The Gimmies

October 6, 2009
Greed<Image courtesy of bejealousofme>

Christmas is coming.

Now, we may not be very far into autumn, Halloween is still almost a month away, and Thanksgiving is a distant thought for those of us here in the US.  But reminders are everywhere that Christmas is coming and retailers are working hard to instill a bad case of the gimmies in every consumer.  It’s a disease that strikes young and old alike, when raw consumerism and selfishness reign, and though self-restraint may keep us from actually verbalizing, “Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie…” the sentiment can still be found in many.

But The Gimmies aren’t something unique to the Christmas spending season or retail marketing.  Somewhere deep within each of us is the desire to grab a hold of the stuff that isn’t ours but we think we deserve.

In Joshua 7, Achan did exactly this.  He grabbed a hold of some of the very things God said were only God’s, and, as shared in the last Joshua post, the result was disastrous for the people of Israel.  Achan held onto something that wasn’t his and the consequences were dire.  His actions should cause each of us to ask if we aren’t holding onto things not ours… things even greater than the shiny new _______ (you fill in the blank) we desire when flipping through the Sunday ads.

Are we attempting to possess something that isn’t really ours?  Do we recognize that even ‘our’ job is simply God’s chosen vehicle for his provision in our lives and that it isn’t really ours at all?  That our job isn’t ours to squander or take advantage of; it isn’t ours to do with as we please… because it simply isn’t ours?

What about ‘our’ church?  We often try to make church what WE want… either in the name of some sacrosanct tradition, because of ‘righteous indignation,’ or in the name of ‘reaching the lost at any cost’ when, at the core of it all we’re just fighting for personal preference and comfort… what we want when we want how we want.  And yet, Scripture is clear that the Chruch is Christ’s body over which he is the Head… and as the Sovereign King, His design and desire are all that matter.

Or how about family?  Parents (I’m treading lightly here because I recognize I’m not a parent) sometimes forget that ‘their’ children are really lives which belong to God and the parent is given brief stewardship over.  Spouses are called to love, respect, protect, and submit to one another not because they belong to each other but because God has, in a sovereign but loving manner, given husbands to their wives and vice-versa.

We all too often commit the sin of Achan, taking the things that are devoted to God and trying to claim them as our own.  To those of us in Christ, our call is one to a life of continued, consistent obedience, even in those areas of life which may seem too big/special/scary to trust to God.  But they (and we) are His, and so is the victory we seek.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Victory: Simple

September 29, 2009
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Over the course of the last few Joshua posts, some ideas have been shared about where victory for the Israelites wasn’t found as they fought in the somewhat well-known battle for Jericho and their less familiar defeat at Ai.  As counterintuitive as it may seem, we discovered that the key to their victory wasn’t in a flashy move of God, attempting to conquer, or self-confident.

The key to their victory—and the key for us to find victory and freedom in what we face—is simple:

Joshua 7:10-13 (TNIV)—

10 The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? 11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. 12 That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

13 “Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.

In seeking God for understanding about the source of their defeat, the Israelites discovered the source of their victory: Obedience.  Their victory wasn’t theirs at all but came about as a direct result of their obedience to God’s direction.

The instructions to Israel about how to fight the battle for Jericho had been clear: march around the city day after day (even though it probably looked and felt ridiculous) and then when the city was invaded the people were to dedicate certain objects to God.  The source of Israel’s defeat at Ai was their  disobedience at Jericho: they had only followed PART of the instructions.  Even ‘worse,’ only part of Israel followed part of the instructions—for the most part, everyone seems to have very carefully followed God’s direction and acted within the parameters which had been set for them.

But there was one man who didn’t.  One.  A man named Achan took hold of some the very things God said belonged only to Him and claimed ownership of them for himself.  As a result all of Israel was defeated; one man’s disobedience meant the suffering of an entire people.

Our personal disobedience never effects only us.  Our personal sin is never personal.  Our individual issues reach far beyond our personal experience.  This is one reason the Church is called to judge herself and we are reminded of our existence as a single Body not a group of individual people.

Victory for us, our churches, our families, our communities is found in our  obedience to the Lordship of God’s Spirit.  This may be simple, but it is not easy—the incredible thing is that through Jesus Christ, we have access to the desire to obey and through Christ we have the ability to find obedience (and, therefore, victory).

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Victory: More than Confidence

September 15, 2009

57562757_a7e573fb78<image courtesy of unapistim>

In our final discussion of what victory isn’t based on chapters 6 & 7 of Joshua, we find the Israelites engaged in a post-Jericho battle with the people of a little town called Ai:

Joshua 7

2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” 4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

Israel had experienced victory in the midst of impossible odds; but in the face of a seemingly insignificant enemy at an insignificant town they were soundly defeated.  The Israelites were confident.  Brash.  Full of themselves.  But they didn’t look at the obstacle before them with spiritual eyes, and it cost them.  Huge.  There were problems within their own camp that had to be dealt with, but those issues were indiscernible to eyes which were focused simply on the physical realities of battle conquest.

True to form, the Scripture here teaches us something:

Those who serve as our superiors, mentors, trainers, and trusted advisors often seem to indicate that the more confident we are, the more successful we will be.  I definitely think there is some truth to that, but we run the risk of talking ourselves into frenzied activity where we forget we are wholly dependent on God, and that, as great as we think we are, when we become full of ourselves, we destine ourselves for failure.

The battles we’re fighting and obstacles we find ourselves facing must be viewed through spiritual eyes (we forget that the spiritual is far more real than we may be tempted to believe).

The first time I ever went snorkeling, I was amazed to discover a whole different world— just as real as what I had been experiencing on land— thriving under the surface of the water.  Sometimes, even from the land there were some indications of this ‘other’ world: kelp leaves discernable at the surface, tide pools evidencing various treasures, and ‘flying fish’ jumping from the water.  But when we peered under the water, with masks properly secured, a new understanding of ‘ocean life’ came to be mine.  For someone from the desert of Arizona, ‘ocean life’ had always been more an untested theory than a real concept until I experienced it firsthand.

For those of us living in the desert of this present world, the reality of the spiritual may be lost on us because it is sometimes seen only in brief, somewhat confusing glimpses.  But when we view what is occurring with spiritual eyes, we are amazed at what seems to be a whole other world full of vibrant reality.

We must view the battles we are fighting with spiritual eyes, no longer focused only on the obvious or our personal confidence.  We must see our battles as ones with spiritual consequences and even spiritual roots; as the kind of fights which can only be truly won if we are on the side of God, full of his Spirit and transformed by his Word.  Walking by faith rather than what we see isn’t always easy, but it’s particularly important that we battle by faith rather than our confidence in what is seen.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Victory: More than a Miracle

September 10, 2009
fireworks<image courtesy of Image*After>

After the Israelites have crossed into enemy territory and prepared themselves for battle in some pretty interesting ways, it’s time to overcome the obstacle of Jericho—a fortified city with some strategic importance.  If you’re at all familiar with the story of the Battle of Jericho, you know the ‘highlight’ is when the  walls collapse, leaving a once impregnable fortress ready for the taking.  It’s an incredible picture of God demonstrating his divine power over the human effort of the people of Jericho.  But this ‘flashy move’ of God isn’t where the Israelites find victory.  In fact, far from it:

Josh 6:1-5

1 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

2 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. 3 March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. 4Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. 5 When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

Even after the wall was destroyed, the Israelites still had to quickly move in to fight so that the people of Jericho wouldn’t escape and the Israelite army wouldn’t be routed.  Even though God had moved in an unmistakable way, there was still danger involved for Joshua and his people: as said before, Jericho knew the Israelites were coming, so they were prepared and anxious for a fight.

In our own lives, we often look for a miraculous, overwhelming, shock-and-awe end to our struggle.  We wish God would just *zap* our enemies and troubles away.  We forget that most of the time, however, when God shows his miraculous power or performs a miracle of such incredible wonder there is no doubt it has been his hand at work, you and I still have a part to play.  Even when God does something huge which demonstrates he is with us, that he has already made a way, that he is for us rather than against us… the ‘us’ factor still remains in the equation: for the Israelites it’s seen in the fact that the power of God destroying the walls of Jericho did not mitigate the responsibility of military to move in and overtake the city.

In the areas of our lives where we are crying out for victory, it’s important to question if we have simply asked God to *zap* our problems away, or if we have asked to be equipped to face the challenges at hand in his way so we can be prepared for the next part of our journey without avoiding this part of our journey.  The difference here is profound:

  • “God, fix my family.” Vs. “God, help me to love my family the way you love them and transform us by your Spirit to being more like you.”
  • “God, give me a better boss.” Vs. “God, help me to honor you and my leadership as an employee.”
  • “God, fix my finances.” Vs. “God, please teach me the way to be the kind of money-manager you call me to be.”

It’s a difference between a ‘genie-in-a-bottle’ kind of God and the God of the Universe who is able to work all things (including the battles we face, and the dark aspects of our journey) for his glory and the praise of his Great Name.

Would the Israelites have won the Jericho battle without God’s miraculous hand at work?  Absolutely not.  Would they have won if they refused to their part?  Nope.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , , | Comment (1)

Victory…

September 9, 2009
bricks<image courtesy of Dano>

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The last few posts on the book of Joshua focused a little on the battles faced by the Israelites, and how God prepared them to find and find victory as they began their conquest of the land they had been led to as well as some things we can take from their pre-battle lessons.

Now in the story (chapters 6 and 7 of Joshua), we’ll follow the Israelites as they battle at Jericho (which is a well-fortified city whose residents/leadership had seen Joshua’s army coming from afar—so they are very, very ready for a fight) and at another town called Ai.  If you’re familiar with the story at all, you might have in mind that the battle went something like this:

  1. The Israelites march around the city a few times and the wall surrounding the city are supernaturally destroyed.
  2. The Israelites claim victory and move on.

But there’s a great deal more to the story; and there’s a great deal more for us to learn about where victory was found in these particular battles.  Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin by looking at where victory in battle wasn’t found (you might be surprised to learn that the walls collapsing wasn’t the mark of victory in this battle; neither was ‘conquering’ the town; and the assurance of victory wasn’t in the confidence of the people) before we look at what really brought victory for the people of Israel.

But even this little conversation makes me wonder if, in the areas of life that are uphill and otherwise difficult right now, I have been looking for a ‘win’ that really isn’t a win at all but my simple, wrongheaded definition of victory.  How do you define ‘victory’ or a ‘win’ in your circumstance right now?

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Ready for Battle: Provision

September 3, 2009

Medium Corn<image courtesy of Lawrence Op>

We all face moments during life’s many battles when we come to the incontrovertible realization that we just do not have what it takes to push through:

…the obstacles are too big
…circumstaces are too hard
…finances are too tight
…we’re sorely outnumbered
…and, most disconcerting of all, hope seems too far gone.

God knew the people of Israel would face these same things as they went about the impossible business of conquering the land they had been promised and later began the process of nation building.  So, it’s interesting that before they fight the battle for the strategically significant city-state of Jericho, the Israelites find themselves being reminded of God’s power, and are in a situation where they must trust God’s plan of action even though it couldn’t have made too much sense at the time when this happens:

Joshua 5:
10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. 11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.   (TNIV)

The Passover was a celebration of God’s provision of rescue, safety, and leadership.  Then for the first time, after this importrant celebration, the people eat of the land around them.  THIS IS INCREDIBLY SIGNIFICANT—for forty years, the people had eaten strange breadlike stuff called “What Is It?” (manna) as God daily provided for every detail including food and clothing-—daily provision which served as a daily reminder that God and no one else was actually doing the providing.

But here’s the deal:

Something happens when we have experienced God’s provision—we expect the next time his provision comes, it will be in the same manner of before.  So, we do the same things, pray the same prayers, and try to break God’s provision and grace down into a formula of words and activity.  Yet that simply isn’t what we see, nor what we should expect.

What if the Israelites had waited for manna in the new land?

THEY WOULD HAVE STARVED.

Instead, God provided now for the Israelites from this new land itself.  Don’t be mistaken; though the provision came off the land, God was just as much providing animals for meat, and plants for harvest as much as he sent manna like rain and quail like an invading horde in the desert.

I don’t know what battles you’re facing today… and I don’t know in what ways you are crying out to heaven for provision.  But I do know this as I fight and wait with you: God is our provider.  He has granted provision and will continue to do so simply because he loves us; but we must recognize he will not always provide in the way we expect, desire, or have seen before.

Provision and rescue are coming.  We just need to be cautious that we aren’t looking for manna and quail when God is giving us a new way.  Remember how God has provided in the past, and anticipate his movement… in his much-higher-than-ours way.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Ready for Battle: Trust

August 31, 2009

Trust <image courtesy of powerbooktrance>
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One of the recurring themes throughout Joshua is the need to follow the instructions God gives the people.  The importance of this will become painfully clear later in the story of Israel as the nation endures the consequences of ignoring God’s instruction.  But, here again in Joshua, we see something of a reminder—this time before the army goes to war—about operating within God’s parameters.  It’s a reminder that’s good for us to hear, too, when we’re looking for victory within our own lives:

Joshua 5–

2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.”3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.

4 Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt—all the men of military age—died in the desert on the way after leaving Egypt. 5 All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the desert during the journey from Egypt had not. 6 The Israelites had moved about in the desert forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the LORD. For the LORD had sworn to them that they would not see the land that he had solemnly promised their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way. 8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.

Ouch.

Think of the ridiculous notion of following this particular instruction—the people are smack in enemy territory; the simple fact of their presence is a declaration of war on the tribes and city-states in the area.  The only means of escape for the people of Israel (crossing the Jordan River) is cut off, and God gives them instruction that will keep them immobile “until they were healed.”  Strong, able-bodied, motivated warriors were needed because the danger and opposition is intense.  But instruction comes to undergo the important, sacred rite of circumcision… but doing so will put all of the fighting men out of commission.  From a tactical, human understanding, this order comes at the worst possible time and doesn’t make any sense.

Once again this is an act which speaks clearly of trusting in God’s strength and power.  Just as the people had already been reminded that God is powerful, now they are forced to trust in that same power to sustain and protect them.  Sometimes for us, just like for the people of Israel all those years ago on the shores of the Jordan River, evidence of relying on God’s power is found in our obedience even when we don’t have all the understanding we would want.

Before we fight our next battle, before we confront the thing causing our tension headaches or deal with the thing keeping us up at night, we are called to recognize and follow God’s instructions, trusting in the power of His Spirit even to be obedient, including:

Each of these can seem untimely, unfair, and uncomfortable—but it’s especially in those difficult moments when our obedience is a testimony of trust and faith in the One who instructs us; a trust His victory is coming.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , | Comment (1)

Getting Ready for Battle: Remember, God is Powerful

August 27, 2009

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For the LORD your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The LORD your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.”

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.      ~ Joshua 4:23-5:1, TNIV

We’re discussing how to be ready for some of the battles that come our way in life.  You can read the introduction here .  But the above passage seems to indicate a need to remember God’s power.

Just before the activities of the above passage take plaace, a memorial of 12 very large stones was set up in the Jordan River. The reason, we’re told, is so that the Israelites would know “the hand of the LORD is powerful and they would fear him.”  This was partly, I think, because of the ages-old temptation to try to do what was before them within their own strength—the people were great in number and had been waiting a very long time for the chance to make the land they were now in their own.  The memorial, however, served as a reminder they had made it this far only by God’s power and would continue on in the same way.

God is reminding the people of the power they had seen and experienced so they will remember:

Only by God’s power would they continue to be victorious.

The same incredible, life-changing, future-directing, enemy squashing power could also destroy the Israelites. The people are called to fear God—not just respect with healthy reverence, but I believe, to have some fear of him because of his incredible power, authority, and righteousness.  The knowledge that a Holy, Powerful God was using them did not override their need for this same Pwerful, Holy God to continually sustain them.

The rocks in the river would be a reminder of the mighty acts of power God had demonstrated… and would help them to stand firm.   The same God who had rescued, sustained, protected, fed them; who had miraculously provided travel through impassable obstacles and felled mighty armies would again be their strength, shelter, and commander in battle, securing victory.

Before we fight the battles coming our way (or that are already raging around us), we must remember and recognize God’s power in our lives regardless of the situation we find ourselves in.

Later in Scripture, we are reminded that in Christ, we are more than victorious and the world kingdoms are becoming the Kingdom of our Christ.  This should draw us ever deeper into relationship with him—his love, majesty, and power are perfect, and outside of him, we can never know victory.  The same God who has rescued us, sovereignly directed us, brought us safely thus far, protected us from who-knows-what, and draws us into fellowship with him is the only one powerful enough to keep leading, keep rescuing, keep granting victory.

What powerful acts of greatness has God advanced in history and your life that draw you to build a monument in your mind, remembering the victory he brings and the power he gives?

When we can see a battle coming our way– and even when we find ourselves entrenched in a fight–we are wise to remember, reflect, and rely on God’s power rather than our own.  After all, his is the kind of power that is found when we are weak; his is the kind of influence had when we are foolish; his is the kind of leadership seen when we are servants.  It may not be what we would instinvtively choose, but his way is, simply, right.

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

What Battles are You Facing?

August 24, 2009
397621743_fc701db610<Image courtesy of army.mil>

So much of life seems like it involves ‘battle.’  Think of how we describe much of what we endure in a single day:

At the beginning of the day: we fight to get out of bed.
During the day: we fight to maintain attention.
Sometime in the afternoon: we fight cravings.
Once things wind down: we fight to keep our eyes open.

And that’s just the normal kind of day; this is to say nothing about the different ‘corporate battles’ people face, those who find themselves ‘battling cancer,’ those trying to fight the battle of the bulge, fighting to keep the skeletons in our closets at bay, the couple in a rough patch who are fighting for their marriage (even though it appears they may be fighting each other).  Then on top of that (or perhaps related to many of the things just listed), Scripture reminds us, like-it-or-not, believe-it-or-not, we are entrenched in a spuiritual battle where we have a very real enemy and there’s a great war occurring we usually can’t see.

Battles come every day.  But how can you and I be ready when they come our way?  How can we be sure that we are prepared to the extent that we don’t just ‘live to fight another day’ but find victory and hope in the midst of our circumstance?

I’m not trying to make you depressed, but take some time and think of the different battles you face.  Go ahead, think.  What battles are you facing?

…

…

…

Did you think of some?

In Joshua 4 & 5, we find the people of Israel, having crossed the Jordan River, now poised for battle.  In fact, this is what is recorded for us:

Josh 4:

12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the LORD to the plains of Jericho for war.

They were ‘ready for battle’ and armed.  The time to fight was coming.  But, before they went to fight the battle before them, they were given instructions to remember some important truths… and those same instructions help us to fight our own battles in such a way that victory can be won.   Over the next few “Joshua” entries here, we’ll discuss what the lessons the people of Israel were reminded of and how we can learn to face the battles of life, love and ministry.  In the meantime, it just might be a good idea to reflect on what you’re facing this week and be reminded of our simple need to rely the only One who holds the promise of genuine victory

By JeremiahGomez | Posted in Joshua | Tagged , , , , , | Comment (1)