The Harp
Brad Snyder • August 13, 2026
THE HARP
This year I’ve been spending a portion of my mornings with God in a devotional featuring excerpts from the writings of A.W. Tozer, a pastor and writer of the last century. A recent excerpt was from his book Worship: The Missing Jewel.
“Man was made to worship God. God gave to man a harp and
said, ‘Here above all the creatures that I have made and created I
have given you the largest harp. I put more strings on your
instrument and I have given you a wider range than I have given to
any other creature. You can worship Me in a manner that no other
creature can.’ And when he sinned man took that instrument and
threw it down in the mud and there it has lain for centuries, rusted,
broken, unstrung; and man, instead of playing a harp like the
angels and seeking to worship God in all of his activities, is ego-
centered and turns in on himself and sulks and swears and laughs
and sings, but it’s all without joy and without worship.”
Tozer called this the “greatest tragedy in the world today.”
I agree with his assessment. Yet there is hope. Because a couple of millennia ago, God came to earth in the form of the man Jesus. And by dying on the cross in our place for our sins and by rising again from the dead, He picked up that abandoned harp from the mud, and He cleaned it, and He restrung it so that it’s like new, and now He presents that harp to every man and woman on earth. And He asks, “Will you take this harp and worship Me with it? Will you bow your knee and surrender your life to My will? Will you repent of your rebellion against Me and
pledge your allegiance to Me? And will you receive the resulting forgiveness and joy and eternal life?”
We stand surrounded by millions, some even our own loved ones, who have emulated Adam; they have taken the offering of that harp from Jesus and cast it back into the mud. In fact, there are only two kinds of people in the world today – those who have cast down the harp and continue to rebel, and those who play that harp and so worship their Father. If you are in the first group, today is the day to pick up the offered harp, humble yourself, bow your knee, surrender and repent, and by doing so receive forgiveness and eternal life.
The psalmist, as you might imagine, whom we often picture playing a harp, or lyre, had a bit to say about the physical instrument he played, and we can apply that to our lives of praise and worship. In Psalm 33:2, he says, “Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him
with the harp of ten strings!” David, in the middle of running for his life from Saul, wrote, in Psalm 57:8, “Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn!” Psalm 71:2 says, “I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God.”
Even King Hezekiah, probably not exactly famous for his musicianship, when God healed him of a terminal illness and gave him an extra fifteen years of life, got out his harp and wrote, as recorded in Isaiah 38:20, “The LORD will save me, and we will play my music on stringed instruments all the days of our lives, at the house of the LORD.”
Now, I couldn’t play a real harp tunefully to save my life and, frankly, I’m not a fan of harp music, but I can “play” mine to bring glory to God with my life. And for those of us who made the decision (many of us more than a half- century ago) to take the offered harp from Jesus, we can and must worship Him with it. To quote Tozer, we have been blessed by God with the ability to worship Him “in a manner that no other creature can.” All creation unquestionably lifts the name of the Lord, it Creator, in worship and praise. Psalm 148:1-10 states it clearly:
Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
Praise Him in the heights!
Praise Him, all His angels;
Praise Him, all His hosts!
Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
For He commanded and they were created.
He has also established them forever and ever;
He has made a decree which will not pass away.
Praise the LORD from the earth,
Sea monsters and all deeps;
Fire and hail, snow and clouds;
Stormy wind, fulfilling His word;
Mountains and all hills;
Fruit trees and all cedars;
Beasts and all cattle;
Creeping things and winged fowl.
Yes, all creation offers its worship to God. However, no sea monster or cedar tree or star of light or stormy wind or winged fowl has nearly as wide a range of praise and worship of God as we humans do. Unlike all those other things, as magnificent as they are, we alone were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). He placed within us a divine spark so that we can worship Him like nothing else in creation can. What an honor and privilege to “play our harps” for Him who died for us. Living your life, with its heartaches and disappointments and sorrows and tears; and with its joys and celebrations and victories and laughter; living our lives every day to His glory, that is the calling of we harpists, “we few, we happy few.”
Granted, you might currently be a bit rusty – maybe a bit out of tune, maybe not quite remembering how the melody goes sometimes. Maybe you haven’t played your harp for a while. Maybe you haven’t been walking very closely with God lately, and certainly haven’t been
spending much time, if any, worshiping Him. Acknowledge your failure to God, then go grab your harp and play it - live - like He wants you to!
And all of us hit a wrong chord on occasion – sin will continue to plague us until the day we die. But we correct those mistakes with God as they happen. And God is pleased that we play, that we live, for Him. We play to His glory with this instrument - this body and mind and soul -
that He gave us, and we lift Him up as our Savior and Lord. Rejoice in the music and never stop playing your harp! Our music; that of we, His children, rises to God and He is delighted with us! He is delighted with you!
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About the author:
Recently retired, Brad looks forward to the challenges of a new ministry. He feels that seniors are a vital part of the church Body and though he has only recently crossed the threshold of “senior-dom,” he trusts that God can use Him to help seniors build a stronger relationship with God and stronger relationships with others. The senior years are accompanied by unique challenges, and Brad hopes to be able to come alongside seniors to pass along God’s hope and encouragement.
Brad and his wife Erin began attending Hannaford in November 2019. They have three grown children and two grandchildren (and a third due Spring 2026).
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Eating is boring, he says; he has many more interesting things to do. He’s not smart enough to use the different utensils, and the food is very complex, he says. Only professional chefs could understand it. Food is not relevant to his life, he says. It’s so old- fashioned! He just doesn’t feel like eating, he says. He’s looking elsewhere for his sustenance. “That’s ridiculous,” you say. I agree. You’re absolutely right. No one in their right mind would give those excuses and, as a result, get weaker and weaker. Why, then, do so many Christians give the same excuses when it comes to spending time reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word? God has provided the life-giving food of His Word. We all have easy access to it any time we want. Many of the symptoms of a failure to read, study and meditate on the Bible are similar to those experienced by people starving to death. Our spiritual muscles will become weak. We will become irritable, apathetic, anxious and even depressed. We will become spiritually cold, and our hearts will not function the way God designed them to. We will become lethargic, thin-skinned and our defense against the enemy will lack power and energy. An unknown author wrote this inspiring paragraph: "This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's character. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.” Psalm 119 is a treasure-trove of praise and wisdom related to God’s Word. The Word is mentioned in nearly every verse, though by many different names. I went through the psalm and picked out just a few encouraging passages: “How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. (:2) Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. (:18) Your Word has revived me. (:50) The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces. (:72) How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (:103) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (:105) Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live. 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But if you haven’t been consistent, get started right now. Have a good hearty meal; you’ll feel stronger immediately. Set goals for your time in the Word each day, but don’t get legalistic about it. If God speaks to your heart and you feel convicted or thrilled after just a verse or two, fantastic! Take that and run with it for the day. The point is not to check a box, but to meet with and worship your Father and let His love letter flow into your heart and give you strength and encouragement. Like you, my wife Erin and I have enjoyed many wonderful meals out. The food is delicious; the ambience is often wonderful (A man once took his wife and several young children out to a nice restaurant. When the check came, the price shocked the man. He called the waiter over and gasped, “How can this bill be so large?” The waiter sniffed. “You’re paying for the ambience.” The man turned to his family and shouted, “All right! Which one of you kids ordered the ambience?!”). 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TRAUMA AND HEALING I recently spoke with a friend who just received a devastating health diagnosis. I was surprised at how calm he was as he told me about it, but he admitted later in the conversation that he hasn’t yet fully processed the crushing ramifications for his and his wife’s future. I have another friend who, with his wife, several years ago, lost his adult son in a freak accident. I have a friend in another town whose wife died unexpectedly while on a business trip. While going through her things, grieving, my friend found that she had been committing adultery and was on a tryst with the other man when she died. Many mothers of servicemen and servicewomen have opened to the knock on their front door only to find two solemn military officers in full uniform standing on the porch, who regretfully inform her that her son or daughter has been killed. The teenage son of a family that lived near where I grew up, crashed in the street on his longboard (think skateboard, but twice the length), injuring his brain. He can speak and move but has never fully recovered from the injury. He is now in his forties and still lives with his parents, upon whom he relies completely. Several years ago, I received two devastating calls on the same day. The first, mid-morning, informed me that my mother had died of her dementia before dawn. The second, in early evening, notified me that my father, who was expected to live for another month or two, had died just an hour or two before. A few months ago, my sister-in-law’s home here in Helena burned. It was a total loss. We have a lady in our senior group who experienced the same destruction. I found out yesterday that last Sunday (July 19), one of my father’s best friends when I was a child, a man with whom my dad taught elementary school and who served on our church board for many years, and whom I considered closer than some family, finally lost his long and valiant battle with Parkinson’s. Almost weekly we hear about the destruction of a home or neighborhood and the resulting casualties by some weather event; people whose loved ones are understandably shocked and horrified by their loss. A young man that my wife and I knew many years ago was fairly recently convicted of shaking his young baby to death. The child’s mother came home to find her baby dead. I could go on and on, but for the sake of our broken hearts, I’ll stop there. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you have experienced something just as terrible as, or even worse than, the events I’ve just described. The death of a loved one, a life-altering or life-threatening diagnosis, the destruction of property, damage to reputation, physical injury, betrayal by someone close - all of these have the power to shatter us. What are we to do when such devastation knocks down our door? A cursory search of the internet provided a wealth of conventional secular coping strategies. These include 1) seeking professional help, 2) maintaining your routines, 3) allowing yourself to grieve, 4) accepting the loss, 5) avoiding alcohol and drugs, 6) not suppressing your emotions, 7) finding purpose elsewhere, 8) building a support group, 9) engaging in mindfulness, 10) setting realistic goals for the future, 11) staying connected with those you love and 12) talking about it. Not a single one of these strategies sounds like a bad idea to me (though I’ve never been sure quite what “mindfulness” is). However, if you are a Believer, someone who has repented of your sins and surrendered your heart and life into the keeping of your Savior, Jesus Christ, who died in your place on the cross, and if you are someone who lives in the hope of eternity in heaven, then you surely see that something is missing. Where is God in that list of coping strategies? The world leaves Him out of the recovery process! It says, “Rely on yourself and others to get past the trauma.” “You have all the resilience and power that is needed to move on.” They would never say it this way, but how about this old phrase: “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!” But oh, what they’re missing! Who among us has not felt, while praying in times of desperate loss, that tide of inexplicable peace washing over us? Who among us has not felt, when in agony over crushing news, the warmth of God’s love rising within us and the strength of God’s power flowing through us, keeping us from despair? Those who do not walk with God know nothing of His loving care for His children. In 2008, Christian songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife Mary Beth, lost one of their little girls in a heartbreaking incident. One of their older sons, arriving home, unintentionally hit the girl with the family SUV. Unimaginable agony for the family. Chapman later wrote a song for his wife called Together and included the following lyrics: “And we’ve crawled on our hands and knees, through valleys cold and dark and deep, sometimes not even sure if we could make it out alive.” Maybe you’ve been there, too. Maybe you’re there right now. The valley is deep, and you’re not sure where you’ll find the strength to climb up to the heights again. Even lifting your head to look up is difficult. It’s dark, and you can’t see any path ahead that will bring you back up into the light. The darkness is terrifying; it paralyzes you with fear. And it’s so cold. You’re finding it difficult to concentrate because all you can think of is the frost. Warmth is a distant memory. Worse, your heart is beginning to get numb from the cold. You can no longer feel, and part of you is pleased at that, because allowing yourself to feel just brings back the pain. But the better, wiser part of you knows that only by facing the pain can you get past it. You and I have had to navigate some pretty deep valleys. I hope your experience, like mine, has shown that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1) We are not alone; never for one second on this path are we alone. What a comfort to know that God has promised to “never fail us or forsake us.” (Hebrews 13:5, quoting Deuteronomy 31:6) And David wrote, “Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; be to me a rock of strength, a stronghold to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.” Psalm 31:2,3 So when the valley is the coldest, hold tightly to the warming Hand of the One who both created you and died for you. When your thoughts understandably turn toward the dark of pain and despair, remember God. As much as, at times, you may not want to, cry out to Him for His presence and help. He is the only One who can bring healing. Some of those secular coping strategies are well and good and may provide some relief, but deep, true, lasting healing and health only come from God. He will never turn away from you. And when the valley of the shadow of death seems to be never-ending and the climb impossible, simply keep moving onward and upward. We’ve all probably been on a hike where at some point we didn’t think we could make it to the top. But we just kept going, maybe slowly and painfully, but eventually we reached the sunlit peak and looked out over the incredible expanse that took our breath away, and we realized that the pain of the climb was worth it. The climb will be worth it. For further encouragement, listen to (or better yet, sing) the old hymn “It is Well with My Soul.” And if you have never heard the story of Horatio Spafford, the man who wrote the lyrics, look it up. Knowing the story will bring new meaning and power to the lyrics. Also, Mercy Me has a fairly new song called, “Make It Well” that I find very encouraging. The first time I heard it, I was okay until the line, “Jesus could You please just sit and cry with me ‘til I can sing ‘It is well with my soul.’” Then it was tissue time! For more Scripture encouragement, meditate on the following passages: Mark 4:35-41, Psalm 23, Psalm 28:6-9, Psalm 46, Psalm 121.
DENY YOURSELF AND TAKE UP YOUR CROSS Mark 8:34-36 is a passage in which Jesus uses some of the most powerful language in the gospels to make His point. This section of Scripture is not for the faint of heart. It strikes directly at the soul of those who are more interested in playing at being a Christian than truly living a life pleasing to God. Prayerfully give it a read. And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? We will only take the time to examine the first verse, verse 34 today. Jesus said, “If you want to truly follow Me, deny your will in favor of Mine and be ready and willing to die.” Some folks interpret Jesus’ first statement, about self-denial, to mean that you are never allowed to do anything you want to do, or anything that brings you pleasure. The entire monastic movement of the Middle Ages was based on that premise. Many people have lived and died under the false assumption that God wanted them to live sterile lives throughout which they were to deny themselves all enjoyment. But that is an incorrect interpretation of the words of Jesus. Many passages of God’s Word speak of the joy of serving Him. I’ll just list two for now, but I encourage you to do your own study regarding the joy of the Christian life. Psalm 16:11 says, “You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” And Psalm 95:1: “O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.” We are to live joy-filled lives. After all, we were chosen by God to live for Him while we’re here, and we have eternal life awaiting us! Who should be more filled with joy than a Christ-follower? Unfortunately, we’ve all known some pretty sour Christians who pointed to that statement of Jesus in Mark 8:34 and said, “Stop enjoying yourself; Jesus said we are to deny ourselves.” But Jesus wasn’t saying that we should deny ourselves joy or wholesome pleasure. He was saying that we should deny ourselves those sinful, selfish desires that are constantly threatening to overwhelm our longing to serve and follow Him and do His will. That self-denial is a challenge we will face every day for the rest of our lives. We are called to bear up and stand firm beneath a constant barrage of temptations to replace God’s will with our own. To run ahead of God when we should sit still or, to sit still when we should be moving forward; to dawdle along the way of service to Him when we should be moving forward with purpose, or to run ahead heedlessly when we should be proceeding with caution; to focus on something other than the matter at hand, or to lose focus altogether; to make our own plans instead of following God’s best plan, or to wing it with no plans at all when we should be thinking ahead; to enlist assistance elsewhere when we shouldn’t, or to do what God asks of us all by ourselves when we should be asking for help. Those are examples of times when we are trying to do what we feel God is asking of us, but failing miserably. There are other times, though, when we aren’t even trying; we simply jettison what we know is right and jump into sin with both feet, like a child jumping into a deep mud puddle, reveling in our rebellion until God inevitably brings us up short. No matter how you slice it, denying ourselves and our desires every moment in favor of God’s will is extremely challenging. But if that weren’t difficult enough, we are also to “take up our cross and follow Him.” That is the second part of this famous statement in Mark 8 (and in Matthew 16 and Luke 9 if you’re interested in reading other versions as well). The statement “taking up your cross” loses almost all its punch here in the 21st Century, but to those listening to Jesus in the 1st Century, it could only mean one thing: death. The cross, to those listeners, was the ultimate symbol of death. Today, when we use the phrases, “We all have our cross to bear,” or “I guess that’s just my cross to bear,” we’re typically referring to a loud neighbor, a temperamental snowblower, a niggling pain or maybe some family strife. Back in the time of Jesus it meant death, pure and simple. People back then didn’t use a cross as jewelry or a household decoration. And “carrying, or bearing, your cross” didn’t mean your sister was difficult, or that you had to go shovel another four inches of snow, it meant a terrible death was imminent. This year, I have been reading a book, published by The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM), called Extreme Devotion. Each morning, I read a devotional based on the story of a man, woman or sometimes even a child, who has been imprisoned, tortured or killed because they named the name of Christ and served Him. Many of those stories are incredibly inspirational. But reading them has often caused me to ask myself, Could I stand firm like that? Am I ready to be imprisoned and maybe tortured and perhaps even killed for Jesus? Do I have the courage to stand faithfully in the face of pain and even death? How about you? Spend some time thinking and praying about that. Because that is the expectation Jesus lays out for us in Mark 8:34, if we desire to be His true followers. I’d love to be able to say, categorically, emphatically, without the shadow of a doubt, absolutely, yes! I would be willing to die for my faith. But maybe I speak for you, too, when I say, “I’d certainly like to think so, but I sincerely don’t know for sure. I’ve never been put in such a situation. I certainly hope I would be willing to die and die well. And I hope I would have an opportunity to testify to the love and salvation that Jesus offers so that those executing me and those looking on might give their lives to Him.” I’ve read many such stories in the VOM devotional. Currently, I can’t imagine a scenario in this country where such a thing would be required of Christians, but I suppose, given the continuing rise of evil we see all around us, it could happen. It certainly will during the Great Tribulation. The words of Jesus in Mark 8:34 raise the stakes of the Christian life far above the typical attitude of: “Sure, I go to church once in a while. Pray? Yeah, on occasion, especially if I’m in trouble of some kind. The Bible? We have three or four in our house. I’ll pull one off the shelf every month or two and read a chapter. And sometimes I need to find a verse about respect to throw at my wife or kids. Daily reading and study? No. Who has time? I wish I did. I really do. I’d probably learn a lot about what I should and shouldn’t do. I pretty much wing it and try to be good. But I did ask Jesus into my heart a few years ago and of course I love Him. No, I don’t really ‘take Him with me out into the world,’ if you want to put it that way. My relationship with Him is just between us.” I hope you don’t see yourself in those statements. The words of Jesus in Mark 8:34 don’t allow for those attitudes in a Christian. His teaching raises the stakes of the Christian life as far as they can possibly go – to a complete denial of self-will and a committed willingness to give our very lives for Jesus. Judas betrayed Him. Peter denied Him. The other ten forsook Him. No one was willing to die with Him. Would you have been willing to be arrested and drag your cross through Jerusalem with Him to Golgotha that day? Would I? I honestly don’t know. I hope so. Because, contrary to some of the current teaching of watered-down, anemic, fainting Christianity, that is exactly what He calls us to.
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Many of us have traveled and seen amazing things in this country and around the world (see the devotional of February 13, 2026). Here in Montana, like few other places, we only need to look out our window to get a glimpse of the glory of God. I’m going to suggest today that you don’t even need to go as far as the window to see God’s glory. You need only look down at your own body to see one of God’s most incredible creations. Now I heard what you just said: “You’ve got to be kidding, Brad.” Most of us are pretty denigrating and critical when it comes to our bodies. Almost everyone could stand to lose a few pounds, or they think their nose is too big, or they wish their eyes were another color, or they have been disappointed their entire adult life that they never quite reached a height of six feet (or maybe that’s just me). We all have aspects of our bodies that we’re less than thrilled about. Not to mention the fact that almost every one of us has reached the age where at least a few things on or in our bodies don’t work nearly as well as they used to. But that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about the extraordinary and intentional creation of each of us, affirming that every individual is a unique and valued masterpiece fashioned by God. In Psalm 13913-16, David sings, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.” Charisse Compton, in a very good article entitled Your Body is No Mistake , dated March 11, 2025 on the Desiring God website, says, “Psalm 139 is here for such a time as this. Not only does it reframe our thoughts about our bodies, teaching us to see them for the glorious works of God that they are, but it trains our hearts to worship God for his artistry. The Bible makes it very clear that we are God’s finest creation. In Genesis 1:27, we read, "So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Created in God’s image, we are imbued with inherent dignity and purpose. Of course, God is spirit and therefore has no physical body, but the body that God created for us is nothing short of a miracle. It has been described as “divine artistry,” and, I believe, is one of the most compelling arguments for the existence of God. Each of the hundreds of trillions of cells in your body is almost unfathomably complex. Not only that, but God has designed each cell to work in concert with trillions of other cells to form tissues, which then together form organ systems. God links these systems flawlessly to produce a body with remarkable functionality. I’d like to share some information about your body. Now, I don’t want this devotional to become a science lesson, but as I did teach middle and high school science for several years, please bear with me. In reality, though, it’s not the former science teacher in me that gets enthusiastic about these facts about our bodies; it’s me as a child of God, looking at the profound creativity of my Father when He made you and me. The human heart, which weighs about eleven ounces, about the same as two baseballs, pumps about 100,000 times each day (that’s about 3.6 million times each year) to move your six quarts of blood through 60,000 miles of your arteries, veins and capillaries. Your brain houses 86 billion neurons, each with about 10,000 connections. A typical non-specialized patch of skin the size of a quarter includes three million cells, four yards of nerve fibers, 600 pain sensors, 1300 nerve cells, 9000 nerve endings, 36 heat sensors, 75 pressure sensors, 100 sweat glands, and three yards of blood vessels. The human eye is the most complex camera known to man. Light entering is precisely adjusted by the iris for brightness and by the lens for distance. The back, or retina, of each eye contains approximately 100 million rod cells to register light and approximately 7 million cone cells to register color. Your nose contains over 400 different types of receptors and can detect approximately one trillion different smells. The ears are no less remarkable. Sound vibrations enter the ear at over 700 mph and are converted into nerve impulses through a complex series of transfers. Those impulses are then conveyed to the brain for interpretation. Your liver performs more than 500 different functions. Your stomach contains strong digestive acids. However, it is lined with mucus-secreting cells to protect itself from its own acid. As the mucus is dissolved away by the acid, more mucus is produced at just the right rate to replace itself. The combined surface area of your lungs is about the size of a tennis court. Carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen in several hundred million microscopic sacks called alveoli (which is stressed and pronounced similarly to “identify,” not “ravioli”). Your body creates 25 million new cells every second. You have approximately 206 bones, and many of them are incredibly strong, outperforming steel pound for pound. Not only that, your skeleton replaces itself about every decade. All of the DNA in your body could stretch the 93 million miles to the sun and back twenty times, but it weighs less than twenty grams. That’s about the weight of four nickels. Your voice is as unique as your fingerprint. Your body conducts trillions of chemical reactions every second. Just three months into his or her life, an unborn child already has fingerprints. Those fingerprints are your own unique bar code for the rest of your life. No two people have the same prints. I’ll conclude with an extended quote from the Desiring God article I referenced earlier in this devotional, by Charisse Compton. She guides us from an academic attitude of: “Okay, the human body is pretty amazing – what’s for lunch?” to a heartfelt, life-changing mindset of: “I’m going to thank God for the incredible body He gave me and continue to use it to serve Him until I die!” “Has God strengthened your body to do many good works? Praise him for it! Do not flinch at the toll it requires. Rejoice that he has sustained you thus far. Has he sidelined you with affliction? Even so, your body is accomplishing God’s glorious, if mysterious, purposes for it. Has God gifted you with an unusual measure of beauty or strength? Offer these in service to him, attracting others to his unparalleled divine beauty. Are you stooped from many years of load-bearing? Are your knuckles gnarled with arthritis? Your time may be drawing to its close, but God will grant your body sufficient strength to walk in good works until the end. This is why he made you! Until that day when you wake in the presence of your Maker, serve God with the strength he supplies. Like Jesus, offer your body in service to those entrusted to your care. Invest your strength in carrying on the work of the One who sacrificed his body for you. Fellowship with Jesus in his life, in his work, in his death; share in his delight of knowing and obeying God. And like Jesus, lay down your body in eager expectation of taking it up again, this time glorified and imperishable.” We are all, indeed, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” And one day, our new bodies will be exponentially more incredible even than these that we wear now! Glory in that!
Encoura gement in a Discouraging World I have had a hard week. Maybe you have, too. Maybe, like me, you’ve had a new ache or pain announce its ugly self. Maybe, like me, you’ve felt a bit out of the loop, like you’ve been sidelined from the game. Maybe, like me, some memories of your past sins and their terrible consequences, have taken hold of your heart and squeezed until it hurt. Maybe, like me, the sadness of loss is threatening to overwhelm you. Maybe, like me, the current challenges of dealing with the imperfect people around you, has discouraged and frustrated you. Maybe, like me, observing what has become of our country over the last generation or two, makes you want to weep. But you know what’s happening, don’t you? You know we have an enemy, don’t you? One who hates us with every fiber of his being. Our enemy, satan (I read a book recently where the author stated he didn’t feel satan deserved to have his name capitalized – I thought that was great!) delights in our misery, gloats over our discouragement and rejoices in our dejection. He and his followers, the demons, enjoy nothing so much as seeing us take our eyes off our Creator and Savior and instead focus on ourselves and our troubles. But that is the very way out of the pit of despair. To lift our eyes and focus on God! Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to “lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The author of Hebrews makes a distinction between “encumbrance” and “sin.” I believe all those items I listed in the first paragraph of this devotional fall into the category of “encumbrances.” They weigh us down and prevent us from running the race of the Christian life like we could and should. Picture the Olympic 200-meter race. The runners are all lined up. Tension fills the air. These are the fastest men in the world. This should be an incredible race. The pistol sounds and they’re off! But, look, one seems to be falling woefully behind the others. Something looks strange. What are those things on his legs? Why, it looks like he has a fifteen-pound weight strapped to each ankle! How could he possibly expect to run the race carrying that extra weight?! We would be incredulous if we saw that in an actual race. Far too much is at stake to be weighed down and held back. But go back to the first paragraph of this devotional and you’ll see that all the problems that have been getting me down this week are a result of my figuratively carrying extra weight. So the author of Hebrews tells us to dump the negative, the encumbrances. But he also gives us something positive to do. Look up. I find myself very often figuratively looking down at those weights around my ankles as I run the Christian race, completely focused on all the negatives here and now. Should we, then, you might ask, ignore all our problems and simply trust that God will miraculously take care of them? Of course not. Nor does God promise a trouble-free life. But if I raise my eyes to my Maker, “fixing my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God,” it does something amazing to my attitude toward the problems. I suddenly realize that no matter what the problem is, I’m not alone in dealing with it. I always have the help and love of the Creator of the universe. In the last day or so, I’ve lifted my eyes, and it has brought me closer to where I should be. I encourage you to do the same. But beyond lifting your eyes to “the author and perfector of faith,” make sure you’re listening to His voice. satan and his demons love to whisper discouragement and despair into your ear, but you’re not required, or encouraged, to listen to that nonsense, as seductive as it sometimes is. I think an appropriate way to encourage us is to, right now, listen to the voice of God. That’s His Word, the Bible. Every time you read Scripture or speak Scripture or listen to a passage of Scripture, you’re listening to God’s voice; His words to you specifically. And there is no voice so encouraging. These passages will follow the progression of the first paragraph of the devotional, addressing the things that might discourage us. Psalm 76:12 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Isaiah 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Psalm 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” I Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Psalm 147:5 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Colossians 3:12-17 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Philippians 2:14-15 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. As I close this devotional, I’d like you to do something. Think of one or two of your favorite hymns or songs, find a place where you feel comfortable, and sing them to God as a further act of worship. Maybe you’ve never done that before and the very thought of it makes you uncomfortable. Or maybe you do it every day! Singing our praise and worship to God, alone or with others, does wonders for the soul. Maybe, like me, you have had a hard week. But I pray that, like me, the heaviness of your spirit has been lifted at least somewhat after listening to God’s voice. Listen to it every day. Put aside the encumbrances and look to Jesus. Keep that up and you will be amazed at how much less power your problems will have over you and how much more joy you will have!
Death About twenty-five years ago, a Minnesota man left the snow-filled streets of Duluth for a vacation in sunny Florida. His wife was on a business trip elsewhere and would meet him there the next day. When he reached his hotel in Miami, the man decided to send his wife a quick e- mail. Unable to find the scrap of paper on which he had written her e-mail address, he did his best to type it from memory. Unfortunately, he missed one letter. Without realizing his error, he sent the email. Unfortunately, it went to an elderly widow whose husband had just passed away. Upon returning home from the funeral, the new widow decided to check her email, expecting to be encouraged by notes of condolence from family and friends. After reading the first message in her inbox, she fainted. Hearing her fall to the floor, her adult son rushed into the room and, after making sure she was okay, read this on her computer screen: “My Dearest Wife, I’m sure you’re surprised to hear from me. I’ve just gotten checked in. Everyone is so nice! I was surprised to see that they have email here. Everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. I’m looking forward to seeing you then! I hope your trip is as uneventful as mine was. Much love, Your husband. P.S. It sure is hot down here! We smile at that story, recognizing the humor in the miscommunication. However, death itself really is no laughing matter. In a four-week span from mid-April to mid-May, I attended three funerals. And I was unable to attend a fourth in late June. Three were Christian celebrations of life and one was an Irish Catholic wake. All four of the deaths were unexpected and all were sobering reminders of how fleeting is this life. When I was in college in Virginia, I got hooked on music by the Cathedral Quartet, a bit of Southern gospel for a Seattle boy. Quite a few of their songs dealt with heaven and the joy of going there. I remember riding in the car with my dad, who was a strong Christian, listening to a Cathedrals cassette and him saying to me, “You’re only twenty years old! Why are you listening to songs about death?!” He was probably right. Most young people in their teens and twenties don’t think or talk much about death, simply because they believe they will live forever. It’s been a while, but you remember that feeling, don’t you? It’s a different story now, isn’t it? Death is part of the conversation for us regularly. As I wrote above, I’ve experienced four deaths in just four months. My parents died several years ago, on the same day, both from complications connected to dementia. A couple of my cousins are gone now, as are all my aunts and uncles. I am relatively young and yet have experienced plenty of death. You have likely lost even more loved ones than I have, and probably recently. It simply can’t be helped. People often say, “Well, death has always been a part of life. It’s all just a big circle: we live, we die. It’s just the way it’s always been.” I know where they’re coming from, and I know they mean well, but I disagree. This is not the way it’s always been. This is not the way it is supposed to be. God did not include death in His design of the world. Do you remember the story of Jesus raising Lazarus in John 11? Do you recall Jesus’ reaction to all the suffering churning around Him as He walked to the gravesite? The grief and pain and loss and weeping impacted even the Creator. He was witnessing the devastating work of sin on His most precious creation, mankind. Even with the knowledge of exactly what He was about to do, His humanity and His deity merged to produce powerful emotion and He wept over His marred creation (John 11:35). God created man to live forever. He did not create him with designed obsolescence, as so many manufactured goods are today; He did not design the human body to deteriorate and break down just after its warranty expired. He did not design us to die at all. Cancer didn’t exist in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were in no danger of falling and accidentally damaging their bodies so that they no longer functioned. Disease did not exist. No accidents happened. Natural disasters were nonexistent. Aging and the accompanying deterioration of the body and, even more devastating, the mind, were simply nonexistent. We all know what happened to change that. I won’t detail the sordid, tragic story here. You can read it if you want to in Genesis 3. Death is the unwelcome guest at the dinner that God set for our lives; the guest whom no one likes and whom no one invited. Death has crashed the party and refuses to leave, though all of us would love to see it go, and all of us at one time or another have asked it to. Death sits there smugly and says, “I’m not leaving and no one can make me. I’m quite comfortable here. You can’t buy me off with money, you can’t bully me with power, you can’t intimidate me with prestige and you can’t impress me with good behavior. No matter how rich, powerful, well-connected, decent or respectable you are, I will have you all; it’s simply a matter of time.” Pretty tough talk, huh? And Death has done its level best to back up those threats, cowing a lot of folks over the centuries. It has instilled fear into countless millions and alters the way many live today. Folks spend thousands of dollars attempting to hold back the inevitable, purchasing lotions and vitamins, gene therapies and light therapies. You can even have your body frozen, if you have enough money. And did I say people spend thousands of dollars? There is a gentleman in California by the name of Bryan Johnson who has begun a social campaign called Don’t Die. He has thousands of followers and claims to spend approximately two million dollars each year on his body in an attempt to ward off aging and death. More power to you, Bryan, but you’re going to lose this battle. Everyone does. Death always wins. But it doesn’t really, does it? Death may claim our bodies, but if we are followers of Jesus; if we have repented of our sin, left our old life and asked Jesus to be in charge of our new life, then our souls belong to Him. One of my favorite passages of Scripture, and one that is becoming more meaningful the more I encounter Death, is found near the end of I Corinthians 15. In verses 54 and 55, Paul says this: “But when this perishable [our bodies during life] will have put on the imperishable [our souls after death], and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?’” I love the fact that Paul doesn’t refer to death as an impersonal thing and say something detached like, “And death loses the battle and can’t hurt us any more.” No, Paul takes Death personally and so he addresses Death personally! Read the passage again and revel in this wonderful news! “Hey, Death, because of the Cross of Jesus and His resurrection, you have lost! You have no more power over us Christians. We no longer need fear you. You have no teeth, no stinger, no claws and no fangs. You may be able to still our physical hearts, but now when that happens, our souls fly to Jesus for eternity!” In II Timothy 1:10 Paul tells us that Jesus Christ “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” And in Romans 8:38 and 39, Paul includes death in his famous list of things that are powerless to separate us from God’s amazing love; in fact, he leads with death: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Death is a defeated foe. Yes, we will all still die. But for the Christian, it’s simply a change of address. Billy Graham is famously reported to have said, “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.” And that new life will be unlike anything we can imagine here and now in this fallen world. A few days before his death, pastor and author F. B. Meyer wrote to a dear friend these words: “I have just heard, to my great surprise, that I have but a few days to live. It may be that before this reaches you, I shall have entered the palace.” And when John Owen, a Puritan pastor, lay on his deathbed, his secretary wrote in his name to a friend, “I am still in the land of the living.” Owen stopped the secretary and said, “Change that to ‘I am yet in the land of the dying, but I hope soon to be in the land of the living.’” What a great perspective. And he’s right; we are currently in the land of the dying, but soon will be in the land of the living; that land where Jesus awaits those who have trusted Him as their Lord and Savior. If you have never done that, I encourage you to contact me. A personal relationship with God is the very thing to reduce your fear of Death to zero!
THE SOUTH WIND Many years ago, I began to listen to the music of a terrific artist named Joanie Madden. Her music appealed to my Irish ancestry, and I have enjoyed it ever since. She plays an amazing Irish whistle (her group, Cherish the Ladies, has performed a couple of times at the Myrna). Inspired, I bought an Irish whistle and tried my hand at playing. Finding that I wasn’t cut out for that, I decided to write lyrics for one of the songs she recorded. Below are those lyrics. I pray that they are meaningful to you. I encourage you to look up the accompanying music rather than simply reading the lyrics. Go to YouTube or Apple Music. In the search field, type Joanie Madden The South Wind. Then read, or better yet sing, the lyrics along with the music. I have not titled the lyrics, and would love to get your input on what to call this Christian version of The Sound Wind! Verse 1 Feel the sweep of the canyon’s expanse See the glint on the waves, how they dance Stand in awe of the peaks cold and grand Be amazed by the works of His hand CHORUS I will praise You for all that You have done in my life I’ll praise You each day I have breath You have saved me, my Lord, from the dark night of sin My heart will forever be Yours Verse 2 You have flooded Your grace over me My response: not to do, but to be In the warmth and the glow of Your peace It is done – all my striving can cease CHORUS Verse 3 Now I see by the light of Your love How forgiveness is wrought from above I’m now free to let go of the pain Run to You, where Your loss is my gain CHORUS Following are some verses that support the lyrics. Psalm 95:1-5 O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods, In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. Psalm 46:10 Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 69:29 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high. Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. Psalm 116:6 The LORD preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. Titus 3:4,5 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, PART 3 This is our third and final week taking an encouraging look at Joshua chapter 1. The man that Joshua was succeeding in leadership was arguably one of the most influential men who has ever lived. Moses, at age 80, had been called to be the instrument God used to release His chosen people, Israel, from captivity after four hundred years in Egypt. God gave Moses the Law, His set of rules designed to set His people apart from the surrounding nations, and Moses had disseminated it to the people. Forty years later, a new generation of Israelites had grown up. Moses led them to the doorstep of the land God had promised to Abraham hundreds of years before. And then he died. Unquestionably, he was a tough act to follow! But that was exactly what Joshua was called to do; step in and fill that void and lead the people to their inheritance. And that’s what the book of Joshua is all about – Joshua doing just that – fulfilling his God-given destiny as God’s leader. But if we’re interpreting Joshua 1 correctly, it appears that Joshua didn’t boldly and confidently step up from his former role as Number One Assistant into his new role as Top Dog. God tells Joshua three times in just a few verses to “Be strong and courageous.” In the Bible, for God to repeat a phrase indicates that it’s very important. Repeating it twice is pretty much unprecedented in the Bible. But God didn’t just repeat it twice. He used Moses to tell Joshua the same thing two more times, in Deuteronomy 31:7 and 23. And later in Joshua 1, the Israelites encouraged Joshua yet again with the same statement! So Joshua heard “Be strong and courageous” six times in a short span! God really wanted to get this encouragement across to Joshua. My guess is that Joshua needed it badly. We’ve been examining the three reasons God gave Joshua so that he could be strong and courageous. Because all three apply to us, too. We often find ourselves in a position of weakness or timidity, or both. Any number of circumstances can cause our strength and courage to wither: major life-change, such as a physical move or a job change; simple fatigue, illness or ministry burnout; a hostile work or home environment, where persecution or ridicule are the norm; fear of what people think of us, or people-pleasing; perfectionism; strife and problems in our families; guilt and shame from past sins; and unconfessed sin. Add your own strength-and-courage-sapper if I’ve left it out. God first told Joshua he could be strong and courageous because he had God’s promises (Joshua 1:2-6). We have God’s promises, too. They’re scattered all throughout the Bible. A second reason for strength and courage, which we discussed last week, is the fact that Joshua had (and we have) God’s power (Joshua 1:7,8). It’s in the form of His Word, available to us absolutely anytime and anywhere, even on our phones! The third reason, and perhaps the most impactful of the three, and our subject for today, is that Joshua had God’s presence with him. Little 5-year old Johnny was spending time in the kitchen with his mother as she made supper. She asked him to go into their deep pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn't want to go in alone. "It's dark in there and I'm scared." She asked again, and he refused again. Finally she said, "It's OK--Jesus will be in there with you." Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once, he had an idea. He said: "Jesus, if you're in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup?" Joshua 1:5 says, “Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” That promise of God’s presence was specifically for Joshua. But we are included in God’s similar promise in verse 9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Do not tremble or be dismayed. That’s a phrase not found in any of the other five similar statements. Any time you hear the phrase, “Be strong and courageous,” you pretty much know the reason for the statement is that the recipient is feeling just the opposite; they’re feeling weak and timid and therefore need this encouragement. But in this case, God is saying (to us), “I know you’re feeling weak and timid right now. But beyond that, I know that you’re frightened. Don’t be. I’m right here next to you and I always will be.” Having God’s promises (Reason #1) and His power (Reason #2) are both wonderful. There is nothing better to strengthen our weakness and bring courage to our timidity. But Reason #3! God’s very presence with us! I think if we truly grasped what God is saying to us in that verse; if we really understood the magnitude of this reality, we would be stunned, and then absolutely fearless. I confess that my mind can’t comprehend the idea that the One who created this vast universe and every atom within it, the One who holds all life together without effort, the One in control of every interaction of every one of the eight-plus billion people on earth, the One who instigates and monitors the billions of chemical reactions taking place every second in every one of the thirty or forty trillion cells in each human body, that One lives within me! And He will never leave me. Our God, the God we love and serve, though almighty Creator, is a personal and present God. When I’m jubilant at a victory; when I’ve pleased Him with my thoughts, attitudes or actions, He’s there, rejoicing and celebrating with me, His hand up for a high-five. When I deny or betray him by my thoughts, attitudes or actions; when I’m despondent over my failure, He’s still there, ready to hear my confession, with strong, warm arms to wrap around me. When the grief of loss - the loss of loved ones or the loss of the self I used to be - threatens to overwhelm me, He’s there. He knows grief and suffering. And He offers an understanding shoulder for my tears as well as a perfect Word of encouragement if I will listen for it. If we think of the comprehension of God as the volume meter on the old stereo, my anemic perspective doesn’t come close to even moving the needle. My understanding God and His ways would be like a bacterium understanding quantum mechanics, only with that gap multiplied by a trillion or so. To say that God is beyond our comprehension is the understatement of the millennium. But the glorious truth is that He loves you so much He promises to come to live within you, to take away your fears and doubts and infuse you with strength and courage. And someday He will take you home and you will live with Him, worshiping, serving and enjoying Him forever. We have, like Joshua had long ago, God’s promises to us, His power for us and His presence with us. Knowing that, we have every reason to put away our weakness (He is our strength!) and our timidity and fear (He is our courage!) and live each day to bring Him all the glory.
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, PART 2 Last week we took an initial look at Joshua 1. Moses, the hero of the Exodus and the man who had been used by God to personally hold the nation together through forty years of wilderness wandering, was dead. It is interesting to note that at this point in the history of Israel, only three men in the entire nation were over sixty years old, and two of them were Moses and Joshua! And with the death of Moses, there were only two remaining (if you’re interested in how I can say that no one else was over sixty, and if you’re interested in who the third man was, look up Numbers 14:26-30). Israel’s senior ministry was hurting for men and women who qualified by age! Over three weeks, we are looking at the reasons God gave to Joshua to encourage him to be strong and courageous, encouragement we can appropriate, too. They are: 1) God's promises to us. 2) God's power for us. 3) God's presence with us. The first reason, last week’s topic, was that Joshua had God’s promise that he would lead Israel to victory. “Every place on which your foot treads, I have given you (Joshua 1:3).” We are also in possession of God’s promises, though they are not for land and victory over our enemies. We looked at several promises from the Bible that encourage to us to be strong and courageous when we are feeling weak and unsure of ourselves. These promises included the facts that God will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5,6), nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:35), He provides all our needs (Matthew 6:25 and Philippians 4:19), He is preparing eternity in heaven for us (John 14:1-3), He works all things in our lives together for our good (Romans 8:28), He has removed our sin from us (Psalm 103:12) and our work for God here on earth is never in vain (I Corinthians 15:58). This week we shift to the second reason Joshua could at that time, and we can today, be strong and courageous; that is, God’s power for us. In Joshua 1:7,8, God says, “Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” After reading that, you might be thinking, “I didn’t see any mention of power!” God’s power comes through his Word. The Word is described as “the law” in verse 7 and “this Book of the Law” in verse 8. At that time, God’s Word consisted of just the first five books of the Bible – what is sometimes referred to as the Pentateuch, or the Torah to the Jews. Today, of course, God’s Word to us is much more extensive. We have 34 more books of the Old Testament as well as all of the New Testament. God gives the promise of power to Joshua in verses 7 and 8. Let me paraphrase, “If you do not turn away from My Word; if you are careful to do according to all that is written in it, then you will prosper and have success.” Just as the power Joshua needed to be strong and courageous came from God’s Word, so our power to overcome our tendency toward weakness and timidity, and to “prosper and have success” comes from our meditation on and resulting obedience to God’s Word, the Bible. But didn’t we see last week that God’s promise to the people of Israel was unconditional? There seems to be a condition in this promise. What is God doing? Changing the rules midstream? Well yes, there is a condition here. But God is not changing the rules. God promised Israel the land unconditionally, but success and prosperity depended upon their adherence to God’s Word. Think of it this way. Two brothers each receive separate parcels of land as an inheritance. One brother decides to go and build a ranch on his property and live there. He invests in the land, improves it and moves in to enjoy his inheritance. The other brother never touches his land. Both brothers own their land, but only one occupies his land. The people of Israel were promised the land unconditionally. But making it fruitful and enjoying it would only happen on the condition that they followed God’s Word. The same is true for us today. Eternal life is the inheritance of every believer in Jesus. That is unconditional. Our inheritance is secure. However, occupying the land – translated today as living a useful, God- glorifying, victorious, significant Christian life, is conditional. It is dependent upon our meditation on and obedience to the principles of the Word of God. How is your attitude toward the Word? Do you pull it out just occasionally, or is your reading, study and meditation a daily discipline? Can your relationship with it be described as that with a dear, familiar and much-loved old friend you love to spend time with, or is it more like a distant relative you invite in for an awkward minute or two on occasion? Is it just a book of facts and information to you, or do you realize and revel in the fact that it holds the keys to a rewarding life? Several hundred years ago, a man was imprisoned and given only a Bible as a companion. As far as anyone knows, he never found faith in Jesus, but when he died in prison more than thirty years later, they found the following statements inscribed on the walls of his cell: “Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse of the Bible. Esther 8:9 is the longest verse of the Bible. The longest name in the Bible is Mahershalalhashbaz, found in Isaiah 8:3, Ezra 7:21 contains all the letters of the alphabet except j. The longest sentence in the Bible is in Luke 3:23-38. Cats are never mentioned in the Bible, but dogs are mentioned forty-one times.” The man had become an expert on facts about the Bible, but it made no impact on his life! I hope that’s not you. In a strong Bible-teaching church like Hannaford, it’s easy to know a lot about the Bible. But the question that matters is, does it change your life? Are you appropriating the power source God has given you? The first verses of the first Psalm say great things about the man who “delights in God’s Word, who meditates on it day and night.” Verse 3 says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” I like that picture of fruitfulness, growth and success! And all I have to do is cultivate a loving, delighted relationship with the words of the One who created me and gave His life for me? That sounds like the best deal ever! Make the Word of God your constant companion. Read it, memorize it, meditate on it, let it germinate within you and then grow out of you, performing its transforming work in your thoughts, attitudes and behavior. Let it come out your mouth when you speak and out of your hands when you work and out of your feet when you move. To be continued...
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, PART 1 Moses was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that.* The nation of Israel was on the doorstep of the Promised Land and the man who had led them there was gone. Joshua was being called to fill some of the biggest sandals ever. If there has ever been someone who needed encouragement, it was Joshua. And God gave him just that. He told Joshua three times, “Be strong and courageous,” in Joshua chapter 1 alone. Maybe you need the encouragement to be strong and courageous today. Maybe in your walk with the Lord, you feel about as far removed from strong and courageous as is possible. Maybe you’re feeling sick and weak and timid today. Maybe you feel weak and timid because you’re being criticized when you feel you’re doing the best job you can. Maybe as a man, you feel weak and timid because you struggle with being the spiritual leader in your home. You’ve failed so many times that you’re afraid it’s weakening the integrity of your family. Maybe as a woman, you feel weak and timid because you’re having difficulty respecting your husband as you know you should and you have many regrets over some of the words you’ve spoken. Or your husband is gone and you feel completely alone sometimes. Maybe you feel weak and timid because you look back over your life and see so much you should have done differently to impact the world for Christ. Or you feel there isn’t much for you to do to be productive in the church body anymore. Maybe you feel weak and timid because of mistakes you’ve made that have caused great pain in your life and in the lives of others. Or maybe injustice or violence has been done to you that seems to have debilitated you and crippled you spiritually so that you don’t think you’ll ever recover. There is hope today for the weak and timid among us. God told Joshua to “Be strong and courageous,” three times in Joshua 1. And each time, He gave him a different reason for doing so. They are that Joshua, though he may not have known it, was in possession of three incredible gifts: 1) God's promises 2) God's power 3) God's presence Today we will look just at God’s promises. Joshua 1:3-5 is basically a reiteration of God’s unconditional promise to Abraham in Genesis 15, a passage Pastor John preached on a couple of months ago. Genesis 15:5-7,18: “And He took him [Abraham] outside and said, ‘Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. And He said to him, ‘I am the LORD who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.… To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.’” You’ll notice that I removed quite a bit from the middle of the above passage. That missing portion describes the process of ratifying the covenant. It was a one-sided covenant because God had caused Abraham to sleep through it! So this was not an “if you do this, I’ll do that,” conditional kind of covenant. No, it was unconditional. God was saying, “No matter what, this is My promise to you.” And that promise comes up again here in Joshua 1:3-5: “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” God told Joshua to be strong and courageous because of the unconditional promise He had made initially to Abraham and then repeated many times to Moses and the people of Israel. How could this possibly apply to us? Sure, Joshua was encouraged to be strong and courageous because of God’s promise to give the land to the people. But God hasn’t promised me a land to call my own, or that He’ll conquer all my enemies or solve all my problems. What good is this story for me? God hasn’t promised me anything specific like that! Well, hang on just a minute. I believe He has. Let’s begin with Hebrews 13:5,6: “’I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?’” Is that not just about the most comforting promise you’ve ever read? Even when we look around and everyone we know and love is gone, even when we’re being treated unfairly, God hasn’t left us. We’re not really alone - ever! And how about Romans 8:35? “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” The implied answer is a resounding, “No, none of these!” We will never be cast adrift. Take a look at these two verses: Matthew 6:25 and Philippians 4:19. I’m going to combine them here: “Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We never have to fear that our needs will not be met. God promises to take care of us. Now to John 14. In the first three verses, Jesus says, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also (:1-3).” Here we see that not only is Jesus preparing us a place in heaven, but He’s coming back one day to take us there to be with Him! We don’t have to be discouraged or defeated in this world; it’s not our home. It has no hold on us. One day we’ll leave it and spend eternity with our heavenly Father. That thought gives me strength and courage to meet head-on the challenges of living a godly life here. We all know Romans 8:28, but it’s not a cliché by any means. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” One of the greatest promises in all of Scripture. But wait, there’s more! Psalm 103:12 is a huge promise for all of us. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” The mistakes of our past, confessed and forgiven, should be irrelevant to the way we live our lives today. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case, is it? We carry the load of guilt and shame around on our backs. Drop that weight and give your sin and its consequences to God. He hasn’t stopped loving you. My son Evan loved video games as a teen. Especially shooting games. I played a few times with him. At first I struggled to simply keep level my field of view. Then I struggled with both aiming and firing my weapon. As a result, while he was chalking up hundreds of kills, I was a casualty time and time again. He thought this was the most fun ever, by the way. But the great thing was, every time I got killed, the game put me back together, stood me back on my feet, put a new weapon in my hands and let me start again! That’s the way it is with God’s grace, too. We crash and burn every day. But if we come to Him with a contrite heart, God is faithful to put us back on our feet and let us begin fresh. There’s a reason the Psalmist used the directions east and west rather than north and south. North and south have endpoints – you can stop going north or south. East and west go on forever. And that’s how far God has removed our sin from us! I Corinthians 15:58: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” Your service to God is not a waste of time. You may feel neglected, ignored and ineffective, but God doesn’t miss anything. He’s aware of your service. What an encouragement for the Christian laborer to gather new strength and courage to continue the fight! So although God has not promised us a physical land to enter like He did Joshua, there are many promises in the Bible that we can take to the bank. I challenge you to look up some more yourself this week. We can gather strength and courage from them, even as Joshua did. To be continued... *If that opening sounds vaguely familiar, it’s a slightly modified version of the first line of A Christmas Carol , by Charles Dickens.
