What is your Jericho?

I've been reading Wayne Cordeiro's book, the Divine Mentor, in which the lead role is played by the Holy Spirit himself. The book lays out how important it is to seek the wisdom of the various men and women in the Bible, so that we don't make the same mistakes that they made, and that we can follow them when they were successful as well.

Today, I was reading the first two chapters of Joshua. As the story goes, Moses dies and his servants go and tell Joshua that he is "up". He's the one that God has chosen to lead the people (who have been wandering for 40 years across a desert that is only 120 miles wide....) to the Promised Land.

He listens to them. God's words, spoken through them, are peppered with "be strong and courageous" several times, which leads me to believe that what he is about to do is not a slam dunk.

Then, as he takes them across the Jordan to Jericho, he uses a harlot to keep the scouts safe. God rarely makes the obvious choice - the one that the religious people would make. He uses the weak to confound the strong.

After she set up a ruse to confuse the leadership of Jericho, the scouts go back to Joshua to report. They didn't say "We think we can beat them". In Chapter 2, verse 24, they said "Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands and all the inhabitants of the land, moreover, have melted away before us". I like the confidence, which only comes from knowing the one who sent them.

From time to time, we all have Jerichos before us and deserts behind us. I have been wandering, not for 40 years, but for 2 years in what has seemed at times like a desert. Now, I face my own Jericho, and like Joshua and his men, I know that the Lord has surely given it all into my hands and that what seems to be like a wall before me will melt away before me. Thank you Lord!

What's your Jericho? Who will he use to show you the solution?

Chicke Fitzgerald

Fully surrendered, wholly devoted

Surrender is an interesting concept. In the natural world, it is giving up and from the world's perspective it is losing.

In God's world, surrender is the first step toward victory -- winning instead of losing. With hands lifted up, putting whatever has been holding us back in His very capable hands.

I'm not talking about just getting on your knees when something is bothering you, I'm talking about a radical act of spiritual surrender, that is, complete surrender of one's life, breath, thoughts, feelings and actions to Him.

I know that given the chance, if I insist on control, that I am actually walking blindly, not knowing what is around each corner. He sees it all. Why would I trust my life to anyone else, including me?

Sometimes we're missing miracles that God so wants to do in our lives - because we refuse to relinquish control. I'm ready for my miracle!

What God says about authority

As we await the outcome of the election tomorrow, irrespective of who we have voted for, we must remember what God has to say about authority:

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

The amazing thing about our post-election future is that whether you are for or against the one that is elected tomorrow, our country is squarely in God's hands.

He is bigger than any candidate's economic plans, stronger than any candidate's experience, wider than any candidate's influence and his reach is deeper than any candidate's pockets.

I waited over an hour on Friday to vote my conscience, but my hope is in the Lord.

Chicke Fitzgerald