Standing On A Promise

July 8, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Just before Joshua’s farewell address to the Israelites, he makes one final comment to sum up the whole campaign that secured Israel’s borders—

Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Every one.

You can trust God! You can stand on His promises. They will not fail; they will all be fulfilled.

Dr. Robert Lockyear estimates that there are 7,457 promises of God in the Bible!

Which one are you standing on today? Get into God’s Word, and let His promises get into you. Write them down. Memorize them. Repeat them again and again. Believe that not one of all the Lord’s good promises will fail.

Here are a few you can stand on:

  • He forgets your forgiven sins.
  • He will give you abundant life now, and eternal life later.
  • Nothing can separate you from His love.
  • All things are working together for the good for those who love God.
  • He will never leave or forsake you.
  • He will continue to develop the best in you.
  • He will never place you in a situation where you cannot stand.

(check out all of the biblical references for these promises by clicking here)

“We take away from this most precious promise, and, by refusing to take it in its fullness lose the fullness of its application and power. Then we limit God’s power to keep: we look at our frailty more than His omnipotence. Where is the line to be drawn, beyond which He is not ‘able’? Why should we pare down the promises of God to the level of what we have hitherto experienced of what God is ‘able to do,’ or even what we have thought He might be able to do for us? Why not receive God’s promises, nothing doubting, just as they stand?” —Frances Ridley Havergal

What promise are you standing on today?

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Pray Now

July 7, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

The Gibeonites had a great strategy. They had heard about the advancing Israelite army, they knew how God had given them victory at every step of the way, and they knew that the Israelites weren’t going to make a peace treaty with anyone living even remotely close to them. So the Bible says the Gibeonites resorted to a ruse (v. 4).

They put on worn-out shoes and clothes and packed moldy bread. That way they would have all of the appearances of a delegation that traveled a long, long distance. And it worked. The Israelites examined their clothing and food and said, “Yep, it sure looks like you made a long journey to get here. We’re convinced.”

The Bible records an important footnote—

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord (v. 14).

How many times do I do this…

  • …I use my five senses, but not the wisdom of the Holy Spirit?
  • …I use my logical brain, but not the supernatural resources of God?
  • …I use my experiences, but not the insight of an All-Knowing God?

I have to make it a habit to pray about EVERY decision. It might only be a 5-second prayer, but I must inquire of the Lord.

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Says Who?

July 6, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

The book of Joshua is full of military campaigns, but there are two battles that are given significant “ink”—where we get an insight into the strategy, the battle itself, and the final outcome. They are the first two battles: Jericho and Ai.

They both ultimately ended in total victory for the Israelites, but the path to victory was starkly different.

Length

  • Jericho: a week-long campaign
  • Ai: a 3-day campaign

Strategy

  • Jericho: the Israelites surrounded the city
  • Ai: the Israelites made a direct frontal assault, followed by a feint and a rear ambush

Casualties

  • Jericho: 0
  • Ai: 36

I believe the difference can be traced to the planning stage:

Planning

  • Jericho: the Lord said to Joshua…
  • Ai: when the spies returned to Joshua, they said…

I know that someone will say, “Hold on, Craig! It was Achan’s sin that caused the initial defeat at Ai.” And I wouldn’t disagree with you. But perhaps if Joshua had heard from the Lord before attacking Ai, God would have told him about Achan’s sin.

NO OTHER CASUALTIES are mentioned in the entire book! Thirty-six people died because Joshua listened to other men instead of God.

So that leads me to ask… Who am I listening to? Who are you listening to?

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Who’s Your Promoter?

July 5, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Check out this verse where God speaks to Joshua:

Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know I am with you as I was with Moses.

Self-promoted leadership requires that I know what the current whims of the people are, and then I cater to those special-interest whims. But people are fickle, so I have to be constantly reinventing myself. I have to wear the right mask for the right group. I have to become a slick politician, giving the right speech to the right special interest group, promising them what they want to hear. I have to pander for votes to stay in leadership.

God-promoted leadership requires that I have faith in God alone. No focus groups to find out what people want. No advisors whispering in my ear. No masks, no special interest speeches, no pandering for votes. God knows the hearts of the people, and if He has called me to be a leader, He will equip me to be His leader.

Joshua was a God-promoted leader. When he was on the eve of his first major campaign as the new leader of Israel, he gave just one speech: “Let’s get ready to go.” A self-promoting leader would have given one motivational speech to the priests, one pep talk to the generals, one persuasive speech to the troops, an encouraging speech to the stay-at-home moms, and possibly one more convincing speech to those who wanted to pursue an alternative strategy.

The results of God-promoted leadership?

  1. So the Israelites did just as Joshua commanded them (Joshua 4:8).
  2. That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they revered him all the days of his life (Joshua 4:14).

Who’s your promoter?

My prayer is that I always allow God to be my promoter and that the Holy Spirit will convict me anytime I try to promote myself.

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4 Leadership Requirements

June 30, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I love studying leadership—leadership principles, leadership practices, and leadership people. There’s a great leadership case study in the Bible in the life of Joshua that always intrigues me.

Joshua had been through extensive preparation to become Moses’ successor. He was a recognized leader in his tribe, the general of the army, and an aide-de-camp to Moses for a number of years. But his most important leadership qualification: He was called by God.

As the story of his leadership opens in the first chapter of the Book of Joshua, God gives four requirements for Joshua (and you and me) to be effective in our leadership roles.

1.  Be yourself. God didn’t say, “Be like Moses.” In fact, the only time God talks about Moses to Joshua is to reassure him, “I will be with you like I was with Moses.” But never once does God uses a “Moses Grading Scale” for Joshua. God simply says, “You will lead these people.”

2.  Have an objective measuring stick. Feelings may change, but God’s Word never does. So God counsels Joshua to always rely on the Book of the Law.

3.  Guard your thoughts. Leaders have so many people “in their ear” wanting to lobby for their way. So God tells Joshua to not only read the Bible but meditate on it as well. One definition of meditation is to hum God’s Word. In other words, humming God’s Word will help a leader know which lobbying voice is in harmony with God’s Voice, and which lobbying voice is off-key.

4.  Guard your attitude. God repeats this to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Even doing everything they are supposed to be doing, leaders can become afraid to make a change, or discouraged because people aren’t following along. These feelings must be driven out with one firm declaration: “I know the Lord has called to this leadership position, so I know the Lord is with me. He will enable me to complete what He has called me to do.”

God’s direction to Joshua is still great counsel for leaders today.

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Imagine Attending 86 Funerals A Day

May 24, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Right after the Israelites came out of Egypt, God told Moses to count everyone (not coincidentally, this is recorded in the book of Numbers… get it?).

I’m sure you know the story well of the ten scouts who by their negative report turned everyone against Moses. They all believed that they couldn’t go into the Promised Land because of the big giants. So God said everyone in that generation (except Joshua and Caleb) would die before they entered the Promised Land.

Fast forward 38 years and God has Moses count the people again (can you guess where this is recorded in the Bible?). If you compare the two lists, you will see that 1.2 million Israelites had died.

Let that sink in: 1.2 million dead in 38 years.

That’s 31,579 funerals per year.

Or 86 funerals per day.

Talk about mixed emotions! With every funeral the younger Israelites attended, they were sad for their loss but they also knew they were one step closer to getting out of the desert and into the Promised Land.

Every day they heard about deaths—86 of them every day.

What did these deaths remind them of? Maybe these two thoughts:

  • Sin causes death.
  • I’m just as capable of sinning as they were.

Every death should have been a reminder to them to stay as close to God as possible.

Every day I hear about divorce. This should be my reminder to cherish my wife every day.

Every day I hear about a pastor’s moral failing. This should be my reminder to pursue holiness passionately every day.

Every day I hear about pornography addictions. This should be my reminder to take every precaution I can every day.

When the Israelites heard about 86 deaths every day, they had to do something positive with that.

When I hear about divorce and sin and addiction, I cannot just shake my head and say, ‘Tisk, tisk,” but I must do something positive with it.

I must use every “death” as a reminder to move closer to God.

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You See What You’re Looking For

May 14, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

It’s a pretty simple concept: you only see what you want to see. For example, if you are looking for your car keys, you won’t really see anything else that you are picking up or looking behind to find your keys. Your brain is locked in on keys, so that’s all you will see.

In a well-known Bible story, Moses sends twelve men into the Promised Land to check things out. He tells them to explore the land and bring back a report. The men went to several locations, and there is no mention of who or what they saw except…

  • …in the valley of Eschol, they found grapes of extraordinary size.
  • …in Hebron, they found people of extraordinary size.

They went in looking for big things, and that’s all they saw.

With the exception of Caleb and Joshua who said, “So what? Our God is bigger than those giants,” all the other men saw defeat. In the end, all the other men saw death in the desert; only Caleb and Joshua saw God’s victory in the Promised Land.

You see what you want to see—

What do you see?

What are you looking for?

Are you looking for giants? If so, you’ll find them. And they will seem even bigger in your eyes than they really are.

Are you looking for God’s victory? If so, you’ll find Him. And His deliverance will seem even more incredible than you could have imagined!

Prayer trains your eyes to see differently. Prayer trains your brain to look for victory. Prayer keeps you alert to what God is doing.

If all you see are giants, if all you hear is bad news, if all you feel is fear, perhaps you’re looking for giants and bad news and the fearful things.

Friend, God wants you to see Him on the move. Pray!

  • Prayer changes giants to dwarfs.
  • Prayer changes defeat to victory.
  • Prayer changes gloom to sunshine.
  • Prayer changes the way you see the world.
  • Prayer changes you.

“The prayer of the morning will determine the day.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Guard These Bones

March 29, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

Here’s an odd one. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for a long, long time. God does these miraculous things, culminating in the death of every firstborn child in Egypt who’s not in a house covered by lamb’s blood. Pharaoh has finally had enough, “Quick!” he shouts, “Get out of here now! Leave this country!”

So the Israelites pack up as quickly as they can to leave before Pharaoh changes his mind. And then this odd statement appears, “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him.”

Seriously? Bones? We’re kinda in a rush here!

Well, they’re not just any bones. It’s not like they’re just loose bones lying around. They’re in a mummy case.

Yeah, and…?

They were the bones of Joseph. The one who foresaw the coming famine. The one whom Pharaoh put as second-in-command to make preparations for the famine. The one who saved the Israelites from starvation. That Joseph. Just before he died he made his family take an oath that when they left Egypt, they would take his bones with them (Genesis 50:25-26).

They took the oath. And for the next 430 years someone had to watch over the bones. Through about twelve generations, from father to son, from son to grandson, from grandson to great-grandson, the oath was passed: “Guard these bones. When we leave, the bones go with us.”

So when they left Egypt, Moses took the bones with him. But then the Israelites sinned and had to wander in the wilderness for another 40 years. Another whole generation died, and still the oath was passed: “Guard these bones.”

The Israelites finally re-entered their home land, but had to defeat their enemies that had taken possession of their land while they were in Egypt. For about 30 years the Israelites fought. And still the oath was passed: “Guard these bones.”

Finally as a postscript to Joshua’s account we see Joseph’s bones being buried in Shechem, nearly 500 years after Joseph died!

For 500 years they kept the oath; they guarded the bones.

Do you realize that the way you are living today could be the answer to a 500-year-old prayer? Just like the Israelites who kept their eyes on God, you and I must live today with a purpose and with a mission. When we live godly lives, we are guarding the bones of prayers that were prayed, the bones of petitions that were made, the bones of oaths that were requested and honored.

What are you doing today to guard the bones of your ancestor’s prayers?

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Choices

December 4, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

“…Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15)

I have to choose.
Not my parents.
Not my heritage.
To choose for me.
Myself.

I have to choose.
Not trapped by yesterday.
Not anxious for tomorrow.
To choose this day.
Everyday.

I have to choose.
Not to be in control.
Not to be the master.
To choose whom I will serve.
Jesus.

I have chosen.
Myself.
Today.
Jesus.

“There is a choice you have to make
in everything you do.
So keep in mind that in the end,
the choice you make makes you.” (John Wooden)

Are you choosing? For yourself? Today? Jesus?
What “you” are your choices making?

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The Village That Wasn’t There… Yet

November 27, 2008 — Craig T. Owens

In my devotional time I am studying the life and leadership of Joshua. This morning I was beginning to read the sleep-inducing list of boundaries and towns that were assigned to each of the Israelite tribes (Joshua 15). I read the description of the territory for the tribe of Judah, and I must admit that I sorta glossed over the names of all of the towns. I got to the last verse and was ready to move on, and then it hit me.

As a pastor I’m always thinking ahead to my next series of messages, and currently I’ve been thinking about our Christmas series. So all of a sudden it jumped out at me — something I didn’t read in that list of towns. I went back and re-read the list a little more slowly this time. Nope, still not there. I looked a third time at all 38 cities: still missing. There are a couple of very notable figures that dominate the Old and New Testaments, and they have something in common — King David and Jesus both come from the tribe of Judah. And both of them were born in Bethlehem.

But in the list of towns in Judah’s territory, there is absolutely no mention of Bethlehem.

This town either didn’t exist, or it was so “insignificant” that Joshua didn’t even think to mention it. It would be almost another 500 years before David would be born in Bethlehem, and then another 900 years or so after that before Jesus would be born in this tiny village.

God had in mind for the greatest earthly king in Israel’s history and the King of all kings to come from such humble origins… from a village that didn’t even make the list. On this Thanksgiving Day, I’m grateful to belong to a God who has time after time made a “Bethlehem” for me at just the right moment!

My friend, if you are facing a difficult situation today, know that God already has the answer. He already has a Bethlehem prepared for you!

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