One Year Bible Readings and Commentary for Friday, April 22nd

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Click Here to Read Joshua 24:1-33

Today we come to the end of the book of Joshua, one of the most important books in the Old Testament. In the book of Joshua, Israel went from Moses being their leader to Joshua. They went from wandering in the wilderness to occupying the Promised Land. Joshua 24 recounts the salvation history of Israel.They gathered at Shechem, which had an important place in their history. At Shechem God confirmed his promise to Abram, and Abram built an altar there. When Jacob came back to the Promised Land, he camped in Shechem. 

1. God set apart Abraham and sent him from where he lived in Haran to the land of Canaan. He gave him two sons, Jacob and Esau. Esau settled in the hill country of Seir, and Jacob led by Joseph eventually went to Egypt when there was a famine in Canaan. There the Israelites prospered and grew in number, but Pharaoh enslaved them and God sent Moses and his brother Aaron to free them from slavery. 

2. Moses led the Israelites to the Red Sea and the seas parted when he lifted his staff. The Israelites passed through by the water which then closed in on the Egyptians, and they all died. Then, they lived in the wilderness for many years.

3. Moses passed the torch of leadership to Joshua. They had conquered the kings on the east side of the Jordan, and also the West side of the Jordan. They conquered many kings on both sides of the Jordan because the Lord's mighty hand was upon them. 

Joshua called on the Israelites to once again renew their covenant to the Lord. He told them that they had to choose this day whom they would serve! He reminded them He was a jealous God and did not share worship with any other god(s). If they worshipped other gods, he would abandon them as they abandoned him. But if they worshipped and served Him He would always be with them.

When Joshua asked the people point blank if they would serve the Lord they said, "We will serve the Lord and obey him alone." Joshua told them they were their own witnesses to this and he rolled a stone beneath the tree by the tabernacle as a permanent reminder of the covenant they made with the Lord that day. 

Do you serve the Lord alone? Do you have any idols that you serve? An idol is anything that causes us to worship it rather than the Lord. An idol can be anythine from money to sex to fame and pride.  Our Lord is jealous and wants to have all of us. And in returns He gives His all to us, as he showed us on the cross.

Click Here to Read Luke 21:1-28

Jesus starts out by teaching about the widow, who put in a only few coins, but they were all she had. He praised her saying that she put in all she could, while the others gave only a small proportion of what they owned. For Jesus is not as much about "portion" as "proportion". 

Then Jesus speaks about the end times and his future return. He gives several warnings:

1. Many will come and falsely claim they are the Messiah.

2. There will be wars, rumors of wars, and nations will rise against each other. 

3. There will be earthquakes, famines, and floods.

4. Christians will be persecuted greatly, but when they come to give a testimony about Christ, they will be given the words to say by the Holy Spirit. Everyone will hate them because they follow Jesus. 

5. Jerusalem will be surrounded by its enemies and you will know the time is near. There will be natural signs in the sun, moon and stars and the seas will be in turmoil. 

6. Then Jesus will come on the clouds and everyone will see him in great and promised glory. Then our salvation is near!

What do you make of all these signs? Onc thing I notice is that almost all of them have happened in our lifetime at least to some extent. Although we don't know when the Lord will return many of these signs see to be showing. 

Bottom line: We need to be ready! How can you be ready? By doing the things Jesus told us to do! Loving God and our neighbors. Using our gifts to serve the Lord and the church. Being a disciple and making other disciples. Sharing Good News with all the Lord brings to you!  

One thing is for sure, you will never regret the things you have done in Jesus' name! 

Click Here to Read 89:38-52 

Click Here To Read Proverbs 13:20-23

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