The Importance Of Joshua's Book
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Joshua 1:1
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Out Of Desolation And Destruction
The Eternal God is a God of life, of hope, of blessing, ...a God of new beginnings. Indeed, the revelation of the love of God in Christ is proof of such a reality. The Lord is the only One who can truly turn mourning into joy, and disaster into blessing. How does He do this? He gives first a knowledge of Himself according to the truth, then the faith to believe Him to do it. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Essentials To Fellowship With God
God is a God of clarity and straightforwardness concerning knowing Him. For the one who will seek Him, God will guide him to find the truth. The true knowledge of God is always according to the truth, and that truth is in two places, Christ by the Spirit of God, and in the Scriptures. It is the truth that sets us free, but it is the Christ who gives the power to know, and realize the freedom.
Apprehending Christ
It is one thing to know about Christ; it is quite another to "apprehend," or lay hold upon Him by faith, knowing His leading, His provision, and Keeping. The Apostle Paul declares that Christ is Life, and to know Him is to live. One lives by faith that surrenders to Him as Lord, and trusts Him as Savior and Shepherd.
When God's Time Comes
What is so important about God's time to accomplish something, specifically with regard to mankind, and His church? It is important because at that particular time, He brings to bear His power and authority which no man, nor created being can thwart. God will be glorified by what He does, when He declares that He will do it. Today is a day of salvation.
To Follow Christ
What does it mean to follow Christ but to surrender to Him as King and Lord, trusting in Him alone to save and sanctify. It means a new found loyalty, by the grace of God, to love and serve Him, forsaking all lesser loyalties. It means a preference of devotion, holding Him as the great object of worship, and object of faith. To follow Christ is to trust Him whole-heartedly, and this, by His grace.
The Sovereign Calling Of God
God is sovereign in His calling of an individual, and also, with respect to the gifts which He gives for the reaching of the world for Christ, or the building up of the church. As such, with His calling in Christ comes all the resources of Christ for the accomplishment of His will. Herein is our confidence, that God will supply every need within and without, that men should know that He is God.
The Singular Call To Blessing
The call to Christ alone, and above all, is the call to know the highest blessing of God, for in coming to Christ, and more so, in Him coming to the individual heart, there comes the fountain of Life, the infinite goodness and mercy of God, whose love is unfathomable, and endless. In receiving Him into the heart, one receives God's fulness. To know Christ is to truly live, and this eternally.
The Great Privilege
As man cannot grasp entirely the enormity of the blessing of God in Christ, so he cannot realize fully the great privilege it is to know Christ. Robert Murray M'cheyne once wrote an entire hymn on the subject of how much he owed Christ, ever repeating, "...not till then will I know." The depths of the love of God, His mercy towards every individual cannot be fathomed until before God, we, with new bodies and capacities will be able to grasp something of Christ's worth and goodness towards us all.
A Table Set Before Me
One of the early and great lessons that David learned as a shepherd, was that God, as His Shepherd, would provide for him, even to the point of providing daily food. Not only this, but that He would provide even when, and in spite of, the spiritual opposition which would oppose David. Sometimes this would be evident by physical enemies opposing him, but regardless, God always provided for His anointed, and He will do so for the believer who trusts in Him.
The Working Of God In The Heart
It is a marvelous, wondrous thing to know the working of God in the heart. It is also a very solemn thing, for the worth and magnitude of it from an eternal standpoint is unparalleled with the things of earth. God the Almighty, works in the individual heart to will, and to do of His good pleasure, in order to reveal His glory in the life. He will do this in the heart of "whosoever will" trust and obey Him.