God’s Guarantee of Success

Coral Ridge Ministries

God’s Guarantee of Success

Joshua 1:8

May 13, 2024

“This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night so that you may act carefully according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way successful, and you will be wise.”

— Joshua 1:8

“It’s guaranteed,” the sign says. “Double your money back,” the label declares. Many a product has been sold with such a promise only to have the purchaser discover later that it contained a slight flaw. The person who made the guarantee, as you often see on TV, is counting on the fact that you won’t bother to pack it up and ship it back; or if you try to get your money back, find that the salesman has skipped town and left you with a very faulty product.

Today, I would like to talk about a guarantee that can never fail; a wonderful guarantee that is backed by the bank of heaven. In the promise of the above text, we have the guarantee of success.

Theologians have a Greek phrase, hapax logomenon—the only occurrence of the word. Sometimes in the Bible there is only one instance of something. That is the case in Joshua 1:8 with the word success. God, who can never lie and who will never go out of business, has set forth a divine guarantee of success.

Let us consider what the conditions to this guarantee are. The conditions are predicated upon meditating on and obeying God’s book. In Joshua’s time there existed only the first five books (the Pentateuch) given through Moses by God. Today, we have the completed volume, the Book of God, and what a wonderful book it is. Meditate on His Word, and you will succeed in life.

Almighty God, Your Word is precious to us. It is our inheritance. Lord, give us strength for today to live by it and pass it on to others. Thank You for the wisdom it gives us…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN BE KEEPERS OF THE WORD.

Philosophy vs. Wisdom

May 31, 2024

“Beware lest anyone captivate you through philosophy and vain deceit, in the tradition of men and the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ.” — Colossians 2:8 The word philosophy comes from the Greek and literally means “the love of wisdom.” The Hebrews received God’s revelation, which was greater than human philosophy. The ancient Greeks had no such advantage, and though wise in their way, they were like blind men searching for light in a darkened room, whereas the Hebrews were in a room which was brilliantly illuminated. For them all that was possible was to approach unto the light and try to penetrate into it more deeply and understand it more thoroughly. This was called by the Hebrews not philosophy, but wisdom, and there is a great difference between that “vain philosophy” as it is called in the New Testament and the wisdom of God. When the Bible speaks about wisdom, it is talking about an understanding of the revelation of God. It is talking about a heart that seeks to know and to understand, and that seeking to know and understand is aimed particularly at an understanding and knowledge of God. Over and against this are set all of those who have no desire to learn. The person who does not desire to learn is repeatedly set forth in the Scriptures as a fool—as a man or woman of folly whose end is destruction. It is tragic that many people today reject God’s wisdom because they falsely assume it has somehow been discredited by philosophy. Such “philosophers” are described by Paul: “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22). God of wisdom and might, thank You for revealing Yourself to us mortal beings. Help us to become wise by studying Your Word and knowing You. Thank You that with You, there is wisdom and understanding… BY GOD’S STRENGTH AND KNOWLEDGE, WE CAN BECOME WISE.

A Time to Remember

May 30, 2024

“These stones will be a memorial for the children of Israel continually.” — Joshua 4:7 Memorial Day: It is a good thing to remember. There are more than a dozen different words in the Bible that are translated “remember.” When Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land, he had them build a memorial of stones to remember what God had done for them. We must remember what God has done for us as a nation. Did you know that America is unique because this is the first nation in the history of this planet to have freedom of religion? Religious tyranny prevailed all over the globe. Gradually some nations rose to religious tolerance, like England, but only in America was full religious freedom granted for the very first time. This continent, hidden between two great oceans, was reserved by God for that religious freedom, for that expression of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ—where His Word would be read, where He would be worshiped, where He would be trusted, and His Gospel would be proclaimed both here and throughout the whole world. Today I would like for us to remember not only those men and women who laid down their lives in the wars, but that One who fought the longest to give us what we enjoy most and who often is the most forgotten. In fact, there is a strange lament we find in Scripture that says, “My people have forgotten Me for days without number” (Jeremiah 2:32). Ultimately, God is the source of our freedom, and we should remember that. Thank You, God, that we still have freedom. Help us to remember that it was given us at great price, first by the blood of Jesus, then by men and women who laid down their lives for our country. Please turn our country around before it’s too late, lest their sacrifice be in vain… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE RECOGNIZE THE HIGH COST OF FREEDOM.

The Fiery Furnace, Lion’s Den, and Walls of Babylon

May 29, 2024

“And whoever does not fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.” — Daniel 3:6 When skeptics read about three certain Jews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, being cast into a fiery furnace, they scoffed. Same thing when they read about Daniel being thrown into a den of lions. But archaeologists working in the ruins of Babylon discovered an ancient library on clay tablets. Included on these tablets were the punishments for violations of various regulations. For the offense of impiety to any god, one was to be cast alive into a fiery furnace, and huge furnaces have also been discovered. For an untoward act relative to a king, like failure to worship his image, one was to be cast alive into the den of lions. Cages with iron bars have also been found in the ruins and the diggings of Babylon. Furthermore, when Babylon was at the height of its glory, Ezekiel prophesied that the great walls of Babylon would be utterly destroyed. These walls were 60 miles long and as thick as 150 feet and 300 feet high, where a number of chariots could race on the top of those walls. Archaeologists were digging down in the ground and they ran into the base, the foundation of the walls because they were utterly destroyed, just as God said they would be. If you ever see a picture of Babylon, it looks like it has been cut off by a scythe. Once again, the critics are wrong; the Bible is right. Almighty God, as we consider what happened to Your people in ancient Babylon, we can’t help but think of Your people today in various parts of the world facing persecution for the name of Jesus. Grant them strength, grace, and perseverance until the end… BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE CAN FACE DEATH.