“Joshua said…’Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan. Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.’”

When we allow God to go ahead of us God will turn the waterways into walkways.

Joshua and the people could have gone swimming ahead of God and gotten to the other side. Joshua and the people could have stopped to build boats to make sure they would stay dry. Either of these options would have gotten the people to the other side. But God had a plan of how to get the people across the waterway, and the people followed it.

When we allow God to go ahead of us the barriers are removed; the waterways become walkways.

Among the first words the Lord speaks to Joshua once he has become leader of the Israelites is the instruction to “Be strong and courageous”.

The people, who may have been a little leery of their new leader pledge to follow Joshua if he will “be strong and courageous!”

The very thing that God called Joshua to be was what enabled the people to have confidence in Joshua.

God’s instructions enable us to succeed at God’s work.

The very last verse of Leviticus reads: “These are the commands the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.”

Are these commands for Christians? Are these commands for Americans?

No.

How then should we read Leviticus? I would say that Leviticus exemplifies the lengths God will go to, to enable his people to have fellowship with him. The Nation of Israel needed 613 laws in order to have a relationship with God. God gave the people what they needed at that time and at that place.

God gave us one law in order to have a relationship with God: “Yet to all who received [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”.

God will go to whatever lengths are necessary to enable our relationship with him, but God has simplified the process: we must believe in Christ. For some, 613 laws might be easier, but that is not what God is calling us to follow in this time and in this place.

“A priest must not make himself ceremonially unclean for any of his people who die, except for a close relative, such as his mother or father, his son or daughter, his brother, or an unmarried sister who is dependent on him since she has no husband– for her he may make himself unclean. He must not make himself unclean for people related to him by marriage, and so defile himself.”

When we are called by God to follow Jesus, sometimes we are asked to set aside some of our earthly relationships. Are we willing to do what God demands of us?

“I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God brought Israel out of Egypt; God brought us out of sin.

CHAP. IV. (cont.)

Of the New Birth, the Inward Appearance of Christ in Spirit, and the Unity of the Saints with him.

Q. What is the Preaching of the Cross of Christ?

A. For the Preaching of the Cross is to them that perish, Foolishness; but unto us that are saved, it is the Power of God [1 Cor. 1:18].

Q. What Effect had this Cross in the Apostle? and how much preferreth he the New Creature to all outward and visible Ordinances and Observances?

A. But God forbid that I should Glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the World is Crucified unto me, and I unto the World: For in Jesus Christ neither Circumcision availeth any thing, nor Uncircumcision, but a New Creature [Gal. 6:14-15].

Q. What speaketh Christ of the Unity of the Saints with him?

A. At that Day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you [John 14:20].

Abide in me, and I in you: As the Branch cannot bear Fruit of it self, except it abide in the Vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the Vine, ye are the Branches; He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much Fruit; for without me ye can do nothing [John 15:4-5].

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe in me through their Word: That they all may be One; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be One in us, that the World may believe it, that thou hast sent me. And the Glory which thou gavest me I have given them, that they may be One, even as we are One; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in One, and that the World may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou hast loved me [John 17:20-23].

Q. What saith the Apostle Paul to this Purpose?

A. For both he that Sanctifies, and they that are Sanctified are all of One, for which Cause he is not ashamed to call them Brethren [Heb. 2:11].

Q. What saith the Apostle Peter?

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The Cross of Christ is the power of God. Never was there a more important statement. Crucifixion was the ultimate act of humiliation. You were powerless, completely at the mercy of the state, hung naked, bleeding, in pain, knowing you were going to die; but that death was slow in coming. God took this humiliating experience upon himself and made it the power of God.

It is by being united with the power of God that we are able to do any good work in the world. Without the power of God we are powerless.

We are partakers of the divine nature of God, through Jesus Christ. We are led away from corruption and toward God’s sanctification and perfection.

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”

Strange fire is an offering that was probably intended for good, but was out of line with God’s expectations for us.

I’ve seen “strange fire” place before the Lord. Strange fire is when words of hate are preached under the guise of holiness. It’s when offerings are given with the ulterior motive of gaining favor or power. Strange fire is when a musician’s heart is focused on the show and not on worship. It’s when we meet the needs of people, but fail to show them Jesus. It’s also when we show people Jesus, but fail to meet their needs

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, And I have trusted in the LORD without wavering. Examine me, O LORD, and try me; Test my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. I do not sit with deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. I hate the assembly of evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked. I shall wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O LORD, That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving And declare all Your wonders.

The purpose of being pure is to be a trustworthy witness for God. If we are living lives filled with wrong actions, thoughts, or words then we are not capable of being a witness to the glory of God. We are called to walk in truth, lovingkindness, innocence, and far from evil doers so that when we sing praises to God we can be seen as reliable witnesses.

There is a careful balance that must be maintained in our lives: we are to live with the goal of being perfect while recognizing that we will never achieve our goal and not being discouraged by our failure. When we get out of balance we get in trouble.

[The wicked] is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in hiding places. Arise, O LORD, confront him, bring him low; Deliver my soul from the wicked with Your sword, From men with Your hand, O LORD, From men of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babes. As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.

I suspect that David is speaking of awaking from death in the last line, but I am not certain. My first reaction was to ask myself what I was thinking of when I went to sleep last night, and what I was thinking of when I woke up this morning. Have I ever been satisfied with the likeness of God when I awake? How far do I get into my day before I think about God?

I suspect it would be a good practice to end each day by attempting to fall asleep while meditating on God. I suspect it would affect your sleep, your dreams, how you awake the next morning, and how you interact with God throughout your day. The struggle for me is taking the time to remember God. I need to make my encounters with God more daily and less when-I-get-around-to-it.

Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.

That has to be one of my favorite lines in the Psalms. There are plenty of times when this one phrase is all we can say and all we can do. Too often we wait far too long to say this phrase. We try to persevere and struggle through on our own. There are plenty of times when it is good to take a step back and just say, “preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you.”

I’m not going to blog all the way through Psalms in one go. The book of Psalms is divided into five books; I’ll be blogging on a book at a time. The first book is comprised of chapters 1-41.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

I like the imagery that meditating on the Lord is like planting yourself beside a stream of water. This stream of living water feeds and nurtures the disciple. This stream enables us to produce fruit and not wither.

It is when we plant ourselves away from the stream of living water that we run into problems. If we fail to meditate on the Lord then we “walk in the counsel of the wicked…stand in the path of sinner…sit in the seat of scoffers”.

At the end of the day we will all be influenced by someone; will that person be God, the provider of living water, or something, which will ultimately lead to evil, sin, and failure.

CHAP. II

Of the Rule and Guide of Christians, and of the Scriptures.

Q. Seeing it is by the Spirit that Christ reveals the Knowledge of God in things spiritual, is it by the Spirit that we must be led under the Gospel?

A. But ye are not in the Flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his [Rom. 8:9].

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the Sons of God [Rom. 8:14].

Q. It is an Inward Principle then, that is to be the Guide and Rule of Christians?

A. But the Anointing, which ye have received of him, abideth in you; and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same Anointing teacheth you of all things, and is Truth, and is no Lye, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him [1 John 2:27].

But as touching Brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you; for ye your selves are taught of God to love one another [1 Thess. 4:9].

Q. I perceive by this, that it is by an inward Anointing and Rule that Christians are to be taught; Is this the very tenor of the new Covenant Dispensation?

A. For this is the Covenant that I will make with the House of Israel, after those Days, saith the Lord, I will put my Laws into their Mind, and write them in their Hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a People: And they shall not teach every Man his Neighbour, and every Man his Brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me, from the Least to the Greatest [Heb. 8:10-11].

And they shall all be taught of God [John 6:45].

Q. Did Christ then promise, that the Spirit should both abide with his Disciples, and be in them?

A. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of Truth, whom the World cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you [John 14:16,17].

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Barclay spends a great deal of time establishing the necessity of the Holy Spirit in our comprehension of God. It is by the Holy Spirit that we know God; it is by the Holy Spirit that we become children of God. This is an inward activity and does not have an external manifestation other than the changing of the human heart to be more aligned with God.

Further we all have the opportunity to be taught directly by God through the Holy Spirit. We are not dependent on an intermediary to teach us of God; we have been empowered to know, love, and worship God.

The Holy Spirit, which Christ sent, will remain with the disciples of Christ forever. The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is that the Christian is led daily by the Holy Spirit; a non-Christian ignores the Holy Spirit speaking to his or her heart.