See How “The Jordan River Rules” WILL Rescue You…
Friends! Oh, how I loved discovering author Rob Morgan has just released a new book. FYI, none of his books disappoint, they all inspire, educate, and bring comforting reassurance.
You may recall reading The Red Sea Rules: The Same God Who Led You In Will Lead You Out—10 God-Given Strategies for Difficult Times. It’s been a mainstay for many years, now having sold more than half a million copies. Here’s the cover:
Fast forward several years, and now, we readers can snatch up Rob’s newest book right this minute: The Jordan River Rules: The Same God Who Led You Out Will Lead You On—10 God-Given Strategies for Moving Forward.
We’re reminded of Moses’ leading of the Israelites for forty years up until his death with Joshua taking over, leading them into the Promised Land. BUT, small detail, they come upon the Jordan River, “which was at flood stage, and for that God duplicated a matchless miracle. He again parted the waters, just as He had split the Red Sea a generation earlier.”
From the first page, we readers will learn many new truths. Let’s start with Jordan River Rule #1: Realize God Means for You to Move Forward. (There are ten of these rules in the book. In this post, I’ll be sharing three of my favorites with you. Rest assured, they’re all excellent— this little book truly packs a punch.)
I’ve read the first few verses of Joshua, Chapter One, numerous times and yet I’ve never looked at them from the perspectives Rob offers. Let’s read them together:
“After the death of Moses the Lord’s servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Mose’s assistant: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you.” (Joshua 1:1-5)
For starters, Rob shows us the above passage “provides three truths about God’s guidance:
He leads us in stages;
He leads us in steps; and
He leads us in Person.”
Then look at this from Numbers 33:1-2,
“These were the stages of the Israelites’ journey when they went out of the land of Egypt…At the Lord’s command, Moses wrote down the starting points for the stages of their journey; these are the stages listed by their starting points.”
I’d never noticed this concept of stages before. Rob points out how we are all living in different stages. As the Israelites mourned the death of Moses, he pointed out that after mourning comes a new morning—“new days in our lives.”
Rob shares one new stage he’s in is living alone after the death of his beloved wife, Katrina. John and I had the privilege of meeting Katrina when we visited Rob’s church a few years ago. She always made us feel so welcome, as if we were the only people in the entire church.
Rob encourages us to take a look at our own lives and assess which stages we may be in. He says,
“Each stage bewildered me at first. But the Lord has given me strength for every stage. Everything is under His control and orchestrated in His timing.”
We readers are encouraged to seek the Lord in our Bible reading each morning, asking Him to guide us every step of the way, thru’ each stage we’re in. Dr. Gregory Boyd wrote, “I’ve become absolutely convinced that remaining aware of God’s presence is the single most important task in the life of every follower of Jesus.”
I’ve about worn out pages 10-12 in The Jordan River Rules, where we’re shown how many times in the Bible God says He will never leave us or forsake us. (I’ve loaded them all into my journal.) Check out Deuteronomy 31: 6-8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Chronicles 28:20, and Psalm 27:9.
We’re also taught from Hebrews 13:5, that says, “Be satisfied with what you have, for He himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you.”
Rob teaches us, “The Greek text of Hebrews, the word ‘leave’ is preceded by a double negative: ‘Never, never will I leave you. The word ‘abandon’ is preceded by three negatives: ‘Never, never, never will I abandon you.”
Friends, for those of us who struggle with fear, worry, anxiety, you-name-it, look at the reassurance the verses listed above offer, and as Rob so succinctly poses this very simple question, “Why on Earth, then, are you and I ever insecure about anything in our lives?”
This question made me laugh out loud. We worriers must look completely ridiculous to our awesome God. I confess, after living six decades, I’m still a slow learner. Sigh…
Let’s march on to Jordan River Rule #2: Say “No” to Discouragement, “Yes” to Strength. (Joshua 1:6-9) This is one of my favorite chapters.
First off, we learn the phrase, “be strong” occurs thirty times in Scripture. And it’s not just a phrase, it’s a command. Pages 15-18.
Rob has a fabulous idea for what to do with these thirty verses. He suggests reading one every day for a month, maybe even writing them each day in your calendar. How strong would we all be if we tried that? Anyone want to take this challenge on? What a boost to our confidence, not to mention our faith!
Next we get to see seven verses with “do not be afraid” in them. In most of these, the Lord is speaking to Joshua. Rob reminds us,
Near the end of the chapter, we’re shown yet another set of commands regarding not being discouraged. (Checkout Joshua 1:9, 8:1, and 10:25.) We also get to see David, Solomon, King Jehoshaphat, King Hezekiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the two disciples going to Emmaus ALL being told to NOT be discouraged in their various challenges.
Read this warning:
Yikes! Scary, right? But good news! We readers are gifted with three suggestions for overcoming discouragement at the end of the chapter. Ah, my friend, you must read the book to find them out!
Finally, let’s look at a few snippets of Jordan River Rule #7: Trust God to Turn Problems into Pathways. (Joshua 3:9-17)
I love this chapter because one section is entitled, “What if the river doesn’t part?” Plus we’re given a beautiful verse with more than one reassuring promise.
I love this verse because it’s the life-verse of one of my buddies and writer friends, Jan Watson. Many of you remember when Jan visited us at book club. If you had Jan sign any of her books for you, here’s the verse she’d inscribe. Isaiah 43:1-2
In The Jordan River Rules, Rob shares several testimonies from people who went thru’ very difficult circumstances, and yet the Lord made a way out for them. You don’t want to miss these!
Rob gifts us with this thought:
“Our Lord Jesus has already crossed the river of every challenge we’ll ever face, and He has secured the rope of grace to the tree of God’s omnipotence. We simply hold on by faith and proceed one step at a time. Isaiah 43:2 is a great verse to grip.”
Isn’t that the best? That just might be my favorite sentence in the entire book—I italicized rope of grace because it’s a beautiful word picture for all of us!
Many of you know of and have read Rob’s books on hymns, Then Sings My Soul. No surprise we get to read several lyrics from a few hymns within Jordan River Rules. (I’ll add the book covers of Then Sings my Soul options at the end of this post in case you’re not familiar with them. They are excellent as well.)
Let’s close with a few lyrics of “How Firm a Foundation” which paraphrases Isaiah 43:2. (I immediately thought these would be sweet words to include in a sympathy card.)
Now you know how I’m prone to close, “Run, don’t walk to your nearest bookstore and grab several copies of The Jordan River Rules!” It’s a neat little gift book size, that for us girls can easily fit into our purses. Guys, maybe tuck it in a pocket of your briefcase or backpack?
‘Til next time!
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