Along the Way w/ Bro. Ryan

Joshua 23-24 At the risk of post length, I'll simply post the citation for the following thoughts from Joshua 23-24.  The Israelites have finally made it to the Promised Land of Canaan, all the land has been allotted to each of the 12 Tribes of Israel and Joshua, after courageously leading the people through many military conquests, is giving them their final charge before he passes on into Glory. What was the charge? In short, " cling to the Lord your God ..." ( Josh. 23:8 ) It was preached to the people a myriad of times and reiterated here, 'Obey the Lord and you will receive the promised blessings; disobey Him and you will receive the promised curses.' The next logical question then would be, what's the true motivation here to obey God?  Was it simply out of fear of impending curses?  Or was it something more that should drive God's people to worship and obey Him?  Verse 9 gives us more insight: " For the Lord has driven out before you grea...

"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.  You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked ."  - Psalm 91:7-8 This is a Psalm recounting the faithfulness of God and His promise to protect and keep His people, Israel, from utter destruction.  The promise to Abraham and on down the line was to preserve a people to which Messiah would be born and a future Kingdom would be instilled forever.  Israel had been through a lot at the point of writing this Psalm and, as we would have, needed reassurance of God's promises to them.  However, around verses 7-8 of this Psalm, the writer shifts from current (Israel-specific) to the future and to believers.  The assurance given to all who believe in Messiah, all who are born again through faith in Christ, would be the sparing of the future judgment.  The lost would be among the "thousand" who would "fall at your side" and the "ten...

"I Am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." - Deuteronomy 5:6 We often read past this verse, whether we're reading about the Ten Commandments being given in Exodus or here in Deuteronomy where they are reiterated in the hearing of all the Israelites.  We tend to think that God was all about LAW LAW LAW - OBEY OBEY OBEY (or else!) in the Old Testament and then grace somehow comes later in the New Testament when Jesus shows up.  But, is that really what occurred?  The following is an excerpt of commentary from the ESV Gospel Transformation Bible: "Deuteronomy 5-26 contains the laws that Israel was to keep in the land they were about to enter.  The 10 Commandments stand at the beginning of all other laws, and at the beginning of the 10 Commandments we read, 'I Am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.'  Law follows grace . God saved Israel before He g...

"And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel...his sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.  Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and they said to him, 'Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.  Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.' ........(Samuel was upset so he prayed to God)......The Lord said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.'" -1 Samuel 8:1-7 Currently as I sit here at my keyboard, there are tons of people here at our church for local/precinct voting and there are even more vehicles in the parking lot.  Many are so driven by politics in our society that its crazy! (This is certainly not to disparage voting, as it...

Numbers 16-17 speak of a rebellion of some 250 prominent Israelites against God's chosen, Moses and Aaron. The people, led by Korah and a few others, brought charges against them both claiming that they had no right to claim leadership over the people, much less call into question the people's holiness and status before God. "God is among us too!" they argued. In the event, they were claiming they could approach God however they wanted and that the mediator provided to the m, Aaron the priest, was unnecessary. Essentially, they rose up against God's chosen mediator in attempt to approach God their own way. The result: nearly 15,000 people died in judgment. Later, to further prove that God had chosen Aaron, 12 staffs representing the 12 tribes of Israel were gathered, the names of each leader were written on each staff, and the one that sprouted buds would be shown by God to be His anointed over the people.  Aaron's staff was the only one that budded: l...

I recently read Psalm 90, Moses' prayer to God, and in this prayer/Psalm we find a verse by verse revelation of some fascinating characteristics of God.  It is mind blowing to see how God can use the prayer of one of His servants, have it recorded in Scripture as the Spirit "carries him along," and through that personal prayer reveal more of Himself to us today.  For the sake of post length, I won't post the entire Psalm here, but I encourage you to read Psalm 90 on your own - it contains 17 verses. Here are some notes I gleaned from this Psalm about who God is: v.1) God is who we find our rest, comfort and peace in - His presence is our home. v.2) God is the Almighty, everlasting Creator of all things.  v.3) God says when a person dies - He holds life in His hand.  v.4-6) God is not limited or bound by time. v.7) God is Judge. v.8) God sees all sins we commit. v.9) God cursed the whole world in Genesis 3 - we live all our days under that curse. v.10, 12) ...