August 2023

21/08/2023
Jos 1 v 1 - 2 v 24

Be strong and courageous

⁶ “Be strong and courageous,, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (vers 6-9) [NLT]

Be strong and very courageous

Have you ever had to prepare for something that caused your bones to shiver? One can easily become strong by following a vigorous training program combined with the correct diet, but it takes more than physical strength to have the courage to take on an army. We often confuse the two and in the above passage God mentions this twice, while emphasizing just how courageous Joshua should be.

Obey all instructions

Joshua was instructed to obey the Lord’s commandments, without deviating from them. Then, and then only would he take possession of the promised land. Moses knew how rebellious the Israelites were and that it would take a special leader to take charge of this mammoth task. Joshua had the reassurance that he would be victorious and that God would never fail, nor forsake him (Deut 31 v 8; Jos 1 v 5).

Do not be afraid

Can you imagine the responsibility Joshua had to take on his shoulders? We find it hard sometimes just to approach our managers in the work place or even a large corporate that could become a potential client. Here, Joshua would take over a city and even though it was promised to his predecessor, surely he had to ask himself whether he was up to the task… This doesn’t seem to be the case as he took charge and immediately instructed those who were to follow him, regarding the plans to invade the city.

Study the Word and meditate on it

Reading God’s Word and following His instructions is not an instant recipe to worldly success, nor is it a gateway to salvation. If that were the case, everyone would become a Christian. We are called to study the Word and meditate on it yes, but there should be a change of heart and as a result of this, we would want to follow God’s instructions and obey His commandments.

It takes courage to trust in the Lord, but God never disappoints and therefore we can take heed and know that He will never leave, or fail nor forsake us, as long as we put our faith in Jesus and no longer rely on our own bodily strength and intellect, but purely on His provision.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, Life Application Study Bible, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by “The Lockman Foundation”

23/082023
Mark 1 v 9-20; 1 Cor 1 v 18-31; Ps 73 v 1-28; Jos 3 v 1 to 5 v 15

Only the foolish will believe

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
    the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. ²² Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1 v 18 – 31) [NIV]

So, who are the “foolish”?

It’s simple. Only those who believe in Christ crucified: “a Stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.” (vers 23)
It is also the ones who gave up everything to follow Jesus (Mark 1 v 16 – 20).
Believers in Christ are often ridiculed for their belief in this “fairy tale” religion and mocked for their apparent lack of reason, assuming that they (the enlightened ones), have mastered all there is to know in life about every subject matter, yet the ones calling us foolish, have not taken the time to apply their wisdom and knowledge to research the validity and authenticity of our “foolish” belief, or could it simply be that “¹⁴ … a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Cor 2 v 14) 

Who are the wise?

This too, is clear. The teacher of the law and the philosopher (vers 20), saying that only the foolish will believe.
We are often asked how we can trust in a source that was written by men, but it is never considered that many have tried to discredit and disprove our beliefs over the course of millennia and still people are coming to faith in Jesus.
There must be something about our faith that causes more and more people to accept the death (and resurrection) of Christ as the only atonement for their sins?
Could it be that all their earthly knowledge and doctor’s degrees cannot fill the void that a life without God offers?

Who are the wicked?

Those who think that God is only a concept and live their life according to their own desires, also saying that only the foolish will believe. They question and often reject the very existence of God and takes no responsibility for their actions. There are also those who might believe in God as a distant, impersonal figure that doesn’t have the ability to know our very next thought or action. (Ps 73 v 11)
This is an extremely dangerous position to hold and there is only one outcome for people who think that the God of the universe will not judge them at the appropriate time.

We as believers, should never forget where we come from and how God saved us from certain demise. Therefore, “let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (vers 31)

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, Life Application Study Bible, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by “The Lockman Foundation”

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash