Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

FRIDAY OCTOBER 2


WE HAVE FRUIT

READ:
Joshua 24:13
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I gave you a land on
which you did not
toil and cities you
did not build.
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The young mother sighed as she scraped together lunch for her 3-year-old daughter. Spying the empty fruit basket on the table in their tiny kitchen, she sighed and said aloud, "If we just had a basket of fruit, I would feel rich!" Her little girl overheard her.

Weeks passed. God sustained the small family. Still, the struggling mom worried. Then one day her little girl bounded into the kitchen. "Look, Mommy, we're rich!" she exclaimed, pointing at the full fruit basket on the table. Nothing had changed except that the family had purchased a bag of apples.

When Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, was about to die, he shared a message from the Lord that recounted all God had done for them. And he noted, "You lived in the wilderness for along time" (JOSH. 24:7). Then he said, "[God] gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant" (v.13). Joshua set up a large stone to remind Israel of God's provision (v.16).

Like the Israelites, after a time of challenge and scarcity, that family now lives in a different place and enjoys fruit trees in a spacious yard, planted years earlier by a previous owner. If you visit them, you'll find a bowl of fruit in their kitchen. It reminds them of God's goodness, and how a 3-year-old infused her family with faith, joy, and perspective. ___Tim Gustafson

**Thank God for how He has provided in the past. Thank Him for what He
will do. Ask Him what He wants you to do. Then trust Him.
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Remembering God's provision for yesterday gives hope and
strength for today.

*********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Joshua 24:2,8-14***********************************
2 Joshua said to all the people, "This is what the LORD,
the God of Israel says:...8 'I brought you to the land of
the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought
against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed
them from before you, and you took possession of their land.

9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to
fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a
curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to balaam, so he blessed
you again and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 " 'Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho.

The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the
Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, hittites, Girgashites, hivites
and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the
hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you__also
the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword
and bow. 11 so I gave you a land on which you did not toil and
cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from
vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.'

14 "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.
Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the
Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
In genesis 15, God promised Abraham that
He would give his descendants possession of a great stretch of
land that was occupied by other people. Several hundred years
later, under the leadership of Joshua, God fulfilled His promise,
and the people of Israel took possession of the Promised Land.
In today's passage, Joshua reminds the Israelites that it was not
by their own military might that they did this, but it was God who
gave them the land. As a result of God's provision (defeating the
armies of the other people), Joshua reminded them to fear and
serve the Lord. ______J.R. Hudberg