Wendy Pope
"Then Joshua told the people, 'Purify yourselves for tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you.'" Joshua 3:5 (NLT)
Last year the Lord whispered to my heart to stop watching a certain television show. This show came on once week in the evening. It was not anti-God, but let's just say it did not promote healthy family and personal values, nor did its' writers use the Word of God as a basis for the show's content.
I would love to say I obeyed the Lord with a glad heart and immediately did as He asked, fully confident that He had my best interest in mind. I wish I could say that but I can't. I believed I had the right to challenge the Lord on His request. Can you imagine my nerve?
I remember huffing and puffing like the wolf when he tried to blow down the little pigs' house. I wanted to watch my show and could not understand what I was doing wrong for the Lord to discipline me in such a way. I argued, "My watching this show is not causing anyone to stumble in their walk with the Lord." I was not influencing anyone else to watch, in fact my family was all in bed. It was my time. Time set aside each week for just me. What possible reason could the Lord have for asking to do this?
Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I realized the audacity of my attitude and understood my egoistical reasoning. I thought since I had been obeying the Lord in other areas of life I had the "right" to negotiate His other instructions. I finally saw the fallacy of my arguments to the Lord but up until that point, I'd failed to see that I was the person I was causing to stumble and being wrongly influenced.
Shortly after my tantrum was over and I obeyed God, He introduced me to today's key verse. He also used an incredible book to hammer in His point. His point being: God has something planned for tomorrow and He wants me to be ready for it. In his book i am not but i know I AM, Louie Giglio suggests that we are "i am nots" playing supporting roles beside the star of the story, the great I AM.
Joshua told the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. God was going to do something amazing in His story the next day and He wanted them to be a part of it. But they needed to prepare for that. They needed to purify themselves. Purify, or sanctify as it is written in the NKJ version, means to wash, to deal with your sin, and perhaps even make a sacrifice so that heart, body, mind, and soul are ready for the day. I was not preparing for my role in God's Story by continuing to watch the TV show God asked me not watch. I was ending my day in disobedience and separation from the Lord. How could I be ready to take my supporting role beside Him the next day if I was not purified before Him?
Do you realize God wants to do amazing things among you each day? Are we ready each morning to wake up and join the story of God? In order to prepare ourselves for our supporting role in God's story we need follow His instructions – meditate on the "book of instruction day and night" (Joshua 1:8). Be ready my friend! He has a role only you can fulfill.
Dear Lord, help me to know what I should and should not do as Your child. Will You give me a desire to mediate on Your Word day and night? I want to see You at work and join You, fulfilling the role You have for me. Thank You for wanting me to participate in Your story. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
i am not but I know I AM by Louie Giglio
The Yes, No and Maybe of a Balanced Life – audio CD by Wendy Pope
Visit Wendy’s blog and view her other resources here
Application Steps:
Personalize today's key verse and pray each night: "Dear Lord, help me to be ready for tomorrow. Show me the ways I need to purify and prepare myself for my role in Your story."
Read a few verses of Psalm 119 each night and listen to what He has to say.
Reflections:
What if anything is the Lord asking me to do to purify myself for Him?
Do I mediate on the Word of God day and night? If not, why? If yes, how?
Power Verses:
Psalm 147:15, "He sends His command to the earth; His Word runs swiftly." (NIV)
Psalm 119:1, "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord." (NIV)
Psalm 119:11," I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (NIV)
© 2009 by Wendy Pope. All rights reserved.
"Then Joshua told the people, 'Purify yourselves for tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you.'" Joshua 3:5 (NLT)
Last year the Lord whispered to my heart to stop watching a certain television show. This show came on once week in the evening. It was not anti-God, but let's just say it did not promote healthy family and personal values, nor did its' writers use the Word of God as a basis for the show's content.
I would love to say I obeyed the Lord with a glad heart and immediately did as He asked, fully confident that He had my best interest in mind. I wish I could say that but I can't. I believed I had the right to challenge the Lord on His request. Can you imagine my nerve?
I remember huffing and puffing like the wolf when he tried to blow down the little pigs' house. I wanted to watch my show and could not understand what I was doing wrong for the Lord to discipline me in such a way. I argued, "My watching this show is not causing anyone to stumble in their walk with the Lord." I was not influencing anyone else to watch, in fact my family was all in bed. It was my time. Time set aside each week for just me. What possible reason could the Lord have for asking to do this?
Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I realized the audacity of my attitude and understood my egoistical reasoning. I thought since I had been obeying the Lord in other areas of life I had the "right" to negotiate His other instructions. I finally saw the fallacy of my arguments to the Lord but up until that point, I'd failed to see that I was the person I was causing to stumble and being wrongly influenced.
Shortly after my tantrum was over and I obeyed God, He introduced me to today's key verse. He also used an incredible book to hammer in His point. His point being: God has something planned for tomorrow and He wants me to be ready for it. In his book i am not but i know I AM, Louie Giglio suggests that we are "i am nots" playing supporting roles beside the star of the story, the great I AM.
Joshua told the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. God was going to do something amazing in His story the next day and He wanted them to be a part of it. But they needed to prepare for that. They needed to purify themselves. Purify, or sanctify as it is written in the NKJ version, means to wash, to deal with your sin, and perhaps even make a sacrifice so that heart, body, mind, and soul are ready for the day. I was not preparing for my role in God's Story by continuing to watch the TV show God asked me not watch. I was ending my day in disobedience and separation from the Lord. How could I be ready to take my supporting role beside Him the next day if I was not purified before Him?
Do you realize God wants to do amazing things among you each day? Are we ready each morning to wake up and join the story of God? In order to prepare ourselves for our supporting role in God's story we need follow His instructions – meditate on the "book of instruction day and night" (Joshua 1:8). Be ready my friend! He has a role only you can fulfill.
Dear Lord, help me to know what I should and should not do as Your child. Will You give me a desire to mediate on Your Word day and night? I want to see You at work and join You, fulfilling the role You have for me. Thank You for wanting me to participate in Your story. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?
i am not but I know I AM by Louie Giglio
The Yes, No and Maybe of a Balanced Life – audio CD by Wendy Pope
Visit Wendy’s blog and view her other resources here
Application Steps:
Personalize today's key verse and pray each night: "Dear Lord, help me to be ready for tomorrow. Show me the ways I need to purify and prepare myself for my role in Your story."
Read a few verses of Psalm 119 each night and listen to what He has to say.
Reflections:
What if anything is the Lord asking me to do to purify myself for Him?
Do I mediate on the Word of God day and night? If not, why? If yes, how?
Power Verses:
Psalm 147:15, "He sends His command to the earth; His Word runs swiftly." (NIV)
Psalm 119:1, "Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord." (NIV)
Psalm 119:11," I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (NIV)
© 2009 by Wendy Pope. All rights reserved.
Labels: Prayer, Purity, Spiritual Growth
8 Comments:
Thank you for such an honest beautiful post! Very timely!
Karen
I have decided that following the Lord is very difficult but only in the sense that I have to die to what I want. However, the peace from knowing the Lord trumps the momentary temptations. Thanks for sharing your heart with us.
Yes! Very timely. I have a show I record so I can watch it later when my kids are asleep. Funny how we think we have to protect our family from things that we sometimes allow ourselves to do. Last night when I was watching "my favorite show", I turned it off after 10 minutes of watching and said, "that's it, no more". Thank you for sharing and confirming what the Lord showed me last night.
This happened to me, too! The Holy Spirit told me to stop watching a particular show. I continued to "DVR it". Again, He continued to prompt me to stop watching it. I'm also sorry to say that it took so many prompts until I obeyed. He asked me to do it - that's why I need to stop watching. I had so many justifications to continue, but He had a specific reason to protect me.
Good Morning,
What an amazing God we serve!!! I couldn't wait to get up and read the devotional for today. Reciently I had made the decision to move back to Arkansas. And within that week of making the decision I got a phone call from a lady dealing with a job I had applied for a few weeks before I had made my decision. She offered me to come in for an interview and I said no I've made the decision to go back home to Arkansas. When I hung up the phone, immediately I thought, now wait a minute the reason why I was going back home was because I couldn't find a job, and an apartment apart from my father. So anyway, today I have called this lady back and left a message for her telling her I would still like the position if at all possible. Pray for me and my family on this because we need change to come. I told you all of that to say this. I was fixin to make the change to move back to Arkansas, and leave the place that I have findly realized that no matter what God still loves me, no matter what there are still God's people who love and care about the things we face every day.
I know this is long please forgive me. God has brought some things to my attention lately that I need to throw out of my life and finally realize that whatever I want to do more with my time other than serve Him isn't right. I left Arkansas behind for a reason...God didn't have my attention there, God didn't have my heart there. Here in this place, I have found my place called there, and it is at Glorious Bible Church in Wichita, Kansas. My life has been forever changed, and a fire has been lit within me that will never burn out again. We have to seek, humble, and turn ourselves from what we think is right to what God says is right. I refuse to live the life I lived before. Amen, Amen, Amen.
Oh yeah the thing that I am not doing anymore is going to those internet dating sites. That consumed so much of my time, and I knew it wasn't right to begin with. Usually I couldn't wait to get up in the morning and check my mail from these people. Bad, right. Well I wake up now wandering what is going to be the devotional today. Praise God.
Thank you for this devotion. Not so much regarding the TV watching. God had changed my heart about that a few months ago. But for the obeying and following God's prompting. I have been and am still today arguing with God about some part time work. You see, I have a hard time trusting God completely with our finances. I keep arguing that I can work a particular job and make 3 times the money compared to another job. I will meditate on this scripture.
What a great message Wendy. There are many times I don't understand why God is directing me a certain way. It brings me hope that a "NO" might be in preparation for something in the future. Thank you!
Yes, I do agree with many of your posts here.Be encouraged. As a mother, wife, friend and part time SAHM, there are fine lines to draw between "Me Time, Family Time & HIS Time". Finding time for me and the Lord has been a bit of a struggle for me hear of late, but thank you Wendy for pointing it right back to the scriptures. Please pray for me that I will attempt to medidate more in the mornings and let Him direct my paths in all things. Praying for you too and God Bless.
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