Joshua 1:6-9 - Be strong and courageous

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua had an encounter with God as he was leading God's people into the promised land. Notice the emphasis: be strong and courageous. Why? Because Joshua was going places he had never been before, doing things he had never done before, and facing challenges he had never faced before. There was every reason for Joshua to run back to the comfort of what he knew. But God knew the temptations that Joshua would face and offered him the same thing that He offers us today: His words. Like Joshua, if we are willing to look at the words of God over the unfamiliar surroundings, we too will experience success.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse

Colossians 2:13-15 - He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

There is a written code that is against us. It consists of every action and thought that we have done that has fallen short of our Christian intents. Yet the Bible states that Christ has forgiven all of our sins. The code that wants to rightly hold our failures over us has been taken away. The guilt and shame that wants to hold us captive has been disarmed. The triumph of the cross breaks the power of condemnation and as a result releases the power of transformation in our lives. This is the paradox and the power of the cross.

Today's commentary by:
Dave Whitehead, Senior Pastor, GraceNYC.org

What do you think? Discussion at: http://facebook.com/DailyBibleVerse