Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.” – Joshua 3:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 7, 2012): Joshua 3

I had a bad experience at McDonald’s last week. I was in a hurry because I was on my way to a meeting and I just needed to get something quickly to eat. McDonald’s just happened to be on the way, so I stopped in. It was busy – well, not really, but there were about five people in the restaurant and apparently none of them had received their food – so we were all waiting. I was at the back of the line. So I placed my order and watched it join the other four orders that waited to be filled. And then the problems started. Slowly the orders were filled, but not mine. New people came up to the counter and ordered and received their orders while I was still waiting. Finally my order came up, but it was not my order – at least, it was not what I had asked and paid for. So the order went back and I continued my waiting. A second time my order came up, but the food was still wrong (in fact, it had not changed from the first time they had tried to present me with food.) The same thing happened a third time. Finally, the manger presented me with my food. He told me that what was inside was the food that I ordered, verbalizing each item. I grabbed the bag and ran for the meeting. But when I arrived and quickly started to eat the food, the food that was in the bag was the same food that I had turned down three times at the counter – not the food that I had ordered. And I felt ripped off. I had paid for something that I had not received. But I also had no time to correct the situation. So I ate some of the meal and headed into my meeting.

Sometimes we go to church the same way that I go to McDonald’s. Our church attendance is slotted in between other things that we have to do (okay, usually it is sleep and football.) Church becomes something that we just need to get through quickly. But I do not believe that God is honored by that.

Israel is finally getting to cross the Jordan River into Canaan. It has been a long trip. But the crossing of the Jordan was not something that simply needed to be accomplished – it was not like ordering a burger at McDonald’s. It was going to be a worship experience that needed to be prepared for. Joshua told the nation, you are going to want to prepare for tomorrow, because tomorrow, God is going to move.

Too many Christians have never seen God move and sometimes I wonder if it is because we have never prepared ourselves to see him move. We just fit him into the spots in our schedule that is convenient for us. And if that is all that we will do, God will never move in our lives. It is time once again for the church to gather. Can we prepare to see him move?

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 4

They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.” – Joshua 2:24

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 6, 2012): Joshua 2

When I was in my second year of college, I met a guy (we can call him Fred). I was walking through the cafeteria and Fred was sitting in a corner reading a book. Now Fred was a first year student, and so I thought I would be friendly and stop to talk with him. And I thought everything was going good until we got to the part of the conversation where we introduced ourselves. The moment that I said my name, I felt that somehow I was no longer wanted or needed anywhere near him. So I left, but I was puzzled.

Fred would eventually become a close friend, so at one point in our relationship I got up the courage to ask him about the day that we first met in the cafeteria – and the follow up question that was on my lips was this – did I know you or run into you before that day. Fred admitted that that day in the cafeteria was the first day we had met, but it was not the first day that he had heard my name. The first time that he had heard my name was when he fell head over heels in love with Susan (also not really her name.) Susan was everything that Fred had ever dreamed of. She was beautiful and had a great personality – and he was already good friends with her, but not friends in the way that Fred wanted to be. But as he was trying to change the nature of his relationship with her – it was only me that she wanted to talk about. (And I have to be honest and say that I did not know that Susan ever liked me. We did not have the relationship that Fred seemed to assume that we had had.)

The second time he heard my name, he was attracted to another girl. This time the girls name was Cheri (this is really her name.) He was on a bus coming to visit the campus of the college where I was attending and he had met this gorgeous girl. Apparently Fred sat down beside Cheri to get to know her, but all that she wanted to talk about was that she was going to the college to see me. And this was just too much for him. So in that moment he simply decided that he did not like me – and would never like me. It was at this point in the conversation when I got to say to him “you realize that Cheri is my sister.” And he laughed and said, “I do now.”

As I read this story in Joshua, I have this idea. We know that Moses escaped Egypt and went to live in Midian. While it might have been impossible for a nation to disappear, it might have been very possible for individual families to disappear. And slowly, the exodus of Israel out of Egypt might have been going on for centuries. All of these people leaking slowly into places like Jericho. And there they told the stories of Israel and the mighty God that had chosen her as his own. It would not be long before the people would be scared of this power that they knew of only in the stories of those who had come from afar. So when Israel finally showed up, they were already “melting with fear.” It is one possibility for the way that God went ahead of Israel to prepare the way for them.

  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 3

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. – Joshua 1:8

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 5, 2012): Joshua 1

Okay, this is fair warning. I am going to take a few minutes and pick on smokers – just because I can. A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a smoker I know about quitting smoker. Actually someone else had wondered if we should offer a stop smoking program in the church. I mean, that would be a great idea and all the smokers will get really excited about it. Unfortunately, the person who came up with the idea did not smoke, so I thought I would try out the hypothesis by going to talk to someone in the smoking area just outside the doors of the church. And the idea was not met with the same enthusiasm that I had experienced when it was pitched to me. The conversation went something like this. “Garry, it is not that we don’t want to quit smoking. You would have to be crazy to look at a cigarette package and not realize the damage that we are doing to our bodies. But, deep down we really do not want to do what it will take to quit.” And I understood the comment. If a smoker comes up to me and says “I want to quit smoking” I am all over that. But I do not know many smokers that will quit because a non-smoker thinks they should. (And, by the way, the worst non-smokers are ex-smokers.)

A few days later I was in another meeting. This time the subject matter was different, but the result was the same. I have been convinced that the church exists to make us all a little more like Christ. To that end, I am also convinced that if the church is doing its job, then we will exhibit more and more of what Paul calls “the Fruit of the Spirit” – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The response was kind of expected. There are some days, Garry, when I do not feel like being any of that – I just do not want to work that hard. And again, I understand that. But it also highlights part of the problem.

In the church, it has somehow become assumed that the Fruit of the Spirit is something that we put on – we even use that kind of language. It is like deciding which shirt we want to put on in the morning (and today I am just not in a yellow mood.) But I do not believe that that is Paul’s intention. Rather than being something that we put on, the Fruit of the Spirit is supposed to be what we are. The Fruit of the Spirit is supposed to be what is left exposed when we get naked (and you always thought it was the Fruit of the Loom.)

The only way we get to that point is if we meditate on God’s Word and never let it depart from us. The only way that we will ever get to where we need to go is if we find the words of God forever on our lips. If that does not happen, then it will always be work we do not have the energy to complete.

     

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 2

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day ... – Psalm 91:5

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 4, 2012): Psalm 91

Night. It can be an uneasy time. I am 6’ 2” and weigh around 300 lbs, and more than once I have met someone who has responded to me with words like “I wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley.” The idea seems to be that I would not want to be with you in an isolated place at night. That would scare me.

People that know me know that I am more of a teddy bear than a grizzly. But there have been times that I have scared people. A number of years ago I played the part of Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol.” I had white powder in my hair and makeup on my face, and I still remember walking down a dark hallway just before the production was about to begin. I often like to be alone before a performance, just getting into character and going over my lines. And, in that moment, I am often very unaware of my surroundings. (By the way, the same thing happens to me before a church service, apparently often making me appear very unfriendly; in reality I am just preoccupied.) On this day I was walking down a dark hall alone when a young child who had escaped from the care of his parents ran around a corner and right into a preoccupied Scrooge. I think the poor kid had to go and change his pants after he had come face to face with the terror of the night.

What makes the night scary is that you never quite see what it is that you are facing. And because we cannot see into it, our imaginations often magnify the danger. The other problem is that when danger does come, in the darkness we cannot see it.

That is also the problem with an arrow that flies during the day. If someone attacks you face to face during the day, you can see the attack coming. But a good archer can attack at such a distance that you do not see the attack coming. It is the reason why news of sniper drives fear into our bones. We know that we will never see the attack coming – and, in that way, it is very similar to the terror that comes in the night.

This Psalm does not mention its author, but scholars attribute the Psalm to Moses (basically because the Psalm before it is also written by Moses.) And, maybe, it was written in that moment when Moses realized that he was going to have to release his friends into the Promised Land. Moses knew that he would no longer be there – but God still was. There was no need to fear the unexpected or the unanticipated events of life because the God that Moses had known face to face was still walking with them. He would be there overcomer of the terrors that only seem to come in the night.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Joshua 1

For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. – Deuteronomy 34:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 3, 2012): Deuteronomy 34

Who are the players that are on your top NFL players of all time list? Does Jerry Rice make the top spot, or maybe Jim Brown? What about Joe Montana, what position does he garner on your list? And when is it that some of the more contemporary players get to break into the list? Even for sports fans, those are hard questions. And I think our answers to the question tend to be more emotional than factual. For one thing it is hard to compare a wide receiver like Jerry Rice with a running back like Jim Brown or a quarterback like Joe Montana.

Sometimes I even find players that play the same position hard to compare. I mean, which Manning brother is the better quarterback. I think most of the world would probably pick Peyton – but Eli has more championships even though he has played fewer years. Is all of that just because Eli has played for a better team, or does he get some credit for the championships? And which one is better?

When it comes to the list of prophets, the first on the list is always Moses. There is no question or any suggestion of a prophet to replace him. No one comes close. It was Moses that had taken the nation out of slavery and into their independence. It was Moses that had received the law from God – and Moses that met with God face to face as a man meets with a friend. There would be other miracle workers, but no one would be able to make the claim that they had met with God in an intimate way like Moses had.

No one, that is, until Jesus. When Jesus said that he had come to fulfill the law, the intention the people would have heard in the teaching was that Jesus had come to finish what Moses had started. When Jesus fed the 5000 and the 4000, the people would have imagined Moses feeding the people in the desert with manna. And when Jesus and Moses met on the Mount of Transfiguration, the greatest prophet met with God once again.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 91

“Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few.” – Deuteronomy 33:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 2, 2012): Deuteronomy 33

What is it that you deserve? We try to put up a front and pretend that we deserve much, but deep down the truth is something very different. I am convinced that, no matter how confident we may be on the outside, on the inside we are all children, scared to death that someone will notice that we have attained past what it is that we can actually do – that we no longer deserve what it is that we have.

It is the basis for the humorous Peter Principle. The concept behind the principle is that in organizations where advancement is based on achievement, the end result is that people will be promoted to the level of their own incompetence. People will be promoted until they reach a point where they no longer can do the job – and they no longer deserve what it is that they have. But it is not even just the Peter Principle that feeds our undeserving feelings. We know who we are – and all of things that we have done that should disqualify us from the good things of life. So we try to sneak through life and hope that no one notices.

Reuben had sinned. He should have received the double portion of his father’s estate. He was the eldest of Jacob’s son, the one who should have been responsible for the care of his father’s estate. But Reuben slept with one of the concubines of his father, one that had already given children to his father. He had committed the sin incest. And because of that decision, he had forfeited all that he deserved. And on his deathbed, his father reminded him of just that. His descendants would never achieve the heights that they might have originally reached for.

But as they enter prepare to enter into the Promised Land Moses pronounces a blessing over the descendants of Reuben. In spite of the sin of their ancestor, may the descendants of Reuben live and not die - may they never be few. The blessing was a request for the grace of God to reign in the lives of the sons of Reuben.

For everything that we might achieve, we need the God’s grace. We may not deserve it, but it is freely available to us so that we can have the ability to move into the future that God wants for us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 34

This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. – Deuteronomy 32:51

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 1, 2012): Deuteronomy 32

We have become an accomplishment driven culture. So much of our self worth depends on what it is that we can finish. I think that is why being busy has become a virtue in our society. But that is a total reversal from the aims of spiritual leaders only a few centuries ago. Then, it was unbusyness that was valued – and sought after as the only way that we could hear the voice of God - and so spiritual leaders regularly emptied their calendars just so that they could be unbusy and hear the voice of God more clearly.

A few years ago I had the opportunity to sit down with an older Pastor who had just moved. Eventually the conversation came around to his move, which was basically from one side of the continent to other – a move of more than 3000 miles. So I asked him why he had made the transition. If I was expecting him to tell me that he felt God telling him to leave his church or, conversely, that there had been a level of discomfort and conflict in his former church that made staying hard, I would be disappointed. He pointed to neither of these things as the reason for the change. What he did say was that sometimes your schedule gets so busy that the only thing you can do is to opt to go somewhere else. The simplification of life does not last long, but it does last a little while, long enough to give you a break and allow you to catch your breath. At the time I thought it was quite a drastic step just so that you could be unbusy.

As long as we are accomplishment driven, our badge of honor will be that we are busy. We may phrase it differently, but we will continually point at all the things that we are involved in – and all of the things that we have done. The cry of the accomplishment driven culture is ‘look at me.’ That was the temptation that Moses had fallen into in the desert of Zin. When Israel cried out for water, he had grabbed the attention of nation by getting water for them rather than pointing at God. And because of that moment in history, his journey would end on the borders of the Promised Land rather than in the midst of it.

We need to come to the understanding that God is at the heart of all of our accomplishments. Spiritual leaders of the past understood that as the strove to be unbusy. It was only then that they could take their accomplishments in stride by saying to those around them – look at Him!

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 33