Joshua 10-12

Now things get really bloody. Yet if you look beyond the history, you will see some very important lessons for us today.

We are not fighting against flesh and blood to take our land, but we are fighting. It’s just that our enemy is unseen. We are fighting against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness,and spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. In other words, we are fighting Satan and his kingdom.

Now these people who fought the kings were really fighting Satan, but they weren’t prepared to know it, so they had to fight the individuals to protect their nation. Now we are able to deal with the devil and his bunch, so we are more enlightened on our mission.

My husband and I have a saying that we are going to “take the head of the king,” or “put our foot on the neck of the king.”

In chapter 10, if you look at these kings, you can see why this is important. Let’s look at their names.

1.  Adoni-zedek, which means “Lord of Righteousness.” He is a counterfeit for our true Lord. He could be the head of other religions or a spirit of religion that perverts or weakens the gospel.

2. Hoham, which means “Voice of a Multitude.” Usually if we listen to what the crowd is saying, we will not believe God.

3. Piram which means “Wild Ass.” This denotes instability. When we are darting here and there, up one day and down the next, we will never complete the mission God has for us.

4. Japhia, which means “Dazzling To The Eyes.” There is always a shiny object out there attempting to take your eyes off Jesus. Sometimes false preachers can be so full of hype that they pull people to them, but there is no fruit there. They are “clouds without water.”

5. Debir, which means “Oracle.” This is the false prophecy that can draw you away from what God is saying, if you listen.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that these kings, False Religion, Voice of a Crowd, Instability, Shiny Objects, and False Prophecy can lead you astray and keep you from fulfilling what God has for you. You and I need to make sure we have our foot on their necks.

If we listen to any of these kings, we will go astray – even if it is just in our thinking. These kings will keep us from taking the land. They will nullify God’s purpose in our lives.

No way. I am going to see to it that if I encounter one of these voices coming from another, or even one of these voices coming from my own mind, I will not listen.

I will see to it that those kings are rendered ineffective in their endeavor to lead me astray.

I only want God’s best for my life, and that’s all that I will allow myself to hear. What about you?

Luke 1:39-56

Elizabeth and Mary rejoice over their supernatural babies. One is pregnant after her childbearing years, and one as a virgin, so both of these babies are impossible to have. However, as spoken to Mary, “nothing will be impossible with God.”(v.38)

Can’t you hear the joy in these women as they meet? First, John leaps inside Elizabeth’s womb and she begins to prophesy. Then Mary herself prophesies.

Mary’s prophecy foretells the mighty mission of her son. To show mercy on God’s people,to  scatter the rich and the proud, to feed the poor and the hungry, and to fulfill the word spoken to Abraham and his offspring.

There is one word which Mary speaks which has prodded me many times. “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”(v.4)

Not “blessed is she who heard a word.” but “blessed is she who believed that there would be fulfillment.”

When you hear words, either through Bible reading or through direct prophecy, do you believe that there will be a fulfillment? That’s where the blessing is. Not just the word itself, but the believing that it will happen.

Same principle we’ve seen over and over. How many ways can God say it? Blessed are those who believe.

Yes, Lord. I am a believer!