Sue J Love
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- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,514
These were the Lord’s instructions to Joshua, who was to succeed Moses, after his death, as the leader of the Israelites. And he was to lead God’s people, who were left, out of the wilderness into the Promised Land. God said to him, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” So, the words written here were specific to Joshua and to the Israelites of that specific time period. Nonetheless, there are lessons here for us Christians which we can gain from this to apply to our lives today, as they do apply to our lives.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9 NIV)
First let me mention here that God, in the wilderness, weeded out all the Israelites who were living in sin in direct disobedience to him and who refused to bow the knee to him in humble surrender of their lives to the Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. Not only did they die in the wilderness, and not only did they not get to enter into the Promised Land God had prepared for his people, but they did not get to enter into God’s eternal rest, i.e. into salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
So those who went with Joshua into the Promised Land were a remnant, chosen by God, who were the faithful and not the disobedient. Now, I do not have all the history of the Old Covenant Israelites in my memory bank, so I cannot say with any confidence that those led by Joshua did not ever sin against the Lord, but only that the majority of the Israelites who were with Moses in the wilderness died in the wilderness because of their disobedience to God and because of their idolatry, immorality, and rebellion against God.
See: [1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13]
Now these, again, were God’s specific instructions to his people of that time who were getting ready to go into the Promised Land. They were also living under the Old Covenant God had with his people at that time, who were the Jews. And those of us who are Christians today are now living under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel, the Israel of God comprised of both Jew and Gentile by genuine God-provided faith in Jesus Christ. We are now biblical Israel, but we are not living under the Old Covenant.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
But just because we are not living under the Old Covenant, it does not mean that we are to be lawless or that we no longer have to obey God’s commands. For under the New Covenant we still have to obey God and his commands. And both walks of obedience to our Lord and death to sin are required of God under the New Covenant for our salvation from sin and for the promise of eternal life with God. These we must live by, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection (1 John 2:1-2).
With that understanding we can look at this passage of Scripture in Joshua, chapter one, and we can apply to our lives these instructions, but under the New Covenant. For this is speaking to those who are the faithful remnant in Christ Jesus today who are not living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord but who are walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness. We are to be strong in the Lord, and we are to be courageous in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord and in our testimonies for the gospel of Christ.
And we are, indeed, to be careful that we obey our Lord’s commands to us under the New Covenant, which we can read about in the New Testament books of the Bible. And we are not to swerve from them to the right or to the left, but we are to stay the course on the “straight and narrow way” (Matthew 7:13-14) provided to us by Jesus’ death and resurrection. And not only are we to live his commands to us in our daily walks of faith, but we are to be speaking his commands to other Christians, for their obedience, too.
But if we are going to be those who obey our Lord and his commands then we need to also be students of the Scriptures who study them in their full context and who do not interpret them and apply them apart from their appropriate context, which so many are doing today. For context is critical to us understanding and obeying our Lord’s commands to us, his people. And if we are speaking the truth of the gospel to the people, we absolutely need to do so in the strength of the Lord, without fear, for we will be opposed much.
So, what is the truth of the gospel that we should be obeying and putting into practice in our daily lives and spreading to other people through our words and deeds? It is that to come after Jesus we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, in practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, then we have salvation from sin and life eternal.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Be Strong and Courageous
An Original Work / March 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9 NIV)
First let me mention here that God, in the wilderness, weeded out all the Israelites who were living in sin in direct disobedience to him and who refused to bow the knee to him in humble surrender of their lives to the Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. Not only did they die in the wilderness, and not only did they not get to enter into the Promised Land God had prepared for his people, but they did not get to enter into God’s eternal rest, i.e. into salvation from sin and eternal life with God.
So those who went with Joshua into the Promised Land were a remnant, chosen by God, who were the faithful and not the disobedient. Now, I do not have all the history of the Old Covenant Israelites in my memory bank, so I cannot say with any confidence that those led by Joshua did not ever sin against the Lord, but only that the majority of the Israelites who were with Moses in the wilderness died in the wilderness because of their disobedience to God and because of their idolatry, immorality, and rebellion against God.
See: [1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13]
Now these, again, were God’s specific instructions to his people of that time who were getting ready to go into the Promised Land. They were also living under the Old Covenant God had with his people at that time, who were the Jews. And those of us who are Christians today are now living under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel, the Israel of God comprised of both Jew and Gentile by genuine God-provided faith in Jesus Christ. We are now biblical Israel, but we are not living under the Old Covenant.
[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]
But just because we are not living under the Old Covenant, it does not mean that we are to be lawless or that we no longer have to obey God’s commands. For under the New Covenant we still have to obey God and his commands. And both walks of obedience to our Lord and death to sin are required of God under the New Covenant for our salvation from sin and for the promise of eternal life with God. These we must live by, in practice, though not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection (1 John 2:1-2).
With that understanding we can look at this passage of Scripture in Joshua, chapter one, and we can apply to our lives these instructions, but under the New Covenant. For this is speaking to those who are the faithful remnant in Christ Jesus today who are not living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord but who are walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness. We are to be strong in the Lord, and we are to be courageous in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord and in our testimonies for the gospel of Christ.
And we are, indeed, to be careful that we obey our Lord’s commands to us under the New Covenant, which we can read about in the New Testament books of the Bible. And we are not to swerve from them to the right or to the left, but we are to stay the course on the “straight and narrow way” (Matthew 7:13-14) provided to us by Jesus’ death and resurrection. And not only are we to live his commands to us in our daily walks of faith, but we are to be speaking his commands to other Christians, for their obedience, too.
But if we are going to be those who obey our Lord and his commands then we need to also be students of the Scriptures who study them in their full context and who do not interpret them and apply them apart from their appropriate context, which so many are doing today. For context is critical to us understanding and obeying our Lord’s commands to us, his people. And if we are speaking the truth of the gospel to the people, we absolutely need to do so in the strength of the Lord, without fear, for we will be opposed much.
So, what is the truth of the gospel that we should be obeying and putting into practice in our daily lives and spreading to other people through our words and deeds? It is that to come after Jesus we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, in practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, then we have salvation from sin and life eternal.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Be Strong and Courageous
An Original Work / March 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
