Do you ask The Lord for advice?

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do.

Joshua 9:14

After the defeat of Ai, the surrounding cities became understandably very fearful. One such group were people from the city of Gibeon. When they heard about the way Joshua had defeated Jericho and Ai they decided to try to trick the Israelites. This was their plan: They gathered together old wineskins that were cracked and broken. They put these old wineskins on the backs of their animals. They put old pieces of cloth on their animals to look as if they had travelled from far away. The men put old sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. They found some old bread that was dry and mouldy. Then they went to the camp of the Israelites.

The men went to Joshua and told him that they had travelled from a faraway country and they wanted to make a peace agreement with them. The men of Israel were hesitant and said they could not make a peace agreement with them until they knew where they came from.

When Joshua asked where they came from, the men answered that they came from a faraway country and they came because they heard of the great power of the Lord their God.

They said that their journey was so long that the bread which was fresh when they left had now become dry and old and their wineskins which were new and filled with wine were now cracked and old. They showed them their clothes and sandals. They showed that the long journey had almost destroyed the things they were wearing.

The men of Israel wanted to know if these men were telling the truth. So they tasted the bread—but they did not ask the Lord what they should do. Joshua agreed to make peace with them. He agreed to let them live and the leaders of Israel agreed with this promise of Joshua.

Three days later however, the Israelites learned that these men lived very near their camp. So the Israelites went to the place where they lived. On the third day the Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, but the army of Israel did not try to fight against those cities. They had made a peace agreement with them. They had made a promise to them before the Lord, the God of Israel.

You see these men were the Hivites, and before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, God had warned them not to make an agreement with any of the nations that He will drive out before them, but they were to destroy them completely and not to show them mercy—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).

This agreement that Joshua made solely based on the way things looked teaches us another important lesson about leadership; leaders must ask God for advice.

Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, that He will not judge with what His eyes can see or with what His ears have heard (Isaiah 11:3). As His followers and leaders in whatever assignment God has given us, The Lord expects us to ask for His advice and direction. He promises in His Word to direct the steps of a good man (Psalm 37:23).

Next week, we will look at leaders who asked the Lord for advice and how we too can seek God’s advice.

Prayer

Dear Father, Like Jesus, please help me not to judge people by the way things look or with what my ears have heard, but help me to always seek Your advice before I take any decision in my family, ministry, business, career, finances and every area of my life in Jesus name, amen.

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How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Do you know God’s purpose for your life? If not, please listen to the audio version of: How to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Through Dreams

Who Can Enter The Promised Land?

In the past few weeks we have been studying the book of Joshua and learning about how God used him to lead the children of Israel into their promised land.

We have learned that as followers of Jesus Christ, our promised land is not on this earth, but it is the New Jerusalem which is coming down out of heaven from God.

Today’s scripture tells us those who will enter into the New Jerusalem:

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Revelation 21:2, 27 (NKJV)

What is the Book of Life?

In the New Testament the Book of Life refers to God’s list of those destined for eternal life. Believers are written in the Book of Life from eternity:

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is

Revelation 17:8

Who can enter the New Jerusalem?

Only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life can enter the New Jerusalem. The Bible tells us that on the Day of Judgment everyone will stand before God, both great and small and the books will be opened. And another book will be opened, which is the Book of Life. Everyone who is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:12, 15).

How can we be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

We can only be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life when we have washed our robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb:

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”

And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb

Revelation 7:13-14

Why must we wear robes?

A robe is a long-fitting gown that is worn as a mark of dignity. A robe is worn by kings (Jonah 3:6), priests, and persons of rank: Mark 12:38; Mark 16:5; Luke 15:22; Luke 20:46; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 7:9, 13, 14. As believers in Jesus the Bible tells us that we are kings and priests before God:

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

Revelation 1:5-6

How do we wash our robes in the Blood of The Lamb?

Firstly in order to wash our robes in the Blood of the Lamb, we must believe that while we were yet sinners Jesus Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Before we accepted Jesus, our own righteous acts were like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Once we accept Jesus we exchange these filthy rags for the robe of righteousness as we develop a right relationship with God and we become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour it is His Blood that cleanses us from all sin:

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin

1 John 1:7

Secondly we must repent from our sins knowing that the Kingdom of God is at hand:

Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Matthew 3:2 (NLT)

Why white robes?

White represents purity. When we accept the death of Jesus on the Cross and repent of our sins and follow His way, it makes our garments white because our conscience is clear and our soul becomes pure:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool”

Isaiah 1:18

To enter the Promised Land, we must do the following:

1. We must exchange our filthy rags for the robe of righteousness. In other words, we must have a right relationship with God which is through Jesus Christ;
2. We must wash our robes in the Blood of Jesus by believing that Jesus came to die in our place and that Blood cleanses us from all our sin;
3. We must make Jesus the Lord in our lives. Believe alone is not enough, because even the demons believe and tremble (James 2:19), we must completely surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and make Him Lord over our lives (Acts 16:31);
4. We must repent from our sins and turn to God because the Kingdom of God is near (Mark 1:15)

Prayer:

Dear Father, I come to You now in Jesus name. I want to make the New Jerusalem my eternal home. I repent of all of my sins and I know that You are faithful and just to forgive me of all my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Please help me to daily wash my robes and make them white in the Blood of The Lamb. Please write my name in the Book of Life and if there is anything in my life that will prevent me from inheriting eternal life please remove it with the Blood of Jesus, in Jesus name, amen.

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