Hosanna Restoration Church

Careful! Be very careful! We have all been warned in our lives when we were disobedient, or close to a ledge so to speak. We have probably all used that warning when raising our children. Careful is a caring word as well as a warning word.

Joshua told the people to be very careful to love the Lord your God. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses reminded them of the 10 commandments and told the people to be very careful to obey all the Lord’s commandments!

It seems that we have turned ‘obey’ into an elective word these days! That may be fine with some people, but it is not fine with God. It is also not fine to love God like we love potato chips or ice cream or whatever it is that we say that we love. No, Joshua said to be very careful to love God.

Well, you might say, “God knows my heart!” He sure does! He called Israel an adulterous bunch of people because they seemed to obey and love and then not obey or love until things got bad and they cried out to God and He rescued them and the story was on repeat forever it seems. Ultimately, Joshua warned the people that they would mess up, but they should choose who they were going to serve and stick to it. As for Joshua and his house, they would serve the Lord.

But you might say, Jesus came with grace, so obedience is no longer such a big deal! Seems like Jesus said that He did not cancel obedience, He fulfilled it. He showed us what obedience was. Maybe we should consider thinking that we would rather die than hurt God with part time love and selective obedience. Jesus taught forgiveness and at the same time revealed an intolerance for sin. I forgive you, just don’t do it anymore!

We have turned tolerance into the standard. If we don’t tolerate everything, we become a curse word to some segments of society. Let me just say that I don’t really care if people call me intolerant and phobic or whatever it might be. I will forgive. I will love. I will encourage. But I will not be tolerant of evil. I will not say that something is okay if it is not okay! I will not be found guilty of encouraging people to sin against what God says.

The Bible is not out of date and God has not changed His mind. The devil has not changed his tactics. Just as he convinced Eve and Adam to compromise, so he spends his time doing the same to Christians and non-believers as well as God haters. You may be thinking I should be careful about what I say. If one person gains the courage to stand for the truth, it will be worth it!

So be very careful! If you are comfortable with tolerating things that you once would never have considered, maybe there is a problem. If you are afraid to be intolerant, maybe there is a problem. If you hate those that you consider to be intolerant, maybe there is a problem.