“But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.”  Joshua 6:25

What if your son were dating a prostitute and brought her to the family reunion to meet everyone?  What would the family say?  What would grandma think?   What if he brought her to church with your family on Sunday?  How would the people there respond?  How would they look at him?  At you and your husband?  Would she be welcome?

Today I was reading about Rahab, a prostitute from a wicked and doomed city.  But God worked in her life and there is a phrase full of such grace and mercy—it is the last line of the verse for this devotion.  â€œshe lives among the Israelites to this day.”  

That’s what God does.  Jesus found a way for us to have a home among God’s people.  He paid for our sins on the cross, he removed them from our shoulders and put them on his.  He gave Rahab a new life and to this day she, by his grace, is still living among God’s people—and we have a home there as well.  

So if you have had a bad day, or a bad week and you really messed up, remember Rahab.  Remember that Jesus died for your sin as well as hers!  

And if you have a friend or member who has had some major blunders, remember Rahab.  Remember that God invited her into his fold, into his flock, and she lives with them to this day.

Ask the Lord

Dear Lord,
Thank you for washing me clean with your blood.  I was covered in my sin and you scrubbed me clean and welcomed me into your perfect and clean arms.  Help me also to see other Christians in this light.  Remind me that no matter what they've done, you have washed them clean as well.  Give me the love to forget their wrongs to me and welcome them into our family.
Thank you, loving and gracious Father,
Amen.