"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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." Joshua 1:7-8
This is a wonderful time of the year to be a big baseball fan! I'm a big Cleveland Indians fan myself! I'm especially happy after they beat the White Sox! They won both games yesterday!
I used to play little league baseball. It was a lot of fun even if I wasn't the best player in the world.
Today I was thinking about the importance of following the rules when it comes to baseball and when it comes to life.
In the verses listed above God is commanding Joshua to hold on to the laws and to follow them without turning from them. God seems pretty serious about it. Actually God makes a correlation for Joshua about the importance of living by the law, following the rules and being successful in life. Personally, I believe that's one of the most important reasons we have the laws. They're not there to simply punish us and point out when we're wrong. Rather they help us to prosper and help us to be a blessing to others.
Yes, indeed the Laws are meant to keep us out of trouble but when we don't follow the laws we often get burned. I think that sports is a good example of this.
Take hitting for example. If you break the rules by standing on the plate while hitting or even if you crowd the plate too tightly you're likely to get hit! Now if you're only a little league player getting hit is not a matter of life or death. I can tell you that from first hand experience because there was one season, before I received my glasses, that it seemed the only time I got on base was when I was hit by the pitch!
Perhaps I had a bruise or two but the pitches in little league probably hover around the 50 to 60 miles an hour depending on your age but in the pros you could get hit by a 90 + mile hour fast ball! Ouch!
The point is.... if you stay on the right side of the plate (or the left side for the lefties, ha!) You're much less likely to get hit but if you aren't following the rules.. watch out!
Life is like that as well. When we don't live according to God's law the possibility that we will suffer consequences is greatly increased.
And just like there's a big difference between the little league and the big league pitch, consequences for our sins seemed to increase with our age and the situation. Considering the crucial challenges ahead of Joshua and the Children of Israel they better prepare for the 100+ fast balls.
I find it amazing sometimes how people blame God about the pain and even the sickness they suffer from. I can sympathize with them just as God does but I can just hear God yelling from heaven to some of them saying, "Stop crowding the plate and you won't get hurt!" Frankly I shake my head because a lot of people stand ON THE PLATE, if you know what I mean, and they expect to still be standing by the end of the day!
Indeed all of us probably crowd the plate more than we should. Just like we tend to push the speed limit we tend to test the limits of God's laws as well.
Don't be fooled by Satan's lies. Sin and living on the edge might seem fun for a season but when we follow the laws not only will we avoid some broken bones we have a much better chance of hitting the ball out of the park!
To Ponder: Why don't we thank God today for his laws and guidelines for life! Let's be thankful for the blessings we've received when we and others have followed the laws. And if you're crowding the plate a little bit. MOVE BACK! into God's perfect will.
Be sure to find a church to worship God tomorrow morning. Let's remember to observe the Sabbath and keep it Holy! Besides it's a great joy to worship God and make the Lord first in our lives!
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 21, 2013
Our Covenant God! Deuteronomy 7:8,9
"8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:8,9"
"Covenant" isn't a word that we hear just every day. A Biblical covenant is basically an agreement between God and God's people. The exception to this was the covenant God made with Noah following the flood when God promised "all people" to never destroy the earth with a flood.
In today's text we are referring to the Mosaic Covenant which includes the laws as spelled out in the Ten Commandments and the Torah or first five books of the Bible. In this covenant as well as all of the Biblical covenants you find that God is the initiator, the administrator of the blessings, and the one who pays the greatest price to make and keep the covenant.
His covenant is always a covenant of love. The greatest love of course was shown in the New Covenant which was sealed in the very blood of Christ who died on the cross. Christ would take the punishment for our sins and our failure to abide by the terms of all the previous covenants. What we could not do Jesus did for us.
The point that amazes me is that God is a covenant God! From the covenant he made to Noah through Jesus, God shows faithfulness, grace, and love.
What is our part of the covenant? Our part it is to make the Lord our One God above all things in our life. We are to love him through our worship and obedience and to serve him with our life. That is our part of the covenant relationship. His part is to love, protect, bless and give us eternal life.
But what happens when we break our part of the covenant? Does God punish us or turn away from us? No.
God sent his son Jesus to die for us thus taking the punishment of our sins upon himself. Again through God's grace he has done in Jesus Christ what we could not do ourselves. To receive this grace all we must do is confess our sins, call upon the Lord and believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
1 John 1:9 reminds us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Romans 10:12,13 also proclaim: "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call on him. For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God is always faithful to His covenant and love. God is love and God cannot go against his very nature. This is good news indeed!
God is serious about the covenant that He makes with us. As we obey the covenant and put God first in our lives we are truly blessed and that blessing, which goes beyond our salvation, is handed down to our children and to our children's children.... They are still responsible to respond to God's call upon their lives but the way we live today will bless them and make it easier for them to respond.
You might say that in the same way the curse of alcoholism, other addictions and sinful behaviors is handed down from one generation to another so it is that blessings can be handed down from one generation to another.
So what kind of inheritance are you handing down to your children?
Let us celebrate the faithfulness of God and trust that as we walk in obedience and love God will provide for us and leave a blessing to the next generation.
To ponder: Your obedience and love for Christ is a much better inheritance to hand down to your children than any amount of money you may leave behind.
"Covenant" isn't a word that we hear just every day. A Biblical covenant is basically an agreement between God and God's people. The exception to this was the covenant God made with Noah following the flood when God promised "all people" to never destroy the earth with a flood.
In today's text we are referring to the Mosaic Covenant which includes the laws as spelled out in the Ten Commandments and the Torah or first five books of the Bible. In this covenant as well as all of the Biblical covenants you find that God is the initiator, the administrator of the blessings, and the one who pays the greatest price to make and keep the covenant.
His covenant is always a covenant of love. The greatest love of course was shown in the New Covenant which was sealed in the very blood of Christ who died on the cross. Christ would take the punishment for our sins and our failure to abide by the terms of all the previous covenants. What we could not do Jesus did for us.
The point that amazes me is that God is a covenant God! From the covenant he made to Noah through Jesus, God shows faithfulness, grace, and love.
What is our part of the covenant? Our part it is to make the Lord our One God above all things in our life. We are to love him through our worship and obedience and to serve him with our life. That is our part of the covenant relationship. His part is to love, protect, bless and give us eternal life.
But what happens when we break our part of the covenant? Does God punish us or turn away from us? No.
God sent his son Jesus to die for us thus taking the punishment of our sins upon himself. Again through God's grace he has done in Jesus Christ what we could not do ourselves. To receive this grace all we must do is confess our sins, call upon the Lord and believe in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
1 John 1:9 reminds us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Romans 10:12,13 also proclaim: "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call on him. For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God is always faithful to His covenant and love. God is love and God cannot go against his very nature. This is good news indeed!
God is serious about the covenant that He makes with us. As we obey the covenant and put God first in our lives we are truly blessed and that blessing, which goes beyond our salvation, is handed down to our children and to our children's children.... They are still responsible to respond to God's call upon their lives but the way we live today will bless them and make it easier for them to respond.
You might say that in the same way the curse of alcoholism, other addictions and sinful behaviors is handed down from one generation to another so it is that blessings can be handed down from one generation to another.
So what kind of inheritance are you handing down to your children?
Let us celebrate the faithfulness of God and trust that as we walk in obedience and love God will provide for us and leave a blessing to the next generation.
To ponder: Your obedience and love for Christ is a much better inheritance to hand down to your children than any amount of money you may leave behind.
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