Building on the Foundation

  After the death of Moses, the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. God told Joshua, Moses’ successor, “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them — the children of Israel” (Josh. 1:2). On the appointed day, God stopped the Jordan River for the Israelites, much as He’d parted the Red Sea for their fathers, and the people crossed the Jordan on dry ground (Josh. 3-4). After crossing, they camped near Jericho, the first city they encountered in the Promised Land. Now, the Canaanites who dwelt in this land were exceedingly wicked and sinful in the sight of God, committing all manner of sexual abominations (Lev. 18:3-28) and even burning their children in the fire as sacrifices to pagan deities (Deut. 12:31). So God commanded the Israelites to annihilate every city they came to; to kill every Canaanite man, woman, and child; and to destroy every vestige of pagan w...

  Satan’s Weapon—Distractions   The Devil has many weapons at his disposal that he uses to try to destroy us. Some are bold and blatant; others are discreet and cunning. Often he will use multiple at the same time to wear us down until a seamlessly unimportant thing slips through and causes us to stumble. One of the devil’s most effective weapons that every one of us has been hit with is distractions. Remember, he will use everything he can against us. Even though he knows he cannot win, he will try to score as many points against us as possible, trying to take us with him. As Rev. 12:10 calls him “the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night…” King David, (who has a testimony from Yah as being a man after His own heart— Acts 13:22 ), wrote Ps.63 along with many others in which he expressed his attitude towards Yah with statements like: Ps. 63:1 “…O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for ...

  As We wrap up the Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day, each of us heading back to our own lives, let us reflect on this past week. Did we truly come out of this world? Did we grow in the grace and knowledge of our savior and king? Do we feel closer to God now then at the beginning? Are we going back to our lives with renewed vigor? Was the majority of our time this past week spent on studying and discussing God’s word, rejoicing in Him and not just our own pleasures? And then of course, did we meet like-minded brethren who are a positive influence on us, who encourage us in our walk with God --- building and strengthening the brotherhood? These are all good questions to ask ourselves, criteria that would help us determine how beneficial this Feast of Tabernacles has been. Hopefully we can all answer yes to these questions, but if not, hopefully they can show us where we can improve to maximize the potential of these set apart times that God has given us. We know that we...