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Let's be God's Obedient Children

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But the LORD said to me, "Tell them, 'Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.'" So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the LORD'S command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. (Deuteronomy 1:42~43)

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The new year has come.
I hope in this new year there will be only good things in our lives.
I hope God will help us in all of our good plans.

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When the new year comes we make many resolutions.
However the most important resolution is to say yes to all of what God says to us in this whole new year.

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God saved the Israelites who were living in Egypt as slaves.
The Israelites headed towards the land of their dreams called Canaan.
God promised that the Israelites would surely have Canaan.

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Finally the Israelites reached where they could see Canaan.
God already promised the Israelites that he would give the land to them.
So Moses went to Canaan to fight believing in God`s promise.

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However the Israelites did not obey God`s words.
Because they were afraid, they sent out spies and they said they would decide after they heard from the spies. So Moses sent the spies first.

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When the Israelites listened to the spies their minds changed.
They doubted the promise of God that they could conquer Canaan.
So they said they couldn`t go to Canaan.

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God was very angry with the faithless Israelites.
So God decided to punish the nonbelieving and always complaining Israelites.
God did not allow those who did not say yes to his words to go inside Canaan.

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Moses said to the Israelites the punishment from God,
" God has said except for Joshua and Caleb and your young children nobody is to be allowed to go inside Canaan.

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When the people heard this they were in shock.
Just then they realized they had wronged God. "We have committed a great sin.
Now we will go to Canaan and fight as the LORD said to us."

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The Israelites prepared the weapons for war.
But this time God told them not to go.
"Tell the people not to go nor fight. I will not be with them."

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Yet again they did not follow God`s words. They went out to fight even though God told them not to do it. Even though God said he would not be with them they went to fight because of their pride.

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The Israelites fought with the Amorites.
The Israelites lost big time to the Amorites and they chased them away.
It was because God was not with them.

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The Israelites made two big mistakes in today's story.
First off, they did not obey God when they were told to go and fight.
Only when God says and we obey will we be blessed.

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The second mistake is that they went to fight when they were told not to, they went to war by themselves without obeying. God did not like this either.
That time it was okay not to go because God had said so.

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We friends of faith should not make the same mistakes as the Israelites did today in this story. What God is asking us is to be obedient when he says something to us. Even if it is something that we want to do and God says no we should not do, and to those who obey; God will bless them. I hope we will be friends of faith who will only obey what God says.