Word

Self-counsel leads us to self-directed actions and pushes God out of the picture. When God is out of the picture, we lose direction and focus.  Our thoughts and emotions are easily distracted by our circumstances. 

The echoes are just as relevant today as they were the day Joshua gave this address to the leaders of Israel. And the commitment is needed today more than ever.

What does the Lord ask of you? That’s a great question, isn’t it? What does God really want me to do? Here are five answers from today’s passage.

Woven into the story of God’s sovereign work that saved and secured the nation of Israel, we see the overwhelming emotions of two brothers being reunited. God’s Word is simply amazing.

Mary concludes her prayer with the reminder that God had not forgotten His people, Israel. His promise to the nation’s ancestors was about to be fulfilled. The Messiah was on His way!

Mission accomplished? Only the Father and His willing Son saw beyond what looked like a miserable ending. That day Jesus took on His most important work. On the cross, He took our sins and paid our penalty. Then He cried out one word, “Tetelestai,” which means “paid in full,” and died. Mission accomplished!

All of us can relate to Peter, can’t we? We have remained silent as others use Jesus’ name as slang. We have remained silent as His claims have been laughed at. We have even joined in the laughter as His person is satirized. We have ignored His Word by open rebellion. We have followed Peter in our own denials, but have we joined him in remorse and repentance?

God was humiliated. With the angels poised at the edge of heaven to charge, the Word remained silent. He prepared to be delivered as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He did it all for us.

When believers read Scripture today it is the same Holy Spirit who teaches us. He takes the written word and helps us understand it and apply it to our lives. Have you experienced a passage that you’ve read countless times but it jumps from the page on a particular day? That’s the work of the Spirit driving a needed truth home.