So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel (Joshua 11:23).
THEME
INHERITANCE
Writing to a new generation after World War 1, Winston Churchill challenged, "You have not an hour to lose. . . . Don't be content with things as they are. 'The earth is yours and the fullness thereof.' Enter your inheritance; accept your responsibility."
God gave Israel the land of Palestine as their inheritance. He first promised it to Abraham, and He reconfirmed His pledge to others throughout Old Testament times.
In addition to whatever land he owned, the Jewish man would pass on his possessions to his children. Only the priests and Levites owned neither land nor possessions; their inheritance was the Lord.
In the Old Testament, a person had rights to an inheritance only through the death of a parent or relative. Under Roman law of New Testament times, a person became an heir at birth, though he might not receive a full inheritance until a family member died.
In Jesus Christ, the truths about inheritance from both testaments reached their pinnacle: He died that we might enter our inheritance; and He gave us a second birth that we might accept our responsibility.
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MAR 25
JOSHUA 3
"You have not passed this way before" (Joshua 3:4).
When I was a boy, the flame of adventure burned brightly in my soul, filling my life with anticipation. I loved to read stories about pioneers who ventured into the unknown, and I still remember these words of Rudyard Kipling: "There is no sense in going further--it's the edge of civilization, / So they said, and I believed it-- / Till a voice, as bad as conscience, rang interminable changes / On one everlasting whisper day and night repeated--Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges-- / Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"
Although I still like to try new things, I have lost some of my adventurous spirit as I've grown older, and I find myself feeling a bit uneasy as I draw closer to retirement, old age, and death. It's natural, I believe, to feel a mixture of fear and anticipation as we face the unknown. But as I trust God and keep walking with Him, I find that fear diminishes and my longing for heaven grows stronger.
The Israelites undoubtedly felt both uneasiness and eagerness as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. Knowing this, Joshua told them to follow the ark, the symbol of God's presence. The people leading the column were to stay far enough behind the ark so that those in the rear could see it. By trusting God and obeying Him, their fear dissolved and their sense of anticipation grew stronger. And it still works that way today.
--H.V.L.
Faith keeps the sails of life filled with the breath of heaven.
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MAR 26
PSALM 37:27-40
Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land (Psalm 37:34).
As a rule, it is wrong to take from one person and give to another. Yet when the proper authority takes from a criminal to give to an orphan, it's a different story. Such was the case when the wife of Peruvian President Alan Garcia ordered that a mansion confiscated from a cocaine dealer be converted into an orphanage. According to the Lima press, Mrs. Garcia told lawyers to arrange for the transfer of the house known as "Villa Coca." A hideout for drug smugglers became a haven for homeless children.
God did something like this when He guided the children of Israel to Canaan, the Promised Land. The Lord used the Israelites to judge the idol-worshiping residents of Canaan by driving them out of their land. God gave His people cities and homes they hadn't built, wells they hadn't dug, and vineyards they hadn't planted. He took from His enemies to give to His own people, just as He had promised (Deut. 6:10-11).
As the real owner of heaven and earth, and as the final court of appeal, the Lord assures us that He has the authority and the power to take from the proud and to give to the humble. It's true, the Lord may seem blind to the actions of those who have gained great wealth by vice and violence. But according to Psalm 37, time and eternity will show the wisdom of those who wait on the Lord. They will see the great reverse.
--M.R.D.II
At the end of life, we'll find that the only things we've lost were those we tried to keep.
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MAR 27
1 PETER 1:1-9
The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be forever (Psalm 37:18).
Columnist L. M. Boyd described the amazing good fortune of a man named Jack Wurm. In 1949, broke and out of a job, he was walking along a San Francisco beach when he came across a bottle with a piece of paper in it. The note inside was the last will and testament of Daisy Singer Alexander, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune. The note read, "To avoid confusion, I leave my entire estate to the lucky person who finds this bottle and to my attorney, Barry Cohen, share and share alike." According to Boyd, the courts accepted the theory that the heiress had written the note twelve years earlier and had thrown the bottle in the Thames River in London. From there it had drifted across the oceans to the feet of penniless and jobless Jack Wurm. His chance discovery netted him over six million dollars in cash and Singer stock.
But Jack Wurm's inheritance cannot compare with the one belonging to those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior. We are heirs with Christ. Our eternal future is secure. In one hundred years, Jack Wurm's money will have no value to him, but we will be just beginning to enjoy eternal life, eternal happiness, eternal gratitude, eternal peace, and eternal profit. The psalmist said this "inheritance shall be forever."
--M.R.D.II
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
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MAR 28
MATTHEW 5:1-12
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7-8).
"For more than 40 years, Ace Pawn Shop had been a fixture on West Main Street in my hometown. Now it was closing. Fred and Lydia Fischer had run the shop as a 'mom and pop' operation, and when Fred died, Lydia found that she couldn't go on alone. Rather than sell the business, she decided to close shop and move south. As a final gesture of appreciation to the customers who had made life so good for them, Lydia sent a card to everyone who had an item in pawn and offered it back free of charge. The sign in the window told the story: 'Pawn Shop Closing: Claim What Is Yours'" (David Grubbs, CLAIM WHAT IS YOURS).
God has invited all believers in Christ to claim what is ours, and the Sermon on the Mount lists a number of these wonderful gifts: the kingdom of heaven (salvation), comfort in mourning, the prospect of inheriting the earth, spiritual fulfillment, mercy, fellowship with God, adoption into God's family, and an eternal home in heaven.
When we begin to feel spiritually poor, it's time to ask, seek, and knock. Before another day passes, we can, by faith, "claim what is ours."
--D.C.E.
He possesses all who knows the Creator of all.
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MAR 29
HEBREWS 9:16-18, 22-28
For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator (Hebrews 9:16).
Robby Flockheart, a street evangelist in Edinburgh, often told two stories to stress the importance of two truths--that Jesus died but also lives. In the first story, Robby told about becoming friends with a man who was later condemned to die. The prisoner called for Robby and in his presence made out his will, leaving Robby what little money he had. But on the day of the man's scheduled execution, he was pardoned. Recounting the circumstances, Robby said, "He lived, but I lost my legacy. A testament is not in force while the testator lives." In the second story, Robby told of another person who left him a small legacy. But Robby never got any of that inheritance either because, as he told it, "some rogue of a lawyer came along and I never saw a penny of it. I used to say, 'If the man who left the will had been alive, he would have made sure his old friend Robby got his money.' But being dead, he had no power to see his will carried out."
Jesus, the great testator of the new covenant, did die; there is no question about that. Therefore, the will, certified by His precious blood, is valid. He has secured eternal redemption for us through His atoning death. But the Savior did not remain in the grave. After three days He arose, and today He lives to make sure that His will is fully carried out. His life ensures that every blessing promised by the New Testament will be given to everyone who trusts the Savior.
Christ died, making His will valid; and He lives, guaranteeing our priceless inheritance.
--P.R.V.
Only a living Savior could rescue a dying world.
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MAR 30
REVELATION 21:1-8
"He who overcomes shall inherit all things" (Revelation 21:7).
Fiske planetarium, on the campus of the University of Colorado, needed money, so its director dreamed up a gimmick. He printed brochures offering 1,000-acre lots on the planet Mars for only twenty dollars. Located in the Olympus Mons region, the land is a huge, extinct volcano more than twice as high as Mount Everest. The flyers read: "This land features pink skies, unlimited rock gardens, and not one but two moons. So peaceful, quiet, and romantic--even the natives are friendly. At one-sixth the gravity of Earth, your golf game will improve immensely--drives will be six times longer. Mars will provide a world of adventure for the entire family." The gag was surprisingly successful. People from across the country sent in twenty dollars for a deed, space flight insurance, and a simulated sample of red Martian soil.
But better than any offer for property on Mars is God's promise of heavenly real estate. God is preparing it for Christians, not to make money, but to express His love for all who trust Jesus as their Savior. "New World II" is a real place where the Lord Himself will live with His people. The additional features are beyond description. There will be no tears, pain, or death, and the occupants will rejoice forever in God's everlasting goodness.
How reassuring to know that God's free offer of a home in the heavens is not just some promotional gimmick! It may sound too good to be true, but it isn't. It's too good to pass up.
--M.R.D.II
Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.
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MAR 31
PHILIPPIANS 3:17-21
For our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).
As believers in the Lord Jesus, we are citizens of heaven. Here on earth we are only pilgrims journeying toward our eternal home. Yet all too often we act as if this world is our permanent residence.
Many years ago, a man visited his longtime friend, a British military officer stationed in an African jungle. One day when the friend entered the officer's hut, he was startled to see him dressed in formal attire and seated at a table beautifully set with silverware and fine china. The visitor, thinking his friend might have lost his mind, asked why he was all dressed up and seated at a table so sumptuously arrayed out in the middle of nowhere. The officer explained, "Once a week I follow this routine to remind myself of who I am--a British citizen. I want to maintain the customs of my real home and live according to the codes of British conduct, no matter how those around me live. I want to avoid substituting a foreign culture for that of my homeland."
Christians should have a similar concern. Our true citizenship is in heaven, so we must beware of substituting the foreign culture of this world for that of our real homeland (see Ro 12:2). We are not to take on its sinful ways or adopt its values. We need to live in such a way that others will see that we are different.
And we need to remember that we are strangers in this world and citizens of heaven.
--R.W.D.
The Christian who lives above the world draws closer to heaven.
