June 25, 2024 Day 3 Week 13

June 25, 2024, Day 3 of Week 13

Daily Dose of Hope - June 25.

Scriptures Joshua 1-4; psalm 143; Luke 1

Hi and welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that complements New Hope Church’s Bible reading plan. Our Scriptures begin with Joshua chapters 1-4. The chapters begin after the death of Moses and Joshua is now stepping into leadership of the Israelites, but he’s got some big shoes to fill. I mean Moses was the man who led the Israelites out of Egypt and now Joshua must be the man to lead the Israelites into the promised land… Since Joshua was with Moses then he knows it’s not going to be easy, but it’s ok because God is with Joshua. God makes sure to tell this to Joshua specifically. God is letting him know that he is not alone and is reminding him of all the resources he has available to accomplish this task, that he has the instructions from Moses who was there before him and if Joshua follows them directly and does not stray from them, he will be successful. This sounds familiar doesn’t it. The book of the Bible that we have today is very much instructional to our lives and God wants us to follow it. God also wants Joshua to be strong and courageous, knowing that God is there. The themes of courage, God’s presence, and faith are so prominent in these chapters that they are setting the scene for how we ought to be as Christian’s. So, what does Joshua do with all of this… He takes charge. He shows courage. He speaks to the Israelites, and they respond well to his leadership.  

Joshua then sends two spies to scope out the land that they are going to take on the other side of the Jordan. But someone told the King of Jericho that spies were in their land, so the king sent word to Rahab, who was hiding the spies. Rahab is an interesting character because she is not the type of person one would expect to be playing a part in God’s plan, but this goes to show that God can use all sorts of people to carry out his will. Rahab sent the people who were looking for the spies away and went up to talk to them. She expressed her faith and her fear to the spies by exclaiming that she knew God had given them the land. She asked in return for saving their lives that her life along with her family be spared. The spies form an agreement with Rahab. So, Rahab, like Joshua, was quite courageous herself.

After scoping out the land and knowing God had given it to them the Israelites along with their new leader Joshua were ready to move across the Jordan. The Ark of the Covenant carried by the Priests was to go first ahead of them. The Ark of the Covenant was the presence of God and as the Priest walked out on the Jordan they walked on dry ground, meaning the water in the river dried up, like what happened when the Red Sea was parted. Eventually the whole nation of Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground. One may think the presence of God is not here, but it is it’s all around us, in our church, in our brothers and sisters in Christ, and even in us.  Then Israelites made memorials to remember what God had done, so future generations would remember.  

Psalm 143 is our next Scripture and boy is it heart altering. King David is losing all hope in this psalm and is caught in the midst of fear and depression. He is crying out to God about his struggle and that’s what we see so prevalently in this psalm. It is so freeing and live giving to know that when we are in those times of fear and struggle, we can turn to God and call on him to ultimately help us carry out his will. This reminds me of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane crying out to God that not Jesus’s will be done but God’s.

With that we move into Luke 14 found in the New Testament. In this story Jesus is eating dinner in the home of a leader of the pharisees. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus questions the pharisees asking what is permitted on the sabbath particularly about healing. Then he heals the man with the swollen limbs by touching him. Then he turned to the Pharisees and questioned them again using an example of them rushing to help their son, donkey, or cow out of pit if it were to fall in. And again, the Pharisees could not answer Jesus. When I think about this I often wonder whether I could answer Jesus in this situation or not. Jesus then goes into a teaching about humility. He gives the people at the dinner the advice to not sit at the head of the table or in the seat of honor because when someone more distinguished than them comes to the wedding feast the host will ask them to move and they will be embarrassed, essentially. He told them this teaching because he had noticed they were all trying to sit in seats of honor near the head of the table. He instead instructs them to take the lowest seats at foot of the table, for then the host will instruct them to move up to a higher seat. He says this because those that exalt themselves will be humbled and those that are humbled will be exalted according to Jesus. Often our culture today thinks the other way around, but Jesus’ perspective is powerful, we should be sure to follow itl!  He then also turns to his host and says when you put on a banquet do not just invite those you know and who can repay you like your friends and relatives, but invite the poor, crippled, the lame, and blind. Because God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you. One of the people hearing all of this at the dinner responded with “what a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the kingdom of God.”  And Jesus once again responded with a parable or story. He told this story of man who threw a banquet, but when it was ready all those invited began to make excuses as to why they could not attend. He then opens the doors to everyone, the poor, crippled, blind, and lame. The host fills his house knowing that those he invited will not get a taste of his banquet. At the end of Luke 14 Jesus talks about what it means to be a disciple. How we must pick up our cross and follow him. Luke 14 really inspired me to keep reading because Jesus’ parables are so full of information that we can glean from. I hope you all have a blessed day today, keep reading, and see you again on the Daily Dose of Hope.

The Daily Dose of Hope is a devotional intended to provide context and reflection to the New Hope Church Bible Reading Plan.  It’s our goal  to read the Bible in a year together as a family of faith.  Five days a week we read.  Two days a week we either rest or catch up.  Reading the Bible is the number one way to grow in our walk with Jesus.  We have to know God’s Word to live God’s Word.  Now for our Daily Dose of Hope… https://www.findnewhope.com