Begin Again, Day 12 The obedience parade. Read Joshua chapter 6. Joshua had shared with the people the plan. They understood what God was asking them to do. Now, they just had to go and execute it. The people of Jericho were terrified and had barred the doors against the Israelites. But as God explained to Joshua and Joshua explained to the people, all they had to do was go out and walk around the city once a day for six days, and then on the 7th day, walk around the city seven times and shout. God was going to take care of the rest. Here, we see them doing…

Begin Again, Day 11 Strange and odd. Read Joshua chapter 6. The battle has started. The people of Israel are going to attack the city of Jericho. This incredible city is heavily fortified, and has been walled up and closed off since the people crossed over the Jordan river. There is no way through the wall or through the gates. Yet, that didn’t stop God. God gave the people of Israel some unusual directions. This is not a battle plan that anybody would have ever drawn up. And, I can’t imagine the planning meeting where Joshua would have communicated to the team what God had told him to do. That…

Begin Again, Day 10 Whose side are we on? Read Joshua chapter 5. This may be one of my favorite conversations in the Bible. Joshua has been so focused on making sure that he was doing everything he was supposed to be doing. He understands the severity and the seriousness of the situation, and he comes face-to-face with this Warrior. Joshua asks the Warrior, “Whose side are you on? Are you on our side, or are you on our enemies side?” It’s a question that we ask often to other people. We tell stories and explain what’s going on in our lives. We want people who are on our side.…

Begin Again, Day 9 Preparing for worship. Read Joshua chapter 5. The Israelite people are preparing to worship God and to go to battle. They do that by renewing their commitment to him and also celebrating one of his festivals, the Passover. While it makes total sense that they would do this as a way to get ready for following Christ and doing his will, it doesn’t make as much sense when you think about what we talked about yesterday. The people had crossed over the Jordan river. They had removed any natural barriers between them and their enemies. It is completely illogical that they would do this, and only…

Begin Again, Day 8 Setting the stage. Read Joshua chapter 5. We’re going to spend a couple of days in Joshua chapter 5, so we really need to understand verse one. Verse one sets the stage for everything else that happens in chapter 5 and makes it all the more meaningful. You see, the children of Israel have now crossed over to the west side of the Jordan. That means there’s no longer a river in between them and their enemies. Their enemies are directly in front of them, and could easily come out and attack them. Because of that fact, knowing that God moves in such a way as…

Begin Again, Day 7 Share the story. Read Joshua chapter 4. We have seen how God had done such amazing things for the people of Israel. They just crossed over the Jordan on dry ground. Joshua told them to set up a memorial as a way to remember what God has done for them. But the second part of that is not just to remember it, but to share it. The people were responsible for telling the story of what God had done. They were not to keep that information to themselves. They were to tell their children and help the next generation to understand the incredible acts of God…

Begin Again, Day 6 Make memories. Read Joshua chapter 4. As we read through the first part of chapter 4 of Joshua, we see that the people had the opportunity to reflect on what had just happened. They had acted in obedience to God. God had done a miracle, and now the people had the opportunity to think about what God had done. Joshua wanted to make sure that the people remembered that event. He had them set up a monument to ensure that the people would always have something to look at and remember how God had moved and worked in their lives. Many times we don’t take this…

Begin Again, Day 5 Follow through. Read Joshua chapter 3. Joshua has been talking about this to the people for days. Now is the day that they actually had to go and do what they have been talking about. We can discuss following God and we can discuss making a new start. We can have great plans and great conversations, but until we actually do what we’ve been talking about, it doesn’t matter. What do we need to actually take steps and go do today. How can we stay more focused on actually acting out what God is sharing with us? Check out the video devotional here: https://youtu.be/FjKz9NqL9gs

Begin Again, Day 4 Follow the guide. Read Joshua chapter 3. Joshua is getting the people ready for action. He is helping to move and be ready for all that God is going to do. But, they have never done this before. So, he wants them to understand that they need to follow the guide. They are to follow God. God is going to move and they are to be ready to follow wherever He leads. When we are beginning again, we are going to be going places that we haven’t been before. We must rely on God to lead the way for us. We have to be ready to…

Begin Again, Day 3 The Do-over. Read Joshua chapter 2. A lot of times when we make mistakes and repent and come back to God, God allows us the opportunity to have the same temptation again so that we can show that we have grown and are willing and able to do better. That is exactly what happens in this chapter. The people of Israel get a do-over. They had previously had an opportunity to go and scout out The Promised Land before. Then, the spies had come back and said they were terrified, and it was too difficult. They said that they would never be able to conquer the…