No More Reproach

We left yesterday morning for our first event of the year. A little over an hour into the trip, I noticed debris on the lens of the backup camera. It was oil from a cracked line that feeds the turbo. The back of the coach and the trailer were covered in oil. We looked everything over, made a call to the local cat dealer at home and found all of the parts we needed.

My son and I made a temp repair and we turned the rig north for home. An hour and a half later, we backed into the yard. I went to Macon, picked up the parts, swapped them out, changed the oil in the motor while my son cleaned up the mess…and it was a mess! (There’s a sermon in that line.) The kicker, it could have all been prevented. As we got ready to pull out yesterday morning, my son noticed a small leak on the turbo. I thought it would be OK. Had I taken the time to look at it, I would have realized how serious it was and could have prevented a lot of pain for all of us.

The Lord uses all of the people in our lives to speak to us. We must look beyond who that person is to us and evaluate the situation, not the messenger. Yesterday, in my mind, our youngest son crossed over from child to man. Yep, he’s still my kid, but with a new level of respect.

Blessings

No More Reproach
by Os Hillman
…”Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you”…. – Joshua 5:9

Joshua and the people had just crossed the Jordan River. They were camped at Gilgal. But before they could proceed they were required to circumcise all the males, because a whole new generation had grown up while living in the desert. This is where Israel, like a worm in a cocoon, was transformed. Circumcision is bloody, personal, and it exposes all that you are. God was saying that before you can become His army, you must roll away the reproach of the Egyptian way of life. You are no longer a slave to the ways of Egypt. It is a time to put aside the old way of life. Many are walking around as goats in sheep’s clothes, practicing a form of religion without the true source of truth and power.

Sin in our midst testifies against us. It keeps us in Egypt and never allows us to enter the Promised Land. Our lives must be circumcised in order for us to come out of Egypt into our own Promised Land of spiritual blessing with God. This transformation marks the first time Israel begins to taste the fruit of the Promised Land. No more manna from Heaven. The manna stopped the day after they were circumcised. There was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate produce from Canaan.

God is turning our plowshares into weapons of love to usher in a new generation of workplace warriors. But we will not be effective if we have the reproach of sin in our lives. Ask God to show you what needs to be confessed this day so that no reproach exists. The cross of Jesus takes away all reproaches. Enter the Promised Land with power.