What Is The POSITION of Your POSSESSION?

Joshua 3:1-3 "And Joshua rose early in teh morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host; And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your plasce, and go after it."

Joshua 3:11 "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan."

Joshua 3:14 "And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;"

The children of Israel are about to go in to possess the land that, for 40 long years, they had looked forward to. They had been promised this land and the fulfillment of this promise was about to become a realization. For 40 years, they had wandered, defeated, in the wilderness, but TODAY was the day of victory for them. Their life was about to change.

Many of us can give testimony to the fact that the course of ones life can be changed in an instant, by the happenings of one event. Perhaps an accident, a phone call with bad news, an terminal diagnosis, the failure of child. Whatever the reason, life can change in an instant. Today's joys may be turned into tomorrow's sadness and likewise, as with the Children of Israel in our passage, yesterday's sorrows and heartaches may be turned into tomorrow's happiness and thrill.

Life was about to change for the children of Israel. After 40 years of wilderness wanderings, they were GOING IN! What happened that changed their lives?

The ark of the covenant is perhaps the most important piece of furniture in Jewish history. This ark had been present with the Israelites on their journey. The ark contained the very presence of the Lord. Throughout their journeys, they POSSESSED the presence of God, yet they still complained and murmured against the leadership. They were unhappy with the manna that God had provided. They were hungry, they were thirsty, they were miserable! All this while the presence of the Lord was in their midst. So what was different about THIS day?

I suggest to you, the POSITION of their PRIZED POSSESSION - The ark of the covenant. Notice in verse 3 of Joshua chapter 3, the officers commanded the people that when they see the priests the Levites bearing the ark, then "ye shall remove from your place, and go AFTER it." The ark of the covenant was NOW placed out front. Instead of the presence of the Lord being merely in the midst, It was now in the lead. The children of Israel were to "follow" the presence of the Lord. Notice in verse 11 it says "Behold the ARK OF THE COVENANT of the LORD of all the earth passeth over BEFORE you into Jordan." Now, with the Presence of the Lord leading, they begin to live the victorious Christian life. They still have trials, as is seen in verses 15-17. They still had the Jordan River as an obstacle, but with the LORD in His proper position, verse 17 says "And the priest that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and ALL THE ISRAELITES PASSED OVER ON DRY GROUND, UNTIL ALL THE PEOPLE WERE PASSED CLEAN OVER JORDAN."

The ark of the covenant in the O.T. is a type of Christ in the N.T. and the correlation is simple. When we as Christians, allow the Lord Jesus Christ to LEAD our lives, we can live a victorious Christian life. Oh yes, as saved people, we have all of God there is to get. We have all of the Holy Spirit there is to have, but are we YIELDED to Him? Are we allowing him to have FIRST place in our lives?

Most would answer "yes", but let me ask you a few questions. What do you watch on your television? Is the Lord Jesus pleased with ALL of the content that comes across your television? EVEN THE COMMERCIALS! Christians allow nudity, immorality, cursing, and a multitude of other abominations into their homes via the television set, in the name of "entertainment". I'd say that if you allow this, Jesus Christ is in your midst, but He's not Leading!

What about your dress? Are you content wearing clothing that reveals your flesh to the world? Even if you don't reveal flesh, are you revealing shape? It is a crying shame that in our churches today, a young man has to be on guard with his eyes, as much as he would have to in an amusement park. Why? Because Christian young ladies dress like harlots. Blouses that are so tight, nothing is left to the imagination. Skirts and dresses that are "right at the line" (the knee) and THEN only if pulled down and stretched. I would say, if you're living on the edge, dressing like the world, the Jesus Christ is in your midst, but He is not leading.

What about your Bible and Prayer time? Do you have your personal time with the Lord? Do you read your Bible and Pray? You would not dream of going days at a time without having meaningful communication with your spouse, yet some go days, weeks, months and, sorry to say, even years, without ever having meaningful times of communication with the One they call Saviour. I would say, if this is true in your life, then Jesus is in the midst, but He is not leading.

Many other areas could be addressed. I believe as mature Christians, you can evaluate the dark corners of your heart and answer truthfully, between you and the Lord this question? What is the POSITION of MY POSSESSION?

Christian, let Him Lead! Give Him first place in every area. If there is but one area in your life where He is not in first place, then He is NOT leading in your life. YOU ARE!!!! Let go and Let God Lead. We are merely to Follow.

God Bless You and remember - It's In The King James!

Joke of the Week

Be sure to check out the page "A Merry Heart" for our weekly joke.

Why All The Fuss?

Most churches today do not use the King James Bible. For one reason or another, they have discarded the Blessed 'Ole Book for a modern version. Some say the new one is easier to read, others say it's easier to understand, yet they all believe they still have the Bible.

Psalm 119:89 - For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. The word settled has many similar definitions, however, I like this one: TO ESTABLISH OR SECURE PERMANENTLY. That means that God's word is ESTABLISHED IN HEAVEN forever. Forever means eternity future and eternity PAST. God's WORD is settled!

So, why do we allow others do mess with it? If it is settled in Heaven, why can't we have it SETTLED here on earth? Why must we run to perversions like the NIV whose editors determined that many verses in the King James Bible were irrelevent or NOT IMPORTANT, hence, they removed them. Hundreds of verses GONE. Don't you want the ENTIRE Word of God? I do!

I'll end by quoting this wonderful song. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE OLD BLACK BOOK MY MAMA USED TO READ FROM? IS IT SO OUTDATED BY MODERN TRANSLATION? REVISED STANDARD AND GOOD NEWS EVERY WHERE YOU LOOK! WON'T SOMEBODY TELL ME, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE OLD BLACK BOOK?

REMEMBER - IT'S IN THE KING JAMES!

Reason To Rejoice

Hebrews 10:11-14 "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE for sins FOREVER, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified"

There are a few phrases in these verses that thrill my soul.

1. He had offered one sacrifice for sins FOREVER.
2. But this man......sat down on the right hand of God.
3. By one offering he hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified.

The Bible teaches the Eternal Security of the Believer. Not because the believer can do anything to keep his Salvation, but the object of our belief has FINISHED the job.

Let me tell you why the aforementioned statements excite me. Jesus offered one sacrifice for sins FOREVER. That means when I got saved, all of my sin (past, present and future) were covered by the blood of this perfect sacrifice. Well, you say, it only covers your sins up until that very point. Future sins are still unaccounted for. Did it ever occur to you that when Jesus died, all of our sins were FUTURE? He died to forgive me of sins that I had not even committed yet. I'm PREFORGIVEN and that excites me. I am not saying that we should ignore I John 1:9, as I believe we should keep short accounts with God, but Praise God ALL OF MY SIN IS FORGIVEN. GONE, removed as far as the East is from the West.

Second, Jesus is SEATED at the right hand of the Father. This means that His job is finished. Do you really think that our Saviour would be seated if the job was incomplete? Just a thought.

Lastly, He hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified. When God looks at me, he see me as Perfect, as I am covered by the blood. I am clothed in HIS righteousness, which gives me a perfect standing before the Heavenly Father.

I'll not apply this any further than I already have. Just wanted to share some of the blessing I've received from God's Word - the KING JAMES BIBLE.

Daily Hymn 10/28/2009

LOVE DIVINE ALL LOVES EXCELLING

Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.

Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Daily Hymn 10/27/2009

O WORSHIP THE KING

O worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender, the Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise.

O tell of His might, O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light, whose canopy space,
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
And dark is His path on the wings of the storm.

The earth with its store of wonders untold,
Almighty, Thy power hath founded of old;
Established it fast by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast, like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
It streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.

O measureless might! Ineffable love!
While angels delight to worship Thee above,
The humbler creation, though feeble their lays,
With true adoration shall all sing Thy praise.

Friend or Acquaintance

I'm not sure that many people are reading this blog yet, however, for those that do, I would like you to comment on the following question.

What actions or characteristics accompany a close friendship as opposed to a mere acquaintance? This is not a trick question. I would like to build on it further once I have some responses.

At this point I am trying to provoke myself to thought on the subject.

Thanks in Advance
Mike

NOTE: If you don't wish to publish on the blog, please send an email to itsinthekingjames@gmail.com

Thanks

Where Are the Landmarks?

Proverbs 22:28 - Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

Miriam Webster Definition of LANDMARK - An object that marks the boundary of land.

With that in mind, we might read the above verse as "Remove not the ancient boundary, which thy fathers have set. I find it interesting that these are landmarks, or boundaries, set by our fathers.

This could mean that we are to live within the boundaries set by our earthly, biological fathers. Certainly there would be great merit in that practice, however, I do not believe that is the application of this verse.

Rather, fathers refers to our "fore-fathers" - those that have lived before us.

Now, we have no problem understanding the admonition given in this verse, but let's carry it out a bit further.

I wonder how many of the boundaries, or landmarks, set forth by our Godly Fore-Fathers, have not only been removed, but forgotten. This slip, or neglect of the boundaries is why we are commanded to strengthen the things that remain. Revelation 3:2 - Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.

I believe there are many Godly men (and women) across the globe that are trying hard to strengthen those things that remain. They fight against the tides of time to keep the church from looking too much like the world. I wonder though, if we couldn't go further than just trying to STRENGTHEN the things that remain. Could we not REVIVE the things that have been lost? Instead of being satisfied that "we're not as bad as the world", could we not strive to be COMPLETELY different from the world.

I know we are to be "in the world, but not of the world." But the call for Christians to be PECULIAR is still in the Bible. Many, many verses drive home the point that God desires for Himself a peculiar people. What IS peculiar?

Meriam Webster Definition of PECULIAR - 1 : characteristic of only one person, group, or thing. 2 : different from the usual or normal.

With this definition in mind, let's look at a few verses of scripture.


Deuteronomy 14:2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people UNTO HIMSELF, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 26:18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify UNTO HIMSELF a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

How different are we than the world? Consider:

Do I own a television? If so, what programming to I allow? Is anything that God considers an abomination given access to my home and family via the television? God considers rebellion to be as the sin of witchcraft. Adultery is an abomination. Homosexuality is an abomination. Women that dress like men and men that dress like women = abomination. Nakedness reveals shame. All of these things and more are permitted in our home via the television. God clearly commands in Deuteronomy 7:26 -Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing. Are we peculiar or JUST like the world?

How do we dress? Of course, this question could take this post in another direction altogether. But let's just look at that last part of I Peter 2:9 "...that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:" I'm struck by the words SHEW FORTH THE PRAISES OF HIM... I wonder if we shew forth the praises of God by the way we dress. If you were in public, would the world (lost) be able to pick you out as being "peculiar" or different? Sadly, most Christians get their fasions from the department store and look just like the world. "But I'm wearing a skirt to the knee", or "We look better than the world", yet, if our hearts were tender, we would want to look TOTALLY different. What used to be a 2 finger rule with shirt and blouse cuts has now turned into a 4 finger rule. Loose fitting now is gauged by having a 1" pinch on each side of the bust or hip. MY, MY, MY - most women could pinch an inch in their undergarments. No wonder when you look at a women today, even in so called SEPERATED Christian circles, their women look like painted heifers that greased and SLID into their skin tight clothing. Are we ANY DIFFERENT than the world?

What about our Speech?

What about our Witness?

If we truly displayed a tender heart, and searched scriptures for God's commands to His children of old and then PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE IN OUR OWN LIVES, we would certainly be a PECULIAR PEOPLE. Oh, to be a people completely pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

I'll continue this thought at another time.

God Bless you and REMEMBER - IT'S IN THE KING JAMES....

Who's In Control

Proverbs 16:9 - A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Have you ever felt that life was completely out of YOUR control? Have you planned and planned, yet nothing seemed to work out the way you thought it would?

Proverbs 16:9a - A man's heart deviseth his way...: Man is constantly "devising" or planning. Webster defines the word devise as "to plan, to obtain or to bring about." The world, and sadly many Christians, find great security in the devising that they do. Unfortunately, there always seems to be a diversion in the plans that we make. Ever wonder why that is?

The second half of Proverbs 16:9 says "BUT the LORD directeth his steps." This means that we can plan all that we want to, BUT THE LORD will direct our steps. We often don't end up where we planned because God had another plan. From here we could talk about Philippians 2:5 "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:", however, that is not the direction I wish to go.

Why does God often direct our steps in a direction different than what we planned. Sure, we know Romans 8:28, but WHY? God did this same thing to the children of Israel when they were fleeing Egypt.

Exodus 13:17 - And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS NEAR; for God said, LEST peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:

Exodus 13:18 - BUT GOD LED the people about, THROUGH the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

Notice in the above verses that God did not allow them go the easy way. Of course, this is the way most of us would have planned to go out, but God led His children to take the difficult path. The way of the wilderness. Ever been there? Are you there now? Why does God allow us or LEAD us through the wilderness.

First, God knows our faith is weak. Notice again in Exodus 13:17 that God did not allow them to take the easy path for fear that they would repent, or turn back, when they saw war. God knew their faith was not strong enough to keep them going when the going got tough.

How many times would we forget about our God if the path was always easy? Our faith is weak, or should I say, our relationship with our Saviour is not strong enough or intimate enough to keep our attention when all is smooth sailing. God leads us in the wilderness to increase our faith and dependance upon Him.

Second, God deserves, and orchestrates His own honor. Exodus 14:4 "And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; (notice God is sending the Egyptian Army after His children) and I WILL BE HONOURED UPON PHARAOH, AND UPON ALL HIS HOST; that the EGYPTIANS MAY KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD. And they did so.

The children of Israel had to feel pretty forsaken. They left their homes to follow Moses and now it seemed as if they were trapped and doomed to die. All this in the way that GOD LED them. However, we see God desired to be honored above Pharaoh and his host.

Last, to be a witness to the lost. Notice in verse 14:4 it says "....that the Egyptians (the lost world) may know that I am the Lord. Can you imagine the talk back in Egypt after Pharaoh and his army were completely desimated? Could there have been any doubt that Jehovah God, the God of the Israelites, was truly the Lord.

We will stop here, but we know that God led them through the wilderness and provided a way of escape. So when you feel that you don't understand God's leading, remember, He is trying to increase your faith, bring honor to himself and exalt Himself before a lost and dying world.

Psalm 37:23&24 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: FOR THE LORD UPHOLDETH HIM WITH HIS HAND. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!

REMEMBER - IT'S IN THE KING JAMES!!!!