Below is an excerpt from my book Saved From Mediocrity... over the next few months I will continue posting chapters for anyone who is interested. If you would like a copy for yourself you can purchase it by clicking on the link below... but it will be fully posted on this blog in time.
Purchase Saved From Mediocrity
Chapter Fourteen
Joshua 7:2-9; 8:1-29
I Did It My Way
The victory at Jericho was fresh on the minds of the people of Israel when they came upon the small village of Ai. Jericho was a huge fortified city with soaring walls, whereas Ai looked like just a few people with maybe a campfire. Jericho was going to be a hard-fought battle, but the Lord gave them an easy victory. Ai, on the other hand, appeared to be just a small speed bump in the road that had to be taken care of; a pesky mosquito that needed to be swatted. So Joshua, the military leader that he was, devised a plan. Here’s what he did:
Joshua 7:2-4a
Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.” So about three thousand men went up there from the people…
Joshua sent out spies, and the spies said that Ai was nothing to worry about. So he sent a small delegation of three thousand warriors to completely overwhelm and take care of this pesky mosquito. But something unexpected happened… the mosquito fought back and won:
Joshua 7:4b-5
…but they fled before the men of Ai. And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
What happened? I believe the sin of Achan had something to with the loss; after all, our sin does have physical, worldly consequences. It will at times set us back. But I think that even more responsibility for this defeat can be put at the feet of Joshua because of something he didn’t do before he came up against the people of Ai.
An Important Life Lesson
I was supposed to be a successful professional golfer by now. Years ago I was convinced I heard the Lord tell me that He was going to use me and my future celebrity as a golfer to change the world. To this day, I still believe that God led me to play golf, that He gave me the talent to play at a professional level, and that He gave me the opportunity to play… but I failed… I’m not a professional golfer today. As a matter of fact, I don’t even like golf that much anymore. So why did God lead me to play golf?
I believe it was to teach me one of the most important lessons I have ever or will ever learn… Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it (Psalm 127:1). You see, back when the Lord revealed His vision for me, I heard it and I dropped everything to follow that leading… But as Ol’ Blue Eyes himself sang…“I did it my way.” That’s why I believe I failed. I heard from the Lord, then pushed Him aside to accomplish His will my way… after all, what does God know about golf?
The same thing happened here with Joshua. Turn back a couple of chapters and you’ll see that before he led the people across the Jordan, Joshua realized that the task was too big for him. He couldn’t do it on his own; he needed help. So he cried out to God. Then later, as he was contemplating what to do at Jericho, he saw the Lord and fell to his knees and said he’d do whatever he was told because he knew the task was too big for him. But here at Ai, there was no prayer, no asking for God’s plan. This was too small a task to involve God… he could handle this one… and that’s why he failed.
This is a very important lesson that every Christian needs to learn. Most of us have learned and believe that there is nothing is too big for God to handle, but it is also important for us to learn and believe that there is nothing is too small for God to handle. He wants to be involved in every detail of your life. You’re struggling financially? He’ll help you climb out dollar by dollar. You’ve got problems with your car? He wants to help. But here’s the deal, and this is where many of us go astray… it’s His way or the highway. His way to help you climb out of financial strain and car problems may be to have you to sell your broken-down car and walk or ride a bike for a season. This may not be what you want, but if you follow Him along the bumpy, sometimes scary road, He’ll help you. In the end He promises you’ll be better off.
Get Down and Look Up
But we don’t always seek God in our problems, do we? The fact of the matter is that, like Joshua, we will inevitably face failure. The question is how will we react to failure? Take a look at how Joshua reacted after the defeat at Ai:
Joshua 7:6-9
Then Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Lord GOD, why have You brought this people over the Jordan at all—to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?
Oh, that we had been content, and dwelt on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say when Israel turns its back before its enemies? For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
This is just like me. I mess up, try to do things on my own, and then I go back to God on my knees, weeping and asking, “Why did you do this to me?” Aren’t you glad that we serve a gracious God! But there is a lesson even in Joshua’s reaction… he was on his face before God.
After about five years of failure as a hopeful golfer, I too fell to my face before God, asking why He led me to a life of apparent futility. I was burned out, disappointed, broken, embarrassed, and blaming God for my failure… and I was right smack dab in the exact place God wanted me.
What’s that? That’s right, when I finally figured out that I couldn’t do it on my own, that is when God said… OK, now I can work with you! But the key part was that in my failure, I was on my knees looking up… and so was Joshua… and the Lord met him there:
Joshua 8:1-29
Now the LORD said to Joshua: “Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed; take all the people of war with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, his people, his city, and his land. And you shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its cattle you shall take as booty for yourselves. Lay an ambush for the city behind it.”
So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them. For they will come out after us till we have drawn them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ Therefore we will flee before them. Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. And it will be, when you have taken the city, that you shall set the city on fire. According to the commandment of the LORD you shall do. See, I have commanded you.”
Joshua therefore sent them out; and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai; but Joshua lodged that night among the people. Then Joshua rose up early in the morning and mustered the people, and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai. And all the people of war who were with him went up and drew near; and they came before the city and camped on the north side of Ai. Now a valley lay between them and Ai. So he took about five thousand men and set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of the city. And when they had set the people, all the army that was on the north of the city, and its rear guard on the west of the city, Joshua went that night into the midst of the valley.
Now it happened, when the king of Ai saw it, that the men of the city hurried and rose early and went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at an appointed place before the plain. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness. So all the people who were in Ai were called together to pursue them. And they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city. There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel. So they left the city open and pursued Israel.
Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Stretch out the spear that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand.” And Joshua stretched out the spear that was in his hand toward the city. So those in ambush arose quickly out of their place; they ran as soon as he had stretched out his hand, and they entered the city and took it, and hurried to set the city on fire. And when the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw, and behold, the smoke of the city ascended to heaven. So they had no power to flee this way or that way, and the people who had fled to the wilderness turned back on the pursuers.
Now when Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city ascended, they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. Then the others came out of the city against them; so they were caught in the midst of Israel, some on this side and some on that side. And they struck them down, so that they let none of them remain or escape. But the king of Ai they took alive, and brought him to Joshua.
And it came to pass when Israel had made an end of slaying all the inhabitants of Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they pursued them, and when they all had fallen by the edge of the sword until they were consumed, that all the Israelites returned to Ai and struck it with the edge of the sword. So it was that all who fell that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back his hand, with which he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Only the livestock and the spoil of that city Israel took as booty for themselves, according to the word of the LORD which He had commanded Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a heap forever, a desolation to this day. And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
Did you see that in the last paragraph? What first appeared to be a small village, a pesky mosquito, was twelve thousand strong. It was a lot bigger than Joshua thought when he sent three thousand men out to fight them. It’s often the same for us. Those things that we think are small many times will be the things that set us back in life.
I learned a lot in my failures as a wannabe golfer, but the most important lesson was that when God gives us a vision, no matter how big or small it is, He will also give us the plan to carry out that vision. Don’t try and accomplish God’s vision for you on your own. Wait on Him to give you the battle plan and then follow Him to victory!
An Excerpt From "Saved From Mediocrity" - Chapter Fourteen
An Excerpt From "Saved From Mediocrity" - Chapter Thirteen (Authors Favorite Chapter)
Below is an excerpt from my book Saved From Mediocrity... over the next few months I will continue posting chapters for anyone who is interested. If you would like a copy for yourself you can purchase it by clicking on the link below... but it will be fully posted on this blog in time.
Purchase Saved From Mediocrity
Chapter Thirteen
Joshua 7:1; 7:10-26
The Problem With Sin
There are two parts of Joshua chapter seven that are intermingled; the defeat of the Israelites at Ai and the story of the sin of Achan. In this chapter we’ll look at Achan and our problem with sin. In the next chapter we’ll dive into why Israel was defeated at Ai.
The people of Israel had just crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land when they came up against the fortified city of Jericho. As we saw in the last chapter, the Lord gave them victory in the battle against Jericho. After the victory Joshua gathered everyone together and told them: “And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD” (Joshua 6:18-19).
Joshua was quite clear that the people were not to take the spoils of Jericho because they belonged to God. But one man didn’t listen.
Joshua 7:1
But the children of Israel committed a trespass regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the LORD burned against the children of Israel.
God doesn’t mess around with sin, so He went to Joshua and said:
Joshua 7:10-15
“Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you.” In the morning therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be that the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families; and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the household which the LORD takes shall come man by man. Then it shall be that he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
God tells Joshua that this sin is serious and that if it isn’t dealt with, bad things will happen. He then tells Joshua to root it out, find it, and destroy this sin before it destroys them.
Joshua 7:16-26
So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken. He brought the clan of Judah, and he took the family of the Zarhites; and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man, and Zabdi was taken. Then he brought his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of His anger. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Achor to this day.
WOW! Because of Achan’s sin they stoned him, then set him on fire! They certainly did deal with the sin! God tells Joshua that the sin needs to be dealt with, and He emphasizes that point with this sentence in verse 12: “Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” I certainly want to deal with my sin because the last thing I want is for God not to be with me anymore, so I better root it out and destroy it or else…
The Struggle with the Struggle
How we do that is the question… how do we stop sinning so that God won’t leave us? Isn’t that the problem? We have this difficulty with sin… it continues and continues and continues to rear its ugly head. It’s in our nature, tattooed on our DNA. We were born sinners and we spend most of our lives struggling with this tendency. It’s frustrating when we succumb to it. Just when we think we’ve got everything under control, we mess up… We think a thought, do something stupid, become the people that we don’t want to be. We’re screw-ups… hypocrites.
No wonder we so often feel like God is not with us anymore; it’s because of our sin… right? Most of us believe there’s a line between good and bad—and we know we shouldn’t cross it. We also believe that the presence of this line is a good thing, that the line should be there. It needs to be there. The fact that we believe this is proven out by the existence of the frustration we experience after our all-too-frequent battles with sin. It is proven by the fact that we very much desire not to sin any more.
But you know, sometimes we just can’t stop ourselves. It’s as if there is something in the deepest part of us that is stronger than our desire to be on the right side of sin. And that something, way too often, pulls us over to the wrong side. Is there a way to find freedom from this struggle?
The Logical Solution
Years ago I heard what I thought to be a logical solution to our problem with sin. I’ve taught the following several times both from the pulpit and in my writings… This is, I believe, a well-reasoned plan to deal with our problem with sin:
Have you ever pondered darkness? The default in this world is darkness. Without the influence of the sun, or a light bulb, or fire, etc. as an external source for light, everything would revert to darkness. In other words, you can’t, without an external influence, drive darkness away. Walk into a dark room and try and rebuke the darkness… Demand for it to go away… it doesn’t work. Try and flail your arms, jump up and down and push the darkness out… that doesn’t work. You have to employ an external light source; light must fill the darkness for the darkness to be gone.
The same condition exists within our bodies of flesh… our default is sin… we live in a sinful state. Without an external influence we will always default back to sin… Jesus is the Light that will eliminate the darkness in your life. If you fill yourself with Him, you will find freedom from your struggle with darkness. We fill ourselves with His Light by digging deep into the Word, seeking to serve others, through prayer, fellowship, and worship. We need to discipline ourselves and starve our flesh, feed our spirit, and eliminate bad influences. When you spend time in prayer each day, read and study God’s Word first thing every morning, and join a weekly accountability group—it is then when you find freedom! Fill yourself with Light and the darkness will flee!
Does that make sense or what?! It’s fantastic! Finally a logical path to freedom!
But…
A Flawed System
Oh, brother… wouldn’t you know it… there’s always a but. I’m sorry to say, but this but is a big but… As logical and well-reasoned as this argument is… it simply does not lead to a life free from sinning. I hate to burst your bubble, but I’ve tried every way imaginable and it doesn’t work… We will not find freedom even from an ingenious, logical, well-reasoned system or routine.
This is where I get very strong opposition and rebuke from pastors, ministers, and the “disciplined” church leader. You see, for them, refraining from sin is uncomplicated; there are very few temptations that tempt them to the point of succumbing because of this wonderful system they have in place to avoid tempting circumstance. Pastors will brag that they don’t meet with women alone… thereby squelching their temptation to lust. Ministers make sure we know that they spend hours a day in prayer and Bible study… thereby avoiding any temptation to covet or lie. The disciplined church leader will spend 10 percent of their day in the Word, 10 percent in prayer and 10 percent serving… making it impossible for them to struggle with the temptations that so easily besets the undisciplined commoner.
Oh, they still admit that they sin, but in that admission is a caveat to save their image. They feel it necessary to try and convince us that this system they have set up has removed most of the struggle; therefore sin doesn’t overtake them like it does us regular folk.
But there’s one fatal flaw in this system… they’re lying. I know this because, as a former insider in the pious church leadership, I’ve witnessed these same pastors fall to lust. I’ve listened to confessions firsthand from ministers who covet greatly what the world has—and what they’ve had to give up to become ministers. I’ve seen with my own eyes way too many disciplined church leaders fail.
I don’t say that to their discredit; I was one of them. Paul the Apostle even spoke of his struggle (Romans 7:14-24, 1 Timothy 1:15). I say this because we need to know that as long as we are in these bodies of flesh, we will struggle with and fall to sin daily.
A Test
Some people question that statement. If that’s you, then I want to challenge you to a test of your ability to overcome your tendency to sin… I want you to take the next two hours of your day and not sin. And just so you know what you’re up against, let’s define what being sin-free entails: no selfish thoughts, no prideful demeanor, 100 percent in tune with the Father’s will without swaying from it for even a fraction of a second, doing everything you know needs to be done every second of every minute of every hour, never missing the mark on anything at any time, always doing the right thing at the right time in the proper manner with the proper motive.
I’m willing to venture that while you read that last sentence you sinned, but if not… your time starts now. Two hours, no sin… I’ll wait…
How’d it go? How’d you do? The whole two hours without a sin? Liar…
We can’t do it; we cannot live sin-free. But… and this but is a good but… we don’t have to be enslaved to sin. We can find freedom—not from sinning, but from sin!
I Will Repay
I have a friend; we’ll say his name is Chris because Greg told me I could use his story but asked me not to use his name. About ten years ago Chris was caught embezzling money from his employer and was fired. This embarrassed him so much that he quickly took a damage control posture; to save his image he told everyone he knew, family and friends, that he was framed. “I didn’t do it,” he said. “It was someone else in the company and he blamed it on me.”
After about two months of this charade, now broke, behind on his bills and desperate, he loaded up his car and moved into his mom’s spare bedroom five states away, hoping to start afresh. But the guilt was killing him and his lies now had to become more and more elaborate. He knew that something had to be done or he would drive himself to an emotional breakdown. Chris had been around Christian churches and believers for most of his life, and it was about then that God started to get a hold of him once again. God started slowly pulling him back into His arms. Eventually Chris broke down.
Sitting on the aisle in his mother’s church, he began to weep uncontrollably, dedicating his life to Christ. That afternoon he wrote a letter to everyone he had been lying to, telling them the truth. He even wrote a letter to his former boss Mark, asking for forgiveness. In that letter he also wrote that, despite Mark specifically telling him that it wasn’t about the money and that he didn’t want to be paid back, he wanted to make an attempt to pay back every cent of what he stole.
It was that day that Chris finally reached bottom and could start to rebuild his life. But the guilt didn’t go away. Despite his attempts to finally do the right thing, he just couldn’t shake this incredible feeling of disgust for his actions.
One year passed, then two, then three, then four, and now, fighting depression and addiction, Chris cried out for help. He was trying to do the right thing, he was trying to live life according to God’s plan, but he was failing miserably. About four and a half years after reaching bottom, Chris decided to approach one of the ministers at his church to tell him what he was going through.
“I can’t shake this disgust in myself, the guilt is driving me into the ground. I don’t know what to do. I want to pay Mark back but God hasn’t given me the financial wherewithal to do that… what should I do… how can I be free from this burden that is killing me?”
The counselor gave Chris some good advice that day, telling him that he didn’t have the answer but that God did. He instructed Chris to seek the Lord in His Word, to pray that he would be led to the perfect place within the Bible that would give him direction.
That night Chris took that advice and sat down on his bed, praying that God would lead him. He opened his Bible to, of all places, the book of Philemon. Philemon?! Is that in the Bible? Philemon, as everyone who has spent twelve years in a room with no windows studying the Bible knows, is a short letter written by the Apostle Paul to a guy named Philemon… Paul was sending to Philemon a guy named Onesimus who evidently was a former slave of Philemon’s. Apparently Onesimus had stolen something from or did something to his former master—and then scooted out of town. While he was gone, Onesimus gave his life to Christ and was now charged to go back to his old stomping grounds to minister to the people there.
Paul, in this short letter, was writing Philemon to tell him that Onesimus was on his way back. Pretty standard Bible stuff for the first 16 verses… then Chris got to verses 17-19:
If then you count me as a partner, receive him as you would me. But if he has wronged you or owes anything, put that on my account. I, Paul, am writing with my own hand. I will repay…
It hit Chris hard… it was as if Jesus was speaking to him directly… “Put it on My account… I will repay.”
I have a confession. This story isn’t about Chris or Greg… it’s about me. I was the guy who stole from his boss. I was the guy who lied to his friends and family. I was the guy who lived with a huge burden for several years. And I was the guy who was freed from that burden after reading Philemon.
Yes, just like in the days of Joshua, our sin absolutely needs to be dealt with and dealt with harshly… The reason that so many of us fail in our attempts to find freedom is because we fail to understand that it was dealt with by Jesus, on the cross. Our debt was paid. Your sin, yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s, was put on the account of Jesus and we have been proclaimed innocent of all transgression. When you believe that, that is the day you will find freedom from sin. Your guilt… gone! Your burden… erased! Your sins… forgiven! You don’t have to worry about sin any more!
As Far as East is from West
“But James, James, James, you are so naïve… I appreciate your passion, but there is a difference between salvation and sanctification. Yes, we have been proclaimed innocent, but God does require us now, as Christians, to live holy lives. The Bible tells us that He will hold us accountable for the stewardship of what He has entrusted to us.”
To those who believe that to mean that God will, for example, hold you accountable for misusing the money or time He’s given you, let me ask you one question: If sin is defined as “missing the mark,” and the mark is perfection, then anything you do short of perfection is, by definition, sin. But the Bible also teaches us that for those who believe in Jesus Christ, God will remove their transgressions from them “as far as east is from west” (Psalm 103:11-12) and that He will remember our sins no more (Jeremiah 31:33). So, at the judgment where you say God is going to hold us accountable for our bad stewardship of the things He entrusted to us, which sins will God retrieve from wherever He cast them and which transgressions will He then remember that He said He would forget?
A Compelling Argument
The argument is compelling though when we read some of the parables and interpret them with the assumption that we Christians will be held to account for our stewardship. For example, in Matthew 25, Jesus says this of the coming Kingdom of God:
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
Seems pretty clear. We are taught from many preachers (personally I’ve heard it from more than a few very well-known and highly respected mega-church pastors) that God has given us “talents,” which in this parable refers to money, but could also refer to actual talents like music or preaching or insert your talent here. We’re then told that we will be held to account at the judgment seat for what we do with or how good of stewards we are of those gifts.
If we carry the logic out to its end (something many pastors fail to do) it would mean that if God has given you $1,000 (I’ll just use money as the example because it is easy to follow), He expects you, as His servant, to bring back a return on that gift. If you bring back to Him $2,000, you will be greeted in Heaven with “Well done, good and faithful servant!” If you don’t, and only bring back the original $1,000… well, then you will be cast into “outer darkness.” Heaven, for those who are good with money and hell to those who aren’t… did I get that right? That’s what it says right?
I guess then we need to change John 3:16 and have it read: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him [and is a good steward of everything that He gives you] should not perish but have everlasting life. But that’s not what John 3:16 says; it doesn’t have that caveat. It just reads “that whoever believes in Him should not perish”… so maybe, just maybe, we have misinterpreted this parable?
A Closer Look
This parable has, as I see it, three things that need to be defined. We need to define who the Master represents, who the servants represent, and what the talents represent. If we define those things, I think we will have a good idea of what the interpretation of the parable should be.
First, the Master: We see in the first part of Matthew 25 that the parables Jesus tells are in reference to the end times, specifically we are looking at references to the Kingdom of Heaven in the parable of the talents. When we are speaking of the Kingdom of Heaven and the Master of the Kingdom, we are talking about God the Father. So the Master in this parable refers to God the Father… You probably figured that out without me, but stick with me anyway and I’ll get to a point…
Next, the servants: If the Master is the Father, who then could the servants be? Since we are speaking about the end days when it is determined who the good and faithful servants are and who is destined for “outer darkness,” and since the servants here are the ones being judged, that would logically make the servants the human race: you, me and everyone else.
Sounds pretty standard so far… but the definition of “talents” is where I tend to separate from the common interpretation.
The talents: This is where we need to use the Bible to interpret the Bible. Let’s figure this out by examining the last servant who received one talent and buried it. At the judgment he was thrown into outer darkness where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is a fairly obvious reference to hell. Since the Bible does not contain contradictions, we must then be able to line this teaching up with the rest of the Bible’s teachings.
Now, as you hopefully will agree, the most important doctrine in the Bible is the doctrine of salvation. What does the Bible have to say about salvation? How does a human being get saved from being thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth? Seems like this is something we should know, so let’s have a look:
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:18
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
John 3:36
“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 5:24
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
John 6:29
“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
John 6:40
“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 11:25-26
“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”
I don’t know about you but I started to see a pattern forming at about the second verse within the words of Jesus… Salvation comes to those who BELIEVE in Him… weeping and gnashing of teeth to those who do not believe.
So let’s plug this information into the parable. Since the only prerequisite to being allowed to enter Heaven is belief in Jesus, then the opposite is true as well; the only prerequisite for being cast into outer darkness would be to not believe in Jesus… So possibly, just possibly the talent in the parable is representative of belief?
Believe or Bury?
According to Romans chapter one, God has clearly revealed Himself to everyone. To some, like myself, He did so in a variety of ways… In other words… God gave me (through my family, my church while growing up, my college, etc.) several talents or opportunities to believe… What did I do with those opportunities? Did I believe and allow Him to change my life and use me to reveal Himself to others? Or did I tell Him, “Not now. I’ll bury this revelation and maybe use it when I am done living it up”?
Our Master is going to return at a time that will surprise a lot of people… what type of servant have you been? What have you done with the measure of faith God has given you? That is what the Master is going to judge us on… If you believed, your life reflected that belief, and you brought back a return on that revelation. If you didn’t believe, well then you were not faithful with the opportunities God gave you to believe—and you will be cast into outer darkness.
The bottom line is that your sin has been dealt with and all you have to do to receive the amazing gift of forgiveness is believe! If you do that you will hear the words from the Master: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
Show Me Someone Who Believes
I realize there is an argument against this type of teaching, against someone telling another person that the only thing they must do to receive everlasting life is to believe—and I do understand why we are timid to say this outright. We are afraid that if we make it that easy, some people will say something like: “Great! Since my sin is taken care of through my belief then I can do whatever I want! I don’t have to be a good steward, I don’t have to live a holy life, I can do whatever I want and God will have to give me grace!”
To them I say: If you show me someone who believes, I’ll show you someone who doesn’t want to sin… and if you show me someone who wants to sin, I’ll show you someone who doesn’t believe.
You see, belief in Jesus is the cure, and with every cure there will be evidence of its effectiveness. The evidence that you exhibit when you believe in Jesus will be, and there are no exceptions to this, a changed life! Once you believe, Jesus will supernaturally take over your life.
And like Joshua did for the people of Israel when he rooted out and destroyed the sin of Achan, Jesus will root out and destroy the sin that is in your life… and He will never give up, no matter how deeply your sin is entrenched… He knows what you need and He will help you!
An Excerpt From "Saved From Mediocrity" - Chapter Twelve
Below is an excerpt from my book Saved From Mediocrity... over the next few months I will continue posting chapters for anyone who is interested. If you would like a copy for yourself you can purchase it by clicking on the link below... but it will be fully posted on this blog in time.
Purchase Saved From Mediocrity
Chapter Twelve
Joshua 5:13-6:27
Who’s Your Lord? Test
The children of Israel are now in the Promised Land and, as promised, they are about to face some battles with the inhabitants of the land. The first city they came upon was Jericho. Jericho was a highly fortified city with a formidable wall around it. How were the Israelites going to conquer it? Joshua, a military leader with a great tactical mind, had gone for a walk to come up with an idea when this encounter took place:
Joshua 5:13
And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for us or for our adversaries?” So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
He “lifted his eyes.” When I go for a walk to ponder, I generally walk while looking down at my feet, kicking rocks while strolling, my mind working feverishly. This is how I envision Joshua. He’s walking along near Jericho and pondering… “What are we going to do, how are we going to face this battle before us?”… when lo and behold, he looked up and saw Jesus (The Commander of the army of the LORD) who was already there and had things under control!
This happened to me just this morning. My wife and I have been pondering and praying about planting a church. This morning I was praying about that and got a bit anxious. “I don’t know about church planting. Who would I invite to the first service? What would we call this church? What about taxes and 501(c)3’s (whatever that is)? Can I tithe to myself?”
It was about then when I looked up. I got my eyes off the “I don’t know how’s” and put them on Jesus. “James… I’m in control, I’m here, when it’s time you’ll know and I’ve already got it figured out how… just keep looking up,” He said.
We have to remember that. We will continue to face obstacles/battles in our lives from now till we die or until Jesus returns. If we focus on those obstacles, we will fail; if we “look up,” we’ll succeed.
Pick Your Team
After Joshua looked up, an interesting verbal exchange took place. Joshua asks Jesus what team He’s on and Jesus answers “No.” You see, the question isn’t whose team Jesus is on; the question is whose team are you on? We won’t succeed until we realize that Jesus doesn’t join our team when we get saved… we join His.
Joshua 5:14-15
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?” Then the Commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
When Joshua recognized his Lord, he worshiped Him. (This is how we know it was Jesus, if it had been an angel, he wouldn’t have allowed Joshua to worship him.) The word “Lord” is seldom misunderstood, but very often misrepresented in Christianity. “Lord” means master, the person you worship… or in my own vernacular—the person who trumps all other people. When this person tells you to do something, you do it.
Most people understand that meaning intellectually, but few apply it to their relationship with Jesus. They might say that Jesus is their “Lord,” but their attitude is that Jesus works for them, and not vice versa. That’s why worship so often is about the worshiper and not about the One we should be worshiping.
Joshua understood what it means to have Jesus as his Lord. He worshiped Him, and then he asked Him what He would have him do. That needs to be the relationship that we have with Jesus. It’s not, “Lord, here’s what I want.” Instead it’s, “Lord, You’re in charge, what is it that You want from me?” That type of relationship comes naturally when you believe Jesus is who He says He is, has done what He says He did, and will do what He says He’ll do. If you truly believe He is in charge, then He will be your Lord.
Who’s the Servant Here?
Joshua’s understanding of who the Lord was—and who the servant was—is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in chapter six:
Joshua 6:1-5
Now Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor. You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”
What’s that you say? Jesus lays out the battle plan for Joshua (remember Joshua is an army general and expert war tactician). He tells him to get everyone together and march around the city blowing horns every day for six days, then on the seventh to walk around seven times and blow their horns… That’s the plan… I’m sorry, maybe it’s just me, but is that a bit strange?
In Isaiah 55:8 God tells us, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways." God doesn’t always work the way you want Him to work. The Lord asked Joshua to do something that had to confuse him; but Joshua obeyed despite that probable confusion. That is the evidence of Joshua’s belief about who his Lord is… his obedience shows his belief.
That is how it will happen with us. When we truly commit to the fact that Jesus is our Lord, we will exhibit evidence of that commitment through obedience. But here’s the kicker… the Lord will test that in your life. You might have a walled fortress like Jericho in your life that you think you will never be able to conquer. Maybe it’s your marriage… you’re marriage is falling apart and you’re at your wit’s end. Then one day while pondering what to do, you look up and there’s Jesus! You cry out, “Lord what will you have me do to save my marriage?” He says… “quit smoking.” Your response is, “What does quitting smoking have to do with saving my marriage?”
God didn’t give you the response you wanted, and so, like many of us, you will ignore the instruction. Joshua could have asked, “What is walking around the city blowing horns going to accomplish?” But he didn’t. He obeyed and confirmed his loyalty to his Lord.
God can use your quitting smoking to heal your marriage. You might not see how right away, but He can… But you’ll never know how if you don’t pass the Who’s your Lord? test. He won’t abandon you at that point, but He will keep teaching you and testing you until you do pass… He’s patient… He’ll wait.
Check Your Response
Why does God test us? After all, if He is omniscient then He knows what our response to His instruction is going to be. Since He already knows what you are going to do, then maybe the test isn’t for Him to see your response; maybe the test happens so that you can see your response. When, despite your confusion, you obey like Joshua obeyed—and God shows up and tears down walls—you’ll begin to learn test by test of God’s faithfulness.
You’ve now proven to yourself that Jesus is your Lord and that you can trust Him in everything! From that day forward you’ll be able to say, whether the circumstance you face is good or bad, great or horrible, that you are trusting the Lord because He is your Lord and He is faithful… period! (Or exclamation point… whatever…) In that trust you will find peace. In that peace you will find patience. In that patience you will receive endurance. And in that endurance you will find rest and joy for your soul!
Stop leaning on your own understanding of how things work. Look up, recognize that Jesus is Lord, worship Him, and be obedient to His instruction.
Below is the remainder of chapter six… Leaders, notice something as you read. Joshua, as the leader of the nation of Israel, didn’t try to undercut God’s somewhat weird instruction. He didn’t say, “I know this sounds weird, and I wouldn’t do it this way, but let’s give it a try and see what happens.” He didn’t roll his eyes and say, “You know God… He’s a bit coo-coo, but let’s do what He says.” He simply said, “Here’s what we’re going to do, now follow me as I follow Christ.”
Joshua 6:6-27
Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.” And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the LORD.”
So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the LORD advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD followed them. The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp. And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the LORD. Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the LORD, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.
But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! Now the city shall be doomed by the LORD to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the LORD; they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.”
So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
But Joshua had said to the two men who had spied out the country, “Go into the harlot’s house, and from there bring out the woman and all that she has, as you swore to her.” And the young men who had been spies went in and brought out Rahab, her father, her mother, her brothers, and all that she had. So they brought out all her relatives and left them outside the camp of Israel. But they burned the city and all that was in it with fire. Only the silver and gold, and the vessels of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Joshua spared Rahab the harlot, her father’s household, and all that she had. So she dwells in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Then Joshua charged them at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the LORD who rises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest he shall set up its gates.”
So the LORD was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout all the country.
An Excerpt From "Saved From Mediocrity" - Chapter Eleven
Below is an excerpt from my book Saved From Mediocrity... over the next few months I will continue posting chapters for anyone who is interested. If you would like a copy for yourself you can purchase it by clicking on the link below... but it will be fully posted on this blog in time.
Purchase Saved From Mediocrity
Chapter Eleven
Joshua 5:10-12
Food for Thought
In Joshua chapter three, we saw a miracle occur when God stopped the waters of the Jordan River so that the nation of Israel could cross over into the Promised Land. In Joshua chapter four, God told the people to erect a memorial so that in the future, when they saw it, they would be reminded of that miracle. And in the first part of Joshua chapter five, God asked the men of Israel to put themselves in a vulnerable position by circumcising themselves while inside enemy territory.
Now in Joshua chapter five, something happens that is often overlooked when studying the book of Joshua—but I think it is very important.
Joshua 5:10-12
Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho. And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day. Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.
The nation of Israel had just entered the Promised Land when God stopped providing the daily bread from Heaven (manna). They began to feed themselves by searching the land, eating from what they had gathered. If we go back to Exodus chapter sixteen, we see that God supplied the food for the nation of Israel during their travels from Egypt to the Promised Land by covering the ground with a strange cake-like substance every morning. When the people woke up, they could gather this “manna” in baskets and have their food for the day. The interesting thing about this manna is that during most of the week it would only remain edible for a day. If they tried to gather more than they needed for the day, it would rot overnight. But on the day before the Sabbath (the day they were required to rest) the manna would somehow remain edible for two days. God was supplying their needs day by day. But now that they were in the Promised Land, that day-to-day provision of manna stopped.
A Natural Process
When my wife was pregnant with our son James Jr. (Jamey), he could not in any way take care of himself. All nutrients that aided in his development had to come from his mother until he was born. Soon after birth though, Jamey had to rely on his mother and me to gather his food and put it in his mouth. He did have a small involvement at that time, as he had to do something (suck) to get that food from our hand to his belly.
After a short time of our routine of presenting his food to his mouth, he learned to grab hold of the food and put it in his mouth on his own. Eventually he was asking for food, looking for certain foods, and feeding himself. Hopefully he will in due time not have to rely on his parents for his sustenance at all, but he will be able to search it out, prepare it, and eat it on his own. Ultimately, he will gain the skill not only to feed himself, but he will also be able to help feed others, perhaps his own offspring (my grandchild!).
What we see at work here is a natural process called growth. That is what happened with the children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land, and that is what will naturally happen with us spiritually when we enter our Promised Land, the Spirit-filled life.
Before we believed, though we didn’t know it, the Holy Spirit was alongside us, drawing us to God and convicting us of our unbelief (John 6:44; 16:8-9). He was, like a mother to her unborn child, feeding us… bringing us, if we allowed Him, to a point of re-birth.
When we believe in Christ and give our lives to Him, the Holy Spirit comes in and begins to hand-feed us the truth. You now have a role. You’ll have to do something, but He’ll lead you to a church where a pastor or an elder or someone a little more mature in the faith can begin to feed you the “milk” of the Word and teach you about who Jesus is, what He’s done, and how He’s still working. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians four:
And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (vs.11-13).
There is a need for “feeders” in the body of Christ for those who, in their infancy, need to be hand-fed. But at some point a new believer needs to grow up. (See 1 Corinthians 3 and Hebrews 5.) The point at which we begin to move from infancy to adulthood is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit—or the time at which we enter the Spirit-filled life.
In Proverbs 25:2 we are told: It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. For those who desire to grow up in the faith, God has something wonderful for you. As you begin to search out the truth apart from a “feeder,” you will begin to realize there are wonderful secrets in the Word. Although others may have found these secrets as well, they will appear to be written just for you.
Discovering Truth Combos
I like to make pies, and so a few years ago at Thanksgiving my wife asked if I would make an apple pie for her and her family who were coming over to our place for dinner. I’ve never made an apple pie (my specialty is pecan pie) but I know that cinnamon is an important ingredient for most apple-based, pie-like products. My wife does not like cinnamon, so I began to think of ways that I could make a great-tasting pie without it.
As I pondered, I recalled that one taste combination I really like is apple and peanut butter… so why not make an apple pie with peanut butter? Though I’m sure I wasn’t the first person in history to think of that, I got very excited about the possibilities. On Thanksgiving morning I made the first-ever (that I know of) Deep Dish Apple Chunk Peanut Butter Pie—and man, it was delicious! The fact that I made that fantastic pie without a recipe book makes me giddy (in the manly man sense).
Those people who are feeding you… that pastor you are listening to… is only able to bring you to places that they have been and relay to you what they have learned. They are like a recipe book… I’ve made this… it’s good… you try it. That teaching (learning from others) is valid and essential for every Christian to maintain in his or her life.
But as you begin on your own to seek out truth in the Word, taking one principle and mixing it with another, you will get all giddy when God reveals to you a truth combo that you’ve never heard or read before. Though the truth never changes (apples and peanut butter is a good combo), you’ll now be mixing them up as only you can mix them up, thereby making your own recipes to share with others. You know the old saying, “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for life”… When you search out and uncover truth on your own, it won’t, like manna, rot overnight, causing you to have to gather more in the morning; it will sit in you, feed you for days, and motivate you to seek out more truth!
How do we do that? How do we begin to feed ourselves? Well, first and foremost, you have to believe that God wants to reveal things to you through His Word. If you don’t believe that fact, your search will end as soon as you go a couple of days of studying where you don’t “feel” God speaking to you. Jesus tells us “seek and you will find.” Do you believe that?
Second, get a Bible and a pen, ask God to guide you, and then start reading. Where? I can’t help you there… I’d just be relaying my experience. But trust that where God brings you is where He wants you. And third, underline, scribble notes in the margin, cross reference, and be prepared for the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth (John 16:13).
Keep a Healthy Diet
I hope my son doesn’t pick up my eating habits. When I started to feed myself in college, I didn’t pay very close attention to what I was eating. As a result of the habits I formed then, now nearing the 22nd anniversary of my 18th birthday, I’m overweight, my body aches, and the doctor tells me I need more fiber in my diet because my blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure are higher than they should be.
Is there anything wrong with occasionally having a piece of Deep Dish Apple Chunk Peanut Butter Pie? No, but always remember, as it is with food, so it is with studying: Garbage in… garbage out. Man-inspired books in moderation are fine; there are a lot of wonderful Christian authors in this world who can provide an occasional tasty meal. But if you don’t stay connected to the source of truth, God’s Word, you will soon find yourself fat, lazy, and in poor spiritual health.
God’s Word is so full of truth that you will never be able to squeeze it all out. You’ll find new things in passages you’ve read a thousand times if you keep searching. As you search you will find that something naturally happens… Jesus says in Matthew 12:34 that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. As your heart begins to fill with the truth of the Word of God, you will naturally begin to speak those truths.
You, who once had to be fed, will now feed, helping the newly born-again begin to grow! It’s a pretty cool cycle…jump aboard!
Jaymo’s Deep Dish Apple Chunk Peanut Butter Pie:
Filling:
3 green Granny Smith Apples
3 red Granny Smith Apples
¾ cup sugar
¾ stick butter
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup peanut butter
In sauce pan on medium low heat, melt butter and add sugar, ginger, and peeled, ½ inch diced apples. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Cool filling to room temp and mix in peanut butter.
Crumble top:
½ cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
6 tablespoon butter
Mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter till crumbly.
Crust:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter (cold)
6-8 tablespoon ice cold water
Mix flour, salt, baking powder. Add cold butter until crumbly. Add ice cold water a little at a time until everything is stuck together. Do not over mix! Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in freezer 15 minutes. Roll out into pie shape.
Pour cooled filling into crust, sprinkle on crumble top. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 40 min. Remove foil and bake for 20 min. Let cool and enjoy!
An Excerpt From "Saved From Mediocrity" - Chapter Ten
Below is an excerpt from my book Saved From Mediocrity... over the next few months I will continue posting chapters for anyone who is interested. If you would like a copy for yourself you can purchase it by clicking on the link below... but it will be fully posted on this blog in time.
Purchase Saved From Mediocrity
Chapter Ten
Joshua 5:1-9
You Want Me to Do What?!
The nation of Israel has now crossed over to the west side of the Jordan River and has set up a memorial to the crossing of the river. The writer of Joshua in chapter five, verse one, gives us a glimpse of what the enemies of Israel were thinking once the word got to them about the miracle that enabled the Israelites to cross the river.
Joshua 5:1
So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel.
“…their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer...” They heard what God did at the banks of the Jordan and they found themselves weak-kneed. They knew they had no chance against the God who could instantaneously dry up a raging river, so they were crushed.
Did you know that when you are baptized with the Holy Spirit, the enemy that fights against you—the principalities, the powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, the spiritual hosts of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12)—will tremble in fear? Romans chapter eight is a great chapter to read if you are looking to understand what a “Spirit-filled” Christian looks like. In verses 38 and 39 Paul writes: For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That principality, that power that tries daily to tempt you to ungodliness, will now see you in the light of what Jesus has done in your life and will tremble. Oh sure, they will still try and put up a fight, but they know that God will give you victory!
Try to Explain This!
Now to me, when I first began to study this book, this next series of verses was a bit confusing:
Joshua 1:2-9
At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time." So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins. And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: All the people who came out of Egypt who were males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after they had come out of Egypt. For all the people who came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness, on the way as they came out of Egypt, had not been circumcised. For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people who were men of war, who came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD—to whom the LORD swore that He would not show them the land which the LORD had sworn to their fathers that He would give us, "a land flowing with milk and honey." Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people, that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day.
They had just crossed the Jordan into a hostile land. Its inhabitants, though they were afraid, were still going to put up a fight to keep their land. And then God tells Joshua to take all the males, the warriors, and cut the tip of… how can I say this delicately… their very sensitive nether regions (did I say VERY sensitive)… to cut the tip off! Talk about opening yourself up for defeat! This “area” that was being surgically altered with sharp rocks… well, let me say this… that area, when there’s pain down there, causes even the strongest of strong men to shiver in a dark corner crying like a twelve-year-old sissy girl!
Why didn’t God have Joshua do this a month ago, a week ago—shoot for that matter, why didn’t He just wait until the land was fully conquered before He opened the men up for ridicule and defeat from their enemies? Well, just like when He led His people the long way to the Red Sea and again out of the way to the wrong side of the Jordan River, maybe God wanted to teach us something.
What is the lesson here? For the Israelite people, the act of circumcision was initiated by Abraham at the command of God in Genesis seventeen. It was an outward sign of a covenant between God, Abraham, and his descendants. It’s like, for example, my wedding ring. My wife and I made a covenant to love and cherish each other till death do us part; as a symbol of that covenant we each wear a ring on our left hand. It is an outward sign of an inward commitment. It doesn’t make us married, but it shows that we are married.
Becoming Spiritually Vulnerable
The picture God paints for us in the story of the crossing of the Jordan River is that of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book of Acts, when people are baptized or filled with the Holy Spirit, something happens; they might start speaking in tongues (Acts 2, 10, 19), or teach a powerful message (Peter, Stephen), or speak with boldness (Acts 4). Something that glorifies God happens.
But for many it’s uncomfortable to speak out, people may think you’re a weirdo and it opens you up for ridicule and criticism. Nobody likes to expose themselves like that. When we are baptized with the Holy Spirit, God will reveal to us our gift(s): It may be the gift of prophecy, the gift of ministry, the gift of teaching, the gift of encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy, or any combination of these gifts.
When we receive these gifts and begin to use them, we become vulnerable. That’s just the way it is, but we get over it and we find that God made us to do something. Through our vulnerability, we find our purpose. That purpose shows others an outward sign of our inward commitment. The commitment came first; the sign of the commitment came later.
When the nation of Israel took that step of faith, based on belief, into the Jordan River, God showed up and brought them into the Land. Then He asked them to do something that would make them vulnerable. That something, circumcision, is an outward expression of the inward commitment that they already had.
When God brings you into a Spirit-filled life (our Promised Land), He will ask you to step up and put yourself in a vulnerable position. He may ask you to talk to someone, minister to someone, or give to someone. In your obedience, you will show others that you are serious about the inward commitment that you made when you took that step of faith, based on belief, into a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
