Hi Folks:
Its March break here in
Re: my maple sap taps. I've collected a little more than a litre so far. According to the people who know about these things, it boils down to a ratio of about 40:1, so I have enough sap for about 1/10th of a cup of syrup. I'll try not to use it all at once.
I hope you have a great week.
------------------------
Joshua 1:1-3 After
the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun,
Moses' aide: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these
people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to
them--to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot,
as I promised Moses.*
Coach Moses wrapped up practice and called Josh into his office, where he explained that he was stepping aside. Josh would be the new coach. "I love this team and I’ve coached them for more than 40 years, but I’ve taken them as far as I can go. The Owner is coming today and he is going to make the announcement. Get the team together. Its yours. I have to go. Be strong."
Josh was stunned as he approached the locker room. "Don’t hit the showers yet," he yelled as he pushed the door aside. "Team meeting in 5 minutes! The Owner has a big announcement."
The air charged instantly. At one time he almost ceased operations because of nasty team infighting. He threatened to send them back to the minor leagues. Instead of disbanding the team, he kept up the payroll only to insist there would be no games until they were ready. They practised constantly. They even went on road trips. But they didn’t play.
After years of this, there were only a few originals left - Josh and Caleb and a few chaplains. Unprecedented in sports history, the team’s players were all children of the founding team members.
And so the air was electric as the Owner walked into the room. No one wanted to ask, but everyone wondered, What would he say? Could they finally play?
He took a moment to look around the room at the team assembled on the benches. "Thank you for coming today. I have an important announcement to make. Joshua will be the new head coach." This was not surprising. Coach Moses and Josh had always been close.
"There is one other thing." The Owner paused and then pronounced the words that fulfilled all of their hopes and desires.
"Get ready! We play this week."
The air erupted with high fives and hugs as each one jumped from their places.
I’m not very athletic, but I know that athletes live for the game. They can’t stand being on the sidelines. All practice and no game time makes for frustrated players (and angry parents - ask any coach).
Like athletes waiting for game day, the
Hebrew people wanted desperately to go into the promised land.
They understood they had to wander in the wilderness because of the sins of
their parents, but they must have wondered when the time would come to cross
the
Finally, the Lord said to Joshua, "Get ready."
There are times when we all feel like we’ve been wandering in the wilderness. After a while, we even wonder if that’s all there is. We fall into a routine. It is tempting to believe that nothing changes, and nothing ever will.
Having faith in Jesus, however, means that we can’t settle for this. We hope, trust, and believe that there are better days ahead. Though there are times when goals and dreams seem so far away, we need to live expecting and anticipating the words we long to hear, "Get ready."
Last fall I started a ritual with my boys. They are so different from each other that it is hard to give them the kind of attention they need to feel loved. So, I take them turns going out for breakfast with them at our local coffee and donut shop (if there are any nutritionists on the list - please cover your eyes for this part) on Thursday morning before school. It is a lot a fun to do this with them and they love both the non-traditional breakfast and individual time with me.
That’s the one morning we never have trouble getting them up. That’s because they anticipate this event. They jump out of bed and dress quickly so that they’ll be ready.
Do you anticipate that God will lead you into your promised land? It is easy to give up and to slip into despair, thinking that it will never happen. However, God is faithful and so we can’t ever give up. "Get ready." God is blessing and leading and we need to be ready.
Hope this helps. Be OnFire,
------------------
ON FIRE is a weekly
letter of encouragement by
*All scripture references
from the New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978 by the International
Bible Society.