Author: Brian Burdett

“When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, ‘Are you for us, or for our adversaries?’ And he said, ‘No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.’” – Joshua 5:13-14a

In that moment, Joshua was thinking exactly the way we usually do. We wonder (or assume or claim or pray) whether God is on “our” side or “their” side. We advocate for our cause by claiming God is on our side. We do this with disputes within church congregations and in wars between nations. But is it true? As the commander of Heaven’s armies says, that whole way of thinking is flawed. This mindset simply reveals our fundamentally self-centered way of thinking and our very earthly focus. The answer is “No”.

God isn’t on “our” side or “their” side. He is on His side. At all times. He seeks His glory and accomplishes His will. Believers in Jesus are invited and commanded to follow Jesus. If we truly follow Jesus, then we will be on God’s side. That’s how it really works. We will pursue His glory and seek to accomplish His will no matter what. It’s a very different way of thinking but it’s exactly what Jesus calls His followers to do. Get on God’s side.

This is what it is to take up your cross daily. Stop being concerned about God being on “your” side and concern yourself with getting and staying on His side. Not seeking to wrap your opinions and battles in the trappings of Christ but covering yourself in the blood of the lamb. Living, thinking, speaking, and acting as a blood-bought citizen of Heaven who earnestly desires His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. So, whose side are you on? Yours or God’s? #FollowJesus

“For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” – Joshua 4:23-24

God is always working to accomplish His ultimate will – the salvation of people from every tribe, tongue, and nation on earth. Even when He performs a miracle that seems to benefit just one group of people at one point in time, He’s actually working at many levels to accomplish His will and bless all people groups. When the Israelites finally entered the promised land after 40 years, God made the way for them in a remarkable fashion. He stopped the flow of the Jordan River, while it was at flood stage, so they could walk across on dry land.

For those people that day, this miracle was a reminder and encouragement that God was with them as they did what felt impossible to their parents. However, this miracle also served as a testimony for the following generations of God’s reality, power, and presence. AND this miracle provided God’s seal of approval on Joshua’s leadership. Just as Moses led Israel across the Sea of Reeds on dry land, Joshua led Israel across the Jordan on dry land. AND this miracle was done to be a testimony to all the nations on earth. It was a powerful statement that the God of Israel is the one true God over all the earth.

Even in this moment that was so essential to Israel’s formation as a nation, God’s purpose was to reach every nation with the truth of His existence. To prepare them to accept His offer of redemption and yield their hearts to Him in worship. What looked like a first step for Israel was actually a first step for the salvation of the world, which is God’s ultimate desire. Step by step, God was preparing the world to hear and believe the Gospel and be reconciled to God through faith in Jesus. Every story, every miracle, every step was working toward His ultimate will. #FollowJesus

“Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’” – Deuteronomy 29:18b-19a

Consider these words very, very carefully. We who follow Jesus are strongly tempted to do exactly what God says bears poisonous and bitter fruit. We loudly proclaim how blessed we are in Jesus (and we certainly are) while stubbornly continuing to practice our favorite sins. The temper we don’t control. The lust we don’t resist. The tongue we don’t restrain. We “yada, yada, yada” the teachings and commands of Jesus, hearing them and letting them roll off our backs like water off a duck. We let God’s Word pass in one ear and out the other without producing the slightest change in how we think, speak, or act. Why? Because we tell ourselves we’re safe, we’re blessed, and we’re saved. Beware this poisonous and bitter fruit!

Christians have an ENORMOUS ability to excuse, explain away, or rationalize outright disobedience to the clear teaching of Scripture. On matters related to sexual immorality, violence, envy, anger, greed, and gossip, just to name a few. We explain away lack of concern for the poor and vulnerable around us, particularly widows, orphans, and immigrants, all of whom are directly addressed by Scripture. We excuse causing division with other Christians because our ideas, our preferences, and our priorities are so important that we simply must speak our mind and get our way. We rationalize how the Sermon on the Mount couldn’t possibly be serious or literal or applicable to us because of God’s grace.

Beware!!! Jesus is very clear that faith in Him which doesn’t change anything about a person and doesn’t result in a desire to obey Him can’t save anyone. God’s grace is free but it certainly isn’t cheap. It calls every believer to a high bar of holiness driven by gratitude for what Jesus did for us on the cross. If you aren’t praying and striving to live like that and God’s word isn’t regularly poking you, challenging you, and changing you, you need to beware! #FollowJesus

“For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.” – Deuteronomy 25:16

God really, really, really cares about the integrity of His people! The Bible repeatedly condemns those who use dishonest scales or measures to take advantage of others in buying, selling, and trade. Such people are an abomination to God! That’s intense! Don’t be an abomination! Why does God care so much? Because He cannot lie, cheat, or steal. Since we are made in His image, we must not lie, cheat, or steal either. When we do, we reveal the image of the Father of Lies in us, Satan, rather than our Father in Heaven. That’s very bad!

For followers of Jesus, there must be no cutting of corners. There must be no fudging of results. There are not to be any “small lies” that work to your benefit and someone else’s harm. Absolute integrity in the workplace and marketplace is the expectation and standard for the children of God. It doesn’t matter whether another person will ever notice or figure it out, because God always knows.

Are your ethics – in the workplace and the marketplace – rock solid and beyond reproach? Is your honesty in matters of time, money, buying, and selling like that of Jesus, regardless of whether anyone is looking or not? Are there any particular “gray areas” where you need to search your heart and motives, confess sin to God, and ask for His people to walk with His integrity? #FollowJesus

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.” – Deuteronomy 21:22-23a

This is what Jesus voluntarily gave Himself up to – the curse of God. The innocent and eternal Son of God, Who committed no sin of His own, yielded His life to die hanging on an accursed Roman cross. Jesus took that curse to set us free from the curse of sin and death. Jesus took all your sins and all of God’s righteous wrath and condemnation for those sins upon Himself. Now, if Jesus is your Lord, there is none of that left for you.

If Christ is your King, your sins are completely gone. God’s wrath toward you is completely gone. All condemnation toward you is completely gone. Completely. Gone. There is not a bit, not a hint, not a residue left over. You are free in Christ from all those things. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

In Christ, you have become the righteousness of God! That’s who you are. If you think of yourself differently, please understand that you’re mistaken. If you imagine there is still some wrath, some condemnation, or some stain of sin on you, you’re mistaken. Talk to God about that. Ask Him to help you see you as He sees you. Ask Him to help you forgive yourself as He has already forgiven you. If Jesus is your Lord, then you’re no longer under any curse, no matter what you might think or feel, because Jesus took your curse on that tree! #FollowJesus