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The Ache of Being or Having An Achan


                The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction. 
            "Go, consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow; for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: That which is devoted is among you, O Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove it. In the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD takes shall come forward clan by clan; the clan that the LORD takes shall come forward family by family; and the family that the LORD takes shall come forward man by man. He who is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire, along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the LORD and has done a disgraceful thing in Israel!’ ” 
           Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was taken. The clans of Judah came forward, and he took the Zerahites. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was taken. Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. (Joshua 7:10-18) 

            "Sin Separates." It separates us from God, and therefore from God's blessing. As I listen to Christians talk, including myself, I hear many excuses for sin. I also hear whining about God not blessing. This is especially true when we talk about this country. "We are a proud, sinful nation," is repeated in one form or another. Then examples are given of politicians who are corrupt, celebrities who behave shamefully, and groups that deserve the fires of hell. What I don't hear so much is confession and repentance within the Church. We reject marriage and build lives with lovers. We get divorced. We accept the sins of outsiders in the name of "love" so they will "join" us without laying aside their sins, and so sin becomes acceptable within the Church. I've been discussing the issue of abortion with some people who seem to think it's a political issue. It is in a way, but for all our screaming about abortion out in the society at large, what are we doing about abortion within the church? Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments, but live lives of license instead. 
            Then we wonder why the church is nor drawing others to it. We wonder why our nation is in such turmoil. We wonder why those running for office are such horrible people. We wonder why there is so much crime. We steal, we lie, we hide and worse, we proudly display our sin. 
          God told Israel that the Israelite who had stolen from God had to be destroyed by fire along with what he had taken. There is no one free of sin, of course, but God's attitude toward sin has never been "Oh well." It has never been "Well, that's OK." It's time for Christians to put their houses in order. It's time to ask, "Lord, is there some sin that I've been ignoring or haven't noticed?" and then deal with the answer. It may be time to sit down with those loved ones who are in rebellion and tell them that they are loved, but that their behavior needs to change - even if those loved ones are ourselves, and outlining the consequences of their/our choices and actions. I know I need to start going through my internal family (aspects of my life) to find the contraband and burn it. It's a scary decision to make.

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