Blogging through the Bible in 90 Days: Day 17. Faith by osmosis....

#B90Days, Day 17.  Judges 2:10.

Reading:  Joshua 15: 1 - Judges 3 : 27

Scripture:  Judges 2 : 10

 After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel.

Observations:


Joshua died, and when everyone who was alive at the time of the crossing of the Jordan passed away, they remembered the Lord no more.

All of a sudden the repetition in Deuteronomy urging them to love and serve God with all their mind, soul, heart and strength, and to diligently teach their children all the time, make sense.

Deuteronomy 6:7 says:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

Something went wrong.

Maybe the glory of the Lord was so obvious to that generation that they took it for granted that the children would understand the magnitude of what He had done for them.   The adults at the time reveled in the Glory of God, and the young children watched as their parents served.  Perhaps the instruction, and talking about the laws never happened, because the adults didn't need the reminders.

When the adults passed on, and the children were grown, all of a sudden there is a generation of people that had been riding on the faith of their parents.  If they had heard, and learned, they would have made it their own.  But faith by osmosis cannot stand in the day of trials.  Faith by osmosis is not faith at all.

So the grandchildren of the ones that crossed the Jordan grew up barely hearing mention of God.

And God knew it would happen.  That's why He warned them over, and over again.... Don't forget.  Don't become complacent.  Remember all that I have done, and pass it along to your children.

But as it happened, a generation was raised that "knew neither the LORD, nor what He had done for Israel."


Application: 


Faith is a personal journey.  I could not bring my mother to the kingdom through my prayers for her.  She had to find it on her own. And she did.  And the faith of all of us cannot pray my sister into heaven. She has to find it on her own.  She can pick up the details by osmosis.... and learn a little Christianese... but the bottom line is a relationship with our Creator and Savior.

My faith in God has to be lived out, every single day.  It has to be in my words, and my actions.
My sons cannot hear my internal praying.   I have to bring it all out in the open, for them, so that they can see faith in action.

We need to talk about the God that loves us, all the time.  At the dinner table.  When we are walking down the road.  When we are driving in the car.

They need to see that trusting in the Lord is normal.
They need to see that making time to get up early to be in the WORD, to hear from Him is normal.

But more than seeing it....
They have to understand it, and choose it for themselves.
It needs to become their own.

Prayer:


 Father God,
What a wake up call.

Thank you so much for my sweet son, who every morning comes down and asks me, "Mommy?  Is your pray time with Jesus done?"  Thank you for helping me to establish the pattern of getting up early to meet with you during the school year, and then providing the discipline and motivation to continue it on through the summer time!

Help us, as parents, to live our faith out loud to our children.  Discussing You with them, all the time.
And help us to handle the boundary testing that is happening now with grace, and love...
Amen.

Blogging through the #B90Days: Day 1

Reading through the Bible in 90 Days, with 900 other people, at Mom's Toolbox.

On Saturday I finished the incredible journey of Blogging through the Gospels, also with Amy from Mom's Toolbox.  It was an extraordinary, life-changing experience.  Using the SOAP method to find nuggets in God's word each day, things that I knew were intended specifically for me, was just.... truly awesome.

So when I saw her SOAP from the Day 1 reading, it was as if a light bulb had gone off.

You see -- I was so reluctant to leave the SOAP experience behind, that I was going to try to continue through the Epistles in SOAP format, but I was a little concerned about not giving the Bible in 90 Days the time that I really wanted to give it.  So this was the answer to my dilemma. :)

So this morning, when my second alarm (thank goodness for back-ups!) went off at 4AM, I even beat my husband downstairs because I was so eager to get started.  And the alarms are actually for HIM because his summer hours are 5:30 AM - 2 PM, and we live 45 minutes away from his work.  So here I am, in the middle of summer vacation, willingly (and even excitedly) waking up between 3:45 and 4 AM so that I can get my (usually) uninterrupted time in the WORD.

This is a miracle. :)

Now.... there were other choices to be made.
I have very recently just made the switch to NKJV. (My husband is thrilled.)  I had been a long time NIV reader, and then found a great HCSB that I loved.  But more and more, during this Blogging through the Gospels experience, I kept turning to the NKJV.  So, when my brand new Word for Today NKJV Bible arrived on my doorstep last week, I knew that I had some decisions to make.

Last time I read the Bible in 90 Days, I used the YouVersion app on my iPod (and now on my Android).  It was great.  Portable and very convenient.  But this time, since I knew that I wanted to be doing some kind of blogging, and keeping notes along the way, I knew that app might not be the best option.  Highlights don't last beyond the screen that you are on.

And I have the actual Bible in 90 Days book, a gift from my mother, after they had done it the first time.

But.... it is NIV, and I had just made the switch to NKJV.

So, this morning, I went to the index of the official B90Days bible, and marked in my new NKJV Bible where the end of Day One way, and off I went.

(Wow... what a long introduction. You must be bored to tears.)

Anyway.
Here is what I heard today.

Reading: Genesis 1 - Genesis 16

Scripture:  Genesis 12: 1 - 4

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.


Observations:


God spoke.
Abram obeyed.

Application:


God spoke.
Randy and Meredith questioned.
Randy and Meredith asked for confirmation.
The LORD confirmed.
Randy and Meredith took a baby step of faith.
The LORD confirmed.
Rand and Meredith BELIEVED.


It doesn't have the same power as: God spoke. Abram obeyed.

Prayer:


Lord,
Help us to obey by faith.
I do not think that you are upset that we seek confirmation. After all, we know that you are doing something, we just don't know when.

Help us to wait.
Help us to OBEY, without action....
until the obedience you demand REQUIRES action.

We have moved to the land that you have shown us.

And now we wait.

Give us peace and humility in the waiting.
And above all,
Thank you for calling us. Thank you for loving us, and for speaking to us and teaching us.
May we continually seek your Presence.

Amen.