Week 15/52

Week 15: My Daily Portion:

Monday: Joshua 3-4, Psalms 98, Acts 22.
Tuesday: Joshua 5-6, Psalms 99, Acts 23.
Wednesday: Joshua 7-8, Psalms 100, Acts 24-25.
Thursday: Joshua 9-10, Psalms 101, Acts 26.
Friday: Joshua 11-12, Psalms 102, Acts 27.
Saturday: Joshua 13-14, Psalms 103, Acts 28.
Sunday: Joshua 15-16, Psalms 104,Romans 1-2.

Joshua 5:13-14 ...Joshua looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, Are you friend or foe?" "Neither one," he replied. "I am the commander of the Lord's army."

My Dad was a story teller of story tellers. I remember many times laying snugly with my head under his shoulder on the sofa listening to the sound of his heart beating and his gentle voice telling and retelling stories my brothers and I requested. Sometimes they were fairy tales, like Rumpelstiltskin or The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Other times they were real life childhood stories of fun and hardship, growing up along the Little Smoky River with 11 brothers and sisters, and the adventures of his boyhood. I also have vivid memories of the Bible stories he told. He could tell them so that they were just as interesting as any other of his stories, only they were alive with the supernatural.

The story of Joshua was one such story. He spoke of the very large and powerful angel who was the commander of the Lords army. "Friend or foe?" my Dad would quote Joshua's words, as he would describe the incredible size of the angel he had just encountered. "Neither, I am for the Lord," was this big angels reply.

I often think of this story today. What a great place to be - for the Lord! I am for the Lord and what He wants, in every relationship, in every situation, and in every season of my life. This makes decisions much more simple, when I can say I am not looking for "friends" or "enemies" perspectives, but rather that of Gods!

It also reminds me that Gods agents who are on assignment are not playing little games with trivial things, but they are sent by God to do the will of God as it relates to me! They are nothing to mess with as Gods messengers. May we learn from them that when we enlist in a heavenly kingdom, we have begun to encounter things far bigger and greater than in our own little realm of understanding. The Bible tells us that when the angel spoke with such authority, Joshua who was the captain or leader of Israel immediately fell to the ground and asked for his orders from the captain of the Lords army.

May we recognize the Lord when He speaks to us or sends a messenger to us. May we quickly do as Joshua and submit to the one who is "for the Lord."