Are You Ready?

“A rich man and a poor man lived in the same town. The rich man owned a lot of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had only one little lamb that he had bought and raised. The lamb became a pet for him and his children. He even let it eat from his plate and drink from his cup and sleep on his lap. The lamb was like one of his own children. One day someone came to visit the rich man, but the rich man didn’t want to kill any of his own sheep or cattle and serve it to the visitor. So he stole the poor man’s lamb and served it instead.”

This story was told to King David by Nathan the prophet in 2 Samuel 12:1b-4. When the king heard the story, he became furious and stated that the rich man deserved to die and even pay four times the worth of the lamb’s value. Nathan responded “You are that rich man!” (v7). If you’re confused, here’s the backstory: One day during the season of spring, it was known that the kings would wage war with each other for land, the king stayed behind. One afternoon, David was on the roof of his palace and he saw a woman. Her name was Bathsheba, and she was bathing in her courtyard. David saw her, and desired her (as she was a beautiful woman). He wanted her, and even though she was married he slept with her.

She had some great news for him sometime later: “I’m pregnant”. David freaked and had Uriah come home and sleep with his wife. Uriah was in the army and was concerned about his brothers, so he didn’t even go home to his wife. David then had another plan: send him back out to the battlefield, and set him up to be killed…this plan succeeded. David, once the greatest man of his time, was now an adulterer and a murderer. The Lord then sent Nathan to David to prophesy to him about the consequences of his deeds. Because of what David had done, not only will someone from his own family cause trouble (Absalom) and even take his wives to the bed chamber, but his newborn son (with Bathsheba) was going to die. David begged for God to let his son live, but God carried out what He said He would do.

Looking at America today, we can see the prevalence of the mantra “The end justifies the means”. Tax evasion to have more money, abortion to continue having sexual freedom, rejecting sinners so we can feel better about our own sins (I know that’s harsh, but it happens). Everywhere you look, there is someone who says “the result will be worth it” and then they leave a bloodied path of bodies as they go. There’s a piece of this mantra that should be added: “The end justifies the means, but the means justify the consequences.” Tax evasion leads to jail, abortion leads to physical complications and emotional torture, and rejecting sinners pushes us away from the Father. We, as the bride of Christ and the representatives of Jesus, need to look into the consequences of our actions to promote love and peace.

Bad choices tend to snowball into other bad choices; David first chose not to war for his kingdom and stayed home, he watched a naked woman bathe herself, he lusted for her and took her for himself (he had several wives at this point, mind you; it wasn’t like he wasn’t getting any action), tried to cover it up with a lie, and then finally chose to have her husband killed. A lot of bad things came from staying home…do any of you have the same problem? Sometimes choosing not to do anything is the cause of sin to creep in and tempt, because there is nothing to stop it. Then the snowball hits the rocks…regret, emotional trauma, feelings of worthlessness, and that’s only if no one finds out about your choices. Sometimes when others find out it can get even worse and the emotional disdain is terrible and it takes time to recover.

But recovery is there. The Lord says in 2 Corinthians that “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (v9) We make bad choices, they snowball, and we hurt people. Many times we aren’t even aware that we hurt someone. But God…that’s easily one of the greatest two words in the Bible…but God is powerful in our weakness. He is powerful when we fall. He is powerful when Satan comes upon us and tears us down for our mistakes. The key here is to know that God’s grace is sufficient for you…no matter what. David lusted after a woman, like some people lust through pornography or even just looking at people on the street, and God’s grace was sufficient to lead him from that temptation. David had sex with this married woman, like so many men in our modern day, and even young unwed couples who have sex and essentially commit adultery against the Bridegroom…but God’s grace is was sufficient to forgive and heal him. David murdered Uriah in the worst way: Uriah never knew the corruption behind his death…everyone thought Uriah was only a victim of circumstance. How many times have you done something manipulative to get your way and hurt someone? I know I have, and I’m only 22 years old; I’m sure I’ll do it again. But God’s grace is sufficient, even if you killed someone!

God also can redeem us and help turn the tables when the consequences come from the enemy. I’m a big fan of this show The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom about scientists who are extremely nerdy, awkward, and love all things geek (reminds me of a few people, myself included). One episode has the main one, Leonard, having a visit from his mother. He brings her along to his work, and one of his friends (Howard) begins to ask questions that tear down Leonard. Leonard’s mother excuses herself and Leonard takes this time to try to get them to stop. Howard says “You know the rules: you brought your mother to work and now you must suffer.” But Leonard turns the tables: his mother is a neuro-physicist (glorified psychologist), and so Leonard reveals information about Howard and his buddy joining in the teasing (Raj) that causes his mother to psychoanalyze them and bring out some unsavory and quite embarrassing aspects of their personality. They’re speechless, and Leonard is just smiling away. We have the ability to turn the tables on Satan when he comes to tear us down; God is our resource.

But wait a sec, J! The scripture you’re using is about God’s consequences. What about that? Well, there’s no easy way to this but DEAL!!! God gives us consequences in order to prune us and make us better. In your own devotional time, read into Job and his story. Also, be on the lookout for my sequel to this blog called “God’s Not Fair” concerning living with God’s choices for our lives.

May the peace of God be upon you, and may His love shine down and touch your very soul. Shalom and go forth, Beloved. Be the Bride of Christ.

So I intended to write about passion, using a scripture most of us have heard, Jeremiah 20:9 “his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.” But then I read the passage this originates from.

In verses 1-6, we’re given the setting. Jeremiah gives the word of the Lord. It’s a word of disaster, a word of warning. But the people of Israel don’t take it very well.

So Pashhur, the head priest, has Jeremiah beaten and put into the stocks overnight. For proclaiming God’s word. And, then, we get to verse 7.

⁷ O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived;
       you overpowered me and prevailed.
       I am ridiculed all day long;
       everyone mocks me.

 ⁸ Whenever I speak, I cry out
       proclaiming violence and destruction.
       So the word of the LORD has brought me
       insult and reproach all day long.

 ⁹ But if I say, "I will not mention him
       or speak any more in his name,"
       his word is in my heart like a fire,
       a fire shut up in my bones.
       I am weary of holding it in;
       indeed, I cannot.

It goes on from there, Jeremiah mourning his own existence, even his birth, wishing that he’d been stillborn. This is the same guy who God spoke to, saying “Before I formed you in your mother’s womb, I knew you.” And this is just a couple of pages over from “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a destiny and a hope.” But here he is now, absolute rock bottom.

I’ve often heard the “fire shut up in my bones” as sort of a good thing. As in, “God’s Word is so good, I just can’t contain it!”

What we actually see here is the Word of God as a burden to Jeremiah. He was mocked, beaten, laughed at, locked up for proclaiming God’s word. Just like any of us, we’d want to keep it to ourselves instead of going through that again.

But the burden is so great, the words strain at his lips to get out. Fire in his bones. Not happy, shiny fireworks, but a towering inferno that feels like it’ll destroy him from the inside out.

Sometimes in life, we have to make the hard choice. Do we do God’s will, even though it will alienate us from everyone else? Or do we give in to the pressures of life and try to look the other way.

Jeremiah couldn’t. Didn’t work out too well for Jonah, either. But that’s another story.

But God has promised never to leave us OR forsake us. Even if we make the hard choice, He’s going to stand by us. And those that love Him will stand by you, too.

We Can't Do This Alone

A wise man once wrote, “I can’t do this all on my own. No, I know I’m no Superman.” (That’s the Scrubs theme song, fyi) Catchy song it may be, but it does speak to a greater truth. God made us as social creatures. In fact, if you read in Genesis, during the creation of the world, God spends six days making….well, everything. And after everything, it says He “saw that it was good.” But then, in Genesis 2:18, God specifically says “it is not good for the man to be alone.” Here’s God…not quite admitting a mistake, but knowing that He’s not quite done yet. When God says that something’s ‘not good’ when we’re by ourselves, I think we should pay attention.

When we’re on our own, that’s when we’re at our weakest. Consider David. 2 Samuel 11 starts by saying it was springtime, “when kings go to war,” and David stayed home. All of his generals and advisors were probably out on the frontlines, so David was on his own. And, when David was in the wrong place at the wrong time, temptation comes knocking, in the form of Bathsheba. With all of his advisors away at the battlefront, no one is there to knock some sense into David, and he slips into sin.

Or, if that wasn’t enough, even Jesus himself faced this. Twice, He was shown to be (at least physically) alone. The first, in the wilderness before He began His ministry, Satan tempted Him to bow down in worship. Then, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the disciples were elsewhere and sleeping, Jesus was pleading to “let the cup pass,” begging for His life. In both cases, it was because of His connection with the Father that he was able to resist temptation and do what He knew to be right.

So where does that leave us? Quite obviously, we need relationships with other people as well as with Christ. Why is it we need each other?

Firstly, we need each other for accountability. Paul said to the Galatians “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently….Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:1-2) The natural tendency in the world is to point the finger at anyone caught in wrongdoing, make a spectacle, and never any sort of second chance. But it’s very clear, we are to stand by our fallen brothers and sisters, and restore them. This isn’t to say we should let each other get away with sinning, but when it happens, call them on it to bring them into repentance. Then start the restoration process. Ideally, we should even be a ‘voice of reason’ before things get too deep.

Secondly, and related, is encouragement. I don’t know about any of the rest of you, but I’ve had days where it seems like things go from bad to worse. On those days, an encouraging word from a friend goes a long way. That’s why Paul tells the Thessalonians “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.” (Thessalonians 5:11) God calls us to build each other up, not tear each other down. This is especially true when a fellow believer has slipped up. The last thing we need is a condescending ‘told you so’ as we’re trying to pick ourselves back up.

Relationship also lends us strength. There are some things we just can’t do on our own. Sometimes that’s called ‘strength in numbers.’ Biblically, that translates to: “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) If my car were to break down, I couldn’t push it by myself. Sure, I could put it in neutral and run around behind it, but I can’t guide it, and stopping would be difficult to say the least. One other person could work the steering wheel and the break. And if others show up, that’s less effort I have to exert to get it going.

It also helps us grow. Proverbs tells us “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) This is where discipleship comes into play, learning from one another. We can rely on each other as we walk through trials. And, more than that, we don’t have to walk through every trial, we can learn from someone else’s experience. Paul tells us in Hebrews, “let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.” (Hebrews 6:1) You can learn quite a bit from simply studying, but it’s only through being relational that we get to put our knowledge to work.

Lastly, we need to have relationships with those around us because, well, God said so. Hebrews 10:25 says “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another.” And then, when we come together, God comes alongside us. Jesus Himself says “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20)

We gravitate towards one another as part of our spiritual make-up, as designed by the Maker of the Heavens. Fellowship and relationship are ingrained in our very being, and when we lack these things, we suffer for it. And so I pray that you are blessed with true friendship, friends that will support you in times of trouble, and call you out when you need it. I pray for mentors, spiritual fathers and mothers who value you and shape your destiny, and for willing and moldable spiritual sons and daughters who learn from your guidance. And lastly, I pray that you would take on these characteristics yourselves, and be these things to others around you.

Discipleship

Saul and David. Elijah and Elisha. Naomi and Ruth. Paul and Timothy. All throughout the Bible, we see these sorts of pairs, people who come together, one to teach, one to learn. We’re told in Proverbs 27:17, “[As] iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” Call it mentoring, call it apprenticeship, call it discipleship, in the end, that’s a big part of why we’re here.

Everyone knows the Great Commission, “Go therefore into all the world and preach the gospel.” But there’s a second half to that, “making disciples of all the nations.” We’ve almost been glossing over this half of it for years. There’s been a big focus on evangelism, bringing people into the Kingdom, but we sort of get them in the door and turn them loose.  But a lot of the statistics show this approach isn’t working. In 50 years, the percentage of Christians in the American population has gone from 49% to 40%.

There are two main problems with not discipling. First of all, without discipleship, it’s even harder to make the transition into living for Christ. We have all these ‘rules,’ we have our own sort of vocabulary, and throwing someone in without warning can be too much of a shock, and we can scare them away. Have you ever been hired for a job, and they give you a copy of the employee handbook and say, “read this when you can, now get to work”? No, that’s ridiculous. Or think of a football player who has the team playbook, but has never practiced, and doesn’t have any pads. He’d step onto the field and get killed. But that’s how we treat people just coming to know Christ. Pastor Phil calls it ‘aborting babies at the altar.’ By not giving them the care, the direction they need, we can drive them away from the Church.

And then, if somehow one of the ‘babies’ from the altar manages to stay within the body, without proper direction, how can they grow? If all someone learns about living for Christ comes from an hour and a half every Sunday morning, how much are they really getting? We’ve also heard Pastor Phil talk about “parting the mustache to put a bottle in the mouth.” Paul writes in Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity.” It takes a lot of time and effort to disciple someone. Jesus spent three years with the twelve, and they didn’t get it until after the fact. I have heard of people who’ve accepted Christ and then spent hours upon hours studying the word, all on their own, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Plus, as we’ve already talked about, we can’t do this alone.

I mentioned the “iron sharpens iron” proverb earlier, and that does work both ways. By discipling someone, you learn more about God that you would on your own. We don’t have to learn everything through direct experience. I’ve walked with my friends through things I wouldn’t have had to on my own. And you can be both a disciple and a mentor at the same time. And remember, don’t be offended if someone you disciple does things their own way. The whole point of discipleship is getting the ideas into someone so that they internalize it, and they can do it their way. Teachers teach with various methods to be sure their students “get it.” And Biblically, when Saul took David in, Saul tried to give David his armor, but David took up the five smooth stones.

Discipleship. It's how we grow. It's not so much about teaching or learning as it is about the relationship. You have to have a closeness before anyone can speak into your life, or before you'll allow them to speak into yours. And that's my vision for Crossroads, to build up those relationships, so that we, as a group, can learn from each other, on our way to maturity in Christ.

Our Little Secret

The other day, I was flipping through my Contemporary English translation, and, on a whim, ended up looking at one of my favorite verses, Jeremiah 33:3. I’ve probably mentioned it at some point, but if not, it’s:

'Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' (NASB)

I’ve heard many teachings on this verse. I could probably spend quite some time rehashing all of it. But here’s the part that struck me.

“Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don't know and can't find out. “

Those last four words stood out to me – “and can’t find out.” When I read that, it immediately came across to me as, ‘it’s a secret.’ And God is bursting at the seams to tell someone.

And it’s not just talking about His Kingdom. Sure, there is some of that, but it’s also more personal. Allow me to explain. All day leading up to reading this, and for a few days before, God had been dealing with me on the idea of destiny. Who I could be, what I could do, if I gave myself fully to His hand.

That’s the secret He wants to tell us, the secret he wants us to ask Him about.

He longs for us to ask Him, ‘Who is this person that You’ve meant for me to be?’ While I was working on this, I actually had to stop right here and spend time in prayer, asking God that very question, that’s how hard the idea struck me.

A common chord in several teachings I’ve been hearing/reading lately (John Bevere’s “Extraordinary,” Erwin McManus’ “Wide Awake,” and both “Wild At Heart” and “Captivating” by John Eldridge) is that all of us are meant for greatness. That’s what I believe was meant by the famous ‘life and life more abundantly.’

But we can’t tap into this greatness on our own. Our destiny, our fullest potential, is one of the ‘great and mighty things’ that we ‘don’t know and can’t find out.’ It’s only by seeking His face, intentionally encountering God, that we can hear God’s little secret for us.

Come Boldly Before the Throne

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

A lot of things about prayer bring ideas of surrender, or even helplessness. A person kneeling with their head down is in a very vulnerable position. And that is the point, for some prayers. That’s why in 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The Israelites, quite honestly, got a little full of themselves from time to time, and need to be reminded of their place.

In all honesty, sometimes, so do we. True, sometimes we do need to be humbled. But we need to remember that we have been given authority equal to Jesus Himself when we pray.

In Ephesians 2:6, Paul writes: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” What exactly does that mean? Well, let’s flip back just a couple of verses.

“That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Ephesians 1:19b-23

So if we’re raised up with Jesus, our authority is, at the very least, similar to His. Jesus Himself even tells us this.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”  John 14:12

But as you read a little further, we see how this works out.

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13

There it is…it’s not us. It’s Jesus, acting on our behalf when we pray, the true meaning of the word ‘interceding,’ someone serving as a go-between for two negotiating parties.

There is a catch here, a caveat, which keeps us from running amok with this power.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:7-8

We must remain firmly planted within God’s word. If not, we run the risk of what James calls ‘asking amiss,’ asking for things for our sake, or our glory, rather than His Glory, or His Kingdom’s sake.

Expectations of Victory

^{Romans 8
37}In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. ³⁸I am sure that nothing can separate us from God's love--not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, ³⁹and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord! (CEV)

We all have sinned. We all fall into temptation. Our struggles are daily and never once do they relent. It's never one specific temptation either; it varies from person to person, in frequency, duration, and strength. Without God, there is no way any person in this world can stand up to sin.

There's the key phrase: "Without God". We trust in Him and give our problems to Him, and in Him our battles become victories. Look at verse 37: "we have won more than a victory". The connotation of that phrase goes beyond simply winning a battle against sin; it implies that we know that we will win the fight. We expect the victory.

Too many times have Christians around us (and many times, even ourselves) have fallen to the false belief that sin has power over them. This Scripture screams "NO!!"; we not only can win against sin, but if we simply believe in Christ's death on the cross, we WILL win every time, no questions asked.

Different translations use the phrase "more than conquerors"; name some people who were conquerors in your mind. Alexander the Great? Atilla the Hun? King Leonidas? (for all my fellow 300 fans) How about Christ? He conquered the grave, set all us sinners free, and made it "easy" to live good lives. But at what price?

^{Mt. 5:48}-" Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (NIV)

Perfection is impossible, but its a goal nevertheless. It's what shapes our stories. As a screenwriter, it is encouraged for a good story to have a character to have an external goal to reach to satisfy some sort of internal need, the goal is of course blocked by opposition and the need is blocked by some sort of character flaw.

Christians
Goal- Do good in life; avoid temptation
Opposition- Satan, who brings temptation
Need- To be perfect as God is
Flaw- Sin

We go through the entire story of our lives attempting to find this goal, though many times we have other flaws in our character such as pessimism, passiveness, apathy, etc. We find ourselves in the crisis of no hope for ourselves, but then there is the realization:

Christ died for us because He loved us and He doesn't want us to have to fight battle after battle! His Love set us free! And we are free indeed! Free to expect that whenever sin comes even a fraction of an inch closer to our hearts, that we can say "No!" and know that God's Love makes it so that, if we believe and expect the victory, there's no way for us to lose the battle.

So go with the knowledge that God is for us, and sin has nothing that can stand up to His Love for us. As a final thought, here is an excerpt from John Mark McMillan's powerful song "How He Loves":

We are his portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking
So Heaven meets Earth like a [passionate]* kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way
He loves us

* original- sloppy wet

Claiming Your Destiny

Joshua 1-7

When I sat down to work on this, I tried to avoid the topic of destiny. I mean, we spent the first session talking about destiny, and I didn’t want to seem like I was stuck on one topic. But, I guess God’s not done with this one.

Last time we talked about making the choice of destiny, this time we’re going into the process of moving into your destiny, and to do so, we’re going to follow Joshua as he lead the Israelites into the promised land.

Removing Hindrances 

There’s always something that tries to hold us back from entering into the fullness of God’s plans. For the Israelites, like I mentioned last time, it was the older generation, that had seen the miracles in Egypt but still doubted God. But it was also Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 20, God tells Moses that he will not lead the people into Canaan because he did not honor Him. So then we get to Joshua 1:2, where God tells Joshua, “My servant Moses is dead. Now you must lead Israel across the Jordan River into the land I'm giving to all of you.” Find whatever is holding you back, and get rid of it!

The Promise

Once we get our eyes off of the hindrance, then it’s time to focus on the promise that we’ve been given. Joshua 1:3-9, God tells Joshua about the land, and reminds him that He will be with them. He even says ‘do not be afraid or discouraged.’ (v9) God wants us to succeed! We just have to trust in Him!

We Can’t Do This Alone

Independence is such an important theme with the American people. We celebrate the day that we move out of our parents’ house; we want to be able to accomplish things on our own. But that’s not the way God wired us. He even said in the garden, "It isn't good for the man to live alone.” (Gen 2:18)

The tribes of Rueben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had started to set up their towns on the east side of the Jordan. But before he allowed it, Moses made sure they would help in conquering the rest of the land. So when Israel was ready to move out, Joshua went to them, reminding them of their word. And the eastern tribes, of course, held up their end of the bargain. (Joshua 1:10-18)

Joshua sent two spies into Jericho to find out about its defenses. They come upon Rahab, who hid them and let them escape when the guards came looking for them. (Joshua 2)

Sanctify Yourself

During the 40 years in the desert, none of the boys born were circumcised, the symbolic gesture representing Israel’s covenant with God. So, before moving into Jericho, Israel renews its covenant with God by circumcising the men, followed by celebrating Passover. After these things, God said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." (Joshua 5:9) The Bible then goes on to say that the next day, the people ate the food of Canaan, and God did not send any more manna. Granted, God not sending something sounds like a bad thing, but considering they’d been eating manna every meal, every day, for forty years…well, they were probably beyond sick of it, so being ‘promoted’ to the crops of the land was the bigger blessing. When we turn our eyes back to God, that’s when His favor and blessings are poured out on us.

Follow the Plan

Israel had a sizeable army by the time they crossed into Canaan. They could’ve easily marched in under their own might. And, just as easily, could’ve had their posteriors handed to them. Instead, Joshua meets with the captain of the Lord’s army, and he gets strategy for the day. We’ve all heard the story, but think about how absolutely ridiculous the idea sounds. And the people follow, to the letter, and the city falls, just like God promised. When we try to do things our way, they often fall flat. But God’s plan always gives results.

Give God the Glory

First, a brief word about the first fruits. The idea of first fruits is connected to the idea of the tithe, it’s a portion of…well, anything provided, given to God, in order to redeem the rest. And, as the name implies, it’s the first portion. So if you had a ewe (that’s a female sheep, fyi) that gave birth to her first lamb, that lamb would be sacrificed. Unclean animals (and, obviously, people) were redeemed by another sacrifice, the first harvest of a crop was offered, etc.

In the case of Canaan, Jericho was the first city conquered, so the spoils, in the spirit of first fruits, were all given to God. Every man, woman, child, and animal (save for Rahab and her family) were wiped out. The city itself burned to the ground, and Joshua cursed anyone who would ever return and rebuild the city. But, one of the Israelites, Achan, got a little greedy and kept a few things, thinking it wouldn’t hurt. But, once Joshua found out, Achan and all his family were stoned, and their bodies and all of his possessions were burned. So let me say very clearly…do not try to deny God what is His.

Destiny Is A Choice - Not Chance

It feels somewhat fitting to take this first post talking about the idea of destiny. The Bible speaks more than a few times on destiny. It should be very clear to anyone who’s done a fair amount of Bible study that God has big plans for us, each of us. (Jer 1.5, Jer 29:11, Rom 8:29-30, Eph 1:4-5) In fact, in Acts, we’re told that “when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” (Acts 13:36) As long as we’re still breathing, God has a destiny for us.

Of course, there’s the free will factor. God makes it clear that He’s not going to impose himself on us. (Rev 3:20) So the choice is left completely up to us, to follow His will, or to go our own way.

Rest assured, no matter what we do, the will of God will come to pass, it’s just a matter of how long it takes.

We all know the story of Abraham. He starts off in Genesis 12 living with his family in a place called Haran, and God calls him to pack up and leave and move to Canaan. And so he does. But look back a few verses, to the end of Gen. 11. Abraham’s father, Terah, packs up and moves from Ur. He starts out going to Canaan, but he gets to Haran and decides he’s gone far enough. Terah lives in Haran for a few years, and dies. The very next verse is Abraham’s call to move, to finish what his father started. Terah had a destiny, but he didn’t work hard enough to fulfill it.

Think of the twelve spies sent into Canaan by Moses. They go into the land that God has promised them, to survey and scout out. Ten spies come back terrified by what they’ve seen. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, believed God’s promise for them. So, God kills the ten by plague, and promises Moses that no one who saw His miracles in Egypt or in the desert would set foot in Canaan. (Numbers 14:22-23) They missed out on their destiny because of their doubt.

But when we embrace our destiny, that’s when things start to take off.  David heard Goliath taunting the Israelite army and, in the process, God Himself. David’s brother’s wanted him to go home and tend the sheep, Saul wanted him wearing full armor. David did neither, and started himself on the path to his destiny as king. (1 Sam 17) So much so, that God says of David, 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.' (Acts 13:22)