Add to Your Faith Virtue

(2 Peter 1:2) " Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" It is the calling of every born again believer to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The "knowledge" spoken of above, has been given to us very clearly in the Word of God, but it takes "faith" to practice it. We have been called to the glory that we will one day have with Christ, but we still need to add to our faith today the grace of certain perfecting virtues.  (2Peter 1:3-7), "…add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." Therefore, we must diligently work on each virtue individually because each of them in time will lead to the next maturing grace"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

Fear or Faith, It’s Our Choice

(Judges 6:2) "And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds." Fear is common to all men, even the saved. Therefore as Christians we need to have faith in God and His promises lest we become like the Israelites here in the book of Judges and hide in fear, rather than live victorious through faith. Fear will never accomplish the will of God, but rather it causes you to give up, succumb to the enemy, quit, and hide. How many Christians today believe that the enemy is too strong, or that the battle is no longer winnable? Be careful Christian, fear leads us to defeat and ruin, unless it's overcome by faith. During this time in Israel's history, God raised up a judge named Gideon to deliver his people from the oppression of the Midianites. When God found Gideon, he wasn't a super hero but rather he was a super chicken, but as God proved Himself to Gideon over time, he became one of the most faithful, courageous men in Israel's history. Brethren, God loves taking the unknown, the untalented, and even the most weak to accomplish His will. There is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome by our faith in God's Word and through His power.

Don’t Ride This World’s Rollercoaster

(Judges. 2:6) " Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way…"  The "way" of the Lord is the "way" of His Word and will. When we like Israel decide not to listen to God or His preachers we fall out of the way of the Lord onto a path that leads us down to the place of His judgment. The book of Judges covers a time period of about 350 years where Israel six different times fell into sin and had to be rescued out of it by God. Each time Israel fell away from the Lord, God in His righteous anger caused them to be persecuted which resulted in their crying and returning back to Him. Why is it that so many Christians today ride the same rollercoaster ride as Israel did, instead of learning to abide in Christ, & stay on His path? Obedient Christianity is not up and down, but rather a consistent hearing and obeying of the known will of God.

 

Is There Sin In The Camp?

"…for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you." After Israel experienced their great victory at Jericho, one of the men from Israel's army took of the spoils of Jericho and hid them in the floor of his tent. Israel proceeded to the next city called Ai, but during that battle 36 Israeli men died and the rest fled in defeat. All because one man named "Achan" disobeyed God, and did  that which was forbidden by God. "…and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel." case 36 men died. Why, because Achan disobeyed God and caused Israel to lose their power and standing with God. God saw Israel as one, just as He sees the family as one, and the Church as one. Achan's family was also disgraced by his sin, for Achan was not the only one stoned to death for his crime, his family died along with him.  Our hidden sins , if not confessed, will always result  in  harm  to those that we are closest to.

 

Who’s Side Are You On?

(Jos 5:13-14) "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come." In the above verse the man's answer was probably not what Joshua expected. You see, his answer was meant to teach Joshua that it's not a question of whether or not the Lord is on your side, but rather, are you on the Lord's side? God's side is always the right side, and God asked Joshua before the battle of Jericho, if he wanted to take Jericho his way or God's way. For you see, this man was none other than (Our Lord Jesus) the Son of God, Captain of the host of the armies of heaven, and he was willing and ready to fight for Israel but he needed Joshua’s heart first. Jesus appeared here to remind Joshua as he did to Moses that the battles in his life can only be won his way, and the fall of Jericho proved it!  And it’s still the same today, for we can either fight our battles in the flesh and lose, or we can fight them God’s way and win.  Brethren, even today God still wants to know; “who’s side are you on?”

Christ Jesus Our Spiritual Rock

(1Cor. 10:3-4) "…;And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ." This text is a direct reference to (Exodus 17) where Moses was commanded by God to strike the rock at Mt. Horeb so Israel would have water to drink in the wilderness. Little did Israel know that God was painting a picture of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who would come to provide spiritual drink to His Church.  1) God's Rock was Jesus Christ. There are many people in this world that want you to believe that the Apostle Peter or some other man is the true rock of the church, but this is contrary to scripture. (1Cor. 3:11) " For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." chief corner stone (Eph. 2:202) God's Rock provided spiritual drink. Once we taste of God's Spiritual drink we will "never thirst"( John 4:14 for He satisfies all who are saved. 3) God's Rock followed Israel. Just as God's Rock was always available to nourish Israel, Jesus is always available to the saved, nourishing and providing as we travel life's road.

 

The Tree Of God’s Provision

(Ex. 15:24-25) "And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet:…"  God never promised Israel an easy road to the Promised Land, but he did promise to provide and care for them along the way. God wanted Israel to look not on their circumstances but rather on His promises, and so the first lesson that God taught Israel was that He could make bitter water sweet if they would just but cast a tree into it, for that tree represented the cross of Christ. Brethren, we live in a bitter world, and just as the waters at Marah were too bitter to drink, so is life without God's help. God provided Israel a tree, just as He provided us with His Cross! Once we like Israel get saved, we need to look to the promise of the cross in every situation in life. For as the tree made the bitter waters sweet at Marah, so does the promise of the Cross  make our lives better when we trust in the Christ of the cross, Jesus!