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God’s message to me: Never forget God whom you serve. Never forget His other servants. Never forget to stand with those who stand with God. Never place yourself above others who serve God. Never stand against those who serve God. Never, Ever, ever forget God’s chosen people Israel. There is no replacement of the covenant with Israel. We are grafted into the family of God and joint heirs with the family of Abraham but, we have not replaced them. They are our brother. They were born to the family, we are adopted. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for the strength of Israel.
Promises: God will give you the desires of your heart, He will give you ease, rest, wealth, health, supply and comfort and all the rest. He will clear your enemies from before you and give you the power to strike such fear in them that one of you can chase 1,000 of them, so long as you serve and love Him. Turn from the path of faith, serve false gods and betray your faith in Jehovah, and He can swiftly bring on you the destruction He brought on those who refused Him and stood against you in the past.
Commands: Choose today, whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Timeless principles: In times of ease, it is easy to forget the Powerful Hand of God which brought you through the times of turmoil. It’s convenient to adapt to what is around you and easy to fall into false worship. It’s easy to forget worship altogether. It’s easy to forget God’s commands and look to enrich yourself at the expense of your tithes, offerings, and following the moral behaviors God set down for you. That is when God will punish your actions and bring you to misery in order to refocus your attention on the One who can bring you out of trouble.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The world is filled with tempting ideas. Tendrils of false religion pretending to be acceptable within the true faith. Astrology, yoga, transcendental meditation, “biblical evolution” and so many more. Make no mistake, these are false religions serving false gods. An image you set up in your mind of a god that does not match the God of the bible is a false god and graven image. The loving god incapable of dooming anyone to hell is a false god. The god who uses evolution to accomplish his goals instead of simply speaking things into existence is a false god. Recognize and reject false gods and false religions. Choose to follow I AM unequivocally, and do not turn from that path. Do not turn your worship to any false methods that are not in keeping with what is commanded in the bible.
more to learn for in-depth study: These passages start by describing the events following the wars to conquer the promised land. The Tribes which had land on the other side of the Jordan River were given leave to return to their homes after the land had been conquered for the other tribes. They built an alter to be a reminder that they were indeed part of the tribes of Israel and followers of Jehovah just as their brethren in the promised land were.
The next portion is a description of the events around 25 years later just before Joshua dies. He reminds the Israelites that they serve a jealous God. Those who choose to serve God and then turn away to follow false gods can expect swift revenge from the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israelite history starts with the father of Abraham in the land on the other side of the Euphrates. There the serving of false God’s was common. Abraham was brought into the promised land and traveled through out it as did his son Isaac and Isaac’s son Jacob. Jacob’s brother was given the mountain lands which is now Edom while Jacob, then called Israel, moved his family to Egypt. where other false gods were served. God brought them out of Egypt, through the wilderness and into the promised land where He fought for them and overcame the enemies in the land so they could inherit it. He drove out the others because they followed false gods, and some still dwelt in the land that followed false gods. Jacob warned the Israelites to choose to follow the One, True God, Jehovah or be brought down by Him for disobedience.
Finally, the passage reminds us that the bones of Joseph were brought out of Egypt with the Israelites. They are finally buried in the tomb of the patriarchs which Abraham purchased in the land to bury His wife and later became the burial place for Himself, Isaac, Isaac’s wife, Jacob’s wife and Jacob himself in a funeral attended by the royal guard of Egypt. Joseph made the Israelites promise to bury him there as well when the time came that God brought them out to inherit the land He had promised them.
tomorrow: Judges 1-3
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joshua. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Joshua 19-21
God’s message to me: Life is not an endless struggle. God gives us an inheritance which we must claim. It may be a ministry, a job, a business or something else. We have to go out and take it. This fits a classic saying I heard from someone I used to work with. “Work really hard for 10 years and manage your finances through it and you will never need to work again.” The man was a financial advisor and knew his job well.
We will need to work for what is ours and, that begins with knowing what is ours. God intended us to do great things but discovering which great things involves a little study, prayer and soul searching. Once we know our destination we can start heading there and once we arrive we can enjoy it in peace. The Israelites fought several years of war to take their land and then rested on it in peace. The priests and Levites worked until a certain age and then retired. The people, generally, spent several years building their business or developing their lands and then could enjoy their wealth afterward.
Today we work until retirement and then rest. Many see retirement as 65 or older but the truth of what my friend told me is inescapable. The bible has something like 4 verses on money management for every verse it has on prayer. If we manage our money properly and are willing to work hard to earn it for a few years we can retire much sooner. Some are able to find a job doing what they love and, as such, they never feel like they are working. Such people rarely retire. Some will feel a duty to continue for others. First responders, soldiers, doctors and the like may feel they need to continue as long as they can be effective. The rest of us will retire as soon as the finances say we can.
Consider this, starting when you begin to work, you should look to save money for your future. Most young people have the retirement at 65 so ingrained that they don’t even think they can do otherwise unless they hit the lottery. Savings isn’t a priority. If the work statement is true a young person with a decent job at 18 could retire at 28-33 years old and spend the rest of their life financially free and capable of pursuing interests that they love. Some of those interests may even be profitable. I have seen the results of this with military people. Joining the military at 18 they pursue a 20 year career and retire with a military pension and benefits at 38. Still quite young they take advantage of military finance programs to get business loans with easy terms and start a second career without a boss. 20 years of military discipline tends to make them a little more successful than average and whether they pursue the new business for 10 years or longer they never have to concern themselves to much with money. Imagine retiring from your first career after 20 years with a pension and substantial retirement savings because you had low expenses in the military or, as a civilian, you worked more than one job and pushed to make the extra money. Your 38 years old and have nearly $1.5 million in your retirement account. That’s calculated starting from a part time minimum wage job with 5% growth in income per year for 20 years. That barely beats inflation and the savings went from 20% at 18 down to 5% at the end of 20 years assuming a drop in savings as the person moves into their own place, gets married and has kids. God can do it for you and for your children.
Promises: God will give you rest. When the Israelites obeyed His will they had to fight for their goals a few years and then could rest from battle and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Fields they didn’t plant, homes they didn’t build, fortunes they didn’t seek all earned through the efforts to claim the land God gave them and remove the ones God rejected from the land. Is that so different from working a few years in a job.
Commands: Claim what God has intended for you. You can never enjoy the gifts of God until you claim them. Salvation by grace is the greatest gift of all but until you accept it and claim it for your own you will never see the gates of heaven.
Timeless principles: I mentioned it earlier and I’ll repeat it. “Work hard for 10-15 years and manage your money and you will never have to work again.”
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The bible is filled with advice on stewardship and there are plenty of resources available in the secular world as well. Find the job that God intended you for and do it. Don’t be worried about failure, if you do what He wants you cannot fail. Manage your resources and your finances(don’t forget your tithes and offerings) and prepare for the future. You will find rest. Remember the lesson of Joseph. By setting aside 20% of the crop during the years of plenty Egypt had enough food to keep it’s own people and those of surrounding countries fed during 7 years of famine. They sold their stockpiles at profit so that at the end of those 14 years they were among the richest kingdoms on earth.
more to learn for in-depth study: These chapters complete the promise of the promised land. The remaining land is divided among the Israelites, Joshua Inherits the choice city he spied out and the cities of the Levites are given to them with the cities of refuge assigned. The tribes conquer all enemies and are given rest with no enemy willing to stand against them. The tribe of Dan even takes territory outside the assigned boundaries when a neighboring country starts a bit of a skirmish and looses. The tribe of Dan conquered the neighbor took the city and inhabited the land.
tomorrow: Joshua 22-24
We will need to work for what is ours and, that begins with knowing what is ours. God intended us to do great things but discovering which great things involves a little study, prayer and soul searching. Once we know our destination we can start heading there and once we arrive we can enjoy it in peace. The Israelites fought several years of war to take their land and then rested on it in peace. The priests and Levites worked until a certain age and then retired. The people, generally, spent several years building their business or developing their lands and then could enjoy their wealth afterward.
Today we work until retirement and then rest. Many see retirement as 65 or older but the truth of what my friend told me is inescapable. The bible has something like 4 verses on money management for every verse it has on prayer. If we manage our money properly and are willing to work hard to earn it for a few years we can retire much sooner. Some are able to find a job doing what they love and, as such, they never feel like they are working. Such people rarely retire. Some will feel a duty to continue for others. First responders, soldiers, doctors and the like may feel they need to continue as long as they can be effective. The rest of us will retire as soon as the finances say we can.
Consider this, starting when you begin to work, you should look to save money for your future. Most young people have the retirement at 65 so ingrained that they don’t even think they can do otherwise unless they hit the lottery. Savings isn’t a priority. If the work statement is true a young person with a decent job at 18 could retire at 28-33 years old and spend the rest of their life financially free and capable of pursuing interests that they love. Some of those interests may even be profitable. I have seen the results of this with military people. Joining the military at 18 they pursue a 20 year career and retire with a military pension and benefits at 38. Still quite young they take advantage of military finance programs to get business loans with easy terms and start a second career without a boss. 20 years of military discipline tends to make them a little more successful than average and whether they pursue the new business for 10 years or longer they never have to concern themselves to much with money. Imagine retiring from your first career after 20 years with a pension and substantial retirement savings because you had low expenses in the military or, as a civilian, you worked more than one job and pushed to make the extra money. Your 38 years old and have nearly $1.5 million in your retirement account. That’s calculated starting from a part time minimum wage job with 5% growth in income per year for 20 years. That barely beats inflation and the savings went from 20% at 18 down to 5% at the end of 20 years assuming a drop in savings as the person moves into their own place, gets married and has kids. God can do it for you and for your children.
Promises: God will give you rest. When the Israelites obeyed His will they had to fight for their goals a few years and then could rest from battle and enjoy the fruits of their labor. Fields they didn’t plant, homes they didn’t build, fortunes they didn’t seek all earned through the efforts to claim the land God gave them and remove the ones God rejected from the land. Is that so different from working a few years in a job.
Commands: Claim what God has intended for you. You can never enjoy the gifts of God until you claim them. Salvation by grace is the greatest gift of all but until you accept it and claim it for your own you will never see the gates of heaven.
Timeless principles: I mentioned it earlier and I’ll repeat it. “Work hard for 10-15 years and manage your money and you will never have to work again.”
How can I apply what I’ve learned: The bible is filled with advice on stewardship and there are plenty of resources available in the secular world as well. Find the job that God intended you for and do it. Don’t be worried about failure, if you do what He wants you cannot fail. Manage your resources and your finances(don’t forget your tithes and offerings) and prepare for the future. You will find rest. Remember the lesson of Joseph. By setting aside 20% of the crop during the years of plenty Egypt had enough food to keep it’s own people and those of surrounding countries fed during 7 years of famine. They sold their stockpiles at profit so that at the end of those 14 years they were among the richest kingdoms on earth.
more to learn for in-depth study: These chapters complete the promise of the promised land. The remaining land is divided among the Israelites, Joshua Inherits the choice city he spied out and the cities of the Levites are given to them with the cities of refuge assigned. The tribes conquer all enemies and are given rest with no enemy willing to stand against them. The tribe of Dan even takes territory outside the assigned boundaries when a neighboring country starts a bit of a skirmish and looses. The tribe of Dan conquered the neighbor took the city and inhabited the land.
tomorrow: Joshua 22-24
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Numbers 25-26
God’s message to me: Political correctness would tell us that we should be tolerant. It even claims to be a biblical principle. The fact is, that you can not tolerate sin. It’s one thing to be a witness and to even be friends with unbelievers. It is something entirely different to tolerate what you know to be wrong.
Promises: Obedience to God and a willingness to stand up for His principles will lead to His grace, mercy and blessing.
Commands: Do not tolerate sin and do not remain with those who promote it. People often think that, because Christ had dinner with sinners, they can be friends with and hang around unrepentant sinners. This is not the case. Christ came among sinners in order to witness to them and bring them out. Those he kept company with for extended periods were the people who abandoned their old ways and followed Him. Remaining among sin places undo temptation on you and makes it easier to fall into sin.
When Israelites began to join in the sins of the Midianites God sent a plague and killed 24,000 of them. Some left the camp and The son of the High priest killed an Israelite who was openly taking a harlot to his tent along with the harlot. His zeal in putting a stop to this open rebellion against God convinced God to stop the plague. God ordered that they attack the Midianites and drive them off so the temptation would be gone.
Timeless principles: Tolerance leads to acceptance. Whenever the righteous spent time close to those who were not it was not long before they turned against God’s law. Being near Idolaters they began to spend time with them, they accepted invitations to dinner where meat of a sacrifice to Idols was the main course, they followed by worshiping with the idolaters and become idolaters themselves. Prostitution was common among the neighbors so they tolerated it and eventually joined in it.
The old saying says, “if you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas”. This story shows that principle and reminds us why we cannot be tolerant of sin. “hate the sin and love the sinner”. I always get a kick out of people who call me a “homophobe” and then try to accuse me of hypocrisy because I associate with some gay people. I don’t fear homosexuals I just accept that they are directly and unrepentantly violating God’s law. I make no secret of how I feel about their lifestyle. I don’t hang out with them but, inasmuch as our paths cross(one is a neighbor, others I have worked with) I act in a civil and even friendly manner. I am willing to help them when they need it. I do as God would have me do in acting out of Christian love and condemning the sinful lifestyle. This is not phobia and it is not hypocrisy. The same goes for drug addicts and alcoholics and the “dogs” that think sex is a recreational sport with no boundaries.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Do not hang around when others are doing wrong. Don’t tolerate their sin. Call them on it. If they don’t stop walk away from the situation. If they encourage you to join their sin they are not friends they are evil and will bring you down. Get away from them.
more to learn for in-depth study: After their years in the wilderness, a new census was taken. Except for Moses, Caleb and Joshua, all of the people who had been counted in the first census were dead. Only their children remained. Their numbers had grown a little despite the plagues and disasters that had fallen as a result of their rebellions against God.
tomorrow: Numbers 27-30
Promises: Obedience to God and a willingness to stand up for His principles will lead to His grace, mercy and blessing.
Commands: Do not tolerate sin and do not remain with those who promote it. People often think that, because Christ had dinner with sinners, they can be friends with and hang around unrepentant sinners. This is not the case. Christ came among sinners in order to witness to them and bring them out. Those he kept company with for extended periods were the people who abandoned their old ways and followed Him. Remaining among sin places undo temptation on you and makes it easier to fall into sin.
When Israelites began to join in the sins of the Midianites God sent a plague and killed 24,000 of them. Some left the camp and The son of the High priest killed an Israelite who was openly taking a harlot to his tent along with the harlot. His zeal in putting a stop to this open rebellion against God convinced God to stop the plague. God ordered that they attack the Midianites and drive them off so the temptation would be gone.
Timeless principles: Tolerance leads to acceptance. Whenever the righteous spent time close to those who were not it was not long before they turned against God’s law. Being near Idolaters they began to spend time with them, they accepted invitations to dinner where meat of a sacrifice to Idols was the main course, they followed by worshiping with the idolaters and become idolaters themselves. Prostitution was common among the neighbors so they tolerated it and eventually joined in it.
The old saying says, “if you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas”. This story shows that principle and reminds us why we cannot be tolerant of sin. “hate the sin and love the sinner”. I always get a kick out of people who call me a “homophobe” and then try to accuse me of hypocrisy because I associate with some gay people. I don’t fear homosexuals I just accept that they are directly and unrepentantly violating God’s law. I make no secret of how I feel about their lifestyle. I don’t hang out with them but, inasmuch as our paths cross(one is a neighbor, others I have worked with) I act in a civil and even friendly manner. I am willing to help them when they need it. I do as God would have me do in acting out of Christian love and condemning the sinful lifestyle. This is not phobia and it is not hypocrisy. The same goes for drug addicts and alcoholics and the “dogs” that think sex is a recreational sport with no boundaries.
How can I apply what I’ve learned: Do not hang around when others are doing wrong. Don’t tolerate their sin. Call them on it. If they don’t stop walk away from the situation. If they encourage you to join their sin they are not friends they are evil and will bring you down. Get away from them.
more to learn for in-depth study: After their years in the wilderness, a new census was taken. Except for Moses, Caleb and Joshua, all of the people who had been counted in the first census were dead. Only their children remained. Their numbers had grown a little despite the plagues and disasters that had fallen as a result of their rebellions against God.
tomorrow: Numbers 27-30
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