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Today is Saturday March 14, 2009 and we are continuing our studies on the book of Joshua. Please read chapters 4-6 in your Bible, or you can Click Here to read them online. If the link does not work you can copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joshua%204-6&version=9

Today's Message: Blessed By Obedience
It is amazing to see the blessings of God when we give our all to Him.

God promised the Israelites that He would give them land to posses, but, the promises of God always include personal responsibilities for the receivers of those promises."And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the LORD spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man, And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night......... And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land. For the LORD your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over: That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the LORD your God for ever." (Joshua 4:1-3,21-24). Whenever you see the phrase, "Fear the Lord", it does not mean that you are to be afraid of God, it means to be in awe of Him.

Before going further into the land God commanded Joshua to circumcise all the males. "And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise: All the people that came out of Egypt, that were males, even all the men of war, died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised: but all the people that were born in the wilderness by the way as they came forth out of Egypt, them they had not circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children, whom he raised up in their stead, them Joshua circumcised: for they were uncircumcised, because they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp, till they were whole." (5:4-8). The rite of circumcision had been instituted by the Lord with Abraham, the father of the faithful, as a visible sign of the people's Covenant relationship with Him.

After being circumcised, the new generation became identified as the Lord's Covenant people and they were qualified to keep the Passover, circumcision was required before anyone could eat the Passover. The Passover represented the Lord's deliverance of His people from Egypt and pointed the way to Jesus, the promised Passover Lamb. Circumcision and the Passover foreshadowed the commands of believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper for the Church. At His last Passover, Jesus revealed that His death would fulfill and replace the Passover. "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28). The Lord's Supper is a great way to remember that we are forgiven of our sins by the blood of Jesus.

God's commands may seem a bit strange to us at times, but by doing them we are proving our faith to Him as well as providing testimony to others as they see the blessings that He gives us for obeying Him.

Today's Psalm: 19:8-9
"The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether."

Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
We thank You for Your marvelous grace that was poured out in the sacrificial death of Your Son and is made available to all for salvation from sin. You want all men and women, boys and girls to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth. We're grateful for those You raise up to be arms of compassion and instruments of blessing to others in the body of Christ and to those still clinging to the world. Whether we were protected from the ravages of sin or we are experiencing Your restoring grace we thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given us strength; that He considered us faithful, appointing us to be His servants. Help us to stay obedient to Your Word and give us the wisdom and understanding we need to know Your commands. In Jesus' name.........Amen.

Have a wonderful and blessed night/day and enjoy your weekend.
God bless,
Christina

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