I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Joshua 1:3
“It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe His goodness in delivering them, His mercy in pardoning them, and His faithfulness in keeping His covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of His goodness and of His truth, as much a proof of His faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that He wrought all His mighty acts, and showed Himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare His arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892) in Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (Grand Rapids, MI: CCEL) morning reading for 9 July.
God has safely brought me to Brazil to speak on the connection between generosity and accountability with influential Christian workers interested in setting up a peer accountability group here (like ECFA). Upon arrival in Rio de Janeiro, I met up with Milton Monte, president of the National Missions Board in Brazil, and Nydia Garcia Schmidt, GTP regional facilitator for Latin America, who flew in from Mexico City.
My text for this trip comes from Joshua 1. I am meditating on God’s faithfulness and generosity to ancient saints like Moses and Joshua in today’s Scripture to see how He wants to aid us today in His service. After Nydia and I got checked into our rooms at the seminary (pictured above), Milton took us directly to Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer. There, we asked God for Brazil.
At the feet of Jesus, Nydia read Psalm 2:8 in Spanish, I recited Joshua 1:3 in English, then Milton read 2 Chronicles 7:14 in Portuguese, and we reiterated our request to God asking for Brazil. As you observe His goodness in the lives of ancient saints and review your own life, what do you see? I pray you invite the living God to work as He did in the days of old. Big meetings in Brazil today. Come to my aid, Lord Jesus.