Standing on the Wall

Joshua 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. 4 Have 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.”

I am sure that the soldiers of Jericho had never been attacked in the way that the Israelites attacked them; blowing horns, marching around and around, shouting.  This had to be one of the most unusual attacks in which anyone had ever participated.  But, being inspired by God, it worked.

We humans have our ways of doing things and God has His ways.  Sometimes they are the same and other times they are very different.  We may laugh at or belittle someone who is being used by God in a different way to accomplish His will, as I am sure the soldiers on the walls of Jericho laughed.

How is God working in the world today in a different way?  Are we supporting it?  Or are we standing on the wall laughing?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Stones

Joshua 4: 1-7

“1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Geologists can look at stones and tell you the ancient geological history of a nation.  As a child I studied the geologic division of North Carolina into three areas, the mountains, the piedmont, and the coastal plain.  Each division has a different type of soil, and as a result, different types of stones.

Stones were used in biblical times to mark a place where an important event had happened so that they would always have a reminder and a reference point for the event.  The stones were proof that an event had taken place on that spot.  Parents could point to a pile of stones and explain to their children the things that happened there in the past.

Is our faith a pile of stones of what used to be?  Do we point to and long for the past?  Or is our faith active and happening now, so that when we explain our faith to our children we can point to people who are alive in the faith, and living the example of Christ?

Do we point to stones?  Or do we point to the fire of the Holy Spirit?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Not Just Hearers

Joshua 1: 1-6

“1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Moses had died.   The Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  God had shaped and molded them into a people who were prepared to enter the promised land.  All that was needed was the courage to act.  

God has been at work in our lives, shaping us and molding us into the people we are today.  Through this process His love and mercy have been revealed to us.  He has prepared us to be members of the Kingdom of God.  God calls us to be not just hearers of the word but doers.

Do we have the courage to act?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Fulfillment of God’s Promise

Numbers 36: 7-9

“7 No inheritance in Israel is to pass from one tribe to another, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal inheritance of their ancestors. 8 Every daughter who inherits land in any Israelite tribe must marry someone in her father’s tribal clan, so that every Israelite will possess the inheritance of their ancestors. 9 No inheritance may pass from one tribe to another, for each Israelite tribe is to keep the land it inherits.”

God promised Abraham land, numerous descendants, a good name, and blessings and protection in a hostile environment (I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse- Genesis 12:3).  

This covenant was passed to Abraham’s descendants.  The promised land was divided among the tribes by Joshua, and each tribe became responsible for safeguarding its inheritance. Each day the Israelites could walk outside their doors and see the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.

A Christian’s inheritance is not land or any worldly thing, but it is the promise of forgiveness and eternal life with God.  Each day we have the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into a deeper relationship with Him, conforming us with Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Hope of the Cross

Numbers 21:8-9

“8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.”

Snake bites are scary.  A friend of mine was bitten on the foot by a poisonous snake and by the time he reached the hospital his leg was unrecognizable.  

The Israelites who were bitten by snakes in the wilderness were totally dependent upon God for their cure.  People who looked at the bronze snake that God asked Moses to make, lived.  It is  my assumption that they  had to look upon the image of the snake and see life rather than the source of their death in order to be healed.

In the same way, people can either look at the cross with hope and faith and see life, or with skepticism, seeing only a means of death.

Look at the cross.  What do you see?

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Religious Pride

Numbers 15: 37-41

“37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘Throughout the generations to come you are to make tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. 39 You will have these tassels to look at and so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by chasing after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. 40 Then you will remember to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God.”

All Pharisees wore tassels on their garments to remind them of their obligations under the law.

Even Jesus wore tassels on his garments.  The hemorrhaging woman reached out and touched them and was healed (Matthew 9: 20-22), yet Jesus criticized the Pharisees for wearing their tassels in a prideful manner, and making a show of them (Matthew 23:5). 

The things that we do to remember, praise, and serve God should be done sincerely, reverently, without show and without worldly pride.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Journey

Numbers 9:15-19

“15 On the day the tabernacle, the tent of the covenant law, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out.”

God was with the Israelites during their journey through the wilderness.  His presence was manifested in a cloud and in fire, an obvious sign of His presence for all to see.  Yet, throughout their journey to the promised land, the Israelites complained that they would die and expressed to Moses that they wanted to go back to Egypt, back to their old lives, back to bondage.

God is present in our lives, yet we ignore the obvious signs.  We feel that He has deserted us or is punishing us because times and the journey are hard.  We yearn for our old lives, the good old days, even though we were bound to sin and death

Christianity is not an easy journey.  But God is with us, leading us and guiding us along the way.  

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)