to break through the carpet of dead leaves and burst into full bloom.
We find two examples
in today’s Scriptures of people being instructed to step out in faith and obey God in order to receive
what He was giving them. First, God told the
Israelites they had to go in and possess the land (even though God said He had given
it to them). Secondly, Rahab’s family were told
to remain in her house during the battle in order for their lives to be
spared. In both instances, obedience to
God would determine the outcome.
“For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of ourselves;
it is the gift of God: not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians
2:8-9). We, too, have a choice to make
just as they did. We can believe on
Jesus and be saved, or we can refuse to believe and die in our sins. Just as Rahab’s family chose to believe God
and remain in her house, even so, if we are to have eternal life, we must
choose the safety of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. Otherwise, we will perish as surely as they
would have perished had they not believed God and obeyed what He told them.
Rahab did not hesitate to place the scarlet cord in her
window indicating that her house was not to be touched by the soldiers. She did so immediately. Rahab did not wait, she did not risk failing
to remember to hang the scarlet cord in her window. Neither should we wait to trust in Christ for
our own salvation. Before leaving Egypt,
Israel had smeared the blood of the Passover lamb on their doorposts as a sign
for the death angel to pass over that house.
Today, the blood of Christ is not unlike the Lamb’s blood on
the door post or the scarlet cord placed in the window. We will pay for our own sins unless we put
our faith in Him and His blood that was shed for us in order to pay the penalty
for our sins (Hebrews 9:22), so that, believing in Him we might receive eternal
life (John 3:16).
When we truly encounter Jesus, we will find ourselves
sitting at His feet, clothed, and in our right mind spiritually. What a beautiful account of someone being set
free from the chains and bondage of sin.
What a difference Jesus can make in our lives! Satan was our captor. Through his lies and
deceit, he convinced Adam and Eve to believe him rather than God, their
Creator. There is tremendous Good News
for us all. Jesus says we will know the
truth and the truth will make us free.
We are no longer in bondage to the captor’s lies and deceit about the
subject of sin and about whom we are. We
have been rescued and God has sealed us by His Spirit for eternity. This is indeed Good News! This is The Gospel of Christ! “Be strong and of good courage” as God
instructed Joshua. Step out in faith and
believe God!
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