Joshua 23:15-16-NIV
But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.
God is a merciful and sovereign creator! Do you believe this statement to be true? Do you have moments where you look at the world around you or your life situation and doubt God's love and sovereignty? Often time, it is difficult to see God's love, mercy and sovereignty when we see the chaos that is happening every day. To understand God's deep love for us, we must spend time with every aspect of his nature. To help me stay humble under the mighty Hands of God, I have been studying his nature as a parent. Throughout the Bible I see a continuous theme about God’s desires to have an intimate relationship with his children. In God's desire to connect with us, he gives us choices. He longs to create a willing mutual relationship with us. As I studied the book of Joshua, the passage above is one of many examples in the Bible where God as a parent clearly sets expectation and warns about the consequences if people choose not to obey his instructions. His instructions through Joshua were simple. You follow the path that I laid before you, things will go well as I promised but if you choose to disobey you will die. I always appreciate God's honesty about the cost of following him. God's desire has always been for us to choose him as our Lord, Shepherd, and protector. In Mathew 7:21-23, Jesus taught a lesson that I believe is frequently ignored but I believe is so important in our walk with God. Jesus, in this passage saw the need to make a point that walking with God is not a matter of doing but relational. Relationship takes spending time with God and doing his will. Many of us in ministry do a lot of good things, but are you doing the will of God? When I say in ministry, I am not talking about earthly titles in a congregation because everyone who has said Jesus is Lord through surrendering your old self and born to a new life is in ministry (Romans 6:1-7). In my own personal Bible study in this area, I am learning that I must remain sober and constantly praying for God to ignite his spirit to use me as a vessel. I have learned that motives matter. What you choose to do or why you do things matter. Whatever you are doing in the name of the Lord, do you find yourself seeking or getting praises or is God getting all the praises for your success or service? God's desire is to bless you with goodness that is beyond what this world can provide. Let us choose the narrow path that leads to eternal goodness. Matthew 7:13-14 NIV “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Being a busy body in the name of Jesus does not mean relationship or being obedient to the will of God. Jesus addressed the church of Ephesus where the people were busy in the name of God, yet they were not connected with God (Revelation 2:1-10) Examine your ministry and ask yourself, why are you doing the things that you do?
