Tag: children

Posted in A Father's Love, Creation, Devotions, Holiness, Marraige, spiritual warfare, The Gospels, wisdom, worship

Luke 18 Part 2–Child Like Faith and Wealth

Posted on by Michael Smith

Dr. Luke continues to recount the principles that Jesus taught while He was wrapping up His ministry on earth.  It remained important to Luke for those that read his account to see as many sides of the Lord as was possible.  In this account, Luke looked at how Jesus felt about children and childlike faith.  Parents were bringing their children to meet Jesus, and have the Lord bless them.  What a nice change for Jesus–pouring out blessings to the young.  The disciples, however, saw it as a bother, taking Jesus from the important duties.  Jesus called the kids to him and told the disciples not to interfere.  Jesus saw the children and their faith as pure and undamaged by life.  He wanted all to understand that it was that pure and complete faith of children that pleased God most.  It was a picture of the relationship God longed to have with His chosen.

Next, Jesus was asked what it really took to receive eternal life.  The man that asked was very wealthy. Jesus said that he should follow the law and prophets.  The man smugly said he had done that all his life.  Then Jesus dropped the bombshell–“Sell your stuff, give the proceeds to the poor, and then come and follow Me.” The man became sad. Jesus then told the group that it is very difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. 

God told Israel at Mount Sinai that They must have no other God before Him.  Sadly, time has revealed repeatedly that money and wealth are some of the most difficult gods to release.  They give the illusion of independence and control.  They make one feel safe and unstoppable.  Jesus knew and showed us that those feelings were not real and were as temporal as a morning fog. 

Wealth is never satisfying, and unless its owner is willing to lay it at the Lord’s feet, it will take the Lordship of their lives.  Jesus was simply stating that to have eternal life, we must lay whatever controls us at his feet. Wealth, power, relationship, family, career, or anything that we consider our ticket to independence or control must be laid at God’s alter.  

Fear not, however, as He told the disciples, whatever we lay at God’s feet, He will restore exponentially back to us.  He is a loving Father that only wants us to enjoy peace and freedom.  That peace and freedom comes from trusting and following Him.  It has been the same since the beginning and will remain so until His return.

God Bless You

15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’[a]”

21 “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

28 Peter said to him, “We have left all we had to follow you!”

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Posted in devotion, Holiness, spiritual warfare, The Gospels, wisdom, worship

Isaiah 14 Part 1–Restoration

Posted on by Michael Smith

The Lord has never hidden His love for Israel.  As they contemplated the destruction of their nation, Isaiah was called upon to also remind them restoration followed.  God’s timing is His own and history reminds us that Israel’s restoration as a nation was never really completed until 1948.  Still, God did restore His people.  He used the world after WWII to bring the Israeli people home from across Europe and the world.  Now Israel stands as an independent nation with influence across the globe.

Then and now, God has laid claim to HIs people. That is why those that honor God honor Israel.  It is also why those who hate God want Israel wiped from the map.  One can never underestimate the power of the tiny nation.  As God loves His people Israel, He also loves those around the world that have chosen to have a personal relationship with Him.  They are His adopted children and have the same devotion.  

As one of His chosen, we must live and act as the devoted ones.  Hide the word of God in our hearts. Pray without ceasing. Do not forsake the meeting and fellowship with other believers.  Instead, simply trust God and humbly follow His lead in our lives.  If we will, Like Israel, we will experience God’s restoration in our lives.

God Bless You

The Lord will have compassion on Jacob.
    Once again, He will choose Israel
    and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them
    and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
    and bring them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations
    and make them male and female servants in the Lord’s land.
They will make captives of their captors
    and rule over their oppressors.

3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 

4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:

                How the oppressor has come to an end!

                        How his fury[a] has ended!

5 The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
    the scepter of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples
    with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
    with relentless aggression.
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;
    they break into singing.
8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon
    gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
    no one comes to cut us down.”

Posted in A Father's Love, Creation, Devotions, Marraige, spiritual warfare, wisdom, worship

Isaiah 1 Part 2–Sorry, Not Sorry

Posted on by Michael Smith
God had had it! He was very clearly using Isaiah to tell the people of Judah that he did not need any more bull or lambs’ blood.  He needed His chosen people to truly be sorry for their sinful lives and begin to turn their attitudes and heart back to Him.  From God’s view, the children of Israel would present each sacrifice with a, “Sorry–Not Sorry!”  God was clear–“Not a fan of animal blood, I am a fan of repentant people.”
 
The problem Isaiah was trying to express was simply that sacrifices were not a get out of jail free card.  Sacrifices were acts to atone for the guilt we have from our sin.  Sorry–not sorry does not express the true attitude of a repentant heart that a father looks for from an errant child.  So, in effect, God used Isaiah to tell the people–save your beef.  Save your lamb.  Have a cookout! I want to see different hearts and attitudes.  I want us to be able to talk about sin and its devastation using our heads and our hearts–not excuses.
 
Nothing has changed. We receive Christ and that begins a relationship and journey that leads us to become eternal minded and God focused. Praying the prayer, is no more a get out of jail free card than were the rams and bulls of old.  All the Lord has ever really wanted was a repentant heart and desire to follow Him. Without that, no amount of church attendance or “Sorry-Not Sorry” prayers will change our hearts.  As with Judah, God wants us to seek him.  He longs to be in relationship.  
 
He especially longs to be in a genuine relationship with his kids. In short, God says keep it real.
 
God Bless You

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.

12 “When you come to appear before me,
who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?
13 Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
17     learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.

18 “Come now, let us reason[c] together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be eaten by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Fathers Love, spiritual warfare, Uncategorized, wisdom, worship

Isaiah 1 Part 1–Isaiah the Prophet

Posted on by Michael Smith
When my mom would get really mad at me for some behavior, I displayed; she would make a statement that was crushing, “This is not how we raised you!” As she compared my life to the standards and actions, she thought important–I not only failed to measure up, but, my actions did not even vaguely resemble the behaviors of what I was taught. Isaiah opens his book of prophecy with a Father’s message to Judah.  The message was that simple, “You look nothing like the chosen people that I freed and gave the land.  What is worse, you look more like Sodom and Gomorrah.”
 
Not a great way to start a discussion.  As Isaiah proclaimed from God–“Dumb oxen know their masters. Donkey’s know where they live and to whom they belong!  Sadly, you do not even pretend to know you are a chosen people; you are sinful through and through.  This is not an error in judgement or a behavioral mistake–You have simply walked away from your heritage. 
 
The result, you are laid to waste, your lands are laid to waste and your nation is laid to waste. What a waste!
 
For us, look at our nation. It sadly looks nothing like what was intended by our founding fathers. From an outside view, you cannot even recognize the heart of the nation. We have become like every other society that fell into disarray. We have minimized God, family and selflessness and replaced it with materialism, selfishness, distrust, and dissention. We look nothing like the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” 
 
Like Judah, we are laid to waste, and our land is laid to waste.  We need to repent, humble ourselves and turn from our wicked ways. There needs to be a priority on getting unity back into our country, after all, we are the “United States of America.” 
 
It starts in our individual lives and slowly works its way out.  As we become others focused, the behavior spreads.  Then, before you know it, people care for each other, and those issues that divide can finally be addressed with reason. 
 
Only then, will we as a nation begin to look like the people we were raised to be.
 
God Bless You

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

The Wickedness of Judah

2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth;
for the Lord has spoken:
“Children[a] have I reared and brought up,
but they have rebelled against me.
3 The ox knows its owner,
and the donkey its master’s crib,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.”

4 Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity,
offspring of evildoers,
children who deal corruptly!
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have despised the Holy One of Israel,
they are utterly estranged.

5 Why will you still be struck down?
Why will you continue to rebel?
The whole head is sick,
and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even to the head,
there is no soundness in it,
but bruises and sores
and raw wounds;
they are not pressed out or bound up
or softened with oil.

7 Your country lies desolate;
your cities are burned with fire;
in your very presence
foreigners devour your land;
it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
8 And the daughter of Zion is left
like a booth in a vineyard,
like a lodge in a cucumber field,
like a besieged city.

9 If the Lord of hosts
had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom,
and become like Gomorrah.

10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Give ear to the teaching[b] of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Holiness, spiritual warfare, wisdom

Isaiah 6–I am a Man With Unclean Lips

Posted on by Michael Smith
Isaiah was considered the greatest evangelist of the prophets.  He served several kings and was used by God to preview the coming of the Lord.  As with many characters in the Bible, Isaiah was just an average guy on his own, but with God’s touch and leading, He became the messenger of restoration for the people of Israel and for the rest of the world.
 
Some of the best known and loved scripture are from this book. Prophecy about the Lord and the restoration of Israel gave hope to the people in the time of exile and separation.  The description of God with us still brings hope today. 
 
My personal favorite verse is Isaiah 40:31,”Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.  They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.” 
 
It is going to be a grand adventure to get to know the prophet Isaiah, I hope you will join me.
 
God Bless You

 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook, and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Holiness, spiritual warfare, wisdom, worship

Joshua 1 Part 2–Taking Command and Following God

Posted on by Michael Smith
Joshua wasted no time honoring God’s command.  Once God gave him the direction to follow, Joshua seized control.  He ordered the tribes to prepare to enter the land and take their inheritance.  He reiterated to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh that they were to prepare for battle, even though they were allowed to keep the lands east of the Jordan river. He reaffirmed Moses promise to those tribes but also made clear they would fight with the rest of Israel as they possessed their promised land.
 
Unlike the many previous stories of the Israelites, the people’s response was amazing, “Whatever you command us we will do; wherever you will lead us we will go!” “Oh, yeah, one more thing–Be strong and courageous!”  He would lead by God’s command and the people would follow.  That was the way God intended His people to respond.  When they did, He was pleased.
 
Our response to God needs to be the same.  When He commands we obey.  Wherever the Lord leads, we choose to follow. We remain faithful and one more thing–we remain strong and courageous. That formula has been the formula that has blessed people throughout time.  It needs not only to be our formula, it needs to be our passion.  Help me, Lord to follow and remain strong and courageous.
 
God Bless You

So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the campand tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh,Joshua said, 13 “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them 15 until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 Then they answered Joshua, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey it, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!”

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Holiness, spiritual warfare, wisdom, worship

Dueteronomy 3 Part 2–Be Strong and Courageous

Posted on by Michael Smith
At age 120, Moses had seen and heard it all.  He was raised as a prince.  He was chased as a fugitive, he was trained as a shepherd and called as a leader of the chosen people of God. Now, at the end of his life, Moses is directed to hand the reins over to Joshua and coach him on what direction to take God’s people.  So From his mouth comes the great command–“Be strong and courageous.”
 
What Moses was saying, in effect was that there is no magic bullet here.  As a leader, one is called to lead with strength and with courage.  Beyond that, God is in charge for clearing the land and inhabiting his people into this heathen controlled paradise.  Joshua had to listen to God, follow Him closely, and then have the courage to trust God, and the strength to lead the Israelites in the way the Lord commanded.
 
I am sure Joshua took the advice to heart.  The story that lies ahead was one of unfettered obedience and gracious acknowledgement that God is God. The other great news was that they Israelites in fact, followed and obeyed.  
 
In our journey, we are also called to be strong and courageous. We are not called to solve God’s problems, we are called to allow Him to solve ours.  We can never overestimate our ability to do life.  Neither can we underestimate God’s willingness to prepare us for and protect us on the journey.  Like Moses and Joshua, God simply calls us to be strong and courageous. He will bring us to the end with joy and an eternal perspective.  We must remain quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. If we will–He will do the rest.
 
God Bless You

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Holiness, spiritual warfare, wisdom, worship

Numbers 27–Joshua Assumes Leadership of Israel

Posted on by Michael Smith
This is one of the most poignant stories in the old testament.  It is a picture of God and Moses ending their journey across the desert together.  Clearly, God was not surprised, but neither was Moses.  Moses knew this would be the end and even at the point of his death, He behaved like a true and Godly leader. 
 
Moses did not beg for a second chance, nor did he make an excuse or try to shift blame. Moses’ only response was for God to give the people a great leader. God did not have to ponder the choice.  He had been preparing the replacement for 40 years–Joshua.  God gave Moses specific instruction about the passing of authority to Joshua.  Amazingly, as would become the motto of Israel under Joshua, “Moses did as the Lord commanded him.”  Moses passed the leadership to Joshua that very day.
 
It would be an amazing thing for the Lord to speak as openly to us as he had his friend, Moses.  In the history of Israel, there is no relationship more open and more friendlike than the relationship between God and Moses.  Joshua watched his mentor for 4 decades as Moses and God wrangled about the stiff necked Israelites.  Joshua, like Moses, knew the passionate love God had for these chosen ones.  He also knew the critical nature of God’s strict regimen for their preparation to take the land.  He would now take the mantle of leadership and complete what God promised Abraham.  
 
We are blessed, through the Holy Spirit to have a direct relationship with God like Moses and Joshua did.  We seek Him personally, and our prayers are made to God directly. The Lord takes us where we are, and moves us to be like Him.  We simply are asked to trust and follow the Lord’s lead as did Moses and Joshua.
 
God Bless You

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes.” (These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin.)

15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all living things, appoint someone over this community 17 to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the Lord’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,[a] and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission him in their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”

22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, Holiness, Marraige, spiritual warfare, wisdom, worship

Numbers 14 Part 2–Leading When the Wheels Come Off, Part 2

Posted on by Michael Smith
Imagine the disappointment, Joshua and Caleb had just returned from this beautiful land that was to be theirs.  They were to be a part of the transformation of a people that were once slaves but, now were to be a nation of priests.  Situated between Assyria and Egypt, Israel was set to become the center of action and help to transform these groups of heathen peoples into a god fearing culture–BUT, instead, the people are talking about stoning the leaders and running back to Egypt?!!?  
 
Joshua and Caleb were trying to reassure the people while Moses was trying to persuade God not to kill the lot of them.  This clearly was not the shining star of leadership that business guru’s pen management books about.  Still, Joshua had no idea that it was this defining moment that would propel him into the leader that would actually claim the very land he surveyed.  Joshua would learn patience, and he would watch this nation transform over time from slave to free.  He would see a generation grow to trust God for all aspects of their lives and that would be the people he would lead. Sadly, there would be years of travel and disappointment ahead before the transformation would occur.
 
In our journey, we have to stay focused upon God and his flawless faithfulness.  We have to understand that life is a series of experiences used to prepare us for what God so eagerly wants us to enjoy.  Trying to hand us the reward before we are ready to receive it, is like this encounter, a disaster just waiting to happen.  If we could grasp the reality that God truly wants to bless us, then we could live expectantly rather than fearfully. It is the difference between Joshua and Caleb and the other 10 spies.  Help us, Lord to live expectantly and not fearfully!
 
God Bless You

 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.”

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people,just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lordfills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signsI performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.

Posted in A Father's Love, Devotions, spiritual warfare, The Gospels, wisdom, worship

Numbers 13-14 Leading When the Wheels Come Off

Posted on by Michael Smith
There was little doubt that the land to be inherited truly flowed with milk and honey.  They had to carry grape clusters on poles they were so large! So you ask–“What’s the catch?” Well if you had been paying attention when God parted the Red Sea, killed the Egyptian army, provided manna every day, or quail, or water out of rocks…you would probably say there is no catch.  That is what Joshua and Caleb reported.  
 
But, sadly the other spies looked past all of that, and saw only the giants and the walls in the land.  In short, they admitted that they were scared of the enemies and their fortified cities.  The people were quick to accept the report of the fearful spies, and quick to discount the wisdom of their leaders and the spies that focused upon what God provided; not what men could do. It really defined these people as liberated slaves and not free and chosen children of the Lord. 
 
What happened next would define Joshua as the leader of a nation ready to claim the land promised–but not that day, and not those people…Joshua and Israel had a lot to learn, and a great many steps to take before entering that land flowing with milk and honey.
 
We have to be prepared for the great times and also for the times when the wheels come off.  The outcomes can be horrible and demoralizing.  We can be confident, however, that in God’s time and in God’s way that He will prepare us and use us to forward His plan.  We have to remain faithful no matter the circumstance.  We have to keep our focus on the Lord and His plan and not on the circumstances that lay before us.  If we will keep our focus on the Lord, it will define us and make us ready to live an eternal life with Him.
 
God Bless You

At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”…

 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”