“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.(Joshua 1:7-8)
Introduction
In this “microwave” world we live, we want instant gratification and instant responses and so some of us move away from the word of God as we cannot wait on time. The same way that some studies have suggested that microwave food is hazardous to your health, an instant society can also result in a detrimental society.
Keep the Word on Your Lips and Meditate on it Day and Night.
When you meditate and think on something day and night, it becomes a part of your life. Consequently, you become and live what you think. I will share two verses that demonstrate this. Proverbs 23:7 states “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”. Proverbs 4:23 “Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts. Therefore, it is important as part of our Christian life, that we meditate on the Word of God daily, thinking about the things that are true, things that are honest things that are just, things that are pure, things that are lovely and things that are of good report. (Philippians 4:8). My friends if we think of these things, our lives will be transformed, our thoughts will be positive and our faith will increase. If our faith increases, we will become prosperous and successful.
Do not go after other Gods.
The word tells us do not worship any other God but because we want things instantly we follow other Gods for quick action. For instance, some people visit the Voodoo Doctor or practice witchcraft for either luck, power, to “fix” someone, to acquire something or someone and to get answers for some unexplained things happening in your life or your family life. Unfortunately, unknowingly to some of you, when dealing with voodoo or witchcraft, you are putting yourself, your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren in a convenant with the devil resulting in major disruption in their lives. Exodus 34:15 states”lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice.”
Some of us worship our jobs, houses, cars, money, other material things and celebrities and they become our Gods as we spend more time and allegiance to these things. As a result, we have insufficient time or no time at all on the word so we end up turning to the right and turning to the left.
Do not gratify the desires of the Flesh – Be Strong
The Flesh is very weak in our lives and it has many emotions attached to it. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of.Most times we get so caught up in our emotions and so we act on our emotions and then think about the consequences thereafter. A lot of times it is too late having destroy individuals’ character and having destroy your marriage resulting many times in hatred and unforgiveness. IF we only be strong, resist the devil and stick to the word, we will have great success.
I encourage men to consider their immoral actions. Think about your sisters, your daughters, your mother and your cousins. Do you want anyone to do the same thing to your sisters and daughters that you are doing to someone else sister or daughter? The same applies to women. What you sow, you will reap.
Love is the answer when it comes to dealing with hatred, jealousy and envy.Try to love people no matter what. See people as children of God.The greatest and first commandment God gave us is to Love God. The second one is to Love the neighbour as thyself. If only we stick to these two commandments, we will be able to resist most of the acts of the flesh.
Conclusion
It is hard not to turn to the left and not to turn to the right especially when it looks like your world is crumbling around you. Even if your world is not crumbling, this world is full of so many sinful temptations that will try to drag you away from the word. Be strong and courageous. Stick to the word. Try to be careful who you associate with, try to be careful what you see and what you say and try to always think about positive things.