Eternal Growth Group, Inc.

Beloved, our God does not tempt us. Rather, he tests us to prepare us for the work HE has ahead for us and to see what’s in our hearts. Are you ready for God’s tests? Be encouuraged to know our Father wants us to mature and be ready for the spiritual battles that will come to us. Also, HE wants to know if you will obey HIM.

Judges 3:1-31 (Emphasis on verse 1-2)
1 These are the nations that the LORD left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 
2 He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

Deuteronomy 8:2
2 You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

Jeremiah 17:10
10 “I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.

1 Corinthians 3:13
13 each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.

James 1:3
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

Beloved, do we have extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone instead of for God? Idols are not just statues or man made gods. They can be TV, a hobby we do, a person or thing that we give more devotion to more than we give to God. God has made a covenant with us, but if we bresk the covenant by choosing to server and love another god, person or thing we lose the promises, favor, protection and all has for us. But, if we repent and return to God we regain it all. Lord, help us to love and worship only You and to return to You if we have gone to other gods in JESUS name, Amen

Judges 2:1-23 (Emphasis on verses 1-3 and 20-23)
1 The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said to the Israelites, “I brought you out of Egypt into this land that I swore to give your ancestors, and I said I would never break my covenant with you. 
2 For your part, you were not to make any covenants with the people living in this land; instead, you were to destroy their altars. But you disobeyed my command. Why did you do this? 
3 So now I declare that I will no longer drive out the people living in your land. They will be thorns in your sides,a and their gods will be a constant temptation to you.”

20 So the LORD burned with anger against Israel. He said, “Because these people have violated my covenant, which I made with their ancestors, and have ignored my commands, 
21 I will no longer drive out the nations that Joshua left unconquered when he died. 
22 I did this to test Israel—to see whether or not they would follow the ways of the LORD as their ancestors did.” 
23 That is why the LORD left those nations in place. He did not quickly drive them out or allow Joshua to conquer them all.

Beloved, are we helping our brethren in Christ fight their battles? Has another Christian asked for your help to fight their enemies or spiritual battles? As a family under God and by God’s grace, I pray we can hear the pleas of help from our brethren, then unite as one to fight off their enemies. May God help us help our Christian families fight their spiritual battles to get their victories in JESUS name, Amen

Judges 1:1-34 (Emphasis on verses 1-3)
1 After the death of Joshua, the Israelites asked the LORD, “Which tribe should go first to attack the Canaanites?”
2 The LORD answered, “Judah, for I have given them victory over the land.”
3 The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So the men of Simeon went with Judah.

Deuteronomy 32:30
30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had surrendered them?

Leviticus 26:8
8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

Beloved, this came to my mind today as I read HIS words and I strongly believe it is a warning reminder from God to all HIS people. It is to distinguish ourselves from the world and be holy and clean and teach our children the same. Even our Lord JESUS prayed for our sanctification, protection from the evil one and stated that we are not of this world. So why are we living or behaving like them? May God help us live and act like HIM while we are in this world in JESUS name, Amen

2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

Leviticus 10:10-11
10 that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,
11 and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

John 17:14-18
14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

From what I am seeing in life today, we i.e. the body of Christ, have become like the Ephesian church described in Eugene H. Peterson’s devotion below. As God said in Revelation, may we do and return to that first pure love for otbers and not just for ourselves only in JESUS name, Amen

The Foundation of Our Faith, The Test Of Love.
Read 1 Corinthians 16:14, 1 John 4:7-11, Revelation 2:1-7

John’s letter to Ephesus revealed some great things about the Ephesian Christians. They were hard workers. They didn’t give up easily. They were faced with constant opposition, but they didn’t waver. There were daily acts of mercy and compassion to perform, and they did them with regularity. They didn’t forget to gather together, despite the danger, to worship each Lord’s Day. They were also discerning about doctrine.

A group of heretics, the Nicolaitans, were trying to worm themselves into the church and upset its devotion to Christ. They denied the necessity for moral standards—they taught that you could love Christ and do what you liked. But the Ephesians did not tolerate these evil men. They were a vigorous, alert group of Christians. Christ commended them for all this—he knew it well and approved of it. But he also saw something else. In their vigor to do the right thing, they had be­come the wrong kind of people. What more could you ask of Christians? Well, love for one thing. He accused them of abandoning the love they had at first.

Love was the beginning of their faith. And ours too, of course. The foundation of Christianity is an immense act of love—the love of God for them, for us, for all who come to God. God’s love for them was the experience that brought everything else to wholeness. Their love for God involved them in a life that had purpose, intensity, and passion. Their love for one another diversified and extended the experience.

As they went along, though, they found it easier to keep doing everything else but love. This was not a gentle drifting away but rather a catastrophic fall. This fall was so massive in its implications that they might as well have been leaving the center of existence.

For love is not what we do after we get the other things done, if we have any energy left over. Love is what we do, period. It is not how we work; it is our work. If we don’t love, we aren’t doing what we were created and saved to do.

Heavenly Father, You have drawn us to You through your love, and we can’t know You apart from love. It is Your love that has given us our very life.

Beloved, the last chapter in Joshua, chp. 24, focuses on a choice I believe we must carefully think about each day and choose like Joshua did.
May God help me choose to serve HIM through all I think and do always, and where I fail/fall, Lord please forgive me and give me strength to get up and do it right the next time in JESUS name, Amen

Joshua 24:15
15 But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”

Beloved,

All of the outcomes of our obedient walk with God, Isaiah 1:19, is fruits of our works which God empowers us to achieve, for it is HE who gives us power to make wealth, Deuteronomy 8:18. And from that Godly success, we will be blessings to others as we choose to share, give, and lend to them Deuteronomy 15:6 in JESUS name, Amen

Isaiah 1:19 AMP
 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the best of the land;
https://bible.com/bible/1588/isa.1.19.AMP

Deuteronomy 8:18 AMP
But you shall remember [with profound respect] the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore (solemnly promised) to your fathers, as it is this day.
https://bible.com/bible/1588/deu.8.18.AMP

Deuteronomy 15:6 AMP
When the Lord your God blesses you as He has promised you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
https://bible.com/bible/1588/deu.15.6.AMP

Beloved, glad we are dedicated to serving God. And we must continue to choose to serve HIM only. Think of all HE has done for us, remember how HE loves us, has fought for us, provides for us, protects us, and has prepared so much more blessings for us that are about to be unraveled. His goodness to us is one of the many reasons why we must choose to serve HIM as Joshua expressed in chapter 24:14-15

Joshua 24:14-18 (Read all of chapter 24 for full context)
14 “So fear the LORD and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD alone. 
15 But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.”
16 The people replied, “We would never abandon the LORD and serve other gods. 
17 For the LORD our God is the one who rescued us and our ancestors from slavery in the land of Egypt. He performed mighty miracles before our very eyes. As we traveled through the wilderness among our enemies, he preserved us. 
18 It was the LORD who drove out the Amorites and the other nations living here in the land. So we, too, will serve the LORD, for he alone is our God.”

Beloved, a good and godly leader is proven by distinct qualities Joshua shows in the book of Joshua chapter 23. Good and godly leaders lead by example, fight for their followers rights and inheritance, reminds them of promises God has fulfilled, corrects them even when the correction hurts their feelings, does not hold back from telling the whole truth, gives clear warnings of the destruction that comes from continuing to live in disobedience to God and HIS Words, encourages their followers, speaks blessings upon those who obey God and so much more. Read all of Joshua 23

Joshua 23:9-16 (Read verses 1-14 for full context)
9 “For the LORD has driven out great and powerful nations for you, and no one has yet been able to defeat you.
10 Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the LORD your God fights for you, just as he has promised.
11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God.
12 “But if you turn away from him and cling to the customs of the survivors of these nations remaining among you, and if you intermarry with them,
13 then know for certain that the LORD your God will no longer drive them out of your land. Instead, they will be a snare and a trap to you, a whip for your backs and thorny brambles in your eyes, and you will vanish from this good land the LORD your God has given you.
14 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!
15 But as surely as the LORD your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.
16 If you break the covenant of the LORD your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

Beloved, Reading Psalms 1 helps us learn about who God is as in it teaches us that God cares for us, our casual interactions, the mindset of the people we talk to, and the motives and lifestyle of those we get guidance or counsel from. God cares enough to show us the best paths to take in life in order for us to be fruitful or productive in this life, not for just a season, but always. Father, I thank you for truly looking out for us and guiding us by Your Holy Spirit and Words on how to be our best us always in JESUS name, Amen.

Psalms 1:1-6
1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.