Slideshow image
Scripture for the day: Numbers 33:51b-53 When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.
Thought for the day: I like Numbers. There’s a lot of good stuff for us in Numbers (I know, we have to wade through a lot of information and, of all things, numbers, to find them but they’re there to do us good). The children of Israel had been wandering for 40 years in the desert by the time this book was written. Almost every one of the original escapees who'd left Egypt were now dead and a new generation was about to take their place. They were now camped by the banks of the Jordan River opposite the city of Jericho, the place God had brought them so they could enter the Promised Land. And now they were about to get their final marching orders. But first they needed to know something of what they would face when the river Jordan was finally crossed.
God said, "When you cross this Jordan River, you will encounter things you never thought were there. You will encounter people strange to you, foreign gods, idols, evil practices, and so much more that will be impossible to defeat without My help and impossible to live with if you are to remain My people. You must make no treaties with them; you must utterly destroy them and remove them from your life. And My Spirit will be the One who will lead you where you should go and provide the strength necessary to defeat the giants in the land."
When I read these verses this morning, I couldn't help but be reminded of our spiritual journey. Let's put the entire experience of the Children of Israel on a spiritual plane, shall we? Not wanting to point fingers (I'll let you look in a mirror and do that for yourself), I'll use myself as an example. I was a slave in Egypt, in sin. I had no way of escape for I'd been born a slave and my master, Satan had no inclination to let me go. My soul cried out to God because of the great weight of sin in my life and He sent His Son to bring deliverance. Satan fought hard to keep me in that foreign land of servitude but, because the blood of Jesus covered the doorposts of my life, I was delivered from death and brought out into new life.
The Lord led me out by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, by the presence of His Holy Spirit with me. He became my guiding light and my rear guard. He showed me the way through the wilderness of this new life as one of the chosen children of God. When Satan came after me, intent on dragging me back into the bonds of slavery to sin, and I was afraid, not knowing which way to turn, He opened the seemingly impassable way before me and led me through on dry ground while keeping Satan from attacking from behind. He provided life-giving water in the wilderness, clothed me, fed me with the Bread of Heaven, and showed me every step my foot should take. And though I moaned and groaned from time to time, He gently led me on, forgiving my shortcomings and giving of Himself each and every step we took together. Finally, through no fault of His, we came to the edge of the Promised Land, the place He'd sworn to bring me from the beginning, the place of rest in Him. Only one more barrier remained. And He's promised to bring me across this one as well.
Now here I stand on the edge of the river. I've been encouraged to step into the raging waters on the promise that the Lord will part them and bring me in. Spiritually, this is what the old-timers called Sanctification. I've been brought out of sin and to the edge of a life of holiness. Now I'm being asked to surrender my fears, my choices, my will to the One who's led me all the way. I do and He brings me across to the Promised Land. I find idols there, things I've worshiped more than the Lord who's led me along the way. They must be broken down and destroyed through the power of the Spirit. I find habits, attitudes, and ways of viewing the world that are not pleasing to my Lord; they must be driven out one at a time as the Holy Spirit leads me to fully possess the land called holiness. It's a daunting task but the Lord has promised to fight the battles for me as I simply trust Him along the way. Oh, the rewards of a trust-filled life of holiness to the Lord!
Now go take on your world. - Bill