Deuteronomy 1:1

Deuteronomy 1;1 says, These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.  These were some of Moses's last instructions to Israel, since He wasn't to be allowed to enter the Promised Land.  Still, the Promised Land was just a temporary home, not the everlasting home in heaven.  Verse two adds, (There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.)  They were still in Moab, ready to cross over to the Promised Land to fight for possession of it.  We are still this side of heaven today, and we will be at war with the world wherever we are.  Verse three continues, And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them;  In the eleventh month of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, Moses spoke unto the people of Israel all that the LORD had given him for commandments to them.  These were God's laws, and not those of Moses, so they would last after Moses was dead.  God's law is everlasting and will still be valid after we as Christians are dead.  Verse four states, After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei:  This was after the Moabites on this side of the Jordan were slain.  Verse five adds, On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,  This repeats that it was on this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab that Moses spoke to them.  Moses may have been denied the right to enter the Promised Land, but he was still their leader under God's direction.  As long as we are alive, even if we are disappointed about some things in life, even our faithfulness in our relationship with God, as followers of Christ we are forever His and need to continue to do what He has called us to do.  Verse six says, The LORD our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount:  God's word came to Moses telling the people of Israel that they had dwelt long enough on Mount Horeb.  We cannot just stay content where we are as Christians if God is leading us elsewhere.  Verse seven adds, Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates.  God told them it was time to possess the land that He was giving them.  We need to likewise do our best to claim the place where we live as a part of God's kingdom by His guidance and power.  Verse eight continues,  Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.  After wandering in the wilderness for forty years because they lacked the faith that God could give them the victory all those years ago, God again told them to go and possess the land.  Even if we have allowed doubt to keep us from living by faith in the past, God still calls to go out into the world and claim victory through faith in Him now.