July Beacon

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”      II Timothy 2:15

You may have heard of the unparalleled advice offered for those confronted with a big decision.  In a way that only he could say it, Yogi Berra quipped, ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it!’

I’m not sure what more to say about that!

I will say that we are coming to a fork in the road.  After many years of offering the Awana program to our church and surrounding community, we are wondering what the coming Fall will hold.  Many leadership positions need to be filled if we are to continue with this ministry.

God raised up Moses to lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt.  This was done in a miraculous fashion.  Deuteronomy 34 tells how 120-year-old Moses climbed Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah.  It was from there that the LORD showed him the whole land.  He reminded Moses that He had promised this land on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He also told Moses, ‘I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you will not cross over into it.’

Moses died there and was buried.  The text dates him as 120 at the time, but also includes, ‘…yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.’  Moses served until God took him from this earth.  The last verse in Deuteronomy reads, “For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.”

Now what?

If you flip the page of your Bible from Deuteronomy, you come to … well, you might see it as a ‘fork in the road.’  The mantle is being passed from Moses to Joshua.  Old Moses is dead and young Joshua is … is… is… Is he ready to take over the leadership role left behind by Moses?  The LORD said to Joshua, “Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites.”

Was Joshua overwhelmed by the task or motivated by the opportunity?  Maybe it was some of each.

It was then that the LORD told him to be strong and courageous.  He would lead these people to inherit the land God had promised them.  He was to be strong and very courageous.  And then the LORD added, “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left….Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night…”

God was bringing His people into a new era of their history.  He provided leadership and a reminder of the importance of His word.  His people were promised prosperity and success.  But they must not turn to the left or the right.  They must focus on and live by His word.

How important is the Awana program for our church at this time in our history?  It requires a great deal of resources and effort to operate this ministry.

The key for us is that if we pray for and hear God’s direction in this matter…..that we ‘take it!’

Pastor Lerud