DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR TUESDAY MARCH 16:
WORD OF WISDOM
Can't never could, won't never would, and shan't probably should. Basically,
that means, stop whining and get busy doing.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Church Is Essential
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19-22
From the earliest days of the Coronavirus pandemic, we have heard a lot
about "essential" businesses. In an effort to stop or slow the spread of the
disease, various government bodies put together a list of what they
considered to be the most important businesses to the functioning of
society. Some places were allowed to stay open, while others were forced to
close their doors. And some of the places that were deemed essential
certainly didn't seem to be very important to most of us. But in many
locations, churches were placed on the list of non-essential businesses and
forced to either close or severely limit their attendance.
While public health and stopping the spread of disease is important, we must
never lose sight of the fact that church truly is essential. We may need to
adjust the way that we meet, but we must not stop gathering together to
encourage, exhort, teach, fellowship, and disciple. The Christian life is
not meant to be lived in isolation. The impact that we have on each other is
a vital part of God's plan for us to grow in grace.
The sad reality is that too many Christians do not require an order from a
government official to avoid the assembling of believers. They live as if
church is non-essential, and that is a tragedy. It is detrimental to their
own spiritual growth and development, and it robs those who they could help
of the encouragement, example, and instruction they could provide. No matter
how long we have been saved or how much we may have grown in grace, church
is still essential.
No matter what is going on around us or what the world thinks, church will
always be essential for believers.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Joshua
Joshua 7 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Achan's Sin
7 But the Israelites did not obey God. There was a man from the tribe of
Judah named Achan son of Carmi, grandson of Zimri, great-grandson of Zerah.
Achan kept some of the things that should have been destroyed. So the Lord
became very angry with the Israelites.
2 After they defeated Jericho, Joshua sent some men to Ai.[a] Ai was near
Beth Aven, east of Bethel. He told them, "Go to Ai and look for weaknesses
in that area." So the men went to spy on that land.
3 Later, the men came back to Joshua. They said, "Ai is a weak area. We will
not need all of our people to defeat them. Send 2000 or 3000 men to fight
there. There is no need to use the whole army. There are only a few men
there to fight against us."
4-5 So about 3000 men went to Ai, but the people of Ai killed about 36 men
of Israel. And the Israelites ran away. The people of Ai chased them from
the city gates all the way to the quarries.[b] The people of Ai beat them
badly.
When the people from Israel saw this, they became very frightened and lost
their courage. 6 When Joshua heard about this, he tore his clothes to show
his sadness. He bowed down to the ground before the Holy Box and stayed
there until evening. The leaders of Israel did the same thing. They also
threw dirt on their heads to show their sadness.
7 Joshua said, "Lord God, you brought our people across the Jordan River.
Why did you bring us this far and then allow the Amorites to destroy us? We
should have been satisfied and stayed on the other side of the Jordan River.
8 I promise by my life, Lord! There is nothing I can say now. Israel has
surrendered to the enemy. 9 The Canaanites and all the other people in this
country will hear about what happened. Then they will attack us and kill all
of us! Then what will you do to protect your great name?"
10 The Lord said to Joshua, "Why are you down there with your face on the
ground? Stand up! 11 The Israelites sinned against me. They have broken the
agreement that I commanded them to obey. They took some of the things that I
commanded them to destroy. They have stolen from me. They have lied. They
have taken those things for themselves. 12 That is why the army of Israel
turned and ran away from the fight. They did that because they have done
wrong. They should be destroyed. I will not continue to help you or be with
you unless you destroy everything I commanded you to destroy.
13 "Now go and make the people pure. Tell them, 'Make yourselves pure.
Prepare for tomorrow. The Lord, the God of Israel, says that some people are
keeping things that he commanded to be destroyed. You will never be able to
defeat your enemies until you throw away those things.
14 "Tomorrow morning you must all stand before the Lord. All the tribes will
stand before the Lord, and he will choose one tribe. Only that tribe will
stand before him. Then the Lord will choose one family group from that
tribe. Only that family group must stand before him. Then he will look at
each family in that family group, and the Lord will choose one family. Then
he will look at each man in that family. 15 The man who is keeping those
things that we should have destroyed will be caught. Then he will be
destroyed by fire, and everything that he owns will be destroyed with him.
He broke the agreement with the Lord. He has done a very bad thing to the
Israelites!"
16 Early the next morning, Joshua led out all the Israelites. Each tribe
came forward to stand before the Lord, and he chose the tribe of Judah. 17
So then all the family groups of Judah stood before the Lord, and he chose
the Zerah family group. Then all the families of the Zerah group stood
before the Lord, and he chose the family of Zimri. 18 Then Joshua told all
the men in that family to come before the Lord. He chose Achan the son of
Carmi. (Carmi was the son of Zimri. And Zimri was the son of Zerah.)
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, "Son, you must honor the Lord, the God of
Israel. Praise him and confess your sins to him. Tell me what you did, and
don't try to hide anything from me."
20 Achan answered, "It is true! I sinned against the Lord, the God of
Israel. This is what I did: 21 In Jericho, I saw a beautiful coat from
Babylonia,[c] about 5 pounds[d] of silver, and about a pound[e] of gold. I
wanted these things for myself, so I took them. You will find them buried in
the ground under my tent. The silver is under the coat."
22 So Joshua sent some men to the tent. They ran to the tent and found the
things hidden there. The silver was under the coat. 23 The men brought the
things out of the tent and took them to Joshua and all the Israelites. They
threw them on the ground before the Lord.
24 Then Joshua and all the people led Achan son of Zerah to the Valley of
Achor. They also took the silver, the coat, the gold, Achan's sons and
daughters, his cattle, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and everything he
owned. They took all these things to the Valley of Achor with Achan. 25 Then
Joshua said, "You caused much trouble for us, but now the Lord will bring
trouble to you." Then all the people threw stones at Achan and his family
until they died. Then the people burned them and everything he owned. 26
After they burned Achan, they put many rocks over his body. The rocks are
still there today. That is why it is called the Valley of Achor.[f] After
this the Lord was not angry with the people.
Footnotes:
Joshua 7:2 Ai The name of this town means "the ruins."
Joshua 7:4 quarries Places where people cut stones from the solid rock.
Joshua 7:21 Babylonia Literally, "Shinar," which may be a form of the name
Sumer.
Joshua 7:21 about 5 pounds Literally, "200 shekels" (2.3 kg).
Joshua 7:21 about a pound Literally, "50 shekels" (575 g).
Joshua 7:26 Achor This name means "trouble."
