Love the Lord

Josh 22:5 But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

It is the same message for us today. Love God, obey him and stay close to him.

Our place of refuge

  

Josh 20:1  The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,
Josh 20:2  Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:
Josh 20:3  That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
Josh 20:4  And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.
Josh 20:5  And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.
Josh 20:6  And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.

I think of the women's refuge places when I read this. Often a woman will put up with physical and emotional abuse and have no place to turn. A Christian refuge place is a good place for them to go to be safe and to seek godly counsel. The devil has his places to go to that are just places for abortion and others flee to the arms of strangers and end up as sex slaves. It is a nasty world of lusts out there and we must be wise. God's world and his ways are beautiful and we are to go to Him for help. He loves us.

Runaway, the lure of the city

God is our refuge and hiding place and Jesus is our place of rest and peace.

2 Sam 22:1  And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:
2 Sam 22:2  And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
2 Sam 22:3  The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2 Sam 22:4  I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2 Sam 22:5  When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
2 Sam 22:6  The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2 Sam 22:7  In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.

For those who are in bondage, God through Jesus has promised you a way out, to be free.

1 Cor 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Prov 14:25  A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies.
Prov 14:26  In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Prov 14:27  The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.

God is our hiding place and Jesus is our salvation and peace. Come to Jesus and enter into his rest for your soul and a place for the healing of your body.

Fishermen

  

Luke 5:4  Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.
Luke 5:5  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.
Luke 5:6  And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake.
Luke 5:7  And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
Luke 5:8  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.
Luke 5:9  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
Luke 5:10  And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

Luke 5:11  And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

Before we can be fishers of men we must realize who Jesus is and we must humble ourselves before him, for we are sinners before a holy God. We are not to take credit for what God does through us. All glory is to God the Father and God the Son. Just as Peter obeyed and received a great catch, so are we to obey his commands. Just how much are we willing to give to God? They forsook all...and followed Jesus. The biggest fish that must be caught is a slippery one. We are that fish. Has Jesus caught you completely? You must be willing to follow him.

Mat 19:27  Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
Mat 19:28  And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Mat 19:29  And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Peter thought that he had given all to Jesus and later bragged that he would never forsake him, but he then denied him three times. Jesus did not give up on Peter. We have a self centered society that has entered the church "it is all about me, I am powerful, I am anointed, I say do this"...Give glory to God. He is anointed, he through us does the good work. It is Jesus not me, not you. Give all to Jesus and follow him. I am glad that Jesus is in control. He must increase and I must decrease.

Great man of faith

Caleb and Joshua were men of faith and courage. Caleb was of the tribe of Judah and Joshua was from the tribe of Ephraim, a son of Joseph. Jesus would come from the tribe of Judah and Joseph was a type of Jesus. These two princes of the 12 tribes believed God and came back from spying the promise land with a good report. The other 10 tribes were afraid; especially of the giants in the land, the sons of Anak. Forty five years have past and only Caleb and Joshua are left of all the adult men who left Egypt. Caleb is speaking to Joshua who is now the leader of Israel.

 

Josh 14:7  Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
Josh 14:8  Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
Josh 14:9  And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
Josh 14:10  And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
Josh 14:11  As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
Josh 14:12  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
Josh 14:13  And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

 

Josh 15:13  And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.
Josh 15:14  And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

 

What an example of faith is this man of courage. He held onto the promises of God and God gave him strength. His faith never wavered and in the end his people overcame the giants and received the promised inheritance.

 

We have a promised inheritance as joint heirs with Christ Jesus. We too are to have faith and continue until the promise is received. God will give us strength to overcome our natural and spiritual giants and we shall overcome them all. We are to be like Caleb an heir with Jesus by faith. Be of good courage. The grace of God will be with you all the way to the promise land.

Palm Sunday

Many Christians celebrate the Sunday before Easter as Palm Sunday. Some perform traditional rituals marking this day when Jesus entered Jerusalem in triumph on a lowly donkey.

Prophecy and fulfillment

Zec 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

John 12:12  On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
John 12:13  Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
John 12:14  And Jesus, when he had found a young ass, sat thereon; as it is written,
John 12:15  Fear not, daughter of Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt.
John 12:16  These things understood not his disciples at the first: but when Jesus was glorified, then remembered they that these things were written of him, and that they had done these things unto him.
John 12:17  The people therefore that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his grave, and raised him from the dead, bare record.
John 12:18  For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.
John 12:19  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? behold, the world is gone after him.

The jealous Pharisees were not impressed with this outcry of support for Jesus, their Messiah. Satan works in hearts to oppose the glory of God. No one fears meek and mild Jesus and his message of love. The world mocks him, the religious leaders crucified him. The devil fears him and works in hearts and minds to block him and his message of redemption.

He is coming again, not to die on a cross, not to be spit on and whipped, but he is coming as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords with a rod of iron in his hands on a majestic white horse. Every knee will bow to him and satan will be cast into a bottomless pit for a thousand years. The good days are ahead for those who trust in Jesus. You haven't seen anything yet. Look ahead and stand fast on his word and promises. Proclaim his name and cause the devil to tremble.

The sun stood still

  

Josh 10:9  Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night.
Josh 10:10  And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.
Josh 10:11  And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the LORD cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.
Josh 10:12  Then spake Joshua to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.
Josh 10:13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.
Josh 10:14  And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

 

I  have been tricked into signing a contract by someone who lied to me. This is what happened to Israel when they were tricked into signing a treaty with Gibeon. They honored the treaty and later when Gibeon was attacked by five local kings, Gibeon called upon Israel for help. Israel honored their treaty and God honored Israel. He fought for them with hail stones and at Joshuas request the sun and the moon stood still until the battle was over.

 

Joshua was not educated like our scientists today who say that it is impossible for the sun and moon to stand still. He just believed God for a miracle and God did the impossible for him. He held the sun and moon and earth in his hands and holds us in his hands. There is nothing impossible with God if we keep our word, honor his word and trust in him. 

 

Enforcing the law

Joshua 7:11 Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen the things that I commanded to be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them; they have also lied about it and hidden the things among their belongings.

12 That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. (NLT)

 A man named Achan had taken the forbdden things.

Josh 7:19  And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
Josh 7:20  And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done:
Josh 7:21 For I saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, two hundred silver coins, and a bar of gold weighing more than a pound. I wanted them so much that I took them. They are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest."

The law required that he be killed.

Josh 7:25 Then Joshua said to Achan, "Why have you brought trouble on us? The LORD will now bring trouble on you." And all the Israelites stoned Achan and his family and burned their bodies.

26 They piled a great heap of stones over Achan, which remains to this day. That is why the place has been called the Valley of Trouble ever since. So the LORD was no longer angry.

This was how it was under the law. Thank God for Jesus and the New Covenant of grace by faith. Is there sin in your camp? In your family? In your nation? Our God is a Holy God, do not fail him.


1 John 1:8  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1 John 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 John 2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1 John 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.