Chest Deep

     Everyone knows the story of Moses parting the Red Sea and leading the Hebrews to safety, but how many know that there is another instance of God parting the waters to allow His chosen people to cross? It can be found in Joshua chapter 3.

     Moses has died and Joshua is now in charge. All that stands between the Hebrews and the Promised Land is the Jordan River. To complicate things, the river is at flood stage. God instructs Joshua to choose 12 priests to carry the Ark of the Covenant across the river. God promises that when the soles of the priest's feet touch the water, they will part. Joshua follows God's instructions and they cross into the Promised Land on dry ground.

     Great story right? Well let's look a little more closely at this story. The way you carried the Ark was this. You stuck two long poles through rings on the bottom of the Ark and carry it easily. (Remember the Ark was largely made of gold and gold is really heavy.) To accommodate six men, each pole needs to be pretty long. I am guessing around twelve feet.

     Now that you have a picture of how the Ark is carried, let's return to the story. These twelve men approach the raging Jordan River, remember it is at flood stage. They now obediently begin wading into the river. Now God promised that when the soles of their feet touched the water, the river would stop. Based on the way God worked in other situations, I think that means that all 24 feet had to be in the river. That means the guys in front have to wade 12 feet out into a raging river. If you are the last guy in line your feet will barely get wet, but what about the ones in front?

     A lot of times you will find yourself the guy in front. You are following God's leading, but you find yourself chest deep in a raging river. You have faith that God will part the waters,but that doesn't make taking those first steps any easier. When God calls you to do something, He is calling you to go as far as you can, not just stick your toes in.

Some Gave All

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!"

--  Abraham Lincoln      Abraham Lincoln spoke these words 150 years ago but they still ring true today. This country has been blessed beyond measure. We enjoy a level of freedom unknown in the rest of the world. Yet in the face of these blessings we remain ungrateful. We feel like we are owed this lifestyle. On this Memorial Day I suggest you take a minute to reflect on how this country came to be in the position it is in.      We owe our unprecedented levels of freedom to God's blessings and the selfless sacrifice of the American Soldier.Throughout the history of this country, young men and women have willingly paid with their time, blood, and lives to preserve this great country. The freedom that we too often take for granted was bought with a great price. From the streets of Boston to shores of France to the jungles of southeast Asia to the deserts of the Middle East, the American military have paid in blood to purchase our freedom. They ask for nothing in return other than our respect and gratitude.      This Memorial Day, amidst the barbecue and games, take some time to remember the nameless men and women that paid the ultimate price for our freedom. If you see or know any veterans or active duty military tell them how thankful you are for their service. To any of you that either have served or are still serving, thank you and may God's blessing be ever on you.

Shhh, They're Singing.

     Sorry it has been a while since my last post. It is the end of the school year and things get pretty busy.

     Have you ever been to an elementary school chorus concert? How about a middle school band performance? If you have and you were honest, you would have to say that the "music" you heard was, shall we say, less than quality. Yet, invariably, after it is over the parents will all be praising their little one's virtuosity. Why is this? They had to have heard the same music, why do they think it was so good? The answer is simple, they weren't listen to some band or chorus, they were listening to their child. Nothing sounds better to a parent than the sound of their child performing.

     The Bible tells us to, "make a joyful noise unto the Lord." It doesn't say to sing beautifully or even decently. In fact, it doesn't even say anything about music. It says to make noise. When we sing to God, that is what it really is, noise. God is surrounded by heavenly beings with angelic voices, we can't compare with that. Yet, when we raise our voices in praise to Him, He silences the heavens to listen. Why? Because His children are singing. God doesn't require polished performances, all He wants is true, heartfelt worship. When we do that, we can be assured that He will stop and point and say, "Do you hear that? My children are singing."