Month: December 2016

This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to recite it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Joshua 1:8 HCSB

My daughter, Sarah, is going through an advent study by She Reads Truth. Wanting her three year old son, Logan, to understand and see Christ in the Christmas season above anything else, she purchased some advent cards designed specifically for kids from She Reads Truth that correlate with the study she is doing. She repeated the verse Micah 6:8 a few times and Logan had it down. He usually repeats it out loud after her in little sections. Sarah had a plan to take one word out of the verse at a time until he knew it, but he did not need that. Yes, I am a proud grandfather.

The third key to success is to constantly read and study God's Word. This verse commands us to recite it day and night. It is to be on our minds every moment of every day. We should constantly be seeking to do what God commands. If we don't read and memorize God's Word and His principles, how can we know how to live?

Challenge: The three keys to success are 1) Be strong and courageous; 2) Obey God's laws; and 3) Constantly read and study God' Word. Without these three keys one cannot be successful. You may not be a success by the world's standards but you will be a success in God's eyes, which is much more important. Check out www.shereadstruth.com and the topical memory system from Navigators at www.navigators.org

Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. Joshua 1:7 HCSB

Our church has a school with over 200 kindergarten through eighth grade students. Each morning they gather for a chapel service. They pledge allegiance to the American flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. After a song they have a short devotional thought that is usually led by one of the teachers or one of the ministers at the church. I had the privilege of leading chapel this morning. The students have been going through the Ten Commandments. I began my devotional talking about the rules of football, the rules of the road, and the rules that parents have at home. Most, if not all of the rules are designed to protect us and to keep us from getting hurt. God's laws or rules are designed to protect us from harm.

The second key to success is to obey God's laws. God instructs Joshua to carefully observe the whole instruction. What if we only followed part of the rules for football? There would not be any order. What if we only obeyed some of the rules of the road? People would obviously get hurt in accidents. To be successful we must not wander off of the road either to the right or left. We must stay on the straight and narrow road of obeying God's commandments and rules. They are designed to give us success wherever we go.

Challenge: Have you wandered off of the road? Are you only partially obeying God's laws? If you want to be successful you must first be strong and courageous and secondly, you must obey God's laws. Tomorrow we will look at the third key to success.