Faithful Into the Water - Part 2

Joshua 3:15-16 (The Message) When the priests got to the Jordan and their feet touched the water at the edge (the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest), the flow of water stopped. It piled up in a heap--a long way off--at Adam, which is near Zarethan. The river went dry all the way down to the Arabah Sea (the Salt Sea). And the people crossed, facing Jericho.

The Jordan is a most extraordinary river. The source of its water emerges as icy cold springs fed by the melting snows on Mount Hermon. They flow into a small lake known in the Bible as "the waters of Merom," The Jordan starts its journey there where most other rivers on our planet end up -- at sea level. In the first ten miles of its course, the Jordan sinks nearly 700 feet and enters the Sea of Galilee. Picture this -- the Sea of Galilee is deeper below the ocean than Lake Superior is above it. Out of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan continues its southerly decent for 65 miles ending up 1300 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea. In less than 100 miles, the Jordan falls more than the entire length of the Mississippi.

The last encampment of Moses was on the Plain of Moab just north of the Dead Sea. This was an area bordering the Jordan for about 8 miles and about 7 miles wide. There, well-supplied with spring-fed streams, was the last encampment of the twelve tribes of Israel as the leadership baton was passed from Moses onto Joshua.

As you walk across this valley from east to west, you come to a bluff. Standing there you can see the Jordan about 75 feet below meandering back and forth as any normal river. But at flood stage, the entire river valley would be filled with water and tearing its way straight south over brush and through the tree tops. It would certainly be a fearful sight to behold. The mere thought of marching across it would appear preposterous. The people of Israel in Joshua's time must have thought he was crazy. The Levite priests leading the way to the bluff must have been terrified -- until the moment the flow of water suddenly stopped.

John 1:26-28: John answered them, "I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal." This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

1400 years later, John the Baptist is standing in this remarkable river calling for repentence. It was time for Jesus to announce his intention to fulfill his destiny and to receive the annointing from the Holy Spirit. It is here we see Jesus receiving the power of the Holy Spirit -- power to meet the demands of the ministry upon which he is about to launch -- power descending upon him in the form of the mildest and meekest (most steerable) of all birds -- a dove.

I need the gift of the Holy Spirit to have the power and wisdom to live as God wants me to live. We all do. The road to this power is revealed through faith. It is a road only God can see and I will only see it if I have faith all the way into the water. I have to get my feet wet.

John the Apostle records that Jesus' baptism took place at a very significant spot -- in Bethany. The old name for Bethany is Bethabara, which means, "the place of passage." Tradition holds that this was where the Israelites entered the Promised Land under Joshua.

It was there that John the Baptist first proclaimed who Jesus was: Joshua (old Hebrew) -- Jeshua (Aramaic) -- Jesus (English). Its the same name in different languages meaning "Yahweh is salvation". Through him the children of God, then and now, enter the Promised Land. Through Yahweh, through God ... is the salvation of me, of us, of our people, of our planet. And it all begins with a step of faith -- walking all the way into the water so that we may see clearly the road God has planned for us.

Lord, help us through that first leap of faith. Help us take that first scary step into the water. Reveal to us the way that only You now can see. Help us to say, "Yes" to You and Your plans for us to carry out the work of Your Kingdom on Earth. Amen.