A Nation in Need of ‘Crossing Over’

Joshua 3:14-4:7

John 9:1-12, 35-38

In my country I am blessed with the freedom to worship as I choose. But I also know that with freedom can come complacency, and with complacency can come apathy. It costs me nothing to say I am a Christian; does that make my confession worthless? It could if I do nothing with it. It is times like these when the church as the body of Christ – “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, God’s own people,” as 1 Peter 2:10 tells us – must be willing to “cross over” and become what God has called it to be. “While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan” (Joshua 3:17). The significance of this account may not be that the waters parted for the people or that the ark was held by the priests, the significance may well come in the fact that the people finally entered the land to which God had been leading them. They “crossed over” into a new relationship with the Creator.

God’s call reverberates throughout the world and rests on those whom God chooses. It is the church, then, with all of its diversity and all of its variations, that faces the challenge of living the way God intends. What we do, what we say, how we act and react: these are the factors that make our faith visible, that give truth to our confession. John tells us that when Jesus introduced himself to the man he had healed from blindness the man said, “‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him” (John 9:38). How can others come to know the Lord? When we as the body of Christ “cross over” to what God intends, when we leave behind our old lives and begin to live out our calling day after day, setting aside our partisan behavior, letting go of our will and embracing the will of God.

The church as the body of Christ bears a great responsibility in the world, and it is an honor to stand with all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord. But are we willing to make a costly decision? Are we willing to “cross over” and become what God wants us to be?

Prayer: Lord, lead your church toward your coming reign and fill us again with your Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

With the Help Of Our God

Nehemiah 6:1-19

According to our reading from Nehemiah this morning there was reason to celebrate in Jerusalem. “So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem; for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God” (Nehemiah 6:15-16). By God’s grace the restoration of Jerusalem’s defenses had been accomplished in very little time. This passage brings to mind other verses of significance. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1). “The stone which the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner” (Psalm 118:22, 1 Peter 2:7). In each case scripture reminds us that God is at the very heart of our efforts. Whether we build with literal brick and mortar or strive for a spiritual structure we succeed only when we recognize God as the source of our strength.

What might we accomplish today “with the help of our God”? I don’t now about you, but this thought is both terrifying and invigorating to me. It scares me because I know that I have work to do, work that will be challenging and difficult at times. But it stirs my soul to think that with God’s help I can touch lives and offer God’s love to others. If we trust God to build the house, if we rely on the stone that the world has rejected, then we work with hope and confidence, with hearts open to possibilities that we might otherwise have missed.

Today is full of potential. May God bless it to our use and may we experience the success that comes “with the help of our God.”

Prayer: Lord, guide our living that your will be done, today and all days. In Jesus’ name. Amen.