February 14, 2016

"The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

Nowadays the word "soul" is often attached to a type of food or a genre of music.

While I have no problem with either of those and like both, it is deeply troubling that our understanding of the soul is so limited and lacking.

How can you fully appreciate the significance of salvation and the demand for discipleship until you capture the concept of the soul?

You can't, so you'd better!

In yesterday's post I shared the OT word for "soul". In the New Testament, the Greek word for "soul" is transliterated as "psuche" or "psyche." We will use "psuche". This word occurs over 100 times in the New Testament. Combine the OT and NT references and you will find 850 "soul" scriptures.

Add to that number the other synonyms used in conjunction with the soul. Consider:

"Heart" is synonymous with soul and refers to the seat and source of your emotions. Your "heart"  is where you set your desires. (Luke 10:27)

"Mind" refers to the bias that forms your thoughts and your attitudes. Your "mind" includes your assumptions and your predispositions. You could say it is the "mind behind your mind."

(Colossians 3:2; Romans 12:1-2; Luke 10:27)

"Spirit" is the image of God within you. It is what gives life to your soul. It is where God desires to dwell and rule.

Your soul (heart, mind and spirit) is the core of your being and the essential you. Your soul is what forms at the instant of conception and endures eternally. The destination of your soul depends on the decisions you make during life. It is your soul that slips into eternity at the moment your body dies.

Jesus, as you would expect, posed the most poignant question in regard to the soul when He challenged, " For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul." Mark 8:36

How is it with your soul?

February 13, 2016

“That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Number 14:1-4

The story of Israel is the story of God’s leadership.

He was a much better leader than they were followers. Despite their reluctance and their resistance and their occasional outright resistance He was able to use Moses and Joshua to get them into Canaan.

God leads in three ways but only in one direction. He leads us out, He leads us through and He leads us in.

He led them out, as in out of Egypt.

Egypt was a place of bondage. For 400 terrible grueling years they served as slaves to the Pharaoh in forced labor. From sun up to sundown the taskmasters drove them often beyond the breaking point and that was their plight for generation after generation until God heard the cries of His people and sent a deliverer to lead them out.

Like Moses of old, God sent a second Deliverer and a Greater One. His name was Jesus, God’s own Son who died and rose again to set us free from the bondage of sin. He led me out of the darkness and bondage of my sins.

After God led His people out of Egypt with a series of miraculous acts that humbled the proud Egyptians and broke the Pharaoh’s heart, He led them through the Red Sea with a greater miracle. Over the next 40 years (it should have been 40 days) He sustained them in their wandering through the wilderness with miracles providing food and water for 2,000,000 Hebrews. He provided for them so He could lead them through the wilderness.

God brought me out of the bondage of my Egypt so He could lead me through my wilderness seasons. During those dry, desolate, desert seasons of my life He has always led me through. Sometimes I have made it a longer journey that He intended but He has faithfully lead me through.  And He can do the same for you! He will lead you out of your Egypt and through your wilderness if you will follow Him.

So, God led His people out of Egypt and He led them through the wilderness in order to lead them into Canaan.

Ah, Canaan! The Land of Promise! The land that’s flowing with milk and honey! The place where His power, His presence and His possession are enjoyed!

I’m so thankful for God’s faithful leadership in my life! Through the sacrifice of Jesus He led me out of the slavery of sin. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit He led me through my wilderness.  Through the blood of Christ and the work of the Spirit He led me into the fullness of His power, His presence and His possession.

God leads out, and He leads through and He leads in! One way He doesn’t lead is back. So if, like the losers in the verses above you are thinking about going back to Egypt. Thank again! God doesn’t lead in that direction.

February 12, 2016

“So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.  The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.”  Joshua 21:43-45

THREE WORDS MARK THESE DAYS OF JOSHUA – POWER, PRESENCE & POSSESSION. IT WAS BY HIS POWER THEY CONQUERED AND BY HIS PRESENCE THEY WERE LED TO TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LAND HE HAD LONG AGO PROMISED TO THEIR FATHERS. POWER, PRESENCE AND POSSESSION ARE THREE HUGE WORDS IN THE BOOK OF JOSHUA BECAUSE GLORY DAYS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED WITHOUT THEM. NOR WILL THERE BE GLORY DAYS IN 2016 WITHOUT THEM.

I WONDER ARE THESE HUGE WORDS IN YOUR LIFE?

YOU DON’T NEED TO CROSS THE JORDAN BUT YOU SURE NEED TO GET THROUGH A TOUGH WEEK DON’T YOU?

YOU’RE NOT STARING AT THE WALLS OF JERICHO BUT YOU ARE STARING DOWN REJECTION IN A RELATIONSHIP, OR YOU’RE CAUGHT IN A HABIT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO BREAK, A HEARTACHE THAT JUST DOESN’T HEAL OR A SITUATION THAT SEEMS TO BE A DEAD END.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER TO SEE IF YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY CANAANITES BUT YOU ARE BEING CHASED BY DEBT OR DISEASE OR DISCOURAGEMENT OR EVEN DEPRESSION.

MAYBE THERE WAS A DAY YOU COULD LOOK ACROSS YOUR CHALLENGE AND SEE THE PROMISED LAND BUT YOU’VE COME TO A POINT WHERE YOU WONDER IF IT EVEN EXISTS.

YOU’VE GIVEN UP ON GLORY DAYS YOU ARE JUST HOPING TO GET THROUGH YOUR DAYS.

I BELIEVE THE BOOK OF JOSHUA IS IN THE BIBLE FOR PEOPLE IN SITUATION JUST LIKE YOU FIND YOURSELF THIS MORNING! I BELIEVE IT IS THERE TO SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW. NO MATTER HOW DISTANT HIS POWER OR HIS PRESENCE OR HIS POSSESSION MAY SEEM TO BE HE STILL OFFERS HIS GLORY DAYS TO YOU! THERE IS POWER, AND PRESENCE AND POSSESSION STILL AVAILABLE TO YOU. HE IS THE GOD OF SECOND CHANCES WHO NEVER LOSES HOPE IN YOU.

BELIEVE THIS IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE I SHARE - GOD HAS A PROMISED LAND FOR YOU TO TAKE! – THAT’S A PROMISE!

February 11, 2016

“So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.” Joshua 21:43-45

For seven years they were an unstoppable juggernaut winning 20 battles, conquering 7 kings and reclaiming 25,000 square miles of choice property!  Under Joshua, the Hebrews crossed the Jordan and at long last entered the land God had promised to their Fathers centuries before and for seven glorious years were outnumbered but never overpowered! They were under-equipped but never over-matched. And they became the unquestioned conquerors of some of the most barbaric armies that ever marched.

If this had been a prize fight the referee would have probably stopped it in the first round. These were the Glory Days!

Make no mistake the Hebrew people hadn’t always be this formidable. For 400 years they were living bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt and for the last 40 years they had been in bondage to fear in the wilderness after blowing a chance to enter Canaan.

The Bible is brutally honest about the shortcomings of the Founders and Fathers of our Faith.

·    Abraham had too many wives

·    Jacob told too many lies.

·    Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soul

·    Jacob’s sons sold their brother Joseph into slavery.

·    They squandered Canaan after they finally conquered it.

·    They built two glorious temples but lost them both.

·    They were entrusted with the Ark of the Covenant but lost that, too.

·   Because they lost influence for good pagan cultures gain strength and    wrought havoc on the innocents of the world – such as the Babylonians, the     Philistines, the Syrians, the Greeks and the Romans.

So, shining from the pages of the Old Testament are seven glorious years between long periods of darkness.

What accounts for such a dramatic difference?

Under the leadership of Joshua God’s people finally employed His power to cross over Jordan and enter the Promised Land at long last!

They employed God’s power because they enjoyed His presence! Because Joshua listened to God and the people listened to Joshua, God was able to have favor on them blessed them with His presence.

When you employ His power while you enjoy His presence you are able to enter into His possession! After hundreds of years Joshua did what Moses and all the other Patriarchs were not able to do, he entered the Promised Land and brought God’s people with him!

The Book of Joshua is in the Bible to serve as a reminder that no matter where you find yourself in life God offers you His Glory Days! God is a God of second chances. God never loses hope in you even when you lose hope in Him.

This morning you have the same offer God gave Joshua. You can enjoy His presence! You can employ His power! You can possess all the blessings He has to offer you!

                              

February 10, 2016

“So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there.  The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; everyone was fulfilled.”  Joshua 21:43-45

The Book of Joshua can be summarized in three words: power, presence and possession.

Joshua remembered how God’s power had brought them to the banks of the Jordan ready to cross over to Canaan, the Land of Promise. It gave him courage to believe the God Who had led them out of Egypt and had led them through the wilderness would now lead them in to Canaan.

As he gained encouragement and strength from remembering God power he encouraged God’s people by reminding them of all God had done!

It was God’s power demonstrated in the plagues that finally broke down the Pharaoh’s resistance so he agreed to let God’s people go.

God’s power opened the Red Sea to deliver His people and then closed it to destroy their enemies.

God’s power provided nourishing manna every morning for 2,000,000 people over 40 years in a wilderness.

God’s power brought water from a rock when His people were thirsty!

And’s power wouldn’t wane when they entered into Canaan!

Do you believe in God’s power?

Do you know God’s power?

Do you depend on God’s power?

As amazing as God’s power is there’s something far better than His power and that’s His presence because when you have His presence you also have His power!

Moses knew God’s presence like few others who ever lived. Joshua coveted God’s presence and sought it for himself and his people.

The presence of God dwelt on the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant between cherubs’ wings. That was the visible symbol of God’s presence that always went before His people wherever they went.

It was the presence of God that led Moses and the people in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It was a desire for His presence that led to the building of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

God’s presence was the purpose of the Promised Land! It was there they could worship Him and know Him and serve Him in peace! He would be their rest!

Is God’s presence welcome in your life?

Is He real and precious in your life?

Can others recognize His presence in your life?

Through God’s power and His presence the Hebrews would possess the land promised to Abraham of old. Which, by the way, raises another inspiring truth – because of God’s power and God’s presence and God’s possession you can be sure He will deliver on His promises – every one every time!

God’s power and His presence and His possession as revealed in the Book of Joshua are the essence of His glory and the entrance to your Glory Days when you make them personal through your faith.

February 9, 2016

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” Joshua 1:6

Remember when you were a kid and you were afraid in the dark or the monsters under your bed? You would cry out for your parents and your mom came in to comfort you. She would turn the lights on and look under your bed to show you there was nothing to fear. Her parting words as she tucked you back in and shut the lights off were, “Be brave, there is nothing to fear.”

How did that work out?

One of the hardest things to do is to not be afraid when you are fearful.

So, how does that happen? Ah……they never told you that did they?

As I read the first verses of Joshua 1 my mind went back to those childhood moments of trying to overcome my fears. God sounded a lot like your parents or mine when they told us to get a handle on our fears except for the fact that he got over his fears while we struggled with ours.

We know the rest of the story therefore we know Joshua DID find courage to lead God’s people to victory after victory as they conquered Canaan. What can we learn from how he overcame his fear?

Joshua remembered what God had done for His people in the past. He was aware that they best predictor of what someone may do in the future is what that someone did in the past.

Joshua saw the miracles God did when He led them out of Egypt. And he remembered how God had delivered

From the mighty Egyptian army by closing the Sea back on them after He had opened it for them. God led them with a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night, gave them manna every morning and water in a desert land.

As He remembered the mighty acts of God and as he reasoned that God is the same yesterday, today and forever he concluded that what He had done before He could (AND WOULD) do it again!

But not only did Joshua remember but he also received what God had for him – faith, hope, courage, wisdom, blessing and vision. Don’t think Joshua never experience fear. He was dedicated but he wasn’t dead! Rather than allow fear to rise in his heart he chose to receive faith from God.

Fear is a choice. So is faith. Whichever you receive will shape your reality. Like Moses before him Joshua received faith and rejected fear!

Are you struggling with fear right now?

It may not be monsters under your bed or a dark room, but fear is real and it will lead you to a dark place where you don’t want to be.

Don’t make the mistake of believing Joshua never struggled with fear. Fear was real in his world, too, but when it tried to arise in him he rejected it. Instead, he chose to remember the God He served and received faith to overcome his fear.

What worked for Joshua will work for you! When fear threatens you, remember the God you serve and receive His presence, peace and power!

February 8, 2016

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Romans 5:8

It is easy to say, "I love you." But how can you be sure if someone really does love you?

Let's learn from the original Lover, the best Lover, the source of all love - God.

God teaches us that love must be proved by a sacrificial demonstration of true commitment. And if love is anything, it is a commitment! One indication of commitment is cost. What are you willing to pay to prove your love? How did God demonstrate His?

First, through creation!

Can you view a stunning sunset and not see divine love?

Can you look at a Spring landscape and miss the message?

Can you hold a newborn and not appreciate what inspired such a miracle?

Can you stargaze into a moonlit sky and not recognize the love behind it?

Creation surely demonstrates a supernatural love. But while it is proof of His creativity it didn't cost Him anything.

Then, through Christ!

If you ever had a long-distance relationship you know it is hard to love that way. Love is better when it is up close and personal.

Through the creation of man, God demonstrated that He desired a personal relationship with him. And before that love was rejected by disobedience, Adam walked and talked with God and experienced the love of God up close and personal. But sin resulted in a long-distance relationship.

So, once again, God demonstrated His desire for a personal relationship by coming in person. Jesus, God's Son, the Word of God, put on flesh and came to dwell among us! He was "Emmanuel" - "God with us"!

Love was demonstrated by a precious gift. Jesus left the splender and security of Heaven and slipped into flesh and blood so He could get personally involved with loving us. During His brief visit to earth He demonstrated daily what the love of God looks like.

Then, Through the Cross!

The ultimate and undeniable proof of God's love was death on the cross. What higher commitment could you demonstrate than dying for one you love? What greater cost can you pay than substituting your life for the one you love?

And that is what Christ's death was! It was a substitutionary death for you! You were sentenced to die in the sin that separated you from a Holy God. But Jesus suffered death for you! Though He was innocent He assumed your guilt. He bore the guilt and the penalty for your sins. He took rejection so you could be accepted into a personal relationship with God!

There can be no doubt that God loves you! And, He loved you first! And He loved you when you were lost and unloveable!

God can do no more than He has done to demonstrate how much He loves you!

So, how can you demonstrate your love for Him?

Receive that love by faith! It is a gift purchased for you and offered to you. Jesus is God's valentine to you, how can you refuse it?