how we see our problems

27 This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Seat and along the Jordan Valley." 30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!"  31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"

I have read this passage many times. It is powerful. It is about the time when Moses, the leader of God's people, sent spies to go see and report on the land that God had promised them. Remember, this is a God-thing. God promised these people the land. God provided what these people needed every day. God was more than what they needed with guiding them all the time.

Yet 10 of the spies gave a horrible report. Taking this land would be hard and even be a war because the people are like giants. These men described the people of God as weak and pretty much said God is too weak to get them in the land.

Joshua and Caleb gave a different story. They said that this land is theirs for the taking. It is time to move in. The land is also blessed and so good in many, many ways. It was time to go get what God promised.

What is the difference between the 10 spies and the 2 spies? The difference is in how they look at their problem. The 10 spies said we can't do this, and God won't do this. Joshua and Caleb said God is bigger and better than any problem we might have. They said trust God.

How do we look at our problems? Do we first look at God and them our problems understanding that God can do anything? Or do we look at our problems and then look at God and see God as inferior and weak?

May we have a different outlook than any one else! God is able to do anything. How we look at our problems makes all the difference.

Francis Chan's "Forgotten God" (brand new book)

One of the most powerful preachers, writers and leaders of our time, in my opinion, is Francis Chan. His first book, Crazy Love , revolutionized my thoughts about God's love as well as my interacting with God. Now it is time for a brand new book from Chan being released tomorrow, September 1st. The book is Forgotten God . This is a phenomenal book about the power that Christians and the church can and must tap into. All of it is within the Holy Spirit. Francis talks about the power that was seen in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit began to move among people. It is true that many have avoided or maybe forgotten what the Holy Spirit is all about. And like the Savior who poured out His life and blood so we have reason to rejoice, we were made to lay down our lives and give until it hurts. We are most alive when we are loving and actively giving of ourselves because we were made to do these things. It is when we live like this that the Spirit of God moves and ac...

inspiration from C.S. Lewis

There are many people, past and present, who get our attention by what they write or say or share. For me C.S. Lewis is one of those. He was a prolific writer who continues to grab the attention of thinkers from many different points of view. Lewis first grabbed my attention when I was in 5 th grader, and our teacher, Mrs. Foy, shared The Chronicles of Narnia with our class. It was a powerful time that this dreamer opened doors to thinking like I had never lived before. He wrote of faith, of far off places and of strong figures who found their character rooted deep in God. C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 and died in 1963, 7 years before I was born. It wasn’t until his 30’s that under the influence of his friend Tolkien that he came to be a Christian. He was raised in a traditional church going home, turned away from God as an Atheist in his teen years and through trying to stay away from God and faith returned to God with...

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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