Route 66: Days 77-78; Judges 1-5

As a woman the scenes of war recorded in Joshua was a little hard to take. All the "when everyone of them had been put the sword" regardless of gender or age seems so heartless.  It made me think of the saying, "If mothers ruled, there would be no war" came to mind wishing that a less violent solution could have been instituted. But one thing I do know, if God required it, his will trumps that of any mother and always results in the very best outcome. Still, even if our head knows something, our hearts sometimes need time to catch up.

As it has been so far with the Israelites, it wasn't long before they started making compromises. They did not drive out the enemy as commanded but rather chose to coexist with them with the excuse those people would be under the dominion of the tribes of Israel. Little by little, the Israelites faith became watered down by outside influences and by the time only one generation had passed no one even recognized God. One generation! The fathers and mothers, eye witnesses to God's faithfulness, had not done their job of impressing on their children a foundation of faith in God worthy of their allegiance. Perhaps they lost sight of just who had brought them out of slavery and to possess a wealthy land of "cities they did not build... to eat from vineyards and olive groves that they did not plant." [Joshua 24:13]

Now as we start Judges, chapter three reveals God's plan for these little rebels.  God was going to use the nations they had integrated into against them.  This new generation was going to have to learn how to fight. Something they had no experience with. No more compromise. Their faith would also be tested to see what they were really made of and as we start off on our journey in this book, it was a pretty sad sight. They seemed bent on destruction.

We may see a 'slight' resemblance in our own culture.  I'm not talking about the world at large but of the people who say that they follow Christ. Here in our country of wealth it is sometimes easy to forget who is the Provider of All Good Things. We may be found bowing down to make offerings of our time and money to the pursuit of possessions, youth, recreation and importance.  We compromise on principals when choose the wisdom of the world over God's word. We loose sight of God as we move in a direction we think best. We 'intermarry' with the world's ways and our faith no longer rests in our God but our SELVES. Pretty scary.

In 2 Timothy 3, we find -- But mark this: "There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power." [1-5]

And that pretty much sums up this generation. By the time the next generation comes along, this will be multiplied in them.  "God who?" will be heard on their lips. We cannot afford to compromise with the ways of the world. Our future generations depend on it.  As seen Judges, the Israelites will get into a terrible jam then God come in and save them. He IS faithful to do the same in our generation as well as our children's but he is equally faithful to those who choose to follow him everyday.

That brings to one other thought about this--If God has to constantly call us back to him, it delays his work among the people who do not know him yet. It's like herding cats rather than sheep.  He wants us to follow him and his voice. It is counter productive for him to be forced to continually gather us back up again.  He wants use our hands and feet to make himself and his ways know to a world that is living without him and it works a whole lot better if we are ready and willing to be used.

So back to where we started, its not 'If" but rather "When mothers rule- impressing the knowledge of God's ways and words on their children- their children will be equipped to live peacefully with God." No compromising on this one! They must know who God is and how he operates. This will enable them to see him at work for themselves. This will give them a good start on building a faith of their own. Pretty cool legacy to leave them, don't ya think?  Oh, by the way, this goes for dads, too. ;-)

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life."

Deuteronomy 6:1-2

Route 66: Day 72; Joshua 5-8

The sedge of Jericho would have been something to see.  Can't you just picture it? Armed forces taking the lead followed by the priests with the Ark hoisted onto their shoulders and trumpets blasting all the way as they stepped out with purpose in obedience to the Lord. The story of the walls tumbling down is made even more fantastic when you consider these  we're some of the very "walls that reached up to the sky" spoken of in Deuteronomy 1:28 that brought so much fear and discouragement to the Israelites.  Back then they had no idea how they would defeat such a strong and seemingly impenetrable fortress but God had always had a plan that would bring victory. All they had to do was follow it.

And succeed is just what happened. The Israelites marched out in unity and confidently followed the Lord's instruction.  The result: Complete Victory.  That just how it is. God never fails. Nope, never. It makes me wonder if we just had the strength and courage  (Remember, be strong and courageous.) to follow the instructions to his plan what would happen. Could we overcome the hopeless obstacles life builds up in front of us? How would we change when we met up with victory? How would the world be affected by victories in our lives? What if we were united and marched together in God's plan? What then?

Hope would be found, that's what. When the walls of suffering, injustice, and oppression lie in a heap of smoldering ash, we along with the people around us will know that God who he says he is  "For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:47

This is yet another "God has a plan not to harm you but to prosper you" message from the Bible. :-D

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.  For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth..[for]...the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Psalm 47:12 Psalm 33:11

Want to know more about who God says he is in Scripture, check out this site--http://adelightfulhome.com/what-god-says-about-himself/

Route 66 : Day 71 ; Joshua 1-4

Moses' departure from this world always touches my heart. His last sight was of the land he had led the Israelites to. The people would enter the land and he would enter into eternal rest. God himself would carry Moses to his final resting place. Such a tribute to a life of lived out in faith and obedience.

Now, a new leader for a new generation takes position. I would like to touch a couple of things I saw in the reading--

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them." Joshua 1:6

1. Over and over Joshua is told to have strength and courage in his new role as leader to the Israelites. I'm not sure if it was for the trail ahead or due the fact he was leading this obstinate group of people. I have a feeling it was for both but the repetition of the statement "be strong and courageous" is a good indicator that his future life was going to need an extra measure of both.

The thing I like most though is the fact that "be strong and courageous" was linked to the obeying and meditating on the Word. Again, we see God saying, "You want success, just follow me." God's words had everything Joshua would need to be a successful leader. All he needed was to grab hold and stand firm on them. A very good lesson for us as well.

2. Then, on the part about the leaders of the clans picking up stones from the middle of the Jordan--The stacking of stones for the express reason of remembering the miracle God had preformed. I'm not sure how often we remember the works of the Lord in our lives. The "If not for the Lord..." moments. The healings, the provisions, the blessings, the protections, the revelations of life should not only be treasured up in our hearts but also spoken of at the dinner table, as we sit at home or out and about with friends. We need to remember and share the memories and miracles with those around us. They serve as a reminder of a God who is faithful and true. Each time we recall where we've been with the Lord it lends us strength and courage to us as we move on to where he is leading.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Route 66: Days 68-69; Deuteronomy 28-31

Don't ya ever wonder how anyone could possibly take the prescription meds they advertise on TV after the list off all the dangers connected with the product.  The "and in rare occurrences even death" part sticks in my mind.  Here in chapter 28, we see the blessings and the curses of obedience laid out as a prescription of life. To me it is a no brainer about which course to follow but as we know it is a constant tug-of-war when it comes to following God's way or choosing our own course to see how it works for us.

Yet, here it is in this chapter. WARNING: If you take your own advise and disobey this is what you can expect.  All is revealed when we take the time to read the information put before us.  We don't have to wonder what to expect when we make a choose on which way to go. God's path leads to blessing after blessing while a path of our choosing doesn't look so good. If you say, "Wait, this was for the Israelites who were entering The Promised Land" all you have to do is look around and you can see evidence of man's choices everywhere.

God meant what he said when he commanded his people, us included, to follow his way of living. Notice I didn't say 'suggested'. It was and still is a command to follow him. We have seen it said over and over through the past few books and we will see it as we read on through the Scriptures.  Jesus will say, "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be." [John 12:26] It is part of being God's people. It is how we actively imitate God. It's how we exhibit our faith in him.

Let me say this.  I am not promoting works over faith. I believe our faith brings us to salvation.  This is a worksbecause of our faith idea.  This is for people who have placed their trust in Jesus and now are pursuing a godly life. Jesus himself says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." [John 14:6] but its through actions that our faith is made mature. [James 2:22-24] Now that you trust Jesus, follow his way.

As Deuteronomy draws to an end, God's people will be challenged to follow his prescription--

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.  It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?”  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 

 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess."

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live  and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Deuteronomy 30:11-16 NIV

The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. Choose life.

Route 66: Day 67; Deuteronomy 24-27

I fed a homeless guy last night. His name was Edward. It isn't an unusual thing for me to feed someone I see that might be hungry. Maybe it's because my mamma taught me it was impolite to eat in front of others though I don't really know if that applied in this situation since Edward was sitting alone on the dirty curb and I would eat my meal at a nice clean table surrounded by a large group of people who were laughing and chatting with each other. It doesn't really matter but I think the reason I fed him because God placed him in my path to feed and so I did.

In the passage found in Deuteronomy 24, it talked about making provision from excess in our own "fields" for the foreigner, fatherless and the widow. It is just one passage out of nearly 100 found in the Bible that address our responsibility toward caring for the poor. One thing I would also like to point out is that he doesn't say those who are rich be generous. He makes a statement to us all no matter where we find ourselves economically. If you have a "field" big or small he's taking to you.

I have found that the most generous people are actually the ones who can afford it lest. I seen those who had very little of their own divide and share what they had with someone else in need. A couple of years ago, I worked with a small church in one of the poorest areas near my home. We ran a midweek children's service with singing, games, and stories. At the end of the service we fed the children supper and some home baked cookies. Every single time they would ask if there was enough to take home. Some refused to eat what we offered so that they could carry it to a mom or dad, grandparent or sibling who was not in attendance. I like to picture them running into their houses making their little offering to whoever was there becoming givers themselves.

Giving is a simple matter really but its no small thing. Even though each of may only have capacity to make a momentary difference in life of one, man, woman or child it is still worth the effort. It adds up and most of us have more to offer than we think. A hamburger, a smile, a dollar or two, a moment of your time to give recognition. God has placed what others need in our "field" so we get to be generous and practice love. It grows us up a little more into the image of his Son who gave everything.

The feeling you get when you follow through with God's will in your life is exhilarating and makes you want to do more, give, more, love more. I can't describe it. You just have to experience it for yourself. And in case you didn't realize, caring for the poor is God's will for everyone. You, me , everyone. Remember he says it nearly 100 times. After my encounter with Edward. I thought about him all the way home and prayed for his life. Would he always be homeless? Would he someday have a wife? Children? He was a very young man. Where was his family? His parents?  His siblings? Would he make it through the cold night? Would he know Jesus just a little more because someone fed him a hamburger and asked him his name? Only God knew the answers. What I do know for sure, that night, Edward's name was in God's ears and on his mind.

Route 66: Day 62; Deuteronomy 8-10

"Let me tell you not one, not two but three times it is not because of your righteousness that you will be taking over the land." God was pretty blunt here about "it's not about you" in this passage. The land was about a promise he had made to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the plan that would produce a nation who would produce the Savior of the world. It spoke of God and his faithfulness and wasn't based on theirs. Good thing because they were reliably unfaithful. 

It is interesting that to head off comparing their righteousness to the people who were being pushed off the land, God says that is the nations' wickedness not Israel's goodness that has caused it. Sad when you think that at some point in their history they knew about God and over time had moved away from a relationship with him. They began to look to themselves and their wisdom rather than to Lord and this arrogance would become a great divider between God and man.

That is exactly what God is warming against here. "Listen, Israel. You've got to be on your guard lest you forget who actually got you to this point. It was me and don't think to highly of yourself."

In 1 Samuel 15:23 it says, "For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.”  Thinking to highly of yourself is idolatry! That's harsh but does ring true.  This  passage comes in a story about King Saul doing what seemed right to him rather than acknowledging God instruction. He would loose his position as ruler of Israel over his self-importance. A very stiff penalty, indeed.

I guess the moral of this story is Keep your sights fixed on the One who led you this far. Don't ever get the notion you were the driving force behind your journey. You just not that good. It is God who has called you, he has prepared you, he has cleared the way and he will be faithful to see it through. 

Thank God. Where would I be without him?

Route 66: Day 60; Deuteronomy 5-7

Whew! Am I ever behind with the reading and writing over the past few days.  Our household has been busy doing some home improvement as we look to host our youngest daughter's wedding reception in June. Along with that task, we also try to make it to as many of our grand kids events that we can on the weekends.  My husband just remarked yesterday how he loved being involved in their lives. It was important to have that time with them sharing in their lives. 

Sharing about our lives, more specifically how God's "commands, decrees and laws" when followed create a good life, just so happens to be what this part of the reading was about. In fact, Deuteronomy 6 may be the passage I most describes the way I operate. If you ask those who know me best they would say I include God and his ways in most all of my conversations. I can't help it. I guess it's the teacher in me or the fact that God is constantly showing me how his word works and I can't stay silent about the guy. He is awesome and I want others to know it not just in their heads but also in their hearts and souls.  Can't ya see? I've gotta share.

I impress them on my children. Talk about them when I sit at home and when I walk along the road, when I lie down and when I get up. God Word affects my interactions and service to others. I even actually have Scripture written on my entry wall for all, me included, to see. I want to be aware of God everyday in everything and I want to point it out to others as well. 

Another thing that impressed me in chapter six is that it even laid out a plan on how to tell others about why you follow God and his way of life.  Here is the Patty Schell paraphrase on ver 20-23: " Next time your child  (or anyone for that matter) asks about why you follow the Lord's ways, tell them that I once was a slave to____________ and God came in and miraculously intervened on my behalf. He did an amazing work in my life.  He pulled me out of the hopeless place so he could bring me to a better life."  

Not too hard  really when you consider it's about you and your story. No need to learn a method. Just tell your story.  Don't be afraid. You have all the facts stored right inside your head. And don't worry if there will be opportunity to share. You will have plenty as you "sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (and all day long in between) to tell of the wonderful work God has done.