A Vow To Keep - Part One

A VOW TO KEEP – PART ONE

A NEW YEAR, A NEW DAY, A NEW YOU

JOSHUA 1:1-8

©LARRY L. THOMPSON (2002)

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: [2] "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them--to the Israelites. [3] I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. [4] Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates--all the Hittite country--to the Great Sea on the west. [5] No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. [6] "Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. [7] 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] Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.”

Introduction

It was July 8, 1998 that I made my vow to the Lord. On that day I vowed that I would honor Him in the daily study of His word. I would honor Him by committing to personal application and obedience of my quiet times alone with Him. I vowed that I would honor Him by giving Him the “firstfruits” of each new day. Before I read the paper, before I get a shower, before I fix a bagel…yes, my vow was to seek Him first in each new day. My vow was to first take in HIS WORD and allow HIS SPIRIT to direct my life before anything else entered my body, soul or mind in each new day. My vow was to honor Him by keeping a journal of our walk together. It is a vow that has made the greatest impact in my life because it is the one vow that will directly effect every other commitment in my life. My daily quiet time is my lifeline in my walk through this world. I would rather die than to walk without the instruction of my Lord and Savior. I would rather die than not honor Him with this vow. My daily time with Christ is THAT IMPORTANT TO MY LIFE. I encourage you as the reader to make your vow today and allow tomorrow to be the first day of the greatest joy and journey you will ever receive this side of eternity!

Not long ago in our nation, families would gather together and the father would take out the family Bible, read a passage of scripture and the family would spend time reflecting and commenting on these verses and how they could apply them to each of their lives. Some called it the “Family Alter Time.”

Many of us, when be became a Christian, were encouraged by others to begin our day reading and studying Scripture. Some began that practice and to this day continue while others began and then stopped only to begin again.

Daily Quiet Time Defined:

A quiet time is a daily appointment with God and His Word that involves prayer, the reading of scripture, and listening and obeying God through the leadership of His Holy Spirit as He speaks to our heart for the purpose to develop our spiritual maturity so that we might glorify Christ. Tragically, many of us we have slowed down or possibly stopped that much-needed time. And because of this we have stopped growing and maybe stopped listening and sadly stopped obeying God.

This morning, as we look to the New Year, I want to ask a question, much like I ask frequently on Sunday morning; “Do you have a daily quiet time and are you spending time in God’s Word each day?”

If your answer was yes then I applaud your spiritual discipline and encourage you to continue in obedience to His call. If your answer was no then I encourage you to listen carefully to this message for it may be the most important message you will ever hear in your spiritual life.

Open your bibles to Joshua chapter 1 verse 1-8, I will be using verse 8 as my main text

Please stand with me today for the reading of God’s Word: TEXT