They Did It Their Way
Today’s Passage – Judges 20, 21; Proverbs 27
(Second Milers also read – Revelation 4 – 6; Memorize John 10:29 – 30)
“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” – (Judges 21:25)
I hope that you are taking the time to carefully read these chapters in the Book of Judges. If you have, then you have noticed that there certainly is a lot of wierd stuff going on here in these passages; and you may be wondering if God is putting His stamp of approval on all that was happening. He certainly is not. The Bible here is merely recording honestly the condition of God’s people as they really were in this time period. They have certainly gone a long way away from the will of God. The concluding verse (above) to the Book of Judges seems to sum it all up: “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”. They could have sang the Frank Sinatra song, “I Did It My Way”. There was no earthly king, but the real problem was that they stopped submitting to the kingship of God. Israel was in a mess morally, and they had forsaken the system of worship that God had instituted for them as they wandered in the wilderness.
We can see this same problem in our country today. Our nation used to instill Biblical principles into the lives of her citizens. A lost heathen of 100 years ago knew more about the Bible and could quote more verses than the average Christian can today. We are a Bible illiterate society, and the dearth of the Word of God is manifesting itself in every area of our society. We are in a mess here in America. We call “right” wrong, and “wrong” right. We tolerate, condone, and even support the vilest immorality imaginable; and it is getting worse by the day. As a nation, we know precious little about the Person of God, let alone the Principles of His Word. We need to have an awakening like the children of Israel had in these chapters in the Book of Judges. Maybe God will have to shake our world a little bit more in judgment in order to get us to wake up.
I hate to say this, but the problem is also huge within our fundamental churches. It amazes me that people will come to church; listen to the Word of God as it is preached, and sometimes even nod their heads or say “Amen” in agreement; and then go out into their lives, and do the opposite of what God just instructed. And the crazy thing is, they don’t even realize that they are doing it. We need to wake up. We need God to shake us back into an awareness of our utter dependence upon Him. We need to follow the Word of God wholly, and allow the Spirit of God to guide us into all truth.
The nation of Israel entered into the land of Canaan with full intention to live according to the will of God for the rest of their existence. If you were to somehow show them how far away they would get, they would think it absurd; but slowly, and very gradually they moved further and further away from the truth. Christians, we are doing the same thing; and it is happening so gradually that we do not even notice it. Let’s get back to the basics of loving God, winning souls, and living in and by His Word.
Posted in Devotions, Thoughts from Judges by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Reading: Judges 18-19, Revelation 1-3, Proverbs 26
Today’s Passage: Revelation 2:19
What Will You Leave Behind?
Good morning! I’d like to show you two epitaphs from Revelation chapter 2. The first one is that of Antipas in verse 13: “…Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth,” All we know about Antipas is what is written in this verse. We know he was the Lord’s faithful martyr, and that’s all. Would you be happy if the Lord called you His faithful martyr? I know… faithful is okay, but you’re not too keen on the martyr part. What would Jesus say about you or me? The epitaph on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reads: “HERE RESTS IN HONORED GLORY AN AMERICAN SOLDIER KNOWN BUT TO GOD” Just like Antipas, we do not know anything about him, but God does. And He knows you. What would He say?
The second epitaph is in verse 19. Jesus is speaking to the church at Thyatira, and says, “I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works [NOTICE THAT WORKS ARE LISTED HERE TWICE. WHY…]; and the last to be more that the first.” That would be a great epitaph, doing your greatest works for the Lord near the end. We have works that we should be doing. Works which the Lord has prepared for us. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” These are only works that we can do. Your works are not my works, and my works are not your works; although they may overlap and we help each other. But my works are ordained of God for me to walk in, and your works are ordained of God for you to walk in. I’m reminded of the conversation that Jesus had with Peter in John 21. Jesus tells Peter several times that if you love Me feed My sheep. Then Peter turned around and saw John, and asked, “What shall this man do?” And Jesus answered, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me.” That would make a good epitaph also: “He followed Me.” Is that the epitaph the Lord would give you? Just something to think about.
Peace. (Romans 16:20)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
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Today’s Passage – Judges 14-17; Proverbs 25
(Second Milers also read – 1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Jude; memorize Hebrews 1:8)
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Teach Us
Today’s Passage – Judges 11-13; Proverbs 24
(Second Milers also read – 1 John 1 – 5; Memorize Hebrews 1:8)
“Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.” – (Judges 13:8)
In Judges chapter 13, we see the story surrounding the birth of Samson. Samson’s birth came at a time when Israel was once again away from God, and was suffering at the hands of the Philistines. An angel appeared to Samson’s mother, and told her that she was going to have a son, and that this son was to be a Nazarite from the womb. You may recall that God gave instructions regarding the vow of the Nazarite in Numbers 6; but this child, Samson, is the first example of a Nazarite in the Bible. We do not know all everything about this vow, but we do know that it was a vow of separation; and we also know that the person who had taken the vow was not to drink wine, cut his hair, or touch a dead body. The interesting point about this particular case is that Samson was to be a Nazarite from birth. He never makes a vow. His separation was chosen for him by the Lord. Anyway, the angel did not appear to her husband, yet Manoah believed what the angel had told his wife. Manoah then “intreats” the Lord and asks Him to send the angel back, not to prove that it really happened, but to instruct them as to what they were supposed to do. Interestingly, the angel comes back, but only tells Manoah exactly what he had already told his wife.
I like the petition made by Manoah in Judges 13:8. He wants God to “teach” them regarding what to do with the child. Manoah acknowledged that he didn’t know what to do. He was demonstrating a dependence upon the Lord. I find myself often not knowing what to do. I often pray the prayer that Solomon prayed:
“And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?” – (1 Kings 3:7-9)
And sometimes I pray the prayer that Hezekiah prayed:
“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” – (2 Chronicles 20:12)
The funny thing about Manoah’s prayer is that God never did give him any more information than He already gave His wife; but He did talk to him, and somehow assured him that He was going to be with him as he raised this special child for the Lord. Manoah was just going to have to continue walking by faith. It it is often frustrationg for me to walk by faith. I want God to reveal every step of the plan to me ahead of time, but He never does. He tells me what I need to know for today, and expects me to just keep walking, and keep trusting Him. But I do not think that He is upset with me for asking Him. Those prayers are my declaration of dependence upon Him.
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Bad Things Happen When Good Men Do Nothing
Today’s Passage – Judges 9, 10; Proverbs 23
(Second Milers also read 2 Peter 1 – 3; memorize Hebrews 1:8)
“And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:15)
This is a very strange passage of Scripture, but I think it contains a very valuable lesson for us. In chapter 8, we have Gideon who was mightily used of the Lord to rid the land of Israel from the hand of the Mideonites. After the battle was over, the people of Israel ask Gideon to be their leader, but he refuses, saying that the Lord is their ruler. However, without a good man leading them, the people once again begin to stray away from the Lord, forcing God to bring about judgment. Now when we get to todays passage, we see that one of the sons of Gideon does desire to reign over the people, and goes to all of his brothers asking them to support him, and they do. The problem is that this man, Abimelech, is a very wicked man. Once he gets his power, the first thing he does is have all of his brothers (70 of them) put to death. One of the brothers escapes, and stands upon a mountain and delivers this parable unto the people of the city of Shechem:
“The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” – (Judges 9:8-15)
The olive tree refused to act; the fig tree refused to act; the vine refused to act; so there was nobody left but the bramble, a sticker bush.
What he was saying through this parable was that oftentime good men will refuse to take ther place of leadership, perhaps because they are already busy doing good things. However, when good men refuse to act, there will always be an evil person that will sieze the opportunity to gain power, and use it for his own purposes. This is what happens to the people of Shechem. Gideon refused to lead, and then his sons willingly turn over control of the city to this one brother. Eventually, as a result of all of this, just about everybody is put to death.
Bad things happen when good men do nothing. By refusing to get involved, we sometimes create a scenario where the wrong kind of people start calling the shots. Let’s apply this to the local church. Often times there are carnal people within the church that are hungry for power, and they are always looking for opportunities to advance themselves. And there are others within the body, who are good men, who just sit back and let it happen: perhaps because they have a lot of things going on in their lives, or maybe because they are just trusting men, who are willing to yield to others. By the way, it is never a good sign when an individual is seeking position. Truly spiritual people will often be reluctant to take positions because they either feel unworthy, or doubt their own ability. However, we need to not neglect the opportunities and responsibilities that God places in front of us, because when we refuse, it opens up the door to someone else who may not be God’s choice.
We can also see this in government. Good people often refuse to get involved, leaving the door wide open to men who may not have the best interests of the people at hand. The end result of all of this is that things begin to change for the worse for everybody. Good people need to stay in the process, so that we all can keep the good things that God has entrusted to us. How involved are you in the process? Do you get involved in the local church, and in your community and local government? Do you even vote? We need good people to do their part. The devil never stops trying to advance his agenda. We need to stay in the game in order to keep him from taking from us the wonderful blessings that God has given us.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
You Can Do A Lot With A Little
Today’s Passage – Judges 7, 8; Proverbs 22
(Second Milers also read – 1 Peter 1 – 5; memorize Hebrews 1:8)
“And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people are yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there: and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.” – (Judges 7:4)
This is one of my favorite passages in all of the Bible. The nation of Israel was at war with the Midianites, who numbered 135,000. The Bible says that even the number of their camels was too large to count. The camp of Israel, on the other hand, was much smaller, numbering only 32,000. The people of Israel were already outnumbered by more that 100,000 men, yet God said that Israel had too many men, and He wanted most of them weeded out. First, He eliminates all that are afraid. I have to admit right here that I know that I would have been eliminated in this first cut. Afraid!! I would have been scared to death. Israel was outnumbered nearly 5 to 1. Amazingly, after the fearful left, there was still 10,000 left. Now they were outnumbered 13 to 1. This is not good military strategy folks. Yet, God said that they still had too many. At the next cut the troops of Israel were reduced down to 300. This was 440 Midianites to every 1 Israelite. You would agree, that this left Israel in a (humanly) hopeless situation. But you know what happens, don’t you. God gave the victory.
Consider some other verses:
“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few.” – (1 Samuel 14:6)
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” – (Luke 1:37)
“Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.” – (Genesis 18:14)
Sometimes, I get a little discouraged that we don’t have more people in our town that are saved and living for the Lord, serving Him in one of the Bible preaching churches. It also bothers me when there seem to be so few within the local church that are really surrendered to the Lord. But when I read passages like this I am reminded that God can do an awful lot with a little. He took down a great big giant with a little teenager. On numerous occasions He destroyed powerful armies with a few sold out soldiers. God loves to be the “underdog”. He loves to show Himself powerful in impossible situations. We may only have a few soldiers in the army at Jersey Shore Baptist Church, but God is more than able to reach the multitudes with them. And God is also ready to show Himself powerful in your life. What impossible situation are you facing today?
Posted in Thoughts from Judges by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Third Time’s A Charm
Today’s Passage – Judges 4-6; Proverbs 21
(Second Milers also read – James 1 – 5; memorize Hebrews 1:8)
“And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.” – (Judges 6:36-37)
Three times in Judges 6 Gideon asks the Lord for a sign of some sort in order to assure him that it was, in fact, God that was speaking to him. The first time occurs when the angel of the Lord first appears to him in verse 17. Here he wants to be sure that it is the Lord. Maybe he was afraid that he was hallucinating, or perhaps being tricked. The Lord proves Himself to Gideon by consuming the kid and the bread upon the rock with fire.
The second and third time was regarding the fleece. He puts out the fleece twice: two nights in a row. The first night, he asked that the fleece would be wet with dew, and the ground dry. The second night, just to be sure, he asked that the ground be wet and the fleece be dry. God graciously proved Himself to Gideon on all of these occasions.
I have often heard people say that Gideon was not acting in faith because he kept asking for some sort of a sign. However, we must remember that God had not recorded in His word at this point anything about Gideon’s situation. Had God written through Moses or a prophet that there would be a man named Gideon that would deliver the children of Israel from the hand of the Mideonites, there might be a reason to accuse Gideon of lacking faith; but this was totally unpredicted, and unprecedented. I don’t blame Gideon for wanting to be sure that He was doing the will of God.
Today, we certainly are to walk by faith and not by sight. Most of what God calls us to do is clearly revealed in His Bible; but every once in a while, He reveals His will to us personally through extraordinary means. This does not happen very often, but it does happen. I have been saved for twenty years, and I can point to a few examples of times when I put forth a “fleece” in order to determine God’s will. I will share one of these incidents with you. When I was in my senior year of Bible college, I was very burdened about what I was going to do after I graduated. There were a few opportunities offered to me in various places and capacities; but I wanted to be sure that I was completely following the will of God. In my heart, I wanted to come back home to New Jersey; but I was not sure that my heart was lining up with God’s will. I began to pray. I decided one day to call up Pastor Charlie Clark, who pastored in south Jersey, in order to get some advice from him. I told him that I was praying about coming back to New Jersey to start a church, or work for a church. He recommended that I head back to New Jersey upon graduation, and we would begin to pray and work toward the planting of a church. I was very excited about that prospect, but God had a slightly different plan. You see, as God was working in my heart about coming to New Jersey, unknown to me, He was also working in another pastor’s heart about moving away from New Jersey. Just a few minutes after I got off the phone with Pastor Clark, He received another phone call from Pastor Dan Owens. Brother Owens was the man who started Jersey Shore Baptist Church. The Lord was leading him to go back into the military as a chaplain, but he wanted to make sure that he left his church in good hands. So Brother Owens called Pastor Clark in order to see if He knew of any pastor that was praying about coming to New Jersey. “Coincidentally”, Pastor Clark did know of someone. Pastor Clark has since shared with me that he has had very few phone calls through the years regarding people either looking for a church, or looking to leave a church; and to get two such calls within minutes of each other was definitely a “sign” that this was of God.
I am not saying that we should be tempting God, or asking God to prove Himself to us. If we are His children we have already placed our faith in Him, and in His revealed will through the Word of God. I am saying, though, that it is OK to ask God to clearly reveal His perfect will for your life. If your like me, you want to be sure that you are doing exactly what God wants you to do. There are a lot of big decisions to make in life, and they are not all completely covered in the Bible. For instance: Who are you going to marry? Where you are going to live? What will be your life’s vocation? Where will you go to college? These are all important questions, and you want to be sure you are in the perfect will of God. I don’t think you are wrong to ask God to miraculously reveal His will to you personally, as He did to Gideon in our reading today.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
Third Week of “Are You Happy?” Campaign
Today’s Passage – Judges 1-3; Proverbs 20
(Second Milers also read – Hebrews 9 – 13; memorize Hebrew 1:8)
Pray for our church today as we strive to glorify God in everything that we do today. Pray for souls to be saved, and saints to be challenged to reach others with the gospel.
Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl
Today’s Reading: Joshua 22-24, Hebrews 5-8, and Proverbs 19
Today’s Passage: Joshua 24:14-18: Service With A Smile
While reading today’s passage, a question popped into my head: why serve the Lord? Israel knew God, and gave four reasons why they should serve Him, and not the false gods of the land. Joshua is giving his fair-well talk with the nation of Israel. They are ready to go to their homes and enjoy the promised land which God has given them. And Joshua is charging them: “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God.” (Joshua 24:14-18)
The Lord brought them out of Egypt: freed them from bondage: freed them from being slaves to the Egyptians. The Lord did miracles in their sight. The Lord preserved them as they journeyed to the promised land. And the Lord drove out the people He knew would cause Israel to chase after strange gods. Those were the four reasons that Israel had for serving the Lord. As Christians, we have the same four reasons to serve the Lord.
He freed you from the bondage: the bondage of sin.
From the day you understand the difference between wrong and right, sin has had you in it’s grip. One day you would die because of sin. Ezekiel 18:20 says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die…” We are all sinners and in bondage to sin: we have a death penalty placed on our heads. God saved us out of bondage through God the Son: the Lord Jesus Christ. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:31-36)
Paul reinforces this with Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” So just as God frees Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He frees us from the bondage of sin.
Not only that, can you imagine chasing after the Amorites with Israel? Then seeing the Lord cast down great hailstones at the enemy which killed more than Israel did with the sword. Can you imagine seeing this? And right after that, “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. 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.” (Joshua 10:12-13)
Can you imagine seeing that? Israel saw it happen, miracles from God. Have you seen any miracles? No? When you see someone bow their head and ask Jesus to come into their heart, you see a miracle. You see a dead spirit coming back to life. That’s a miracle. When you see someone you’ve been praying for healed of cancer, or some other disease, that’s a miracle. That’s the work of God the Holy Ghost. The Spirit quickens: gives life (see 1Peter 3:18). When we receive Christ, the Holy Ghost gives life to our spirit which has never lived. But this is not the only job of the Holy Ghost. Israel was preserved on their journey to the promised land, even their clothing, Moses reminded them of this in Deuteronomy 8:4: “Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.” God preserved Israel as they journeyed to the promised land, and He preserves us as we journey through life to our home in heaven. Ephesians 4:30 says: “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” The Holy Ghost preserves us. The Holy Ghost preserved the apostle Paul. He suffered more than anyone reading this today for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read the account he gives in 2Corinthians 11:20 thru 28. Paul went through a lot, yet God was there and took him through it all. God preserved him.
The forth reason the people gave for following the Lord, is that He drove the people out. God knew that if the people of the land remained, that the would turn Israel away from following God. Israel would follow after their little ‘g’ gods. In looking back, I find that many of my old friends are not around anymore: the ones I knew before I got saved. It wasn’t anything I did. They didn’t run away because of giant hailstones. God got them out of my life because He knew they would turn me away from following Him. The Bible says in 2Corinthians chapter 6, verses 14 thru 18: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” He brought us out, and we may not notice it until we take a look back to whence we came.
So the Lord sets us free from the bondage of sin. He does miracles in our lives. He preserves us on our journey to heaven. He separates us from the things that may turn our hearts away from Him. Can you think of any of the many other reasons we have to serve the Lord? Yes? Then why aren’t you? God has given you a gift to edify others in the church. Using your gift to lift up the spirit of a brother or sister who is hurting is a gift that edifies. Being a “pew warmer” is not. If you are not sure how you can serve the Lord, ask your preacher. Did you know that on the average, 10% of church members do 90% of the work? Maybe the gift that God has given you will influence others to serve also. When you exercise the gift that God has given you, that 10% will grow. How much? I can not tell you, but it is a lot easier for 11% to do 90% of the work than it is for 10%. No matter what the reason, start serving the Lord.
Peace. (Romans 14:19)
Posted in Guest Posts, Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.
He Keeps His Promises
Today’s Reading – Joshua 19-21; Proverbs 18
(Second Milers also read – Hebrews 1 – 4; memorize 1 John 5:7)
“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” – (Joshua 21:45)
In the Book of Joshua, in chapters 19 – 21, we see the continuation of the division of the land among the 12 tribes of Israel. Chapter 20 specifically deals with the six cities of refuge; and chapter 21 reveals the 48 cities that were to be given to the the Levites. These cities were to be given from within the borders of all of the other tribes so that the priests and ministers of the Lord would be nearby all of the people of Israel. The Levites were not really given a possession of land, but they were provided cities to live in, and suburbs for their cattle to graze in. This is probably where we got the idea of the church parsonage; and it is probably also why the United States Government does not tax these dwellings. God made sure that His ministers were well taken care of.
The verses that really captured my attention, however, from this morning’s reading was in chapter 21, verses 43 – 45. Here it says that God held up His end of the bargain. He did everything that He said He would do. He promised them a land, and He delivered. He promised them victory over the inhabitants of that land, and He gave it. He promised them provision all along the way, and they were provided for. In fact, the only time that things did not work out as they were supposed to was when the people did not listen to God’s instruction, and acted outside of His will.
We can trust in the promises of God. There are many promises for us in the New Testament. Some of them are unconditional, like our eternal security once we’ve placed our faith in Christ. However, many of them are conditional upon our obedience and faith. God says that if we will follow Him, He will do certain things for us. For instance He says that He will provide for us, and protect us, and give our lives purpose. These are only a few general samples of what God promises His children today. And God will keep up His end of the bargain. He will do what He says He will do. The question, however, is, will you follow Him? Will you trust Him, and do what you’re supposed to do. If things don’t turn out as He promised, it’s not because God slipped up. It is because we haven’t done what we are supposed to do. Why not find and believe God’s promises for you today; and why not do what He says that you have to do on your end in order for Him to bless you and your family.
By the way, the picture of the rainbow at the top is a reminder of one of God’s promises. He promised back in Genesis that He would no longer destroy the whole earth with a flood. There has been flooding at many times and in many places, but the water never again engulfed the entire earth. He told us that He set His bow in the clouds to remind us of that.
Posted in Thoughts from Joshua by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.