I was reading the other day about when the Israelites got to the river Jordan. (Joshua 1 : http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=6&chapter=1&version=31)

The previous time they ended up there, because of their lack of faith, God sent them back to the wilderness for 40 years. This time, with Joshua at the helm, they now stood at the river again. Just picture it, the past generation had sadly spoke about getting to the Jordan and everyone new the story, 12 spies into Canaan, two good reports (one Joshua) and ten bad reports….

Now here they stood, again, at the river. God told Joshua a few things :

• Do everything according to how I told Moses
• Get the priests to walk into the river and stop
• Get the people through the river
• Build a rock memorial
• Circumcise the men again (ouch)
• Take your shoes off – your on holy ground

The big thing for me was – “Why did He get the Ark to stop in the middle, while everyone crossed through?” I think it is in that time of transition, when we get to our river Jordan, He says to us to cross through the river, but He will be in the middle, holding back the water until we are over on the other side. Make sure that we don’t forget what He has done for us, make sure other generations know what He has done for us. Then when we are over there, consecrate ourselves and remember that we walk on Holy ground….

The desert – through the river – to the promised land. Transition, with God in the middle of the water with us as we cross, holding back the stuff that can damage us during our transition.

Don’t stand around waiting for bad reports, cross the river, He is in the middle of the transition with you, there is a promised land ahead….step in the water in faith…

Connections

The past few days I have been connecting with friends from all over the world on http://www.facebook.com/ Its amazing how many degrees of separation there is. One of my friends in Australia has a cousin who is a friend of my cousin in Scotland !!

Its also been good to catch up with friends and family I'd lost contact with over the years.

It reminds me that what is more important in life is people and not things. Sometimes we end up running around doing so much stuff and making plans that we miss those around us and before we know we are wondering "Where did so and so go ?

My challenge is to connect with someone we have not seen or spoken to for a while....

So is this what its all about :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFw2LxKB4i4

Good book

Just finished reading a good book - An Army of Ordinary People by Felicity Dale.

Its well presented with a chapter on a different persons story but also a page or two on why the story is included. Its give you a great feel for what the church should be and how people are doing simple church.

Forgive, forgive and still forgive...

Its a sad day when good people, and christians at that, bad mouth or tell those in their "flocks" to stay away from those they do not agree with.Its endemic in the system, one man tells others what to do, how to think and that he hears from God for them. the rest follow believing somehow that he is the man of God delivering a word from God. Its obvious to me that this is not so, when they use their position to undermine others instead of doing what God has for them.

The scripture that comes to mind is Acts 10 - 13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

We need to be very careful as chirstians not to judge others, as the way we judge will be how we will be judged. We need to be careful not to call something unclean because it is not according to our religious system, like Paul with the vision from God about killing and eating.We should walk as close to the Holy Spirit as we can, so that we can hear what God is saying to us, otherwise all that we are left with is a man telling us what todo, what not to do and a set of laws that where once spirit breathed but are now dead regulations that condemn us.

Again here I am having to forgive, not because I am some humble feable christian but because He has given me the power to do so....

Relief

Excellent news - though sad given two people died ...

http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070902/29151_19_Freed_Hostages_Arrive_in_South_Korea.htm