Are You Strong and Courageous? Study.

Prayer – Lord, I am aware of the importance of studying Your word. How can I know You—and have a closer relationship with You if I don’t dig into the scriptures and learn more about You?

"Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:6-9 (Underlined for emphasis.)

 

Meditate. Be strong. Study.

 

This passage of scripture was God’s instruction to Joshua before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Moses had been the leader of the Hebrew people from the time they left Egypt and arrived at the land that God swore to give to his ancestors—but due to his rebellion, Moses was not allowed to enter that new territory. It didn’t matter how strong or otherwise obedient he had been…he didn’t get to go on. He looked over into the land that he had spent more than forty years marching the Israelites towards their new home. God had given him those Ten Commandments and the laws for them to follow. Now, it was Joshua’s time to be the new leader and to take the people into that Promised Land.

 

Open the Torah and study
God's word for yourself.
Synagogue Torah in Safed, Israel.

God gave Joshua the command to be strong and courageous. He repeated that a couple of times to make sure that Joshua got the message. Another command God gave Joshua was to…study this Book of Instruction continually. Study all the time—continually. That is without ceasing. Other translations (KJV and NASB) translate “study” as the word of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate…. Just concentrate on the following verse… Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. To obey God’s word a person has to know it…and it know it takes an intention effort. Meditating on the word is one technique of studying God’s word. But there is so much more to studying than mediating. We’ll look at more options in the next few days. Will you join me in a search for studying God’s word? Your choice.

 

Verse of Salvation ~ For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of 

evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:12-17 NLT

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

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