Thousands of Years Promises.. Josh15

When Joshua gave Caleb his portion, it fulfilled a promise God had made to Caleb 45 years earlier. We expect such integrity and reliability from God, but do we expect the same from his followers? 

How about you? Is your word this reliable? Would you honor a 45year old promise? God would--and does. Even today HE is honoring promises HE made thousands of years ago. In fact, some of HIS greatest promises are yet to be fulfilled. This give us much to look forward to. 

Let your faith grow as you realize that God keeps HIS word.

Quo Vadis..

Dr. S. Tong : As a son of non Christian father and you know after you believe in Jesus it was a conflict between your father and your family tradition , so what do you deal with this? Are you afraid of your father oppotition or you try to bear witness for Jesus Christ?

Micheal: In my beggining year to coming to church, i knew that i wasnot really being born again Christian,

Conflict of my father and me it just another tradition to another tradition,

Until my age 27, i realize what the gospel trully was about,

And i knew Its not about my opinion of my father opinion, 

it was about 2 kingdoms, its the kingdom of light againts the kingdom of darkness,

And the bible tells me that the blessing of Abraham would fall upon all those who bless Abraham, and we are the same God as Abraham,

I knew it was the way that God says HE would conquer all those soul who are in their pittyfulnes,

Christ Jesus did it by died for me on the cross, and showed me the love of God,

So now day when i deal with my father, is to show him the love of Christ,

As the Leviticus teach us about, we shuold love our neighbour such as we love ourselves, before that is do not hold grudge to our neighbours or to your brothers,

Lets speak frankly to them, i knew it is the way that the Holy Spirit deals with me,

Comes onto me with all the fear messages that cause me to repent, but the core of this is full with the love of Christ died for me to take away my sin,

I learn about the Gospel how to speak with my father with love, but frankly to tell him all the truth, and he know my attitute is different from before, and he was more willing to listen to me more.

Dr. S. Tong : When your father ask you , "are you going to worship me as your father using insence? You say no, and what did he react?

Micheal : First he look other way and said "then we are nothing to talk about.

I was clearly drawing him a line about 2 kingdoms, and then i directly replay, i said maybe i will bring you flowers, its not means to worship you, what it really mean that i receive from the bible that it is no such a thing after you died and you go to under world you need me to feed you using inscense, and he know what he really want that i will come back to eat with him while he still alive, and that flower its for memorial that i still remember you, in order to prove that is i will come back to eat with you, and then he doesnt said anything.

After that Dr. S. Tong meet Micheal father and give gospel, his father said "i have only one son, and now he doesnt want to worship me after i died, how can it be?

Dr. S. Tong reply "you should repent and believe in Jesus Christ. And his father reply " now im confused, i need new direction.

Wait and See The Salvation From God.. Josh11

God has commanded Joshua to take the leadership in riding the land of sin so God's people could occupy it. Joshua did his part thoroughly--leading the united army to weaken the inhabitants. 

When God orders us to stop sinning, we must not pause to debate, consider the options, negotiate a compromise, or rationalize. Instead, like Joshua, our response must be swift and complete. 

We must be ruthless in avoiding relationships and activities that can lead us into sin.

The conquest of much of the land of Canaan seems to happened quickly (we can read about it in one sitting), but it actually took seven years. We often expect quick changes in our lives and quick victories over sin. 

Our journey with God is a lifelong prosses, however, and the changes and victories may take time. It is easy to grow impatient with God and feel like giving up hope because things are moving too slowly. When we are close to a situation, it is difficult to see progress, but when we look back, we can see that God never stop working.

Integrity .. Josh10

Joshua's response shows his integrity. After having been deceived by the Gibeonites, Joshua and the leaders could have been slow about their attempt to rescue them. Instead they immediately responded to their call for help. How willing would you be to help someone who had deceived you, even though you had forgiven him or her? We should take our word just as seriously as Joshua did

The Gibeonites Deceive Israel.. Josh9

When the leaders sampled these men's provisions, they saw that the bread was dry and moldy, the wineskins were split open, and the clothes ans sandals worn out. But they did not see through the deception. After the promise had been made and the treaty ratified, the facts come out--Israel's leaders had been deceived. The oath was not nullified by the Gibeonites trikery.

God had specifically instructed Israel to make no treaties with the inhabitants of Canaan. As a strategist, Joshua knew enough to talk to God before leading his troops into battle. But the peace treaty seemed innocent enough, so Joshua and the leaders made this decision on their own. By failing to seek God's guidance and rushing ahead with their own plans, they had to deal with angry people and an awkward alliance. Once again, they had forgotten to go to God; yet how often we do the same. A new situation arises, and we forget to seek God's wisdom and guidance. When we learn the lessons of the past and apply them to today, wa save ourselves a lot of trouble.

Why did Achan's sin bring judgment on the entire nation?.. Jos7

Although it was one men's failure. God saw it as national disobedience to a national law. God needed the entire nation to be committed to the job they had agreed to--conquer the land. Thus, when one person failed, everyone failed. If Achan's sin went unpunished, unlimited looting could break out. The nation as a whole had to take responsibility for preventing this undisciplined disobedience.

Achan's sin wasnt merely his keeping some of the captured goods (God allowed it in some cases), but his disobeying God's explicit command to destroy everything that connected with Jerico. Achan's sin was indifference to the evil and idolatry of the city, not just a desire for money and clothes. God would not protect Israel's army again until the sin was removed and the army returned to obeying HIM without reservation. 

God is not content with our doing what is right some of the time. We are under HIS orders to eliminate any thoughts, practices, or possessions that hinder our devotion to HIM.

Take Time to Focus Toward God.. Jos3

Just before crossing over into the Promised Land, Joshua gathered the people to hear the words of the Lord. Their excitement was high. No doubt they wanted to rush on, but Joshua made them to stop and listen. 

We live in a fast-paced age where everyone rushes just to keep up. Its easy to get caught up in our tasks, becoming too busy for what God says is most important--listening to HIS words.

Before making schedule, take time to focus on what God wants from all your activities. Knowing what God has said before you rush into your day can help you avoid foolish mistakes.