yb-chatf-600Numbers 26-27

I love Caleb! He really inspires me.

God had promised that Joshua and Caleb would be the only two of those who came out of Egypt who would inherit the Promised Land, and He fulfilled that word. The Israelites wandered around in the wilderness for forty years and finally died there. Except for Joshua and Caleb.

Joshua and Caleb had the characteristics that God is looking for. So what are they?

It seems that there are three main attributes we need to be God’s finest. They are love for Him, faith in Him, and obedience.

Hebrews 11:6 says that “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” And without faith we will never accomplish what He wants or receive what He wants us to have. It’s like faith is the currency of the Kingdom of God. When He says something, you have to believe it!

Why is that so hard? Why can’t we just believe what He says? All around us there are circumstances which contradict what God says. He promises provision and we see lack. He promises healing and we see sickness.

We have to determine not to settle for what we see. The promises are there for us to change the circumstances, but we never will if we don’t have faith in what God says. My husband has often said that faith is like spiritual hands which reach out for what God says.

When we have this faith, the reaching out faith, we will also have joy. We won’t be whining like the Israelites did. We will see beyond the circumstances  and see the promises God has made, and that attitude pleases God.

Caleb had big hands of faith. So did Joshua. That’s why they were able to enter the Promised Land.

I want those big hands too, don’t you?

Mark 8:1-27

The disciples act like we do sometimes. When Jesus tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod, they immediately think of the natural. They think that the leaven is referring to bread, but Jesus is talking about spiritual things.

He rebukes them. Having eyes don’t you see and ears don’t you hear?

Jesus is always focused on the spiritual side of life. He is operating from God’s kingdom and God’s principles. He knows that all of nature is subject to God’s Word, so He doesn’t worry about what’s happening at the moment. He knows that whatever is happening can change quickly when He speaks the Word of God.

As Christians, we have to learn to focus more on the Kingdom and less on the natural. What do I mean?

By applying God’s Word in our own lives, we can change the circumstances around us. We meditate on it, believe it, and speak it.

Jesus believed God’s Word with no measure of doubt, and that’s our goal. When we eliminate doubt and grow strong in faith, we will see lots of changes around us.