Verse of the day: Joshua 7:24-25 Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, “Why have you troubled us? The LORD will trouble you this day.” So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones.
What a tragic ending for Achan and his family. What a contrast to repentance and confession, compared to today. Achan had sinned against God, and caused Israel to sin before God. His sin resulted in thirty-six men being killed. God’s anger was kindled against Israel and they lost a battle they should have won against the small city of Ai. Now, we read that Achan, his family, and all their possession were stoned and burned. How much effort would we put into avoiding sin if we knew this would be the result? Sadly, far too many of us would be too focused on what we would lose, rather than focus on how our sin makes God feel and how it affects our relationship with Him. While having family members lose their lives is devastating, and losing all our possessions is tragic, it should not compare (in our minds) to how our sinfulness affects God. Today, we often do not feel the full sting of God’s anger, as Christians or even as non-Christians, because of His grace. The unsaved mock God and think that they will not be accountable to Him. They talk as if God is accountable to them and as if someday they will stand before Him and give Him a piece of their mind, while others simply say that there is no God. Well, the truth of the matter is that Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Those who proclaim that they do not believe in God are fools. Why? Because one day EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 14:11; Philippians 2:10-11). Whether they want to believe it or not, their end will be eternal condemnation (Romans 6:23). A truly heart-wrenching scene will one day take place, and many of our loved ones will be part of this scene if we, the true Christians, do not begin to take our Christianity seriously. Revelation 20:11-15 gives us a glimpse of this tragic scene, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Yet, the unsaved are not consumed this very moment because God’s desire is not that they perish, but that they all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). However, there will come a day when God will say enough is enough. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 clearly tells us, “For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.” For those who read this, who have not yet trusted in, and called on, Jesus, today is the day to do it! For us, the born again Christian, we do not feel the wrath of God’s anger in our lives because of our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. God poured His anger, which should have been poured on us, onto His Son, Jesus Christ, as we know from 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” When we look back at Achan and his family, even though he confessed what he did, God still required his life and the life of his whole family. Because God does not deal with us this way, thanks to the finished work of Christ on Calvary, we have a tendency, far too often, to take His grace for granted, and even turn it into something it is not. Romans 6:1-2 warns us, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” Romans 6:15 again warns, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!” Today, we should praise God for such a wonderful salvation that gives us an Advocate in Christ, who speaks on our behalf, and in whom we have forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the One who stands ready to hear our confession when we repent and turn back to Him (1 John 1:8-2:1). Let us not be lukewarm Christians, but Christians who are on fire for the Lord so that we will go out and share Jesus with family, friends, co-workers and anyone else God puts before us, so that they have the opportunity to avoid perishing in eternal fire.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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