the fence?

Have you heard of EDITH BURNS?

Edith Burns was a wonderful Christian who lived in San Antonio, Texas . She was the patient of a doctor by the name of Will Phillips. Dr. Phillips was a gentle doctor who saw patients as people. His favorite patient was Edith Burns. One morning he went to his office with a heavy heart and it was because of Edith Burns. When he walked into that waiting room, there sat Edith with her big black Bible in her lap earnestly talking to a young mother sitting beside her. Edith Burns had a habit of introducing herself in this way: "Hello, my name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would explain the meaning of Easter, and many times people would be saved. Dr. Phillips walked into that office and there he saw the head nurse, Beverly. Beverly had first met Edith when she was taking her blood pressure. Edith began by saying,"My name is Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Beverly said, "Why yes I do." Edith said, "Well, what do you ...

wash feet, sharing hope

John 13:4-5,14 NLT So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him… 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. Jesus set the example we follow. He served. He valued and gave value to others. That is why we choose to serve. For 18 years our church has shared an outreach called back2school, and for 16 of those years we have chosen to give students brand new shoes and socks as well as washing their feet. It is one of the most important parts of this event. Washing feet is a humbling experience where both the give and the receiver learn how to share some moments that might change their lives. Jesus said we should do this. See the verse above. Follow His example, do what He did, and give far more than you will ever know....

Catalyst ticket arrived

My ticket to the Catalyst Conference, in Atlanta Oct 8-10, just arrived. I'm excited!

Michael Harrison's e-devotion

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