"Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. Joshua 1:7 NKJV (emphasis mine)I was listening to a sermon by Dr David Jeremiah on Turning Point last night, and was struck anew as to the importance of knowing the Word of God. Over and over again in this first chapter of Joshua, God instructs Joshua to know the Word, and all His commands, so that he keeps them all his days, and never strays from them.
Not only does God instruct Joshua to know the Word of God, so that he does not stray, but He also instructs him to always speak of it, no matter the circumstance.
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8 NKJV (emphasis mine)Now, though the "Book of the law" that is being described here, is only the first five books of the what is now the Bible, we should be aware that it now applies to the whole of the Word.
Not only are we to never stop speaking the Words of our Lord, and His commands, but we are to teach them to all we come into contact with, especially our family members. This was part of the "Book of the law" that Joshua was to have meditated on always:
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. " Deuteronomy 6:7-9 NKJVI feel convicted today, that I have not been doing this nearly enough. Though I do witness, to some degree, I do not meditate on His Word, ALL the time. My every conversation is not about the Lord and His commands, as it should be. Can you imagine what life would be like, if we could- and would do this, as we ought? There would be a lot less confusion, and division in the Church, today if we did, I think. Also, there would be a lot less hypocrites giving Christ a bad name, if we did. It would also be patently obvious to anyone that we are followers of Christ. There would never be any question. Talk about being Salt and Light!
What excuses do we use, to not make Christ the center of our every day lives. Is our Lord central and the MOST important part of our lives? Or is our relationship to Him, more of a distant acquaintance, than the personal, close relationship He wants with us? I shall be meditating on this today. How about you? Blessings to you!
There is no "MORE" to this post.
Thank you for this great reminder, Shalene. As I read your post, God reminded me of this:
ReplyDeletePsalm 119:9-16
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
AMEN!
Blessings and Shalom.
Fantastic post! Another humbling thought is the fact that even in the 21st century, there are places still where owning a bible can still cost one their life, but yet we take it for granted that we have God's word so readily available.
ReplyDeleteWhat if, something happens and we no longer could access God's Word...all the more important to keep up study and familiarity of God's word so it's rooted in our hearts where it can't be removed.
That could well be a situation we find ourselves in in the future, Twinklemom. One night, I was disturbed by a dream where our liberties were taken away, and no one could possess a Bible.
ReplyDeleteThat's great advice!
This reminds me of John 1. God's Word is bigger than just a book of commandments and stories and epistles and revelations. The Word became flesh. The Word lives in us.
ReplyDeleteI still don't meditate on the Word day and night, but it's easier for me to think about it in terms of a relationship with Jesus.
This post is sobering indeed. I'm humbling by these words.
ReplyDeleteI shall be meditating on the Word as well.
Thank you all for your valid comments.
Kimberly
I think that when you meditate on His Word daily, and have a bowed heart to Him always, that you're less likely to be tempted because your thoughts are always on God. I also think it falls into the realm of 'seeking His face.' In other words there are many great things that come as a result of doing this.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Shalene!
Thank you, everyone for your comments and encouragement. All glory to Him. If it weren't for my desire to learn how to seek His face each and every day, there probably would not be a blog here, with my name attached to the posts. I have grown so much writing this blog. Thanks for visiting, and continuing to encourage my efforts to glorify Him. Blessings to you all!
ReplyDelete