Author: kendraske

Take the First Step of Faith – Joshua 3 – 2025 Day 219

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 7; Joshua 3

In 2017, I began teaching English online to children in China. Since then I’ve been trying to learn a little Chinese, but it’s been slow going. Very, very slow going. One phrase, one word, at a time.

Hello: 你好 (nǐ hǎo)

Goodbye: 再见 (zài jiàn)

1 一 (yī)
2 二 (èr)
3 三 (sān)
4 四 (sì)
5 五 (wǔ)

Have you ever heard the Chinese proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step“? 千里之行,始于足下. (Qiān lǐ zhī xíng, shǐ yú zú xià.)

I was thinking about that saying this morning when I read Joshua 3.

And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.

Joshua 3:13 ESV

The priests had to step into the flooded waters of the Jordan before the Lord stopped the river from flowing. This, my friends, is what a faith walk looks like. Like Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” God wants us to walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Do you believe God inspired Paul to write these words?

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11a ESV

I do.

I am so thankful that my life is hidden in Christ, but I will still have to appear before Christ and give an account for what I said and did during my time in this body of flesh. Did I seek Him first? Did I love my neighbor as myself? Did I endeavor to persuade others to join me in trusting Christ?

This faith journey begins with one step followed by another. Sometimes that journey has a lot of “two steps forward and one step back,” but a journey forward it is. And it begins by trusting God and His Word.

Heavenly Father, I believe in You. I believe every word of God is true. I believe You are a shield to those who take refuge in You. Give me the strength, wisdom, and courage that I need to walk by faith and not by sight. Help me to love my neighbor as myself by sharing the good news of salvation by trusting in Christ. In His Name I pray. Amen

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“First Things First” – Consumed by Fire

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His Mercy is More – Joshua 2 – 2025 Day 218

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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 6; Joshua 2

Today’s passage reminded me how often the Bible just “tells the story like it is” without any commentary on the morality of a person’s decisions. Was Joshua wrong to send the two spies to Jericho? I’m not sure. Was Rahab wrong to lie about the Israelite spies she was hiding? I think so, but once again I’m not sure.

But I am sure that God works even through the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad decisions that we make. God chose Rahab who had been a prostitute (clearly not a good choice) to be the great, great grandmother of that man after God’s own heart, King David. Rahab is the mother of Boaz, the worthy man who acted as the Moabite Ruth’s kinsman-Redeemer. (Matthew 1:5) I wonder if Boaz was more accepting of Ruth’s Gentile background because of his mother’s, so he would’ve better understood the transformative power of faith in God because of his own mother’s testimony.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king….

Matthew 1:1-6 ESV

Have you made choices in your life that you wish today you could go back and erase? I have. And, yet, those very choices have made me the woman I am today. All I can say is, PRAISE GOD for where sin abounded, His grace abounded all the more.

Heavenly Father, Your mercy is more. Your power is greater. Your love is better. You are perfect in all Your ways, using the tangled webs of our lives to weave a masterpiece of Your glory. You have cleansed me and washed me white as snow in the crimson blood of Christ my Savior. Now take my life as a living offering of gratitude for Your saving grace. In the Name of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man, my sinless kinsmen-redeemer, I pray. Amen.

By faith Rahab the prostitute
did not perish
with those who were disobedient,
because she had given a friendly
welcome to the spies.

Hebrews 11:31 ESV

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“His Mercy is More” – The Gettys
“Jesus Paid it All” – The Worship Initiative

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FEAR NOT – Joshua 1 – 2025 Day 217

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 5; Joshua 1

Growing up, I fought a persistent battle with fear, especially fear of death. As an atheist, my life was the mere result of random chance. I thought I was the master of my own fate, and I knew I was not a very good master. I was just one of five billion people in the world, weak in both the physical and moral sense of the word.

Fear is the natural by-product of a lack of faith
in a good, all-powerful God.

As God prepares Joshua for his new job as leader of the Israelite nation, God is so kind to remind Joshua that He is going with him and that He is a promise-keeping God.

Friends, if you are a child of God, God is with you, too. He will not leave you or forsake you. He is with you WHEREVER you go. But you need to be strong and courageous to do the things He has called you to do.

If he wants to reach the Promised Land, Joshua will have to step into the rushing Jordan River. Likewise, if you want to follow God, you will have to take that first step of obedience.

That first step is often the scariest. Speaking up when it’s easier to be silent. Knocking on a new neighbor’s door. Saying goodbye to a boyfriend who’s no good for you. These are hard things, but if we never take that first step we will never see where the road leads. And taking that first scary step is oh so much less frightening when you know that the Lord has called you to it, and that He is with you.

I’m praying for you.

Heavenly Father, please help us to take that first step of obedience, to strike out into the unknown. Help us to be strong and courageous, believing without a doubt that You will never leave us or forsake us, that You are with us wherever we go. Please guide us by Your Holy Spirit. Convict us of our sin, our sins of unbelief, cowardice, and complacency. Help us to love You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. For the glory of Your Name, and in the power of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen

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Joshua 1:9 scripture memory verse song

Find it on YouTube

“Fear Not” – Hannah Kerr

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A Prayer for my Children – Deuteronomy 33-34 – 2025 Day 216

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 4, Deuteronomy 33-34

Almost eighteen years ago, my youngest son was born. He is the “son of my old age” 😂 and the source of great joy in my life. Watching him grow to a man before my very eyes has truly been a treasure. Reading Deuteronomy 33-34, I was reminded that Moses never knew these twelve sons of Israel. They’d all passed into eternity before Moses had even been born – as had Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob themselves – yet God remained faithful to His promises for their offspring.

“…This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
‘I will give it to your offspring’…”

Deuteronomy 34:4 ESV

I want to take this page today to offer up a prayer for my children and to the offspring that the Lord will give me through each of them.

Heavenly Father, Being a mother is a high calling and privilege. It is an honor to carry a child in the womb, to birth a helpless little baby, and to bring it up day after day in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. I have often fallen short, so I ask You to cover my shortcomings with Your grace and wisdom.

Bless my children. Bless the spouses that You have provided (and will provide) for them. Bless the children that they will bear, along with their children’s children, the children I may never see with my own eyes or hold in my arms, but who will walk in the legacy that my husband and I are leaving behind.

Father, I don’t ask for physical or financial blessings. Rather, I ask You for spiritual blessings – the blessings of faith, wisdom, righteousness, peace, and joy – founded on their trust in You. I ask for deep and abiding relationships between the mothers and their children, the fathers and their children, and especially between the husband and his wife, because these relationships point to You – Your faithfulness, Your kindness, Your integrity.

I pray that my family line will be full of servant-leaders, humble men and women willing to sacrifice their own comfort for the good of others and for the glory of Your Name. May the light of Christ shine out of them, that others will be drawn to You through their life and testimony.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Perfect Example and Perfect Savior, I pray. Amen.

Find us Faithful – Gaither, Steve Green
Great is Thy Faithfulness / My Redeemer is Faithful and True – Getty, Steven Curtis Chapman

The Power of Song – Deuteronomy 31-32 – 2025 Day 215

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 3, Deuteronomy 31-32

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

“Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.”

So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel.

Deuteronomy 31:16-22 ESV

In reading Deuteronomy 32, the song of Moses, don’t forget these words from Deuteronomy 31. This song has purpose, as all songs do. Songs have the power to drill words deep into hearts. I can recite word for word songs from my childhood and my teenage years even though I haven’t heard them for years. How about you?

What songs are your kids listening to?

What songs are you listening to?

What music is playing in your car? In your home? In your mind?

What songs do you sing at church on Sunday mornings? Are they rich? Are they lovely? Do they draw your heart to worship the Lord and do they teach timeless truths?

If you’ve been reading my blog regularly, you’ll know I share a song to go with our scripture reading every day. I’m so very thankful that the Lord gave us the gift of music – that we can give it back to Him, but also that we can have a song reverberating in our own hearts and minds as we go throughout our day.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for giving us the gift of music. We want to give it back to You. We want to worship You in song. With words and with musical instruments, we pour out our praise and our griefs before You. Help us pay careful watch to the music that we’re putting in our mouths and our minds. We want to memorize whatever is true and lovely and good and excellent and praiseworthy. We don’t want ugly songs stuck inside our heads. Please, Lord, prick our hearts with these words from Your Scriptures today and help us to be careful how we walk. In the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

If you don’t have a hymnal at home, try this one – Then Sings My Soul: 150 of the World’s Greatest Hymn Stories

Deuteronomy 8:3 Song
Come Thou Fount (Above All Else) – Shane and Shane
There is a Fountain Filled with Blood

1
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains:
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
2
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away:
Wash all my sins away,
Wash all my sins away;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
3
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed ones of God
Be saved, to sin no more:
Be saved, to sin no more,
Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed ones of God,
Be saved to sin no more.
4
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die:
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
5
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave,
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy power to save:
I’ll sing Thy power to save,
I’ll sing Thy power to save;
Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing Thy power to save.

Do Not Fear … For It Is the Lord your God Who Goes with You – Deuteronomy 31 – 2025 Day 214

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 2, Deuteronomy 31

First Moses told all Israel, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

Next, Moses immediately summoned Joshua to tell him personally, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)

Over two years ago, I logged out of my Facebook account. I don’t miss it much. I’ve gained more than I’ve lost. But one thing I do miss is reading Sunshine Meister’s beautifully written testimonies of God’s daily sustaining grace in her life after her son Nahum’s traumatic brain injury in 2021. One morning I woke up thinking about her and tried to find a way to follow her somewhere other than Facebook, and I stumbled on this testimony on YouTube.

Her words will encourage you more than mine. To God be the glory. Do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you.

Sunshine Meister – Finding Comfort in God’s Presence
Fear Not – Ellie Holcomb

Change my Heart, Oh God – Deuteronomy 29-30 – 2025 Day 213

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 1, Deuteronomy 29-30

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: “You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.”

Deuteronomy 29:2-4 ESV

These people were eyewitnesses to numerous unexplainable miracles, yet they didn’t understand. Like Jesus who spoke with such wisdom, yet many didn’t understand.

Each of us need the Lord’s tender hands to circumcise our hearts (and our children’s hearts), so that we will love the LORD our God with all our heart and soul, that we may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, I have seen You work with my own eyes, yet I am so quick to forget. I’m quick to go astray, to wander away from You. Please, open the eyes of my heart, that I might truly see and believe. Please, circumcise my heart, though it’s painful, I need it. I have grown calloused. Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Strengthen me to obey You, to love You with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love my neighbor as myself. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my perfect example and my Savior, Amen.

Change my Heart, Oh God – Maranatha Music

Of Curses and Blessings – Deuteronomy 27-28 – 2025 Day 212

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 31, Deuteronomy 27-28

In Deuteronomy 27:14, the Levites (the priests) were told to declare a series of curses to all the men of Israel in a loud voice. After voicing these curses for disobeying God’s commands, then they were to declare the blessings for obedience, followed once again by more pronouncements of God’s judgment on their disobedience.

No one likes to tell others about the hard things going on in life. It’s so much more fun to just talk about the happy stuff – the joys of marriage, the highlights of homeschooling, the achievements of our children. Likewise, our churches are full of messages about HEAVEN and BLESSINGS and GOOD NEWS!

But, the thing is that only telling half the truth is really deceptive, and the GOOD NEWS is really so much sweeter when you know the BAD NEWS.

  • The bad news is that you are a sinner through and through.
  • The bad news is that on your own you can’t do anything good.
  • The bad news is that you deserve God’s wrath.
  • The bad news is that (apart from the saving grace of God) you are destined for eternity in hell.

The bad news
is just as true
as the good news.

  • The good news is that Jesus became a curse for me.
  • The good news is that Jesus delivered me from my path straight to hell.
  • The good news is that Jesus paid the price for my sin by His death on the cross.
  • The good news is that Jesus is my Savior and my Friend.

As the Lord’s chosen heralds, we have to tell the good news and the bad, the curses and the blessings. They’re both true and they both need to be proclaimed.

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:11-12 ESV

Heavenly Father, every Word of God proves true. You are indeed a shield to those who take refuge in You. (Proverbs 30:5) We deserve Your wrath for we are sinners, and yet You have saved us and covered us with Your love in the blood of Jesus. You are faithful and good and true. Make us likewise. Help us to be faithful and good and true. Help us to believe the truth and proclaim the truth – the whole truth, the bad news along with the good – that many might be saved. For Your glory and kingdom and in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Not in Me – Sovereign Grace Music

A Prayer of Gratitude and Surrender – Deuteronomy 26 – 2025 Day 211

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 30, Deuteronomy 26

The Lord has brought the people out of their slavery in Egypt, and now He is bringing them into this blessed land flowing with milk and honey. The commanded response, as well as the logical response of gratitude, is to offer back to God some of the fruit of this land – and not just any of the fruit, but the first fruits. Giving first fruits demonstrates faith and dependence on the Lord.

But, if I’m honest with myself (and with you), I must confess how stingy I am with the gifts that the Lord has given me, whether my time, my talents, my treasures, or my testimony. I treat these things as though I have earned them, not recognizing that they are gifts from God, given to me to give back to Him and to share with others. The Lord has blessed me that I might be a blessing to others.

How about you? Is gratitude your normal response to life? Are you living in a place of surrender to the Lord? Will you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, I pray that I would have a heart overflowing with gratitude for all that You have given me. Truly, what do I have that I haven’t been given? Where would I be today if You hadn’t led me by the hand every step of the way? Now, today, I offer back to You the first fruits of my labor. My children, my home, my work, my mind and mouth and money, are Yours. I give them back to You as an offering of praise. They are Yours. They were given to me by You, and now I again give them back to You, laying them down, prying my fingers off of them, leaving them on the altar of Your Holy presence. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen

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The Sojourner, the Fatherless, and the Widow – Deuteronomy 24-25 – 2025 Day 210

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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Proverbs 29, Deuteronomy 24-25

Again and again the Lord makes special provision for the sojourner , the fatherless, and the widow. Reading through my Bible today, and not getting much out of these chapters of “various laws,” my eyes fell upon a note in my Bible’s margin from the last time I read it cover to cover.

  • Sojourner – God is my resting place.
  • Fatherless – God is my father.
  • Widow – I am His bride.

Sisters, write notes in your Bible that you can find next year. Leave reminders to yourself of how the Lord turns your heart while you read His Word. Let these remind you – and those who come after you.

As members of God’s kingdom, we’re all sojourners, wanderers, aliens in this world. Our true citizenship is in heaven. God has called us to be His ambassadors.

As members of God’s family, we’re His children and He is our Father. We can come to Him with confidence, knowing that He loves us dearly and cares for us tenderly, as a Father loves and cares for his children.

As the bride of Christ, we are called to be shining lights for Him, His hands and feet on earth, humbly depending on Him for strength, comfort, and guidance.

I’m blessed. God is good.

Heavenly Father, You are my king, my Father, and the lover of my soul. You are worth every pain and every joy. Give me strength through the truth of Your Word. Remind me that this world is not my home, and help me to fix my eyes on the eternal hope I have in heaven. Use me as Your ambassador here on earth, faithfully declaring the praises of Him who called me out of darkness. (1 Peter 2:9) Remind me that I am Your child, and You are my Father. Help me to obey You promptly, cheerfully, and completely, and to faithfully come to You for forgiveness when I sin. Remind me that I am Your bride, and help me to depend on You for my every need. Send me out into this world as an instrument of peace and proclaimer of truth. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, I pray. Amen.

Jesus, Strong and Kind – City Alight

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