March 5, 2010

Today's reading: Deuteronomy 34; Joshua 1, 2; Psalm 5, 35, 65, 95, 125; Proverbs 5

Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

In our text today there is listed for us one of the buzz words of today. That word is success. I find it interesting that it is only mentioned one time in all of Scripture. There are all kinds of "success gurus" out there that will sell you their particular thingy that will assure you manifold success. I just watch those infomercials and laugh. The reason they are so successful is that people are subscribing to their wares and sending them money.

So how do you and I have godly success?

First we must know God. Look at Deuteronomy 34:10, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,". What a testimony about Moses and his relationship with the Lord. To know someone "face to face" is to know them intimately. You would know their very heartbeat. We should have this kind of relationship with the Lord. We should be so in tune with Him that we know His every desire or heartache or ...

Second we must follow God. Look at Joshua 2:1, "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there." I love the story of Rahab. It is a beautiful picture of salvation. If you and I are going to be successful we must follow God. We cannot follow the world and their philosophy. This will not allow us to be pleasing and acceptable to God. Part of the problem today is that the Church looks and acts so much like the world that you cannot tell the difference in the two. This ought not to be!

Thirdly we must talk to God. Look at Psalm 65:2, "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." We all have an appointment with death no matter. If you have been born then you have a death date all set and only God knows when that is exactly. If we know God and we follow Him then we will want to talk to Him. That is all that prayer really is. It is talking to God like you would talk to anyone else. So many people think that prayer is some flowery speech that sounds oh so "religious"; but, it is not. God said that "vain repetition" is not how to get your prayers answered. Being in a right relationship with God at all times will allow us the assurance that when we pray we will receive an answer.

Fourthly we must confess and forsake all known sin in our lives. Look at Proverbs 5:22-23, "His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray." Sin is a terrible thing that you and I are born with. We can live a life that pleases God and be successful if we will just keep a short account with God. By that I mean that we confess our sin often so that we keep the lines of communication open at all times between us and God. It is like taking a bath. When you are finished with your bath you feel so clean. When you pray and ask forgiveness for sin then you are spiritually clean.

So friend, how successful are you today in God's eyes? I hope you hold God's view of success.