All He does is WIN WIN WIN no matter what!

Oh! Jesus is amazing!
Is anyone familiar with Joshua? The Joshua of the bible? If you are not familiar with this man, there is an entire book about him in the bible named: Joshua. Haha.
Anyways, he was Moses' apprentice so to speak. And after Moses passed away, Joshua took over leadership of Israel and lead them to many victories against their enemy in a foreign land. Keep in mind, his victories were not won on his own, but won by the hand of God.
God was with Joshua.
This made Joshua a winner! Victorious!
And I want to talk about how you and I can have the same victory.

In Joshua, chapter 11, the bible speaks about Israel fighting against a HUGE army.

"When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent word to Jobab king of Madon, to the kings of Shimron and Acshaph, and to the northern kings who were in the mountains, in the arabah south of Kinnereth, in the westeren foothills and in Naphoth Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and west; to the Amorities, Hittities, Perizzites and Jebusites in the hill country; and to the Hivites below Hermon in the region of Mizpah. They came out with all their troops and a large number of horses and chariots-- a huge army, as numerous as the sand on the seashore. All these kings joined forces and made camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel."
Joshua 11:1-5

Now, let's think about this for a moment. King Jabin, sent word to many kings in the Northern region. Back then, they didn't have email, or a postal system. They didn't have phones or telegrams. They had horses, and messengers. Can you imagine how long this took to gather all of these men together? To come to an agreement concerning their alliances and provisions. I'm sure they discussed a campaign and strategy on how to eliminate the Israelites. These kings did not just blindly come together to fight. No. A smart king, is going to come up with a plan to win every battle. Right?
So I can only assume that throughout their meetings and traveling back and forth in between kingdoms, their plot to destroy Israel took some work, and some time. Apparently, Jabin had enough influence to talk these Kings into rallying their forces and joining him in this fight.
The kings of the Northern region must have felt powerful. They knew they were numerous and their number alone, should have promised victory. But they failed to realize who they were fighting against. They weren't fighting against Israel alone. They were fighting against God.
And ya know what?
God ALWAYS wins!!
I am reminded of life in general. I'm sure many of you have encountered people in your life who work together against you. It's the same scenario. The enemy will rally it's forces to bring you down. And the enemy does not work in small numbers, not all the time. Sometimes you face something or someone so huge, and so large, you doubt if you'll make it. But this story of Joshua is a reminder for those who are in Christ. For those who believe in Jesus, we have hope and a God is STRONG! Do you understand what I'm saying? GOD IS REALLY STRONG! He can boss haul anyone!
Were the Israelites afraid? I'm sure they were. They were facing a nasty battle that threatened to kill them all. And yet God told Joshua:

"Do not be afraid of them because by this time tomorrow, I will hand all of them over to Israel, slain." Joshua 11:6

God is saying, I know what you're going through. I know how big the battle may seem to you. I know that you are afraid of what might happen, but I am going to handle this. I am going to deliver you. I am going to protect. I am going to make you victorious against your enemies! Don't worry about what you may see in front you. The battle is already won, because I AM will deliver you.
He told Moses, His name was "I am" for a reason! God IS everything that you and I need.

There is power in the name of Jesus!! There is power in knowing that God is FOR you, not against you! But you cannot tap into this power if you don't believe in Him.
Do you believe in Jesus? Do you trust in Him? Do you obey the Lord?
The Israelites did. And they won the battle against the Northern Kings.
See, you can't win if you refuse to obey God. Jesus says, if you love him, you would obey his commands. Obedience to the Lord is righteousness. The Israelites would not have won if they refused to obey the Lord and follow His commands.
But in this case, they were victorious through Him.
God gave them rest soon after this battle.

The Lord does not change. No matter how big your enemy may be, remember God wins....no matter what. He will give you victory just like He gave the Israelites victory.
Trust and believe in Him. Call on Him and praise our God!
There is no one like Him.

I bless each of you, in Jesus' name.
Amen.

Mary W.

Emotions-----Being a mindful wife

Yesterday my husband and I had an indifference.
We were walking and my husband was tired and dealing with persistent bugs that bite, so he told me we were going home. This made me mad, and I lashed out at him.
This made him mad, and he walked on ahead of me. I had read earlier that morning in 1 Corinthians 4:20, that the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power. So while he and I were both angry, I spoke out loud against that spirit of limitations that covers my husband. I broke that hold on him in the name of Jesus. And I was passionate about it. John walked ahead of me until he got home. I made it home shortly afterwards. I found out later that he thought I was talking about him in a negative way. I was talking about him, but I was talking about him to Jesus, and claiming victory for my husband. He limits himself because of fear and sometimes laziness.
At home, we didn't argue. That's not what we do. We talk about our problems, but sometimes that may take a few hours before we are ready to speak. So, I went and did laundry and shopped for groceries. By the time I was done, and at home, he was ready to talk. I was ready to talk.
He apologized and I apologized.
In the past, I would have some long winded speech about what he did and how I felt and blah blah blah. But this time, I did not go on. I spoke briefly and listened. I listened to him speak. He doesn't speak readily like myself, like most women. As a man, he speaks when he is ready. I respect this and do my best to not incite him.
Last night, while in bed, he seemed distressed. I asked him to elaborate if he wanted and I would listen without lecturing. He kissed me and held me close for it, then he began to talk about what was on his mind. I don't get a chance to hear this often. But I was thankful that he would allow me to listen. My husband has been internalizing everything.
I did not know this. He never said a word.
All those times I thought he had his mind on things that were not important, I was wrong. He was concerned just as I was concerned. He just doesn't know how to deal with conflict. He is not confrontational and/or argumentative. He avoids it all costs. This is because of his mother. (that's another blog. LOL)
I lay in his arms and listened to my husband tell me his inner most thoughts about our life together and the problems we are facing together. There was a lot on his mind. I wanted to take it all away.
I thought about emotions this morning and how some of us will bottle everything up and not deal with it. This is dangerous and cause long term problems. My husband, my sweet sweet husband, has been bottling his emotions for a long time. And I never knew this.
Ladies, take time to talk to your husband. Take time to LISTEN. You don't always have to be right and you don't always have to do all of the talking. Our men are human, just as we are human. We may process things differently, but they have emotions and feelings too.
There are times they may try to take on the world by themselves. Remind them that you are there to bring them good, not harm. (proverbs 31:12) Remind them that they are not alone, you are their helper!
Encourage, praise and make your husband the second most important priority in your life. Jesus comes first. Your husband comes second. Don't waste time arguing with your man, or making him feel less of a man. You cannot define manhood. You are made a woman for a reason. Treat him with utmost respect and honor your husband. Tell him how much you love him. He fights for you (children if you have any) every day.
Don't let your emotions get out of control. Stop beating up your husband with your words. He deserves better. Find out how his mind works and remove the idea that you are always right. Because guess what, you are almost always wrong. This is why Jesus died for you, for me, for your husband, for everyone. 
Our emotions drive us to do crazy things...but they can be controlled. You can be disciplined.
Make a choice and constant effort to control your emotions.

Blessings to you.