Tag: walk

The Battle of Jericho & the Christian Life: All They Had to Do Was Trust and Obey

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

I have often found encouragement in the account of the battle of Jericho. The Hebrew people were faced with an obstacle to their possession of God’s promised good land. A fortress city stood in their way. What were they to do? All they had to do was trust and obey God’s direction. It wasn’t by their effort that they would inherit the promised land, it was a matter of God’s grace.

Similarly, in our Christian life, we walk by faith and depend on God’s promise and His action on our behalf. We take Him at His word. We trust and obey. The promised land of sanctification and God’s blessing in our life, comes through His effort not ours. I made this case previously in a post called “Thoughts on the Battle of Jericho.”

Here is a visual depiction of this same important lesson. It comes from an adaptation of The Jesus Storybook Bible, one of our favorite kid’s Bible story books. Tim Keller referred to this book as “a storybook for preachers” and I quite agree. It communicates the heart of the Bible stories powerfully, and highlights the fact that all the stories in the Bible unfold the wonder of Jesus and His love. It has brought tears to my eyes at times, and if you don’t have this book, you really should get it!

Watch the animated story below of the battle of Jericho, and I pray that you and I both will grow in our trust of Jesus Christ, our true Warrior Leader.

For more on The Jesus Storybook Bible visit JesusStorybookBible.com or preview/purchase the book at the following online retailers: Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Christianbook.com, Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or direct from Zondervan.

Don’t Forget the Gospel This New Year’s

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Some of you have made New Year’s resolutions. Others have resolved to make one soon! And if you haven’t made one this year, you have other years. We all think there is wisdom in setting our mind to something and trying to achieve it.

I’m all for this kind of determination and hard-work. The problem comes when we set “spiritual” resolutions, or resolutions about our Christian life. This can lead to a confidence in the flesh for growth in our sanctification. It can lead to an unhealthy reliance on our selves for Christian growth. And ultimately, it strikes at the place of the Gospel in our lives.

I won’t speak more about this, now. Rather, I’ll point you to a great article I just found that hits on this very thing. It’s two years old now, but it still deserves a careful reading. I hope it will challenge you as it did me. Make sure your hope is in the Gospel this year, and not self-made resolutions!

Here’s the link: go over and read “Resolution-Driven vs. Gospel-Driven Living” from the Gospel-Driven Blog.