…and many believed in the Lord. Acts 9:42b

Abigail remained seated on the grassy knoll overlooking the river. Chloe stood on the bank talking with Tabitha and some of the other widows. They were all smiling and talking at once, using animated gestures. She could not hear their words, but guessed they were planning another opportunity for Peter to speak and for Tabitha to share her story. What did Chloe call it? She scrunched her brow trying to remember. A testimony of something…something or was it the other way around: something…something testimony? She was always so bad about details. She pulled her knees up to her chest and smiled. It did not matter. Not now. 

“She lives.” Abigail whispered the words over and over as she watched one person after another kneel in prayer on the riverbank and then step into the water. 

Judah, Peter the Apostle, and some other men she did not know spoke intimately with each person, immersed them in the water, and then pulled them out again. She could not remember what this was called either, but she wanted to know. 

This whole thing truly was a miracle! There was no other name for it. There was no other explanation. A dozen witnesses, including Chloe and Judah, swore before the swelling crowd that indeed Tabitha was dead, but now she lives. A few people threw themselves at Peter’s feet and tried to worship the apostle, but they were quickly pulled to their feet while Peter proclaimed with a loud voice that Tabitha lived because of Jesus the Christ, the Living Messiah.

Abigail asked the open air, “Can all our religious leaders be wrong?” 

“Yes, they can.” Elias sat down next to her.

The stunned girl murmured, “It is you.”

“Yes.” He smiled broadly. “It is me.”

As if for the first time, Abigail looked deeply into his face. His eyes twinkled with a bright radiance she had not noticed before. Or had she? And his smile was sincere and generous. The richness of his laughter from the Sabbath meal filled her thoughts. Goose bumps suddenly appeared on her arms and she shivered involuntarily. Without a word, Elias jumped up and removed his cloak and then placed it around her. His strong hands lingered for just a moment on her shoulders. The goose bumps doubled in number, but she willed herself to remain composed. 

She thought she should say something, but nothing even remotely coherent formed in her mind. All that came out was a barely audible, “Thank you.”

“What?” Elias turned to her. “Did you say something?”

“Oh…uh…” Abigail pulled his cloak in tighter to her goose bump-filled body. “I just said, ‘Thank you.’” 

“Ah…well…you are welcome.” A trace of disappointment edged his words, but his addictive smile never wavered.

A well of regret threatened to burst within her. Regret for all the rude remarks and cold shoulders she had hurled at this man…and at Judah…and even at Chloe, her closet friend. She was not always this way, was she? It was all this Jesus nonsense that made her so…so intolerant, just like her father. She gasped!

“What is it, Abigail?” Elias’ smile vanished and concern etched over his face. “Are you ill? I can take you home.”

“I…I need…” She shook her head. “How can I become one of you?

Wisely, Joshua didn’t try to fill Moses’ sandals. He was his own man and cultivated his own relationship with God, and he indeed led the Israelites with strength and courage. Sure, he had setbacks. Sure, he didn’t get everything right. But, he made a choice to listen to God’s repeated instructions. As a result, he accomplished God’s goal for his life. He was far from average and received the same one line affirmation Moses did at the end of his life.

It came about after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
And they buried him in the territory of his inheritance in Timnath-serah,
which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of Mount Gaash.
Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua, and had known all the deeds of the LORD which He had done for Israel. 

Joshua 24:29-31

It would be easy for us to ignore this triple instruction from God to Joshua as not being applicable to us. We will not be going to war anytime soon or marching around fortified cities for seven days. In fact, some days the biggest decision we will make is whether to eat at Wendy’s or pack a lunch. However, we know that just when we seem to have it all together, life hits. We are reminded we are smack in the middle of a fierce spiritual battle and are instructed to take on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). Sometimes just doing everyday life takes a triple dose of “strong and courageous,” especially when it comes to this whole love one another thing!

Just as it seems odd that God would instruct a warrior to be strong and courageous, doesn’t it seem odd that Jesus would have to tell His closet followers to love one another? I mean they roamed around Judea for three years together and witnessed countless miracles. They walked and talked with Love Himself! Surely they knew how to love. It was woven into their very being. Love was something they were comfortable with. It was natural. Wasn’t it?

Maybe you have learned first-hand, as I have: it is often hard to love some of the one anothers in our lives. Even those we love dearly can drive us to our knees seeking courage and strength for one more day. Surely many a Christian parent’s knees are bruised over their strong-willed or wayward child. I know I am safe in saying that others have probably been on their knees in dealing with me.

I hold no claim in being an easy one another to live with.

My friend, if loving one another came naturally and was easy, God wouldn’t waste His eternal ink on the subject. On the contrary, loving—truly loving as Christ loves—demands more strength and courage than a legion of soldiers on the most brutal battle field. We can’t even come close to God’s standard of love yet we’re commanded to love throughout the Bible. It is as overwhelming as a land filled with giants and fortified cities.

But Praise His Name, God never leaves His children to their own devices when He gives a command. Just as He guided Joshua in very specific and practical ways, He shows us, through His Son, how to love one another.

Discussion

Our second application is to double or even triple bless just one one another this week. Try to make the blessings something unexpected and out of the ordinary. If you don’t know where to start, begin within your home of one anothers. Those disciples of Jesus who live with you are always a good choice to bestow blessings upon. It doesn’t have to be anything monetary; in fact, I would encourage blessings of the non-monetary nature. Be creativity, be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, and I am confident you will be double blessed or even triple blessed as well!

Okay, back to Joshua! It is the end of the 40 years of wandering. Now the children of Israel sit on the edge of the Promised Land leaderless, but not for long. God has a man and his name is Joshua. He has big shoes to fill and a large contingent of followers who are better at wandering than following. What will God tell him? How will He instruct this new leader?

Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous! 
Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:6-9

I find God’s instruction here intriguing. In my way of thinking, it seems there would be little need for God to tell a mighty man like Joshua to be strong and courageous. After all, he and Caleb were the only ones within a whole generation with any moxie. They were not afraid of the giants or fortified cities in the Promised Land.

They were more than ready to pack it up and move in; 40 years ready!

Wouldn’t it make more sense to repeat three times something in regard to a weakness within Joshua’s skills and talents rather than an obvious strength? Did he need help with his public speaking skills? Or maybe he could have a lesson in angel recognition? Why did God instruct him multiple times about something that was natural…normal…comfortable for him? Strong and courageous was woven into Joshua’s very being. No man would dare call Joshua a coward. Is that what God was doing?

On the contrary! God first affirmed Joshua’s skills and position of leadership and his success in securing the land (v. 6). God then gives Joshua instructions on the foundational pieces for achieving that success. As for the repetition, I can think of eight distinct reasons God repeated the command to be strong and courageous. Maybe you can add to this list.

• Joshua was indeed strong and courageous as Moses’ right-hand man, but now he was the leader of millions of people who did not have a great track record of cooperation.
• The preverbal buck would now stop with Joshua. No more running to Moses.
• God was now speaking directly to Joshua as He had done with Moses. That alone would be enough reason to need more strength and courage.
• Joshua was a brave warrior and military general seasoned in tactical warfare, but his first battle in the Promised Lane would be won with his sword in its sheath. 
• God was about to ask him to not just step out of his comfort zone, but to dump that comfort zone in the trash heap.
• It takes strength and courage to stay on course and a new course at that. This new direction was the law (v.7). It’s no coincidence that meditating on the laws given to Moses was also repeated in these instructions (v. 8). Before Moses, God had not actually written His expectations down anywhere. Now they were written down for all of Israel and humanity. For Joshua, there was no excuse for not following it.
• Prosperity and success require a great deal of strength and courage (v.7, 8). Power and achievement are strong distractions from following God’s instructions.
• Finally, often a personal great strength can easily turn into a greater weakness when one loses sight of God’s perspective.

Discussion

We have two practical applications to work on this week as we wind down our time together.

The first is to ask God to open our eyes and ears so we may comprehend when a fellow one another blesses us and then respond with appropriate thankfulness. This may seem silly and unnecessary because we assume we surely notice when we are blessed. But I wonder if we really do. As women, I think we have so many expectations of the one anothers within our circle we are calloused about being thankful when they bless us.

Let’s ask ourselves:

• Are the morning and bedtime hugs and kisses treasured moments or commonplace rituals?
• Is that firm handshake from Pastor So-and-So second nature to you, except when it isn’t extended?
• Does the smile across the conference room given by the only Christian co-worker at work go unnoticed most days or do you smile back and lift her/him up in a quick prayer?
• When you share a prayer request in small group or Bible study and one or more sisters in Christ name your name before the throne, does your heart skip a beat in wonder or is your spiritual EKG flat?

Every single day God blesses us through one anothers and we should be thankful and full of praise. But because we are in a hurry or rattled or expectant, we don’t hear or see the blessings let alone take opportunity to bless our one anothers back.

This week, ask God to help you see your life and your circle of one anothers with heightened spiritual senses and respond with a heart of praise. 

Now I have to digress just a little because the intimacy between God and Moses at the time of his death is just too exquisite to pass over. And it has me thinking…I wonder what Moses must have thought and what emotions rushed over him upon hearing straight from God, “but you shall not go over there” (Deuteronomy 34:4). Was he disappointed and sad? Or was he ready to trade the temporal trappings of this life for the eternal embrace of His Jehovah God? I lean to the later mindset because the next verse (5) simply says, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.” 

Don’t miss that. Moses, the servant of the Lord, died according to the word of the Lord. Just as God breathed life into Adam and subsequently into Moses and each of one of us, it is according to His word when, where, and how we die. That should bring us hope and peace as we face the uncertainties and cruelties of this world, and it should bring great comfort as we face the one certainty in life: death.

Then verse six gives us what I think is one of the most tender moments in the entire Bible. “And He…,” that’s a capital “H” meaning God. “And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no man knows his burial place to this day.” Have you ever noticed that verse before? I want to just stop for a few moments and let that narrative soak in. 

God personally buried Moses! Can we even imagine the mighty hand of God carving out a burial plot, gently placing the lifeless body of His beloved servant in, and then closing the place up? Closing it up so well, that no one has ever found the resting place of Moses. Something that would take men hours to do took only a moment of God’s time.

But what a moment! Tender! Intimate! Holy! 

Oh that I would have a fraction of that kind of intimacy with my Creator! Will my epitaph read, “Elaine, the servant of the Lord.”? Or will it be more important that I was a loving wife and mother or a powerful author or a great friend? None of those labels are bad. And it’s not that they shouldn’t be on one’s gravestone. But if all I get when I die is one line, what do I really want engraved on that one line? It comes down to perspective and whose perspective.

I think perspective is what Jesus was talking about when He said I should hate my father, mother, sister, and brother if I want to be His disciple (Luke 14:26). Jesus isn’t contradicting His own law here, to honor father and mother (Exodus 20:12). He is simply putting those relationships in perspective. When I get to the place that I love Jesus so much that I take my cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27), and I am willing to lay down my life for Him (Luke 14:26), and I give up all my possessions for Him (Luke 14:33), then all my other relationships will seem like hate in comparison. Moses did that. He was a son, husband, father, and a brother. He was a leader and a friend. Those were important aspects of his life ordained for him by God. He was responsible for those relationships.

But at the end of his life, the crucial thing, the most important relationship commemorated about him by the Creator of the Universe was, “Moses, the servant of the Lord.”

I don’t get to slack off being a loving wife and mother or a great friend. And I don’t get to lay down my writing pen. In fact, a big slice of being a servant of the Lord is excelling in those relationships and endeavors God has given me. But if I don’t keep a God perspective in the mix of all that, then I am no longer serving the Lord. I am serving myself, in which case my epitaph, my one line, might read, “Here lies Me, Myself, and I.” 

The Bible makes it clear. It is a choice. Which one line do I want? Which one do you want? 

Discussion

• Name some of the instructions God gave to Joshua in the battle of Jericho and explain why carrying out these instructions would need strength and courage. (Reference Joshua 6) 

• Name specific ways we have learned to love each other and explain why we need strength and courage to successfully live out loving one another.

Would these eleven be ready for the unknown, the unthinkable? Could they face insurmountable odds like their forefathers did? 

• Would they remain God’s friend like Abraham? 
• Could they be steadfast like Joseph? 
• Would they lead grumbling followers like Moses? 
• Could they be strong and courageous like Joshua?
• Would they be men after God’s own heart like David?

Each of these ancient men was enabled with specific talents by God for super human tasks that only God could ordain and bring the subsequent success. Would Jesus’ disciples go and do likewise?

I want to spend some time on a particular favorite of mine, Joshua. A little background will help us get a grasp of the full impact of the instruction laid out before this remarkable man of God.

The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt for more than 400 years when God miraculously rescued them from that bondage through his somewhat reluctant servant, Moses. Over time and through many public and private lessons, Moses became less and less hesitant and more and more valiant as leader over Israel. Now every great leader needs a trustworthy aide. For Moses, that man was Joshua. He served Moses as his attendant from his youth (Numbers 11:28) and led Israel into many battles as they journeyed through the desert to the land God promised them (Exodus 17:9-13).

Finally, the Israelites were near their final destination, the Promised Land, and God told Moses to send out twelve chosen men to spy out the land. Forty days after the twelve spies (Joshua being one of them) left to check things out, they returned with all kinds of wonderful produce and reports of a land flowing with milk and honey. Hmm…mmm! After all this time with nothing but manna and quail, the Israelites took off immediately and entered into the land God had promised them, right? Sadly, no. Ten of the men also reported to Moses and the people that there were giants in the land and they felt like grasshoppers in their sight (Numbers 13:33). This frightened all the people and confused them on what they should do next. 

Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, tried to reason with the masses. Yes, there were giants. And yes, there were many cities to conquer. But God would enable them to overcome these obstacles (Numbers 13:30). The people decided to go with the majority. Needless to say, majority rule does not necessarily mean having the right answer. There was only one yes or no question on this test God put before His people. It should have been an easy question to answer in light of all God had done for the nation of Israel. 

Can we trust God and enter into the land He promised our father Abraham? The correct answer is, “Yes! Pack up and move in!” Instead, the Israelites complicated the question with man’s reasoning, logic, and majority opinion. They answered, “No! Let’s go back to our tents and figure out some other way.”

The Israelites got this simple yet critical yes or no question wrong and it cost them everything. They would wandered in the wilderness for another 40 years until the entire generation who went with the majority vote died out. Except, that is, for Joshua and Caleb. Because of their correct answer to this yes or no question of trusting God, their lives were spared. In fact, God used both of them in miraculous ways to conquer the land meant for His people Israel.

The naysayer generation eventually dies out, and because of his own lapse of faith, and in reality, God’s providence, Moses will not be going into the Promised Land. God takes Him to the top of a mountain, shows him all the land, and tells him he will not be going any further.

Moses dies.

Discussion

• We are told in I John 2:6 that the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life sums up all that is in the world. How would each of these hinder the mandate to love one another? To Christians in general? To you specifically?
• Lust of the flesh
• Lust of the eyes
• Pride of life

Anyone who has attempted to master an art, like music, drawing, or sculpting, knows the basic elements have to be taught over and over again. I remember my longsuffering piano teacher repeating over and over, “Now, Elaine keep your wrists high, your fingers curved and light over the keys. And don’t slouch.” That was more than 40 years ago and only two years of lessons, but even today if I sit at a piano I will keep my wrist high, my fingers curved and light over the keys, and I never slouch. Why? Because Mrs. Cartwright repeated, both in word and in application, this essential hand and body position over and over during my lessons. She knew droopy wrists and heavy fingers hindered excellence in piano playing. And she should know; she was a master on any keyboard.

I didn’t stick with the piano lessons. I was convinced I should play the violin. That lasted six months. Then I was convinced I should play guitar. That lasted two lessons. I quit when I was informed I had to trim my fingernails. Pathetic, I know. What was my problem? I wasn’t willing to listen to instruction, implement needed changes, or do the hard work of repeating basic elements over and over again. I wanted to be a master musician with minimal practice and little change to my life. Needless to say, I have never mastered any instrument. Good intentions did little good. My choices determined the level of mastery or lack thereof I would experience in the music world.

Sometimes I have the same attitude when it comes to mastering the art of loving one another. I want to love, but I prefer to keep the lessons simple and the practice time short. After all, shouldn’t loving one another come naturally for me? Why do I have to practice? And why does it have to be so hard and time consuming? After all, I have a life to live and a schedule to keep. I don’t have time to master the art of loving my brothers and sisters in Christ. Bottom line, it has been my choice to be average Josephine One Another.

But God (there’s that phrase again) is never content in letting me be an average one another.

His goal is excellence in me and in you. Just like Mrs. Cartwright, He patiently repeats the lessons in basic one another living, but He doesn’t give me the option to quit. As long as He gives me breath, the lessons continue. In the past, I have chosen not to listen and not to practice, but the burden that came with that choice was always heavy and the cost too high. Finally, I’ve learned to not only listen to God’s lessons, but to pay special attention and take thorough notes, especially when He repeats Himself. In this book, we have been studying and applying the individual words and phrases from a time when our Master Teacher, Jesus, repeated Himself to His eleven closest students. It was His last earthly classroom in the Upper Room. It was a tender time and yet a time of confusion and uneasiness. Things were going to change, dramatically.

Discussion

• The scene of the Upper Room is documented in all four Gospels. What attitude is recorded in Luke 22:24?
• What similar attitude took place earlier in a conversation between two brothers and Jesus? Refer to Mark 10:35-45
• How might this attitude in the disciples hinder their execution of loving each other? 
• What similar attitudes rob you of the blessing of loving and being loved by one anothers? How so?