January 17th, 2016
Devotional
“Be Courageous: The Impossible” - Joshua 6: 8-21
Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com
Monday: “A Different Goliath”- Joshua 6: 8-11, 1 Sam. 17: 1-54
We know the tale of David of Goliath - the small shepherd boy facing the giant well-skilled solider. We all have Goliath’s in our lives - those things that seem to be impossible - and for the people of Israel in today’s passage it is the city of Jericho. The city of Jericho was once thought to be one of the most secure places in the world. Not the place you would pick for your first battle on the conquest to the promise land to be sure. To make matters worse, the people were not only out-numbered, but their leader was telling them not to sound the war cry - to not even start the siege. How can you win if you never begin?
Often we are called to do things that we do not feel equipped to do. Like David facing Goliath or the Israelites facing the city of Jericho we feel that we are called to do the impossible, but God empowers us, giving us the gifts we need to face any situation when the time comes. Sometimes we are called to do something that lines up with our abilities, and other times to that which we have no natural ability or talent in. But out of impossible calls comes the ability to glorify the God of call, if only we face the impossible.
How would you react if you were one of the people of Israel facing Jericho?
When is a time in your life God equipped you to do the impossible?
Prayer: God of the impossible, we forget so easily that your ways are not our ways and that you equip us if only we follow you. Help us to trust you even when we do not understand and follow you even when we do not see the outcome. Amen.
Tuesday: “Holy Ground” - Joshua 6: 12-14, Exodus 3: 1-15
I’m not sure what the people of Israel thought as they marched around the city of Jericho day after day carrying the ark of the covenant, but they probably did not think they were standing on Holy Ground. Yet, that is exactly where they were. Holy ground is a place in time that is defined not only by the presence of our Holy God, but of a turning point - a time when we have been given a choice to either stay where we are in or to move forward, and that is exactly where the Israelites were in this story. Each day they had a choice to make - to continue to silently march around the city before returning to camp, or to do things there own way in their own timing. Each day they had a decision to make, and they made the right one - to glorify God. Like their forefather Moses, so long ago with the burning bush, they found themselves on holy ground marked by choice after choice. What are the holy ground moments in our lives today and what will we choose?
What are some of the moments in your life when you found yourself standing on holy ground? How did you know?
How can we prepare to choose God’s ways over our own?
Prayer: Almighty God, you are the God of choices. You gave us free will so that we could choose your ways. Yet, O God, we confess that all too often we choose our own paths, missing the holy moments you have for us. Forgive us, we pray. Amen.
Wednesday: “Shout!” - Joshua 6: 15-17
When I imagine the scene that day that the war cry finally was raised - the seventh day after walking around, I see a confused group of Israelites. Why today? Why now? Yet, even in the face of their unanswered questions, they raised the shout that made the walls came tumbling down.
God is the God of calls. We have seen time and time again that God has called his people to step outside of their comfort zone - Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Jesus, the Disciples, Paul, the list goes on and on. And God is the God that called the Israelites to step out of their comfort zone to do something that they didn’t understand. That is obedience. And sometimes that is the hardest step we will ever have to take in our walk of faith.
Tell of a time when you were obedient to God even in the face of the unknown. What was that experience like? What made it easy or difficult?
Prayer: God, sometimes we don’t understand what you are calling us to do. We get so weighed down by our lack of answers and uncertainty that we fail to take the first step of faith. Grow us in obedience to you, Precious Lord. Walk beside us into the face of the unknown. Amen.
Thursday: “Instructions” - Joshua 6: 17-20, Matthew 28: 16-20, Matthew 22: 35-40.
The instructions the Israelites received in this passage of scripture are plentiful. Do not give a war cry. Do not raise your voices. Do not say a word until I tell you to - then shout. Spare Rahab because she hid our spies. Keep away from their devoted things. Bring all the precious metals to the Lord’s treasury. Communities need instructions and this community had an abundance of them. If you read on in the book of Joshua you see what happens when the people do not follow the instructions given - they do not glorify God.
What instructions do we have today? Two in particular for us as Christians - the great commission to go and make disciples, and the great commandment to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have even fewer instructions then we see in this particular passage of scripture from the book of Joshua, yet we readily forget them. Commandments are not always covenant to us, but they are necessary for our faith journey.
How do you live into the commandments God has given us as Christians?
Prayer: God, thank you for not leaving us to our own devices, but give us commands to guide our path. Help us live into your commands and grow in faithfulness to you. Amen.
Friday: “Never Forget” - Joshua 6: 20-21
One of the core beliefs of Israel that is present throughout the scriptures is the assumption that faith begins with memory. Have you ever taken a moment to consider how memory defines us. Our memories sometimes aren’t the most accurate - we may not recall an event in full detail - but it is what we remember that is important, not if it is fully factual.
This event, this battle of Jericho where the wall came down after marching around the city for six days, blowing trumpets and shouting, never actually breaking into the city gate - this event was one the people of Israel would never forget. And maybe that is exactly why God invited them to engage in this first battle this particular way. So that they would not forget God’s faithfulness no matter what they faced in the future.
Think of some of your fondest memories. What do you remember in particular about them? Why do you think you remember these moments out of all that you have experienced in your life?
Prayer: God of memory - thank you for giving us unforgettable moments - moments when we clearly see your hand at work. Help us claim these moments in our lives, O God, so that we can boldly live into the future before us. Amen.
Saturday: Preparing for the Word
You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Enough: When Dreams Become Nightmares” - 1 Tim 6:10, Ecc 5:10, Matthew 16:26
Family Activity: How can we live into the journey markers as a family in the coming year?
Worship? Praying? Bible reading? Studying the Bible as a family? Give to the church? Share our faith? Serve others?
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