Month: March 2016

Re:Verse reading–Mark 15:16-20, 24-40; Mark 16:1-8 (Holy Week reading, day one)

“They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him”–15:16-17

It was a joke. Cruel. Expensive.  Ordinary people in that day couldn’t afford cloth with color dye.  Especially not purple cloth.  VERY expensive and therefore a symbol of royalty.

But, once a mob gets going, no one worries about expense.  So, the soldiers wrapped a purple robe around His bloody shoulders and plaited thorns to make a pretend crown.  To ridicule a dying man?  Yes, but also to express the hostility toward God that lies in the human heart!

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the WICKED, nor stand in the path of SINNERS, nor sit in the seat of the SCOFFERS”–Psalm 1.  Sadly, the world still has people who don’t listen to God because they are too busy making a joke.

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day seven)

“Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’ “–3:5

The word in Hebrew is qadash (pronounced ka-dash’).  It meant to set apart, to dedicate for a specific and high purpose, to make holy.

The day before the Jordan crossing, Joshua instructed the people of Israel to “qadash themselves’. Time taken to give themselves (again) to the Lord for His purposes. Moments spent in self-reflection, self-challenge, self-surrender.

Similar thought in Romans 12:1  “Given His mercies, (you) present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice.”

Do we?  Joshua seems to expect it of his people.  God will always be “all in” for people who are “all in” for Him. So, it isn’t optional.  Will I GIVE MY LIFE to Him the way He has GIVEN HIS LIFE for me?  Will I dedicate myself to His purposes?

“Take time to be holy” sings the old hymn.  Yes.  That.

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day six)

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Joshua 3:5

Anxiety and uncertainty must have followed the death of Moses. Furthermore, once the children of Israel crossed the Jordan they were to provide for their own needs, no more food from heaven, AND begin a military campaign against the nations in Canaan. How could they do this?

How would He ease their fears? By exalting Joshua through doing wonders among them. They had to know that the one leading them into the Promise Land was walking with the Lord, that like Moses he could hear the voice of God, and would be faithful to follow Him. He had to be exalted, lifted up, glorified. Not unlike Jesus.

Consider the fear and anxiety of the Apostles after Jesus’ death? It all changed the moment they encountered the risen and exalted Jesus! God worked wonders among us
to secure our salvation and our trust in Christ the exalted one! We have no fear because he has overcome the world!

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day five)

The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned nine times in Joshua chapter three, and seven times in chapter four. What is SO important about the Ark? One of the most important things about the Ark was that it symbolized God’s presence. What were the effects of God’s presence on this generation of Israelites? They trusted and obeyed God with courage as they looked toward their future. They were able to move an extremely large group together (unity) across the Jordan. They recognized and affirmed the leadership God had provided.

A frequent comment I hear from guests and visitors at our church, is a real sense God’s presence. I wonder what it is that causes them to identify His presence at FBCSA?

Perhaps our prayers for FBCSA these days should be that God’s presence would remain in our church and continue to have the same kind of influence in our hearts and lives as it did for the Israelites: courageous trust and obedience, God’s provision of leaders, and unity.

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day four)

Some theologians (in their own minds at least) have come up with different theories on how God stopped the water of the Jordan River. Maybe it was an earthquake that caused a collapse of the vertical embankments of the Jordan. After all, it has happened like that at other times. After 24 hours or so, the river clears out the obstruction and it flows once again. Whatever they can do to explain the ways of God.

Joshua and the children of Israel recognized it for what it was…a miracle from God. Joshua was told the day before that the water would cease and what had to happen before it did…the priests must step into the Jordan. Probably the greater miracle than the water stopping was the ground that was dry in the bottom of the riverbed. Can you imagine millions of people plodding through the mud if God had not made provision? God’s ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts. Leave room for the miraculous! What a mighty God we serve!

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day three)

“As soon as…their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.” Approaching a violently flooding river will not soothe your mind. And that’s the inglorious, unappealing, discomforting reality of faith. It’s easy to think of faith as enticing: Come on in, the water’s fine! Except it’s not. Certainly not at the Jordan’s banks. Not at the base of Moriah. Not at the edge of the trackless Sinai. Not at the feet of the only one who could possibly heal your daughter. Not in front of a crowd of religious leaders with rocks in their hands. No, faith isn’t comfy. That’s because faith involves going where you don’t know. Here’s what you can know, however: You can know the one who has brought you to this moment. That’s why it’s possible to go ahead.

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day two)

“When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”  vs. 8

They had heard the stories, but none of this generation of Israelites had experienced the Red Sea. Unlike their forefathers who were being pursued by the Egyptians this group faced battle in front of them. In the midst of this time of change, when every day brought new challenges God told Joshua to wade into the current and stand still. Perhaps God wanted Joshua to feel the current moving around his feet. In the midst of an ever-changing world, God is our constant.

But what happened next is our own hope in a time of change: “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.” vs. 11

God went first. Joshua went into the moving current and became aware of all turbulence around him, and then the ark went before him and a path was made for the people.

Life is a mess. The world is in disorder. STOP and then let God go before you.

 

Re: Verse reading–Joshua 3:5-17, 4:14-24 (day one)

“Today I will begin to EXALT you (Joshua) in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.”–3:7.

“Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls. . . Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”–Hebrews 13:17.

Some thoughts.  1) Leaders and leadership are part of God’s plan. 2) God provides leaders and teaches His people to submit to them. 3) God’s word warns of false leaders and teaches us to discern. 4) God takes steps to endorse (exalt) His leaders in the eyes of His people.  5)  All men are equal in value/dignity but NOT in responsibility/authority. 6) Resistance to leadership is not godly or wise.

Crossing the Jordan was a deja vu miracle, an echo of Moses and the Red Sea.  Through it, God exalted Joshua and trained His people to trust him.

 

Re:Verse reading–Joshua 2 (day seven)

Remember the day in John 4? People were streaming out of Samaria to meet/hear Jesus in response to the testimony of the “woman at the well”.

Remember what he said?  “Behold. . .lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are WHITE for harvest”–v 35.  It was a description of grain that was ripe and ready for harvest.

We do well to recapture Christ’s perspective on this subject.  God, Himself, prepares people for conversion.  He convicts the conscience.  He draws people to Himself. MANY of them are ready!  No need for us to convince, just to testify.  It is His work, not ours. We discover it with awe.

The Ethiopian eunuch and Philip in Acts 8.  The Samaritan woman and Jesus.  Rahab and the spies in Joshua 2.  Many stories.  One truth.  God is secretly at work preparing people for conversion.

Would you be a bolder witness if you could remember this truth?

Re:Verse reading–Joshua 2 (day five)

Many times over the years, our kids would come home from school with a new piece of information. If we were not aware of the event or doubted the truth of the information, we would simply ask, “Who told you that?” It is a quick way to begin to determine credibility and authenticity.

Look at Joshua 2:8-11. What a powerful confession!! Ever wonder where Rahab “heard” all those things about God? I would love to know, “Who told you that?” Maybe it was a one-time conversation. Perhaps it was different people telling her daily about God over a long period of time. The reality is that the truth had captured her heart.

How many times does a person need to hear the gospel before their heart and life are eternally changed? One? A dozen? A thousand?

We should be faithful to tell our story! We should be confident that whether we are the first to tell or number 100, our words and conversations (especially about Jesus and the Gospel) matter!!