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April 9 - Joshua 3 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 9th of
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  April, and I am delighted to have your company on this
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  Cherish and Antique Day. Yes, today's the day that we are
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  encouraged to cherish those old things in our lives and find out
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  more about their stories. And I'm not suggesting that you
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  ring up your grandmother or your parent and cherish them because
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  an antique is only something that's over 100 years old.
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  I have discovered anything like 50 to 100 years that's called
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  vintage. So you can call them vintage and
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  they probably won't appreciate that, but cherish an antique day
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  is the day that you find all these old bits and bobs, these
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  things that have outlasted all of us.
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  And we talk about the history, we hear the stories that have
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  been passed down in our families, and we keep those
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  stories alive. So really, today's all about
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  hearing the stories of our families and the things that
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  have happened in the years before us and our generations.
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  That sounds like a good idea to me.
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  So enjoy your vintage family members, enjoy your antiques,
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  and have a lovely day. But before you do that, before
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  you have those conversations, we are going to dive into a story
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  which is well and truly in antiquity, but echoes through
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  the Holy Spirit in our hearts right through today as we read
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  the living words of the living God from that story from long
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  ago and are informed and shaped today.
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  Oh, how exciting. Let's do that together, shall we
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  friends? Let's read together Joshua
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  chapter 3. Early the next morning, Joshua
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  and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the
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  banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.
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  Three days later, the Israelite officers went through the camp,
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  giving these instructions to the people.
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  When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the
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  Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and
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  follow them. Since you have never travelled
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  this way before, they will guide you.
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  Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance
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  between you and the ark. Make sure you don't come any
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  closer. Then Joshua told the people,
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  Purify yourselves for tomorrow. The Lord will do great wonders
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  among you. In the morning, Joshua said to
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  the priests, lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people
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  across the river. And so they started out and went
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  ahead of the people. The Lord told Joshua, Today I
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  will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the
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  Israelites. They will know that I am with
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  you just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests
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  who carry the ark of the Covenant.
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  When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps
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  into the river and stop there. So Joshua told the Israelites,
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  come and listen to what the Lord your God says today.
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  You will know that the living God is among you.
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  He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hibites,
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  Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of
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  you. Look, the Ark of the Covenant,
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  which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you
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  across the Jordan River. Now choose 12 men from the
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  tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
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  The priests will carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the
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  earth. As soon as their feet touch the
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  water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river
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  will stand up like a wall. So the people left their camp to
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  cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the
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  ark of the covenant went ahead of them.
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  It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its
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  banks. But as soon as the feet of the
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  priests who were carrying the ark touched the water at the
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  river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a
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  great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near
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  Zarathan. And the water below that point
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  flowed on to the Dead Sea until the river bed was dry.
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  Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
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  Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the ark of the Lord's
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  covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed.
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  As the people passed by. They waited until the whole
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  nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
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  Oh Jesus, what a rich story this is as Israel steps out in faith
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  and obedience and sees you do this wonderful miraculous thing.
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  Oh Lord, as we live our lives, I wonder what Jordan rivers there
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  are with the waters brimming up to the banks flowing so quickly
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  and we think, I couldn't possibly, I couldn't possibly go
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  there or do that or try that because it would just overcome
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  me. My Lord, I wonder how many of us
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  just need to have faith that we can step boldly into those
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  spaces and that you will do miraculous things, that you will
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  overcome the barriers, that you will stop the flow of challenge
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  so that your will can be done. Lord, I pray that You give us
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  discernment and wisdom to know when to step out, and the faith
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  and obedience and courage to step out and to boldly proclaim
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  You and to live in Your way even when that seems like a terrible
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  idea that will get swept away for sure.
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  Thank You that you have swept away sin and death and given us
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  this incredible hope that we have living in you, our mighty
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  God, our wonderful Saviour. And we pray all of this in your
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  name, Jesus, Amen.