Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Left or The Right


This morning I was reading Joshua 23, Joshua was speaking to the people of Israel. He warned them about becoming one with the other nations that surrounded them. In v 6-8 he warns them not to stray from the laws of the Lord, but to cling closely to the miracles and blessings He had given them. Joshua warns them not to look to the left nor the right from the law.
The path is very narrow to life , Jesus himself tells us so. We must be careful to follow the laws of God closely and to obey Him in our words, walk, and our wisdom. With our words- we must be careful and choose them, every idle word spoken will be held to account. I heard someone say- weigh your words carefully, you do not know yet how heavy they are. With our walk- we must daily pick up the cross and walk in a manner fitting to our calling. Jesus said we would show our love for him in how we obey him, that is easier said than done and at times it really means going against the flow. We cannot do things simply because we did them as children, or because our parents did them, or because Bob the elder at church said it is ok- is Bob God? Who ranks higher- God's law or Bob's law? Be Bereans and sift everything you do with the word of God. With our wisdom- when you are making choices or giving advice to others, whose wisdom are you using? Are you using the World's wisdom? Do you line your wisdom up with what Us Weekly said is true? Or what God's everlasting word says is true?
These are important things to remember. Everyday be in touch with God's truth and his words, this is critical for being tapped into what He says is righteous. Be righteous, like Christ is righteous, for we are made righteous through him. This blessing is beautiful but it comes with a responsibility. The responsibility is to show the world who the Lord is. You are His ambassadors. You are the way they know who Jesus is. Go, love one another and walk in a way becoming to a servant of the Lord. Do not look to the left or the right, stay fast on the narrow road to truth!