GET WITH THE PROGRAM, Joshua 10:40-43 NIV
When God told Joshua to rid the land of Canaan of sin so the people of Israel could occupy it, Joshua got with the program. He didn't waste any time debating with God, or considering his options, or negotiating a compromise, or rationalizing a different approach. The moment God gave Joshua his marching orders, he went straight into Canaan and obliterated every evidence of the sinful and pagan people that occupied each city.
Now let's look at you and me. God calls a particular sin to our attention. He says, "What you are doing is evil in my sight. I want you to stop it right now." That throws you and me into high gear, right? We immediately stop whatever it is God has pointed out to us, right? Wrong! We use every trick in the book to avoid the issue. We debate with God, trying to convince Him of how illogical His commandment is. He is obviously out of touch with the world and doesn't understand what's going on. So we debate with Him, using all our worldly wisdom to try to convince Him of how wrong He is on this particular issue, how outdated his Word is, and how much the world has changed.
Or we consider our options. Perhaps we realize that what God is telling us is right, but we weigh the options first, making sure that's what we ought to do before we do it. Or we rationalize our own position in light of what the world has to say about it, convincing ourselves that our new rationalized position is much more logical than what God has to say about the matter.
What we should do is follow Joshua's example and get with the program immediately… the moment God points out a sin to us. We should be as ruthless as Joshua, ridding our lives of those things that cause us to sin, closing the door in temptation’s face, and getting ready to take on the next thing God brings to our attention in exactly the same way.
From Bonnie Ricks, Dogwood Ministries
Message
for February 2008
THE
SPIRIT OF THE LORD, JUDGES 3:10 NIV
The Spirit of the LORD came upon him, so that he became
Israel's judge and went to war. The LORD gave
Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel,
who overpowered him.
This phrase, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon him," is
used throughout the Old Testament. At that time, the Holy
Spirit did not indwell people as He does Christians today.
But He did "come upon" certain people at critical times in
their lives, giving them strength and energy and spiritual
insight that would help them face particularly difficult
challenges. At other times, the Spirit "came upon" someone
to allow them to really get into worship, as He did with
David many times.
As Christians, you and I have the Holy Spirit indwelling us
24 hours a day. He is in our hearts, our minds, our bodies.
He is there as teacher, helper, friend, defender,
intercessor with God. But sometimes you and I need a boost
- a jump-start on our faith or our strength or our energy
or our spiritual insight. At those times, the Spirit of God
will "come upon" us in an even stronger way... making it
impossible to ignore His presence... making the challenge
before us much easier to face.
Need help making a major decision? Need assistance in
breaking a habit or a behavior pattern? Need strength to
face a crisis? Need clarification of a Scripture and how to
apply it to your life? Need someone to pray for you when
the problem is so overwhelming you don't know what to say?
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. That's what He's there
for. He's just waiting for you to be open to His
assistance.
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind
you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26 NIV
"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the
Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father,
he will testify about me.” John 15:26 NIV
From Bonnie Ricks, Dogwood Ministries