Begin Again, Day 40 Legacy. Read Joshua chapter 24. As we go through the final verses of this incredible chapter, we see 3 burials. First, the people of Israel bury Joshua. He has passed away at a 110 years old, and he has left a tremendous legacy. The people continue to follow the Lord, not just through his lifetime, but also through the lifetime of those people who outlived him. They kept their promise to God. They had seen and experienced all that the Lord was doing, and as a result, made the choice to follow God. We also see the burial of Joseph. Joseph made the people promise that…

Begin Again, Day 39 Accountability. Read Joshua chapter 24. As we continue to begin again and are seeking the Lord, and we need to understand the way to maintain that commitment. Our consistency is through accountability. The Christian life is an individual decision. However, it’s also difficult to stay consistent. The best way to help with that is to initiate accountability. Find those people, those places, or in this case, even that thing that can stand and serve as a reminder of your commitment to Jesus Christ. The people of Israel had made a commitment to follow the Lord. They went through and chose that decision. Joshua set up a…

Begin Again, Day 38 The pledge. Read Joshua chapter 24. Joshua put forth a challenge to the people today. We see their response. They say they are going to commit themselves to the Lord. Joshua challenges them and tells them that they’re going to struggle and have difficulty in doing that. But the people commit three times in these verses that they will serve the Lord their God and him alone. Are we committed to following the Lord? Yesterday challenged us to make a choice to follow the Lord. Today reminds us to put that choice into practice. Are we making and following through on our commitment to God? Watch…

Begin Again, Day 37 Make a choice. Read Joshua chapter 24. Every day, we make choices. We make decisions about what we eat and what we wear. We decide where we’re going to go and not go. We make choices about what we say and what we don’t say to others. Joshua in his final address to the people of Israel is challenging them to make a choice. He’s reminding them that they have a choice. They can choose to worship the God who has done all of these incredible miracles for them or they can choose to follow other gods. They have that option open and available to them.…

Begin Again, Day 36 God’s Blessing. Read Joshua chapter 24. Joshua is continuing his final address to the people. He’s going back through the history of the people of Israel to show them all the ways God has delivered them, saved them, and provided for them. Joshua reminds the people that because of God, they are enjoying cities that they did not build. They are enjoying crops that they didn’t plant. They are reaping the benefit of God’s provision for them in ways that they did not expect. God will always provide for us. It may be in ways that we anticipate, and it may be in ways that we…

Begin Again, Day 35 Consistency. Read Joshua chapter 23. Joshua is giving his final address to the people. He knows that he is coming toward the end of his life and he wants to pass on the legacy that he has been carrying. It’s amazing how many phrases in this chapter mimic Joshua chapter one where God was speaking to Joshua. We know that God had worked in Joshua’s life in amazing and tremendous ways. Now we see Joshua passing along that same wisdom to the people of Israel. If you think about the amount of time that has passed since God sent those words to him, you see how…

Begin Again, Day 34 Miscommunication. Read Joshua chapter 22. The people were finally going home. Those tribes who had inherited land east of the Jordan river were finally at a place where they had fulfilled their obligation to their fellow brothers and they were headed home. However, when they went home, they ended up building an altar, but they didn’t tell the others about it or explain their intent beforehand. This led to a massive miscommunication that almost started a civil war. We are part of a group and a team, and as a result, we must communicate with others. We must be willing to talk to others and to…

Begin Again, Day 33 Trust in the faithfulness of God. Read Joshua chapter 21. As we read chapter 21, we see the last of the division of the territory. The Levites receive towns that they can live in. This was the final separation of the groups of the children of Israel. The chapter finishes with this incredible verse that summarizes the faithfulness of God. Every single promise that God made to the people, he kept. They could trust in him and in what he was doings we follow through in obedience to God, we find that he is worthy of our trust. He is always faithful to do everything. He…

Begin Again, Day 32 Follow Through. Read Joshua chapter 20. Reading through Joshua chapter 20 is a reminder of Number chapter 35 where God had told Moses and Moses had told the people about the importance of cities of refuge. The role of these cities was explained in that chapter in Numbers, and the people agreed upon the need and importance of these cities. What I found amazing today was the reminder that they actually followed through and set up these cities. How often have I felt like I knew what God wanted me to do and I understood the plan, but yet I failed to follow through and execute…

Begin Again, Day 31 Sharing is caring. Read Joshua chapter 19. Joshua is continuing to divide the lands and assign territory to each of the tribes. For Simeon, it actually states that they took part of the land originally assigned to Judah and gave it to the tribe of Simeon because Judah had more than they needed. Sharing is a concept that we talk about a lot, especially with children. The phrase sharing is caring came up often in ourhousehold as my kids were growing up. Sharing is not something that comes naturally. The idea of giving something to someone else that doesn’t provide any kind of benefit to ourselves…