God’s Command of Strength and Courage Joshua 1:1-9

 

31 Days of Strength - August 1-7

This is one of the greatest verses of faith in the Old Testament.  We read and quote it often but do we really know the background on the verse and why we love to read it?

Let’s dig deeper and find out why we are commanded to be strong and courageous.

Background - Joshua 1:1-2

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving them to the people of Israel.

Moses who led the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt has died in the first chapter of Joshua.  Joshua had been chosen by God to lead the Israelites in to their promised land of Canaan.  Did you know Joshua means “Jehovah is Salvation”?  Joshua is a picture of Christ in the Old Testament.

   In this chapter, God is giving encouragement to Joshua that He will be with him and the children as they enter and take their promised land.  It was inhabited with the Canaanite people and would have to be overtaken.  So a monumental task lay ahead for Joshua the new leader of the Israelites.

But God encourages and reminds Joshua of the following:

The promise of the land in verses 2-4.

Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you.

The promise of His Presence in verse 5.

I will not leave your or forsake you.

The promise that God will keep His word in verses 6-9.

…for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

God had already given them the land and all they had to do was step out in faith and take it.

The same principles applies to us today.  

God promises to Never Leave Us

Keep your life free from love of money and be content with what you have, for he has said, “ I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can confidently say:

“The Lord is my Helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me.”

Hebrews 13:5-6

Jesus Promises To Give Us a New Home

Do not let your hearts be troubled.  You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.  

John 14:1-3

In the verse pictured above, God issues a command to Joshua before he embarks on entering the promised land.

God told Joshua to be strong and courageous.  Remember the Book of the Law and meditate on it day and night.  Remember all the ways God had protected and provided in their past.

  God commanded Joshua to stand strong in the faith, never fear or be discouraged because God would be with Joshua and the Israelites wherever they go.

Again, we are privileged to hold and learn from the entire Bible and all the promises of God.

1 John 2:14

I write to you, children, because you know the Father.

I write to you, Fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men, because you are strong and the Word of God remains in you, and you have conquered the evil one.

Just like Joshua we have…

The Promise of Victory!

 The battle has been won!  We are safe in the arms of God!

Keep the Scriptures in your heart and mind!

Remember Jesus Conquered Death On The Cross!

Be Strong!

Mimi

Spiritual Famine

 This sermon opened my eyes to exactly what is happening today.  It is profound and terrifying.

This young Pastor speaks the truth from God’s Word. Please take the time to watch.

The sermon begins at minute 27:11.

Perilous Times Are Here

This prophetic passage of scripture is now fulfilled.  I see it

every day and it’s getting worse.  Evil abounds everywhere and all the time.

In government corruption on a scale that has not been seen before.  In rampant crime waves throughout the United States in big cities right down to small towns.  

Families are being torn apart and devastated by pure evil.  

How else can you describe a prominent SC lawyer murdering his wife and son in cold blood to keep his evil secrets hidden.

We’ve learned recently that Child sex trafficking is running rampant in this country and around the world.  I find this horrifying and makes me sick to my stomach.

In the last 24 hours, a young man I know claims he is suicidal and is expressing fits of rage causing his family great stress and fear.  Refusing to get help and threatening his family.  Evil times.

Another young man I know will not stop his drug addiction and relapses into drug induced outburst of anger.  He too refuses help.

Evil times.

All you have to do to see the truth in this prophetic passage of scripture is to watch the television news.

What do we do? How are we to respond to perilous times?

Reading the entire chapter of 2 Timothy 3 we find Paul’s answer to Timothy…

Verse 5 “have nothing to do with them”

Stay away from the evil doers as described in the previous verses. 

Why?  Verse 8 They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

Verse 13 “while evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.  But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have been convinced of, because you know from those whom  you have learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which you are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.”

We are warned that evil people will continue to only get worse.  

But we as believers in Christ must hold on to the faith we have in Jesus Christ.  In order to keep from being deceived we must hide the Word of God in our heart and pray for discernment.

What to do now…

Pray for God’s protection for you and your family.

Pray for wisdom and discernment so you are not deceived.

Read the scriptures and ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight.

Pray for lost family and friends.

Realize that God is in control and has warned us that these perilous times would come.

Give thanks for the great hope of salvation we have as believers.

Hold fast to the faith!

Be safe my friends,

Mimi

Welcome To My New Blog!

 Welcome to the first post of my new blog Mimi’s Heart and Home!  This blog is a space where I share my faith, current events, and words of encouragement.  

 I hope to have many friends over on my You Tube Channel to  join me as I have the freedom to share more thoughts.

  Here is a link to my channel:Mimi.Todd

  To begin this new adventure, I am designating the month of August as a month of Strength!  For 31 days I will share a scripture of strength on the community tab of my You Tube Channel and then every Sunday I will post a devotional on the strength we have as believers.

  Look for the first post for  A Time For Strength on August 6, 2023!  I am looking so forward to learning how to tap into God’s strength!

   We live in dark and uncertain times my friend.  Inflation, soaring prices, bank failures, rampant crime, and political unrest in our own country.  I believe it will only get worse in the days ahead but we have hope!  

I look forward to sharing with you all very soon!

Be safe and blessed,

Mimi