Thursday Devotional - Unpredictable and Unique

After Israel celebrated the Passover in the Promised Land and began enjoying produce from the land, it was time to get to work. Their first stop was the secure walled city of Jericho. I’m not sure if they had some sort of human plan as to how to proceed, attack and conquer, but God had a unique and detailed plan!

Joshua 6:1-7 &11 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”…

¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

God is unpredictable. We can see that over and over again in the Bible. His unique plans surprised people in the Bible and surprise us today. He doesn’t fit into any of our boxes of expectations. God sometimes asks us to do strange things to accomplish His purposes. No matter how strange it is, following His lead always results in a blessing (whether tangible or intangible).

I mentioned a few weeks ago how God prompted me to go for a jog on a night I don’t normally run and on a route I’ve never jogged in order to reveal our lost license plate!

Whether big or small, where is God asking you and me to do something that seems impossible or strange? Let’s patiently follow His lead one step at a time (without jumping ahead) and expectantly look for His blessings! God’s plans are unpredictable and unique!  

Alice

Tues Devo: Wall work

Hello,

Today on the plane I started reading a book on leadership, with the focus on Nehemiah. While I am still early in this book, I was struck by a concept the author laid out – that the crumbling walls in our lives (like the fallen walls in Jerusalem which Nehemiah would go on to rebuild) get that way through neglect over time – not usually a big one time event. The writer refers to the Holy Spirit as the leader who is bringing up to rebuild the walls in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit who shows us where the work needs to be given attention. Even though neglect may be slow, the decay in our walls can set us up for attacks from the enemy that we are not ready for or able to defend against. We must keep our walls in tact. We must continually tend to the walls and defenses and guard against selfishness, ignoring our time with God, compromise or other areas of rebellion.

In the book of Isaiah Gods’ commitment to us is shown – should we not be as focused on maintaining our walls?

Isaiah 49:15-17 ““Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. “Your builders hurry; Your destroyers and devastators will depart from you.” (NASB)

Book – “Hand Me Another Brick”, Charles R Swindoll

Will Hill

Danger ahead

James 5:19-20

My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.

Imagine knowing that there is something dangerous on a path that your friend is on.  Would you warn them of the danger ahead or leave them to figure it out themselves?  Of course, you would warn them.

So why is it then that we do not warn them of dangers in their spiritual life?

We often hear that we are not to judge others.  While this is true to a point, we are also called to help one another when one wanders from the truth.  There are areas in the Bible that are a bit on the gray side and other things that are very black and white.  Those areas that are black and white are the areas that we are to guide a person back to the truth if they wander.