Promises for All

-

"…Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who does with you…" (Deut. 31: 1-8, NASB)

   This is a familiar passage of Scripture, especially to preachers and teachers. Moses, right before his departure as Israel's leader, is speaking to Joshua and the people. We seem to focus our thoughts on the transfer of leadership that takes place in this passage, but there is another, perhaps more important, thought that is worthy of observing. If you read this passage very carefully you will notice that Moses first addresses the people, and then addresses Joshua. He does not leave anyone out. Also, you will also likely notice that the words are strikingly similar, and the meaning is identical. The promise of God's presence during the journey was applicable to Joshua, but also the individual Israelite as well. The promise was for all.
   We sometimes look at the promises within Word of God and think to ourselves, "That does not apply to me." The truth is that if a promise is good for one believer, then it is good for all believers. If it is applicable to leadership, then it is applicable to the followers as well. If it is valid for the veteran Christian, then it is valid for the new convert. God is no respecter of persons. If God has revealed to you a promise in His Word, then you can take it to the bank.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Waste Your Pain

-
Image
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction... - 2 Corinthians 1:3-9    Affliction (pain and suffering) is an inevitable, unavoidable, and repeatable part of life. None of us are exempt. While  we would all like to avoid affliction, the truth is that pain and affliction  serve a greater purpose , whether it comes from our own choices, the ordinary course of life, an attack of spiritual forces, or from God Himself.  Richard Cecil is noted as saying, "God's way of answering the Christian's prayer for more patience, experience, hope, and love often is to put him into the furnace of affliction.” Even  though we cannot avoid affliction, we can use it for the glory of God. That’s right. Your pain can be used to glorify God. How do we do this?    First, we need to learn to receive God's comfort. Much like in life, some folks are better at letting ot...
Read more

Dependent Upon God

-
Image
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Tell the sons of Israel to turn back and camp..." Exodus 14:1    Have you ever stopped and considered why God led the Israelites to freedom by taking them through the desert? Really, think about the process for a moment. He led them out of the slavery for a day or two, then told them to turn back towards the city of their captivity, next to the sea, and make camp. This lead to their being trapped. Then He led them to a place with with plenty of water, but it was undrinkable. Not too long after that, when all their food provisions were depleted, He led them to a place where there was no food or water for themselves or their livestock. Why would God be so cruel? Well, if you know the rest of the story, then you may already know the answer. They were never trapped, for God parted the waters, allowing them safe passage through the sea and drowning their enemies. The undrinkable water was made drinkable, and they were provided food ...
Read more

Biblical Apprenticeship

-
Image
"...Go therefore and make disciples... ” - (Matt. 28:18-20)   The Greek word mathetai is the term we usually translate as disciple, and it expresses the idea of "student" or "pupil". To me, the best understanding today of the biblical principle of disciples is apprentices. Think about it, in a typical apprenticeship a new generation of practitioners are prepared with on-the-job training and often some accompanying classroom work and reading.  Apprenticeships typically last 3 to 6 years, and generally involve four steps:     (1)  Commitment - At this level the apprentice makes the commitment to stay the course by receiving the education and training necessary to become the “journeyman”.       (2) Classroom - At this phase, the apprentice receives the information necessary to understand and work within the sphere of labor.      (3) Training - At this phase, the apprentice begins to put the informat...
Read more