Possessing the Promise Land

The winter storm is coming, but not as vigorous as anticipated, at least at this point. Before being out and about and running some errands today, Debbie and I had breakfast with Sue and Sam Schmidt (Debbie’s sister and her husband)  Cheryl and Mike Pierson (Debbie’s cousin and her husband) We enjoyed our breakfast and time to reconnect. It brought back memories because Sue and Cheryl were at house on July 20, just two days before my hospitalization for breakfast on the patio. They both recalled how I wasn’t feeling good that day, but had no idea (like me) that I would end up in the hospital and begin a long and serious health challenge.

Tomorrow morning I will help Debbie in leading the Grief Share class at Timberline Church. We are looking forward to connecting with this important group who are moving forward through a variety of grief experiences.

BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… So the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he had solemnly promised their ancestors he would give them. When they had taken possession of it, they settled down there. The Lord gave them peace throughout the land, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies had been able to stand against them, because the Lord gave the Israelites the victory over all their enemies.  The Lord kept every one of the promises that he had made to the people of Israel.”  Joshua 21:43-45

Joshua was the leader who succeeded Moses and led the Children of Israel to possess the promise land. Joshua was one of the surviving men from Egypt, who had been Moses aide during the experienced exodus and wanderings in the wilderness. He along with Caleb spied out the promise land with 10 others. Only Joshua and Caleb brought back a good report about the land.

Now Joshua after winning key battles and conquering key areas of the land of Canaan, is old and ready to die. Instead of another single leader, the land is divided among the remaining tribes of Israel and they are charged with going forward to take the possession promised by the Lord.

As the people move into their possession Joshua reminds them of the Lord’s faithfulness and charges them to remember some foundational truths…

1 –God Speaks to You – Joshua reminds them to obey all that is written in the Law. This is the guide to success and their lifeline to victory. They also could be confident that as they sought the Lord, He would provide through His Priests and Prophets specific instructions and messages.

2 – God Fights for You The Lord your God has been fighting for you. The Lord your God will make them retreat from you, and he will drive them away as you advance.” (Joshua 23:3,5) What they had seen the Lord do for them, He would continue to do. The battle belonged to the Lord. As they would remain faithful, the Lord would honor their efforts with success. It is easy to try to fight our own battles. Sometimes we need to stop and trust God to bring victory in the struggle of life that confront us.

3 – God Keeps His Promises to You – “The Lord kept every one of the promises that he had made to the people of Israel.” (Joshua 21:45) We can count on the faithfulness and reliability of the promises of God. What he said, He will do, what He has promised, will come to pass. Any degree of uncertainty is due to human failures, not God’s faithfulness.

4 – God Disciplines You –  If you do not keep the covenant which the Lord your God commanded you to keep and….he will punish you, and soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.” (Joshua 23:16)

We have seen this warning throughout the pages of the journey too the promise land. But we see that God’s discipline is not a vindictive action, it is correction. It is training. It is warning. It is intended to get the attention of God’s people that they may come to Him and find mercy and forgiveness.

These foundational truths are ones that are good for us to remember in our life today. They serve as guidelines for us to possess the “promise land” the Lord has given to us. While for God’s people it was territory, for us it may be a realm of “spiritual territory” or an area of our life where we need some “victory” and to defeat enemies that have confronted us and kept us from experiencing the fullness of the life God has for us.

In our lives today, we can be confident of the Lord’s direction, His protection, His faithfulness and His work in our lives bringing us to the place we need to be in our life with Him.

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The Foundational Truths above, I borrowed from the introduction of a message shared by my friend and pastor in Littleton, Bill Oudemolen. You can listen to his entire message entitled, “Casual Christian or Captive Christian” at the link below:

http://foothillsbiblechurch.org/sermons/casual-christian-or-captive-christian/