March 20, 2006 - Joshua 4-6 and Luke 1:1-20
God wants us to put our faith in Him. He desires for us to trust Him completely in all things. He rewards our faith. He responds to our faith. He wants us to do what we can do to build our faith. It is not the faith that is important by itself. It is the fact that we put our faith in Him. When we do, He acts in powerful ways in our lives. How is your faith in Him today? This passage should speak to you about faith in God. I am praying for you to hear Him clearly.
Joshua 4 gives us an example of a faith building exercise. God told Joshua to choose 12 men to build a memorial out of rocks from the Jordan river, so that in the years to come they could teach the children how God dried up the river for them to cross. This memorial was designed to build faith in the ones who were not there that day, so they would trust God, too. (v.26) I believe God wants us to share our experiences with our children, so they can see how God has blessed us in the past. This will help them see the real things God has done, so they will know His power and have a healthy fear of God.
Chapter 5 shows us how the Israelites trusted God in several ways. They circumcised all of the younger generation, since they had not been circumcised in the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. I am not sure why Moses had not done this, but they were obedient to the Lord once they realized the need. It was not a good move militarily. If the enemies had heard about this they could have attacked them and destroyed Israel while they were in pain. However, this did not happen, because God was pleased with their faith, and He protected them. Then, they kept the Passover, too. God was so pleased that Jesus came down to earth Himself to appear to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord's army. We know this is Jesus because no angel would allow Joshua or anyone else to worship him. This was Jesus responding to the faith of Joshua and the people. It was also another way of building their faith before the battle of Jericho.
Chapter 6 described the strangest battle plan in history. Blowing trumpets and shouting while walking around the walls of Jericho with the ark brought down the walls. Then, the soldiers were able to advance on the city from all directions and to easily take the city. What was the key? The key was faith. They had to trust that what God said He would do. Did you catch all of the past tense verbs? (v.2,16) God had already given them the city before they started walking. They had to appropriate His gift by faith. The New Testament tells us in Ephesians 1:3 that God has blessed us as believers with every spiritual blessing. (past tense) We must receive those blessings by acting in faith. Then, He will release them to us as He released Jericho to Israel. That is why living by faith in Him is so important.
Luke 1 is another good example. Zacharias and Elizabeth were exemplary believers. However, Zacharias had trouble believing the angel's message about the son who was to be born to them in old age. (v.18) Therefore, the angel sought to build his faith. He caused him to not be able to speak until the child was born. That was a lot of time to think about trusting God, wasn't it? It was all because he did not believe God's Word. What consequences do you have in your life, because you have not trusted God's Word and acted in faith? There may be a lot of things, if you just ask God to show you. Once you see what God is saying to you, trust Him. Live by faith, and He can richly bless you.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 7-9 and Luke 1:21-38.
Joshua 4 gives us an example of a faith building exercise. God told Joshua to choose 12 men to build a memorial out of rocks from the Jordan river, so that in the years to come they could teach the children how God dried up the river for them to cross. This memorial was designed to build faith in the ones who were not there that day, so they would trust God, too. (v.26) I believe God wants us to share our experiences with our children, so they can see how God has blessed us in the past. This will help them see the real things God has done, so they will know His power and have a healthy fear of God.
Chapter 5 shows us how the Israelites trusted God in several ways. They circumcised all of the younger generation, since they had not been circumcised in the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. I am not sure why Moses had not done this, but they were obedient to the Lord once they realized the need. It was not a good move militarily. If the enemies had heard about this they could have attacked them and destroyed Israel while they were in pain. However, this did not happen, because God was pleased with their faith, and He protected them. Then, they kept the Passover, too. God was so pleased that Jesus came down to earth Himself to appear to Joshua as the Commander of the Lord's army. We know this is Jesus because no angel would allow Joshua or anyone else to worship him. This was Jesus responding to the faith of Joshua and the people. It was also another way of building their faith before the battle of Jericho.
Chapter 6 described the strangest battle plan in history. Blowing trumpets and shouting while walking around the walls of Jericho with the ark brought down the walls. Then, the soldiers were able to advance on the city from all directions and to easily take the city. What was the key? The key was faith. They had to trust that what God said He would do. Did you catch all of the past tense verbs? (v.2,16) God had already given them the city before they started walking. They had to appropriate His gift by faith. The New Testament tells us in Ephesians 1:3 that God has blessed us as believers with every spiritual blessing. (past tense) We must receive those blessings by acting in faith. Then, He will release them to us as He released Jericho to Israel. That is why living by faith in Him is so important.
Luke 1 is another good example. Zacharias and Elizabeth were exemplary believers. However, Zacharias had trouble believing the angel's message about the son who was to be born to them in old age. (v.18) Therefore, the angel sought to build his faith. He caused him to not be able to speak until the child was born. That was a lot of time to think about trusting God, wasn't it? It was all because he did not believe God's Word. What consequences do you have in your life, because you have not trusted God's Word and acted in faith? There may be a lot of things, if you just ask God to show you. Once you see what God is saying to you, trust Him. Live by faith, and He can richly bless you.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 7-9 and Luke 1:21-38.