May 2, 2024

What Is Your Jericho?

January 23, 2015 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

…but the Lord said to Joshua,”I have given you Jericho, it’s king, and all its strong warriors.
You and your fighting men should march around the town once a day for six day.
Seven priests will walk ahead of the Ark, each carrying a ram’s horn.
On the seventh day you are to march around the town seven times,
with the priests blowing the horns.
When you hear the priest give one long blast on the rams’ horns,
have all the people shout as loud as they can.
Then the walls of the town will collapse and the people can charge straight into the town.”

Joshua 6:2-5

I have a “Jericho.”  And I pray circles around this daily (sometimes literally walking in a circle around my beach neighborhood) asking God for this one thing.  In my heart, I know He will answer.  One day, it will come to be.  Do you have a Jericho?

In the Scripture passage above, God was telling Joshua that Jericho was already delivered into his hands…the enemy was already defeated.  I imagine that Joshua had much confidence as he went to battle that day. Knowing that the city was already his and all he had to do was follow every instruction that God gave him…exactly as He told him.  Joshua had to have faith to carry this out, don’t you imagine?

For someone who was not a believer, the instructions might have seemed a little farfetched. But not to Joshua, who loved his God.  God was making it perfectly clear to Joshua that the battle would depend on Him and not the weapons that Israel had or the manpower.  And He wanted to make sure that Joshua really was committed.

God already knows your prayer and your Jericho.  He wants you to name it and ‘circle it’ in prayer, so He knows how committed you are to your desire.  He has given us His Word as a promise so that we need never doubt or question all He can do for us.

And what does He expect from us in return? Really, all He asks is for us to be the best we can and do the best we can with what He has already given us.  Doing His Will has more to do with “being” the right person and success is glorifying Him in the process.

As a parent, I circle each of my precious ones in prayer and I have great desires for us as a family.  He has already delivered us from so much and He has defeated the enemy more than once.  And just like Joshua, God has given us instructions; sometimes He sends us into a battle that looks like it is impossible.  But with prayer and perseverance we will watch walls crumble in front of us, and kings defeated in His name, and the conquering of the city that is ours already. Isn’t our God so amazing?

I encourage you today to turn in your Bible to this story and pray that God will guide you wherever it is that you are supposed to be.  And if you don’t know what your Jericho is right now, pray that He will reveal to you what His desire for you is.

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And if you don’t know Him, I pray that you will join me in this simple prayer asking Him to be your God.  Will you?

Dear God, I know I am a sinner.  I ask for Your forgiveness.  I believe that Jesus is Your Son and He is the Savior of the world.  I believe that He died on the Cross to save me from my sins.  Come into my heart today and be my God.  I want to know more about You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Rahab-She Was So Much More

July 11, 2014 by

encouragementbloggraphicromans15

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying,
Go view the land, even Jericho.
And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged there.
Joshua 2:1

We often name our children after some heroes in the Bible, such as Caleb, Daniel, Hannah, and even Moses. But we never hear of a child named Jezebel or Rahab for obvious reasons. Who would name their child after such women whose values are so much less than our own?

Interestingly, Rahab was an Old Testament harlot who vaulted in the New Testament for her faith. That’s right, she is mentioned right up there with Abraham, Noah, Joseph, and Moses. In Hebrews 11 (often referred to as ‘Faith’s Hall of Fame’), these characters from the Bible are referred to including Rahab the harlot. Hebrews 11:31 reads,”By faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not.”  She is there because of her faith…not her profession.

Joshua’s first test of leadership was Jericho.  It was the only way into the Promised Land.  He sent two spies there to survey the land and report back on what they saw.  When they got there, they sought refuge in the home of Rahab, because strange men entering the home of a prostitute wouldn’t look suspicious  to anyone.

The king of Jericho, however, received a report that the two spies had arrived in Jericho under cover in the dark of the night. “Behold”, he was told, “men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country” (Joshua 2:3).  He immediately dispatched soldiers to search the home of Rahab, but Rahab had hidden the two men on her roof and she told the king’s men that the men had left the city before the gates were shut for the night.

Rahab’s courage allowed Joshua’s spies to report back to their new leader and as we all know from the song, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho and the walls came tumbling down.”

Rahab and her family were spared death because of her courage and the reason she is so esteemed in the New Testament comes from what she said to the two spies. “The Lord your God,” she told the two spies, “He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11).  In spite of the gods that Rahab worshipped, she realized and professed that the Israelites’ God was the real God and she proved her faith by works.

Don’t you see the message in this story? It’s all about faith! Faith is not, and cannot be viewed as, a private treasure for only us to enjoy.  It must be shown for others to realize that God is the real deal! So I challenge you today to allow your faith to show up in the lives of others through serving God’s children. We do this by showing love, just like Rahab did to these men that she didn’t know. Would I do the same? I would like to think so.

Do you know the God I’m writing about today? He is the Real Deal and He loves you so much.  He can shelter you from this world, giving you hope and rest and strength for this journey. All you have to do is pray this simple prayer:

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Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and I need forgiveness. I ask that Your Son Jesus, the One and only Savior, come into my life and change me. I know that He died for my sins so that I may live forever with You.  Thank You for loving me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed this prayer today, let us know in the comments section so we can rejoice and pray with you!

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