Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Joshua Study Post 5

Friends on the Frontline....

Read Joshua 1:10-15

Here we pick up with God speaking to Joshua and telling him it is time. The people are finally ready to cross over into their Promised Land. After hearing from God, Joshua calls the leaders of the tribe and tells them to spread the word to their people that they have 3 days to prepare. Just 3 days until they were ready to move into the blessing that God has promised them.

*just a quick side note here that I found interesting, the number 3, scripturally speaking, represents completion: of time; Jesus spent 3 days in the tomb, Moses was hidden from Pharaoh for 3 months & of person; Noah's 3 sons, Abraham's 3 visitors and the most profound, the Holy Trinity. I believe that everything that is in God's word is there for a reason. The fact that He gave the Israelite people 3 days to prepare tells me that their journey was undoubtedly COMPLETE. They had come to the place that He had prepared for them! I love how the Word ties things like that together!!*

Take note in verse 11 that there is a process, a chain of command, if you will, to how instruction is handled. God instructs Joshua. Joshua instructs the leaders. The leaders instruct the people. The people enter into the Promised Land. I believe this applies to us today as well. The Word says that our God is a God of order (1 Cor. 14:33). Many times, God speak through the one He sent, be it a Pastor or other spiritual leader and then they instruct leaders and leaders are to instruct the people.  Too many times, we get this all wrong. Either leaders distort what God says or followers don't care who said what, they aren't moving until they get ready....How often do you think we spend another year wandering in the desert when we could be enjoying the blessings of God just because we don't want to follow His plan of Godly leadership?? (another side note, lol)

In verse 12-15 we see that God calls upon the tribes of Gad  & Reuben & the half tribe of Manasseh to be true to their word. (Num 32:16) They had promised Moses that if he would allot them the land on the East side of the Jordan River that they would lead their fellow Israelites through battle until they had fully laid claim to the land that God had promised them on the other side of the Jordan River. The tribe of Gad, Reuben and half tribe of Manasseh had already been blessed greatly! They had already started building homes for their families and pens for their livestock. Their futures were looking great. They could have easily just decided to sit back and enjoy their blessings. However, I feel that God uses this situation to show us that we are blessed to bless others. This verse, i believe, urges us to remember that we are all part of the same body! God blesses us, and YES He wants us to enjoy those blessings, but He also wants us to use them to proclaim His glory. We are not to just sit back and enjoy our blessings and retire from the fight because we got ours! We still have work to do! If we ever forget that, we are in danger of losing the very things that we are sitting back and enjoying (Job 1:21). He blesses us so that we can be a blessing!

Just like the tribes of Gad, Reuben and half tribe of Manasseh, we are called to fight for one another. In our world today, we may not be called to fight physically for one another. We may not have to don body armor or swords to help each other defeat our enemies, but that doesn't make us any less responsible! We CAN and should be fighting for each other spiritually. We should be covering our brothers and sisters in prayer "until the Lord gives them rest". We should be fighting for them on our knees. Donning ourselves with the armor of God and helping them fight their enemies in the spiritual realm! What a great, humbling responsibility!!

Joshua Study Post 4

Called to Courage

"Courage is knowing the worst -- and discovering that, in God's world, the very worst can't really hurt you."

Read Joshua 1:6-9

The above quote is from the caregiver of, George Smith, a courageous test pilot who became the first person to survive a supersonic ejection. He survived, with grave injuries, and feared flying again...He believed, in his caregiver's words, he found the anecdote to fear.
(If you'd like to read the entire story of Mr. Smith, you can find it here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,866662,00.html)

Now, on to Joshua....He knew what it was to be a "survivor" too. He had seen the worst. He was a former Egyptian Slave, former wilderness wanderer & he had seen many of his people die in the desert. He had plenty of reason to be afraid! However, Joshua portrayed strong courage early on. When the majority of spies sent in to inspect the Promised Land came back shaking in their sandals, Joshua boldly said,   

"Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Num 14:9)

He was a BRAVE soldier! Joshua had a lot to be intimidated by when he was being called to fill Moses shoes. However, God made certain that Joshua had the true anecdote to fear!

In our text today 3 times God says "be strong" to a man probably feeling weak. 3 times He instructed "have courage" to a timid leader. God told Joshua 2 times to not be afraid. Then and now, God faithfully gives and speaks strength to the faint. However, I believe that our admittance to weakness is what opens the door to receive God's strength. We have to readily admit our weaknesses to God so that we can accept His strength in those places. That is true courage...trading my weaknesses and anxieties for His strength. I read this quote today,

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of faith despite fear." -Unknown

God calls us to be courageous and strong, just as He did Joshua. Even when we ARE afraid, even when we are intimidated or discouraged. We are called to have faith even in those times. That is when we are truly courageous. Courage is the strength that enables us to withstand those times. God is calling us (me & you!) to courage. He isn't calling us to be always fearless or never feel weak...because, rest assured, those days will come... but instead He is calling us to have faith in Him DESPITE those times! Trusting in Him when the storms of life are raging. That's COURAGEOUS!

I am going to write down these verses (Joshua 1:6-9) and put them where I can see them in the mornings. I want to pray these verses when I wake up in the mornings...pray them over my family...How great if all of our children and husbands heard us pray over them everyday to "Be Strong and for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go"??

Be of Good Courage today!! =)

Joshua Study Post 3

Blessings or Curses....

Read Joshua 1:3-5

We are actually going to cover more than one verse this time!! :)

Just to quickly recap; Moses has passed away and Joshua has now been appointed the new leader of the Isrealites. God has spoken and told Joshua to get up (get going, move on!) and lead the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the land He is about to give them. As we move into verse 3  God promises to give the Israelites every place that they step their foot on...Why do you think God words it that way? That caught my attention. Why wouldn't God just say, "I've given you all this land. It's all for you...it's yours"? I believe that He is teaching us a lesson in obedience. He tells Moses in Deut. 11:24-28,

24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go. 26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse—27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

God says that blessing comes when we OBEY His commands. He gives the Israelites a promise, AND He gives them a command in order to receive it. Every piece of land that they step foot on will be theirs, He promises that....but in order to receive it, they have to step foot on it! They have to trust that He is going to do what He said He would do and make all of their enemies fear them. They have to have FAITH that He is going to come through for Joshua just as He promised Moses.

Even with the promise that this land would be theirs, they never fully possessed it all. Do you know that part of the reason they never fully possessed it all is because of disobedience? (Joshua 7) Did you also know that the reason Moses never got to enter into the promised land was because of disobedience? (Num 20:11-12) God takes this requirement seriously!

Isn't it true that God requires this same obedience from us today?? Check 2 Cor 2:14, Isa 54:17 & Heb 13:5 for just a few examples of the promises He gives us concerning our protections. He's got our back!! God tells us that we can have victory over all things. He tells us that He will provide us everything we need (Phil 4:19). However; some of God's promises come with an offer as well as an obligation. Our obligations is to be obedient. In the scripture above God reminded Moses that obedience is the key to unlocking either blessing or curse. We are called to give God rule and authority over every part of our lives...and He will bless us. Just as the Israelites were given every part of the land. All they had to do was go there, step foot on it. Obey. They did not & they never possessed all that He promised them! In the same way, we can hold back places in our life from God and never gain victory over them.

Are there places of your life, circumstances that you haven't "stepped foot" on yet? Are there promises that you don't possess because of disobedience? God wants to give us the promises of deliverance from every stronghold, burden, sin and oppression that we have in our lives...we just have to "step foot" on it. Acknowledge it's there and give it to Him and have FAITH that He will fulfill his promise. Faith is a hard thing...

Thoughts?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Joshua Study Post 2

Equipped through Experience....
Read Joshua 1:2

We didn't get very far into the text yesterday and we aren't going to get very far today... :) I promise we'll move along more quickly after the first week!Just  lots speaking to me here in the beginning!

So, we read in verse 2 that God chose and called (literally) Joshua to become the next leader of the Hebrew people. This wasn't unexpected nor was Joshua unprepared for it. The people were aware, they knew that Joshua would be their new leader (Num 27:18-19) Even so, I have to believe that Joshua may have been a little intimidated. We are talking a group of possibly close to 2 million people here!! I'm sure Joshua spent quite a bit of time wondering how he was going to manage as a leader. If Joshua is like us (though not a woman :) lol) he may have battled some insecurity with being prepared for what lay before him. That's what I want to talk about today. If we look back in the history of Joshua's ministry to Moses, we see that all along, throughout his life experiences, God was preparing Joshua for his role as leader to the Hebrew people. He had life experience in battle,        (Ex 17:8-13), He had life experience meeting with God (Ex 33:7-11), He had life experience in being persecuted for his faith (Num 14:6-9)...All of these things that Joshua went through, while not always ideal or comfortable, were necessary. They were necessary to equip him for the role that he would fill in the future. God was preparing him all along for a greater purpose. His pain, his persecution were all for a greater purpose!

I'm convinced that God still does this in our lives today. I believe that He is preparing each and every one of us, just as He did Joshua, for a greater purpose. The trials we live through. The circumstances we face. The hurt we endure...He can use it all! I ask you...think back over your life. Think about the things that you have been through. Good and bad. Now look at where you are today. Can you see how God was preparing you? Can you see His fingerprints on those things? Maybe not. Maybe you are not where you are purposed to be yet....maybe you are in the middle of a Joshua "life experience". If so, try to look at it with this perspective. Instead of a trial...consider it training.

Lord, I ask you to bless each and every woman in this study group. I ask that You surround them with Your love and Your grace. God, help all of us to be like Joshua when we are faced with the trials of this life. Don't let us be like the Israelites who are so quick to give up and walk out on the promises that we have in You. In every circumstance help us to consider the purpose and not focus on the pain. Hlelp us, through this study, learn to live a life without fear in You! I love you, Lord! Amen (So be it!)

Joshua Study Post 1

A Fresh Start...

Read Joshua 1:1-2

This book starts out with a sad event...Moses, the servant of the Lord, is dead. After he leads the Israelites to the borders, his work was done. Joshua, the servant of the servant of the Lord, was called upon to step up and take his masters place. Now, just go with me for a moment...Just reading and studying out the text it's very apparent that Moses and Joshua had a very close relationship through their time together. Although Moses was appointed by God to deliver His people from slavery, he understood early on that Joshua would be the one to lead them into freedom. (Duet 3:27) Moses took Joshua everywhere with him. Protected him (Ex 27:9-14), corrected him (Num 11:26-30) and introduced him to the intimate relationship with God (Ex 33:11).....Now, I say all that to say this; Joshua is grieving the loss of his mentor and friend when God speaks to him..."Moses, my servant is dead"....Why do you think God starts out this way? I mean, Joshua has just spent 30 days weeping for the loss of his friend..surely he has not forgotten that he is dead! Do you think that, maybe, God is just reminding Joshua of the facts so that he can accept them? Maybe Joshua is like us...we need to be reminded at times to move forward. We sometimes need someone to look us in the face and say "It's over", "It's the end", "It's gone"....not to hurt us or cause us despair, but to cause us assurance! To help us realize that we must get up and get a fresh start.Through Moses' death the Israelites and Joshua got a fresh start. Now they can move into the promised land. Have there been times in your life that death has brought about new life? For instance the death of a habit bringing out new possibilities....or the death of a plan you have for your own life bringing out a new vision for God's better plan?

What things might you need to die to in order to bring new life to your life so that you can move into your promised land?

What do you think? Thoughts to add....insight?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Life. Liberty. The Pursuit of Happiness?

Studying the book Radical with my church family and Pastor Brad preached an amazing message this past Sunday. (You can listen here) We are on chapter 8 - Living when Dying is Gain. 


Life and society is full of quotes and people who say "Do what makes YOU happy!" And at first thought, you think, YES! I want to be happy! Happy is good! I love being Happy!! and the truth is, we all do. Being happy feels great. However, In Matthew 5 Jesus sends His disciples out with instructions that are so opposing to "doing what makes you happy."  This is the Message version, emphasis mine;




5 Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:6 Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood.7 Tell them that the kingdom is here.8 Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously. 9 "Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start.10 You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light. 11 "When you enter a town or village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave. 12 "When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting.13 If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation.14 If they don't welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.15 You can be sure that on Judgment Day they'll be mighty sorry-but it's no concern of yours now.16 "Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.17 "Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation-just because you believe in me.18 Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you-and me-a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news!19 And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there;20 the Spirit of your Father will supply the words. 21 "When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family.22 There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end.23 It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived. 24 "A student doesn't get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn't make more money than his boss.25 Be content-pleased, even-when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. If they call me, the Master, 'Dungface,' what can the workers expect? 26 "Don't be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are.27 So don't hesitate to go public now. 28 "Don't be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life-body and soul-in his hands.....




Ummmm.....Nothing about those instructions makes me think "happy".....Maybe "doing hazardous work" and having people "smear your reputation" = happiness for you?? Not me! If we believe this Word and claim to live it out, the mission of God has nothing to do with making ourselves happy...nothing to do with comfort. What a Radical thought? What if the places where we are at risk, are at the center of God's will?? The places where we don't feel all the sunshine and roses, the places where we are least comfortable, the places where we feel like we are "unsettled" or unwanted, the places where we feel like we have to work really hard .....

All of us want to be happy. We all love to smile and laugh and be comfortable. But what if He is calling us to so much more than that while we are here on Earth? Are the promises that He makes us when we do what He has called us to do worth it? He calls us to do HARD things! He calls us to be "wolves among sheep" when we'd rather be sheep among wolves! or even just sheep among sheep! He promises us things that are eternal. He asks us to trade these temporary things for His things that are eternal. It's hard for us to have an eternal mindset. We want to "FEEL" happy, comfortable and do what we think we should. What we think will give us the most joy....When in reality, it's not about us at all.... 

The author ends chapter 8 this way; 



"When we consider the promises of Christ, risking everything we have and everything we are for His sake is no longer a matter of sacrifice, it's just common sense. Following Christ is not so much sacrificial as it is smart. Jim Elliot once said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." -Radical, David Platt


Hard things. I know there are lots of changes that need to come into my life. It's like changing your whole thought pattern. Radical change, from the core of who you are. Reversing your thinking to think like Christ. Revolting against everything that society says about how we should think....I think He's worth it. I'm convinced enough to want to try.

What He says at the in the second half of Matthew 5 is enough for me to want to; 

37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me.38 "If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me.39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

This book is doing amazing things in our lives! Seeking and seeing God like never before.


Blessings!! 
Misty