Joshua 1:8

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 1:8

In the Old Testament, Israel and her people were saved by obeying the Law. Strict adherence to it meant blessing, falling away from it meant God turned His eyes away and calamity happened through the overpowering from another nation, or death of the one who disobeyed. We are no longer under the Law for salvation, for our salvation came through the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We now live under grace. The Old Testament people could never live up to the Law, neither can we. This is grace, that Jesus loved us even though the Law could not be upheld by any one of us. But, this does not mean that God’s Laws are done away with. Jesus himself said he came to fulfill the Law. Within it we find our moral and ethical codes and basis for living day to day. The Ten Commandments are about loving and honouring God first, and how we care for our neighbour next. Jesus of course, summarized all those ten commandments into two: Love God above all others and your neighbour as yourself. The Old Testament should not be thrown out because of the New Testament, it is to be incorporated, read, followed, lived out under the new covenant of grace, knowing that as we try to follow and will miss the mark of perfection, the grace of Christ covers us. Then we pick ourselves up and get back on track, following God’s Word, and Christ our Saviour into blessing.
Devotional by Pastor Julia

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