Joshua's Message to the People (Josh. 3:9-13)

8/15/2009 8:52 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                Focus:  Joshua’s message to the people

Bible Reading & Meditation        Reference:  Joshua 3:9-13

    Message of the verses:  “9  Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God." 10  Joshua said, "By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite. 11  "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. 12  "Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. 13  "It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.’”
    In explaining something about true leadership in this section Warren Wiersbe from his book “Be Strong” writes:  “True spiritual leadership focuses the eyes of God’s people on the Lord and His greatness.”  This is exactly what Joshua did in these verses as he gave a message to the people.  He described the Lord as “you God, the living God, and the Lord of all the earth.”  It was the Lord who received all of the glory as He should have and as He deserves.  God would stop the Jordan River and put the waters in a heap so that Israel would be able to cross on dry ground just as when they crossed the Red Sea.
    Joshua told the people that each tribe should appoint one man who would be given an assignment later on to accomplish for the Lord, although he did not say what that assignment was at this time. 
    This is the end of the first section from Warren Wiersbe’s book which he called “The Word of Faith.” The next section called “The Walk of Faith” will begin in the next SD.  This section reminds me of “Ro 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

    Spiritual meaning for my life today:   Reading this section makes me more inspired for they are all about faith in God, the God of heaven and earth who will do as he pleases.  God does all things within His character and attributes, for God cannot do anything wrong.  It took a lot of faith for those priests to jump into the water at flood stage carrying the ark of the covenant for they could have been swept away and drowned, but they trusted the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word and were thus rewarded for their faith.  The more I read stories like this from the Word of God the more I trust the God of the Word.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1.    Give myself to the Lord for worship and service.
2.    Trust the Lord to guide my path today.
3.    Trust that the Holy Spirit will search my heart of unconfessed sin so that I might confess them to the Lord.
4.    Continue to learn contentment.
5.    Put on the spiritual armor of God:  The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.
Scripture verses that relate to these steps of faith:

1.    Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2  And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
2.    5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.
3.    23  Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; 24  And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
4.    11  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
5.    14  Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15  and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16  in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17  And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18  With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

8/15/2009 9:33 AM