Singing at Funerals.

Dana Dawkins must have sung solos and led singing at a thousand funerals. I always remember a particularly sad funeral when she sang a song called “Trust His Heart.” I know she has performed that song at many funerals. Why? Because the message is so encouraging. Here’s the chorus:

“God is too wise to be mistaken
God is too good to be unkind
So when you don’t understand
When don’t see His plan
When you can’t trace His hand
Trust His Heart
Trust His Heart”

Aren’t those great words? God is wise and good, and no matter what is happening, you can trust His heart. “When you can’t trace His hand, Trust His heart.” Previously I encouraged you to pray for wisdom—that God would show us what He is doing. We should ask Him what is going on in the world, and how to interpret the facts. But when we don’t know—when we can’t see His hand at work, we can still trust His heart. Trust His heart. He is wise and He is good. Do you trust Him? Can you surrender to Him all your recent disappointments? Can you trust Him with your future? Can you release your grip on it, and let Him have it and let Him do with your life whatever He wants? Trust His heart. He loves you. And He is a promise keeper.

“So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers.… The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.” Joshua 21:43-45.

Pray and give God everything. Talk to Him about all of it. Let go and trust His heart. He is good.

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Manslaughter.

When did you last use the word “accident” to excuse yourself from liability? Can you remember?  Were you accidentally tardy? Did you accidentally dent your car? Accidentally neglect an assignment? 

How often I screamed as a child: “BUT IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!”  I knew accidents were not punished the way intentional acts were.  If you meant to do it, then you have done something evil and cold-blooded.  But if it was an accident, you are less guilty. You may have been careless or negligent, but you did not intend the bad result—it happened “on accident.”

One way we know the heart of God is merciful and compassionate concerns the distinction between murder and manslaughter.  God recognizes that accidents happen.  So he commands Israel to designate six “CITIES OF REFUGE” where a man can go when his accident has caused another man’s death.  Accidental deaths are rare, but God made elaborate plans to address them, even providing examples: if two men are cutting trees in a forest and an ax head comes loose and kills one man, the other can escape to the nearest city of refuge and defend himself there in a trial. Had there been no such city, a member of the victim’s family might otherwise chase down the “killer” and kill him for revenge.

“Then the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Appoint the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, that the manslayer who strikes any person without intent or unknowingly may flee there.  Such cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood….” Joshua 20:1-3.

God did not have to make provision for accidents.  He could have said all killings are the same, regardless of intent.  But he is a God of both holy justice and great mercy.  God forbid we ever be responsible for an accidental death, but we have all been responsible for accidents, and God understands that accidents happen.  He does not hold you criminally responsible. Praise God for his mercy and compassion.

God, give us more insight to understand how your word applies even to our government and our legal system!

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The Way of All the Earth.

When Joshua saw his death approaching, he said:

“Behold, I AM GOING THE WAY OF ALL THE EARTH” Joshua 23:14. 

That puts it in perspective doesn’t it?  Everything on earth dies.  Every plant, animal, and person.  We honor graveyards but sometimes I walk through a forest or pasture and wonder who may have died there without a marked tomb.  After all, people have roamed the land for thousands and thousands of years.  Some went unburied.  Others were buried without markers.  Others had marked graves that have been lost to history, the stick or stone markers buried in a thousand years of foliage and sediment.  We honor graves we know about—but we may walk over bones unaware every day.

Ancestry is like that: we honor those we know, but we forget most.  We hope to know our parents and grandparents.  We may have photos of great-grandparents.  But we quickly lose track as the generations recede into the murky past. As we struggle to remember our earliest parents, their number doubles with each generation.  You have 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-grandparents, and by the 10th generation there are over a thousand, and it keeps doubling.

So many lived full and amazing lives before we arrived—and yet we are self-centered, as if our generation is the most important, most educated, most talented, most advanced, most godly—whatever it is.  The self-centeredness of the living is ridiculous. 

This obsession with our own time also makes death more painful.  When someone we love dies, they have not left the excitement, the carnival of life on earth.  They have joined the adventure of life in paradise.  Their deepest joy is just beginning.  Similarly, they have not left this generation and all its special, fun people, but have joined ALL GENERATIONS in heaven.  We are the ones on the “boring,” broken earth.  Real life is in heaven.   As Joni writes, HEAVEN IS YOUR REAL HOME. 

When my time comes, I am ready to GO THE WAY OF ALL THE EARTH.  I am ready for my promotion to REAL LIFE and REAL ADVENTURE.

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Cookie Cutter.

I used to watch my mom use a rolling pin to make a sheet of thin, flat cookie dough on wax paper. Then she stamped it with tin cookie cutters to cut out shapes: doughy little Christmas trees or stars or bells or stockings. She would bake them, spread icing on them, and—voila! Christmas cookies. 

Cookie cutters are known for identical results.  If you need 400 matching cookies, one cookie cutter will do it.

But we do not live cookie-cutter lives. Each is unique. Even your siblings will live lives different from yours.  Consider adult siblings you know—their contrasting jobs, spouses, and children.  God has unique plans.  When Israel divided the Promised Land, the tribe of Levi had a unique experience:

“I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the Lord. But the Levites do not get a portion because their inheritance is the priesthood” Joshua 18:6-7.

If you look at maps in your Bible, Israel is divided into only 12 tribal lands. Though there are 13 tribes, one received no territory.  Instead, Levi received the priesthood.  They are a tribe of priests and were to be spread across Israel.  This is a sacrifice for Levi—but the blessings outweigh the sacrifice.  As priests, their families will eat the meat of the nation’s sacrificial animals, their sons will do God’s work, and their children will enjoy opportunities of all kinds.

Sometimes our lives look like that: God may bless you with education and opportunities, yet you lack things your friends have.  Why? Because we do not live cookie cutter lives.  God loves you and has rich, blessed plans for you. Your life will be different from the lives of your siblings, friends, and family.  Welcome it! Thank God for it!  He knows what he is doing.

“I know the plans I have for you! Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11.

God, do your will! We trust you and we welcome your plans with hope and excitement!

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Disappointment.

“But the Levites among you do not get a portion of land, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the Lord” Joshua 18:7.

Life is unfair.  You work hard but it goes unnoticed.  You earn a promotion that never comes.  You are faithful to the Lord, yet He blesses your friends with things He won’t give you.  But your friends have disappointments too.  When John D. Rockefeller was asked “How much money is enough?,” he answered “Just a little bit more.”  No one gets it all. 

This is the way God works: David was anointed king, but endured years of persecution from Saul.  Joseph spent years in prison before God made him “ruler of all Egypt” Genesis 45:8.  Some disappointments are temporary—and God uses them to purify our ambitions.

But some disappointments are NOT temporary: Moses led Israel 40 years, but did not enter the Promised Land. King David was faithful in battle, but God said the warrior had shed too much blood to build the Lord’s temple.  The tribe of Levi had no land.  Instead of being assigned a territory they could call their own, the Levites were dispersed to cities all over Israel.  They were given a ROLE not REAL ESTATE.  The priests sacrificed animals for their brothers and ate the best from every herd and flock.  They would never go hungry.  But sometimes you just want land, a piece of dirt to call your own. 

You know what?  Too bad.  God gives every one of us this much and no more.  Whether rich or poor, we are sheep in a pen: eventually you reach the fence, the limit of your territory. 

God looks at us and says what He said to the sea at creation:

“Thus far shall you come, but no farther” Job 38:11.

You may be rich in money, land, family, travel, or talent—but no one has it all. Your friends will have this much, but no more.  “Thus far shall you come, but no farther.”  You will NEVER have it all this side of heaven.  The sooner you accept that, the happier you will be.

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Shortcut!

Don’t you love a good shortcut? That feeling when you had a long walk ahead, but found a way under a fence and cut the time in half? Or when you exit the freeway to avoid traffic and it works?  What a great feeling! I once shaved an hour from a hike with the Boy Scouts and when they came dragging in—covered in mud—I was sitting there freshly showered, with a towel around my neck. It was the greatest feeling in the world!

But some shortcuts are bad—and not just the ones that land you in thorn bushes, miles from the trail.  It is bad to take metaphorical shortcuts. To do less than the complete assignment. To skim a reading. To draft a poorly organized paper because you were not willing to first write an outline.  To do fewer reps in your workout or run fewer laps or otherwise fail to prepare.

But EVERYBODY DOES IT, right?  No.  MOST PEOPLE do it. And if you refuse to take shortcuts, you will go farther than MOST PEOPLE.  Olympic athletes do not take shortcuts. That’s why they win. Valedictorians, surgeons, marathon runners, great artists, inventors, thinkers, and writers do not take shortcuts. In fact, the one thing successful people have in common is that they push themselves to go all the way, all the time. They do not cut corners.

“So Joshua took the ENTIRE land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses” Joshua 11:23. 

God gave Moses instructions, Moses gave them to Joshua, and Joshua took no shortcuts.  He did everything “that the Lord had told Moses.”  And God blessed him.

God, teach us to be thorough, to work hard, to push ourselves, to do our absolute best, to obey you 100%, not 99%.  But we are realistic; give us the wisdom to know when to ease up on expectations and when to PUSH THROUGH WITH TOTAL EFFORT.  As your children, bless us with hard work and high expectations, but also with GRACE for ourselves and others who fail.

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Perfection and Perfect Obedience.

Is it possible to be perfect? Well, how do you define “perfect”? It is not possible to be perfectly sinless. But it is possible to earn a perfect score on a test, right? Is anyone in the Bible perfect? God’s word never hides the flaws of God’s people: Moses was angry, Joseph was spoiled, Noah drank, David had Bathsheba, Peter was impetuous, Thomas had doubts, Paul had been a persecutor.

Still, there are some perfect times. One of those was Joshua’s conquest of the Promised Land. This man was over 80 years old who had never been a soldier, but he led an untrained army into numerous battles. Though many who followed Joshua would be afraid and lose heart, or would simply be too passive to bother fighting, Joshua obeyed God. Guess how many kings the non-king Joshua defeated?

Thirty-one! That is extraordinary: 31 kings with trained soldiers lost to Joshua and his misfits who had been raised by former slaves and had grown up eating manna in the wilderness. They defeated 31 kings!

“This is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses…. So Joshua took the entire land, in keeping with all that the Lord had told Moses. Joshua then gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. After this, the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:15, 23.

Isn’t that amazing? In the years to come, Israel would often be scared of its enemies and led by useless, ungodly men. But under Joshua, the nation was faithful to God and they fought with courage.

Dear God, make us leaders like Joshua. Fill us with courage! Help us to stand for your truth no matter who opposes us. Give us boldness when we face enemies and give us clear minds to understand your word. Give us a deep commitment to obedience, so that we will look to you and obey you and do what is right, rather than look at our problems and be scared into disobedience. Help us to love your word more every day.

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Biohacking.

A Whoop Band can track your “sleep efficiency,” heart rates, and oxygen saturation.  Supplements may help you lose weight.  Fasts and cleanses may improve your gut health.  Golfer Rory McIlroy (not diabetic) injects a continuous glucose monitor so he can achieve “perfect” blood sugars.

“Biohacking” encompasses a range of bizarre behaviors.  Why do such things, like sleeping with your mouth taped shut?  Some hacks are about beauty (supposedly mouth breathing ages you), others are focused on athletic achievement.  But most biohacking has a loftier goal: stop aging and even death (see James Strole). They want to live forever.

That will never happen.  Hebrews 9:27.

But there are ways to stay healthier, longer. First, the obvious: (1) Exercise, (2) eat right, (3) sleep enough.  God expects us to steward our bodies.  Forget gimmicks, “biohacks,” diet books, and seaweed pills.  Just EAT BETTER FOOD, exercise, and sleep well.  Beyond that, trust the Lord. 

“Listen to me … You who have been with Me from birth.  I will be the same in your old age, I will bear you up when you turn gray. I made you, I will carry you. I will bear you up and I will save you” Isaiah 46:3-4.

God will take care of you.  Need more?  “Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long” Exodus 20:12.  God promises a long life to those who honor their parents and grandparents.  He can do it: when Israel marched in the wilderness forty years, their clothes and sandals did not wear out.  God can also help you not wear out!  Specifically, Caleb and Joshua did not get old the way their peers did, because they had been faithful to God:

“Here I am today, 85 years old. I am as strong today as I was when Moses sent me to spy out the land [at 40].  My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then” Joshua 14:10-11.

What’s the secret to aging well? Exercise, eat right, and sleep enough, but take another step: live a life that honors your parents and your Heavenly Father.

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Beware.

Have you seen anyone wearing hobo costumes recently?  Israel met a bunch of vagabonds once—and it cost them: 

“When the people of Gibeon heard about Jericho… they gathered worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.  They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and ragged clothing.  Their bread was dry and crumbly. They went to Joshua and said, ‘We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us….  We have heard of your God and all He did to Egypt…. This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses on the day we left.  But now it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new, but now they are cracked.  And our clothes and sandals are worn out from our extremely long journey.’

The men of Israel … DID NOT SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL. And Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and his leaders swore an oath.  Three days later, they discovered the Gibeonites were their neighbors” Joshua 9:3-16.

God commanded Israel to destroy the idolators in the Promised Land. Their wickedness had reached that of the men of Noah’s time—they had “filled up the full measure of their sin,” and God was ready to move them from this life to the next.  But Israel was deceived, conned, tricked.  Is that their fault?

Yes. Israel failed because they “DID NOT SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL.” 

I know you think you have the gift of discernment.  EVERYONE thinks they have the gift of discernment, until circumstances prove that they don’t.  We all think we are shrewd, too smart to fall for it.  You’re NOT.  All of us have been or will be fooled.  The book THE CONFIDENCE GAME says the smarter you are, the more likely you are to fall for a con.

ALWAYS SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL!

God, remind us to seek you BEFORE we trust people. Humble us and teach us that we need your guidance at all times and in all situations! Help us slow down and pray about it!

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Do You Need Courage? Part Two.

Remember where courage comes from? Integrity. If you obey God, you will have courage. If you disobey, you will be afraid.

After Israel defeated Jericho, the men marched against the kingdom of Ai. But the men of Ai overpowered them, killed 36 of them and chased them away. “As a result, the people’s hearts melted and became like water” Joshua 7:5. Suddenly, the Israelites were terrified and cried out to God. God told Joshua the people had sinned.

“They have stolen and deceived, therefore the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies” Joshua 7:12.

Someone had kept plunder from Jericho, when God had told them that everything was set apart for destruction—the Israelites were not to touch it. God revealed the man who did it, and he confessed:

“It is true. I have sinned against the Lord. This is what I did: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Babylon, 200 silver shekels, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, I coveted them and took them… they are hidden in my tent under the cloak” Joshua 7:20-21.

Joshua sent men to the tent, and it was true. As punishment, God told the nation to stone to death Achan, his entire family, and his animals—a severe punishment, which would cause the nation to fear and respect God’s laws and God’s holiness. Then God “relented from His burning anger,” and Israel once again went to battle with courage.

Are you fearful? Find the sin in your life and destroy it.

Do you need courage? Obey God.

Joshua 7:12 (above) makes it clear: when you disobey God, your heart melts with fear. It is harder to face the day. But if you obey Him, He will give you the courage to face your enemies and your challenges.

Talk to God about your sins and fears. Ask Him to make you holy, to bless you with a deeper fear of God and a deep desire to do right. Ask Him to fill you with the holiness that comes from obedience.

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