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Lord, I Believe All of Your Promises Will Be Fulfilled–Joshua 21:45

March 29, 2011 in Blessings, Christian Living, Joshua, The 2011 Prayer Journey, The Promises of God with 0 Comments

Today’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 19:49-21:45; 1 Chronicles 6:54-81

Today’s Devotion: Step Up and Claim What’s Yours

Heavenly Father, I am so encouraged by Your Word.  I am amazed by You, overwhelmed by Your love for me and excited about my future in Your Kingdom!

Lord, Your Word tells me that You never play favorites.

Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. Acts 10:34

The promises You made in the Bible are for me!  When my life on this earth is over I will be able to say with the children of Israel:

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given

to the [family of Israel] <——

was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.  Joshua 21:45

 

Jesus, thank You for Your Word!  Thank You for Your promises!

In Your Name I pray.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 22:1-24:33


How Long Are You Going to Wait? Joshua 18:3

March 28, 2011 in Blessings, Christian Living, Giving Our Best to God, Joshua, Living a Life that reflects the Son, The 2011 Prayer Journey, The Journey to Knowing Him More with 4 Comments

Today’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 18:1-19:48

Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you? Joshua 18:3

What are you waiting for?  Has God’s Word spoken promises you’ve not claimed?

What about this one?

Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. “I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10 The Message

Don’t settle for the plastic life the world offers.

What are you waiting for?

Reach out and grab the real life, an “Ephesians 3:20″ life.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. (NIV)

Don’t wait!

Start today!

Heavenly Father, forgive us for settling for the life the world offers.  It must be so hard to watch us live below Your plans. Help us to have a “can do” attitude that says, “God planned this for me and I will have it!”  Help us to begin today!

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 19:49-21:45; 1 Chronicles 6:54-81

Lord, Give Me My Mountain–Joshua 14:12

March 26, 2011 in Blessings, Christian Living, God Speaks today, Joshua, The 2011 Prayer Journey with 0 Comments


Today’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 12:7-15:19

Today’s Devotion: Sometimes it’s God’s Fight and Sometimes It’s Yours

Heavenly Father, as I wrote the title of today’s prayer I felt disrespectful.  Who am I to tell You to “do” anything. But the more I read Your Word, the more I know  the Bible is full of promises You’ve made that You are justing waiting for me to claim.  You’re waiting for me to say, “Give me My Mountain.”

Caleb wasn’t being disrespectful to Joshua, he was just reminding him of the promise Moses made to him, because of his “different attitude.”

Lord, I want a “different attitude.”

But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land. Numbers 14:24

Lord, I want to “wholeheartedly” follow You.

So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’ Joshua 14:9

Lord, I want to be able to confidently say, “Lord, I did what You asked of me, please bring the things You promised to fulfillment.

So when Caleb said, So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. Joshua 14:12

Lord, this is just one more reason we need to read Your Word–it’s full of Your promises; promises for all of Your children.  If we don’t know what You’ve promised, how will we know to claim them.

Father, today I’m believing You to bring a promise to fulfillment that You put in my heart many years ago.  Lord, give me my mountain!

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Devotion: Joshua 15:20-17:18

Lord, What am I Hiding? Joshua 7:13

March 24, 2011 in Blessings, Christian Living, Finances, Giving Our Best to God, Joshua, The 2011 Prayer Journey, Trust with 1 Comment


Today’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 7:1; 1 Chronicles 2:7; Joshua 7:2-9:27

Today’s Devotion:  Get Up

Heavenly Father, as I read the story of Achan I immediately thought of my own life, my own heart…

What am I trying to hide away for myself that it Yours and Yours alone?

“Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.” Joshua 7:13

Lord, show me the things in my life that You want set apart for You and Your service.  Some possibilities that come to mind:

  • My body
  • My talents and abilities
  • My time
  • My days on this earth
  • My tithe

Holy Spirit, teach me.  I do not want to hoard the things that You have set a part for Your service.  Lord, forgive and have mercy on me when I make a mistake.  Make me like you Jesus.

In Your Name I pray.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller



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Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 10:1-12:6

God Has Secrets–Deuteronomy 29:29

March 20, 2011 in Believing God in the Hard Times, Blessings, Christian Living, Deuteronomy, Fear, Living a Life that reflects the Son, The 2011 Prayer Journey, The Journey to Knowing Him More with 1 Comment


Today’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 29:2-31:29

“I’ve got a secret!”  Little kids love to tease each other with those words.  Adults like secrets too, as long as they’re the ones in the know.

God likes secrets too.

The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions. Deuteronomy 29:29

God has secrets?

Now that I think of it, of course He does!  There’s so much we don’t know.

Moses gave us some good news and bad news.

The good news: We’re not accountable for the secrets God keeps from us.

The bad news: We are accountable for all that he has revealed to us through His Word.

How much time do you spend worrying about things you either don’t know about (the future) or things you just don’t understand (why bad things happen to good people)?

How much time do you spend pondering over God’s Word and it’s meaning for your life in this particular moment in time?

I need to stop worrying about God’s secrets and start working on me and my relationship with Him.

Heavenly Father, I trust You.  I trust the things that you’ve chosen to keep from me are for my good and Your Glory.  Help me to take my accountability for the things You’ve revealed to me seriously.  Draw me to Your Word.

Make me like you Jesus!

In Your Name I pray.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

 

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:52; Psalm 90

Lord, Help Us to Include You in Our Celebrations–Deuteronomy 26:11

March 19, 2011 in Blessings, Deuteronomy, Living a Life that reflects the Son, Priorities, The 2011 Prayer Journey with 0 Comments


Today’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-29:1

Today’s Devotion: When…Not If

Heavenly Father, in today’s reading to You instructed the Israelites on life and living in the Promised Land.  One of the things that jumped off the page at me was Your instructions on celebrations.

Afterward you may go and celebrate because of all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household. Deuteronomy 26:11a

I had to ask myself, “Why do we celebrate in today’s culture?”

Lord, we love a “par-tay,” but how often are we consciously celebrating Your goodness to us, our family, our city, our country, or our world?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 NIV

Lord, forgive us for excluding You from our celebrations.  Forgive us for not acknowledging the many, perfect gifts You give us.

Holy Spirit, teach us to find creative ways to include You in our celebrations. Help us to lead by example for our future generations.

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!


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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller


Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 29:2-31:29

Lord, Teach Me to Fear You–Deuteronomy 14:23

March 16, 2011 in Blessings, Deuteronomy, Finances, Giving Our Best to God, The 2011 Prayer Journey, Trust with 1 Comment


Today’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 13:1-16:17

Today’s Devotion: Signs and Miracles

Heavenly Father, in our western-thinking, modern world, being “fearless” and being willing to take risks are signs of success, so when we read Your Word and it says…

You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year.  Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 14: 22-23

…we have a hard time understanding this kind of fear.  When we plug-in our twenty-first century definition of fear it seems like You want us to be afraid of You like some kind of abusive father, which we know is incorrect.  I guess it’s just one more example of the importance of understanding the history and context of the Bible.

I looked up the Hebrew definition for this type of fear in Deuteronomy 14:23.  The actual Hebrew word is  yare’.  A more accurate way for us to interpret this word to reverence or stand in awe.

Malachi 2:5 helps us to understand this further: The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name.

Heavenly Father, from my own personal experience I can say, Your provision in my life throughout my years of tithing has caused me to reverence You and stand in awe of You. Time and again I have seen You make a way when there was no way! When You make a promise, it will come to pass.

Lord, teach us about this kind of fear.  Forgive us for our lack of respect and reverence.  Holy Spirit, show us the areas in our lives that aren’t pleasing to You.

We trust You, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!


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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 16:8-21:9

Do You Have Memory Loss? Deuteronomy 4:9

March 13, 2011 in Believing God in the Hard Times, Blessings, Deuteronomy, The 2011 Prayer Journey, The Journey to Knowing Him More, The Power of Words with 7 Comments


Today’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 3:21-5:33

But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy 4:9

In Moses’ final instructions he warns the Israelites not to forget the miracles they had witnessed.  In my spiritual mind it seems hard to think that anyone could forget things like…

  • Standing before the Lord their God at Mount Sinai (4:10)
  • Watching flames shoot into the sky (4:11)
  • Seeing the mountain shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness (4:11)
  • Hearing the Lord speak from the heart of the fire (4:12)
  • Receiving the Ten Commandments from God’s own voice (4:13)

Why would Moses think they would forget?

Because that’s what humans do and the Israelites had a track record of forgetting…a lot.

And so do I…

How about you?

God has done some amazing things in my life.  While in the midst of these miraculous times I think I’ll remember them forever…

So why do I forget?

When trouble comes, why do I act like someone who doesn’t know the supernatural power of the One, True, Living God?

Because I’m looking at the size of the problem rather than remembering the size of my God.  There’s an old hymn that tells us exactly what we need to do to remember…

Count Your Blessings

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

God knew we would be forgetful, that’s why he told the Israelites to write His Words on the door post of their houses.

“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Numbers 11:18-21

One of these best things we can do for our children is to live a life that leads them to Jesus.  Sharing the “God Moments” of our life is the way we pass on our spiritual heritage.  It’s the way we make God BIG in their lives.

It’s also the best way to remember.  When I speak God’s blessings out loud it encourages my faith and those around me AND it helps me to remember!

I have a challenge for you today:

Go to the bottom of this post to the “leave a reply” space and finish the following three statements and click on the [post comment] button to share with everyone on The Journey. You will be encouraged and so will we!

  1. My God is amazing because…
  2. God did ____________________ for me today…
  3. I didn’t know what I was going to do but God showed up and…

Thanking God for you today!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 6:1-9:29

Lord, Please Bless and Protect Me–Numbers 6:22-27

March 1, 2011 in Blessings, Family, Numbers, Prayer, The 2011 Prayer Journey with 0 Comments


Today’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 6:1-27; Numbers 10:1-36

Today’s Devotion: The Power of  the Blessing

Heavenly Father, I want Your special blessings, but sometimes I just don’t know how to pray.  Thank you for including prayers of blessings in Your Word.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:

‘May the Lord bless you
and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor
and give you his peace.’

Whenever Aaron and his sons bless the people of Israel in my name, I myself will bless them.” Numbers 6:22-27

Jesus, the Israelites could only receive this blessing when Aaron or his sons spoke it over them, but because of what You did for us on the cross of Calvary, Your followers are royal priests; we can speak this blessing over ourselves and our household.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Lord, bless me and protect me.  Lord, smile on me and be gracious to me today.  Lord, show me Your favor and give me Your peace today.  (Insert the names on your prayer list in the me space)

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!


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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 11:1-13:33

Lord, I Want to be Able to “Sleep With No Cause to Fear” Leviticus 26:6

February 25, 2011 in Blessings, Christian Living, Leviticus, Priorities, The 2011 Prayer Journey with 1 Comment

Today’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 25:24-26:46

Today’s Devotion: Evidence of Our Relationship

Heavenly Father, what an amazing promise You made to the Israelites:

I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. Leviticus 26:6

Lord, fear and sleeplessness seem to go hand in hand. Statistics vary, but many say that almost 50% of all adults in America have trouble sleeping.

Heavenly Father, is Your promise in Leviticus 26:6 for today?

I believe it is.  Our problem is we want Your promises but we don’t want Your conditions.

Do the conditions You required of the Israelites to live in peace and have sweet sleep pertain to us today?

  1. Do not make idols or set up carved images, or sacred pillars, or sculptured stones in your land so you may worship them. I am the Lord your God.
  2. You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. Leviticus 26:1-2

If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will… Leviticus 26:3

Lord, many would read these conditions and say, “That’s the Old Testament, that’s not for today.”  Yes, Jesus You came to release us from the Law, but many of the requirements our Heavenly Father gave us in the Law were practical things that are still true today.  After all, You made our bodies, You made our minds.  You know what makes them work best. Our salvation may not be dependent upon it but these guidelines could be the missing link to our physical well-being and peace.

  1. Putting God first in our lives, trusting Him with our future, and believing He is in total control of the world in which we live brings peace.
  2. Taking time each week to unplug and unwind, and get away from the stress of the world makes for better sleep.

Lord, help us to see Your Word as the operator’s manual for the human body.  Holy Spirit, draw us to it daily.  Help us to see every word as valuable, even the details of Leviticus.  Teach us how to live in peace and have sweet sleep.

In Jesus’ Name.  Amen and Amen!

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©2011, Dianne Guthmuller

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Leviticus 27:1-34; Numbers 1:1-54

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