Devotionals

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Hello, and welcome to this weeks later verse of the week. I have been pretty busy and last night was extremely tired, so went to bed early, but now I am very excited to talk to you about this lovely verse in Joshua which promises great things.....

"Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow, the Lord will do great things amoung you."
Joshua 3:5

Now just to kind of prove this verse, this was spoken by Joshua before the Jews crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land. This also precedes the time when the Israelites conquered Jericho, as well as many, and I do mean MANY other nations!

WHAT IS CONSECRATION?

I do not know the textbook definition, I am sorry, but I guess it means giving yourself to someone, or something, so that thing or being may have full control over you, and have its way in your life. If anyone else has a better definition, feel free to share, we are all here to learn together. But I think consecration is a process, especially as a Christian. I have made the mistake many times of saying "here I am, Lord, have your way!" Thats a good prayer, but if its said in haste, before we really mean what we are saying, the results are frusterating and disappointing. Sometimes, I feel like saying, okay, Lord, maybe I didn't mean I wanted to give you EVERYTHING. The Lord does want us to give Him everything, so He can take all that and make it even better. But like all processes, He wants us to start small, and work our way up. Kind of like taking a basic math course before going onto advanced algebra. We need to start small and learn the basics.
The Lenten Season is a wonderful time to give up things for the Lord. My first year of being a Christian, my reasoning was-"I am a Messianic Jew, I don't have to observe Lent, thats just for Lutherans, Catholics and Methodists." Wrong! If we are followers of Jesus Christ, no matter what denomination we are, or aren't, He wants us to give things up for Him. Why? Because "tomorrow, He shall do great things amoung you!!" He wants to take all that we are holding onto, give it to Him, so He can bless us beyond belief!
I wasn't there in Joshuas times, so I don't know what these men were thinking. They were High Preist, used to seeking and hearing from God, but this may have been the first time, for some of them, where God had called them into an action of obedience. It was their turn to test the God of Israel, and see what would happen when they were obedient. Fortunately, they were obedient to God, and God SHOWED HIS GLORY AMOUNG THEM IN MIGHTY, MIGHTY WAYS!!!! And since our God never changes, He shall do the same for us.
DEAR LORD-HELP US TO CONSECRATE OURSELVES TO YOU. HELP US TO HAND OVER THE THINGS THAT WE HOLD SO DEARLY, SO YOU MAY MAKE US INTO ALL THAT YOU CALLED US TO BE. THIS SEASON, MAY WE KNOW THE JOY OF YOUR PRESENCE, AND MAY THE INSIGHT OF YOUR HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US FULLNESS OF JOY, AS WE SEE HOW YOU TAKE THESE BROKEN, IMPERFECT LIVES OF OURS, AND DO GREAT THINGS THROUGH US, IN US AND AMOUNG US. PRAISE YOUR NAME, FOREVER, AND EVER,

AMEN

love to all,

Jamie

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