Tag: God

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The day the sun stood still

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Patrick on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 10.

Ever have a day that seemed to go on forever?

Maybe it was a travel day, when you had delays, cancelled flights, and endless lines. It took you a whole day (or more) to get home.

Some of the days when hurricanes were coming through seemed to go on and on. The power was out and the storm was in no hurry to move along. The night seems even longer as the wind howls and you wonder what just hit the roof.

Or you’re sitting in the hospital waiting. You’re waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell you how the procedure went. Or you’re waiting for the baby to be born. Or you’re in the emergency room, waiting for lab results. The time seems to pass so slowly.

When I was growing up, the one-hour drive to my grandmother’s house on the other side of Philadelphia seemed so long. The 1-1/2 hour drive to the Jersey shore seemed to take a day and a half.

Our perception of time doesn’t actually change a time period. Only God can do that. He only does it a couple of times in scripture. One of those times is when Joshua fights an alliance of kings who have attacked Gibeon. In the account, Joshua asks the Lord to slow down time so Israel can avenge their enemies. God does just that. In fact,

“The sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies…The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day” (Joshua 10:13).

The Day the Sun Stood Still by Poul Anderson, Gordon Dickson, and Robert Silverberg is a collection of three science fiction novellas that explore that day. How would the world react if that actually happened? What would be the effect on religious, political, and personal life?

I read this book a long time ago. Having remembered the title, I need to go back and read this again! When I do, I promise to update this post.

There are moments when we wish time would speed up. Like when you’re hungry and it’t still hours till supper. There are others times when we wish we could slow time down and enjoy the moment a little longer. Like those times when our children grow up so quickly.

Are you someone who has plenty of time? Or not enough time? Ironically, we’ve all got the same amount of time, twenty-four hours, every day.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The day the manna stopped

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 5.

A whole generation has grown up in a world with smart phones. Apple sold the first iPhone in 2007, so anyone born after that has never seen a world without the pocket technology we use every single day.

Manna kept a nation alive for forty years. God faithfully gave his people this daily bread, just as he promised. A whole generation grew up on manna. They never knew life without it.

Then one day, the manna stopped.

“The manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land” (Joshua 5:12)

They would never eat manna again.

I wonder if anyone would miss it. Before long, I am sure folks would be telling stories of the manna they ate when they were kids. Just like we talk about foods we ate growing up you can’t get anymore. Like Swanson’s TV dinners, Carnation breakfast bars, Hunt’s Snack Pack pudding cups, Jello pudding pops, and Bazooka bubble gum.

No more manna? The good news is that the produce of a land filled with milk and honey was amazing.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Strong and courageous

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Pixabay

A “through the bible” devotion from Joshua 1.

Are super powers easy to come by? Sometimes it’s accidental. A radioactive spider bit Peter Parker, and he became spiderman. Gamma radiation turns Bruce Banner into the Hulk. A medical experiment turns Steve Rogers into Captain America.

For others, it’s intentional. With some cash and some smarts, Bruce Wayne is Batman and Tony Stark becomes Ironman.

It helps if your parents are gods (Thor, Aquaman) or from another planet (Superman).

For the record (and for those who care), I enjoy both Marvel and DC superheroes.

Underdog ate a Super Energy Vitamin Pill for his superpowers. (I watched Underdog a lot when I was a kid. I just learned that this was edited out of the cartoon in the 80s and 90s so as not to encourage drug use.)

Three times in the first chapter of Joshua, God tells him to “Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). A few moments later, the leaders of Israel address Joshua, “Be strong and courageous” (1:18).

Sounds like they want (need) a superhero.

Don’t you think Joshua was under a lot of pressure? After all, there was no one like Moses, who saw God face-to-face. He is a tough act to follow.

When someone says, “Be brave,” it’s usually when they are going to stick a needle in your arm or you have to get on the bus by yourself or some guy in a robe asks, “Do you take this man (woman)…”

But when God says, “Be strong and courageous,” it’s because “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (1:9). It’s not just a command. It’s a promise.

Who’s riding shotgun? Jesus? You’ve got nothing to worry about. You can be strong and courageous!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Bless this loaf

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 28.

Towards the end of Deuteronomy we encounter a catalogue of blessings and curses, some of which are quite specific.

This one caught my eye and earned a place in my journal: “If you obey the Lord your God, blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl” (Deuteronomy 28:5). If you choose not to obey, “Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl” (Deuteronomy 28:17).

Over the past year I’ve learned how to bake sourdough bread. I’ve figured out the best way to feed the mason jar of starter on the kitchen counter. I use a kitchen scale to weigh out my bread flour, water, salt, and starter for dough. I bake bread in the used cast iron dutch oven I purchased on eBay. I know how many times to stretch my dough before tucking it in for the night in the refrigerator. I have rice flour on hand for the overnight proofing. (Rice flour is inert; it doesn’t react with the dough.)

It’s not an exact science. Every loaf turns out different depending on the weather, how long I let the dough proof, the brand of flour I use, and how the starter is feeling that day. I’ve had some loaves that were impossible to slice because the crust was too tough. I’ve had others that were kind of gummy inside. And I’ve baked some really nice, tasty loaves, too.

Anyway, I would love it if God blessed my kneading bowl! It’s kind of funny to think that he would be a part of the bread baking process. I realize this is an image of God’s blessing in your home. But I still like to picture a really nice loaf of bread cooling on a rack in the kitchen!

The blessings of living as God’s people find their way into every area of life. He wants to bless our families, flocks, fields, homes, and travel. And when I read the much longer list of curses that follow (Deuteronomy 28:15ff), I’m more than ready to repent and get my act together!

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Persistent poverty

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Seyiram Kweku on pexels.com

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 15.

In back-to-back paragraphs we read, “There will be no poor among you” (Deuteronomy 15:4) and “The poor will not cease to exist in the land” (15:11). So which is it?

What were the causes of poverty at the time of Moses?

  • A storm, blight, or insects wipes out a crop or decimates a flock
  • A family is left destitute when attacked and plundered by an enemy or robbed by a thief
  • A disease or disability makes it impossible to work.
  • An employer doesn’t pay wages (injustice) or an employee doesn’t do the job (laziness).

Many years later Jesus would say, “You always have the poor with you” (Matthew 26:11). There will always be someone without enough. There will always be someone who needs your help. It might even be you.

Old Testament law put safeguards in place. From not charging interest to a jubilee year when all debts are cancelled, all poverty should be short-lived.

Thirty-five hundred years later, we still haven’t solved the problem. There are still families without enough food to eat each day. There are still people who need assistance with basic expenses like shelter, utilities, and clothing. Jesus was right. There’s always someone. There’s always someone who needs help.

I have to remind myself that poor doesn’t necessarily mean unemployed, homeless, and begging on the corner. Poor can mean sharing a living space, only owning one or two outfits, unable to afford a car, and eating affordable, but unhealthy meals.

The temptation is to say, “Stay in school. Get a job. Stick to a budget. Stop wasting money on cigarettes and lottery tickets.” All of that is sound advice. And it puts all the responsibility on them.

But Jesus puts the responsibility on me (and you). “To the extent that you did it [food, drink, clothes, shelter] for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me” (Matthew 25:40).

Maybe we always have the poor with us so we don’t forget about Jesus.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Take care of your soul

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on pexels

A “through the bible” devotion from Deuteronomy 4.

The monthly car payment fits into your budget. Sweet! Now, what about the maintenance and upkeep? What? A good rule of thumb is to set aside at least as much as the payment each month for things like oil changes, tires, tire rotations, filters, and cleaning supplies. Yikes. Those things add up quickly.

As he reviewed the law for the people, Moses said, “Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life” (Deuteronomy 4:9).

I know how to take care of my body. I know how to maintain a car. But how do I care for my soul? Souls get hungry, thirsty, and tired. My soul needs rest and sustenance, too. How do I do that?

Anxiety. Fear. Doubt. Worry. Panic. Restlessness. Impatience. Those could all be signs that my soul needs something. My soul needs to remember what God has done for me, the future he’s secured for me, and his mercies I’m experiencing today. When Jesus calls himself the bread of life, he invites us to come to him and drink, and is described as our Sabbath rest, he’s nothing less than a much-needed buffet for my soul.

Fix your eyes on him.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

Want to see the pictures from our trip?

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 33.

I’m old enough to remember the days when friends would invite you over to see the slides from their most recent trip. For those not old enough to remember, slides were transparent photos you could shine a light through and project onto a screen so a room full of people could all see them. We do the same thing now but on a big screen TV or the little screen of a phone.

Not everyone found travel slides or photographs as interesting as those who took them. But they were an important record of travel. Once I get home, I begin to forget all the places I went and all the things I saw and did. I’m careful now to journal every day of a trip. Alongside photos, this has enabled me to remember trips to Alaska, Israel, Haiti, and most recently, Hawaii.

That’s what Moses does. “These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt…Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage” (Numbers 33:1,2). He writes down the places Israel traveled and camped from their departure from Egypt to their arrival Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River. It’s not exciting reading, but it’s an important chronicle of the journey.

Before my dad died, he showed me pages in a scrapbook that listed everywhere he went while in the United States Army-Air Corps in World War II. He kept a careful record of every school he trained at and every island and atoll he stopped in the south Pacific. I was able to locate all of the places using Google Earth. Some places are nothing more than half an island out in the middle of the ocean. Others are towns in the Philippine Islands. All of them were far from home.

I’m glad he wrote it all down. When his ninety-year old memory began to fail, his part of United States and world history remained intact. Just like the nation of Israel, who often forgot about God and the amazing things he had done for them.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

The pulse of a Spirit-filled life

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Rachel Loughman on Unsplash

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 28 and 29.

Upon learning that I was a pastor, folks would either comment, “It must be nice to only have to work one day a week” or, “You’re on duty 24/7, aren’t you?”

The truth lies somewhere in between. A lot of preparation goes into the weekly message to the gathered congregation. Shepherding a flock may be a daily commitment, but even shepherds clock in and out each day.

The priests and Levites were busy. Here’s a list of all the occasions on which were responsible for the offerings of God’s people:

  • Daily offerings, morning and evening, including a lamb, flour, and wine)
  • Sabbath day offering (weekly)
  • First of the month offering (monthly)
  • Passover offerings (14th day of first month, eight days total)
  • Feast of Weeks offerings (Pentecost; firstfruits of the harvest)
  • Feast of Trumpets offerings (Rosh Hashanah; 1st day of 7th month)
  • Day of Atonement offerings (Yom Kippus; 10th day of 7th month)
  • Feast of Booths offerings (15th day of 7th month; eight days total)

All that is in addition to vow offerings, freewill offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, drink offerings, and peace offerings (Numbers 28,29).

When I’m distracted by other things in life, whether it be myself or my things, I don’t fix my eyes on Jesus. But it sounds like the psalmist had it down, from waking till sleep:

“My voice you shall hear in the morning” (Psalm 5:3).

“When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches” (Psalm 63:6).

I like to think of all these instructions as a metronome that establishes a rhythm of worship. Rather than an interruption, worship occasions are the pulse of a Spirit-filled life.

Posted in Through the Bible Devotions

One spear; two speared

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Bakr Magrabi on pexels.com

A “through the bible” devotion from Numbers 25.

In a flagrant display of unfaithfulness and disobedience, an Israelite man brings a Midianite woman into his tent. Responding in faithfulness and obedience, Phineas, a grandson of Aaron, takes a spear and runs it through the two of them at the moment they are intimately involved in the inner room of their tent (Numbers 25:6-8).

Phineas is commended for this horrific act and promoted to permanent position of priesthood (25:12,13). Priests typically interceded for atonement. Here, it is to execute judgment.

Moses even records the names of the guilty parties. The man was Zimri; the woman was Cozbi. Their actions and their death triggered Israel’s attack on the Midianites and put an end to their seductive idolatry.

If you’re shocked by this account, I don’t blame you. But I’ll bet you’ve seen much worse in the movies you’ve streamed into your home. I’ll bet you’ve heard about even more scandalous behavior on the news. You may have even been a part of it yourself. This is our world. This has always been our world.

No one would blame God for throwing up his hands and just letting Israel (and all of us) self-destruct. But someone like Moses or Phineas or intercedes and the story goes on.

We’ll read about a future stroke of justice when Jesus is run through with a spear after he dies on the cross. He’s the priest, he endures God’s judgment, and he bleeds out in a scene just as gory as this one. Jesus steps in, and the story goes on.