Joshua is a wildly fascinating character of the bible to me. In my mind’s eye he’s ruggedly handsome [I’m thinking Russel Crow], strong [but not Arnold Schwarzenegger strong], and passionate [like Peeta in Catching Fire]. Given the rich historical account of his life in the Old Testament, we have enough pieces to put together a character sketch of a man who—though bruised and battered throughout life—never gave up.
As a member of the teaching team at Mariners Church, I had the honor and privilege of speaking about the life of Joshua as we are currently in the series, The Bible. From Genesis to Revelation, the book is full of crazy people who are loved, forgiven, restored people with pasts that are marred, dysfunctional, and shady. So it’s kinda like the modern-day church!
Joshua 1:5-9 clearly starts off the book with an encouragement for Joshua… and dare I say, an encouragement for us today.
Be strong and courageous!
In four scriptures we see that phrase three times. The declaration doesn’t say, Be comfortable and safe. Nor does it say, Be average and mediocre. The message is clear: No matter what you will face, be strong and courageous because I am with you.
As I studied this book, I noticed that Joshua’s life and definitive moments all include a pile of stones. From the Red Sea, to Jordan, to Jericho, and the life of Achan, stones were memorials of the work that God had done. Similarly, when God does a work in our lives, we can look back and identify emotional, relational, or sinful markers of transformation in our lives.
The message is posted online for FREE. And you know I love sharing resources for free! F-R-E-E is my jam, so if you want to listen to 120 years of biblical history wrapped up in 35 minutes, you can listen to the sermon here.
Be strong and courageous,
B
