Study from God’s Word… Josh 1: 1 – 9; Josh 3: 1; Josh 2: 1 – 24; Josh 1: 10 – 18; Josh 3: 2 – 17; Josh 4: 12 – 12, 13; Josh 4: 9 – 11; Josh 4: 15 – 18; Josh 4: 1 – 8; Josh 4: 19 – 24; Josh 4: 14; Josh 5: 1 – 15; … Passage for Reflection: Joshua 1: 9 [along with verse 8 for more context] … NIV 8 “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."
My Journal for Today: Today in my reading of The Daily Bible and the material provided by F. LaGard Smith in his devotional targeted for March 10, I am reading and meditating on one of my favorite passages in all of the Old Testament. It is the time when Joshua is handed the mantle of leadership of God’s people; and he takes them, at God’s command and with His careful instruction, across the Jordan river, once again be protected by another dry-ground crossing of a body of water, engineered by God to miraculously show the people just how powerful their God is and how following Joshua, His designated leader, is the only way to go.
And in today’s target verse (Chapter 1, verse 9) along with one of the most powerful instructions in all of the OT, Verse 8, we read exactly what a believer needs to remember and follow as each of us crosses our own “Jordan.” I don’t know what your “Jordan” might be. Perhaps you’re battling cancer; and you need to decide to cross the Jordan of trust in God and your medical treatment team. Maybe, like many of the men in the ministry I’m called to lead, you’ve had years of repeated sexual sin; and you need to cross the “Jordan” of confessing your sin to others, maybe including your wife or your Pastor. Perhaps, you’re facing the ultimate “Jordan,” and that is impending death, because you have a diagnosis of a fatal disease of some kind.
Actually, every human faces the latter “Jordan,” because we all have the fatal diagnosis of aging and 100% of us will cross our personal “Jordan” from this life into eternity. The question is not whether we will or will not “cross over,” … it is whether we will do so with faith in the same God, through the deliverance of His Son’s death on the cross, Who delivered God’s people across the Jordan, being led by Joshua.
How about you? Will you be crossing the “Jordan” of death, knowing that you’ll be delivered unto eternal life on the other side? And what about any other “Jordan” you might be facing. Do you have absolute assurance that you’ll have spiritual success in the march forward in life once you cross that “Jordan” in your life?
Well, my friend, in today’s passage you have God’s absolute promise of success as you contemplate crossing that “Jordan” in your life. If you get into and stay into God’s word [i.e., the Bible] – day and night – following all that is commanded therein, God’s word promises [see Josh 1: 8] that you’ll have success in the march forward, doing what Jesus has commanded you (again, as I refer so often, see Luke 9: 23). And when we cross the “Jordan” of decision, which God has lain before us for our life, we can know, as did Joshua, that we will enter into God’s Promised Land, with ultimately what Heaven itself has to offer.
And is that not worth following God across the “Jordan” in our lives today?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, I crossed the “Jordan” to which You led me long ago; and now I claim the Promised Land in Your Name. Amen
Showing posts with label decision. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decision. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, July 13, 2009
2009 – Day 193.July 13 – Cultivating Character
2009 – Day 193.July 13 – Cultivating Character
Passage of the Day: Esther 4: 9 – 14 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: In many narrative stories in the Old Testament we come to one of those fulcrum moments upon which the life of the protagonist rests. One decision and all of that person’s life and character are tested by that one moment. So, what whould Moses’ story be like without that moment when he raised his staff before the Red Sea; … or when Elijah had all those prophets of Baal breathing down his neck and he was about to prophesy that fire and rain would come from his God; … or when David marched out on that field of battle to face Goliath? And here we have that one fulcrum moment in the life of our heroine, Esther.
And of course, you’ve probably read the story; and we know what Esther did to stand before her new husband, the King of Persia. But take a moment to put yourself in Esther’s shoes in today’s crucial moment in her life. And for this crucial decision, Mordecai knows exactly what he’s asking of the little girl who is now the queen, the girl he raised as his own daughter. He’s seen her grow up into the strong young woman she now is in this moment of truth. Mordecai knows Esther to her core, this child of The Covenant he raised. And like any parent when his child is faced with a momentous decision, he gives Esther clear insight into who he knows she has become and what she needs to do. And somehow, in his heart-of-hearts, Mordecai knows that Esther has come to that moment for which God in His infinite plan has prepared this one child of His for His crucial moment in history.
And we’ll go on with the story as we study more in the life of Esther and how her life is reflected in much of our own lives. BUT … for now, let us just be reminded that we all are being put through the tests and trials of life so that God can prepare us to be instruments of His glorious plan; and we need to accept that God has a plan for us; and sooner or later, He is going to lead us to that place in life when we must make a decision … one of those fulcrum moments, … when we must decide. … Are we going to do the RIGHT thing or are we going to do the comfortable thing which seems logical but goes against what our God asks of us.
How will I respond today if I am tempted to do the easy thing but know I should do the tough thing? Will I stand in the gap for life if I know that my boss is staunchly pro-choice? Will I voice the Godly but politically incorrect opinion and risk ridicule if the world around me is shouting for the legalization of gay marriage? There is going to be a place and time, God’s ordained fulcrum moment, when we may be called upon to be God’s agent and the one He has prepared for us to make a tough choice for His glory.
Will I be ready? Will you?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be strong and choose YOUR way! Amen
Passage of the Day: Esther 4: 9 – 14 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: In many narrative stories in the Old Testament we come to one of those fulcrum moments upon which the life of the protagonist rests. One decision and all of that person’s life and character are tested by that one moment. So, what whould Moses’ story be like without that moment when he raised his staff before the Red Sea; … or when Elijah had all those prophets of Baal breathing down his neck and he was about to prophesy that fire and rain would come from his God; … or when David marched out on that field of battle to face Goliath? And here we have that one fulcrum moment in the life of our heroine, Esther.
And of course, you’ve probably read the story; and we know what Esther did to stand before her new husband, the King of Persia. But take a moment to put yourself in Esther’s shoes in today’s crucial moment in her life. And for this crucial decision, Mordecai knows exactly what he’s asking of the little girl who is now the queen, the girl he raised as his own daughter. He’s seen her grow up into the strong young woman she now is in this moment of truth. Mordecai knows Esther to her core, this child of The Covenant he raised. And like any parent when his child is faced with a momentous decision, he gives Esther clear insight into who he knows she has become and what she needs to do. And somehow, in his heart-of-hearts, Mordecai knows that Esther has come to that moment for which God in His infinite plan has prepared this one child of His for His crucial moment in history.
And we’ll go on with the story as we study more in the life of Esther and how her life is reflected in much of our own lives. BUT … for now, let us just be reminded that we all are being put through the tests and trials of life so that God can prepare us to be instruments of His glorious plan; and we need to accept that God has a plan for us; and sooner or later, He is going to lead us to that place in life when we must make a decision … one of those fulcrum moments, … when we must decide. … Are we going to do the RIGHT thing or are we going to do the comfortable thing which seems logical but goes against what our God asks of us.
How will I respond today if I am tempted to do the easy thing but know I should do the tough thing? Will I stand in the gap for life if I know that my boss is staunchly pro-choice? Will I voice the Godly but politically incorrect opinion and risk ridicule if the world around me is shouting for the legalization of gay marriage? There is going to be a place and time, God’s ordained fulcrum moment, when we may be called upon to be God’s agent and the one He has prepared for us to make a tough choice for His glory.
Will I be ready? Will you?
My Prayer for Today: Lord, help me to be strong and choose YOUR way! Amen
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