TWO SIDES

Joshua 23:3,8,11,14-16

You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord your God has fought for you against your enemies.
Rather, cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now.
So be very careful to love the lord your God.
“Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!
But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.
If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

There is always the two sides of everything:

* good and bad

* light and darkness

* life and death

The mystery of it is that the absence of one brings the other. Which is more of one direction. For when there is light darkness cannot thrive however when light is absent then darkness can thrive!

Joshua was now very old having lived and enjoyed the promises of God to the children of Israel through Abraham, he got the reward of his faithfulness so also did Caleb, the only two out of the multitude of their ages and above that left the promised land.

They stand as examples for us today to know the benefit of remaining faithful to the Lord.

They didn't break in the time of the waiting neither through the journey in the wilderness, with the not too convenient conditions, they also did not break when the prosperity had been established and all God's promises was fulfilled for them.

This is a very good example for us.

Remember:

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.
God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

We learn from their mistakes and are encouraged and motivated by their good deeds. From Abraham to this two great men, we learn what it is to be faithful to God.

Then the warning ⚠️

Your obedience will sustain you in this land of promise, the blessings will continue, however disobedience is the other part, it will bring about God's wrath to you.

Joshua 23:15-16
But as surely as the Lord your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you.
If you break the covenant of the Lord your God by worshiping and serving other gods, his anger will burn against you, and you will quickly vanish from the good land he has given you.”

We must always remember what the Lord said:

Deuteronomy 9:4-6
“After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.
It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.

So they cannot then enter the same land and begin to do the very things that made the former occupiers to be driven out of the land.

The Lord is just.

So we as believers cannot be grafted into God's kingdom and then want to live the lives of those who are condemned, No!

That is why Paul asked:

Romans 6:1-2
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace?
Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

There is a lifestyle in God's kingdom and if you are to live in it, you cannot contradict it.

The problem is that we always seem NOT to be conscious of our being part of the kingdom.

John 1:12-13
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.

When you had the new birth, you became part of God's kingdom, this consciousness must be in us at all times. (O help us Lord)

2 Corinthians 5:17-18a
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.

The problem is that most people do not complete the transition:

Romans 12:1-2
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

We must make the initial transition.

Christ is the door into the kingdom, there is no other way:

John 10:7
so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.

John 14:6
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

In this side, God's kingdom, there is a different rule from the other side which is of the world.

Remember that the kingdom is a spiritual one, so even while we live on earth, God's kingdom still reigns here.

No wonder Jesus taught us in prayer to say:

Matthew 6:10
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

We must understand the two sides and stay on the right side, Jesus explained it in a parable:

There is always two sides:

Matthew 25:31-33
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne.
All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.

Choose the right side!

Matthew 25:41,46
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

The choice is ours, chose the righteous side.

Romans 14:17-18
For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.

What side are you on?

Help us Good Lord.

PRAYER
Thank You Dear Father for making me a citizen of Your kingdom. Keep me faithful Lord, that I will be in Your presence forever. There is no other place for me but where You are Lord. Glory to Your name forevermore.

He calls us blessed.

Love

@the watcher