KJB Daily
Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2016
Chapters: Joshua 24, Judges 1-2
Message: Judges: Tasting The Gift Of Salvation
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twenty-one chapters. The author of the book is Samuel and it was written to Israel, the timeline for these events took place approximately between 1425 BC to 1120 BC. The purpose of the book was to record Israel's behavior after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, confessions, and the judges God sent to redeem them. What we are to learn from the book is that God's chastisement gets us to turn away from sin and to the Saviour. “And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” - Judges 10:15,16.
Salvation, the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death. Our total redemption from eternal death was made possible only by Jesus Christ who gave Himself as the atonement sacrifice needed to redeem a soul permanently. Salvation is given by anyone who believes in Christ under the grace of God, but that does not mean consequences do not come to our human bodies if we forsake God. This is not about works, it is about choosing God and keeping Him LORD of our lives. Before Joshua died he gathered the elders and heads of the tribes together and told them to choose which God they were going to follow, but if they chose God they had better not turn their back on Him to other gods.
“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” - Joshua 24:19-24.
“after that he hath done you good.” As much as we try, once we have received the gift of salvation from Christ, it is impossible to live in the world without facing consequences for our actions. Yes, many rebel and to the eye they appear to be having the greatest time of their lives living the most immoral and corrupt lives they can, but beyond the surface they are suffering. And the thing is, it is not God who brings the suffering, it is the person. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” - Hebrews 6:4-6,9.
We have a choice, God or the world, there is no compromise in this, we either love God or we love the world, anytime we try to mix the two together there will be trouble. The Israelites are now facing life without their leader Joshua. What were they to do? They were to do just as Joshua said, follow God's commands. We are taken back to the time that Judah drove out most of the Canaanites off their portion of land, along with Simeon, but the rest of the tribes did not want to fight, they ended up taking money from them to keep the peace. “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.” - Judges 1:1,4,22,28.
“when Israel was strong,” As Christians, God gives us great strength to defeat our enemies, but if we rely only on our own human strength we are going to get weak, and we are going to get defeated. Being saved keeps us from hell, it does not keep us from suffering caused by sin. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” - James 1:12-15.
Not one tribe got rid of every Canaanite that was dwelling in their land, on top of that, God was not taught to the next generation, so, when the eldest generation died off it was as if they never knew God. Israel not only began socializing with the Canaanites, they began following their gods too, because of this God took away their strength.
“And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.” - Judges 2:1-3,10,14,18.
“for it repented the LORD because of their groanings” God loves us, He does not want to see us suffering, even in our own sin. He finds great sorrow in seeing the ones that have tasted the gift of salvation living immoral and corrupt lives. Again, this is not about saving our souls, Jesus did that already when we accepted Him as our Saviour, this is about keeping ourselves from suffering more than we have to. I have an intolerance to processed food, if I eat them I get severe digestive problems. Many times I eat them not unknowingly, and I suffer for it. Our relationship with God is the same way, we cannot allow the things of the world to mix with God, even if we do not know it is wrong, that does not keep us from suffering, if we choose God, we must remain faithful to Him. “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:14,15.
Jesus Christ Revealed: Today, Jesus is reveal as the angel of the LORD, Jesus, is God in the flesh and Spirit, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” - Revelation 1:8
Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for allowing me to taste the gift of salvation when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. While we cannot avoid temptations in life that seem to never go away, we can endure them with the strength that only comes from You. I trust You and know that good things will truly come as I remain faithful to You and abide in Your Word. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power and strength to drive out all of the people and things that cause me needless suffering in my life, let me not be enticed by their false appearances, and help me to endure every temptation. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://godsprice.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I'm Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I'm Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Date: Saturday, March 12, 2016
Chapters: Joshua 24, Judges 1-2
Message: Judges: Tasting The Gift Of Salvation
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twenty-one chapters. The author of the book is Samuel and it was written to Israel, the timeline for these events took place approximately between 1425 BC to 1120 BC. The purpose of the book was to record Israel's behavior after the death of Joshua, their repeated sin, confessions, and the judges God sent to redeem them. What we are to learn from the book is that God's chastisement gets us to turn away from sin and to the Saviour. “And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day. And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.” - Judges 10:15,16.
Salvation, the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death. Our total redemption from eternal death was made possible only by Jesus Christ who gave Himself as the atonement sacrifice needed to redeem a soul permanently. Salvation is given by anyone who believes in Christ under the grace of God, but that does not mean consequences do not come to our human bodies if we forsake God. This is not about works, it is about choosing God and keeping Him LORD of our lives. Before Joshua died he gathered the elders and heads of the tribes together and told them to choose which God they were going to follow, but if they chose God they had better not turn their back on Him to other gods.
“And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.” - Joshua 24:19-24.
“after that he hath done you good.” As much as we try, once we have received the gift of salvation from Christ, it is impossible to live in the world without facing consequences for our actions. Yes, many rebel and to the eye they appear to be having the greatest time of their lives living the most immoral and corrupt lives they can, but beyond the surface they are suffering. And the thing is, it is not God who brings the suffering, it is the person. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.” - Hebrews 6:4-6,9.
We have a choice, God or the world, there is no compromise in this, we either love God or we love the world, anytime we try to mix the two together there will be trouble. The Israelites are now facing life without their leader Joshua. What were they to do? They were to do just as Joshua said, follow God's commands. We are taken back to the time that Judah drove out most of the Canaanites off their portion of land, along with Simeon, but the rest of the tribes did not want to fight, they ended up taking money from them to keep the peace. “Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass, that the children of Israel asked the LORD, saying, Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them? And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel: and the LORD was with them. And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out.” - Judges 1:1,4,22,28.
“when Israel was strong,” As Christians, God gives us great strength to defeat our enemies, but if we rely only on our own human strength we are going to get weak, and we are going to get defeated. Being saved keeps us from hell, it does not keep us from suffering caused by sin. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” - James 1:12-15.
Not one tribe got rid of every Canaanite that was dwelling in their land, on top of that, God was not taught to the next generation, so, when the eldest generation died off it was as if they never knew God. Israel not only began socializing with the Canaanites, they began following their gods too, because of this God took away their strength.
“And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.” - Judges 2:1-3,10,14,18.
“for it repented the LORD because of their groanings” God loves us, He does not want to see us suffering, even in our own sin. He finds great sorrow in seeing the ones that have tasted the gift of salvation living immoral and corrupt lives. Again, this is not about saving our souls, Jesus did that already when we accepted Him as our Saviour, this is about keeping ourselves from suffering more than we have to. I have an intolerance to processed food, if I eat them I get severe digestive problems. Many times I eat them not unknowingly, and I suffer for it. Our relationship with God is the same way, we cannot allow the things of the world to mix with God, even if we do not know it is wrong, that does not keep us from suffering, if we choose God, we must remain faithful to Him. “Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:14,15.
Jesus Christ Revealed: Today, Jesus is reveal as the angel of the LORD, Jesus, is God in the flesh and Spirit, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” - Revelation 1:8
Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for allowing me to taste the gift of salvation when I accepted Your Son as my Saviour. While we cannot avoid temptations in life that seem to never go away, we can endure them with the strength that only comes from You. I trust You and know that good things will truly come as I remain faithful to You and abide in Your Word. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your power and strength to drive out all of the people and things that cause me needless suffering in my life, let me not be enticed by their false appearances, and help me to endure every temptation. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://godsprice.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Read Previous Devotions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I'm Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I'm Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2016 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.