Proverbs 14:1-2 This proverb says every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish plucks it down with her hands. The building blocks a woman uses to build her house are her words. Proverbs tells us that life and death are in the power of the tongue. Every day a woman has the choice to build her house with her words or to tear her house down with her words.

One of the main duties of a wife is to give honor to her husband. If she tears him down with critical, judgmental words, she is coming against her very own personhood because she and her husband are one. As a mother a woman has the charge to encourage her children and to teach them the ways of the Lord. She has the opportunity every day to sow the good seed of God’s Word into her children. When she walks with them, she can share about God’s beauty and creative power as demonstrated in nature. When they eat together, she can give thanks to God for His blessings and provision. When she puts their clothes on, she can talk about the full armor of God. When she puts them to bed, she can pray with her children and read Scripture to them.

A woman can commit herself to let her conversations glorify God daily by ordering her conversation aright. She has to be careful not to gossip and be determined to only speak kindly of others. The law of kindness needs to be on her lips, and her daily prayer should be, “Lord, set a guard over my lips that I might not sin with the words I speak.” Daily I pray, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. May everything I say today glorify You and sow good seed into the lives of others. Amen.”

As a housekeeper, a woman has the duty of not just looking after the home, but she also has the privilege of charging the atmosphere of her home with her praises, her hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord. Her praises can fill her home with an aroma that is better than any deodorizing spray. She will be a wise woman if she will choose her words carefully and always seek to season her conversations with grace and edifying words. The foolish woman will be negative, critical, judgmental and will tear her home down with her words.

Today you have a choice. Whether you are a man or a woman, you also can build a very special building with your words. You have the great privilege of building a sanctuary for the Lord’s presence wherever you are—in the market place, on the job, in the gym, in your neighborhood, at your school, in your church, in your family. The building blocks for this sanctuary are the words you speak. As you sing psalms, spiritual songs, hymns and make melody in your heart continually all the day long, you will be building this special sanctuary where God’s presence will bring great joy not only to you, but also to all those around you. How is your sanctuary construction coming along today?

READ: Judges 2:11-3:31; Luke 22:14-34; Psalm 92:1-93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2

Luke 21:29-22:13 Recently I heard Derek Prince talk about his life of over fifty years in the ministry. He has buried two wives and has traveled the world fulfilling the Great Commission. He shares that all he did these fifty years and more was to follow the Man. He shared then in great detail about the scripture we read today in Luke. It was the time of the Passover, and it also was the time Jesus would soon be betrayed and crucified. Jesus wanted to spend the Passover with His disciples because He knew His time on earth was short. He sent Peter and John to go ahead of Him and the other disciples to prepare the Passover for them, and He gave them these instructions: “Behold when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing a pitcher of water; follow him into the house where he entereth in” (Luke 22:10, KJV).

Derek shared that the man who bore the pitcher of water stood out in the crowd because in Jesus’ day only women carried pitchers of water. This man evidently was told by the Holy Spirit to get ready for a very important dinner, and he prepared a room to be used by the Master.

Derek continued, “All my life I have followed the Man, and He has never failed to go ahead of me and prepare the way.” Remember Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you: I go to prepare a place for you.” (See John 14.)

Derek shared how the Holy Spirit knew he would lose his second wife and would need provision of care when she died. He went ahead and prepared a lovely apartment in the home of a family his wife had befriended in Jerusalem.

The man with the pitcher in this passage represents the Holy Spirit who always leads us and guides us. Jesus said about the Holy Spirit, “He will lead you into all truth.” Those who are led by the Holy Spirit are called sons of God. Like Derek, all through my over fifty years as a Christian I have seen God’s faithfulness to send the Holy Spirit ahead of me to prepare me for every situation in life. Some of the rooms of life I have experienced have involved great trials, but before I reached those rooms, the Holy Spirit prepared me ahead of time to be ready. One very difficult room of life I experienced was when the car I was driving hit a little eight-year-old boy who was seriously injured. We didn’t know whether he would live or die, but thanks to the Lord, the boy was spared. I was even given the opportunity to lead him to the Lord. Six months before this great trial happened, the Lord spoke to me during communion and said, “You are going to go through a fiery trial, but just like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, you also will go through the fire and I will be with you, and you will come out of the fire without the smell of smoke on you.” It was this message that got me through this room in my life. Follow the Man, and the Man, the Holy Spirit, will always prepare a way for you where there seems to be no way.

READ: Judges 1:1-2:10; Luke 21:29-22:13; Psalm 90:1-91:16; Proverbs 13:24-25

Luke 21:1-28 In this passage of Luke Jesus warns His disciples about all the troubles they are going to experience in the future. He tells them that they will be persecuted, but it shall turn for them for a testimony. Whenever we go through trials and testings we add to our testimony.

Recently I heard a volunteer who works for an organization called “Voice of the Martyrs.” She and her husband go to various countries where there is persecution of Christians, and they obtain the testimonies of those being persecuted. They bring their testimonies back to the church in America and ask for us to pray for these ones who are going through such trials.

When she visited our church, this volunteer showed pictures of those who had been tortured in the Sudan by the Muslim radicals. These Christians were tormented until they recanted their faith. But most refused to recant. They remained strong for Jesus Christ, and what is most amazing, most of these Christians have never seen a Bible. They have had the Word preached to them, and just based on that Word, they feared the Lord and refused to deny their faith.

After teaching an eight-week session on “Growing in the Fear of the Lord,” I came to the understanding that one of the main ways to grow in the fear of the Lord is to hide God’s Word in your heart and meditate on it day and night. I exhorted the ladies I was teaching to read their Bibles daily. These Christians in Sudan, however, do not own Bibles, so how can they grow in the fear of the Lord? These Christians have hidden the Word in their hearts, and the Word is written on the tablets of their hearts. It does not take volumes of God’s Word to help us grow in the fear of the Lord. It only takes enough Word to build our faith, and then every time we remember that promise that built our faith, we become even stronger in our faith.

No one could face the tests and trials those Christians in the Sudan faced without having the hope of God’s promises securely in place in their hearts. The Word of God says we overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Testimonies are powerful, and this is why Satan tries so hard to ruin our testimony by trying to get us to sin. We have seen too much success lately in this tactic of the enemy.

Every testimony is based upon a trial of our faith, and when we reach heaven, these trials will turn to gold. Peter writes, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:6-7).

Today make it your goal to share your testimony with another, and Satan will not have success with you today. Your testimony is a mighty weapon against the enemy.

READ: Joshua 24:1-33; Luke 21:1-28; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 13:20-23

Proverbs 13:17-19 We talked about faithfulness yesterday and how it is the Lord who enables us to remain faithful (full of faith). This proverb speaks of the faithful ambassador. Verse 17 says, “A faithful ambassador brings health.” We are all called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are passing through a foreign land because as believers we have a new citizenship in heaven. When we are faithful in our role as ambassadors for Christ, we will bring health to others. There are many sick souls on this earth who are wanting healing. Only the ambassador for Christ can introduce these sick souls to the great physician Jesus who can heal every sin-sick soul. He is the healing balm that is poured upon the soul.

Ambassadors usually are assigned to specific countries where they take up residence. They are official representatives of their own country, and one of their charges is to inform people about their country and its policies. Think about it for a moment. If our citizenship is in heaven and we are ambassadors for Christ, then our duty is to inform others on earth about the country in which we have our citizenship—heaven.

Some people on earth picture heaven as a place where the saints ride on clouds and play harps.

Heaven is a real place. I remember hearing Betty Maltz give her testimony of what she saw in heaven when she died on a hospital bed and then revived. She said heaven is very much like earth, but everything is perfect. Nothing decays or dies, and there is no pollution. She noticed that much building was going on in heaven and Jesus was the foreman for all the buildings in heaven. Didn’t He say, “I go to prepare a place for you”? Everything in heaven was focused on the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There was no sorrow or tears in heaven, only abundance of joy, love and peace. There is only one policy in heaven: “Love the Lord and those around you, and worship the Lord your God with all your heart.” There are a lot of people in heaven to love.

When an ambassador goes to a foreign land, he is on assignment. As Christians we are strangers and pilgrims in the land, and we also are on assignment as ambassadors for Christ. Your assignment may be your own family, your neighborhood, your civic club, your garden club, your work place—wherever you find yourself during the day where other people are is your assignment.

What is your assignment? You must be faithful in your call as an ambassador for Christ and tell those who are sick where they can find healing, those who are brokenhearted where they can find hope, those who are heavy hearted where they can find joy, and those who are troubled in heart where they can find peace. The truth is everyone can experience heaven on earth if they daily obey the King of our country. His name is Jesus.

READ: Joshua 22:21-23:16; Luke 20:27-47; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 13:17-19

Psalm 89:1-13 One of my favorite hymns is “Great Is Thy Faithfulness.” We sang this at my oldest son’s wedding. As we sang this song, I thought of how faithful the Lord was in hearing and answering my prayers for wives for my sons. For years I prayed two things for my future daughters-in-law. I prayed they would first love the Lord with all of their heart, and second, they would simply adore my sons. After many years of waiting, I saw all three sons married in a nine-month period of time to the most wonderful young Christian ladies. They are just as beautiful on the outside as they are on the inside.

Psalm 89 is about God’s faithfulness. He extends, establishes and encircles us with His faithfulness. When we are not faithful, He is faithful. When we look at the word faithful and reverse this syllables, we see “full faith.” We have the faith of Jesus who works within us to cause us to have full faith. None of us have this power to remain faithful, except through the Holy Spirit who provides us the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in our hearts.

Yesterday we talked about the substance of faith, which is hope. Jesus Christ is our hope, and more than that He is our very faith. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (KJV).

There is a chorus I love that says, “I walk by faith, every step I take, I walk by faith.” Remember we are walking on the sure substance of faith called hope. Some people say, “I don’t have enough faith to believe for this miracle (it may be healing, financial provision, a job).” We all need these kinds of miracles in our lives, and often we feel so lacking in faith. The truth is we never lack faith if we have invited Jesus to come and abide in our hearts. Jesus Christ Himself is our faith. He is the faithful One who enables us to remain faithful. Great is His faithfulness, and His great faithfulness is imparted to us by Jesus Christ. If we abide in Jesus and His Word abides in us, God’s own character of faithfulness will be formed within us and displayed out of our lives.

Just this week I heard a testimony of a missionary in Sudan who saw her husband and five children killed by Muslim radicals. They cut her throat and left her for dead. She survived. Her picture was passed around our ladies meeting so we could pray for her. As I looked in her face I was awed at the glory of God that shone through her face. She did not look hopeless. She was radiant. Wouldn’t you think her first thought would be to leave Sudan immediately and never return? This was not the case. She chose to remain in Sudan to finish the call she and her husband had to this war-torn land. How could she remain? She has the faithful One.

READ: Joshua 21:1-22:20; Luke 20:1-26; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 13:15-16

Proverbs 13:12-14 Hope is the expression of something good. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m hoping for the bad”? Hope is the substance of faith. Faith is not a wispy substance that floats in the air. By faith the children of Israel walked on water across the Jordan. The moment the first priest put his foot in the water, the water held him up. Jesus walked on water. Peter walked on water. How were they able to do these mighty miracles? They were walking on a very real substance called faith. Faith solidifies everything that would ordinarily drown us—the circumstances of life, the trials and tribulations we encounter when God tests us or Satan tempts us.

Faith is solid because it is made of an upholding substance called hope. Hope provides the invisible stepping stones that allow us to cross the most treacherous seas of this life. This hope is different from the hope the world experiences. This hope is based on the Word of God and the living Word, Jesus Christ. Remember the song, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus and His righteousness.” Then it continues, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

Hope is the substance of faith, and this substance consists of building blocks called the promises of God. The highway to heaven is called “FAITH,” and this highway is paved with HOPE. When we were in Israel, our guide led us back from visiting Tel Dan on a very strange path. The path was a stream with rocks placed just enough distance from one another enabling us to leap from rock to rock. To leap from rock to rock, we had to have faith that we would not slip on the next rock and that we had the strength to make the leap. The Christian walk is like this. We take leaps of faith all of our lives, and we trust the next rock will be there for us.

Today’s passage in Proverbs says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (v. 12). You have heard the saying, “Now don’t get your hopes up because you will be disappointed.” If we place our hope in circumstances or people, we will always be disappointed, but if we place our hope in God’s promises, we will never be disappointed. I heard someone say, “The way to never be disappointed is to never expect anything.” Can you imagine a life without expecting good—a life without hope? Hope that does not produce the desired results will make a person sick at heart.

There was a song that went this way, “You’ve got to have hope, miles and miles of hope.” We can have miles and miles of hope if we will base our hope on the solid rock, Jesus, and on the solid promises of God in His Word. When we place our hope in Jesus and His Word, we will never be disappointed. HAVE A GOOD DAY (A DAY FILLED WITH HOPE)!

Lord, help me today to base my hopes on Your Son Jesus and Your Word.

READ: Joshua 19:1­-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14

Luke 19:1-27 One of my favorite songs I sing to children is “Zacchaeus.” It goes like this: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree, the Lord he wanted to see. And when the Lord came passing by He looked up in the tree and said, ‘Zacchaeus, you come down. For I’m going to your house today. I’m going to your house today.'” This passage tells us that Zacchaeus made haste and came down from the tree and received Jesus joyfully. Jesus was on His way to have lunch with Zacchaeus, and those around began to complain because He was going to the home of a sinner. Jesus says, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (vv. 9-10, KJV).

The other night we were talking with our Russian son about Touched by An Angel, our favorite program on TV. In fact, it is the only one we watch. We always enjoy this show because it has so much Scripture in it and it always has a good story line.

Vladimir told us that some Christians do not like the show. I asked him why, and he said, “Because the angels in the show reach out to people who are not saved.” I could not believe that some would object to angels reaching out to the lost because after all, isn’t that what Jesus came to do? He came to seek and save the lost. My guess is that those who murmur about reaching out to the lost are probably also lost. They may have a form of religion and may call themselves Christians, but they could be compared to the religious leaders in Jesus’ day.

Christianity is not a religion. It is a relationship with the living Jesus Christ. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were always opposed to Jesus. Today in America many have religion, but few have an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell us that in the End Times people will have a form of religion, but will deny the power of God.

Zacchaeus was seeking a relationship with Jesus, and this is why Jesus invited Himself to his home. Jesus said, “Zacchaeus, hurry up and come down; I’m going to your house today.” Zacchaeus responded joyfully to Jesus’ invitation, and he also repented for all of his wrongdoing and promised to restore fourfold to all who he had taken from because he accused them falsely. When we meet Jesus, we have no choice but to repent and ask forgiveness.

Daily Jesus gives this invitation to all. He says, “I must abide at your house.” If we have only a form of religion, we will never know the joy of having Jesus abide in our home (our hearts). When we hear His voice, we have to come down from the pride, religion and other strongholds that hold us, and then we must repent of these things. The result will be joyful.

READ: Joshua 16:1-18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11

Luke 18:18-43 Salvation is a gift from God. We cannot earn it, and we do not deserve it. Everyone needs to know about this priceless gift, which includes forgiveness of sins and love that lead us into wholeness in this life. The question is, “Who then can be saved?” Anyone who comes to Jesus because the Father has drawn him can be saved.

Is there someone you have been praying for years to be saved and nothing has happened? Things that are impossible with you are possible with God. No man can save a soul, but any man who is led by God’s Spirit can give the gift of salvation to even the hardest heart. The Scriptures tell us he who wins souls is wise. The Holy Spirit needs a voice on earth to share this great gift of salvation with others. He softens the hard heart and prepares it to receive the seed of God’s Word. Your intercessory prayers work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to remove the obstacles standing in the way of a person’s salvation, obstacles such as religious tradition, wrong beliefs, pride, unbelief, fear and generational bondages. Someone must then deliver the Word to this person, so you also can pray for laborers to be sent to witness to the person. You must, however, pray believing that it is God’s will to save this person.

A lady training me in sharing the gospel with others doubted that it was God’s will to save her son, who was strung out on drugs. She had prayed for him for years and nothing had happened. I read her the verse that tells us that God’s will is that none perish, but that all should come to repentance and the knowledge of His Son. As I shared with her, she confessed her unbelief as sin, and we prayed in faith for her son. One year later a young lady who was visiting Atlanta came up to me after a Bible study I taught in my church. She said, “You do not know me, but you know my mother-in-law. She came with a group of people to train others in sharing the gospel, and she was your trainer. You prayed together for her son. I am her new daughter-in-law. Before I married her son he was delivered from drugs and committed his life to Jesus Christ.”

Another lady shared with me that she had been praying for her father’s salvation for years. He was now in his eighties. One morning when she was in prayer the Lord spoke to her heart, “Do you fear that your father will not be saved before he dies?” She responded with a yes and then confessed her sin of fear to the Lord and asked Him with faith to save her father. Two weeks later she got a call from someone in her home town who shared that her father had responded to the invitation to receive Jesus and was gloriously saved in the church she attended as a child.

Scriptures tell us if we pray anything according to the will of the Father, He hears us and he will grant the petitions we desire of Him (1 John 5:15). You can rest assured that when you pray for the unsaved to be saved, you are praying according to God’s will. This morning with faith and no fear pray for those who need to receive the gift of salvation.

READ: Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 13:9-10

Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent Joshua, him and others to spy out the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who came back with a good report and were the only two adult men who survived the wilderness experience for forty years. They survived because they were men of faith. God honored their faith by granting them the privilege of entering into the Promised Land. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and nothing pleases God more than to see a man of faith. Caleb was a great man of faith. (Joshua 13:1-14:15)

Faith is acting upon what God has said is true. Faith is seeing things as God sees them. Faith is believing, receiving and acting upon all God has promised. When Caleb was 85 years old, he was still a man of faith. He saw the mountain he wanted, and he was bold enough to ask for it.

The faith that pleases God asks God for great things, things that in the natural would seem impossible. Notice Caleb made his appeal to Joshua for this mountain based upon his past record of obedience to the Lord. He said about himself, “I wholly followed the Lord my God.” Many presumptuously ask God for big things, but they do not receive them because they have not fulfilled a very important condition—obedience to God’s Word. Others ask God for big things, and they do not receive them because they ask amiss with a desire to fulfill their own lusts.

Caleb also based his request for the mountain on what Moses had promised him. He reminded Joshua of how Moses swore on that day Joshua and Caleb gave their good report that they would possess the land wherever they had trodden.

In order to possess this mountain, Caleb had to conquer it. He was 85 years old, but he had confidence in the strength the Lord had given him over the years. He told Joshua that he would be able to drive out the enemies on the mountain and possess it.

Joshua granted Caleb’s request, and Caleb did take the mountain. The mountain was in an area now called Hebron, where all the patriarchs are buried. It is symbolic for Abraham, the father of our faith, to be buried in the specific place where Joshua and Caleb first tread. Caleb finally possessed the mountain and drove out the most feared enemies of Israel—the Anakims, who were giants.

Is there a mountain you want to claim as your own today? This mountain is something that in the natural seems insurmountable to you. You can ask God to let you climb and claim this mountain.

Remember, however, a battle may await you and you will have to drive out the enemies who have formerly possessed this mountain. Has Satan robbed you of something that you want to reclaim? You have the power and authority to drive him off what rightfully belongs to you because of the cross of Jesus Christ. According to your faith be it done unto you.

READ: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8

Joshua 13:1-14:15 Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent Joshua, him and others to spy out the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were the only two who came back with a good report and were the only two adult men who survived the wilderness experience for forty years. They survived because they were men of faith. God honored their faith by granting them the privilege of entering into the Promised Land. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and nothing pleases God more than to see a man of faith. Caleb was a great man of faith.

Faith is acting upon what God has said is true. Faith is seeing things as God sees them. Faith is believing, receiving and acting upon all God has promised. When Caleb was eighty-five years old, he was still a man of faith. He saw the mountain he wanted, and he was bold enough to ask for it.

The faith that pleases God asks God for great things, things that in the natural would seem impossible. Notice Caleb made his appeal to Joshua for this mountain based upon his past record of obedience to the Lord. He said about himself, “I wholly followed the Lord my God.” Many presumptuously ask God for big things, but they do not receive them because they have not fulfilled a very important condition—obedience to God’s Word. Others ask God for big things, and they do not receive them because they ask amiss with a desire to fulfill their own lusts.

Caleb also based his request for the mountain on what Moses had promised him. He reminded Joshua of how Moses swore on that day Joshua and Caleb gave their good report that they would possess the land wherever they had trodden.

In order to possess this mountain, Caleb had to conquer it. He was eighty-five years old, but he had confidence in the strength the Lord had given him over the years. He told Joshua that he would be able to drive out the enemies on the mountain and possess it. Joshua granted Caleb’s request, and Caleb did take the mountain. The mountain was in an area now called Hebron, where all the patriarchs are buried. It is symbolic for Abraham, the father of our faith, to be buried in the specific place where Joshua and Caleb first tread. Caleb finally possessed the mountain and drove out the most feared enemies of Israel—the Anakims, who were giants.

Is there a mountain you want to claim as your own today? This mountain is something that in the natural seems insurmountable to you. You can ask God to let you climb and claim this mountain. Remember, however, a battle may await you and you will have to drive out the enemies who have formerly possessed this mountain. Has Satan robbed you of something that you want to reclaim? You have the power and authority to drive him off what rightfully belongs to you because of the cross of Jesus Christ. According to your faith be it done unto you.

READ: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8