Joshua 22:5 “But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

This verse brings together the very essence of what every Christian strives to do on a daily basis.  We are to love God and in doing so, love others.  We are to imitate His ways… obey His word…and resist the pull of the world, cleaving only to God…for in that is eternal life and unspeakable joy.

Isaiah 1:18 ” ‘Come now, let us reason together’, says the Lord, ‘though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.’ “

The Children of Israel had veered far off course…they had rebelled against God and were “off doing their own thing.”  Now God was calling them back…repent or face judgment…turn back to Me and  be forgiven.

Psalm 73: 23-24 ” Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory.”

The Lord is always with me…during the good times as well as the bad.  Even when I forget about Him…He’s still there.  He’s as close as my next breath or my next heart beat.  God’s right there to advise and show me His plan and purpose for my life.  And when the waves of life come crashing down on me…I grasp onto His strong right hand…and hold on.

Isaiah 25:1 ” O Lord, You are my God; I will exalt You and praise Your name, for in perfect faithfulness You have done marvelous things, things planned long ago.”

The steadfastness and certainty of the Lord can not be more apparent than knowing that what He has planned for us was decided long before this world began.  This is shown even more beautifully in Isaiah 14:24, “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ”  God and His Word does not change…nor will His purpose and plans for your life.

Hebrews 2:1 ” We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

Slipping off the right path can happen so slowly and insidiously that we aren’t really aware of it until something drastic happens.  We compromise a little here…we give in a little there…and before we know it – we’ve wandered far from where the Lord wants us.  That’s why it’s so important to be ever vigilant…ever on guard for things that will cause us to jeopardize  our faith.

I Corinthians 13:12 ” Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

Who can understand God?  Who can comprehend His ways or grasp His greatness?  What we perceive now falls so pathetically far from what we’ll then realize…when we’re face to face.

Genesis 4:9 ” Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ “

From the first time that question was uttered by Cain, to today, we must all be accountable to God for our fellow-man.  If we see someone flailing in the water…we help.  If we see someone drowning in sin…we need to go to their aid as well.  We can never become an island unto ourselves…for God commands us to love and protect one another, just as He loves and protects us.

Ephesians 6:13 ” Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

It doesn’t say, ” If maybe someday pain or sorrow possibly comes into your life.”  It’s not if, but when bad things happen that we need to be prepared.  By putting on the protection and presence of God we’ll be able to not only resist, but to stand firm in the face of evil.  For the battle is not ours, but the Lord’s.  (II Chronicles 20:15).

Ephesians 6: 10-11 ” Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Satan is out there  trying to trick and mislead us everyday with false and slanted truths.  It’s hard to filter out what’s true…what’s a lie, and what’s just drivel .  That’s why it’s so important to put on the entire protection of God.  No part of us can be left vulnerable…all must be covered by God’s presence and strength…for it’s then that we can stand strong.

Genesis 8:22 ” As long as the earth endures, seed time and harvest, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Just as we have biological rhythms…the earth has its cycles.  Day circles into night, which circles back to day.  The bitter cold of Winter gives way to Spring, which moves into the heat of Summer, which beautifully makes it way into Fall, and  then back to Winter again.  The Lord is saying that as  long as the earth continues to rotate in the universe, these cycles will not end.