Today’s Reading: Joshua 17-24; Romans 8:31-39

Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given Moses (11:15). He followed God wholeheartedly (14:8) and, at the end of his life, he had these words of advice for God’s people. Listen carefully for all the words that speak of RELATIONSHIP:

“Love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” – Joshua 22:5b

“Hold tight to God, your God, just as you’ve done up to now.” – Joshua 23:8, The Message

“So be very careful to love the Lord your God…Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord has come true. Not a single one has failed!” – Joshua 23:11,14

“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly…Choose today whom you will serve…But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” – Joshua 24:14-15

GIVE GOD MORE. CHOOSE TODAY TO SERVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART.

Stand firm in your relationship with the Lord and declare your allegiance to the One who gave His life for you. Love Him! Obey Him! Submit to all He is calling you to do and allow Him to fight your battles for you. Trust that the One who conquered death has already won the victory and nothing can separate us from His love!

What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 8:31-39

One of the last things Joshua told the people was to turn their hearts to the Lord, yielding to Him (24:23). Or, as The Message interprets it: “Say an unqualified Yes to God!” Unqualified. Not “Yes, IF…” Not “Yes, BUT…” Not “Yes, PROBABLY…” Not, “Yes, I MIGHT…”

TODAY IS THE DAY TO GIVE GOD YOUR UNQUALIFIED “YES!”

God, we thank you for your faithfulness and your daily presence in our lives — for this incredible opportunity to live in relationship with you. Lord, cause our love for you to grow so that our hearts naturally desire to obey you, to trust you, and to follow you. Help us to be content with what you have provided, and help us to call on you when the enemy is pressing in. We pray that you fight our battles for us, and today we choose to serve you and you only. Today we say an unqualified YES to you! Amen.

Today’s Reading: Joshua 13-16; Matthew 7:7-11; Psalm 138

“You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.” – Joshua 13:1

Have you ever had a moment when God called you back to your purpose? Have you ever needed a reminder from God to do what He has asked you to — to complete the mission to which you have been called? Thirty-one kings had been defeated and Joshua was getting old. So God did something amazing for Joshua and for His people so that they could receive all that He had promised them. He went ahead of them, driving the people out of the land he had declared a “special possession”.

Because God was fighting for them, the promised land of Canaan was conquered and divided between the tribes. Joshua knew the source of his victories because he had a relationship with God, the Victor. Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given Moses (11:15). He followed God wholeheartedly (14:8).

45 years before this moment, Joshua stood beside Caleb and ten other men as they scouted out the land of Canaan (Numbers 13). When they returned forty days later, they brought back reports of the beauty and abundance of the land. It took two men to carry back a cluster of grapes. They described the land as bountiful — a land flowing with milk and honey.

But out of the twelve spies, Caleb and Joshua were the only two who stood in faith instead of fear. The cities were fortified and the people were powerful; there were even giants living among them. God’s people panicked, fearing the giants rather than trusting in their God. They spent the next 40 years in the wilderness, but the Lord’s punishment also held a promise for Joshua and Caleb. Because they had responded in faith, they would enter into the Promised Land.

Fast forward to today’s scripture passage, and the work of conquering the land was almost done. The previous five years had been spent battling their enemies and now they were diving the land amongst the tribes. Caleb stepped forward to remind Joshua of the promise God had made to him almost half a century ago — the land they had scouted was to belong to his descendants forever because he had wholeheartedly followed the Lord their God.

CALEB RECEIVED BECAUSE HE ASKED.

Have you ever had a moment when God called you back to your promise? Have you clung to a promise for so long that the moment of its fulfillment is surreal? Let’s take a moment to express gratitude to the God who is faithful — to the One who keeps His promises.

I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength. – Psalm 138:2b-3

So the land of Hebron became Caleb’s inheritance. With the Lord’s help, Caleb drove out the three groups of Anakites living there, successfully taking over the area. He promised to give his daughter Acsah in marriage to the one who captured the town of Debir, and his nephew Othniel received this honored prize.

When Acsah married Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. As she got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?”

She said, “Give me another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs. – Joshua 15:18-19

ACSAH RECEIVED BECAUSE SHE ASKED.

Acsah had already been blessed with land, but she dared to believe for more. She approached her father with the request for a field and springs of water, confidently requesting what her heart desired. And her father gave her both the upper and the lower springs.

I see the heart of our Heavenly Father in this passage which could be so easily overlooked. We serve a God who loves to give good gifts to His children. When we serve the Lord wholeheartedly, He responds with blessings only He has the authority to grant, just as a father lavishes gifts upon his children.

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. – Matthew 7:7-11

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. – Ephesians 3:20

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Bring your requests before the God who loves you enough to give His Son for your salvation. Ask the Lord to supply your needs and equip you for what is ahead. Keep on asking; keep on seeking. Dare to believe that God is good and that He is faithfully responding to your prayers according to His perfect will.

Today’s Reading: Joshua 11 – 212; John 18:1-11; Psalm 55

When the five Amorite kings united in hopes to attack Gibeon and defeat Israel, the Lord confirmed to Joshua that he would give them victory. Not only did God faithfully fulfill His promise by letting Joshua and the army defeat their enemies, God joined them on the battlefield.

Joshua traveled all night from Gilgal and took the Amorite armies by surprise. The Lord threw them into a panic, and the Israelites slaughtered great numbers of them at Gibeon. Then the Israelites chased the enemy along the road to Beth-horon, killing them all along the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As the Amorites retreated down the road from Beth-horon, the Lord destroyed them with a terrible hailstorm from heaven that continued until they reached Azekah. The hail killed more of the enemy than the Israelites killed with the sword. – Joshua 10:9-11

I love this! God was not just watching passively, God was acting on their behalf. Once more, the Lord struck fear in the hearts of their enemies causing them to panic, and it’s hard to win when panic takes over. And even when their opponents were running away from the battle, God caused a hailstorm to wipe the rest of them out. And this is my favorite part — God defeated more of their enemies from above than the Israelites did from below.

GOD DID MORE! GOD DOES MORE! GOD IS MORE!

God did more than they expected Him to do, and He continues to do more than we give Him credit for today. God is more than we will ever need. God had told Joshua that He would be with him, encouraging him to be strong and courageous. And God was present for Jesus when soldiers came to arrest him.

After saying these things, Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley with his disciples and entered a grove of olive trees. Judas, the betrayer, knew this place, because Jesus had often gone there with his disciples. The leading priests and Pharisees had given Judas a contingent of Roman soldiers and Temple guards to accompany him. Now with blazing torches, lanterns, and weapons, they arrived at the olive grove.

Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked.

“Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) As Jesus said “I am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground! – John 18:1-6

Simon Peter drew a sword in response to those who came to arrest Jesus, but he was not the first to react to the situation. God was not just watching passively, God was acting on Jesus’ behalf. Once more, the Lord struck fear in the hearts of enemy soldiers, causing them to draw back and fall to the ground. Jesus was not alone in the garden; God had not abandoned him. Although it was not a part of God’s plan for Jesus to avoid arrest, His presence was physically experienced by those who were coming to take Jesus into custody.

What is your battlefield today? How is life pressing in and in what ways do you need God to step in and take over? Let go of the fear and the worry, because panic just leads to us running away from the battle. Pray that God will join you in the middle of everything that is going on and trust Him with the results. Dare to believe that God will fight today’s battle for you.

But I will call on God,
and the Lord will rescue me.
Morning, noon, and night
I cry out in my distress,
and the Lord hears my voice.
He ransoms me and keeps me safe
from the battle waged against me,
though many still oppose me. – Psalm 55:16-18