“Little faith will save a man, but little faith cannot do great things for God.” – Charles Spurgeon
KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, March 23, 2019
Chapters: Joshua 1-4
Message: Be Strong And Not Afraid
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today I could not help, but think about God’s timing, and how I am not so patient when it comes to allowing Him to lead me down the path He has taken me on. Sometimes I think I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, but end up right back on the same street, feeling really embarrassed that one, I doubted God, and two, did not listen to Him. God truly is amazing, and His grace even more amazing. Amen! There is not a day that goes by that I am not reminded of just how weak I am, and that it is Christ’s strength that carries be through, and I always say that coming to Christ takes great strength, but more often than we care to admit we circle around things, not because we are weak, but we are afraid of the outcome. God does not want us to live in fear, He wants us to be strong in Him, and yes, we are going to have to fight, but we will never have to fight alone, Christ is always with us, in fact, leading us to victory. Do not live a defeated live, live a victorious life with Christ. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,” – II Timothy 1:7-9.
“but according to his own purpose and grace,” God’s purpose and grace is not the same for everyone, but we all have a battle to face that God requires us to be strong and of a good courage. The Book of Joshua contains twenty-four chapters, the author is Joshua and it was written to Israel, the timeline for these events is approximately 1451 BC to 1427 BC. The purpose of the book was to record the details on how Joshua led the people of Israel into the promised land and explains the division of the land among the tribes. What we are to learn from the book is that no moral or spiritual battles are won without God. Moses died and now it was time for Joshua to prepare the people to cross over the Jordan and into the promised land. Joshua had a big job to do, and it was not going to be easy to fill Moses’ shoes, but God gives him some encouragement.
“There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” – Joshua 1:5-9.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth;” This is how Christians are able to be strong and of a good courage, we keep the power of His Word in us daily. And by the way, Jesus is our strength, He will keep us from turning to the right or left so that we prosper and succeed. Now, word spread quickly that the people of Israel were on their way to take over the land, so when Joshua sent two men into Jericho to search it out, they were already searching for them to capture them. However, a God fearing harlot name Rahab helped them.
“And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were: And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. But she had brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token: And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death. And the men answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.” – Joshua 2:4-6,9,12-14.
“and that your terror is fallen upon us,” You see, the world fears us more than it fears their own, which is why they are forever trying to get rd of us. You do not see it because all mainstream media focuses on is race, Muslim, and Jewish prosecution, but more Christians are being persecuted than any other religion. The strength that God is speaking of is, having physical passive power; the ability to bear or endure. To be passive means to suffer, it is the strength of Christ in us that gives us the ability to endure suffering until it comes to pass. Israel was not facing this huge battle on their own, they were going to have to fight, but God was with them, and He was going to lead them to victory. It all began with their crossing over the Jordan, and it was not going to be by boat, they were going to walk across it just like they walked across the Red Sea. God commands Joshua to set them all in order, the Levites leading the way, who were carrying the Ark.
“And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.” – Joshua 3:3-7.
“that ye may know the way by which ye must go:” Do you see why God goes before us? We are blind to this world, walking on territory unknown to us, He sees ahead so that He can prepare us and lead us in the right direction. We never go wrong when we let Jesus lead us, and sometimes we are going to veer to the right or left, but thankfully, since He is our Shepherd, He will call us, and lead us back on the right path. Amen! Now, as soon as the Levites stepped foot into the river the waters divided and the land became dry, they stood in the midst of the water heap as the rest of the children of Israel, and anyone with them passed over into the other side.
“And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” – Joshua 3:15-17.
“until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.” We may not realize it, but the Holy Spirit is right in the midst of us as we cross over this Jordan we are walking on, and until every one of God’s people pass over He will not send His Son. So many people keep saying that all the prophecies have been fulfilled other than Jesus returning, and He could be here any second, which are true to an extent, but we must understand that Jesus will not return until the very last soul to willingly receive Him has be saved. Yes, Jesus could come any second, but there are still a lot of souls that God knows will come to Him until then. Christianity is definitely on a decline, and the one world religion that is foretold that will lead to even the elect being deceived is forming as we speak, but Jesus will not return until God sees all His people saved. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” – II Peter 3:9-10.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,” God is definitely not slack, everything is in His timing, it may have taken Israel forty years to reach the promised land, but it was with good reason, it allowed Him to weed out all those who would have hindered them after entering. Do you realize had God brought them over when their unbelieving, and rebellious fathers were still alive that they would have been fighting each other? And we must never forget how we saved so that we can teach others. Now, as they were crossing, God commanded that one man from each tribe get one stone from the river, to set up a landmark that would remind everyone who saw the heap would know how God brought them over.
“And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day. On that day the LORD magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life. 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 4:9,14,21-24.
“in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood:” It was important that these stones be from the center of the Jordan River where the priests stood because it proved that they walked across on dry land. The stones are a reminder that God miraculously led them through the water on dry land. We are to never forget how Christ miraculously led us into the promised land, it takes great strength to admit we are sinners to begin with once we understand that we need Him to save us. If the only strength we have is coming to Christ than we have followed God’s command to be strong and of a good courage. Remember, in our weakness, Christ is our strength. “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” – II Corinthians 12:10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee. And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.” – Joshua 2:18-19.
Today’s Prayer: God, You have called us for a purpose, and commanded us to be strong and of a good courage to do what You called us to do. Lord, We can do all things through Christ that is in us, You are our strength, as we study Your word and talk to You daily we can do all things through Him. Give us Your power, Your strength, Your might, Your wisdom, and Your guidance, help us to fulfill the task You called us to do. Let us not look to the right or left, just straight ahead, trusting You to help us prosper and succeed. Hallelujah! In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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