God's Word For Every Day

“You have… obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them… ” ( Joshua 22:2 , 5 , 6 ). We don’t earn God’s blessing as a reward for our obedience. His blessing is always His gift – but we must never forget this: He gives His blessing to those who are walking with Him in obedience. Remembering that God’s blessing is given by Him and not earned by us, we must not forget to give thanks to Him when we are blessed by Him. We must also remember that we dare not take His blessing for granted. We dare not presume that He will continue to bless us if we do not continue to walk with Him on the pathway of obedience.

Joshua 24:1-33 Help us, Lord, to mean what we say, and say what we mean. May our words of faith by backed up by a life of faith. In our life of faith, may we be unashamed to say, "I'm living this way because I love Jesus. It's not about me. It's about Jesus. He's changing me - "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

This is the story of what God was doing with His people. He was giving them the land he had promised to them. Joshua was to be the leader of God;s people. Joshua’s strength came from the Lord: “Be strong and courageous! ...The Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). The report of the spies - “The Lord has given us the whole country” (Joshua 2:24) - emphasizes that God is in control. God is working out His purpose, His perfect purpose, His purpose of love. It is important to remember this. Without this understanding of the events recorded in the book of Joshua, we will lose our way and fail to see what relevance these events have for us. From these events, we learn that our strength comes from the Lord, who does great things for us because he loves us with a perfect love. The crossing of the River Jordan was a significant event. It was an event to be remembered. It wasn’t just a geographical event. It was more than a movement from one place to another. It was a...

Joshua 3:1-17 Help us, Lord, to be active for You - "the people who know their God will be strong and take action" (Daniel 11:32) -  and to wait upon You - "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31). We need both - prayer and action, seeking Your will and doing Your will. Give us wisdom to know Your will, and courage to do Your will.

Joshua 4:1-24 Lord, You have blessed us so much. Help us never to forget this. We look at the world You have made for us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." We look at the Saviour You have sent to us - and we say, "Thank You, Lord." Why must we keep on remembering You? - We "remember" so that we might learn to fear You (Joshua 4:23-24). We remember so that we may have hope for the future - "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19).

Joshua 5:1-15 Lord, we thank You that Your Son, Jesus, comes to us as more than our personal Saviour. He comes to us as the "commander of the army of the Lord" (Joshua 5:14). We thank You that "Christ, the Royal Master, leads against the foe." We thank You that He leads us "on to victory." Help us to be His faithful followers on His pathway of victory.

Joshua 6:1-27 We thank You, Lord, that victory comes from You - "I have handed Jericho over to you" (Joshua 6:2). Help us to receive Your victory by faith - "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down" (Hebrews 11:30). We don't achieve this victory in our own strength. You give us Your promise of victory. Help us to believe Your promise - to receive the victory as Your gift, to stand upon Your promise and claim the victory that You give to us.

Joshua 16:1-17:18   When, Lord, we settle for anything less than Your very best, we miss out on Your blessing - and we have no blessing to pass on to other people. Help us, Lord, to move out of complacency and into commitment, out of the 'No' attitude - 'no time for You, Lord' - and into the 'Yes' actions - "Yes, Lord, I will follow You, I will serve You."

Joshua 1:1-18 We thank You, Lord, that we have Your wonderful promise - "The Lord your God is with you" - as well as Your clear command - "Be strong" (Joshua 1:9). Without Your promise, the command is no use. Again and again, we fail to keep Your commands. Again and again, we need to be reassured. You are still with us. This is what we need to hear. This is where our strength comes from. It comes from Your promise. It comes from knowing that You never fail us. You have never failed us. You never will fail us.

Joshua 10:16-11:15 We thank You, Lord, that we do not fight against Satan in our own strength. You fight for us (Joshua 10:42). Victory is never our own achievement. It is always Your gift: "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Joshua 22:1-34 Help us, Lord, to hear Your Word, to speak Your Word, and to live Your Word. You speak to us. Are we listening? There are people who need to hear Your Word. Do we fail them? Do we keep Your Word to ourselves? the world is watching us. Are we living for You? In our hearing, speaking and living, help us, Lord, to be, more truly and more fully, all that You want us to be.

Joshua 15:1-63 We thank You, Lord, for Your gift of the Holy Spirit. In Him, You give to us "rivers of living water" (John 7:37-39). How are these "rivers of living water" to flow in us and through us? - We need less of this world - "Do not be conformed to this world" - and more of Your Word - "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

Joshua 11:16-12:24 Where does victory come from? Does it come from ourselves? No! It comes from You, Lord. You give us the victory. We give You the glory: "To God be the glory! Great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave us His Son ... Praise the Lord!"

Joshua 23:1-16 Lord, You have done great things for us. You are still doing great things for us. You will continue to do great things for us. When we say, "Thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings", help us never to take Your blessing for granted. Help us to keep on living in obedience to Your Word. Help us to see, more clearly, the vital connection between obedience and blessing: Keep the obedience going, and the blessing will keep on coming.

Joshua 5:1-15 As you read about circumcision (2-7) and the Passover (10), think also of Paul's words in Romans 2:29 and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 - 'real circumcision is a matter of the heart', 'Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival...with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth'. 'The Commander of the Lord's army' came to Joshua (13-15). Christ comes to us. He calls us to worship. He equips us for battle. 'Christ, the Royal Master, leads against the foe...At the sign of triumph, Satan's legions flee...Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise...Like a mighty army moves the Church of God... Gates of hell can never 'gainst that Church prevail; We have Christ's own promise, and that cannot fail...On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory' ( Church Hymnary , 480).

Joshua 11:16-12:24 What is the spiritual value of this list of victories? Don't be sidetracked by the military aspect. This is not about Israel blowing its own trumpet. It is about giving glory to God. In Genesis 12:1-3 , we have God's promise to bring blessing to all nations. Before Christ came as 'the Saviour of the world ' (John 4:42), Israel was to become 'a great nation' - 'a holy nation', 'a light to the nations' (Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 49:6). This involved the 'curse' on the rebellious peoples who presented a sinful obstacle to God's saving purpose. The Lord is King ! The united people of God won a decisive victory in 'the whole land' (11:23). There was, however, still 'very much land to be possessed' by the individual tribes (13:1). God's Word is preached publicly. It must also be applied personally - by you!

Joshua 24:1-33 Close to the end of his life, Joshua commits himself and his family to the Lord (15,29). Moved by his example, the people commit themselves to the Lord (16-18,21, 24). For Israel, this was a momentous decision - a definite, public commitment to the Lord (24-27). Note the pattern of Joshua's preaching. What God has done for Israel (2-13) is followed by ' Therefore ...' (14). When we are called to make a real commitment, we must ask the searching question, 'Do I really mean it' (19-20). We must commit ourselves to the Lord: 'Fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness' (14). Make your own commitment to the Lord. Give your testimony - 'as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord'. Pray that others will also say 'We will serve the Lord our God and obey Him (15,24). Let us 'serve the Lord all the days' of our life (31).

Joshua 23:1-16 God has done, is doing and will do great things for us (3-5, 8-10). He calls us to 'obey' Him, to 'hold fast' to Him, to 'love' Him (6,8,11). The pattern of Joshua's teaching - 'This is what the Lord has done' (3-5) ' Therefore ' 'This is what you must do' (6-8) - is similar to Paul's approach in Romans and Ephesians. In Romans 1-11 and Ephesians 1-3, Paul grounds his readers in the truth of the Gospel. In Romans 12:1 and Ephesians 4:1, he says, ' Therefore '. Here are the practical implications. In the light of all that the Lord has done for you, this is how you must live for Him. Be strong in the Lord. In Him, we have the victory (10; Psalm 3:6). Maintain your love for God. Don't presume on God's blessing. There is no guarantee of blessing for those who 'turn back' from following the Lord (11-13,15-16). He has not failed us (14). We must not fail Him!

Joshua 20:1-21:45 We read of manslaughter, 'the cities of refuge' and the death of the high priest (20:1-6). What does all this have to do with us? We are sinners. Jesus Christ has died for us. He is our Refuge. He is our Great High Priest. In Him, there is 'no condemnation'. In Him, we become 'a new creation' (Matthew 5:21-22; Romans 5:8; 8:1; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Corinthians 5:17). Israel's story is a human story. It is also the Lord's Story (43-45). We fail God. He never fails us (2 Timothy 2:13). Sin threatens to overwhelm us. The Lord comes to us with His promise of deliverance and victory (Romans 7:21-25; 1 Corinthians 15:56-57). Our spiritual progress is so slow - 'little by little'(Exodus 23:29-30; Deuteronomy 7:22-24). God does not lose patience with us (Psalm 103:8-13). He never stops loving us!

Joshua 18:1-19:51 'How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?' (18:3). God has given us so much: 'His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness'. How much are we giving ourselves to Him? - 'Make every effort to add to your faith...If you do this you will never fail; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ' (2 Peter 1:3-11). In Joshua, we see a fine example of the Christlike spirit - 'not to be served but to serve' (Mark 10:45). After 'they had finished distributing the... land', Joshua received his 'inheritance'. He led with the attitude of a servant. He wasn't 'in it only for what he could get out of it' - the city he chose had to be 'rebuilt' (49-50)!