Friday 22 April

Joshua 1:1-2:24

What I want to know is what those cheeky spies were doing going to Rahab the prostitute’s house.  And then they come back 3 full days later with some tall story about how they were rumbled and had to hide in the hills. Hmm, I don’t think it would have convinced my mother.

But the big thing for me in this is how the Lord instantly draws Joshua into the salvation story that had previously been starring Moses.  I find that we hear a lot today about God supposedly doing new things and there being new moves of God but so far in the bible all we have seen is God calling Jacob into the thing of Abraham and then Moses into the thing of Jacob and now Joshua into the thing of Moses.  The challenge for Joshua is not to find a new thing that God is doing but actually being strong enough and courageous enough to actually live up to what God has already declared.  It’s not that God doesn’t speak to Joshua giving him specific guidance for his specific issues but the big thing, the main line has already been laid and Joshua’s focus should be trying to pursue it.  I think the parallel for us is the absolute foundational centrality of the bible in all we are doing.  In the Vineyard we love the gifts of the Spirit but our heritage was always, always to submit them to the authority of God’s word.  Let’s take up this heritage and ensure that we remain people of the Word.

Luke 21:5-38

This is a slightly baffling section.  I think much of it relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD70 but there may be some bits that point to something more.  It feels a bit like we are crossing a deep gorge on a rickety rope bridge and it is not easy to work out where the wooden planks are.  The few that I would be happy to put my weight on are those that Jesus specifically calls out for application; 1) don’t worry about this stuff because Jesus will give us the wisdom we need for it 2) this thing will bring us our redemption 3) while we are waiting we should keep an eye out for what God is doing and 4) we should pray that we will be able to stand before the Son of Man.  Maybe some of these were particular to the disciples but I doubt it.  I think that this state of humble, hopeful alertness is a very healthy one for all the people of God.  It will see us across the gorge and into the unassailable protection of the Son of Man.  Jesus saw this stuff, he understood it and he gave us a clear route to chart our course through it.  His words never pass away and we can trust him every bit as much today as the disciples and the people travelled to visit him at the Mount of Olives.

Proverbs 10:11-20

“Violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked”.  Is this short-hand for saying we can smack them in the mouth?