Joshua 7:1-26
This passage of scripture can be viewed as very troubling. Many times, we as New Testament believers, skip over stories like this thinking that we are living under grace and so we don't need to worry about the wrath of God that we see in the Old Testament. While for the believer it is true that we are living under grace and that God is satisfied with us (See Isaiah 53:11), we would be foolish to think that God is still not very serious about sin. Psalm 45:7 says "You love righteousness and hate wickedness". There are so many verses I could refer to today to drive the point home, but hopefully we will all just accept that God hates sin!
It is easy to look at the main character of our story today and see how great his sin was. Yes, Achan stole some of the devoted things and yes, he knew that was wrong. However, I don't think he ever realized that his one covetous thought that led to stealing could have caused the destruction of all Israel. Note in verse 1, the Bible doesn't say that the LORD's anger burned against Achan. It says His anger burned against Israel.
God is so serious about sin that He punished all of Israel over Achan's sin. Are we as the church serious about our own sin? I just don't think we are. How many times do we add just a little bit more to a story to make it more interesting or funnier? How many times do we joke about losing our temper as if that is not something that will send us to hell without the blood of Jesus. How many times do we allow our minds to consume us with ungodly thoughts. For me personally, God has truly broken my heart recently in an area where I was not acting with integrity. Partial obedience is disobedience. These are areas of our life that need serious attention as the body of Christ. I'm not just talking about blatant sin or living in total rebellion to God. Usually if we are reading a devotion then that is not something we are struggling with at the moment. I'm talking about sinful attitudes and thoughts of the heart that then lead to sinful actions.
We may consider some of these things as small, but God does not. He hates all sin. With that being said, will you join me on your face today asking God to reveal anything in your life that isn't pleasing to Him. Anything that could be leading you into a stronghold of sin. If nothing comes to your mind, start with pride and move on from there. As the body of Christ we must remove these obstacles from our lives so that we can complete the task that God has given us to do. Get it out today. The benefits will be eternal for you and possibly for the entire body for Christ.
2 comments:
I too am concerned that the Body of Christ has lost the fear of the Lord. In Proverbs, it says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If it is the beginning then it is foundational to wisdom. If the church of Jesus Christ is content to have one foot in the world while confessing His name, then we have no fear of God and no wisdom to conduct our lives. As a result, families suffer, communities suffer, our nation suffers. Henry Blackaby said that if the world is getting darker and darker, it is because the church is getting darker and darker. It is easy to see how true that is in our own nation. It's time to draw boundary lines as Elijah called for on Mt.Carmel."How long will you go limping between 2 opinions? If God be God serve Him!"
It does break my heart that sin in the church is often taken so lightly. I truly believe we are meant for more than this. Jesus died for more than this. He died to set us free from sin that we should no long live in it. It may sound strange, but sometimes I ask myself if I am giving Jesus all that he paid for or am I cheating him by continuing to live in selfishness and pride. Thanks for the word. It's very eye opening.
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