"But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)

Joshua was a strong leader who knew where he was going, but he gave others the space they needed to choose for themselves. That's not only smart; it's an evidence of two admirable virtues: first, a security in self that comes from resting in God's will and second, a genuine respect for others.

— Charles Swindoll

Daily Meditations by Pat Nordman ©

August 1

"The sluggard says `There is a lion in the road..." (Proverbs 26:13). We think there are huge lions on our roads of life. One is fear of failure. Jesus never considered success or failure in His life; He simply went on with duty and love and then was crucified for His efforts.

The fearful man is a fruitless man because he is fearful. "For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear, I will help you" (Isaiah 41:13). Much has been written on the will of God, but His promises are His wills for us. "...Before [you] call, I will answer; while [you] are still speaking, I will hear" (Isaiah 65:24). Blessed promises!

Pat Nordman ©

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions
Spurgeon's Morning for August 1	Spurgeon's Evening for August 1
"Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn." – Ruth 2:2	"Thou crownest the year with thy goodness." - Psalm 65:11
Downcast and troubled Christian, come and glean to-day in the broad field of promise. Here are abundance of precious promises, which exactly meet thy wants.	All the year round, every hour of every day, God is richly blessing us; both when we sleep and when we wake his mercy waits upon us. The sun may leave us a legacy of darkness, but our God never ceases to shine upon his children with beams of love.

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August 1 Isa 1:1 - 4:6

365 days of Bible Readings Linked to Bible Gaitway TM

Current Bible Question

Hannah was the mother of Samuel. What was the name of Hannah's husband?

Previous question and Answer:

What nation saw 185,000 of its soldiers slaughtered by an angel of the Lord?

Assyria (2 Kings 19:35)

Today's Devotion

But my mouth would encourage you;
comfort from my lips would bring you relief.
Job 16:5 (NIV)

Role of Interceding

by Cathy Vinson

"Pray without ceasing..."

(1 Th 5:18)

When the role and calling of intercession opens up to an individual, it becomes a way of life. No longer does one merely observe or speak about, something immensely purposeful can be done. An intercessor lives upon a simple premise: "Pray without ceasing (ceasing = negative + between + to leave, in other words the negation of leaving an interval inbetween, of unbroken continuity)" (1 Th 5:18). We realize there is a posture of praying, calling out to God that need not change. We do not say "I am now done," but remain ever fixed in the humility of calling upon.

Another premise: God has all resources in Jesus for any individual's particular need. What remains, though, is for someone to fill in the gap and call down, pull down those resources in His Name. Because of God's character and the Way Jesus opened up for us, there is a calling upon mercy to forgive sin, grace to overcome, healing for wounds, His blood for protection...

From 2 Thessalonians 1:11 and 12 these can be seen at work in Paul. "We pray ALWAYS for you that our God would count you worthy..." Paul is praying without ever coming to an end in this matter. He is praying that God will "count" them worthy. Can we imagine? Such a request is entering into the recesses of God's valuing, how He esteems, counts, thinks regarding a people. He is praying for an estimation formed by God to be favorable...he prays that God would COUNT them worthy rather than MAKE them worthy. Intercession calls for such an appeal into God's thinking, if we would only dare.

Paul, still praying, writes..."that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ would be glorified in you...according to the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." What births glorifying His Name? It must always be according to the grace given. We cannot return anything that has begun without His grace. So if it is according to grace, who will "pull it down"? Here again we see the privilege of intercession to pray for that grace (charis - gift of favor) from God to be abundant to a people, even if they be unworthy.

Especially in this day there is a place anywhere, everywhere for the intercessor. There is a world of room for the one who will pray.

Will you stand in the gap for that need? If we truly believe that "[Jesus] died for us, that...we should live together with Him" (1 Th 5:10), He paid a pure and highest price to gain togetherness with His human. Do not doubt for one moment His willingness to get involved with their goings. No more looking at or talking about, but become a worshipper. Worship Him by calling upon and engaging our most benevolent King for what He is willing and waiting to bring...

Send a note to Cathy Vinson , the writer of this devotion.

There is a world of room for the one who will pray.

Other Whispers from the Wilderness Devotions are found HERE

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~ Signs on Church Property ~

No God - No Peace. Know God - Know Peace.

Free Trip to heaven. Details Inside!

An ad for St. Joseph's Episcopal Church has a picture of two hands
holding stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments are inscribed and a
headline that reads, "For fast, fast, fast relief, take two tablets."

When the restaurant next to the Lutheran Church put out a big sign with
red letters that said, "Open Sundays," the church reciprocated with its
own message: "We are open on Sundays, too."

A singing group called "The Resurrection" was scheduled to sing at a
church. When a big snowstorm postponed the performance, the pastor fixed
the outside sign to read, "The Resurrection is postponed."

God so loved the world that He did not send a committee.

Come in and pray today. Beat the Christmas rush!

Sign broken. Message inside this Sunday.

Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives

If you don't like the way you were born, try being born again.

Looking at the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance soon.

In the dark? Follow the Son.

Running low on faith? Stop in for a fill-up.