Faithful To His Word!

After the nation of Israel had settled in the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, he had a great concern with regard to their continued faithfulness. Joshua was old and knew his days on earth were drawing to a close. Therefore he exhorted the leaders toward faithfulness to God by reminding them of God’s faithfulness to them.

Joshua exhorted…
“(14) ‘And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that NOT ONE WORD HAS FAILED OF ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD PROMISED concerning you. All have come to pass for you; NOT ONE OF THEM HAS FAILED. (15) BUT JUST AS ALL THE GOOD THINGS that the Lord your God promised concerning you have been fulfilled for you, SO THE LORD WILL BRING UPON YOU ALL THE EVIL THINGS, until he has destroyed you from off this good land that the Lord your God has given you, (16) IF YOU TRANSGRESS THE COVENANT OF THE LORD YOUR GOD, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land that he has given to you.’” ( Joshua 23:14-16
ESV)

It always amazes me when I talk to people who accept the PROMISES of God while refusing to take His WARNINGS seriously. They believe in Heaven, but do not believe God would ever have set up such a place as hell. They accept the Scriptures which record the promises of God, but do not believe a God of love would punish anyone who lives a “good” life regardless of whether they believe in Him and the authority of His Word or not. God’s Word is full of PROMISES to encourage us, but it also contains WARNINGS to prompt us to remain faithful to Him and His Will. To say God will not fulfill His WARNINGS would be be claim He lied when he gave them. Just as God’s PROMISES are not idle words neither are His WARNINGS idle threats.

It is not because God wants to punish. Jesus implied the place of eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. ( Matthew 25:41) However, He also stated in this same verse that it becomes the destination of those of the human race who are unfaithful servants of God. The thing we must always bear in mind is that God is just as serious about His PROMISES as He is about His WARNINGS because He wants us to understand the seriousness of living faithful to Him.

As God stated through the prophet Ezekiel…
“Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I HAVE NO PLEASURE IN THE DEATH OF THE WICKED, BUT THAT THE WICKED TURN FROM HIS WAY AND LIVE; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” ( Ezekiel 33:11 ESV)

It is repentance God seeks to take place in the hearts of all. ( 2 Peter 3:9) His great desire is for us to live and to do so ultimately with Him in eternity. God has provided every means necessary for that to become possible through the power of the blood Jesus shed on the cross and the revealing of His Sovereign Will through the Scriptures.

Whether it be a PROMISE or a WARNING we can trust God to be true to His Word. Let us therefore keep our focus on Jesus in Whom “all the promises of God find their YES”! ( 2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV) May faithfulness be our response to the unwavering faithfulness of God that we may receive His great blessings now and for eternity.

Have a great day TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD!
Carl

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