Day 6 of the 3:16 Tour...Let the Water's Part!

This might be one of my favorite passages of scripture. God is so faithful to his people and this passage shows his power over all things, AGAIN. You really need to read the whole chapter. God tells Joshua, that just as He was with Moses, He is also with Joshua! I love that, because just as He was with those servants of old, He is with US today. 

In Joshua chapter 3, the Israelites needed to cross the Jordan River, during the time of harvest, which is also the time of flood...they were worried about it. But, God had a plan already. (Funny how they forgot about the miracle He gave them when they crossed the Red Sea.)

So, God tells Joshua to have the priests, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, step into the waters of the Jordan River, which were overflowing their banks...and verse 3:16 tells us what happened when they obeyed. Sometimes, we just have to step into the water, no matter how much we don't understand what will happen next. 

Joshua 3:16 (NASB) the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.

Read Joshua Chapter 3 in context. 


Share your thoughts about this passage in the comments below. 







NOTE: Okay, this is day 6 and I didn't post day 5. I was just so excited about this one, that I totally forgot to put day 5 first. So, look for Deuteronomy 3:16 Tomorrow. :)

Free To Be Clean

Sometimes we need to take a break, get alone with God and let Him show us areas of our life He wants to deal with. I was led to take a little hiatus this summer and really sit at the feet of the Lord and LISTEN. Well, some of it I liked a lot, some made me cry tears of repentance and some left me saying, "Wow God."

No matter who we are, or what we do, we all have a primary ministry if we are married or mothers or both. That is a ministry to our family. I have always known that, but knowing and doing is sometimes different. For example, praying for my husband and giving him encouragement from the Word is easy for me. Keeping a very clean, and organized home, is NOT easy for me. In all of my busyness over the past couple of years of conferences, new book releases and helping others start their ministries, I had neglected the thing that makes my husband happy; a clean and organized house. And boy, when you begin to let things go, they snowball pretty fast. Those were the tears of repentance. Personally, my home was a disaster and my family felt neglected.

Thankfully, God always provides what we need when He sends us to a task. He provided a wonderful friend, Tabatha, who is amazing at organization and cleaning, and she, Melissa (my personal assistant) and I went to work. We donated, we threw out, we organized, and we scrubbed. I cannot tell you how much freedom there is in a clean house. There are still a few nooks and crannies to de-clutter and clean, but overall, it is transformed to what it should have been in the first place. My husband is already happier and I am so much happier.  Now, rather than having a huge cloud hanging over my head when I walk in the door, exhausted, and see the mess. I can spend 15 minutes a day keeping things picked up, swept, etc. And when my husband walks in, he can see that I love him, even if I’m not here to tell him.

The summer hiatus for renewal is almost over and I will be back to writing and ministry full swing, with my short cleaning breaks in between.

I write this because I know I’m not alone. As I posted updates on facebook, there was an outcry from women saying how much they admired my energy, or organization. They wanted to get motivated, but they could not; they didn’t know where to start. The responses went on and on, often from women I thought were far better in this area than I am. Most of them were private messages because they were too ashamed to admit their lack of zeal for their homes in public.

It broke my heart for my friends and for women in general. When did we go from June Cleaver to master hoarders? How did we allow the enemy to inflict something into our homes that would burden us with such guilt and feelings of failure?

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

New King James Version (NKJV)

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Does this scripture apply here? I believe it does. When the enemy of our souls uses something to heap guilt and shame upon our minds, it is spiritual warfare. Cleaning my house was not the weapon that freed my mind from the guilt. Time with God, time in His Word, and surrendering this area of my life to the Holy Spirit is what resulted in freedom. I then had the release to ask for help. It was only after the guilt was not holding me in chains that I could do the things in the physical that needed to be done. It all started in the spiritual.

 We, as women, get so busy doing all of the things we are supposed to be doing, that we often forget the most important parts of our life. We forget that everything in the natural is directly affected by things in the spiritual. It’s not a battle over dust-bunnies. It is a battle for our families. There are six things I have to do each day, no matter where I am or what is going on. When I allow God to lead my thoughts and actions toward my family, I defeat the attack of the enemy that says to neglect them before it even comes my way.

• 1.       I must pray for my heart to be right in every situation.
• 2.       I must forgive any offense I have encountered from my family.
• 3.       I must pray for my husband; that God would guard his heart, prosper his work and cover him with protection. (If you have children, pray the same for them.)
• 4.       I must consider first, what the needs of my home are for the day.
• 5.       I must communicate my love for my family in a language they will understand.
• 6.       I must take personal inventory of my heart and allow God to purge anything that would get in the way of what HE wants to do in me that day. 

As women, especially wives and mothers, we are given a responsibility to be the caregivers of those in our homes. It’s not just about a clean house.  It’s about showing them our love through the giving of our time and our commitment to them. It’s about knowing that they are the most important to us because they are so important to God. It is truly the ministry of being a wife, or a mother, or both. We are called and ordained to it, now, let’s do it. 

Power Without Wisdom

Okay ladies, is there anything more romantic than a moon lit boat ride on the river? Just you and your husband, hand in hand, talking, floating, just enjoying spending time together? John and I were enjoying such an evening, floating down river with the engine shut off. We suddenly realized that it was 1 a.m. and we both had to get up for work the next morning. John fired up the Evenrude and started back toward the main channel. All at once we heard a loud thud and the boat took a swift turn left. It only took moments to realize that the thud was the sound a steering cable makes as it breaks. We were a few miles from the boat ramp with all the power we needed to get there, but no way to steer the boat. In the current of the Mighty Missouri River we were spinning in circles and drifting further down-river.

We cut the engine so that John could think and I began to pray. My mind was taken to our walk with the Lord. So often we want to use God’s power in our lives, but we don’t want Him to be in charge of the steering. Then we wonder how we end up spinning in circles or on the rocks. Direction from God is in the Wisdom he gives when we are willing to listen. That Wisdom is like our rudder that keeps us going in the right direction. 

One of the reasons I am wildly in love with my husband is his creative mind and the wisdom he exhibits in a crisis. He went into the water and straightened the rudder, then handed me one of the oars. Then he started the engine and took the other oar to the bow. With some teamwork and constant communication about our direction, we were able to steer to boat back to the dock and use a rope to pull it onto the trailer. From a broken state, we were saved from peril; oh how that spoke to my heart. I will never forget that power, without wisdom, is never a good thing. 

But to those who are called, whether Jew or Greek (Gentile). Christ is the Power of God and the Wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24. (AMP)

We Will Rise

 I started this century with months in a wheelchair after undergoing hip replacement surgeries and bone grafting. People were so supportive and caring. A day never went by that someone didn’t ask, “How are you doing under the circumstances?”

Seven years ago this week, I was diagnosed with cancer. I praise God that it was discovered in early stages. After surgery and a few days with a radiation implant I was on my way to a speedy recovery. People in my life were very supportive. Concerned friends and acquaintances always wanted to make sure I was doing okay physically, emotionally and spiritually, under the circumstances.

Five years ago I was laid off from my day job. I prayed that freelance writing and speaking would meet every financial need that I had, but at that time, it seemed impossible. I prayed for God to open another door, according to His purpose. Again, our friends were concerned and asking how we were doing, under the circumstances.

Today I walk. Today I am cancer free. Today God blesses my life with His provision so that I may work for Him.

We all experience circumstances in our life.  Often, through no fault of our own, life hands us one circumstance after the other until we are treading water barely able to keep from being swallowed by turbulent tides.

Many would say that, as believers, we have a life preserver for the times when we feel like we cannot tread water for another moment.  When our circumstances have overtaken the depths of our soul we can cry out to God for help and He will be there. Under the circumstances we will be okay, if we just have faith.

There is a sweet assurance in that idea. However, I don’t believe that it is the way God intended our faith to be exercised. When we wait until we are drowning to call out to God our faith is used as an insurance policy. Not just fire insurance, but flood insurance.

If we look at Romans chapter 8, verses 35 through 39 we find that our circumstances are opportunities for us to display the conquering power of Jesus Christ, through our faith.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, "For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NAS)

I have not personally experienced the persecution that was present for Christians in Rome at the time of Paul. I have not been through a famine. My poverty level has never reached nakedness and my life has not been threatened by another person because of my faith in God. Yet those around me continue asking how I am surviving, under the circumstances.

No matter how things have looked from the outside, every circumstance I have been through has been used for the Glory of God if it was given to Him, for His purpose, from the beginning. Each time I have learned invaluable lessons. Every victory strengthened my faith and fervor for the Lord. Through each triumph has come opportunity to reach out to people I would have never been able to understand without the circumstance I walked through.  

The times in my life, and there have been several, when my circumstances swallowed me were the times that I kept trying to cope with my circumstances or try to fix things myself. Spiritual bruising happened every time. I was riding my circumstance like a bull, trying to make the 8 second buzzer. And, like the cowboy who holds on after he is in trouble, I have gotten tangled in the rope and been beaten more severely than if I had just let go. It took me years to realize that we are not called as believers to live under our circumstances or to fix situations on our own.

What if Christ would have been swallowed by His circumstances? Defeat looked absolutely imminent from Golgotha, yet we know that He reigns victorious. What if the circumstances of the cross would have been the end? What if Christ would have waited until He could no longer “fix” things to cry out to God? Even as the divine Son of God He had free will and could have refused to complete the plan.

The reason that Christ could take every step through His circumstances was that He knew from the beginning that whatever He would endure was for the Glory of the Father and the salvation of the creation that He loved. He knew that everything meant for evil would be used for good when it was done with a pure heart, giving all honor to God. He did not walk to Calvary under the circumstances of the cross. He walked to Calvary knowing that He was born of God, and would be victorious.

1 John 5:4 & 5 says, “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. 5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (NAS)

As believers we are born of God. We are called to walk victoriously through every trial that comes our way; not to be under our circumstances, not in spite of our circumstances.

We are called to live each day, each hour, and each minute by faith, knowing that no matter what we may be going through God will use it for His Glory and our good when we give it to Him completely. The victory in our lives is what shines as a beacon to the rest of creation, telling them the good news of the resurrection plan. By overcoming the world and every circumstance in it, in the name of Jesus, we rise again, with Him.

** This article was oringinally written before the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. We are all shocked by the horrific scenes and the life threatening conditions. Truly many thousands will not survive this disaster. Under their circumstances seems like an understatement. But, God will use even this disaster if people hand Him their broken pieces an allow His will to prevail in their lifes. 

 I pray mostly for those who do not know the Lord Jesus. The thought of those who did not accept Christ’s offer of salvation is heartbreaking in these situations. Please keep the families of those lost, and the people who are still displaced, injured or sick in your prayers. I don’t know how I would have survived anything in my life without the Lord and the prayers on my behalf, and my circumstances are trivial by comparison.

He Will Meet Me On My Knees

I don't usually post poetry on my blog, but I wanted to share this one with you. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that we can come to Jesus and let him restore our broken hearts.

He Will Meet Me On My Knees

By Pamela Sonnenmoser ©2007

©2010 The Salt and Pepper Stone: The Poetry of Pamela Sonnenmoser (Party Line Press)

My white dress fluttered gently

As the breeze went through my hair

And the congregation waited

As I met the preacher there

Standing at the altar

I pledged my heart to stay

With each soul present as my witness

I would never walk away.

And my hungry heart surrendered

Knowing He would never leave

As I let His love enfold me

And He met  me on my knees.

But after years of faithfulness

I met temptations sting

And I wandered into darkness

My first love, no longer seen

As I wandered through the wilderness

A new love locked my embrace

We ran together through the darkness

Far away from Heaven’s grace.

And my wild heart offended

The one who said He’d never leave

As I pushed His love away from me

And refused to bend my knees.

No longer guided by compassion

My new love met the sting

And his wayward heart betrayed me

As life brought me to my knees

On my face before my Father

Not knowing where to turn

I begged for the forgiveness

That I could never earn.

And my broken heart remembered

That He said He’d never leave

When I let His love enfold me

He would meet me on my knees

And my healing heart repented

Thankful, He would never leave

When I let His love restore me

As He met me on my knees

Time Out

I spend a lot of time with my nephew, Rowan. I visited his home in Arizona over Christmas when he was four. We enjoyed going Christmas shopping, but like most 4 year olds, there were a couple of times I had to correct his behavior as we shopped. As I told him not to touch something in one of the stores, he turned on his heel, and said, "You're not the boss of me." His bold tone was a little less emphatic as he sat in the quiet seat and our shopping trip came to a premature end. Of course by dinner time he was my buddy again.

The following summer, he came to spend several weeks on our farm. He was here for just a few days when I walked to see him taking the dirt from a flower pot and laying it on the coffee table. As I said his name, in an oh-so-stern voice, he jumped. Then he brushed off his hands and said, “Here I come quiet chair,”

As I fought back laughter, and watched him take his seat on the time out stool in the dining room, I asked him why he was digging in the plant. He said, “I wanted to know what was under the dirt.”

He wasn’t trying to make a mess, in fact he was keeping his pile of potting soil pretty neat, with hopes he could put it back. But, he admitted knowing it would have been better to ask what was there, or to ask me to help him discover the mystery of the flower pot.

Thinking it over that evening, I thought of the times my curiosity has gotten me into trouble. Sometimes I’ve needed a time out because I simply wouldn’t listen to God’s voice telling me to stop. Sometimes, my disobedience told God, “You’re not the boss of me.” I may not have admitted it out loud, but walking in disobedience, or avoiding the things we know God has asked us to do, is just like Rowan’s proclamation of my lack of authority in his mind.

Today I value my time in the Quiet Chair. It is important to take a time out each day and sit quietly, thinking about my actions, and God’s voice of authority in my life.

Maybe today it’s time for you to take a time out. Or maybe you have a great way to listen for God’s voice. I would love to hear from you in a comment or email.