Have you faced an impossible situation? I have. I’m sharing our story today over at Laced With Grace. Please hop over there, and leave me a comment. Let me know you stopped by and how I can pray for you. Together we’ll see God do the impossible!
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Today I’m posting over at Laced With Grace about an unlikely lesson learned from my friend Rose. Please click here to meet me over there. And be sure to leave a comment!
Shhhh! It’s coming…..
Looking ahead over the next four weeks, the so-called Advent season, what do you see coming? It’s so easy to get swept up in the “what” – the seemingly endless tornado of cooking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, partying – that we miss the “Who”.
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I’ve heard and read the story countless times. Therefore, I assumed that there’d be no new information for me here. I knew God could make anything meaningful of course, but I didn’t count on learning any new factual information about Jericho. Well, never assume….
Maybe you already knew this, but I didn’t.
In our Sunday service, Pastor Mike shared that Jericho had not one but two walls surrounding it – an inner wall and an outer wall. I never knew that. [More about the walls: http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/walls-of-jericho.html]
And it turns out that when the Israelites famously blew their trumpets and shouted their cries to tumble the wall, the inner wall crumbled onto the outer wall creating a ramp for the Israelites to enter. Their greatest obstacle became their stepping stone to victory. The greatest obstacle you face will become your stepping stone to victory.
Up until that point God provided for the Israelites. The day that they camped before Jericho was the last day that God provided manna for them (Joshua 5:12) Now God was requiring them to step out in faith. Faith requires us to do the unusual to bring about what God wants.
Before He gave them their marching instructions, He told them that He GAVE them “Jericho, its king, and all its mighty warriors.” The enemy was already defeated! (Joshua 6:2) We also fight a defeated foe. They had to go through the battle, and we do too. But we fight from victory that is assured.
Why did God have such an unusual plan for the conquest of Jericho? Perhaps it was to prove to them that HE was their deliverer, not their weapons or military expertise, not their skills or talents. Or maybe it was a test to see if they would follow His strange instructions completely. Not that He needed to see if they would pass the test – they needed to know that they could be obedient.
Jericho was considered invincible and that was the first thing on God’s agenda for Israel to conquer. Its defeat showed them (and us!) that it is God who is invincible.
Do you have an impossible obstacle? Take comfort from the words of Rahab – the prostitute and the only one (and her family) saved from Jericho because she was faithful to our Lord and sheltered the spies. “For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11)
Please let me know how I can pray for you.
“The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” 1 Thess. 5:24
A closer look revealed that one was merely the shell of the other. It seems Sebastian molted – he shed one complete perfectly shaped “skin.” What looked like two identical living crayfish was in reality one living crayfish and one imposter, a mere specter of the real thing.
Way of life → It’s not the system or the theory or the rituals that the key. It’s the way of life. Marja said, religion “is not a bad word if we allow it to jump off the page and become alive, if we choose it as a way of life.”
In New Jersey, we have been devastated by flooding. Today’s post reflects on the how’s and why’s some people suffer yet some are spared.
Please click the link to visit me over at Laced With Grace. And pretty please leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you, and will respond ;D
Blessings,
Susan
9/11/2003
Two years after the day that forever changed life as we knew it, at a memorial service, I heard the testimony of a young man. He and a co-worker were in Tower 2 when the second plane struck. They ran from the office, unsure where to step next. Right or left? They argued as she wanted to take the elevator, but he heard a voice directing him to the stairs. He tried to convince her, but ultimately saw her for the last time in the foyer outside their office.
He listened to the voice directing him down, step by step, landing by landing, eventually to safety outside. He praised God for directing and leading him out. But I couldn’t get past the question – What about her? God loved her enough to direct her too, didn’t He?
Eventually, I understood. God was surely speaking to both. But only one listened. Only one obeyed. The still small voice*. The voice saying “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.‘” *
And what about me? Do I listen when I sense the leading of the Spirit? Do I obey when the direction God gives is clear?
Not always, I’m sorry to say.
This leading may not be the difference between life and death, but it surely is the difference between growing or not in discernment and Christlikeness. He was obedient, even to death on a cross. “If you love me,” He said, “you’ll obey Me.”
That young man is alive today because he responded in obedience to the still small voice. I want to be obedient in the big and small choices I make, not for earthly benefits, but for the simple demonstration that I love Jesus. I like to think that I’d be willing to die for Jesus. How willing am I to live for Him?
Jesus, I ask Your forgiveness for all the times I sense You directing me, and I turn the other way. Help me to be obedient, even unto to death, even unto life.
*1 Kings 19:12, Isaiah 30:21, John 14:23-24
You know people like this. As you start to share your story, their minds are only half-listening, just waiting for the moment to share their own better-than-yours story. They can be sad/sadder stories OR good/better stories OR funny/funnier stories. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that that person’s story tops yours in some way.
I imagine the people who lived in Corinth were like this. One-third of all the references of the word “boast” in Scripture can be found in Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians. His many comments on boasting can be summed up like this:
Can you top that? 😉
*Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31
*Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 1 Corinthians 13:4
*But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
There they sit, like giant beached whales. Mounds of snow, at the edges of fences, by the sides of highways, in corners of parking lots. For the entire winter, our lawns were cloaked in white. The recent rain, wind and warmer weather washed away much of the snow; yet there still remain piles of graying white. Each of those snowflakes that fell en masse last December were so delicate, it’s amazing that they are still present in March. What can we learn from these fragile flakes that have such staying power?
1. They stick together.
Despite the fact that one person can make a difference – which I absolutely believe – it is also true that there is power in numbers.
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We simply were not made to go it alone. God made us to be part of a body, His body. He made us for fellowship. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another. Heb 10:25
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God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” Gen 1:26 He is one God, but He is a plural God (like one family or one class or one snowstorm are singular, yet plural.) He is in fellowship with Himself. We are made in His image, and therefore, we need to be in the fellowship of believers. We are made that way for a reason. We are stronger together than we are alone.
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Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl. 4:12
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2. They were pushed out of their comfort zone.
Oh, it’s so much easier to stay within our comfort zone, isn’t it? But those flakes that remained so comfortable out on the open lawn were the first ones to melt away. It was the plowed flakes, the ones that got pushed and shoved around that remained. If the snowflakes could speak, they would say that it sure didn’t feel good at the time. To the snowflake, the plow seemed brutal, a real bully. But it was precisely because it yielded to the plow that it survived.
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When we don’t understand our circumstances or we have to change our status quo, we have to recognize that there is Someone greater than ourselves in control, Someone who has our best interests at heart.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11
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Recently, a friend shared this excellent quote with me:
“Comfort is the breeding ground for mediocrity. Hardship makes you find your greatness.”
If you’ve been trying to go it alone or if you’ve been facing a difficult struggle, hang in there. Remember the frail snowflake that first arrived in December and is still hanging around in March; and recognize that you are on the road to greatness!
ps – the winner of our giveaway book The Hole In Our Gospel is Marja Meijers. Congratulations Marja, and thank you so much for your encouraging comments and for sharing Eternity Cafe.
My dear friend, Lynn Mosher, from Heading Home is sharing today’s message, and two more before our 40 Days are out. I’m so grateful to her for her skills and her heart. Thank you, Lynn, for this beautiful reminder of that holy night.
As darkness swallows up the day, the black-velvet expanse of night displays a bazillion, shimmering constellations.
Shepherds gather around a flickering fire to dispel the evening’s chill, the flames casting a warm glow across their faces, while others keep guard from the watchtower.
Peace and quiet surround them, except for the soothing crackle of the fire.
Their flocks lie still, serene.
The night’s shroud abruptly parts, revealing the radiance of an angel of the Lord. The shepherds fall on their faces, trembling.
The angel assures this cluster of caretakers, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12 NIV)
Heaven then severs the night sky to display more of its glory, unfolding a host of angels, as their voices ring out, “Glory to God in the highest. On earth, peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14 NKJV)
Rising to their feet, the shepherds agree, “Come on! Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” (Luke 2:15 TLB)
One unusual star emblazons the eastern sky; one divinely-appointed beam of light illuminates the way to this heralded wonder.
Weaving their way through those rushing to find a place to stay, those having been summoned here to register for taxation, the shepherds follow the beam of light, seeking the site of this new Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths.
From a chorus of angelic voices to the clamor of the street, a multitude of sounds reaches their ears: the bleating of sheep, the braying of donkeys, the lowing of cattle. Suddenly, the cries of a newborn resonate above all the rest.
Finding their way inside a stable, the shepherds find the Babe of Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a hayed trough.
The shepherds encounter the Savior of the world. What they sought, they found.
Oh, to know the wonder of that holy night. To follow the Light, to find the Babe of Bethlehem.
Lord, take me to those fields filled with Your glory. Draw back the black curtain of my night and spill out the glory of Your heaven.
Lead me to that humble manger that I may learn to make my heart a humble manger-place for You. Reveal my life’s emptiness and fill it with the same joy of heaven that filled that night’s air. Guide me always by the Light of Your Life.
Give me willing knees to crouch before You in lowly reverence and awe. Give me listening ears to hear the rush of angels’ wings, to hear their glorious hallelujahs and the holiness of their worship.
Oh, that my heart would always be filled with the glory and wonder of that precious night.
Have you encountered the Babe of Bethlehem? Have you sought and found the Savior of the world? I pray your heart will be filled with Bethlehem wonder and glorious worship this Christmas.
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Dear Lord,
May we take this message to heart and instead of running all over the place, let us run, run, run to You.