October 31, 2021
October 24, 2021
October 17, 2021
God Is with Us(Joshua 1:5-9)
Joshua 1:5-9
In the first chapter of Joshua, we read that God is telling Joshua to be strong and courageous. God is commanding Joshua to be this way because God is with him. It is not that Joshua cannot experience God unless he is strong and courageous, but rather, Joshua should be strong and courageous because God is already with us.
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:6-7, 9 NIV
We read that God commands Joshua three times to be strong and courageous so that Joshua would be victorious.
1.
We must fight a spiritual
battle. There are sinful desires that we need to fight. In fact, because is in
you, evil cannot coexist in you. Because God is in you, you can be successful. In
addition, we must fight in the place that God has put us. We experience defeats
all the time in this world as parents, workers or any job God has placed us in,
but we must endure and continue knowing that God has won the fight.
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 1:8 NIV
- We need to meditate on God's word constantly. Moses made mistakes and eventually he could not enter the promised land. Yet, Moses is called a great leader by God. Moses also communicated with God. He spoke with God whenever there were problems. Moses had his quiet time with God and so must we do this. It is not enough to just speak to God in our prayers, but we must also listen to God. God speaks to us in many ways. The word of God is the best way to hear God. We need to read through the Bible and meditate on what God is saying.
- We must keep the law. It is not enough to know the law; we must practice the law. Moses followed God's commandments. Although we may be fixed, we still need to follow the law. It is like having your car repaired because of neglect. After getting your repaired car, you neglect it again until it breaks down. After salvation, we still need to follow the laws. The laws will not save us, but we do this because we want to please God.
When God is with us, it is almost impossible to sin. We want to please God and are aware that God is watching us. It is difficult to sin if we think that God is always with us. Although it may seem daunting to try and keep the laws, we can take heart that Jesus summarized God’s commandments into two commandments.
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40 NIV
October 10, 2021
"God's Will"(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Although we know that to be saved, we need to have faith in Jesus and confess that he is our savior, yet Matthew 7 warns us that just words are not enough.
“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 7:21 NIV
We are taught that to enter
heaven, we need to do the will of God. Anyone who truly professes and believes
that Jesus is their Lord and savior will naturally want to do the will of God
and not just talk about it. However, what does it mean to do God's will? First Thessalonians
5 gives some insight into this.
pray continually, give thanks in
all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NIV
To command to rejoice or celebrate
in gratitude is also repeated in Philippians 4.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I
will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 NIV
It can be hard to rejoice when
our situation is difficult. When we are in need or suffering, it can be almost
impossible to truly rejoice in God. How can we show our gratitude to God with
unanswered prayers? Yet, Jesus wants us to rejoice in knowing we are saved
because of his grace. This knowledge of being saved is enough to give thanks.
We also should remember that the hard times we go through is to make us
stronger as mentioned in Romans.
Not only so, but we also glory in
our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Romans 5:3 NIV
Finally, our attitude can make a
big difference on our life. Choosing to be joyful no matter the circumstances will
surely improve our mood whereas being miserable with the times will make things
worse.
A happy heart makes the face
cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
Proverbs 15:13 NIV
Prayer is also essential to do the will of God. In fact, we need to pray continually. We should take Daniel's approach and set a time and take our prayers seriously. Our prayers can be done in our daily life. We can have a conversation with God as we take a walk. Whenever we talk to God about anything, this is prayer.
Conversation goes two ways. When
we pray, we need to tell God what is on our hearts, but we also need to listen.
God’s message to us will come through QT, meditation, prayer, and worship. It
is not enough that we just speak and make requests to God, we need to listen
intently and purposefully obey the words of God.
Humility is essential to do God’s
will. Our humility allows us to see who we really are. We must admit how sinful
we are. In church, we can come as we are. We do not need to pretend to be
someone we are not. It is our faith in Jesus Christ which will allow us to be
saved and transformed. Admitting that we are not perfect, and it is Jesus
changing us takes a humble heart, but that same humble will allow Jesus to do His
work and allow us to love others as well.
We cannot fill the gaps of our
unhappiness and need. When we realize who we are and what Jesus has done for us,
we are doing the will of God. It is only Jesus who can truly heal us and save
us and that is something to be grateful for and rejoiceful.
October 3, 2021
"Peace Be with You"(John 16:28-33)
John 16:28-33
Shalom mean peace in Hebrew. It was a common greeting in the time of Jesus, and, as Christians, we continue to greet each other with the peace of Jesus. In fact Jesus instructed us to bless each other with peace.
“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’
Luke 10:5 NIV
Peace of mind is important to have since it is hard to live without peace of mind. It is even harder to live as a living sacrifice without peace. Yet, Jesus, who would be a living sacrifice, demonstrated peace and continue to offer peace to others. Before Jesus was to be executed, he was telling his disciples to have peace. Jesus had peace of mind even in His difficult circumstances. He had so much peace that He could offer peace to others. Had did Jesus have this peace of mind? Jesus was sure of His father's place in Heaven
“…I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
John 16:28 NIV
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
John 13:3 NIV
As Christians, we can have faith in Jesus and know that our place in heaven is secure. Just as Jesus knew that the father was with him, we, too, know that God is dwelling in us. And if God is with us, we can have success. Maybe the success is not what we would like it to be. But the success from God with us that we can glorify God in any circumstance. The kingdom of God is not just some place in the great beyond, but it is the place where God dwells whereas hell is where God is not. Even one of Jesus's names, Immanuel, reminds us that God is with us.
“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
John 16:32 NIV
The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.”
John 8:29 NIV
The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.
Genesis 39:23 NIV
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23 NIV
Jesus believed that his victory was assured, so he could have peace. He knew God was with him and the victory was guaranteed. God is with us today. Everything is possible when we are working for God’s kingdom although the victory may not happen the way we want it. When God is with us, we can have peace because Jesus has conquered the principalities of this world. We boldly and sincerely greet one another with “The peace of the Lord be with you.”
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NIV