Hi Faith Family!
Do you know what today is? Today is officially “Make Up Your Own Holiday Day.” Hmmm. Well, I propose: “Joshua Day!” Joshua is one of the few figures in the Bible about whom only good things are recorded. I’m sure Josh had his rough days, too. He had big sandals to fill (Moses didn’t exactly keep things on the down-low). He had a million plus people to care for. Let’s see . . . oh yeah—all this while he was in the middle of the desert, about to lay claim to real estate promised by God himself. (We think we live in a down housing market—try desert camping for 4 decades!)
God was leading Joshua and his people to new experiences, rich with possibilities. It would be quite easy to give in to worry, fear, and stress. Perhaps the only thing that eclipses the encouragement and empowerment found in Joshua chapter 1 is the fact that God knows us so well—that Joshua and all the rest of us would need a rousing assurance of God’s presence and help for the challenging side-hilling forthcoming.
What about you? Which challenges before you seem most daunting? Do challenges engage you, making you nod your head in assent as you dive in . . . or do they sometimes make you shake your head “no way—you have got to be kidding me!”
God’s words of encouragement to Joshua are repeated in various ways to God’s people throughout the pages of holy writ. Yet how rich in texture are these assurances of which you and I also lay hold:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. . . Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
This last promise has meant most to me over the past few weeks as I considered where I would go—to the home my family and I have known for the past eleven years or to Leesburg, Florida to serve Saint Mark congregation there. I have thought much about which people to lead. As my prayer remained “Your will be done” through the process, even though the Board for Home Mission funding is not assured to Peace In Jesus, I have made the decision to continue the work I began here over a decade ago at the call I am currently serving--to teach and share God's Word with the Vietnamese community in the greater Boise, Idaho area. I am honored to serve a group of Vietnamese Christian souls who have surprised me with their maturity these past weeks and heartened me with their renewed commitment matching my own.
It is too easy to say that we do not know what the future holds and I consider such a thought a half-truth. We know and have every confidence in the future because it is held by the hands that crafted light, sky, and all creation. We know the future holds bold and bountiful blessings because God has promised to us more that we can ask or imagine. God be with you this Joshua Day, dear sister—dear brother in the faith. For the Lord will be with you, me, and each believer of every race and language until the Lord of the Nations returns to bring us home. God encourage and guide you each day until that day.
Thank you all for your prayers!
Love in Christ Jesus,
Pastor Daniel Kramer
Peace In Jesus Lutheran Church
Boise, Idaho