The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse reading–Joshua 7 (day four)

Achan had sinned.  God had commanded the Israelites not to take any spoil from Jericho.  He warned them that if they disobeyed Him He would not conquer the enemies before them.  When the children of Israel turned in retreat before the armies of Ai, Joshua did not know what had happened…but God knew.  After a careful winnowing by lot, Achan was discovered and confessed his sin.  He and all of his family were taken out to the valley and stoned for their disobedience.  From then on, the valley was known as the ‘valley of trouble’.

Fast forward now to the prophet Hosea’s day.  Hosea 2:15 says, “Then I will give her her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor as a door of hope.  And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”  God promised to take the valley of trouble and turn it into a door of hope.  That is what He does with our lives through Jesus…He takes the disaster of our disobedience and through faith, He gives HOPE!

Re:Verse reading–Joshua 7 (day three)

“What are you doing down on your face?”  When is it time to be done with prayer?  The answer is the one the Lord gives to Joshua: When prayer becomes a substitute for doing what needs doing.  Now, we do not ignore the Bible’s instruction to “pray without ceasing.”  We do, however, recognize the temptation to use prayer to stall for time, to keep confrontation at bay, to delay conflict.  If you’re honest, you know you would often rather ask questions of God than answer the question that has been put to you.  If action never follows prayer, to what end are we praying?  The steps will be faltering, awkward, arduous.  But so are a baby’s, and we cheer him on.  You’ve prayed.  Now what will you do?

Re:Verse reading–Mark 15:16-20, 24-40; Mark 16:1-8 (Holy Week reading, day two) Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,  save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” 15:29-30

…”fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame…” Hebrews 12:2

Jesus endured unimaginable torture before succumbing on the cross. He knew what he must do, and he knew that it would be unbearable…and yet he did it. The writer of Hebrews calls it “joy”. The joy was not the cross, but the victory beyond it. Jesus knew this too. His eyes were fixed, not on the cross, but on the throne. My allegiance is to the one who bridged the gap on the cross for sinners like me to have access to that joy.

Have a blessed Holy Week.

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.