March 6, 2019
Joshua 1:7-9                             
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
New International Version (NIV)
               My dad drove the bus for our wrestling team in Germany.  He is a great driver.  One day the wheels came off one side of the bus on a mountain pass.  He steered us safely to the side of the road while my friend Skeeter jumped up and grabbed the bars on the top of the bus screaming.  On other occasions our dad defended us.  We felt safe when he was with us.  I remember one match I was losing and I saw him walk in to watch.  With dad watching, I felt new strength and won the match.  I was undefeated when he was in the room.

                How could the people of Israel go forward now that Moses was gone.  They waited for a season and then God told Joshua Moses had died.  Again and again God tells him not to be afraid.  He has the words Moses brought down from the mountain inscribed by God on tablets of stone.  Joshua would meditate on those words day and night and be successful (Psalm 1 also comes to mind).  Best of all God said to Joshua, “Do not fear because I am here.” 

                All of us have many fears.  What is the antidote?  God’s presence!  We often seek presents from God when we pray.  “God give me . . .” and we fill in the blank.  But more than any thing, more than any thing we can imagine, we need God himself.  God only gives his best gifts along with his presence.  As Paul told the church in Rome, “If he did not spare his only Son how will he not along with him graciously give us all things.”  God gives us all things along with his Son whom he has already given.  So do not fear.  God is here.
Pray with me:    
Father, how we thank you for the promise of your presence, confirmed in Jesus and continuing in your Holy Spirit.  Help us to live life today attentive to your nearness.  You are not only near.  You are right here.  So in you we stand strong today.  Nothing we face today will be bigger than you and we can handle together.  In Jesus’ name.   Amen.  
This year our Every Day with Jesus readings will follow The Bible Project Read Scripture Plan.  Copies of this reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download 
the app at readscripture.org.  Read through the Bible with us in 2019!
Joyfully, 
Duane 
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