Nikol

I couldn’t just stop with one post from Joshua 22.  It’s a gold mine.  I’ve got this post up my sleeve and one more that I’ll share with you soon.

With their plunder packed, the Eastern Posse hit the dusty road to home, but before they crossed the Jordan, they decide to build an altar.  It was not just any altar, mind you.  It was “an imposing altar” or as we say in the South, “a biggun” (Joshua 22:10-12).

Apparently, word travels fast in the promised land, and the rest of the Israelites got wind of the altar and immediately jumped to the conclusion that the EPs had lost their minds.  So, they hold a meeting to discuss what to do about the wayward children.

Let us give credit here where credit is due.  The Israelites have been through the wringer many times because of some crazy folks in the family.  If there is one thing that they have learned through their travels, it is that Yahweh does not play when it comes to worshiping other gods or mis-directing worship to Him.  There are specific rules to follow and serious repercussions for not abiding fully to those laws.  So, the Israelites decide to confront their brothers, and behold, the first accountability group is born.

Accountability is tough but necessary.  If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I am a member of an accountability group which was born out of a larger women’s bible study.

Going from a bible study group to an accountability group is taking it to the next level.  It’s like the difference between “going out” and “dating.”

When you’re “going out” with someone everything is laid back and casual.  No time commitments, no serious conversations.  Everything is good and breezy and fun.  That’s how our bible study was pre-accountability.  Everything was easy.  People would float in and out depending on the study we were doing.  Serious conversations happened but rarely.

Then, one night at Donna’s kitchen table as we were patting ourselves on the back for completing another bible study book, we found ourselves smack in the middle of a DTR (Define the Relationship).

DTRs in my opinion are awkward.  In fact, I’m fairly convinced that they embody the very definition of awkward.  If there was a word more awkward than awkward, I would use it, but my vocabulary is not that exhaustive.

So, there we were, stuffed with hamburgers and potato chips, staring a plate of awkward trying to decide if we would take it to the next level of accountability.  We never looked back and I’m so glad we made that commitment.

Folks, we need other believers to keep us honest.  We need safe places to share what is in our hearts and the struggles that we face because this world is messy.  We need people who love us enough to speak truth to us – even when it’s painful – and we need people that will keep our feet firmly planted in His Word and our focus on Him alone because just as it was in the old testament days, there are serious consequences for mis-directing our worship and being disobedient.

Yes, we live under the new covenant of grace, but the God of the OT is the same as the God in the New Testament and the same God we worship today (Hebrews 13:8).  He will not share His glory with anyone or anything (Isaiah 42:8).

If you don’t have an accountability group, pray for God to provide you with one.  Pray for God to surround you with a group of people sold out to Him so that when the world tempts you to bow to the gods of  money, fame, power, prestige, beauty, relationships, work, and possessions, you have people to pick you up and re-direct your worship to Him.

 

Throughout the years, I have been blessed to have many, many people praying for me and over me.  My twenties were pretty tough and there was a darkness around me that was almost palpable.  I am so thankful for those of you that loved me through some pretty unlovely times, and more importantly thanks be to God for showing me over the last several years the purposes of those struggles.  I am so grateful.

For those of you who battled with me, and continue to do so, I smiled with delight as I pondered Joshua 22:6-8.

Since the Israelites are always wandering somewhere or another, let me take a moment to orientate you to where we are in their journey.   The Israelites have wrapped up their 40 years of desert wandering; God has given them the land he swore to their forefathers, and now it is time for everyone to take a breather from the battles, and rest (Joshua 21:43-44).

Prior to crossing into Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh asked for their inheritance to be on the east side of the Jordan because the land was good for raising livestock (Numbers 32:1).  For simplicity’s sake (and to keep my fingers from having to type that out) let us refer to them as the “Eastern Posse.”

Moses obliged their request on one condition:  their families could settle there, but the fighting men would battle alongside their brothers until the land west of the Jordan was settled.  All of them said, “Amen,” and it was a done deal.

Fast forward five years and you’ll find yourself in Joshua 22.  Joshua is now in charge of the people and, being the awesome leader that he is, honors Moses’ promise to send the Eastern Posse home to be with their families and get some well-deserved rest.

He sends them on their way with a great amount of wealth (a.k.a plunder, or if you speak Pirate, loot and booty).  Now, don’t miss this:  The EPs gathered plunder when they fought for their brothers.  They took large quantities of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron and clothes (praise the Lord that clothing is plunder!).

Are you going to battle for someone?  If so, then press on because I believe when we fight alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ, when we petition the throne with them and for them, we get to share in their victories and in their blessings. This is our plunder.

Celebrating victories and the answers God provides with those we love is some of the sweetest plunder we will ever receive.

I know.  I know.  It’s not Music Monday, it’s Sunday.  But it’s a special Sunday.  It’s Easter Sunday and He is risen!!!  How can we celebrate Easter Sunday without singing praises for the work that Christ accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection?!  Praise Him for “worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Rev. 5:12)

High Noon

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the deep of the valley was bright
When the mouth of the tomb shouted,
“Glory, the groom is alive”
So long, you wages of sin go on,
Don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed;
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle at
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow

And the demons, they danced in the darkness
When that last ragged breath left his lungs
And they reveled and howled
At the war that they thought they had won

But then, in the dark of the grave
The stone rolled away
In the still of the dawn on the greatest of days

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When Jesus took in that breath
And shattered all death with his life
Be gone, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
You’ve lost all your sting
To the victor of the battle
High noon in the valley of the shadow

Let the people rejoice
Let the heavens resound
Let the name of Jesus, who sought us
And freed us forever ring out

All praise to the fighter of the night
Who rides on the light
Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky

High noon in the valley of the shadow
When the shadows were shot through with light
When the mouth of the tomb
Shouted, “Glory, the Groom is alive”
Be gone, you wages of sin
Go on, don’t you come back again
I’ve been raised and redeemed
All praise to the king
The victor of the battle
High noon in the valley
In the valley of the shadow

©Andrew Peterson, “Love and Thunder” 2003

I am enormously grateful that I have never had to watch someone that I loved (or anyone for that matter) die a slow and painful death. But there are all too many people who have.

The gospels tell us that many of those who loved Jesus were watching from a distance as the horrific death of Jesus unfolded on Golgotha. It was a scene that would be seared into their minds and hearts for all of eternity.

Their sadness was overwhelming. The confusion and shock swirling through their minds paralyzing for they mourned, not only the loss of a friend, teacher, master, and son, but they mourned the loss of a dream.

Their dream: that Jesus would be the king of Israel; that he would reign more gloriously and powerfully than any king before him; that they would be in a royal palace one day, vanished as Jesus breathed his last breath and hung lifeless on the cross. How could a dead person reign? Their dream was dead.

But things aren’t always what they seem.

As sundown approached, the grief of those who loved Jesus was cut short by the call of duty. For the Jews, it was the day before the Sabbath. Preparation Day. A day spent gathering what they would need to observe a day of rest. The body of Jesus had to be taken down, prepared for burial and laid in a tomb before sundown. Much work had to be done.

Thankfully, Joseph, a secret believer in Christ and a member of the Jewish Council, stepped up to provide a place for Jesus’ body to lay. Nicodemus, who also was a member of the Jewish Council and one who came previously in secret to Jesus at night, was there to help him. Together, they made the hasty preparations and arrangements and gently wrapped his naked body and laid him in the tomb.

For the women, numb with grief, perhaps the preparations of that afternoon mercifully kept their hands busy so their minds didn’t have to fully process the events of the day. The mercy was short-lived, however, as daylight faded into the stillness of the night and the silence of Saturday.

Forced to rest and reflect, they had only time on their hands to relive in their mind’s eye the tragedy that unfolded before them. They had only time and quietness to think of the hopes they once had and the fear of the unknown.

But things aren’t always what they seem.

To make things worse, they would have gone to temple as members of the Jewish faith. They would’ve walked into the courtyard, with tables over turned and the veil torn in two, and they would listen to the very people who sought the death of Jesus teach them the very law that He fulfilled.

But things aren’t always what they seem.

I’m wondering how many people reading this are mourning the loss of a loved one. How many of you grieve over a dead dream?

Maybe you thought you’d be married by now,
or cured of your illness,
or working at a job that you love.
Maybe you thought you’d have children,
or that your spouse would’ve been faithful,
or that you would have a job by now.

But things aren’t always what they seem.

In his book, God Still Moves Stones, Max Lucado paints the most beautiful picture of hope when he writes about the experience of those who went to the tomb early on Sunday morning.

The God of surprises strikes again…God does that for the faithful. Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned. And just when the road is too dark…the angel glows and the Savior shows…

The lesson? Three words. Don’t give up.
Is the trail dark? Don’t sit.
Is the road long? Don’t stop.
Is the night black? Don’t quit.

God is watching. For all you know right at this moment he may be telling the angel to move the stone.

The check may be in the mail.
The apology may be in the making.
The job contract may be on the desk.

Don’t quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers.

God still sends angels. And God still moves stones.

Things aren’t always what they seem.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Good Friday.  It marks the completion of Christ’s work on Earth – at least for a while.  It is a bitter sweet day.  If you have a chance to go to a Good Friday service, I hope that you will attend.  I love this day.  I love it because it re-focuses my life onto the love that Christ has for me.  I used to think that the crucifixion was a corporate sacrifice – done for everyone, but not specifically for me.  However, God has shown me over the last several years that He did, in fact, die specifically for me. 

If you’ve ever had the same feelings, I pray that you will ask God to reveal just how personal His work is to you.  He will show you.  In fact, did you know that in His last prayer before facing betrayal, mockery, flogging, and eventually crucifixion, He prayed for you?  He prays for himself, the disciples, and us.  And “us” includes you as a believer.  What a beautiful example of his personal love for us – He was on His hands and knees praying for us!

Before we walk with Jesus to the cross, let’s go to the Garden of Gethsemane and spend some time observing Christ in prayer.  We know from Matthew, Mark, and Luke that Jesus was in mental anguish.  I can only imagine the emotions that ravaged His human body.  Interestingly, only one gospel gives the specific details of Christ’s prayer.  Maybe you want to climb up in a tree or sit beneath one.  Kneel with me beside Him and listen to His prayer. 

Read John 17:1-26

Jesus starts with a prayer for God to be glorified through Him, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (v.17).  The focus is on God’s glory.  Then, he prays for the disciples, some of which were slumbering not far from where he kneeled.  He prays for the protection and sanctification of the disciples, saying, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (v.15).  Then, he prays for you: “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world” (v. 24). 

Hallelujah!  He wants to be with you and for you to see God’s glory!

Let’s look at Christ’s glory.  Few movies have moved me more than “The Passion of the Christ.”  I sob through the entire movie.  I remember the first time I watched it; I could barely look at the screen.  I was about to leave the theater when I felt the heaviness of God’s hand hold me firmly in my seat.  “Nikol, sit and watch.  I did this for you.”  That’s when I was almost to the point of wailing.  While it’s difficult, I watch this movie every Easter.  It certainly puts things into perspective. 

I could spend a week talking about the last few hours of Christ’s life.  While I hate to hit the fast forward button, let’s move to the cross.  Beaten and broken for your sins, Jesus is nailed to the cross.  Ever hear it put like that before?  Kind of takes your breath away, doesn’t it?  It was an agonizing death.  Stare up at the cross.  Hear His labored breathing.  Watch His bloodied and broken body rise and fall as He prepares to breath his last breathe.   And as you look at the God of the universe nailed to a cross remember…he did it for you.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall.”  Proverbs 16:18

Read Luke 22:7-38

Today is Maundy Thursday, and our journey becomes more somber.  I just returned from my church’s Maundy Thursday service.  What an experience!  As I sit to write about the events that are about to unfold, my mind is swimming.  This morning, I planned to write about Judas, but as my day progressed, I was led in a different direction. Don’t get me wrong, Judas’ story is an important one.  We hear a lot about him around this time of year, and most people can relate, though on a much smaller scale, to being betrayed by a loved one.  But have you ever wondered about the other disciples and what they were experiencing?

We learn in Luke 22 that Jesus sends two disciples ahead of Him to Jerusalem to prepare for the Passover meal.   Aren’t you curious who He sent?  If I can keep my wits about me when I get to Heaven, that is one of those questions I plan to ask the Lord.  In this instance, we don’t have to guess which disciples were chosen, Luke tells us.  John and Simon Peter were chosen specifically for this task.  Jesus knew what he was doing when he chose these two.   There was a lot of work that went into preparing the Passover meal:  the lamb had to be roasted; bitter herbs prepared; and bread made.  Beth Moore observes that John and Peter were the only disciples that referred to Jesus as the Lamb.  I chuckled thinking about a couple of manly men trying to plan and cook a celebratory meal.  How many men plan and cook Christmas dinner for the family?  No offense guys, I’m not too worried about the lamb.  Men have been blessed with the unique ability to cook when fire is involved! 

Not only did the meal have to be prepared, but the table had to be set.  Oh, wait!  Where’s the table?  Before John and Peter could prepare the meal, they had to find a place to eat it.  Notice their response to Jesus, “Where do you want us to prepare for it?”  They don’t complain; they don’t waver.  Jesus says, and they do.  But what I like most about their response is they ask him how He wants them to carry out His plans.  It demonstrates complete confidence and dependence on God’s direction.  Oh, if we could be so wise when Jesus asks us to do something that we would simply turn it back to Him and ask how to do it and then trust that He’ll provide! 

I am so encouraged that Jesus doesn’t leave them to figure it out on their own.  He tells them precisely what do to in verses 10-12, and similar to the story of how the disciples found the donkey, so it is with the disciples finding the room to celebrate the Passover.  Now, keep in mind that earlier in our study, we learned that there are potentially millions of Jews in town for the Passover celebration.  Ever tried to get a hotel room in a city when something big is going on?  Good luck with that!  Maybe Peter and John were daunted at the seemingly impossible task of finding a place for the meal.  But, isn’t it just like Jehovah Jireh to tell us to do something seemingly impossible and then miraculously provide the resources in order for us to accomplish it?  Why?  So that He gets every bit of the glory!  It’s all of Him and none of us!  Unlike the day of His birth when there was no room for Him in the inn, this time there was a room and it was completely furnished!  God not only meets the need but exceeds it!  

After the Maundy Thursday service, I went out with some of my friends to dinner.  I couldn’t help but be reminded of Jesus and His disciples eating their last meal together.  The disciples knew something was about to happen, they just hadn’t fully realized it yet.  I’m sure they chatted about the events of the last few days.  I can hear Bartholomew saying, “Hey Philip!  What was your favorite parable?”  Or maybe James kidded Matthew about how smelly his feet were before Jesus washed them.  Can’t you see Jesus laughing at a joke Thomas may have said?  I wonder if for a few moments Jesus was able to look past what lay before him and enjoy fellowship and laughter with His friends. 

Maybe they reminisced about the look on the little boy’s face when the fish and bread multiplied, or how good the perfume smelled when Mary anointed Jesus with oil. 

As the evening passed, the mood became more somber.  We see the shift in the mood after Jesus poured the wine and broke the bread.  The disciples begin bickering about who was the greatest.  Remember, Jesus had just told them that he was going to suffer and be betrayed, but they turn the focus back to themselves!  There is nothing like pride to put a damper on things and take our focus off of God.  Solomon warns us in Proverbs about the dangers of pride. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall” (Proverbs 16:18).  We are about to see this very verse lived out specifically in the life of Peter.  If a good dose of pride takes our focus off of God, we can rest assured that a good dose of humility will bring us crawling back.   

I’m sure it was shocking to Peter when Jesus tells him, “Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” (v 31)  The word “you” used here is plural.  Satan had asked permission to sift all the disciples like wheat.  He continues, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” (v 32)  The word for “you” in this passage is pointing specifically to Peter.  Jesus prayed specifically for Peter’s faith not to fail.  After all, God would use Peter to build His church.  Notice that Satan has to ask God for permission to touch those that belong to Him.  Nothing comes to us that He hasn’t allowed.  While our times of sifting are uncomfortable and difficult, we should find comfort in knowing that God has allowed it!  Beth Moore writes, “Christ will not grant the devil permission to do anything that can’t be used for God’s glory and our good – if we let it.”[i]

Beth Moore also notes the differences between our faith being tested and a time of sifting.  Being sifted is an “all out onslaught by the enemy to destroy you and make you quit.”  Have you ever experienced a time like this in your life?  I’m not sure that everyone requires the pain of sifting, but I do believe that those people that are a threat to Satan, those that can give the most glory to God, are sifted.  If you go through or have gone through a season of sifting, I hope you are comforted in knowing that Jesus prays for your faith not to fail. 

Moore also goes on to say that while Satan’s plan is to “make a mockery by showing us to be all chaff and not wheat,” God’s purpose in sifting is to “shake out the real from the unreal, the trash from the true.”  God can use everything, including the devil, as He pleases to accomplish His glorious plan.  “May God use it so thoroughly that the enemy ends up being sorry he ever asked permission.” [ii]

Jesus continues the conversation with Peter, “…and when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (v.32).   The key word here is “when.”  Not “if” but “when.”  Notice that Christ doesn’t just tell Peter that he’s praying for him, but he also tells him that he is going to survive the sifting.  Please allow me one more reference to Beth Moore.  “From falling, Peter was about to learn how to stand…Christ didn’t want to take the leader out of Simon Peter.  He just wanted to take the Simon Peter out of the leader.”[iii]   And so Peter’s humiliation returns him to His Father, strong enough to help others.  A time of sifting takes away our pride and brings us back to the cross so we can stand, in order to help others when they fall.