Espresso Your Faith
Espresso Expression by Flickr User Rob Murray, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, Share Alike
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Life is like a cup of coffee. Whether people like it bold and strong, very mild, or full of any variety of flavorings; we drink it in a style that is pleasing to each individual palate. With coffee opinions as varied as coffee beans, there are those who feel that the way they drink their coffee is the only way anyone should drink it. We may not agree, but we can admire their passion, and sometimes we can give their chosen concoction a try. Me, I like a lot of extra flavoring in my coffee, but I also like the punch of an espresso shot to leave that lingering coffee taste in my mouth.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 31:7 through Deuteronomy 31:9, we have just three short verses, but they’re all about the way some people like their coffee: strong and bold. Here’s the text from The Complete Jewish Bible…
Next Moshe summoned Y’hoshua and, in the sight of all Isra’el, said to him, “Be strong, be bold, for you are going with this people into the land Adonai swore to their ancestors he would give them. You will be the one causing them to inherit it. But Adonai — it is he who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you, so don’t be afraid or downhearted.”
Then Moshe wrote down this Torah and gave it to the cohanim, the descendants of Levi who carried the ark with the covenant of Adonai, and to all the leaders of Isra’el.
(Note: Y’hoshua = Joshua; Isra’el = Israel; Adonai = The Lord or Yahveh; Torah = word; and cohanim = priests)
Moses knows the future of Israel based on his past experience and on the prophetic words God has given him. He knows Joshua will need to be strong and bold for a number of reasons. He will need to be…
- strong to fight the enemy
- bold to lead the people
- strong to resist sin
- bold to stand against false gods
- strong to encourage the people
- bold to discourage the enemy
- strong in his faith to trust God
- bold in his witness to testify to Israel and others
Joshua will need to think like a cup of espresso in every area of his life. Hot water can only make him stronger, and brewing under pressure will prepare him for things like his future battle at Jericho. But, no matter how strong and bold he is, and even with the word that he is the one helping Israel to inherit their promise, Joshua must never forget to keep it in the boundaries of knowing that God is the One truly leading them. God is the One he must trust to never leave nor abandon him or Israel. Espresso outside the cup wouldn’t be much good (unless you like licking the counter), and Joshua’s boldness outside of God would not have what Israel needs to claim their inheritance.
At the end of the Torah, Scripture picks up in the first chapter of Joshua with more on these commands and encouragements to Joshua. Here’s what it says in verses 5-9 (CJB)…
No one will be able to withstand you as long as you live. Just as I was with Moshe, so I will be with you. I will neither fail you nor abandon you.
“Be strong, be bold; for you will cause this people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers I would give them. Only be strong and very bold in taking care to follow all the Torah which Moshe my servant ordered you to follow; do not turn from it either to the right or to the left; then you will succeed wherever you go. Yes, keep this book of the Torah on your lips, and meditate on it day and night, so that you will take care to act according to everything written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, and you will succeed. Haven’t I ordered you, ‘Be strong, be bold’? So don’t be afraid or downhearted, because Adonai your God is with you wherever you go.”
Just as it was for Joshua, our strength and boldness are found in God’s word. He tells us to trust Him, to find our strength to do all things in Him, and to lift Him up that He may draw all men to Him. Paul was bold and strong in his proclamation of The Gospel, but even he knew that he needed God to help him stay that way. He asks the Ephesians to pray for him (in Ephesians 6:19) “that whenever I open my mouth, the words will be given to me to be bold in making known the secret of the Good News.” Let us pray for ourselves and for each other that we will always trust God to make us bold, to make us strong, and to help us “espresso our faith.”
PS: Just when I thought I was being so creative in coming up with a cool title for this post, I found a book on Amazon by the same title. It actually looks like a great book, especially for coffee lovers, so I’ve added it to my wish list. If you want to look at it for yourself, it’s at http://www.amazon.com/Espresso-Your-Faith-Rhonda-Rhea-ebook/dp/B00AYJESIM
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
Morning Glory by Flickr User Terry Dunn, CC License = Attribution, Noncommercial, No Derivative Works
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Can I tell you how many times I have gone to church services or patriotic gatherings and watched hubby cringe and grimace when they play The Battle Hymn of the Republic? Well, that’s pretty much every time. Hubby has a southern heart, and he is amazed at how many people, both southern and Christian, do not realize the history behind the song. If you click on the title, you can read the Wikipedia page showing that the song was written to proclaim victory for the Union Armies over the Confederate Armies. The lyric writer, Julia Ward Howe, was a Union sympathizer, and she believed God was on their side and would have His wrath against the south, so even when we sing it as unto The Lord taking victory over the enemy of our souls, he hears the original meaning behind the lyrics. And he should be happy that I am spreading the word about the truth behind the lyrics. 🙂
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 3:15 through Deuteronomy 3:22, we finish another week and another portion of Torah, and we have Moses bringing things up to their present time. Moses finishes describing which lands go to which tribes, and then he tells of the last order he passed along from God. He reminds Israel that they can leave the women and children and livestock, but they are to march into The Promised Land armed and ready to fight for what God is giving them. After they win, they will come back to reclaim their families and cattle, and they will settle into their various possessions.
The portion concludes with Moses reminding the people of the words of encouragement he spoke to Joshua. From verses 21 and 22, we read…
Your eyes have seen everything that Adonai your God has done to these two kings. Adonai will do the same to all the kingdoms you encounter when you cross over. Don’t be afraid of them, because Adonai your God will fight on your behalf.
God wanted Moses to remind the people, and to remind Joshua, not to forget what they have seen. If they can keep their minds on those victories of the past, then knowing God is going with them into their future should be enough to help them keep up the good fight of faith. If they keep up the good fight, they can be sure they will win because God is fighting right there on their side.
I think we all have days that sometimes extend into longer periods of time where we begin to wonder if God is really fighting on our side with us. We lose battles, and we see friends lose battles, and it makes us think that maybe loss is the will of God for us. But while God may allow us to lose some battles in this lifetime, He will not allow us to lose the most important war, the war for our souls and the souls of others. It is not His will that any person should be lost, so whatever path we walk, it should be one that moves us forward in the great battle for the gathering of human souls to their Maker and Creator.
Whether we have seen it in our own lives, or read it in God’s word, we have seen the glory of God’s salvation. The change that comes over a person when he commits his life to Yahveh is indescribably wonderful. I think about the crazy man at the tombs, and how he was filled with so many demons that he would rip off his clothes and cut his body with sharp stones. We find at his deliverance that he was filled with a legion of demons. And yet, when Yeshua walked toward him, a thousand demons might have held his tongue so it was impossible for him to ask for salvation, but they could not stop him from running to meet his Savior who gave him the victory he needed. When the disciples caught up with Jesus, they found the man clothed and in his right mind. How amazing is that?
We are told in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that God will continually change us from one degree of glory to the next. If we simply continue to walk with Him and never forget the glories we have already seen, we can keep the faith to keep up the good fight.
(By the way, if you like to read stories about God working in human lives and bringing victories both big and small, I’d like to recommend the books written by my friend and sister in Christ, Deborah Aubrey Peyron. Her books, The Miraculous Interventions(TM) Series, are collections of stories from her own life, and from the lives of others, showing where God intervenes in the human life and world. She thought God only intended for her to write them down to remind her of His presence, so she could keep up the good fight, but when people started asking her when her book was due, she got the message. She has just released her third book in the series, and she will continue to write in the series as long as God sends her people with stories to be told.)
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Talk to The Hand
Heart Line by Flickr User David Goehring, CC License = Attribution
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Hands can mean all sorts of things in this life. If you give someone a hand, you help them. If a bunch of people gives someone a hand, they’re usually praising them for some entertaining act or talk. If someone glad hands us, they may be offering a seemingly warm greeting, but they may also be totally insincere. Most hand gestures mean the same in all cultures, like thumbs up being yes or okay and thumbs down being no good. And a hand gesture that has a person putting the palm of their hand toward someone who is talking to them, especially if the hand is between their faces and the person holding up the hand is turning his or her face away, the unspoken statement is usually, “Talk to the hand.” It’s a way of telling people we’re not interested in what they have to say.
In today’s reading from Deuteronomy 31:14 through Deuteronomy 31:19, we might imagine God giving the palms-out sign to Israel as He prophesies to Moses about their future. In this passage, God calls Moses to the Tent of Meeting and tells him to summon Joshua as well. The cloud descends over the entrance, and God meets there with both Moses and Joshua. He tells Moses that it is about time for him to die and be gathered to his ancestors, and then He prophesies to Moses about what’s going to happen after he passes.
God tells Moses that after he goes to sleep, the people will begin to prostitute themselves to the foreign gods in the land of the inheritance. He says they will abandon Him and break the covenants He has made with them. Their behavior will cause God’s anger to flare up against them, and many calamities will come upon them. When they suddenly realize they have brought their troubles onto themselves, they will blame God and say it’s happening because God is not there with them. Instead, God says He will be hiding from them because of all their evil in worshiping other gods.
This is where I can imagine God saying, “Talk to the hand.” He will turn away and hide His face because of the many times He has warned them to serve and worship only Him. But, because He will never leave or abandon them, His hand is still there with them–even if it is turned palm out. Even in His righteous anger, and in His frustration over their abandonment of Him, I can still see God as being a part of their lives in spite of their repeated rejections. He is longsuffering and merciful beyond anything we can imagine.
If you ever feel you have rejected God one too many times, just remember that you have never left The Potter’s hands, and He can always remake you into a better vessel than before. Don’t run away or give up. Keep returning to Your Creator, The God who loves you forever. Don’t run away; just talk to The Hand.
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September 17, 2014 Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | Bible Study, Nonfiction, Torah Commentary | abandonment, Bible Commentary, Bible study, Complete Jewish Bible, Deuteronomy, false gods, Israel, Joshua, Moses, prophesy, rejection, Scripture, talk to the hand, Torah commentary, Torah Portions | Leave a comment