The First Week of April
We Read…
A new creation, God’s provision, our Lord’s protection & promise–what a beautiful thing to behold! But wait a minute…we can’t just consume the good stuff. A covenant between God and His people includes the good, bad, and ugly, so if we’re to read Scripture responsibly, we need to walk through the mud with these people. When we read the Scripture in its entirety and revel in the context, it reveals how rich and abounding the grace of God is! Their stories and cries to the Lord are often similar, if not exactly mirroring our own.
Joshua 5:9-12
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” So the place was called Gilgal, as it is today.
10 The Israelites camped in Gilgal. They celebrated Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho. 11 On the very next day after Passover, they ate food produced in the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped on that next day, when they ate food produced in the land. There was no longer any manna for the Israelites. So that year they ate the crops of the land of Canaan.
Psalm 32
1 The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
whose sin is covered over,
is truly happy!
2 The one the Lord
doesn’t consider guilty—
in whose spirit there is no dishonesty—
that one is truly happy!
3 When I kept quiet, my bones wore out;
I was groaning all day long—
every day, every night!—
4 because your hand was heavy upon me.
My energy was sapped as if in a summer drought.
Selah
5 So I admitted my sin to you;
I didn’t conceal my guilt.
“I’ll confess my sins to the Lord,”
is what I said.
Then you removed the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 That’s why all the faithful should pray to
you during troubled times,
so that a great flood of water
won’t reach them.
7 You are my secret hideout!
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of rescue!
Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you
about the direction you should go.
I’ll advise you and keep my eye on you.
9 Don’t be like some senseless
horse or mule,
whose movement must be controlled
with a bit and a bridle.
Don’t be anything like that!
10 The pain of the wicked is severe,
but faithful love surrounds
the one who trusts the Lord.
11 You who are righteous,
rejoice in the Lord and be glad!
All you whose hearts are right,
sing out in joy!
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16 So then, from this point on we won’t recognize people by human standards. Even though we used to know Christ by human standards, that isn’t how we know him now. 17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
18 All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, by not counting people’s sins against them. He has trusted us with this message of reconciliation.
20 So we are ambassadors who represent Christ. God is negotiating with you through us. We beg you as Christ’s representatives, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32
15 All the tax collectors and sinners were gathering around Jesus to listen to him. 2 The Pharisees and legal experts were grumbling, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
3 Jesus told them this parable:
Luke 15:11b–32
12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’ Then the father divided his estate between them. 13 Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away. There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living.
14 “When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country and he began to be in need. 15 He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death! 18 I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I no longer deserve to be called your son. Take me on as one of your hired hands.” ’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion. His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. 21 Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet! 23 Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it. We must celebrate with feasting 24 because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life! He was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field. Coming in from the field, he approached the house and heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. 27 The servant replied, ‘Your brother has arrived, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he received his son back safe and sound.’ 28 Then the older son was furious and didn’t want to enter in, but his father came out and begged him. 29 He answered his father, ‘Look, I’ve served you all these years, and I never disobeyed your instruction. Yet you’ve never given me as much as a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours returned, after gobbling up your estate on prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ 31 Then his father said, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.’ ”
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses? Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or in the church?
When you think of the promises of God, do you weigh them against the sin in your life?
What a friend we have in Jesus to know that just like the Israelites wandering in the desert, the prodigal son, David, and the Corinthians, our Lord has never stopped pursuing us. Despite our sin, we are still provided every opportunity to repent, be forgiven, and be hidden under the shadow of His restorative wing.
What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
We Feel…
A core theme throughout these verses is understanding the destruction & weight of sin, but again, knowing the Lord as the God of reconciliation. Taking all of this into consideration, ask yourself these questions:
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
Rejoice and be glad! May our hearts grieve our sin while also basking in the beauty of “His unfailing love that surrounds the one who trusts in Him.”
We Believe…
While understanding and believing the promises and love of the Lord are true and good, we must also wrestle with the more uncomfortable parts of Scripture as we read through them. Our passage from Joshua is on the other side of a trying season for the Israelites, where they rebelled against God and worshipped their flesh through idolatry and constant complaining. Our flesh may seem like the easy way out, but it most certainly is more comfortable in most circumstances. But true formation happens in the fire, the refining processes, as our impurities rise to the surface. The holier way is often the hardest.
We Practice…
You might be familiar with the story of Corrie ten Boom and her contribution to the Jews during WW2. If not, I would encourage you to pick up her story, The Hiding Place. I think of it every time I read through Psalm 32. She was a Christian watchmaker in Holland whose unfailing trust in the Lord led her through horrors some of us can only imagine. Her story is inspiring to all who recognize the fervor of her faith in the one true God. May it inspire you to love the Lord in a new way today! Practice repentance, acknowledge your sin before the Lord, and allow Him to welcome you home, beloved child–you are His!