Posts Tagged ‘moses’

Time Out

Posted: December 27, 2023 in Uncategorized
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The Book of Joshua

The phase TIME OUT has several meanings. Let’s talk about a couple of them.

  • Take a break while playing a game.  
  • In A form of discipline for a child.

What is that break used for when taking a TIME OUT from a game or any other physical event? 

What happens when a child is put into TIME OUT or sent to their room after doing something they weren’t supposed to do? How can we relate these examples of TIME OUT to the Word of God and our lives? At times, do we need to take a TIME OUT? 

TIME OUT to Witness

TIME OUT to Pray

TIME OUT to Fellowship

Jesus always took TIME OUTS to pray. In what ways does God put us in TIME OUT, and why? 

Did God ever send anyone to TIME OUT in the Bible?

Jonah was given a mission from God:  Jonah Chapter 1: 1-2, the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai. (2) Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me. (3)  But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish, He went down to Joppa where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.  

TIME OUT: Chapter 1:17, Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.  

  • What did he do while in Time Out? Prayed to the LORD (Read Chapter 2)  

 Sometimes, God places us in TIME OUT to humble us, to get our attention, and at times so we do not start taking credit for the victories in our lives.  

  • Moses and Joshua

Let’s read Joshua 1: 6-9: Do you think Joshua was taking a TIME OUT by receiving instruction from the Lord?

Important points:

  • Ver 7 be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  
  • Ver 8: So not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 

If God is with us, as Joshua, why do we fail or struggle to defeat challenging situations, difficult people, and temptations? 

  • 1 Samuel 17:38-40: David refused to go into battle with Sauls armor because he had not tested or trained with them. He wanted his sling and five stones.  

Hebrews 5: 13, 14 states: Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.  

  • Commitment to Christ moves people out of their comfort zones. We must train ourselves to distinguish good from evil.  

Are we using our TIME OUTS effectively? 

  • Paying attention, praying in faith, or as James says (James 2; 23), walking away from the mirror and forgetting what we heard or learned. Or are we failing to apply what we learned because of a lack of commitment to the primary work of the ministry (to be soul winners for Christ Mat 28:19)?

In Ver 9 of Chapter 3: Joshua tells the Israelites to come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.

  • Joshua gathered the people to hear the words of the Lord. Their excitement was high. No doubt they wanted to rush on, but Joshua made them take a Time Out and listen. We run all day in this fast-paced age where everyone rushes just to keep up. It is easy to get caught up in our tasks, becoming too busy for what God says is most important-listening to his words. Before making plans, take a Time Out to focus on what God wants from all your activities. Knowing what God has said before you rush into your day can help you avoid foolish mistakes. 

Why did Joshua fail to defeat the town of AI the first time around?

Joshua 7:2-5 NIV

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. [3] When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” [4] So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, [5] who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

  1.  Did Joshua fail to take a (TIME OUT) to consult God or wait for God’s direction before going into battle?  
  2. Sin has entered the camp. How did it affect the entire group?

Chapter 7 Joshua 7:10-12 NIV

The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? [11] Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. [12] That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

  1. (Remember what God told Joshua in the beginning)
    • Chapter 1:7, Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful in wherever you go.  

Is there sin in your camp? Do you need more TIME OUTS? Remember, as Joshua, you are responsible for the sin in your house.

What are some of the things that get in our way of taking TIME OUTS?

Take some TIME OUTS to confess your sins when God reveals them to you (7:19-21), when you fail, refocus on God, deal with the problem, and move on (7:22-25; 8:1). God wants the cycle of sin, repentance, and forgiveness to strengthen us, not to weaken us. The lessons we learn from our failures should make us better able to handle the same situation the second time around. Because God is eager to give us cleansing, forgiveness, and strength, the only way to lose is to give up. We tell what kind of people we are by what we do on the second and third attempts.  

They gave Joshua the city. Yesterday’s defeat became today’s victory. Once sin is dealt with, forgiveness and victory lie ahead. With God’s direction, we need not stay discouraged or burdened with guilt. No matter how difficult a setback sin may bring, we must renew our efforts to carry out God’s will.  

A SET BACK IS A SET UP FOR A COME BACK

The only way to do this is to take more Time Out and spend it with the Lord.

Rob Henry

Army of Christ

Sergeant First Class

United States Army Retired

Proverbs 19:16 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: December 19, 2011 in Acceptance, Battle of the Mind, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command
Proverbs 19:16 – He who obeys instructions guards his life, but he who is contemptuous of his ways will die.

Do you care about yourself? There is a way to live that brings happiness and success, and there is a way to live that will kill you. The choice is yours. The results are God’s. Do you love or despise God’s ways for living? If you keep God’s commandment, you keep yourself from pain and trouble. If you despise God’s ways, you commit suicide.
What is the commandment to keep your soul? It is all God’s commandments, no matter what part of life each may apply to (PS 119 -128). The man who keeps God’s commandments is doing something very good for his own soul. He is pursuing wisdom and all its benefits for his life.
How does a man despise his ways? He rejects God’s ways for the various aspects of his life. We interpret “his ways” as God’s ways, because God is to be elliptically understood from the first clause, and because men do not truly despise their own ways. The man here believes he has better ideas on how to live, so he rejects the counsel of God for his life.
What are the consequences? When a man chooses his own way for a decision in life, rather than God’s way, he chooses death. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (16:25). “There is a way that seem right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (14:12).
God’s infallible revelation, the Bible, teaches men how to be happy and successful. If they rebel against His wisdom, they bring on themselves dysfunction, pain, trouble, and eventually death. They die early by accidents, capital punishment, disease, revenge, or God’s judgment. If a man truly cared for himself, he would keep God’s commandments.
Here is how Moses taught this wisdom to Israel, “Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess” (Deut 5:33).
Consider a simple example. Instead of honoring parents as God commanded, men allow disrespect, jokes, and rebellion, never seeing that such irreverent fools will eventually run into a human authority that will crush them, and they lose God’s promised blessings for parental honor (Ex 20:12: Eph 6 2-3) It is lose-lose to reject this commandment of God.
God will separate all men – those who did the will of their Father in heaven, and those who did things their way. Jesus warned, “Not every one that said to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but only he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, … And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you evil doers.” (Matt 7:21-23).
Do you want a rule for life? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (3:5-6). Instead of despising his ways, humble yourself and have respect unto his ways.