Moses is Dead / New Beginnings - Day 95 Through the Bible in a Year

The Mount Pisgah Trail in Western North Carolina commemorates today's historical account of Moses viewing the Promised Land with the LORD before Moses dies.  The second photo is of a postcard of NC's Mt. Pisgah

My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings

Moses is Dead / New Beginnings - When our leaders die, we are often left in a frozen state of immobility...even when we have been prepared...even when the death was expected.  This is a constant throughout Biblical history and, of course, our lives as well.  Holy Week has just passed.  We remember freshly the passion and death of our Lord and Savior, the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ.  But God...those 2 great words...give us new hope, new beginnings.  Christ is resurrected, ascends to the right hand of God to make intercession for us, and we await His second coming - to be with Him eternally.  The Israelites have known no other leader since leaving the oppression and slavery of Egypt.  Through all their sins - idolatry and unbelief - Moses stood in the gap for them to allay God's wrath.  Because of them, Moses sinned and is not allowed to enter the Promised Land.  But God...will personally take him to Mount Nebo - the top of Mt. Pisgah - and let him see the Promised Land.  There he dies; there he is gathered to his people.

Our Great Commission - Moses has completed his commission.  Before leaving them, Moses prays for the people he has led.  He has already warned them of blessings or curses depending upon their obedience to God's Word.  He now prays for blessings on them - on each of the 12 tribes.  Now Joshua is called forth by God to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land - his commission.  In the New Testament, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His pending sacrificial death for them - for us. The twelve apostles, and those who believe after them, are now called forth to preach the gospel to the world - to bring many sons and daughters to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Christ tells them it is to THEIR ADVANTAGE - that He go away:  "...sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  John 16:6-7.  (Matthew 28:19-20)  And with this enabling Helper, the apostles and all Christ's disciples who follow, are given our Great Commission:  "Go ye, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Before leaving His apostles, Jesus prayed for the 12 disciples and then for all of us who would believe after them (John 17).  We move ahead, building upon the foundation God has provided for us, "for the joy that is set before us", for His kingdom, for His glory, knowing that He is always with us.

Seeing God Through Death / An Emboldened, Empowered Faith - Often it is in the depth of sorrow and despair that we are given a fresh vision of God - a new depth of understanding.  In 2 Kings 2 we read of the double portion of God's Spirit given to Elisha for his new commission after his master, Elijah, is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire.  In Isaiah 6 after King Uziah has died, then Isaiah "sees the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple… Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

A bruised heart that chooses to beat with a passion for God amid pulsing pain and confusion may just be the most expensive offering placed on the divine altar. - Beth Moore

The following is a beautiful commissioning sermon given to a new leader of the Buckner Foundation, headquartered in Texas.  It is based on this transition period of Moses' death and Joshua's commission.  I think you will be greatly blessed by it:"New Beginnings"