July 20, 2015 SOAPing

Joshua 1:6-9

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

In this passage we have God’s charge to Joshua as he prepares to lead them across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. God tells Joshua three times to be strong and courageous in everything that he does. God also reminds him not to forget the instructions that Moses gave them and that they should study those instructions all the time.

Later, Joshua would present these same instructions to the Israelites (chapter 23). That tells me that these instructions are also for us. We need to study the ‘Book of Instruction,’ the Bible, continually. It provides us with the instructions that we need to live each day while we are still here. But as I think about this passage more and more I am led to what Jesus says in Matthew 22:37-40 about what the greatest commandment is:

³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

If we live these two commandments, then all the others will fall into place. What I mean is that to love like Jesus did and commands us to, then we just naturally will follow what the Bible teaches. We do not have to work at it. If we had to work at it then we would fail, but by loving the way Jesus says to, it all falls into place.

So, what do we do with this? We study the Bible daily. We pray daily – in other words, just talk to God. In studying we hear God and in praying He hears us. That’s what we call communication and it is what makes relationships work. This will help us from ‘turning either to the right or to the left’ and keeps us on the path that God has for us.

As we continue to study Your Word each day Lord, help us to understand what you are saying to us. Show us through Your Word how to be strong and courageous so that we can love the way that Jesus teaches us to. Help us to overcome whatever obstacles are in our way to reading the Bible and hearing what You have to say to us. Thank you Father for giving us Your Word and Your Instruction so we can grow our relationship with you. Amen