January 3, 2016
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Joshua 8:30-35
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beginnings
What do you want to accomplish this year? Do you have financial goals, relational goals, personal goals? Have you put any thought into God’s plan for you this year? In the book of Joshua, God led the Israelites into the promised land and then instructed them to begin this new phase of their existence as a nation by pulling away and renewing their covenant with the Lord. We too can proceed into this new year by renewing our dependence in Jesus Christ and our obedience to his will.
December 27, 2015
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Joshua 3-4
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beginnings, children
When you look back on the previous year, was it everything you hoped for? Was last year something you want to forget? Here is the more important question: are you looking back at last year and forward to next year through God’s eyes? God told Joshua to prepare the Israelites to enter the promised land by following him by faith and remembering his faithfulness in their past. We too can remember God’s faithfulness to us and commit to follow him.
April 20, 2015
All of the promises that God gave the Israelites while in the wilderness were finally realized. The people weren’t always faithful, but God was. What promises of God are you believing during these uncertain times? Do not despair. All of His good promises will come to pass. God’s Word will not fail.
April 16, 2015
Caleb was one of the 12 spies who Moses sent into the Promised Land. He and Joshua were the only two who gave a positive report. The people were swayed by the majority report and became fearful, doubting God. This resulted in 40 years in the wilderness to raise up a new generation of faithful warriors. Only Caleb and Joshua remained from the adults who first left Egypt. Caleb was 40 years old when he first saw the land flowing with milk and honey. He was 85 years old when he asked Joshua to give him the mountains, to give him the giants, for he was still as strong as he was 45 years before. He could have asked for anything. He could have requested a nice walled city or a grassy plain, but he asked for the hills of Hebron and the land of the giant Anakites who made men feel as grasshoppers in comparison. When others would want their retirement and days spent fishing, Caleb still wanted to accomplish things for God. Many men begin well, but few finish well. Caleb finished better than he started. If the Lord allows me to live until 85, may He grant me the passion and strength to ask for the mountain!
April 14, 2015
The Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the Israelite leaders and persuaded them to make a covenant with them. The leaders, fresh from a victory, examined the condition of the men’s clothes and food and believed their story. However, once again, they proceeded without counsel from God just as they had in their first encounter with Ai, which they lost miserably. They had a slow learning curve when it came to seeking counsel from God before making a decision. We often have the same tendency. We cry out to God when we face an overwhelming challenge, but when something seems simple, we neglect godly counsel and act with human wisdom. I wonder how many disastrous decisions have been made by well-meaning people because they forgot to ask for God’s counsel? It’s the small decisions that often get us, making us say, “I got this.” When, in fact, we don’t.
April 10, 2015
Rahab, the Jericho harlot, hid the Israelite spies whom Joshua had sent to reconnoiter the city. After making an amazing confession of faith in the Lord, she made a deal with the spies that she would hide them in return for protecting her family when the Lord gave the city over to Israel. The spies agreed. They told her to hang a “scarlet cord in the window” of her house to identify it and to keep everyone inside the house, otherwise they would not be responsible for them.
The “scarlet cord” reminds me of the blood of the lamb that was applied to the doors of the Israelites’ homes in Egypt, so that the angel of death would pass over them. It also reminds me of the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, which was shed, so that those who trust in Him might live.
Rahab’s family was spared when Israel destroyed Jericho. Those inside the house with the “scarlet cord in the window” were saved. Rahab and her family became part of God’s people. So that, even Rahab was listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Christ (Matt. 1:5).
Do you have a “scarlet cord” hanging from your window?
September 21, 2014
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Joshua 1:6-9
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bible, discipleship
Pastor Gary Combs continues his sermon series, The Seven Habits of Growing Christians, with this message from Joshua 1:6-9 about the importance of studying the Bible. This message answers the question why we should be serious students of the Bible as well as how we can develop this important habit.
April 16, 2014
Caleb was one of the 12 spies who Moses sent into the Promised Land. He and Joshua were the only two who gave a positive report. The people were swayed by the majority report and became fearful, doubting God. This resulted in 40 years in the wilderness to raise up a new generation of faithful warriors. Only Caleb and Joshua remained from the adults who first left Egypt. Caleb was 40 years old when he first saw the land flowing with milk and honey. He was 85 years old when he asked Joshua to give him the mountains, to give him the giants, for he was still as strong as he was 45 years before. He could have asked for anything. He could have requested a nice pre-built city or a grassy plain, but he asked for the hills of Hebron and the land of the Anakites who made men feel as grasshoppers in comparison. When others would want their retirement and days spent fishing, Caleb still wanted to accomplish things for God. Many men begin well, but few finish well. Caleb knew how to finish better than he started. May God make us a generation like Caleb!
April 12, 2014
Achan hid the things he had ransacked from Jericho under his tent after God had warned against it. When Israel fought against the city of Ai they lost the battle and 36 warriors as a result. Many say that their sin is their own and it doesn’t affect those around them. Yet, here we see the error. Sin in the camp affects all in the community.
April 22, 2013
As long as there were elders living in Israel that remembered the Lord, there was peace and prosperity in the land. But when the last of these elders passed, the era of the Judges began, a time when the people forgot the Lord and lived according to their own way. How does a nation, family, or church retain the memory of God’s blessing from one generation to another, so that they don’t stray from God?