Dear friends, I pray to find you blessed and walking in the Love of the Lord.
I would like to share about the Wholehearted life unto the Lord. Many of us will confess to living Wholehearted lives for the Lord, but our actions many times will say otherwise. Ultimately it’s not our own testimony of our Wholehearted lives, but rather God’s testimony of us.
In scripture there’s a lot of examples of people who were both HALF-HEARTED in following the Lord and those who WHOLE-HEARTEDLY or FULLY followed and served the Lord.
I would like to focus on a man named Caleb who God Himself testified as someone Wholeheartedly followed after Him! (Numbers 14:24) But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.
This man’s name was Caleb and we see his example of this Wholehearted life in action in - (Numbers chapters 13 & 14)
Joshua and Caleb were two of the twelve spies who Moses was commanded by the Lord to send them out on a mission to explore this luscious land of Canaan. A land that the Lord God promised to them, a land flowing with milk and honey. In other words – a land of cluster and abundance!!! Although the mission was meant to encourage Israel, the majority came back Discouraged and brought back a negative report that ended up discouraging everyone else as well. (Numbers 13:31-33)
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
See what was a PROMISE that was intended to encourage them, ended up in their own eyes, being a PROBLEM that discouraged them and because of it they discouraged everyone else with their negative report as well.
What happened? They took their eyes off the PROMISE and put it on the PROBLEM.
They Looked at the GIANTS in light of their own strength & ability instead of in God’s strength & ability
But as for the other two, Joshua and Caleb, their report was much different! In fact it was the complete opposite! Look at their report here in (Numbers 14:6-9).
6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
What happened here? Josh & Caleb Because of their Love for God, went against the grain of the world in spite of circumstances, in spite of negativity of those around them, in spite of peer pressure, and in spite of being the minority, even when the majority was in REBELIÓN!!!!
What happened here? Well Joshua & Caleb saw the difficulties, they weren’t in denial about them. They saw the Size of the giants, they saw the Power, and they saw the Strength they were up against.
But they CHOSE to look at their opponent in the light of GOD’S STRENGTH and GOD’S ABILITY, not their own! Amen.
Also they chose to look and FOCUS instead on the good about the land, not the bad. Do you see this?
See friends, being Wholehearted to the Lord is more than just going faithfully to church every Sunday. To Wholeheartedly follow the Lord is a call to righteously go against the grain of the world’s ways and standards, it’s to fully be given over completely to the Lord Jesus Christ, its to live empowered by the Holy Ghost, and to being heavenly motivated to fulfill the Lord’s will & purpose in ones life.
Joshua and Caleb came back with a positive report, because they CHOSE to keep their faith & trust in the Lord! Scripture says in (Philippians 4:8-9)
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable (whatever is of Good report)—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy— think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me— put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
In Collosians 3:2-4 it says-2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in Glory
So what we see is that a mind stayed on Jesus is a Positive mind, a Positive mind will keep you focused on the promise, and focusing on the promise will help you see the end Promise!! Hallelujah!!
In conclusion, I don’t know what Promise you are believing Father God for in your own life today, but my hope is that you would keep your eyes on the Lord, that you would not grow weary, that you would not faint or lose heart. But that you would instead be amongst those whom the Lord God will Himself testify, that like Caleb you are indeed Wholehearted to Him…
May the Lord keep you and bless you always until we arrive in the True and Eternal promised land, that has been promised to all who believe by faith in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ and who testify that He is indeed Lord! Romans 10:9
(John 3:16,17)16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
With love,
Your Brother in Christ Billy Montes