Before entering the promised land, the Lord told Joshua to reinstitute a sign of covenant put in place years before with Abraham (Genesis 17:7-14). What was the sign? Circumcision of all adult males.

When the kings of the pagan nations heard about the miracle at the Jordan their hearts melted with fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. How do you think they reacted to the news of this mass act of cutting and discarding body parts? Who were these people coming at them?

No dissent is recorded. 40 years of watching fathers and uncles die for refusing to obey the Lord strengthened resolve. These wilderness-hardened men followed through as the Lord required, not phased by a few days of discomfort.

The ultimate prize lay before them—a land flowing with milk and honey.

Sometimes the Lord places distasteful choices before you and me. Nothing requiring the severing of a body part, but choices that require severing none the less. Where do I spend my time and what do I allow in my mind? Media choices swim before me. Is that show, as popular as it may be, really leading me toward the land of milk and honey? Perhaps it needs cut out and discarded.

The place where Joshua performed these procedures landed a gruesome name, Gibeath Haaraloth—hill of foreskins. As bad as that sounded, the name reminded the nation of their covenant with the Lord, and the value found following Him in holiness.

I think that as you and I also follow the Lord for years and years, we’ll look back upon our own hill of discarded things, items that once dragged us down and held us back from places of milk and honey. It helps to remember that with each cut, each act of leaving behind, comes a promise of something much, much better.

Joshua 5 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Matt Artz

The Lord said to Joshua some of the most encouraging words even spoken from God to man: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

This powerful undergirding seeped through a nation on the cusp of their promised land. Joshua must have repeated the words over and over during preparations for crossing the Jordan and organizing for battle.

The phrase caught on.

Joshua later met with the leaders of the tribes who would lead the nation into the land. He reminded them of their sacred responsibility and their oath before the Lord. No turning back until the Lord gave them rest.

Their response? Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go…Only be strong and courageous!

The call sounded from every lip, encouraging everyone from warrior to child. It’s still a call sounding in our ears—if we choose to pause and listen. Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

I need to soak in that promise. Join me, then pass it on to someone else who needs to hear it today.

Joshua 1 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Zach Reiner

Controversy moved with Jesus as he traveled and taught, particularly with his insistence on performing miraculous healings on the Sabbath. The sparring sides held their ground—healing on the Sabbath comprised work, and no work allowed according to the law, versus Jesus the Lord and Creator of the law and the Sabbath. Seems a bit one-sided from my perch, but old rules die hard.

Jesus saw a woman who had been crippled and bent over for eighteen years. He called her forward and said, Woman, you are set free from your infirmity. Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

An unbelievable miracle—but on the Sabbath. The indignant synagogue leader announced to those present, There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.

A classic bureaucratic answer. Follow the rules no matter what. All sorts of healing can happen here every other day of the week, just not this day. The problem with his solution? Healings never took place before, healings only took place around Jesus, and Jesus stood here right now. Get out of the way, little man.

Jesus tore into the religious leaders, reminding them of their hypocrisy and lack of love for the people they allegedly served. They stood long-faced and humiliated, while everyone else delighted in all the wonderful things Jesus did.

Few of us are fans of bureaucracy. Nothing like a trip to the DMV to make you want to give up driving. But I lean the same way with Jesus. I hope to contain him, keep his words safely folded in their book. I’m afraid to yield control.

This story reminds me to let Jesus loose. The woman bound for eighteen years reminds me to let Jesus loose. Even the fears of the religious teachers reminds me to let Jesus loose.

Both the way of Jesus and the way of the bureaucrat tug at me. It’s my choice which one I let loose.

Luke 13 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Mark Duffel

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Truer words never spoken. Jesus said these at the end of a teaching time about money and worry and barns and seeking the kingdom of God. I’m reminded how my heart constantly veers toward shiny treasures.

At the gym I meet old guys like me, working out just so we can eat another bowl of ice cream, but also younger guys working out with one eye on the mirror. They treasure those muscles. I treasure that ice cream.

Also at the gym at least one screen always runs shows featuring builders with cute personalities renovating old houses. Lots of us turn toward the lure of a beautiful home. Personally, I most treasure my garage.

This week movie-makers give out awards. I watched Billy Crystal host the Oscars once and he described the event as fabulously wealthy people giving one another golden statues (or something akin to that line). I don’t remember the crowd laughing much. Many people treasure those golden statues, both those hoping for one and those watching from afar. I give all that a pass these days.

Then the best event of this month and maybe the whole year—March Madness. 68 teams entered the tournament, treasuring a championship. Millions of fans filled out brackets and now follow their progress. Massive amounts of disappointment litter the month of March—only 1 team wins. But the hunt for treasure pulls us in.

These treasures (and loads of others) compete for my heart. Jesus, however, pointed out a higher way: Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Treasure in heaven. So much better than muscles or garages or championships or golden statues.

Luke 12 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Ashin K Suresh