Cockiness

Bible Reading:  Joshua 8:10-29

Key Verse: Verse 14 - “And it came to pass, when the king of Ai saw it, that they hasted and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at a time appointed, before the plain; but he wist not that there were liers In ambush against him behind the city.”

Key Words:  the king of Ai...hasted and rose up early

It was pride and over-cockiness of Israel that led to their defeat against Ai.  Now the pride and arrogance of Ai will lead to their demise.  Remember, “Pride goeth before the fall.”  Past victories are no guarantee of future victories.

An overconfident girl may think she can handle the “petting” only to find out later the power of worldly lust.  An overconfident pastor may feel as though he can handle his desires and passions as well, only to find himself a shame to the cause of Christ, his family and himself.

The overconfidence of many teens and adults has destroyed them when they thought they could handle the drugs, sex, or liquor.  Watch out for cockiness and pride.

A man who had a high opinion of himself, stepped on a coin-operated scale that dispensed a card giving his weight and comments about his personality.  After reading the card, he handed it to his wife and said, “Here, look at this!”  She took it and read aloud, “You are dynamic, a born leader, handsome, and much admired by women for your personality.”  Giving a second look, she added, “Hmmm...I see it got your weight wrong, too.”

Beware of cockiness!

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Remember: Philippians 1:21: “For me to live is Christ” – not “for me to live is me.”

Fear Not

Bible Reading:  Joshua 8:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 1 – “And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land:”

Key Words:  Fear not

Israel’s failure at Ai had shaken them, so God gave His reassurance that He was still with them.  God knew that fear of the future and discouragement always accompanied failure.  Failure brings with it an “I can’t” attitude.  But in reality failure is an opportunity to learn from our mistakes which allows us to do a better job the next time.

Henry Ford defined failure as “an opportunity to begin again more intelligently, and organize a victory out of failure.”  Alexander Whyte said, “No matter what mistake we make, the worst mistake of all is to not try again.”  

Thomas Edison failed many times and yet made over 1,100 inventions.  When he worked on the idea of making artificial light, he couldn’t find a filament that would give good light when electricity flowed through it.  He spent two years experimenting with thousands of materials, including everything from blades of grass to wire made from platinum.  Finally he used carbonized thread, which is cotton sewing thread burned to ash.  On October 21, 1879, he succeeded.  

 Remember, it is not failing that is the problem; it is what one does after he fails.

                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Remember, a winner never quits and a quitter never wins.

Attraction to Sin

Bible Reading: Joshua 7:10-26

Key Verse: Verse 21 – “When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.”

Key Words: When I saw 

The path of sin never changes.  Achan said, “I saw, I coveted, I took, I fell.”

Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls.  It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river.  As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice.  Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish.  As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls.

I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave.  It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings.  The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape.  But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice.  The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss.

The material possessions of this world can entrap us if we become attached to them.  Like Achan we will fall and our fall not only affects us, but those around us as well.

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Remember, the first duty of every soul is not freedom, but to find its master.  If Jesus is your Master, He alone will attract you.

Defeat

Bible Reading: Joshua 7:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 1 - “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.”

Key Words: But the children of Israel committed a trespass

Joshua is still filled with joy over the victory of Jericho, but he is about to learn that yesterday’s victories do not immune us from tomorrow’s defeats.

The spies return from spying out Ai and basically say we can make quick work of this.  God’s people had become overconfident.  They had forgotten that it was God who brought victory, not Israel.  The spies in their overconfidence underestimate the strength of the enemy and overestimate their own ability.  Overconfidence not only can lead to struggle and defeat, it will lead us into the valley of despair.

Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a lesson about overconfidence:

“It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying shot.  I felt I was in pretty good shape.  As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery.  He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, ‘Congratulations.’  I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus.

“On my next two shots, I hit the ball into the sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green.  I missed a putt and lost the Masters.  You don’t forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again.  I haven’t in the thirty years since.”

We would do well to learn from others the defeat of overconfidence.

                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Remember, he who fails to learn from his failures is bound to repeat them.

Rahab

Bible Reading:  Joshua 6:12-25

Key Verse: Verse 17 – “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.”

Key Words: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house

Rahab and her household were to be spared.  For six days Rahab watched the army walking around the city in silence.  Do you think it was tense in her home?  You better believe it was!  What would you be thinking?

When will they attack?

Will we get caught?

Will the soldiers keep their word and spare us?

What would you be checking or examining?  I imagine Rahab was checking that scarlet thread to make sure it was in the window.  Paul tells us, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”  (II Corinthians 13:5).

Rahab is a picture of a believer prepared for the return of the Lord and the judgment to come.  Rahab was removed from the calamity and judgment after the shout.  She was one on high looking down on the peril below.  She did not know when the judgment would begin, but she was ready and prepared.  Are you?  John Wesley was asked by a friend, “If you were to die at midnight tomorrow, how would you spend the rest of your life until then?”  Wesley replied, “I would spend my time exactly as I plan to spend it now.  I would preach tonight and travel to another town tomorrow to preach in the afternoon.  Then I would go to the Martin’s home in the evening where they are expecting me.  We would spend time fellowshipping together and praying.  I would go to bed, put myself in my Father’s care, go to sleep, and wake up in Heaven.”

Wesley was a man ready for Glory!!

The question is, are you?

 

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Live everyday as if it was your last on earth, and one day it will be.

Jerichos of Our Life

Bible Reading:  Joshua 6:1-11

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.”

Key Words: And the LORD said

Jericho was locked up tight as a drum.  It was “straightly shut up.”  In the Hebrew this reads “was closed and closed.”  It was closed with iron gates reinforced with copper bolts.  Jericho thought it was secure, only to find out later that it was insecure.  Their fortress would soon become a flaming crematory and they would be the fuel for the fire.  They thought Israel would come through the gates, but God had different plans.  What was Jericho like?  Why are they attacking here?  Jericho was the fortress guarding the eastern entrance into Canaan land.  It was located seventeen miles northeast of Jerusalem.  It could be cold and wintry in the hills of Jerusalem, but a six-hour hike dropping 3000 feet through desert and rocky land would bring you to the warm and pleasant climate of Jericho which was 800 feet below sea level.  In the summer it was extremely hot in Jericho.  It was called the city of palm trees which were abundant in the city.  It was a beautiful place.  The area of the city was eight to nine acres.  It was surrounded by double walls 25 to 30 feet high with an outer wall six feet thick.  The inner wall was twelve feet thick with fifteen feet between each wall.  Jericho was a big obstacle for Israel.  Their faith was being put to the test.

Let me assure you that if you dedicate yourself to be what God wants you to be and to go where God wants you to go, you’ll face some Jerichos in your life as well.  You will face...

• The Jericho of materialism,
• The Jericho of popularity,
• The Jericho of persecution,
• The Jericho of rejection,
• The Jericho of discouragement.

But keep on marching and obeying God – victory will come.  Hold on, my child, joy comes in the morning.

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do: 

✞Look beyond your obstacles and see the possibilities if you keep on going.

Gilgal

Bible Reading:  Joshua 5

Key Verse: Verse 10 – “And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at even in the plains of Jericho.”

Key Words: And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal

The name Gilgal means “roll.”  In verse 9 we see that Gilgal is where God rolled away the reproach of Egypt which was on Israel.  Now in verse 10 Gilgal becomes a place of refreshment and restoration.  Israel’s obedience had brought about fellowship and feasting by means of the Passover (verse 9) and a delicious meal (verse 10).

This would have been only the third time Israel would have observed the Passover.  The first time was in Egypt when the death angel visited the land; and the second time was at Mt. Sinai (Numbers 9:5).  During the wilderness wanderings the Passover was not observed because no uncircumcised person could partake in the feast (Exodus 12:48).

The nation of Israel had forfeited their right to the Passover by their disobedience and sin.  God will not give the enjoyment of His fellowship and blessings to a people who are content to live in disobedience.

Just as Israel had forfeited the right of God’s blessing and fellowship, today many believers as well are giving up the blessings of God for a life of carnality and sin.  If these believers living in sin do read their Bibles, they get nothing from it.  When they do go to church, they do not enjoy it.  If they fellowship with other believers, they find little in common because they are following the beat of a different drummer...a carnal one.  Sin and disobedience are robbing them of a great blessing.  What a shame!

 

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:  

✞Don’t let sin rob you of God’s blessings.

Learning From Their Mistakes

Bible Reading:  Joshua 4:14-24

Key Verse: Verse 24 – “That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever.”

Key Words: the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty

The twelve stones were to demonstrate the mighty hand of God to the nation of Israel.  We as believers know the mighty hand of God through His:

• Resurrection – victory over death,
• Reconciliation – forgiveness of sin, and
• Revelation – the Word of God.

A university professor noticed a student was about to fall asleep in class.  So the teacher asked the student, “What is the greatest problem in our society...ignorance or apathy?”  The student replied, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”  Such was the case with the people of Israel.  The result of these memorial stones was eventually failure (Judges 2:8-12).  They suffered from apathy and the “Second Generation Syndrome.”  The land was partially conquered and the people became content with a partial victory.  “We got some land now!” was their attitude.  “Why should we bother to get anymore and risk death?”  They became satisfied with second best.  They failed because they neglected to fully obey the Word of God.  In Joshua, obedience to God’s Word played a big role, but in Judges it was hardly mentioned.  May we learn from their mistakes.

 

                                                                                                            Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember when we fail to learn from the mistakes of others, we are bound to make the same mistakes ourselves.

The Stones of Remembrance

Bible Reading:  Joshua 4:1-9

Key Verse: Verse 5 – “And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:”

Key Words: and take ye up every man of you a stone

The Lord had a reason for the removal of the stones.  When future generations would ask the meaning of the stones, their parents would be able to explain to their children how the waters were miraculously cut off before the Ark of the Covenant.  The stones were a memorial to both the power and work of God.  We all need a memorial of God’s blessings and working in our lives because we do have a tendency to forget.

The memorial stones would also be a reminder to those who wanted to cross back into Egypt.  We, as believers, never need to go back into our Egypt of carnality and the world.

Unfortunately, many believers get away from God and return to their old sinful lifestyle.

Robert Robinson wrote the wonderful hymn, “Come, Thou Fount,” when he was 23 years old.  The third stanza of the hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.”  Robert was expressing a battle already taking place in his life, for later in his life Robert backslid and got far away from the Lord.  While riding a stagecoach one day, a worldly Robinson heard a woman humming his hymn.  She later engaged him in conversation and asked what he thought of the song.  Robinson was broken and overcome with emotion and said to this lady, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago and I would give a thousand worlds if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had back then.”  Sin doesn’t give, it takes.

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Go back and re-visit the blessings of God in your life.

Direction and Preparation

Bible Reading:  Joshua 3:1-13

Key Verse: Verse 2 – “And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;”

Key Words: after three days

The trip from Shittim to Jordan was about ten miles.  Israel had set up camp for three days preparing themselves to cross over the Jordan River.  

A key lesson here is that God’s people need to realize the importance of preparing themselves to obey God’s leading and to wait on God’s direction and timing.  Direction and preparation come from a clear conscience, confession of wrong, prayer and study of God’s Word.  When you do these things your days will be free from inner turmoil and conflict, and God’s will can be done with a right and Godly attitude.

In 18^th century Wales, a young man named William Williams graduated from the university to become a physician of the soul.  He became a pastor.  William was warned about fanatics such as Wesley and Whitfield and decided to be a fanatic for the Lord too.  In 43 years of preaching, he traveled 95,000 miles and preached regularly to crowds as high as 10,000 people or more.  Once he had the opportunity to preach to an estimated crowd of 80,000 people.  That day he wrote in his journal, “God strengthened me to speak so loud that most could hear.”  Pastor Williams is best remembered, however, for the hymns he wrote which ended up being about 800 songs.  This man followed God’s guidance through the snows of winter, the rains of spring, and the heat of the summer.  He was beaten by mobs (once within an inch of his life) and also cheered by crowds.  In all his adventures and travels, his compelling desire was to do the will of the Lord in his life.  He penned that attitude in the song he had written, “Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.”

Guide me, O Thou Great Jehovah

Pilgrim through this barren land;

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

 Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Remember, attitude has a lot to do with outcome.

The Scarlet Thread

Bible Reading:  Joshua 2

Key Verse: 18 – “Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father's household, home unto thee."

Key Words: this line of scarlet thread

Rod Mattoon in his commentary on Joshua says:

• Judgment would pass over them because of the rope of red.  What a beautiful picture of the shelter we have from God’s judgment because of the blood of Christ.
• In Egypt, the Death Angel passed over the homes with the blood on the door posts.
• In the sacrifice of the red heifer, the scarlet thread was wrapped around hyssop and thrown into flames when the heifer was burnt.  The ashes were mixed together and used in ceremonial cleansing.  The blood of Christ cleanses us of our sin (I John 1:7).
• On the Day of Atonement, a scarlet thread was attached to the gate of the Tabernacle.  Jewish historians state that it was white linen that had been dyed red.  If the sin of the people was atoned for, the thread would turn back to white.  After the crucifixion to the destruction of the Temple, the rope remained red because the sacrifice of Christ had been rejected.  The purpose of the thread was identification, a mark of obedience, and separation from wickedness.  Christians are to be identified with Christ by obedience to the Lord and separation from the wicked lifestyle of this world.

The story is told of a man passing through a village in Basutoland.  To his surprise he noticed some chickens with red ribbons fastened to their backs between their wings.  He asked the owner of the chickens what was the purpose of those red ribbons.  He answered and told the traveler that the red ribbons protected his chickens from hawks that would normally attack them.  During his fifteen years in the village, no chicken was taken by a hawk if it had that red ribbon on his back.  Yet, many chickens that did not have the ribbon were carried off by the hawks.  Blue, green, and other colors did not work except the red.  What a lesson for us.  The scarlet ribbon of Christ’s blood protects us from the wrath and doom that awaits the unbelieving sinner and keeps us from the onslaughts of Satan who desires to take us captive at his will.  Thank God for the blood of Christ!

                                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Thank God today and everyday for the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

That I Have Given You

Bible Reading:  Joshua 1:1-7

Key Verse: Verse 3 - “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

Key Words: that I have given unto you

The book of Joshua starts with the word now.  This word links the book of Deuteronomy with the book of Joshua.  Moses is referred to as “the servant of the Lord.”  What a compliment!  God Himself referred to Moses as a servant of His.  Now Moses is dead, but God’s Word continues to go forward.  Leaders may change but God doesn’t.

Now that Moses is dead, Joshua is to take over and go forward over the Jordan River to possess what has been promised.  It’s interesting to note that the book begins with Moses’ death and ends with Joshua’s death.  Every place God’s people tread, God has given the land to them.  This is what God intended for His people forty years earlier.  (See Numbers 13.)

I read recently about a young man who was very impressed by a motto on a sticker that said, “LET GOD.”  He cut out the six letters, pasted them on a card, and hung the motto on his bedroom wall.  Somehow the blessing he sought did not seem to come.  One day, however, he found the last letter had dropped off his board, leaving the motto “LET GO.”

When we let go of all the things that hinder us: our will, our plans, and selfish desires, then Joshua 1:3 can and will be fulfilled: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

 The pastor from India said, “That was no mistake.  I found the true and living God because I searched for Him with all my heart.”   And so can you!

                                                                                                Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Many blessings of God are missed because we fail to go forward, so I challenge you to move forward.

Happy New Year

Bible Reading:  II Corinthians 5:12-21

Key Verse: Verse 17 - “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Key Words: old things are passed away

Today we begin a new year.  Last year's mistakes are past.  Last year's successes are, well, last year's.  Today we begin a new 2016.  So let me encourage you to remember that all things come into our lives pass on and new things will come.  We should learn from our failures and build on our successes, but we should never quit.

Isn't it great to know that when we are saved, God throws away the old and builds the new?

Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs.  Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.  As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.  "Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want this building; I want the site."  Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God’s, the old life is over (2 Cor. 5:17).  He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and permission to build.

 

                                                                                                        Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

✞Let God build you.