December 16 – Joshua 3:1-6

December 16 – Joshua 3:1-6

Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

In this passage we see Joshua prepare the people for the movement into the Promised Land. God has prepared the way and the people are to be obedient to Joshua and all he says. Verse 5 tells all of the people to “consecrate themselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Consecrate means to set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity.

How do consecrate ourselves before the Lord today? Do we even bother?

Ours is a consecration of our hearts. How can we cleanse our hearts before we spend time with God?

Oh Father, how often do we come before You casually and without thought of how we should prepare ourselves to come into Your presence?  I know I talk to You casually, and I know the more I get to know You, You want us to come to You from where we are and how we are, with truth and without false intentions.  But I also believe we need to remember who we are talking to.  How fortunate we are to be able to come to You through the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus.  Help me come to You with the right attitude and the right motives.  Let me come to You often. 

In Jesus’ name.

Amen!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Welcome to "When God Whispers"

July 16 – Genesis 45:21-28

July 20 –Genesis 47:13-22