the long day

Joshua 10

"So these five Amorite kings combined their armies for a united attack. They moved all their troops into place and attacked Gibeon." 10:5

Word was getting around about the victories Joshua was receiving through the Lord. These kings thought they could attack and conquer man. But they weren't fighting against man, they were fighting against the Lords army!

"So Joshua and his entire army, including his best warriors, left Gilgal and set out for Gibeon. 'Don't give them a second thought, I've put them under your thumb - not one of them will stand up to you.'" 10:7

Before the kings and their army even got in range of Joshua, God was already encouraging him that the victory was there. What they couldn't see in the earthly world, God was ahead of them in the spirit fighting.

"The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God with all of Israel listening":

Stop sun....Halt moon
and the sun stopped.....the moon stood still
until he defeated his enemies.

Joshua asked boldly for something impossible. He had never seen something like this happen before. But he knew it would help them gain their victory, so he asked with confidence that God would work a miracle. And He did. We have to pray big - believing that what we have never seen the Lord do, can be done. And Joshua spoke this out for all of Israel to hear. If he kept this prayer to himself, then Israel would not have heard it, and then they would not have seen God make it happen! Ask God for the impossible, then speak it out so others can see the miracle unfold with you.

"Joshua took the whole country: hills, desert, foothills, and mountain slopes, including all the kings. He left no survivors. He carried out the holy curse on everything that breathed, just as God had commanded. Joshua's conquest stretched across the entire region. He took all these kings and their lands in a single campaign because God fought for Israel." 10:40-42

God promised defeat over the enemies that were attacking. And He fulfilled His promise. He always does.

We are fighting in the same battle that Joshua was in. Maybe our enemies look a little different, or come from a different place and with different battle plans, but the war is real. The leader of the army fighting against you is right now scheming a plan to attack. But, the Lord is saying, just as He did to Joshua, "Hey, I got this. Don't be afraid - I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you!"

And in the midst of a miracle, God shows out with an even bigger miracle. He literally made the sun and moon stop! 5 kings with 5 kingdoms - wiped out in 1 day. Think of all that the Lord can do in your life in 1 day. Our God is big, and He loves to do big things for us, impossible things.

update on the house

Life has been quite the whirlwind since I first shared about moving the midtown. I moved from wwgo, and this is my first week to not travel since then (9 weeks ago!). Working full time that requires travel, two international mission trips and a few adventures with my family, I am so glad to be in the same place for a little bit, and more so, excited to finally start working on the house!

People keep asking me "have you moved in the house yet?" If you are one of those people and I give you a stare back that says "are you crazy, have you seen it?" then I apologize. I tend to let everything I am thinking show on my face, and sometimes come out of my mouth. I have not moved in the house yet. Actually, it may be a few months before I am able to do so. There is so much to be done. So much. I go in and just pray. Really, that is all I know to do right now.

The Lord is so good. Better to me (and all of us) than I (we) deserve.

He told me to pray believe for the provision to buy the house - check.

He told me to pray and believe Him for a roof - check.

Now He is telling me to pray and believe for the right person to help me get started with all of the work - soon to be check.

In light of all this, there are so many beautiful things that have happened along the way. I have been able to spend more time with my sweet neighbors. Each time I stop by I get to share with them all that the Lord is doing, and they love to hear about it! I am constantly meeting more people that live in Midtown. I am meeting more people that have a heart for the area and join me in praying for it all. And, the Lord is working so many things within me out, that I didn't even know were rooted down in me. That in itself has been one of the best things.

I hated driving up to the house and seeing it boarded up. Last Friday we took all of the boards off! It needs to start airing out, after being boarded up for many years, and more so - I wanted some light to shine in there. Isn't that what the Lord expects of us too? It was a fun time watching one of my favorite brothers take those boards off. If you know WWGO, then you know Big Pat (Patrick), and then you know how much we love him. What a joy to see him free and able to do this for me!

So for now I forge on. I do what the Lord has told me to do - pray and believe for the right hands to help me with the work.

That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home. Ephesians 2:19 - 22

deceit v/s discernment

Joshua 9

"The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn't ask God about it." 9:14

My very first week of living at We Will Go (almost 4 years ago), I learned a very valuable lesson. It was an early Monday morning knock on the door. That in itself was so new to me. I opened the door and there stood Big Kenneth. I had not met him yet and was excited to put into practice what I was there to do. I was probably a little zealous and over eager to "fix someone". We sat and talked and he told me a sad story about how he had colon cancer and didn't have money for the bus to get to his chemo treatment for the day. His demeanor, his story and his plea broke my heart and I was overwhelmed with compassion for him. I didn't have any cash to give him for a bus ticket, but I offered to give him a ride to the hospital if he came back in a few hours. I remember giving him something to eat and then crying as I watched him walk down the sidewalk, me trying to figure out how to process this.

Fast forward a few hours later and I learned that everything he told me was a lie. He didn't have cancer, he didn't need a bus ticket, and he really wasn't even hungry for food. Big Kenneth was a regular around WWGO and he had deceived me into believing his story.

Two things I learned from this.
1 - Big Kenneth was hungry, but hungry for spiritual food. All these years he has knocked on a WWGO house door, all the times he keeps coming back, he knows he is loved there, he knows he is going to get prayed for, and he knows he will have life spoken over him.
2 - I acted based on my emotions and did not even consider asking the Lord what I should do. I let the enemy deceive me instead of using the gift of discernment the Father gave me. Had I stopped in the moment, asked the Lord how he wanted me to love Big Kenneth, and acted in obedience rather than emotion, things would have been so different. I don't know that Big Kenneth would have done anything different, but I would have and that is what pleases the Father.

Coming through a defeat, repentance, then a victory - Israel still had so much to learn about obeying God. Even Joshua, the great and mighty leader, was deceived by the enemy and had to learn his lesson. But that he did - he learned then walked in obedience to what he learned. By failing to seek the Lord in everything we are faced with, every decision we have to make - we forsake our trust in Him. But, when we learn the lessons from the past, we can avoid more trouble in the future.

I have carried the things I learned from Big Kenneth over into every facet of my life. Even the little things, I have to stop and ask the Lord "what do I do with this?" and rather than acting based on my emotions, or what seems like the right thing to do - I use those gifts God gave me and trust his judgment over mine.

victory after defeat

Joshua 8

Sin caused Israel to be defeated by Ai. Repentance and forgiveness opened Ai to be defeated by Israel.

After exposed sin in the camp halted the advancement of the army, Joshua had to stand in confidence that the order was to continue moving forward, even when it was hard. He took time to stop and listen to the Lord and choose to advance in the leadership the Lord had rooted deep within him.

"God said to Joshua, Don't be timid and don't so much as hesitate." 8:1

What I love about Joshua is that he wasn't proud. He was humble, obedient and flexible. God knew all that would be put in front of him when he hand picked Joshua to lead the people - remember all the times God said "be strong. be courageous." Here he is leading this mass of an army to go back and battle what had already defeated them once, yet instead of standing on a hill in the distance to watch, or sit in his tent feasting while others fought, he was there in the trenches with them.

"Joshua himself spent that night in the valley" 8:13

When the attack against the enemy started and the defeat was quickly beginning, he held on tight to the promise God gave him - literally. God gave Joshua the city that had defeated him the day before.

"For Joshua kept holding out his spear until everyone who lived in Ai was completely destroyed." 8:26

Yesterday's defeat became today's victory. When sin is dealt with in our lives, forgiveness and victory lie ahead. No matter what the setback may look like, we have to choose to get down in the trenches, fight for our victory, and hold tight to the promise God gives us.