The Israelites have now crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. God faithfully provided food and water for them for 40 years while in the wilderness. Now it was time for the Israelites to use what God had blessed them with in order to faithfully serve Him.
God sent the Holy Spirit on a deeply significant Jewish holiday. Most Christians think of Pentecost as being a Christian event that birthed the church in fire and power. However, hundreds of years before this event, the Jewish people celebrated Shavuot to mark an equally significant arrival – that of the Torah.
As the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan River, God instructed them to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan and build a memorial. The purpose of the memorial is that in the future people will know what God did, and how powerful He is.
There are times when believers must forego reason and common sense and step out in faith. But what exactly does it mean to “step out in faith?” When should a believer step out in faith? How exactly is it done?
God’s Word tells us that it is a sin to lie. Yet, Rehab was rewarded by God for lying. Which causes us to ask the question: Is it ever ok for a God-fearing person to lie?
God promised the Israelites that they would take possession of the land on the other side of the Jordan. So they were instructed to “get their provisions ready.” God has a plan for your life. It’s time for you to get ready to move on.
God told Joshua that he would be successful in everything he did as long as he was careful to obey all the instructions that Moses gave. Also, he was not to deviate from them. It was a pretty simple formula: study the Book of Instruction continually and meditate on it day and night.
Jesus told Mary Magdaline not to cling to Him. He had to ascend to the Father in order to send the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we want to “cling to Jesus” – that is hold Him with us right where we are. However, Jesus has other plans and He wants to go about His work. When we try to keep Him where we are, we limit Him and prevent Him from working in our lives as He wants to. When we do that, we are in control and not Him and we end up missing out on all sorts of blessings. The reason being that we are not following the leading of the Spirit and fulfilling God’s will.
Jesus predicted when and where He would die, how He would be treated, and by whom. He also predicted that He would rise again and when. And then what He predicted on Palm Sunday came true 40 years later. How could Jesus know all this and do all that He did? He must have been special, even divine.
