Exodus 23:23, "For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hitites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.”

Do you like battles? I am sure that you would rather avoid them if you could. We often think that battles just come upon us or the enemy of our souls instigates them. However, the above Scripture tells us that it is God who leads us into battle. It was God who brought the children of Israel face to face with their enemies. Before they could enjoy the promises of God they had to face their battles and win the fight!

Do not think that you are out of the will of God because you are facing trials and battles. God wants you to learn how to fight. He wants to reveal to His power to you. He wants to prove to you that He is the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of heaven.

God brought His people face to face with the enemy, but He did not leave them on their own. He stayed with them and fought with them. As they learned to trust God and not their own resources He showed His mighty right arm. They won every battle when they listened to God’s advice and were obedient to Him. (Joshua 24:8, 11)

Are you facing a battle in your life right now? God has brought you to this place and He is with you. He has not left you! He will fight for you. Listen to Him. Trust Him. Learn to use the weapons He has given to you—the power of the precious blood of Christ, the power of the name of Jesus (Yeshua), and the power of the living Word of God. Jesus Himself won his battles by confessing the Word of God and telling the devil, “It is written…” (Matthew 4:1-11) Wield these weapons with the authority that He has given to you as a child of God.

Revelation 12:11 tells us how to overcome, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”

The children of Israel did not straggle out of Egypt in whatever manner they felt like. No. They “left Egypt in war-like array.” (Exodus 13:18 Knox). The margin of my Bible says that they marched out five in a rank. They were ready for battle. They were an army.

You are also part of an army. As such you will continually face battles. When you realize this, you can put on your armor, rise up and fight in the power of God. Don’t waste your time feeling sorry for yourself any longer.

Not only do you have to learn to fight, but you must teach your children to fight. You must teach them how to fight against the enemy, how to fight against the temptations of the flesh to moods and to evil. This is our responsibility. Our children dare not go out to face this world without being expert in fighting the enemy.  

Judges 3:1-2 NLT tells us, “The Lord left certain nations in the land to test those Israelites who had not participated in the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.” Each new generation had to be trained in the art of war.

They did not train them half-heartedly. They trained skilful warriors (1 Chronicles 5:18), valiant warriors (1 Chronicles 7:2, 11) and they trained them to be expert in war. (1 Chronicles 12:24). Hebrews 11:34 tells us of those who “waxed valiant in fight.”

Are you afraid of the battle? Do not give in to your fears. Fear comes from the enemy. God will never leave you alone in your battle. Let me encourage you today, “Fight the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) and “war a good warfare.” (1 Timothy 1:18)

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Lord, I thank you that you are with me in every battle I face. I thank you for the powerful weapons you have given me. Help me to continually confess the power of your name and the precious blood of Jesus. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I am training my children to be expert in war.

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week.

If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Job 29:2-5, "Oh that I were… in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness… when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle, when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me…”

Job is going through his time of intense suffering and he thinks back to the days when God’s blessing was upon him. What a beautiful description he gives. There can be no greater blessing than to have our children about us and God’s presence filling our home. That sounds like heaven on earth, doesn’t it?

What is ‘the secret of God’? The Hebrew word for ‘secret’ is sod. It has different shades of meaning, but all similar—a group of intimate people who share confidential matters, a friendly conversation among friends, a cushion, a pillow, a couch, a familiar acquaintance, the counsel of the Lord. It is the same word used in Psalm 55:14, “We took sweet counsel (sod) together, and walked into the house of God in company.” From this we see that the ‘secret of God’ in Job’s home was nothing less that the intimate presence of God. It was like He was sitting on a cushion or low couch (as they did in those days) fellowshipping with Job, giving him counsel and telling him His secrets. It speaks of their intimate relationship.

Don’t you long for this? Job lost this for a time when God gave Satan permission to attack him, but it was not for long and all God’s blessings were restored double.

Let’s look at some other translations:

NIV, “When God’s intimate friendship blessed my house.”

The Message, “Oh how I miss those golden years when God’s friendship graced my home.”  What blessing to have our precious children sitting around our table. What joy to have dear friends stay in our home and grace our table as we richly fellowship together. But oh how much more to have God’s presence grace our home.  

NLT, “The friendship of God was felt in my home.” (RSV, NASB)

MLB, “the friendship of God lingered in my tent.” Oh how I love these words. We don’t want God to grace our home only on the odd occasion. We want His presence to linger in our homes. We want His presence to be felt in every room, by every person in the family, and everyone who comes into the home.

How does God come to our homes? By His Holy Spirit. But remember how easy it is to grieve the Holy Spirit? He is likened to the dove that is easily “frightened” and turned away by sin. God wants our homes to be an intimate secret place. To keep the preciousness of His lingering presence, we must protect our homes from the harshness of the world outside. We must guard our homes from the ugliness of sin, the rains of deception and vice, the biting winds of hardness and strife that would beat against us and the glitzy lightning of worldliness.

A home ceases to be a home when we allow the storms inside. It is a roof and some walls but cannot be called a home. A home is a haven, a hiding place from the storm, a sanctuary! And a place for the intimate friendship of God.

Perhaps you have allowed storms into your home. It’s never too late to repair the damage, build strong walls of protection and keep out the intruding elements. God loves to heal. God loves to restore. He wants to help you make your home a haven instead of being vulnerable to every outside influence.

Make your home a secret place from the world.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, long for your lingering presence in my life and in my home. Please come into my home and fill every room with your presence. I want you to be a familiar guest in my home. I welcome you to sit on a cushion and fellowship with me. I ask you to grace our table when we eat together. Amen.

AFFIRMATION:

I now see my home as a place of safety for my family. I will keep out every thing that will grieve the Spirit of God.

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week.

Genesis 1:28, "And God blessed them, and God said to them..."

The first thing God did after creating Adam and Eve was to bless them. That was God's first response. We are created in God's image and therefore should have this same desire to bless people.

We can bless in different ways.

1. We bless people by what we say.

God blessed and "said to them..." What do you say when you open your mouth? Is your first response to bless? To bless your husband? To bless your children? To bless the people you come in contact with? It is a God-like habit we need to cultivate. Think about things you can say that will encourage, inspire and bless and then say them. Words of blessing can be exhilarating words that will gladden a person's heart. They can be exhorting words that will spark vision and revelation and release people to do great things. Blessing words inspire people to be what God created them to be.

The word for “bless” in the Hebrew is eulogeo from eu which means “good” and logos which means “word, speech.” If you are a blessing person as God created you to be you will constantly be speaking good words.

2. We bless people by what we impart.

We invoke blessings when we pray. Pray prayers of blessings over your husband, your children and others. Pray and bless those who persecute you and say evil things about you. (Matthew 5:44) The Lord commanded Moses and his sons to speak blessing over all the children of Israel. God wants us to pray this blessing over each other today: 

“The Lord bless you and keep you;

The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.”

Numbers 6:24-26

3. We bless people by what we do.

Actions speak louder than words. 1 John 3:17-18 says, "But whoso hath this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

Of course, we must always keep the Scripture in context. The context of God's blessing in this Scripture is the blessing of children. This was God's first blessing to the man and woman He created. This is how we receive children. By God's blessing. *If we want to be in sync with God, we will think of children as a blessing. No matter what the circumstances, a child is always a blessing. This is what God says, so we either believe God or we don't.

This should be our first response when we conceive a baby - "How awesome! God is blessing me!"

This should be our response when we hear the news of someone else having a baby - "God is blessing you. Isn't that wonderful?"

May you be blessed.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Dear Father, you are a God of blessing. You have blessed me with life, salvation and every good gift. Please help me to be a blessing too. Help me to speak words of blessing to my family. Help me to make this a habit of my life so it is the first response to come from my lips. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

"I have been blessed and therefore I bless."

* Check out the Scriptures in my book, Be Fruitful and Multiply , Chapter 3. We see here that every time God wanted to give children he first pronounced a blessing upon them.

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week.

Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”

What a wonderful blessing to have God’s face shine upon us, to bask in the favour of His smile. Both Knox and Moffat translate it this way, “The Lord smile on thee.” God’s blessing is His smile. It is the blessing of His favor. It is the affirmation of His love to us.

Let’s read some other Scriptures from the Knox translation:

Psalm 21:6, “Comforted by the smile of thy favour.”

Psalm 44:3, “Thy smile shone upon them, in proof of thy favour.”

Psalm 67:1, “May God be merciful to us, and bless us, may He grant us the favour of His smile.”

Psalm 80:3,7,19, “Smile upon us, and we shall find deliverance.”

Psalm 90:17, “The favour of the Lord our God smile upon us.”

Psalm 89:15, “Happy is the people… that lives, Lord, in the smile of thy protection.”

Psalm 119:135, “Restore to thy servant the smile of thy loving favour.”
 

Where do smiles come from? As with everything else, they originate in God. He smiled first before we smiled. He still smiles over us. (Zephaniah 3:17)

A smile is like the sun shining upon us. There is one spot in the living area of our home where the sun shines in. I love this spot. I gravitate to it. To bask in the warmth of the sun not only brings warmth to the physical body but also to the soul. You can forget worries and problems when you bask in the sun.

Just as God blesses us with His smile, He wants us to bless our children in the same way. How often do you smile at your children? Occasionally? When they please you? Or do they bask in the warmth of your continual smiles? Smiling at your children will change the atmosphere of your home. It will change the attitudes and behavior of your children.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The more we behold the Lord, the more we grow into His likeness. In the same way, your children look at you all day. They will reflect and act out what they see on your face. If you are always frowning at your children, expect to have unhappy and grumbling children. But if you are always smiling at them, they will in turn become smiling happy children.

William Makepeace Thackeray said, “Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” Are you showing the smile of God to your children?

They will thrive as they bask in the favor of your smile. Every time you smile at them, you are telling them you love them, that you accept them, that you delight in them, that you are very glad God gave them to you. In the warmth of this blessing they will grow in grace and become all that God intends for them to be. All because of your smiles.

Try it dear mother. Start smiling at your children. Keep smiling at your children. Smile when you are happy. Smile when you are unhappy. Smile even when you don’t feel like smiling.

Oh by the way, when did you last smile at your husband? Smiling will keep your marriage in tact.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Father, I thank you for the favour of your smile. Help me to pass on your blessing to my children. Help me to be like you and smile at my children.  Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

Today I will smile at my children. I will bless them and bless myself.

It only takes 17 muscles to smile but 43 to frown!

www.aboverubies.org

Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read throughout the week.