I was reading Joshua 7 on Biblegateway this week.
Ooh, the story is full of learning opportunities. The part of it that stood out to me was the underlined part below.
10 The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
And in thinking how could I write about such a thing? This is ancient history yet so present too and so true. So I go to the main page to see what that day’s Verse of the day is…
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Confirmation that the whole of Joshua 7 is accurate.
Consistency yet again. The Old and the New Testaments.
Both are consistent. The whole Bible is Consistent.
But you’re thinking, that was Old Covenant stuff, we’re in the New now. Yes, we are, but are we obeying in that too? Are we doing what Jesus said to do? Even now, when we’re all supposed to stay so far from each other? How can you love someone today?
Still, the gift of God is eternal life and it is a Gift.
You can’t earn it.
You can’t demand it.
You can’t do it on your own.
It’s a gift.
All you can do is ask, and trust in His promise, that’s it.
So trust. Have faith.
Love someone today and grow in faith.
Love: Doing for someone else what is best for them.
Faith: belief in what you can not see.
Trust: unwavering belief in Him.
Stand firm. We’ve been given grace upon grace already given and told to Stand. So how can you Stand today?
Faith. It’s always Faith that helps us do what we’ve been told to do. And in the doing we learn trust. Because He’s right there. He’s close. So very close. Believe it.