Joshua 6
As I continue to read through the book of Joshua, the work of the Israelites, the work of Joshua, and more importantly the work of God continue to amaze me. In Joshua chapter 6 God gives Joshua the orders to march around the city of Jericho and on the seventh day march around the city seven times, have the priest blow their horns, and have the people shout and the walls will fall down and the Israelites will be able to take everything in Jericho. Let us not forget that Rahab the PROSTITUTE (who hid the spies) still lives in Jericho. Isn't that funny that's the way that we sometimes view Rahab or other people who are caught in sin. Yeah I mean we view them capitalized and in bold type, like they are some type of disease. Yet we fail to realize that we have our own disease that continually hold us back from doing what God called us to do. Let me remind you what Joshua 6:24,25 say.
Joshua 6:24,25--"Then the Israelites burned the town and everything in it. Only the things made fro silver, gold, bronze, or iron were kept for the treasury of the LORD"S house. So Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute and her relatives who were with her in the house, because she had hidden the spies Joshua sent to Jericho. And she lives among the Israelites to this day."
Rahb is also mentioned in Hebrews 11:30-31--"It was by faith that the people of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came crashing down. It was by faith that Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies."
The plain fact is both you and I have sin in our lives but by faith we can be heros of the faith as well!
IN HIM <><
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Leadership
Joshua 3 & 4
Ok, this little thought is for those in Church leadership or any type of leadership. So to my friends who follow this I hope that this helps. Joshua remember from yesterday is trying to fill the leadership shoes of Moses, which I must say are pretty big SHOES ("mama said, these were my running shoes"*Thanks Forest*). Joshua chapter 3 God is giving Joshua a message to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, which must have seemed impossible with having to carry the Ark of the Covenant and getting all those people across a river which was flowing out of its banks at the time. Here is where I found Joshua becoming a great leader in the eyes of the Lord and how you and I can be the leaders like we see in the scripture, the leaders or heros of the faith like we see in Hebrews 11.
Joshua 3:7--"The LORD told Joshua, Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as i was with Moses."(NLT)
God tells Joshua that He (the LORD) is going to make Joshua a great leader not that there is anything spectacular that Joshua can do to make himself a great leader. It will take some hard work for Joshua to continue to listen to what the LORD is saying to him but God is the one who is going to really make Joshua a true leader of the faith. This would only come if Joshua would do what the Lord told him to do, which he did.
I believe that sometimes we fall into this mindset that says, "God needs me". Let me just say that I realize that God does not need me, the truth is probably that God could get a lot more done with out me, or if I would get out of HIS way. A few months ago I read a book called "Experiencing LeaderShift" by Don Cousins. If you have not read a good leadership book in a while this one is great. He calls our problem of believing that God needs us "Serving Heresy 1: God Needs Help" He goes on to make this statement which I believe is vital to this thought, "We do make a critical difference in accomplishing this work. But the key is this: God gives us this opportunity to be difference makers for our blessing."
Joshua 4:14--"That day the LORD made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses." (NLT)
Joshua did what God called him to do, Joshua became a great leader, he was able to fill the shoes of Moses, and because of that Joshua received the blessing for leading the way God called him to lead.
Later,
Ok, this little thought is for those in Church leadership or any type of leadership. So to my friends who follow this I hope that this helps. Joshua remember from yesterday is trying to fill the leadership shoes of Moses, which I must say are pretty big SHOES ("mama said, these were my running shoes"*Thanks Forest*). Joshua chapter 3 God is giving Joshua a message to lead the Israelites across the Jordan river, which must have seemed impossible with having to carry the Ark of the Covenant and getting all those people across a river which was flowing out of its banks at the time. Here is where I found Joshua becoming a great leader in the eyes of the Lord and how you and I can be the leaders like we see in the scripture, the leaders or heros of the faith like we see in Hebrews 11.
Joshua 3:7--"The LORD told Joshua, Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as i was with Moses."(NLT)
God tells Joshua that He (the LORD) is going to make Joshua a great leader not that there is anything spectacular that Joshua can do to make himself a great leader. It will take some hard work for Joshua to continue to listen to what the LORD is saying to him but God is the one who is going to really make Joshua a true leader of the faith. This would only come if Joshua would do what the Lord told him to do, which he did.
I believe that sometimes we fall into this mindset that says, "God needs me". Let me just say that I realize that God does not need me, the truth is probably that God could get a lot more done with out me, or if I would get out of HIS way. A few months ago I read a book called "Experiencing LeaderShift" by Don Cousins. If you have not read a good leadership book in a while this one is great. He calls our problem of believing that God needs us "Serving Heresy 1: God Needs Help" He goes on to make this statement which I believe is vital to this thought, "We do make a critical difference in accomplishing this work. But the key is this: God gives us this opportunity to be difference makers for our blessing."
Joshua 4:14--"That day the LORD made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses." (NLT)
Joshua did what God called him to do, Joshua became a great leader, he was able to fill the shoes of Moses, and because of that Joshua received the blessing for leading the way God called him to lead.
Later,
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Passionate about God's Word
The first video was from yesterday. Today's theme is being passionate about reading God's word and spending time with God daily. Scripture: Joshua 1:6-9 (NLT)
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