Rahab the Redeemed, 2016 (Jos 2&6, Heb 11:31, Jas 2:25)

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 25 September 2011, the Weekend of Prayer to Stop Human Trafficking and 20 October 2013. Presented on the same same occasion 25 September 2016 at Warehouse Mission in Toronto. Presented also on the 15^th Anniversary of Corps 614 Regent Park in Toronto, 01 October 2016. And to Alberni Valley Ministries on 13 January 2018

This is the 01 October 2016, Corps 614 version. To view the original, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/09/rahab-redeemed-joshua-2-hebrews-1131.html

To view the January 2018 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/01/joshua-2-redeemed.html

A distinguished, prominent big city pastor cruised through a small town. As he did his eyes fell upon a child not more than two feet tall at the door of one of the houses. The boy was on tiptoes valiantly attempting to reach the doorbell. Amused and wanting to help, the pastor parked his car and went over to assist the boy. He reached up and pushed his finger onto the button and the chimes rang inside. Satisfied that he had done his good deed for the day, the pastor turned to the child, “Okay, what happens next­?”

              With a smile the child replied, “Now we run!”

Another story: This lady goes to the doctor. She has been in serious pain for quite a while. The doctor asks her where it hurts and what is the matter. To which she replies, “It hurts when I touch my temple; it hurts when I touch my side; it hurts when I touch my arm; it even hurts when I touch my nose.”

            “I think I know what the problem is”, the doctor says, “your finger is broken.”

Now, of course, last week we spoke about the real pain associated with Human Trafficking. Susan spoke about Hagar. Today I thought we would chat about the story of a prostituted Canaanite lady, Rahab (Joshua 2&6, Hebrews 11:31, James 2:25). While there is no direct evidence that Rahab was trafficked to various locations: her family lived in the same town as she did (Jericho) and by all accounts she had a strong positive relationship with her family (Joshua 2:12-13, 18; 6:23).[2] However, many of the people trafficked today in Canada are prostituted in a way similar to the way Rahab was a prostitute:[3] though Shrine prostitution was not uncommon among the pagan peoples in Canaan, Rahab was not a shrine prostitute: the language used of Rahab’s activity refers to her strictly as a secular prostitute not unlike some in our own time, in our own country.[4]

Prostitutes then, like prostituted people today, were often on the margins of society. Today we are marking the 15^th anniversary of our corps and many of us who are or have been part of 614, at some time, for some reason, have also been marginalized. Such was Rahab. The significant thing about Rahab, of course, was that she was redeemed – even as she was marginalized God redeemed her. She turned from her life in Jericho to a life in God (Joshua 2, 6); she was redeemed - James recognizes her for both her faith and her works (James 2:24-26). Rahab was redeemed and the author of the sermon (or letter) to the Hebrews even records her as one of the heroes (heroines) of the faith. Hebrews 11:31: “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.” Rahab, the prostitute, was saved. Rahab was redeemed.

Now today when we hear the name Rahab, we often think of this lady whom the LORD used to save the spies and deliver Jericho into the Hebrews’ hands. Does anyone know what the name ‘Rahab’ actually means? It -literally translated from Hebrew- means ‘broad’, ‘fat’, or ‘large’ and in common usage it refers to ‘fierceness’, ‘insolence’, and ‘pride’.[5] In the Bible, the country of Egypt is sometimes derogatorily referred to as a Rahab. Rahab is an insult used of one of the Hebrews’ off again / on again enemies, the Egyptians.[6] Egypt - according to Isaiah and according to the Psalms – Egypt is a fat, insolent, Rahab (Psalm 89:10, Isaiah 51:9; cf. Psalm 87:4, Isaiah 30:7). Rahab in our story today was a prostituted Canaanite. But Rahab is saved! and Rahab is redeemed!

Now many of you know some of our own personal history. Susan, the girls (the oldest 2 anyway), and I served with 614 Vancouver in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside many years ago. And before we were appointed to serve the LORD and the Army in Toronto here, we served in Downtown Winnipeg and Winnipeg’s North End; I also served in Stoney Mountain Penitentiary and Saskatchewan. We made more than a few friends in these environments who –like Rahab- were relegated to the margins of society by either circumstances, their choices, and/or someone else’s actions. We had friends in our cell groups, Bible studies, knee drills, church services, and/or staying in our very home (we ran a transition residence in Vancouver) who were prostituted peoples, addicted to drugs and alcohol, reliant on theft and deception, and we have friends whom the Lord redeemed and transformed as –among other things- we read the Bible in community.

We have had more than one friend, for whom our hearts still break, overdose, convicted of murder, and other such things – some even since knowing the Lord. Sometimes we fall back but even still I have seen God transform many lives: sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes thrice, or even more as need be. There are many more people still relegated to the margins of our society even here - they (we) are not unredeemable; they (we) are as ready for redemption as anyone. During the many years we lived and worked in Saskatchewan between Nipawin, Tisdale, Carrot River, and Swift Current, I have spent many hours sitting with my friends in the courts, speaking with our friends in the courts, speaking on behalf of friends in the courts, praying with friends in the courts. There are many people we knew there and we know here who wind up on the margins of our society by either circumstances, their choices, and/or someone else’s actions. They can be redeemed. We can be redeemed.

The weekend between the garage sale, church service and everything else we have been marking our 15^th anniversary as a corps and many of us at one time or another have found ourselves outcast like Rahab. Rahab in our story today, Rahab was a prostitute. Rahab was a Canaanite. Rahab was marginalized. Rahab was an outcast. And Rahab is saved! And Rahab is redeemed! We can be saved! We can be redeemed!

I have been involved with AA at times in my life and at AA we speak about a higher power. Step 1 in AA: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.” Step 2:  We “came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” and Step 3: We “made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.”

And God is great and God can redeem us and God can save us. And God offers salvation not only from alcohol; not only from addiction; not only from a horrible, storied past of abuse and other things; but from all else as well. There is one name by which we all can be saved not only for the here and the now but forever (Acts 4:12). That Name, that One is Jesus. Jesus has died and he rose again from the grave so that we don’t need to be trapped in our addictions; we don’t need to be trapped in our sins; we don’t need to be trapped in our struggles. Jesus rose from the grave conquering sin and death so that even those of us most caught by sin and by circumstance can be saved. Rahab was prostituted in a doomed pagan city. Rahab is saved and Rahab is redeemed. We, no matter who we are and what we have had done to us what we have done, we can be saved. We can be redeemed (TSA docs. 6&10).

After Rahab’s faith and deeds were used by God to save the Hebrew spies and deliver Jericho over to the LORD, do you know how the Lord transformed her life? According to Jewish tradition, she became the ancestor of eight priests (Tal Megillah 14b). She is listed as one of four women of surpassing beauty (Tal Megillah 15a; the others were Sarah, Abigail, and Esther).[7] Rahab may mean ‘broad’ but this Rahab is nonetheless a beauty. She is – as Reba said last week – she is not a back of the store lady; she is a front of the store lady! Like we all can be front of the store people! The Bible tells us Rahab married Salmon, one of the princes of Judah (Ruth 4:21, 1 Chronicles 2:11, Matthew 1:5). We remember too the wealthy landowner, Boaz, who married the Moabite Ruth of the book of Ruth; this prominent Boaz was Rahab the Canaanite’s son. Ruth was Rahab’s daughter-in-law. Ruth and Boaz had a child, Obed, who was Rahab’s grandson. His son, Rahab’s great grandson was Jesse and his son, Rahab’s great great grandson... do we know who that was? Who was Jesse’s most famous son? He was King David from whose line God promised Salvation and to establish His Dominion for ever! (Matthew 1:5-6; cf. 2 Samuel 7). This was of course accomplished through another descendant of Rahab the redeemed prostituted Canaanite – that is Jesus, the Redeemer himself, the Messiah! (cf. Matthew 1:16).

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” – and God chose to do this through, to send His only begotton son through the ancestral line of the redeemed life of Rahab.

Scholar Richard Hess tells us that, “the story of Rahab confirms God’s welcome to all people, whatever their condition. Christ died for all the world and the opportunity is available for all to come to him through faith, even the chief of sinners [like you and like me] (1 Timothy 1:15)...Rahab exhibits faith and understanding of the God who saves her. She becomes part of the family line that leads to the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:5) and [she is] a model of faith for all Christians” (Hebrews 11:31).[8]

Rahab, who was once a prostituted Canaanite on the margins of society now stands redeemed, saved, holy, cleansed, and as one of the heroes of the faith. You and I here today, no matter what we done, no matter who we have been, no matter what has happened to us, we too can be saved. Jesus died on the cross so that we could die to our sins and He rose from the grave so that we could live out a holy, redeemed life (cf. Romans 10:9-13). It is my prayer that today each of us would - like righteous Rahab - take God up on His offer of His Salvation and of His Redemption.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

[1] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Genesis 50:15-21: Regarding Forgiveness: Do not be afraid, for are we in the place of God? Presented to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 07 August 2011. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/08/genesis-5015-21-regarding-forgiveness.html And Captain Michael Ramsay, Genesis 39:2a: The Lord was with Joseph and He Prospered.  Presented to the Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 10 July 2011. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2011/07/genesis-392a-lord-was-with-joseph-and.html

[2] Cf. Robert B. Coote, The Book of Joshua, (NIB II: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1998), 592.

[3] Cf. RCMP Criminal Intelligence. Project SECLUSION: Human Trafficking in Canada (Ottawa: 2010).

[4] Leon Morris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Hebrews/Exposition of Hebrews/VIII. Faith (11:1-40)/F. The Faith of the Exodus Generation (11:29-31), Book Version: 4.0.2

[5] ‘Rahab’ in Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary. Cited from Biblegateway.com. Available on-line: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=1&wid=T0003054

[6] ‘Rahab’ in Smith’s Bible Names Dictionary. Cited from Biblegateway.com. Available on-line: http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=3&wid=S10094

[7] Leon Morris, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Hebrews/Exposition of Hebrews/VIII. Faith (11:1-40)/F. The Faith of the Exodus Generation (11:29-31), Book Version: 4.0.2

[8] Richard S. Hess, Joshua: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1996 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 6), S. 89

Devotion 2:22/74: Matthew 16:25: Gain

Presented to River Street Cafe, 16 September 2016

Read Matthew 16:24-27

 In 1865, the Kingdom of Hawaii quarantined lepers, requiring the most serious cases to be moved to settlement colonies. Kalawao County, where the two leper villages are located, is separated from the rest of the area by a steep mountain ridge. Even in the 21st century, the only land access is by a mule trail. About 8,000 Hawaiians were sent to the peninsula for medical quarantine.

The Catholic Church realized that the lepers needed a priest to assist them and that this assignment had high risk. They did not want to send anyone "in the name of obedience". They asked for volunteers.

Father Damien was the first priest to volunteer and, on 10 May 1873, he arrived at the settlement, where 816 lepers then lived. Damien worked with them to build a church and establish the Parish of Saint Philomena. While serving as a priest, he dressed residents' ulcers, built a reservoir, built homes and furniture, made coffins, and dug graves. Six months after his arrival at Kalawao, he wrote to his brother, Pamphile, in Europe: ‘...I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ.’

And then - In December 1884 – he did. While preparing to bathe, Damien inadvertently put his foot into scalding water, causing his skin to blister. He felt nothing and realized he had contracted leprosy after 11 years of working in the colony. Residents said that Damien worked vigorously to build as many homes as he could and planned for the future of programs he had established.

Father Damien was a catalyst for a turning point for the community. Under his leadership, shacks were upgraded and improved as painted houses, farms were organized, and schools were established. It was only after he contracted leprosy that many people came to the Kingdom of God from the Kingdom of Hawaii to receive eternal life.

In the waning days of the Kingdom of Hawaii, before it was overthrown by the United States, King David Kalākaua bestowed on Father Damien the honor of "Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Kalākaua"

Father Damien is still remembered for his work for the gospel today. May it be so with us that we put the Kingdom of God and our neighbour before ourselves; so that we two may see the world transformed.

Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 13 June 2010 and Corps 614 Regent Park and The Warehouse Mission, 16 Sept 2016, and Alberni Valley Ministries, 30 April 2023

To view the 2010 version, complete with footnotes, please click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/06/matthew-913-i-desire-mercy-not.html 

To view the 2023 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2023/04/matthew-913-i-desire-mercy-not-sacrifice.html

Our scripture that we are looking at today comes from Hosea 6:6 and Matthew 9:13: “But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'  I desire mercy…

Summer has just passed. On the prairies some people have really fancy cars that live indoors most of the year and only came on nice sunny days. Some of these are CLASSIC cars. Many farmers are also mechanics and so spend a lot of time working on their vehicles. It sort of reminds me of my younger days. I remember when I was a teenager. I was blessed to be able to afford a car that I could fix up a little bit too. Not quite as fancy as those sports cars in Saskatchewan but here’s a picture of it…

Okay that’s not my car – that is Fred Flintstone’s mobile but that isn’t entirely dissimilar from my car. My car only cost $100 and see how Fred’s car is propelled… It only moves because he runs with his feet sticking out the bottom. That was sort of like my Pontiac. It, like Fred’s car, didn’t have any floorboards at all on the passenger’s side – so my passengers had to be careful not to drop anything on the floor because it would be gone. It was allegedly a two-door but the driver’s door never worked. This sometimes made it a little difficult especially considering one of my friends for part of this time was confined to a wheelchair so whenever I gave them a ride I would either have to climb over them to get into the car or more likely get in Dukes of Hazard style. (You remember the Duke’s of Hazard where they would climb in through the windows instead of using the door?) – Actually, before I was done with my car, we always had to get in Dukes of Hazard style because the other door broke too. Nonetheless I loved my first car. It was all mine. It did have one good thing about it. It had four really nice moon discs. They were shiny, they were good solid hubcaps and they were really cool.

‘I desire mercy’ is a quote from our text today. I remember I used to let friends of mine drive my car for a number of different reasons. One friend of mine – Billy, he’s a great guy – we’re teenagers and he has his learner’s licence. We load the car up with many of our friends and we go cruising around the town. At one point we decide to go through the drive through and get some water to drink (we couldn’t afford to buy anything else) so – Billy is still driving – he takes us through the drive through and he cuts the corner too close and - ‘crunch’ – there goes my front moon disk and then instead of stopping, (because he is an inexperienced driver) he keeps going and ‘crunch’; there goes a second one. Billy is so upset as he is chased from my car by our friends. He starts walking home feeling quite sad. I take over driving. We order enough waters from the A&W for everyone in the car and one for Billy too – remember the quote from the scriptures, ‘I desire mercy’ – we pull up beside him. He comes up to the car and then we – well – we pelt him with our waters. Okay maybe that is not a good example of mercy. We sacrificed our water instead of offering mercy. Whoops. We got it a little backwards.

Jesus said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice’. This is significant. Look at what is happening in our text today. Jesus is having one of his all too familiar conflicts with the religious teachers. Verse 9 records that Jesus is walking along after performing a sensational faith healing in front of a large audience, Verse 8. Verse 9, he sees a tax collector and Jesus invites this tax collector over for dinner – no, he doesn’t actually. He really invites himself over to the tax collector’s house for dinner and the tax collector (Matthew) accepts.

Now we should put things in perspective a little bit here. Jesus is famous. He is like a televangelist before TV with all of his faith healings and exorcisms and he even controls the weather. More than that even: with his high popularity ratings he is kind of like an earlier version of popular reality TV shows: ‘Judean Idol’ or ‘Survivor Palestine’ or something like that. Jesus is as popular as Jose Batista was after his bat flip as the Jays had an incredible post-season last year. He is as popular as any music star or athlete. Just like contemporary celebrities, crowds are following Jesus everywhere he is going. He even has to hop on a boat after the miracle of the fish and the loaves to get away from them and then in front of his disciples and whoever else was on the Sea of Galilee at that time he even calms the storm (Mt 8:18-27; Mk 4:36-41; Lk 8:22-25). Jesus is a pretty popular celebrity preacher and all the people are following him and this celebrity Jesus sees this tax collector and he invites himself over for dinner.

Anybody have a favourite celebrity here? Call out a name or two… what if _____ invited himself over to your place for dinner, would you accept? Of course. This is what Matthew does.

Now there is more. Who is Matthew, this fellow whom Jesus has invited himself over to his house? Matthew is a tax collector. Strictly speaking he is more like a customs official, but it was the same idea and expressed with the same Greek word: either way he collects taxes for Rome. Tax collectors are not the most popular people in the world these days.

It was even worse in Jesus' day. Do you remember who controlled Palestine in Jesus’ day? The Romans – the Superpower of the day. Palestine was an occupied territory. I used to lead D-Day and Nov 11 Remembrances with the veterans each year. Paying taxes to the Romans would be the same as the Dutch or the French paying taxes to the Nazis. It would be like Afghanistan paying taxes to NATO or Iraq paying taxes to the USA. The Americans – in their own revolution – cited as one of their causes for starting that war the fact that they didn’t want to pay taxes even to support their own military. People generally aren’t so fond of paying taxes. As a Judean, for Matthew, collecting taxes from his own people to pay Caesar would be like collaborating with the enemy (cf. Mt 22:15-22, Mk 12:13-17, Lk 20:20-26). This is what Matthew would have been doing in essence, as he was sitting in his tariff/tax booth (Mt 9:9).

So here is Jesus, a celebrity preacher, who some people know is even the Messiah and some of those think as a part of this he will destroy the Superpower and free the occupied territories in Palestine and now Jesus goes and invites himself over to one of the collaborators' places for dinner.

So here Jesus’ adversaries think they see a weakness in Jesus. They think that they can create a scandal that will discredit him and by extension increase their own power and popularity. The general people in Palestine at this time don’t support the occupying forces – they want to be free and some of them want Jesus to free them. So the Pharisees attack. If there were newspapers, internet and the like back then the headline on the 6-O’Clock News would read like verse 11: “Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors”

It would be like today if someone has a picture of a politician or a famous preacher coming out of a seedy bar or if they have pictures of a person from the Conservative party having secret meeting with the Liberals or something like that. This is potentially a scandal.

Now Jesus –unlike many contemporary politicians- doesn’t deny what he is doing. He is associating with the unfavourable parties in society and he is partying with people who are perceived by some as traitors to his own country. The Pharisees obviously follow him here and have caught Jesus red-handed with these unfavourable people, ‘sinners’ as they call them, and so they attack Jesus’ followers, verse 11: “When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?’” Jesus overhears them and instead of running for cover, instead of denying his actions, Verses 12 and 13, “On hearing this, Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.’”

So this is interesting. Jesus is quoting Hosea 6. The Pharisees would have been very familiar with Hosea 6. Do you remember who the Pharisees are? They know their scriptures. At their best, they are like the holiness teachers of their day. Today we have the more orthodox churches theologically who –like us - do uphold the inerrancy of scripture but some of the apparently theologically orthodox preachers have a tendency to err towards your super-ultra-right-wing Bible belt, holier than thou, prosperity gospel, venom spewing types that want to tell you that you deserve everything that happens to you and they are more than happy to point out to you every sin you commit and how terrible you are for committing it.

The best of the Pharisees are like the good Bible-believing Christians of today, even encouraging us to holiness; the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee (Acts 23:6, 26:5). The worst of the Pharisees however, I imagine, if they were around in today’s day and age you would hear their voices screaming hatred over the radio or intimidating people with signs and mobs as they catch people like Jesus here heading into the seedy places of today to be with ‘sinners’. 

These Pharisees are very careful not to break any religious law and they accuse Jesus (and others one would assume) every time they catch him doing something that they would not think appropriate. I know you know the type. I run into people all the time who say that they don’t come to church any more because some of us can be like this. People tell me all the time that they don’t come to church because they think we Christians are all judgemental hypocrites or they just don`t feel welcome.

This is important. When accused, Jesus says to the Pharisees, Matthew 9:13: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.^’

Now the Pharisees, Jesus’ rivals who we have been pointing out their flaws a little bit here, they were really good at sacrifice. They did rightly believe in holiness. Amongst their number were probably some of the best of the religious people of their day (cf. Acts 22:1-5; Galatians 1:13,14). Maybe even better than us at following the scriptures, they tithed regularly. They read their scriptures. They come to the synagogue (church) regularly. They do not work on the Sabbath and they would certainly never go out for brunch or anything else on the Sabbath because that would cause some poor servant to work (Dt 5; Ex20). They are very careful about taking all that they do seriously and worshiping God by providing the appropriate sacrifices. If they were around today they most likely would always have the Christian radio station tuned into their car and-or their computer; they would always be dressed appropriately and they would be very careful to tithe and offer the appropriate sacrifices.

These are good guys in this regard but they are Jesus’ adversaries and here they are pointing out that Jesus by eating with ‘sinners’ is not like the Pharisees. Jesus agrees that he is not like them and he tells them why: He says the difference is that the Pharisees are not extending mercy. God loves people. The word ‘mercy’ here, ḥesed, means steadfast love or literally ‘covenant love.’ They are accusing Jesus of not being faithful to the covenant with God because he eats with ‘sinners’ but Jesus is saying that he is faithful to God’s covenant precisely because he eats with ‘sinners’ and thus by extension the Pharisees are unfaithful to this covenant love because even though they seem to do everything right, they are not showing mercy. Jesus says, quoting Hosea 6:6: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but ‘sinners.’

The Pharisees: they did many things right in the eyes of their community. If around today, they certainly wouldn’t have been smokers, or heavy drinkers; they would be embarrassed if they were ever caught speeding, or if they accidentally bounced their cheque to the church but, knowing that all of this stuff is good that they do, Jesus says that is not what is most important. God desires mercy and not sacrifice.

I remember once when I was visiting a good church many, many years ago; a street person came in and lay down on the pews for a nap. A good, self-sacrificing pastor at this time at this church asked him to leave. Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'

I have also seen congregations where nice, good, self-sacrificing church people have sat pouting, arms crossed all through the service because some stranger had dared to come an unwittingly sit in their seat. Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'

I have in my time heard good self-sacrificing church people complain because a teenager showed up in jeans or in other ways not dressed the right way. Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' 

I have in my time heard good self-sacrificing Salvationists help the poor but complain whenever someone needy shows up who doesn`t look poor or who does not seem marginalized. Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' 

I have in my time seen good self-sacrificing Salvationists actually punish people for behaving in ways that are totally consistant with their diagnosis. Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' 

I have heard divorced people tell me that they felt shunned in their churches by the good self-sacrificing Christians after their marriage collapses.  Jesus says, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' 

I have heard single mothers tell me that they don’t feel welcome in many churches by good, self-sacrificing Christians at all but Jesus says 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

Well, what about us here today? Do we follow the letter of the law at the expense of the spirit of the law? Do we make nice to some while under the guise of good intentions plot the downfall of others? Do we greet some people but neglect to be hospitable to others? How do we greet the people God brings across our path? Do we extend to them the hesed covenant love of Christ who spent time with them even if they were rich tax collectors removed from everyone else because of their jobs.

Today, like always, I invite us to examine ourselves. Are we like it says in Matthew 23:24, ‘straining a gnat and swallowing a camel’? Are we ‘majoring in the minors’? Or do we openly embrace our brothers and sisters? Do we eagerly look for opportunities to show our love for God by loving our neighbours – rich or poor, nice or mean, scary or not scary? In short, if Christ (or an angel) showed up today in disguise would we welcome him warmly? Would he recognize us as his followers? If there are any ways that we here today have not been open to serving God by showing this hesed, mercy, covenant love to our neighbours, I would ask the Lord to reveal that to us, so that we can turn that and our whole lives over to Jesus Christ and I pray that they will indeed know we are Christians by our love.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that up at the front here we do have the Mercy seat – and any who feel led our more that welcome to come up here for prayer or to commune with God.

May we all today go from here with a renewed impetus to show hesed, mercy, covenant faithfulness to our neighbour and it is my prayer that indeed they will know we are Christians by our love.

Devotion 2.21/73: Judges 7:2: Accomplished

Presented to River Street Cafe, 09 September 2016

Read Judges 7:2-3

The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

This has been a tiring week for me. Many of us around here are very busy. Kids are back in school. Lessons are starting. Meetings are starting with the agencies and community groups to which we belong; regular fall programming is beginning and there is all of the busy-ness that everyone in ministry is surrounded with in September.

This week we have had added to this, like Gideon, the fact that we are short staffed. And some of you know too that we have been given the responsibility for running another corps (church), The Warehouse Mission. I have been involved in hiring someone to work at the Warehouse and, in the absence of someone else, I have been personally supervising their programs. This takes a little bit of time.

And then there is the building here. I have been talking not only with headquarters but also architects and contractors this week. There is more too – there is a lot of paper work. I could go on all day with the things that have been keeping me busy but I won’t. This isn’t meant to be a ‘woe is me pity party’. Many people are busy.

The point I am making today is, I know that I do not actually have the time to physically do everything on my to-do list right now. I have crunched the numbers and it is just not going to work.

I think that is one reason why God has let me meditate on Judges 7:2 these past few weeks: Judges 7:2: The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

Like Gideon, God has reminded me that my own strength can’t save me. I thank the LORD for that because I think sometimes we can become overwhelmed quite simply because we think we can or we think we should be able to conquer life in our own strength. I think a lot of the stress that I (and maybe some others of us here) feel is quite simply because we try to do things in our own strength, forgetting that it is not our own strength that saves us but rather the strength of the Lord.

This week I have resolved not to become overwhelmed by the tasks that I cannot complete because I know that I can’t accomplish them but I know someone who can accomplish all that needs to be done... and that someone is God.