Be Brave

Joshua 1:9 (NIV84)

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Good morning Zebras,

Last week when I was feeling “frightened,” I took myself to Joshua Chapter 1.  There’s something so encouraging about reading God tell Joshua to be brave and courageous over and over again.

I mean if Joshua needed reassurance it would only be natural that I would too.

But this time I noticed something I hadn’t really seen before.  In verses 6, 7, and 9, God tells Joshua to be brave and courageous, to go out boldly because He (God) will be with him.   But in verse18, after pledging their loyalty to Joshua and promising to fully obey him as they obeyed Moses, it’s the Israelites, not God, who tell him to “be strong and courageous”

And that got me to thinking.

Christians need to be brave and courageous not just because God tells us to, but because other Christians need us to be.  We all need to see people who are willing to follow God whole heartedly because it encourages us to do the same.

But it doesn’t stop there.

I think the world needs Christians to be brave also.  They need us to live up to the hope we profess to have.  They need to see us keep our head when everyone else is fathering because they need to see the power of God and they need to see it in us.

The world can be a dark place, but rather than sitting around and cursing the darkness Christians are called to turn on the light.

I love you little Zebras, and I pray today, wherever you may be, your life offers a little light to someone who really needs it.

Love,
Jill

Quit Kicking the Door!

Acts 16:26 (NIV84)

Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

Good morning Zebras,

Last week we went on a family bike ride.  Katherine, my daughter was having trouble biking up the first hill but I wasn’t.  Since she is nineteen and in much better shape than I am I knew the problem was the bike not the rider.  When I looked at her bike I found out that I was right, her front brakes were engaged so she was literally biking uphill with the brakes on. 

And God said that’s what it’s like to live the Christian life with your power instead of mine, possible but extremely difficult.

I had to ask myself, “How often do I continue “biking” when God has put the brakes on, ending up being exhausted and discouraged rather than joyful?”

Then this week God took me to two “great escapes” in the Bible, two men who were in bad circumstances who waited for God to get them out.  The first is Paul’s release from prison as recorded in Acts 16:22-40.

Paul and Silas were flogged and thrown in prison for preaching God’s word.  The Bible says “around midnight” there was a violent earthquake and the prison doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose.  But rather than run for freedom Paul and Silas remained and because of it the jailer and all of his family came to know the Lord. 

The next morning the magistrates set them free.

The second escape is recorded in Acts 12:1-19.  This time it’s Peter who is in jail and God sent an angel to get him out. The Bible says his chains fell off, the doors opened by themselves and the two of them walked out of the prison together.

But I think what God really wanted me to notice was what these men were doing while they were waiting.  Paul and Silas were “praying and singing hymns to God” and Peter was sleeping.  They were not kicking at the door trying to get out or sitting around worrying about what was going to happen next.

And I knew God was expanding on the lesson from the bike ride.  “Don’t keeping riding in your own power, and don’t kick doors that I have shut.  Simply focus on Me, praise Me, and wait on Me, because even if you can’t see it I have a plan.”

Love,

Jill

Two Sauls

Job 42:2 (NIV84)

“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.

Good morning Zebras,

Here is your “God thought” for the day.  Until last week I’d never made the connection that there were two men named Saul in the Bible, even though I had all the information. Maybe you haven’t either.

The first Saul’s story is recorded in 1 Samuel 9-31.  He is the man chosen by God to be the first king of Israel.  Anointed by Samuel and given power by God, he still did not live up to his responsibilities.

His downfall is recorded in 1 Samuel 15 but here’s a quick recap.  Saul was told by God to destroy the Amalekites, he was to put to death everything including women children and all livestock.  But Saul didn’t do it. He allowed the Israelites to keep for themselves everything that was good and he spared their king.

When confronted by Samuel, the first Saul lied saying, “I have carried out the Lord’s instructions,” but when Samuel asked him to explain the bleating of sheep and lowing of cows Saul broke down and admitted he hadn’t killed everything.  He explained they’d saved the best to sacrifice to God.  But that wasn’t the true answer either.  Saul did not kill everything because he was afraid of the people, so he allowed them to keep some of the plunder.

As a result God removed Saul as king and one chapter later Samuel anoints David.

The second Saul is in the New Testament.  His story is told in Acts 7:58-28:31 and throughout the New Testament letters.  He is of course Paul.

Saul was advancing on Damascus breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples when Jesus appeared to him on the road and changed his life.  He showed him the error of his ways and after a few days of blindness he was given the task of carrying Christ’s name to the Gentiles.

And becoming a new creature in Christ, he more than lived up to the challenge.

Paul did not fear any man, but instead feared and loved God and because of that he devoted his life to his service. Paul always did what God told him to so as he faced death he could confidently write: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—“

All of which just confirms to me that God’s plans will not be stopped.  God will accomplish what He has intended to do, the only real question is “Will I be a part of it?”

Love,

Jill