Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Reflecting God: Embrace Holy Living from The Foundry Publishing of The Global Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Wednesday, 21 November 2018 - "Follow Through" by Mary Egidio for Wednesday, 21 November 2018 RG112118 Joshua 24:23-33

Reflecting God: Embrace Holy Living from The Foundry Publishing of The Global Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City, Missouri, United States for Wednesday, 21 November 2018 - "Follow Through" by Mary Egidio for Wednesday, 21 November 2018 RG112118 Joshua 24:23-33
Joshua 24:
23 “Now,” Y’hoshua urged, “put away the foreign gods you have among you, and turn your hearts to Adonai, the God of Isra’el.”
24 The people answered Y’hoshua, “We will serve Adonai our God; we will pay attention to what he says.”
25 So Y’hoshua made a covenant with the people that day, laying down for them laws and rulings there in Sh’khem. 26 Y’hoshua wrote these words in the book of the Torah of God. Then he took a big stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of Adonai. 27 Y’hoshua said to all the people, “See, this stone will be a witness against us; because it has heard all the words of Adonaiwhich he said to us; therefore it will be a witness against you, in case you deny your God.” 28 Then Y’hoshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
29 After this, Y’hoshua the son of Nun, the servant of Adonai, died; he was 110 years old. 30 They buried him on his property in Timnat-Serach, which is in the hills of Efrayim, north of Mount Ga‘ash.
31 Isra’el served Adonai throughout Y’hoshua’s lifetime and throughout the lifetimes of the leaders who outlived Y’hoshua and had known all the deeds that Adonai had done on behalf of Isra’el.
32 The bones of Yosef, which the people of Isra’el had brought up from Egypt, they buried in Sh’khem, in the parcel of ground which Ya‘akov had bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Sh’khem for a hundred pieces of silver; and they became a possession of the descendants of Yosef.
33 Finally, El‘azar the son of Aharon died; and they buried him on the hill belonging to Pinchas his son, which had been given to him in the hills of Efrayim.
(Complete Jewish Bible).
The people answered Y’hoshua, “We will serve Adonai our God; we will pay attention to what he says.” (Joshua 24:24).
Pilots know that getting an airplane off the ground involves precise calculations of weight, thrust, temperature, and speed. However, the actual takeoff revolves around a point in time when the plane reaches a determined speed and the pilot must commit to activating the controls that lift the plane off the ground. At that point, there is no going back; the plane is committed to leaving the runway.
In the life of a Christian, the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts and asks us to make a decision. It may be the initial decision to seek God’s forgiveness for sin, a decision to follow a call into ministry, or simply to say yes to a gentle urging to speak to a stranger. Whatever the decision, we face a point of commitment where our “yes” must be followed by action. Simply making the commitment, without following through misses the point. We must follow our commitment to God with obedience.
Has God's Holy Spirit been speaking to your heart lately? Do your actions demonstrate your commitment to obedience? Listen to what God has for you.
Hymn for Today: "Deeper and Deeper" by Oswald J. Smith
1. Into the heart of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Seeking to know the reason
Why He should love me so -
Why He should stoop to lift me
Up from the miry clay,
Saving my soul, making me whole,
Tho I had wandered away.
2. Into the will of Jesus,
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praying for grace to follow,
Seeking His way to know;
Bowing in full surrender
Low at His blessed feet,
Bidding Him take, break me and make,
Till I am molded and meet.
3. Into the cross of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Following thru the garden,
Facing the dreaded foe;
Drinking the cup of sorrow -
Sobbing with broken heart,
"O Savior, help! dear Savior, help!
Grace for my weakness impart."
4. Into the joy of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Rising, with soul enraptured,
Far from the world below;
Joy in the place of sorrow,
Peace in the midst of pain,
Jesus will give, Jesus will give -
He will uphold and sustain.
5. Into the love of Jesus
Deeper and deeper I go,
Praising the One who brought me
Out of my sin and woe;
And thru eternal ages
Gratefully I shall sing,
"O how He loved! O how He loved!
Jesus, my Lord and my King!"
Thought for Today: Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day. (Galatians 5:25).
Please pray: For the distribution of holiness literature in Mesoamerica.
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