PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Joshua 8:30–35
Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the god of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. he built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses. All the Israelites, with their elders, officials and judges, were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord, facing the Levitical priests who carried it. Both the foreigners living among them and the native-born were there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had formerly commanded when he gave instructions to bless the people of Israel.
Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.
CONSIDER THIS
True confession: I am not the best at marking the important moments of life. Many of us probably grew up creating scrapbooks or physical photo albums to mark a special vacation or a pivotal year of life. With technology, it has become even easier (at least for some) to create digital albums or scrolling photo frames to celebrate those milestone moments. And yet, even with the help of technology, some of us (yes, me) have missed the opportunity to commemorate an important time.
In our altar story, we find Joshua, the leader of the Israelites, stopping to mark a moment and give thanks to God rather than continuing to battle. Joshua had succeeded Moses and moved everyone into the promised land. They had fought the battle of Jericho and Ai and now with the momentum of success, Joshua takes a very unusual military tactic. He stops. Instead of pushing ahead to gain the upper hand in his next battle, he stops to give thanks to God. Joshua marks the moment. He builds an altar in the manner God had directed Moses. He offered sacrifices to the Lord, read the Word of God aloud, and inscribed the law on the stones. Joshua marks the moment and makes a clear connection that any success they have experienced is tied to God’s covenant promise.
It was important to Joshua that they did not forget that God was the one who was making the way through the promised land. It was because of God’s power and His presence that they would see God’s covenant fulfilled and he wanted to create space to remember where they had experienced God. Abraham had also used altars to mark moments of encounter.
The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. (Gen. 12:7–8)
It takes time to mark these moments. To stop and surrender our time. How easy is it to work hard, keep our focus on the tasks ahead, receive recognition for our work, and forget to give thanks? Yet we are supposed to take a position of gratitude as a surrender of thanks not only because it honors God, but it sends a message to others. In verse 33 we see that foreigners and the native-born were part of the moment. They were a witness to the honor Joshua gave the Lord and they heard the Word read. It’s like inviting the neighbors to an anniversary party. Come and learn about our family and the Lord who has given us the greatest gift. Help us mark the moment by giving our thanks. Let us praise not only the gift but also the Giver.
THE PRAYER
Almighty God, do not let us race through our lives and forget to stop and give thanks. May Your words be on our lips and our hearts sing Your praise. We know that all good things come from You and we do not want to take those gifts for granted. Thank You for moments to stop today. Amen.
THE QUESTIONS
What is a moment in your faith journey you want to mark by thanking God? Why is it important to go back to the basics of our faith by remembering God’s words? How does it help you to reset and prepare to move forward?
For the Awakening,
Susan Kent
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3 Responses
I believe that the most important moment in any believer’s life is when Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, laid down His life on Calvary’s cross to make a way for our salvation. We mark this momentous occasion every time we partake of the Eucharist in “Remembrance of Me”. This is also the reason that I believe we need to return to the ancient practice of “every Sunday “ communion.
Psalm 46:10 Be Still and know that I am God, I will be exalted among the heathens, I will be exalted in the earth. When challenged, I try to always stop and seek His will in His Word and through fellowship with sister and brothers in Christ.
Yes, there’s power in fellowship within the communion of saints.