I love the book of Joshua. Last night, as I was reading chapter two, I made an application to today and the Church. The enemy witnessed God’s miraculous intervention which caused their hearts to melt with fear. Yes! Lord, do it again in our day.

Somehow the folks across the Jordan River witnessed God taking His children through the Red Sea. What was a true obstacle, became His means of defeating the Egyptian army. They also witnessed His utter destruction of the two Amorite kings.

In Joshua 2:9 Rahab told the two spies, “…I know that the Lord has given you this land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.”

God’s ‘gem’ for strategic warfare was recorded. Verse 10 says, “For we heard how the Lord dried up the Red Sea for you…” Verse 11 says, “As soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of You, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.”

Early this morning I was rehearsing this chapter. Ephesians 3:10 says that the Lord will use His church to display His multifaceted wisdom before our enemies.

We face our own ‘red sea’ impossibility. We, the Church, are on display. What will the enemy witness of God’s miraculous intervention on behalf of our nation? Will they see His church going through on ‘dry land’ and using it to destroy the work of the enemy against our nation?

Oh Lord, we marvel at You who is All Powerful. There is no One like You, and there is no One Your equal. We are standing on our watch, and looking to see what You will say to do. Help us to discern your manifold wisdom, and yield our hearts to follow You through what appears impossible. Thank You for Your excellent strategy to defeat and destroy those that are opposing You and Your purpose for America. Let their hearts melt with fear.

Joshua 1:8 says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Notice the words ‘observe to do’ is the fruit of meditating. Joshua was instructed to meditate out loud. That connects for us from Romans 10:17 which says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

Meditating on God’s word requires us to first bring it into our heart so we can ruminate on it. Then we speak the truth and activate it through experience. It is not head knowledge but heart acceptance and practice.

1 Timothy 4:15 says, “Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.” As we meditate on God’s word, we are transformed in our character to be more like Him. Our roots go deeper into our Source of life, and our thoughts become more like His thoughts.

Psalm 1:3 says that when we meditate on His word, we will be like a tree that spreads out its roots by a life-giving source of water. We will not be barren but fruitful, because He will cause everything we do to prosper.

Psalm 119:15 says, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” Verse 34 says, “Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed, I shall observe it with my whole heart.”

I started reading Joshua yesterday. I felt the Holy Spirit stopped me at these words ‘observe to do’ in verse 7. It says, “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.”

Notice that the ability to observe came from being strong and very courageous. As I thought about this my mind went back to fear. Fear can capture our senses and cause our thoughts to go out of kilter. Moses is a great example for us. Exodus 3:3 says, “…I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” It was a normal occurrence for Moses to see a bush combust, but this bush was different. It was not consumed by the fire. Moses saw beyond the visual and the obvious.

I am a fast reader. Therefore when I read through my Bible, I have to slow down so I can read with understanding. It is so easy to skip through familiar passages. Remember the tortoise and the hare race? We need to plod along and allow the Holy Spirit to stop us along the way. Joshua was instructed to observe the law so that he would not turn from it. His path would not deviate from what God had spoken.

Joshua heard Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 28:13. God set forth a condition. It said that the Lord would make them the head and not the tail, and they would be above and not beneath, “…IF you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day to observe them.” Verse 14 explained the result of their observing to do. “So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” Proverbs 4:27 says that when we don’t turn aside we will be kept from evil.

1 Samuel 12:21 says that when we turn aside, it will lead us into empty pursuits. Our one and only true pursuit is the Lord. However, satan and his minions are always on the prowl to lead us aside God’s chosen path through temptations to be afraid, to rush ahead of God, serve the idols in our heart, or distractions to pull us off course. Beware.

God gave Solomon wisdom. 1 Kings 3:12 says, “…I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.” Since Solomon’s wisdom came from the One who has all wisdom, the book of Proverbs gives us great understanding for practical application.

Yesterday I was reading Proverbs 28. I noted a few verses about the wicked that I want to highlight. Verse 1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues…” Verse 4 says, “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.” Jude verse 3 says, “…contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

Contend means to struggle to surmount a difficulty or danger. It means to assert, maintain, hold, profess, and confirm. I like to think of it as wrestling down and conquering. Joshua told his men to put their feet on the necks on the kings (Joshua 10:24). Contend is a militant word that is active-not passive.

Proverbs 28:5 says, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all.” Isaiah 33:6 says, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.”

Proverbs 28:16 says, “A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor…” Verse 18 says, “…he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.” Verse 28 says, “When the wicked arise, men hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.”

Proverbs 29:1 says, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Think back to Pharaoh. He kept hardening his heart, until God hardened it. Exodus 14:27 says that the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the Red Sea.

God’s words to the Israelites are the same for us today. Exodus 14:13 says, “…Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…” Verse 14 says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” The Lord contends with the wicked, but He fights for those who are uncompromisingly righteous.

I love divine appointments. They reveal God’s intervention, His orchestration, and His impeccable timing. Revelation 3:7 says, “…He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens.”

One of my favorite passages about God’s orchestrated opportunities is Acts 16:6-10. Paul and his team tried to preach the gospel in Asia, but they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit. In the natural sense, we might think that going to preach the gospel somewhere was good. Yet God had another plan.

When they tried to go into Bithynia, the Holy Spirit did not permit them. I wonder what their thoughts were. The door was shut in two places, yet it opened through a vision that Paul had.

Verse 10 says, “Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

I often ask the Lord to lead me by resistance. I don’t want to do anything that He has not previously arranged for me to walk in. As I read the end of Ephesians 6, I was reminded afresh of open and closed doors.

Paul asked them to pray for him. Verse 19-20 says regarding verse 18 on prayer, “And for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make know the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Paul was in prison, yet he was asking for open opportunities.

1 Corinthians 16:9 says, “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.” This is so true for us right now. Bible believing Christians have myriad adversaries.

Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Hebrews 12:1 says to run with endurance. That means we have to cast off the things we do in our own strength, or lean on our own understanding. This is the time to wait for God to open and close doors, and watch for and seize His orchestrated opportunities to share the gospel.

In Ephesians 6:10-17, Paul wrote how to be armed with God’s power. We know from 2 Corinthians 10:4 that the weapons of our warfare are not flesh but spiritual.

I love to think about God being armed. Isaiah 59:14 reads like today’s news. It says, “Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” The end of verse 15 says, “…Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.”

What did He do? Verse 16-17 says, “…therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; and His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.”

As always, the Lord is our example. Righteousness is conforming our thoughts, purpose, and actions to His will. We must raise our thoughts to agree with His word. His purpose for America will not be thwarted. Let us cloak ourselves with zeal for the Lord’s name.

The word zeal means: ardor, passion, and jealousy. Paul used the words ‘godly jealousy’ in 2 Corinthians 11:2. Psalm 119:138 says, “My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten Your words.”

If you have little or no zeal against what is happening in our nation, then I implore you to ask the Lord to stir up your spirit like He did in Haggai. We must zealously seize this opportunity to make the name of Jesus famous.

Ephesians 6:18 says, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ask the Holy Spirit HOW you should pray in this evil hour.

1 Peter 3:12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Ephesians 6:1-9 was Paul’s written instruction about God’s designed order for children, parents, bondservants, and masters. We prosper and thrive when we live out His purpose in our daily lives.

Verse 4 in the Amplified says, “Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger (do not exasperate them to resentment), but rear them (tenderly) in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord.”

If fathers through the centuries, had followed God’s design in raising their children, our present world would have been so different. Everyone has a father, whether present or absent in the home.

Verse 6-7 affects everyone. It was addressed to bondservants in Paul’s day, yet we are Christ’s bondservants. It says, “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.”

Eyeservice is done through selfish motives. It is wanting to look good, doing it for attention, or praise. The bottom line is focused on self. A slave, on the other hand, obeys whether their heart is in it.

Galatians 1:10 says, “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” It is good to ask ourselves: Am I doing this to please others or God? It helps to clarify our motive before we act.

Romans 6:18 says, “And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” We are slaves who serve from a heart of gratitude. Therefore as slaves of righteousness, we will stand in truth without compromise. We will fear the Lord rather than man. We will not back down, but joyfully declare through our lives that Jesus is Lord Over All!

Ephesians 5:22-33 is the section about marriage. Christ’s love for His church is the template Paul used. Since I’ve never been married, my only example is what I have seen and heard through my years of counseling. Therefore I am going to focus on His love.

2 Corinthians 9:25 says that God’s grace is indescribable. I find that also true with His love. 1 John 4:7 says that God is love. Everything God does, allows, and orchestrates is done in love. As I was thinking about this I became overwhelmed with the power of His love toward us. We were dead in sin, alienated from the life of God. We didn’t even think about Him. Yet, He loved us enough to give His life to redeem us.

Here are just a few words to describe His love. You can add more. Unrequited. He died for everyone even though they may never receive Him. Unchangeable, steadfast, enduring, unconditional, immoveable, complete, unstoppable, indestructible, and it does not ebb and flow.

Jeremiah 31:3 says, “The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.” We had nothing, we were bound in sin, yet He drew us with His love, and gave us a heart to respond.

Now let’s go back to Ephesians 5:25-27. Christ gave Himself to sanctify or set apart a body of believers. Our hearts are cleansed as we daily read His word and practically apply it. Verse 27 says, “That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

He uses marriage and the family to display His gospel. Singles are not exempt. He uses our lives as well. Every trial any of us goes through is divinely orchestrated to best manifest His love for us and through us to others. He perfects, or brings us to spiritual maturity, through what He allows. Let us embrace His process and purpose.

Ephesians 5:20-21 says, “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” As I was thinking about these two verses, I pictured what our natural body is like. God designed it to work as a whole, our brain being the head.

Our thoughts control our brain, and our brain controls our body. If we are mentally dialoguing with negative thoughts, chomping at the bit with anxiety, or wallowing in self pity what happens? When we are praising the Lord, giving thanks for everything, and worshipping Him with our whole heart what happens?

Now we take the Body of Christ into our thoughts. We know from 1 Corinthians 12 that it has many members. Verse 20 says, “But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.” Verse 25 says, “That there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another.” Schism means: division, a split, a gap, or dissension.

This is where our synchronized strength comes from. The two verses in Ephesians 5 gave the pattern: thanksgiving and submitting to one another. Colossians 2:19 says that when we hold fast to the Head, His body flourishes. As we physically thrive when our body is functioning that way God designed it, so His body thrives.

We are knit together through His love that causes us to grow and increase. There are lots of ‘one another’ verses that help us follow the pattern the Lord set. Romans 12:10 is one of them. It says, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brother love, in honor giving preference to one another.”

Have you noticed that the things the Lord says ‘don’t do’ would be things done in our own strength? The things that He says ‘do’ would require absolute dependence on His grace-strength.

Ephesians 5:16-17 says to redeem the time, and to understand what the will of the Lord is. When we are in the center of His will, He directs us. His impeccable timing and orchestration help us to recognize the opportunities He sets before us.

Verse 18 says to not be overcome by anything that would cause us to waste away. Psalm 106:15 says, “And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.” This verse makes me tremble. Nothing is worth it!

Verse 18b-19 says, “…be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Here is the capstone. Verse 17 says, “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Anything that we do in the name of the Lord requires absolute dependence. We certainly don’t sin in the name of the Lord! I encourage you to think about what you do. Are you wasting time or seizing every opportunity the Lord sets up for you to share the gospel?