The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day four)

Heaven and earth can seem like they are infinitely far apart. This world can be so cruel that heaven sounds like a fairytale, totally separate from our reality. But passages like this remind us that there is only a thin, permeable veil that separates our world from heaven.

The “captain of the host of the Lord” appears, just like a man, in front of Joshua, and instructs him in how to overtake Jericho. The instructions he gave didn’t have normal military strategy, or even normal logic, yet they accomplished exactly what the Lord had promised.

These kinds of moments happen frequently throughout Scripture, where heaven suddenly feels very near. But that kind of thing doesn’t only exist in the past. When we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have heaven nearer to us than this mysterious man was to Joshua. What might be different if we lived like heaven was near? If we traded earthly strategy for heavenly logic? If history is any indication, walls will fall.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day three)

“The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.”

No longer in the future, Canaan was now. Each generation had ordered their lives around this longed-for now. This was the now Moses desired to see but only glimpsed from atop Pisgah. It was the now Joseph yearned for when he asked that his bones find rest there. It was the now revealed by God to Abraham in a frenzied dream that whispered of Egyptian captivity and return. Joshua indicated his willingness to steward this now well. How could he not remove his shoes at the arrival of this moment his people had taught him to yearn for? What we long for is what we will teach.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 5:13-15; 6:1-5 (day two) and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat vs 6:5b

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Psalm 98:4

Let’s be honest, we need to do more shouting. One of the questions I get in regards to worship is ‘how do I feel about clapping in service?’ I think I understand the heart of the question.  It speaks to who is receiving glory and recognition. Let me be clear, it is not us. We do not approach worship hoping to be recognized or honored for their performance.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory Psalm 115:1

Our prayer each week is to use the gifts, given on loan from the Lord, to present an offering of praise that we may glorify the Lord, and in so doing help others to see his goodness. It is a beautiful circle. We take from the Lord and use what he has given us to give back.

There are times when worship is so alive and profound that you can’t help but react. Scripture is on your side. Clap, shout, and respond. Not for our benefit, but to give praise to the Lord. This doesn’t always happen. Some times we need to sit and reflect, and just be still in the Lord.

My hope is that I will encourage more people to respond to the Lord in a way that directs praise to him. My prayer is also that our congregation knows we don’t need applause. We simply want to use our worship to see Jesus more clearly, and to help others to do the same. However you respond, please do so for the glory and honor of our savior.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day seven)  

I do not know where the men went. vs 5

Does the Bible say lying is wrong? Yes… and No. Have we been lied to about lying? Possibly. In a Mandela effect sort of way, we have lumped all lies into the same category. The ten commandments addresses lies in more of a legal sense. See Exodus 20 and Leviticus 19, but the Bible does not outright prohibit dishonesty. That is because there is grey area in the discussion. Case in Point: Rahab. She lied to save another persons life. In particular, two individuals who would help lead God’s people into the Promised Land. Was it sinful? The Bible would actually say that she was righteous in the act. See James 2:25 and Hebrews 11:31. 

So is lying sinful? I would say, most of the time, it is. A deep dive into scripture will show you hundreds of lies and deceptions all with a web of consequences following the initial act. There are rare occurrences where the lie is used for the glory of God and to further the Kingdom. Those rare occurrences tell us more about God’s sovereignty than the justification of dishonesty. My guess is that most of the lies you tell are not in this category.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day six)

God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. ²⁸ God chose things despised by the world,^[h] things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28

Rahab made it clear that everyone had heard the same stories about the God of the Israelites she had. That means Jericho’s wisest and most powerful had also received the same news, and yet only Rahab initiated her faith by saving two Israelite scouts.

Paul’s words to the Corinthian church could not have been more true than in Jericho. With every opportunity to repent and initiate new faith, the wise and powerful of Jericho instead chose to stand their ground.

Rahab’s story is a story of God’s kindness to all, an invitation to repentance,  especially to the despised and powerless of the world.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day five)  “spare my father and my mother and my brothers and my sisters, with all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”  It’s a fascinating account of God’s activity in establishing and providing for the Israelites. His strength and power on display as they prepare to conquer Jericho. Death and destruction will soon come. Yet in the midst of providing a land for His people, an opportunity to see another facet of God’s nature- redemption. Rahab is found faithful and acts in kindness to the spies (and to the Lord). God gives her and her family redemption. Saves them from destruction. Watch what God does- changes her reputation (identity), changes her future, gives her hope, uses her in a prominent role His redemptive plan. That’s the nature of salvation. That’s the grace and kindness of the Lord. It was shown to and through Rahab. It is being shown to and through believers today. Same God- redeeming, reconciling, and restoring human hearts for His glory and our good!!

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day four)

It is strange enough that women are listed at all in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. But these five women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary) have something else in common – they all have some form of sexual scandal in their history. Rahab herself was an outsider to the people of Israel. That in addition to her profession gave her two reasons to be killed by these men. Yet God found her faithful, and used her to bring about triumph for Israel, and eventually the Messiah himself. Rahab’s story, and Jesus’ family tree, make it clear – God’s plan includes all people.

Rahab saw the majesty and power of God, even with limited knowledge of him, and her faith caused her to act. Later, in the epistle from James, he uses Rahab as an example of faith lived out, “In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:25-26). 

May our faith always lead us to action, following the example of God’s unexpected servant Rahab.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day three)

“It was told the king of Jericho, saying, ‘Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.’”

These two spies didn’t do much spying. What happened? Were they novices at reconnaissance? Were they overconfident? Did they intend to indulge in revelry prior to fulfilling their mission? Is that why they ended up at Rahab’s place? Whether they intended to avail themselves of Rahab’s services or not, the jig was up soon enough. Someone figured them out, and the manhunt commenced. The mission never took off, and now they were hemmed in, out of ideas. There is one savvy, resourceful presence in this account – Rahab. This ancestor of Christ ended up as the stealthy, unflappable agent Israel needed. Everyone but God would see only this woman’s outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Re:Verse passage – Joshua 2:1-21 (day two)  For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the ^[d]Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt vs. 10a

Rahab must have been overwhelmed by the presence of these men in her house. She and her people had heard the stories of the work of God on behalf of the people of Israel. She recounted to them several stories of the Lord’s miraculous deliverance. Keep in mind that the parting of the Red Sea had been over 40 years earlier. The truth of the Lord cannot be hidden, and our job is to be present and to affirm the truth of who the he is in this world and in our lives. If we would take more time to share of God’s provision in our lives, we might be amazed at how those around us want to know more.