December 28th 2014
Are You Turning Away From The Promised Land?
Numbers 14:6-8 (NIV)
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
God overpowered the Egyptians and had Moses lead His people out of Egypt and right to the entrance into the land He had promised them, because of what Abraham had been willing to do many years before. However, when they arrived, and scoped out this land of milk and honey, the majority voted to turn away from it. Only two of the twelve who went into this wonderful land voted to go in and take it, with the Lord’s help! These two men believed what God had promised, and thus, they believed, “he (God) will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.”
How would you have voted, if you had been selected to go into this wonderful land to determine your ability to defeat the people who already lived there, and claim what God had promised? The Israelites had to believe God would give this land over to them, and they would only have to destroy the people who already held this land, and some of them were reported to be giants. That is all they had to do! The Israelites had to trust God to be with them, and to give them this land, but they would be required to fight with the current inhabitants to get their property.
Yesterday we again celebrated the greatest gift of all, when God brought His Son into this world to save us from our sins. We could look at Jesus as being the real greatest gift of all time, as God does not require us to do anything difficult to claim this gift of salvation! Jesus died for sin not because of it; we will die because of sin not for it! Jesus was the perfect sinless sacrifice required to die to cover over your sin. Each of us can say that Jesus died for me, to cover over my sins! All that is required by us is to believe this is true! When we enjoy the giving feelings of the Christmas season, let us recognize and indeed revel in the complete Good News – Jesus Christ, the babe in the manger, is the sovereign Creator, the Holy Judge, the sinless sacrifice, the victorious conqueror, the King of kings, the Lord of lords.
What promises has God made and when did such promises start? The promises of God always have a catch, as they require us to trust God for us to reap the benefits. The Israelites had to overcome the people already living in their promised land. We usually have an easier situation in which we must trust Jesus, but if we go back to the beginning we find that we would still not do better than Adam and Eve did in trusting God. Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:8-9)
God gave Adam and Eve the tree of life by which they could live forever, but God also gave them another tree, that would cause them to die, if they ate its fruit. It was really a simple choice, they could choose life or they could choose to know better than God. They choose to not trust God, but instead they wanted to know stuff God did not want them to know. Because Jesus has come to this earth as a human baby we again have the ability to choose life, or we can instead choose to believe we know better than Jesus what we need during our lifetime.
We can have this tree of life in our future, and all we have to do is trust Jesus, and choose to follow Him to be guided back to this tree in a garden, and to once again walk with God, as Adam and Eve once did! Do you trust that Jesus has overcome this world, as He said He did? He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7) If you can truly trust Jesus, then the tree of life is in your future!
You can choose either to live or to die, if you can trust Jesus, and then choose life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) We have all been called by Jesus to come to Him and trust Him to deliver us from evil. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) You may think you are seeking Jesus, but in actuality Jesus has been calling you. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Was yesterday a Happy Birthday for you, that is did you celebrate Jesus’ birthday yesterday or was it just another day? John was given a glimpse of what heaven will be like, and he wrote about it in Revelation. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5)
Believe it, the tree of life is awaiting everyone who believes that Jesus came to this earth to be one of us, and trust that this plan of God has allowed everyone a chance to obtain heaven, and live with Jesus forever. Because Jesus came and overcame this earth, and the curse of sin upon it, we can now be covered by His grace. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14) We are no longer under a law that requires us to present sacrifices to God for the forgiveness of our sins; we are free to avoid sinning, because we are no longer “under law, but under grace.”
CHRISTmas is over for another year, but the effect of that day of about 2,014 years ago, will never end. Now that is a lasting gift, it just keeps on giving! Plan a New Year that will allow you the resolve to trust Jesus with all your heart!
Wishing you the start of a
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Numbers 14:6-8 (NIV)
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
God overpowered the Egyptians and had Moses lead His people out of Egypt and right to the entrance into the land He had promised them, because of what Abraham had been willing to do many years before. However, when they arrived, and scoped out this land of milk and honey, the majority voted to turn away from it. Only two of the twelve who went into this wonderful land voted to go in and take it, with the Lord’s help! These two men believed what God had promised, and thus, they believed, “he (God) will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.”
How would you have voted, if you had been selected to go into this wonderful land to determine your ability to defeat the people who already lived there, and claim what God had promised? The Israelites had to believe God would give this land over to them, and they would only have to destroy the people who already held this land, and some of them were reported to be giants. That is all they had to do! The Israelites had to trust God to be with them, and to give them this land, but they would be required to fight with the current inhabitants to get their property.
Yesterday we again celebrated the greatest gift of all, when God brought His Son into this world to save us from our sins. We could look at Jesus as being the real greatest gift of all time, as God does not require us to do anything difficult to claim this gift of salvation! Jesus died for sin not because of it; we will die because of sin not for it! Jesus was the perfect sinless sacrifice required to die to cover over your sin. Each of us can say that Jesus died for me, to cover over my sins! All that is required by us is to believe this is true! When we enjoy the giving feelings of the Christmas season, let us recognize and indeed revel in the complete Good News – Jesus Christ, the babe in the manger, is the sovereign Creator, the Holy Judge, the sinless sacrifice, the victorious conqueror, the King of kings, the Lord of lords.
What promises has God made and when did such promises start? The promises of God always have a catch, as they require us to trust God for us to reap the benefits. The Israelites had to overcome the people already living in their promised land. We usually have an easier situation in which we must trust Jesus, but if we go back to the beginning we find that we would still not do better than Adam and Eve did in trusting God. Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:8-9)
God gave Adam and Eve the tree of life by which they could live forever, but God also gave them another tree, that would cause them to die, if they ate its fruit. It was really a simple choice, they could choose life or they could choose to know better than God. They choose to not trust God, but instead they wanted to know stuff God did not want them to know. Because Jesus has come to this earth as a human baby we again have the ability to choose life, or we can instead choose to believe we know better than Jesus what we need during our lifetime.
We can have this tree of life in our future, and all we have to do is trust Jesus, and choose to follow Him to be guided back to this tree in a garden, and to once again walk with God, as Adam and Eve once did! Do you trust that Jesus has overcome this world, as He said He did? He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7) If you can truly trust Jesus, then the tree of life is in your future!
You can choose either to live or to die, if you can trust Jesus, and then choose life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23) We have all been called by Jesus to come to Him and trust Him to deliver us from evil. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) You may think you are seeking Jesus, but in actuality Jesus has been calling you. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
Was yesterday a Happy Birthday for you, that is did you celebrate Jesus’ birthday yesterday or was it just another day? John was given a glimpse of what heaven will be like, and he wrote about it in Revelation. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 22:1-5)
Believe it, the tree of life is awaiting everyone who believes that Jesus came to this earth to be one of us, and trust that this plan of God has allowed everyone a chance to obtain heaven, and live with Jesus forever. Because Jesus came and overcame this earth, and the curse of sin upon it, we can now be covered by His grace. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Romans 6:14) We are no longer under a law that requires us to present sacrifices to God for the forgiveness of our sins; we are free to avoid sinning, because we are no longer “under law, but under grace.”
CHRISTmas is over for another year, but the effect of that day of about 2,014 years ago, will never end. Now that is a lasting gift, it just keeps on giving! Plan a New Year that will allow you the resolve to trust Jesus with all your heart!
Wishing you the start of a
Happy New Year!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
|
|
|