Marching towards the Promised Land!!!

Presenting the Seventeenth Edition for 2007 of the WEEKLY DEVOTIONS: 

Keep on praying, this world is in great need of it. "Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.â€�  

This edition is dedicated to, Marching towards the Promised Land!!!

If God"s people would have had more faith and complained less they wouldn’t have had to wait another 40 years before entering the Promised Land and the Kingdom of God would already be there. Learn from the past and keep moving. Do not ask Why Lord but How Lord!!!!

Stop complaining and have total confidence in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is bringing us step by step to the Promised Land, Heaven, where we will live life eternally with Him. Amen, Alleluia!!!!!!!

Water from the Rock

In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron.  They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD!  Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here?  Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!"

Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.  The LORD said to Moses, "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

So Moses took the staff from the LORD's presence, just as he commanded him.  He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?"  Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the LORD and where he showed himself holy among them. Numbers 20:1-13

In the following passage a pagan woman, a Canaanite, shows great Faith in Jesus Christ and her request is granted.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Matthew 15:21-28 

Psalm 106

Praise the LORD.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD
or fully declare his praise?

Blessed are they who maintain justice,
who constantly do what is right.

Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them,

that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may share in the joy of your nation
and join your inheritance in giving praise.

We have sinned, even as our fathers did;
we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

When our fathers were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles;
they did not remember your many kindnesses,
and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea.

Yet he saved them for his name's sake,
to make his mighty power known.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.

He saved them from the hand of the foe;
from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them.

The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.

Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.

But they soon forgot what he had done
and did not wait for his counsel.

In the desert they gave in to their craving;
in the wasteland they put God to the test.

So he gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease upon them.

In the camp they grew envious of Moses
and of Aaron, who was consecrated to the LORD.

The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
Fire blazed among their followers;
a flame consumed the wicked.

At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped an idol cast from metal.

They exchanged their Glory
for an image of a bull, which eats grass.

They forgot the God who saved them,
who had done great things in Egypt,

miracles in the land of Ham
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them.

Then they despised the pleasant land;
they did not believe his promise.

They grumbled in their tents
and did not obey the LORD.

So he swore to them with uplifted hand
that he would make them fall in the desert,

make their descendants fall among the nations
and scatter them throughout the lands.

They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;

they provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.

But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.

This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come.

By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;

for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses' lips.

They did not destroy the peoples
as the LORD had commanded them,

but they mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs.

They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.

They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.

They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was desecrated by their blood.

They defiled themselves by what they did;
by their deeds they prostituted themselves.

Therefore the LORD was angry with his people
and abhorred his inheritance.

He handed them over to the nations,
and their foes ruled over them.

Their enemies oppressed them
and subjected them to their power.

Many times he delivered them,
but they were bent on rebellion
and they wasted away in their sin.

But he took note of their distress
when he heard their cry;

for their sake he remembered his covenant
and out of his great love he relented.

He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive.

Save us, O LORD our God,
and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
and glory in your praise.

Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, "Amen!"
Praise the LORD.

Conclusion

The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever. Psalm 145: 14-21