Luke 4:31-44
Jesus is ministering in Galilee, going from city to city. He would teach and then minister the anointing. We do the same today. We hear a message from God’s Word, and then we pray, we lay hands on the sick, we take authority over the enemy. God’s Holy Spirit moves, and God performs wonders.
In working under the anointing, Jesus did His part. He stayed in study of the Word and in prayer. The people who received had a part. They listened to the teaching, they believed the teaching, and they relied on God’s power to bring them to wholeness. God did His part in moving on people by His Spirit, answering their cries made to Him.
Joshua 14-15
The land is being possessed, and each tribe is becoming established in their new territory. Of course, in order for Israel to occupy the land, they had to push out the people who previously were there. Throughout Scripture, we see our God took notice and action when it came to the rise and fall of nations. In Acts 17:26, it says, “He has made from the one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.” The reason God chose to remove the Canannites and give the land to Israel was because Canaan was filled with wickedness. Let’s remember that God created the earth; it belongs to Him. For the most part, these nations were not repenting and calling out on God. Could it happen to whatever nation you live in? Sure. Let’s put our hope and trust in God and take up our responsibility to intercede for our nation and spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.
In chapter 14, Caleb inherits Hebron. Caleb and Joshua were the only two spies sent into Canaan forty years prior to Israel’s possession. I want to point out a few things about Caleb:
Joshua and Caleb were the only two spies that said God was able to give them the land on the first approach to Canaan. In verse 7, Caleb says of that experience, “I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.” He had a heart of faith.
Three times in ten verses, it says that Caleb WHOLLY followed the Lord. There are blessings attached to obedience. Joshua and Caleb were the only two adults left after forty years in the wilderness. Because of the doubt of the others, Joshua and Caleb had to spend forty more years waiting on the promise, but that didn’t stop either one of them from a relationship of faith on God.
It’s been forty years, yet, because of his faith, God sustained Caleb. He didn’t just survive; he thrived. In verse 11, it says that “I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in.”
When we obey God and live our lives according to His Word, we can receive His blessings. Let’s let Caleb’s testimony encourage us to live by a reliant and obedient faith. Let’s possess God’s promises!
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