Combat Ready Devotional #7

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Get up, make us gods that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!”

Exodus 32:1

Wait on The Lord

And Aaron complied with the people. He made a golden calf. The people worshipped the calf and made it their god. The real God got angry, Moses interceded, and Aaron made an excuse (I put the gold in the fire and out came this calf).

Oh, how easy it is to do it our way when we get tired of waiting on God. We think God has abandoned us so we take it upon ourselves to proceed without Him. If God doesn’t give us what we want—He must not exist then and we will go about on our own. That’s how many people think.

The Bible doesn’t teach us to do things on our own and disregard what God wants. The Bible is filled with stories of patience, probably one of the hardest things to do. Be patient and wait for The Lord. I promise you His plans are better than yours.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

Combat Ready Devotional #6

“I will send my terror before you, and I will destroy all the people whom you encounter; I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. I will send hornets before you that will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite before you.”

Exodus 23:27, 28

This is one of the major promises God gave to Israel after they left Egypt and before they came in to the Promised Land. Like the rest of His promises, this one was conditional. The Israelites had to obey God’s commands and not worship the gods of the inhabitants of the land (verses 22-24). Unfortunately, Israel didn’t uphold their end. Although, God did help them push out the inhabitants on a couple of occasions, it didn’t go as planned.

This may seem like genocide and completely against who God is. Our God is a God of love. But with love comes justice. The people of the land had fully rejected their Creator and now was the time for them to be judged. The same thing will happen at the end of time for the rest of the world.

God doesn’t promise us today to wipe out entire populations. When He sees fit, He will push back our enemies from harming us. He will make things easy for us, sometimes. Sometimes we must go through our own desert experience to discipline us and eliminate our bad habits and sins. You may be in the desert now but God has a promised land waiting just for you. Just be patient and allow Him to lead.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

Combat Ready Devotional #4

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’”

Exodus 14:12

Serve The LORD

The Israelites had a narrow vision. They didn’t see what God saw. They were happy being servants in Egypt, at least they had all the food they can eat and all the water and wine they can drink. Life wasn’t too bad for them, or so they thought. They didn’t want to go through the process of God eliminating their bad habits so they can serve Him instead of Egypt. They didn’t want to be a holy nation. They didn’t want God so God allowed them to die in the desert.

God has great plans for you even though you can’t see it. To realize these plans you have to be torn away from serving the wrong master. This is a painful experience. It’s easy to see why the Israelites complained. We want the best of what this world has to offer. But, God wants to offer you the best of the next world. To get that, you must put aside everything that gets in the way of you serving Him alone. Don’t look back. Trust in God.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.

Combat Ready Devotional # 3

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites! Go, serve the Lord as you have requested! Also, take your flocks and your herds, just as you have requested, and leave. But bless me also.” The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, and they gave them whatever they wanted,and so they plundered Egypt.

Exodus 21:31, 32, 36

This is what Pharaoh, ruler over all of Egypt, told Moses after the tenth and last plague that killed his eldest son. The Egyptians forced the Israelites out of their land. Essentially bribing them with all of their jewels and goods for them to leave immediately. This was God’s plan all along. He had hardened Pharaoh’s heart during the previous nine plagues so He can show off His awesome power. So the Israelites and all the world will know that He is the One True God.

Israel had to suffer through some of the same plagues the Egyptians did. But, they made it through. In your life you may be going through some personal plagues. It may be at work, school, or at home. Be like the Israelites and patiently wait through it. In the end, you will be blessed for what you went through. You will be richer too. You may not be financially richer but you will be spiritually richer. Allow God to work His miracles in your life. Wait for His plan to come together not your own plans.

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This is an excerpt from the upcoming companion devotional to Combat Ready. These devotionals are not in the same order as they will appear in the printed book and may not be in the final form. To read more devotionals click here. To purchase the original book, Combat Ready, click here or go anywhere else books are sold.