“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them’” (Numbers13:1-2).

Moses chose twelve men to explore the Promised Land, one from each tribe of Israel.  Each of these men was an outstanding leader with exceptional skills, power and authority. All of them are listed by name in Numbers 13 and yet only two are known by us today: Joshua and Caleb. There is a definite reason for this.

Love, fear, obedience — when it comes to walking with God, they are inseparable because you cannot practice one without the other two.

“A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return” (Luke 19:12).

Jesus tells the parable of a nobleman who entrusted some of his servants with equal amounts of money to manage while he was away on a trip. Upon his return, the master asked for an accounting from the servants to evaluate how faithful each had been in his assignment.

While walking up a country road in New Jersey, I had a good talk with my Lord. I cried, "Lord, I can't live with fear and worry of all kinds. I want to face whatever the future holds with rest, joy and simple trust! I want total freedom from all fear and worry!"

The Holy Spirit quickened me: "The key to freedom from all fear and worry is found in two words — sparrows and hair. Remember what I said in Matthew 10:28-33. 'One of them (sparrows) shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered'" (verses 29-30).