Category Archives: Joshua

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A Promise Made Is A Promise Kept

God’s Got All Your Concerns Covered

SYNOPSIS: Do you have either a nagging concern distracting you or an overwhelming burden pulling you down? The good news is there is a promise in the Bible that covers all your concerns and burdens: “God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV) Did you catch that? EVERYTHING! So fulfill your end of the promise: take your concerns to God in prayer, obey what he tells you to do, trust his loving care and complete competence to meet the need, then stand on his promises. You see, with God, a promise made is a promise kept.

Moments With God // Focus: Joshua 21:45

Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

What a great verse! Toward the end of the Book of Joshua, after Israel had conquered their enemies and had taken possession of their promised land, Israel’s brilliant commander, Joshua, made this declaration: not a single one of God’s promises remained unfulfilled. What an amazing testimony about God’s faithfulness. But more than just a significant piece to ancient Israel’s historical record, the author of the book, inspired by the true Author, God, included this line so that you and I would know that since he is the same yesterday, today, and forever, this will be our experience with God as well.

A certain Bible scholar pointed out that God has made over 6,000 promises to us in the Bible  Some of those promises are universal in nature—all believers anytime and anywhere who are walking in obedience to his commands can claim them  Other promises are quite specific to certain people at certain times, and the Holy Spirit reveals them to us through prayer and the study of God’s Word in response to situations that arise in our lives.

Whether God’s promises are universal or personal, what we are taught repeatedly in the Bible, including this verse in Joshua, is that God is a promise maker, and more importantly, God is a promise keeper  The fact is, God has never broken a promise—not even one  I can’t say that about me, and you probably can’t say that about you, but we can say that with complete certainty about God  With him, a promise made is a promise kept.

When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we would often sing a song about God’s promises that went something like this:

Every promise in the Book is mine
Every chapter, every verse, every line.
I am standing on his Word Divine,
Every promise in the Book is mine!

Over 6,000 promises—and he will bring every single one of them to pass  Here are just a few of those 6,000 promises that are for you  Upon which one will you “stand” today and every day until God fulfills it in your life?

  • That he will forgive all your sins  (Psalm 103:3)
  • That he will supply all of your needs  (Phil 4:19)
  • That he will never leave you or forsake you  (Heb 13:5)
  • That he will give you Divine wisdom for your lack of human understanding  (Jas 1:5)
  • That he will turn all of your circumstances to your good and for his glory  (Rom 8:28)

What is your area of concern  A promise covers it, so look it up in God’s Word  Fulfill your end of the promise—that’s the big caveat here—and then rest in God’s proven character  What is your end  Pray, obey, trust, and stand  Do that, and you can plant your feet firmly in the certainty of God’s Word because a promise made is kept with him.

Yes, you can expect that “God will perfect everything that concerns you.” (Psalm 138:8, NKJV)

Take A Moment: Are you “standing” on a specific promise  Are you praying, asking God to fulfill it  Are you offering him a life of obedience in your attitude and actions  If not, why not  Don’t leave any of those 6,000 promises on the table  Your Father wants to fulfill them in your life.

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God’s Unseen But Unstoppable Work On Your Behalf

There’s More Going On That What You See

SYNOPSIS: You may not see what God is up to, but He’s up to good. He’s fulfilling His purposes for His own glory and working out the details of your life for your good. Don’t let circumstances tell you otherwise. You may be tempted to flee in fear and God’s enemies may be fighting mad—at you. But at the same time, God is repurposing even the most unlikely sources, the Rahabs in your world, as instruments of faith.

Unseen But Not Unstoppable

Moments With God // Joshua 2:7-11

So the king’s men went looking for the spies along the road leading to the shallow crossings of the Jordan River. And as soon as the king’s men had left, the gate of Jericho was shut. Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed. No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

God is always at work, even when we cannot see it. God is always fulfilling His glorious purposes, which includes perfecting everything that concerns you and me. That is what King David reminds us of in Psalm 138:8

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me.

At times, God is working in visible, dramatic, undeniable ways. We will see an example of that very thing a few chapters later in Joshua when the walls of the city of Jericho miraculously fall. Those kinds of stories are strategically placed throughout scripture to build our confidence in God.

But between those faith stories which are long stretches of times — we might call it the “in-between times” — God’s work is not so visible. He is not inactive, mind you; His work is just invisible. You see, most of the time God is behind the scenes, working in unseen ways, as is the case here in Joshua 2. The Israelite spies that Joshua sent out to size up Jericho have made their way into the city, but word has gotten out and now the authorities are looking for them. Their lives are at risk. They don’t see that God is at work — yet. For all they know, they’re toast!

Then Rehab rescues the day. Yes, Rahab—an idol worshipping, street walking, “lady of the night.” At great risk to her own life, and that of her family, she hides the spies and tricks the authorities, making it possible for the two deep cover Israeli agents to make it out alive. What the two spies didn’t know at the time was that God was working on their behalf by working on a prostitute, whom He would use in such a significant act of faith that her bravery would land her in God’s Great Hall of Faith. (Heb 11:30-31)

As she spoke with the spies, this lady of questionable character was laying down some unquestionable theology: the work of God on Israel’s behalf was striking fear in the hearts of Israel’s enemies. His mighty acts of deliverance forty years prior in Egypt and over the decades of Israel’s wandering out in the desert had been sending shock waves into the unseen realm, and the principalities and powers that opposed God, and everything of God, were now quaking in their boots. God had been at work all along on Israel’s behalf, and they didn’t even know it.

What is interesting here is how the different actors respond. The enemies of God are fighting mad. The men of God are fleeing in fear. The woman of the night is responding in faith. And over it all, God is at work, fulfilling His purposes and perfecting everything that concerns His people—redeeming a prostitute, rescuing the spies, and redirecting the bounty hunters.

That is true for you too. You may not see what God is up to, but He is up to good. He is fulfilling His purposes for His own glory, and He is working out the details of your life for your good. Don’t let circumstances tell you otherwise. You may be tempted to flee in fear and God’s enemies may be fighting mad—at you. But at the same time, God will be repurposing even the most unlikely sources, the Rahabs in your world, as instruments of faith.

What you see isn’t all that is going on. Never forget that. And learn to trust God’s unseen but unstoppable work on your behalf.

Take A Moment: You may be facing forces today that are out to cause you harm. Take courage: God is also aligning a Rahab or two to work on your behalf. Take a moment to thank God for the good he is bringing about, even if you don’t see it yet.

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God Over History

Get on the Right Side of It

SYNOPSIS: God is over history. The biblical record over thousands of years proves it. The story of twenty centuries of Christianity bears it out. Our faith affirms it. God is sovereign over the affairs of this world, he is in control of all things, and he is in charge of you. So go with God and you will be on the right side of history.

The Journey// Focus: Joshua 24:2-5, 14

Joshua said to the Israelites, “the Lord your God says to you…‘you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.”

These are the final words of General Joshua to the people of Israel, He is passing the baton after four decades of extraordinary leadership and victory after victory—a conquest for the ages. And he is recounting the activity of God for the people, reminding them of the sovereign hand of God in the entire history of Israel. God is over history.

It was God who selected their idol-worshipping ancestors out of a pagan culture and made them his own. It was God who sent Abraham and Jacob into Egypt. It was God who brought the nation back out of Egyptian slavery with great signs and wonders. It was God who fought for Israel during their wilderness journey, destroying each enemy nation that stood in their way. He provided food and water for them in the desert; he formed them from a collection of slaves into a mighty nation. It was God who drove out the inhabitants of Canaan and brought them into the Promised Land—a land flowing with milk and honey. God did it for them. God is over history.

Let us never forget what Joshua was so clear about: God is over history. That was true for the Israelites—proven over the several hundred years between Abraham’s call and Israel’s conquest of Canaan; that has been true over the two thousand years between Christ’s ascension and the present moment; that will be true between now and the Second Coming. God is over history.

We may not see the hand of God in the everyday details of our world, or of our lives, but history proves that God is over history. That is why Joshua’s charge to the Israelites is a charge that is valid for God’s people today—including you and me:

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

If God is over history, why would we not serve him in faithfulness? Why would we depend on any other source for provision and protection? Why would we worship the other gods of our culture—fame and fortune, power and pleasure? Why would we not wholeheartedly follow the one and only God over history? When you stop and think about it, any other choice but loving obedience to the Lord our God just doesn’t make any sense at all.

God is over history. So go with God. Get on the right side of history!

Going Deeper: Are you leaning on any source other than God for security, success or significance? Put God first! Repent where you have allowed allegiance to other gods to creep in and declare your undying loyalty to the God who is over history.

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Promises Made – Promises Kept

Uncontainable Favor

When you are fully devoted to the Lord your God, you will not be able to contain the favor that God pours out upon your life. And along the journey, at each step you take, you will enjoy God’s protection, power, provision and presence. You will have to accept that by faith now, but over time, that will be the testimony of your life as well. With God, a promise made is a promise kept.

The Journey// Focus: Joshua 23:2-5, 14

Joshua said to the Israelites, “I am now a very old man. You have seen everything the Lord your God has done for you during my lifetime. The Lord has fought for you against your enemies. I have allotted to you as your homeland all the land of the nations yet unconquered, as well as the land of those we have already conquered—from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. This land will be yours, for the Lord your God will himself drive out all the people living there now. You will take possession of their land, just as the Lord promised you….Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!”

The book of Joshua is bookended by promises made and promises kept. Which, by the way, is the story of God. He is a promise making and promise keeping God. Of course, his promises are conditioned upon our obedience. For every promise made, God gives a corresponding warning, which is the case here as well:

But just as all the good things the Lord your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the Lord your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. If you violate the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you. (Joshua 23:15-16)

While some may see these warnings in scripture as dark and threatening, I see them as God’s unrelenting desire to bless his people. He so longs to fulfill his promises to Israel, and to us—“Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Joshua 23:14)—that he is continually clear about what will hinder his abundant goodness in our lives.

In Joshua 1, God generously makes Israel’s new leader, General Joshua, promise after promise: military victory, success as a leader, divine abundance—if he will carefully follow the law of God and step out with bold, courageous leadership. And if that weren’t enough, God adds a few more promises: his protection, power, provision and presence. The first chapter in this journal of Israel’s conquest is full of the promises of God. God is a promise maker.

And God is a promise keeper. Joshua 23 is this old leader’s testimony that God has been faithful to his covenant. Over the thirty-five years since the Lord commissioned Joshua, he has been true to his word at every turn. He has driven out all of Israel’s enemies, given them victory at every turn, and brought them into a land where the fields have already been plowed, the orchards have already been planted, the roads have already been laid, and the houses have already been built. (Joshua 24:13) Even when the challenges were great and the enemies were overwhelming, God has been with them. And now, God has indeed given them their Promised Land. He has fulfilled every one of his promises. The Lord is a covenantly faithful, promise keeping, very good God

Personally, Joshua had known God’s protection, power, provision and presence. While Joshua had accepted that by faith in chapter 1, over three decades later he could now stand before Israel and in reality say to them, “not a single promise has failed.

What was true for Joshua and the Israelites is true for you as well. When you are fully devoted to the Lord your God, you will not be able to contain the favor that God pours out upon your life. And along the journey, at each step you take, you, too, will enjoy God’s protection, power, provision and presence. You will have to accept that by faith now, but over time, that will be the testimony of your life as well.

As I think about these two bookend chapters, I realize that I have been in ministry about the same length of time that Joshua led Israel. There had been times where the challenges were so great and I felt overwhelmed, out-gunned and on the brink. There were moment when I didn’t know if I could stand up under the pressure. But guess what? I’m still standing. Why, because I’m so great? Not at all! It is all because God made some promises—and then kept each one of them.

With God, a promise made is a promise kept.

Going Deeper: Someone has counted all the divine promises in the Bible and apparently came up with around 6,000. Read a couple of them today. Those are for you. So just rejoice ahead of time that God will fulfill every single promise on your behalf.

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Pay Attention To The Benediction

Your Pastor's Weekly Reminder of God's Faithfulness

A good pastoral benediction is a reminder, a command, a promise of blessing all wrapped into one. It reminds us of who God is—the One who is great and awesome and rightly deserving of our loyal worship; of what we are called to do—to walk humbly, dependently and dutifully before him; and what he will do as a result—bless our socks off. It is powerful and meaningful, and it bears repeating week after week as we leave the gathering of saints to go back into our respective worlds.

The Journey // Focus: Joshua 22:5-6

Be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home.

I am not sure how you feel about your pastor’s benediction. Maybe you zone out when he or she gives the final blessing. Perhaps you treat it like the flight attendant giving you the safety speech before takeoff. Or maybe the blessing is code for “I better pick my lane now so I can beat the crowd out of the parking lot—don’t want to get stuck in the back of the buffet line!” It could be that your church tradition has no tradition of benediction—I have been in churches where the final word from the pastor is something akin to “well, see ya later!”

Or it could be that the blessing at the end of your worship experience is a very big deal to you. I hope it is. And if it isn’t, I hope from this point on you will stop, listen closely, and absorb those words as not just from your pastor, but as words of blessing from God himself. That is the intention of the biblical benediction. And if your church doesn’t have that experience, encourage your spiritual leader to offer the blessing you so crave from God through his or her formal blessing.

In a sense, Joshua was the proto-pastor. He was leading his people into battle, settling them into their new life in Canaan, establishing worship practices of the spiritual community, and getting them ready for a transition of leadership as he came to the end of his assignment. He had done his duty, and he had done it well. There was victory on every side and it was now time for Israel to settle into a season of peace. After he had finished dividing up the land, he now spoke to the tribes who had decided to take land on the east side of the church. They had faithfully done their part in helping their brother tribes conquer the west side of the river. Now Joshua was ready to dismiss them, and he did with this benediction—and it pretty well covered all the bases:

As you go, obey. Do what God has commanded. Love him with all your heart. Walk the walk of your faith. Trust the Lord completely. Serve him with joy and gladness. Do that and God will multiply his manifold blessings in your lives beyond your wildest belief.

Those words were a reminder, a command, a promise of blessing all wrapped into one. And that is always the case with a good benediction. It reminds us of who God is—the One who is great and awesome and rightly deserving of our loyal worship, of what we are called to do—to walk humbly, dependently and dutifully before him, and what he will do as a result—bless our socks off.

That is the pastoral blessing. It is powerful and meaningful, and it bears repeating week after week as we leave the gathering of saints to go back into our respective worlds. Not just as empty liturgy, it is to invoke the blessings of Almighty God for this particular week. Just like saying grace before a meal is recognizing our constant dependence on God for daily bread, so in the benediction, the pastor says, “God I commit this people to you again today. Bless with safety and provision as they go their way, and bring them back as the community of faith the next time we gather. Amen.”

And as I close this devotional blog, as you go your way, let me offer this benediction over your life today:

May the Lord bless you and protect you.
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.

By the way, when that benediction was originally delivered in Numbers 6, we are told that it was literally God himself who was pronouncing it upon the people through the spiritual leader who delivered it. That is still the case when you receive the pastoral blessing.

May God bless you!

Going Deeper: Take a moment to receive the blessing pronounced above as from God himself.

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Game. Set. Match.

God Will Leave None of His Promises Unfulfilled

SYNOPSIS: In Israel’s conquest of their Promised Land, the day came when their leader Joshua declared, “mission accomplished!” God had given all their enemies into their hands and fulfilled all of his good promises to them. Game! Set! Match! That is a true picture of the believer’s journey with God—periods of walking, waiting and working, but never any wasted timed. God is leading and guiding, strengthening, purifying and tempering us into a holy people fit to possess his promises. And at stages in the journey, he brings us to places of victory and rest. We should anticipate those places, pray for them, and cooperate with God to get there as quickly as we can—knowing that our stubbornness, rebellion and lack of trust will slow the journey down. And when we get there, we should continually remember that it was the good Lord who gave us the victory. Game! Set! Match!

The Journey // Focus: Joshua 21:43-45

So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

Total victory! It might take a while to get there, and it will involve hard work, sacrifice along with a no-giving-up spirit, but when we are on God’s side and God is on ours, like Joshua and the Israelites, there will come a day when the Lord will give all our enemies into our hands and every single one of his good promises will be fulfilled to us. Game. Set. Match. And God will smile, for the truest and best victory is the smile of God.

For Israel, that took a very long time. Some of that extended time was the result of their stubbornness and rebellion—they had to repeat first grade: some of it was simply the nature of conquest—remember, this wasn’t a field trip, this was warfare, and warfare requires grit and determination; some of it gets chalked up to the sovereign ways of God—he lives outside of human time, so he is not a clock-watcher like we are as he develops his people into champions for life.

Not only did Israel’s journey take a long time, but it was full of hardship, battle and testing. Again, chalk that up to the sovereign ways of God—he was preparing his people for possessing his promises, and they needed to first be tempered. Yes, it took a long period of walking, then waiting, then working, followed by a long period of working, then waiting, then walking some more, but none of the time was wasted.

Finally, the day came when Joshua declared, at least for this stage of Israel’s journey with God, “mission accomplished!” Game. Set. Match. God had given all their enemies into their hands and fulfilled all of his good promises to them.

That is a true picture of the believer’s journey with God—periods of walking, waiting and working, but never any wasted timed. God is leading and guiding, strengthening, purifying and tempering us into a holy people fit to possess his promises. And at stages in the journey, he brings us to places of victory and rest. We should anticipate those places, pray for them, and cooperate with God to get there as quickly as we can—knowing that our stubbornness, rebellion and lack of trust will slow the journey down. And when we get there, we should continually remember that it was the good Lord who gave us the victory.

Game! Set! Match! That is the story the good Lord has pre-written about your life and mine. And while there will be other conquests until we reach heaven, when you reach victory in the present moment of challenge, remember who gave it to you. When you overcome a sin, receive an answer, and achieve a success, remember that it was the good Lord giving you a win over your enemies and fulfilling his good promises to you.

Likewise, remember that since God has a history of giving victory and fulfilling promises in your life, he will definitely be there for the next conquest, too. He is true to his character and faithful to his covenant with you—always. And he will never fail you—never!

So enjoy the victory of this moment and be encouraged with whatever tomorrow holds. And between now and heaven, get ready to hear it a lot:

Game. Set. Match.

Going Deeper: Are you in a season of victory—even just a small one? Rejoice—give God the glory!

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The Accommodating God

He Keeps An Eye On His Kids

Nothing about our lives is too small for God’s involvement. He is a loving, caring, engaging Father to his people. Back in the days of the Canaanite conquest, he held Israel’s hand and settled them into a land of their own for the first time. And what was true of God then is just as true of God today: He keeps an eye on his children, watching over even the minutiae of their lives, making accommodation for their weaknesses yet guiding them into the righteous living that is necessary for his gracious blessings upon them. So be encouraged today, because God cares about your life—every last detail of it.

The Journey // Focus: Joshua 20:1-3, 9

The Lord said to Joshua, “Now tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed Moses. Anyone who kills another person accidentally and unintentionally can run to one of these cities; they will be places of refuge from relatives seeking revenge for the person who was killed…. And he must continue to live in that city until the death of the high priest who was in office at the time of the accident. After that, he is free to return to his own home in the town from which he fled.

The more I study scripture, the more impressed I am with God. I mean, I already love him, serve him, and worship him wholeheartedly, but as I get to know him more and more over the years, the more amazed I am at who he is—his character, his benevolence, his love for his people. And here in Joshua 20 as we learn of the cities of refuge he commanded of Joshua, I am struck with how accommodating toward his people he is.

We develop some very interesting ideas about God along the way; some of them entirely wrong and inaccurate, some of them flat-out heretical, some of them misguided and some of them incomplete. Mostly our tainted views of God come from second-hand information—learning about him from extra-biblical sources, like parents, Sunday School teachers, club leaders, etc. Now there is nothing wrong with learning from the people who disciple us; that is actually the way of God. And we depend upon others to help form our understanding of God when we are children or new believers. So I am in favor of human teachers and deeply appreciative of what they do for us. After all, I am one!

But sometimes we end up with a view of God that has not been informed directly by the Word of God. That is why we can develop a view of God that sees him as detached from our daily lives and common concerns, or that sees him as angry and spoiling to judge us, or as a grandfatherly type deity in the cosmos who winks at sin and is at our beck and call to give us our every wish. If you hold that view of the Almighty, it didn’t come from scripture, it came from people.

But at some point, we need to know God from scripture. When we do, we quickly learn that he is not perpetually angry, or disconnected or wishy-washy about sin. In fact, we see from this chapter which details his prescription for dealing with accidental deaths in the community that he is very much concerned about both justice (the righteous punishment for sin) and the accommodation of our human frailty (his anticipation that there will be accidental deaths among the human race). Furthermore, we see in the founding of these cities of refuge that God didn’t merely give rigid, inflexible rules to govern the social and legal needs of his people, but he took into consideration that there would be some gray areas of the law as well as highly reactive human emotions to accidents and grievances. It also shows us that God went to great links to provide practical guidance for even the mundane matters of human life. Actually, it shows us that nothing about our lives is too small for his involvement.

God is a loving, caring, involved Father to his people. That was true back in the days of the conquest as he held the Israelite’s hand and settled them into a land of their own for the first time. And what was true of God back then is just as true of God today: he keeps an eye on his children, watching over the smallest of details of their lives, making accommodation for their weaknesses yet guiding them into the righteous living that is necessary for the release of his gracious blessings.

So be encouraged. God cares about your life—every last detail of it.

Going Deeper: Is there a minor detail in your life that is bothering you, but perhaps you feel it is too small of an issue to involve God? Let me encourage you to lift that concern to your Heavenly Father in prayer today. Believe that he cares about it and he cares about you!