Leader-in-waiting

Leader-in-waiting

So there they were.  All the Israelites.  Waiting.  Waiting for Joshua, with Jericho looming in front of them.  Echoes of Moses and the Red Sea resonated in the hearts of this next generation, as they walked over dry ground where the River Jordan had just been overflowing its banks.  They had encouraged Joshua to be strong and very courageous.  They acknowledged him as the new leader, even before the Jordan River parted before their very eyes.

And then Joshua met "the captain of the host of the Lord."

"And he fell on his face to the earth and bowed down and said to him, "What has my lord to say to his servant?'  And 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.  (Joshua 5:14,15)

Why this encounter?

When Moses was commissioned, he was told to take off his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground.  It was a reminder that, ultimately, he was standing before a holy God. Joshua needed this same commissioning before the mission.  Indeed, how could Joshua serve unless he was sent?  He, too, needed to understand that there is always a greater purpose than just the one at hand.  He was no longer a leader-in-waiting.  

He was standing on holy ground.

Then came the capture of Jericho.

All that marching.  Every day.  For seven days. 

Israel had at least 40,000 armed men.(Joshua 4:13).  It was quite a procession!

And while God had already told Joshua that the city was given into his hand,

Joshua made some strategic decisions within the sovereign will of God.  God had told him that they should shout only after the long blast of the trumpet.  

“But Joshua commanded the people, saying: You shall not shout nor let your voice be heard; nor let a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I tell you, “Shout!”  Then you shall shout!”  (Joshua 6: 10).

 Joshua's personal responsibilities dove-tailed wonderfully with the sovereign will of God.    Joshua understood the bigger picture - God's holiness displayed to the nations.  But he also had liberty to lead, under God's sovereign purposes. 

He was standing on holy ground.

God had given Joshua a personal footnote to be added to all of His promises.  A tangible reminder of God's presence with him.  

Standing on holy ground.

I pray for pastors-  that they would remember that they are standing on holy ground.

 A reminder of the depth and responsibility of their calling,

and a reminder that our Holy God is with them.

A Scarred Beauty

Marred beauty restored by scarred beauty. 

We are made new. Forgiven.

By the hands that were riven

To the splintered wood.

Feet forever testifying

To the driven nails.

Head forever marked

Scribed thorn against flesh.

Side forever gashed.

Sword-etched testimony

Of blood spilled.

Life given away

So we might truly live.

Thank you,  Jesus.

The Wilderness ~ A Conflicted Place

In the wilderness

Some pretty significant events happened in the wilderness…

Adam and Eve were sent out into the wilderness, because of their sin.

Hagar was in the wilderness, twice:

  She fled to the wilderness because Sarai treated her harshly.  

  The second time, Sarai told Abraham to send her away, with Ishmael.

     Both times, the angel of the Lord appeared to her, promising descendants.

Moses was forty years in the wilderness, and then met God at the burning bush.

The Israelites spent forty years of learning hard lessons, in the wilderness.

Elijah was in the wilderness, twice:

   Commanded by God to go to the wilderness, where he was fed by blackbirds.

     Fled to the wilderness and wished to die.

John the Baptist came out of the wilderness to the River Jordan.

Jesus came out of the River Jordan and went into the wilderness.

Paul did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, but went away to Arabia.

Sin is the greatest wilderness of all. 

When we face the dearth in our own souls

and look to the cross-

that is when Jesus will rescue us.

 

But the wilderness is also a place of refining, testing and victory.

Bewildered?  Afraid? Waiting?

Jesus will meet you there.  Right there.

Sometimes, it’s only in the wilderness that He can get our attention.

And then He sends us out.

Elijah kept serving.

John started preaching.

Jesus set His face to the cross.

And I, I am forever grateful.

Jesus took on the wilderness of sin

To set me free from it.  

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Jesus was tempted, tried and triumphant.

The Beach

Sleeping at the Beach

Cold watermelon dripping with sweetness.

Drowsy head on pillowed towel.

The warm sun; my blanket

While ocean waves play background music

And breezes evoke a sweet lullaby.

Sleeping at the beach.

We could never have even imagined something as beautiful as the ocean on a hot sunny day.

Only the Creator could create such a tapestry.  

A feast for all of our senses.

Thank you, Jesus.