ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.' "

But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest, as He has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."

Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

Joshua 1:10-18

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the very beginning of Joshua, Chapter 1, the Lord gives instruction to His newly chosen leader of Israel, Joshua. You’ll recall that God told him to get Israel “ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them”…a land that would include “every place where (Joshua) set your foot…a “territory (that would) extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates…to the Great Sea on the west.” This was the Promised Land…the land that God had promised every leader of Israel from Abraham until Joshua. And God was about to fulfill His promise. All Joshua and Israel had to do was remain obedient to what the Lord had commanded, remember that He was with them always, and with that, be strong and courageous…confident that they would have victory over any foe through God.

So Joshua goes to the “officers of the people” and commands, "Go through the camp and tell the people, 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.' " He further reminds the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that they will inherit the land where they presently were as God promised but all fighting men were to cross the Jordan and fight with their fellow Israelites. Victory for Israel would be a team effort…all fighting men coming together to fight on behalf of their one true God…and that one true God leading all fighting men of Israel to victory because He was for them. In other words, all for One and One for all.

After giving the officer of the people direction, we see that the officers answer him with an obedient, powerful response saying, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!" Joshua had God on his side as well as his people. He was ready to step forward into Moses’ role and lead into Canaan.

This passage reminded me of a concern with the church today. For when the church was created, everyone were just Christians…all committed to one Savior and Lord. The church was all for One, knowing that the One…the Way and Truth and Life (John 14:6)…was with them and for them. Today, are we REALLY all for One? Are all Christians lock stepped together for the common cause of Christ Jesus? Or are we a world of Christians who identify more with a denomination or home church more than we identify with the worldwide body of Christ?

My fear is that we have allowed Satan to enter into the Christian church and fragment it, dividing and conquering the people of Jesus so that they might not reach their full effectiveness for the gospel. He gets away with it because of our pride. Individual churches and denominations do productive work within their respective frameworks for the cause of Christ and get caught up in self satisfaction…not able to see all along how they could be so much more for Jesus if they would just hold hands with all Christians for a common, collective cause.

Friends, it’s high time for ecumenicalism to reign supreme in the Christian church. It’s time for us to tear down the walls believers have built between themselves and join together truly as the universal church of Jesus Christ. Imagine the power that would hold…and how the world would be turned on its head by the groundswell of Christian evangelism that brought millions upon millions to their Savior.

What are we waiting for? The time is now to be all for One because that One is surely for us all. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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