SUMMARY: Total victory might take a while to achieve, and it will involve hard work, sacrifice along the way, and require a no-surrender spirit, but when you are on God’s side, and God is on yours, there will come a day when the Lord will give all your enemies into your hands and every single one of his good promises will be fulfilled to us. Game. Set. Match. And God will smile! That is the best victory: Making God smile.

GOD SPEAKS — I OBEY // Joshua 21:43-45

Total victory! It might take a while to get there, and it will involve hard work, sacrifice along the way, and with a no-surrender spirit, but when we are on God’s side and God is on ours, like Joshua and the Israelites, there will come a day when the Lord will give all our enemies into our hands and every single one of his good promises will be fulfilled to us. Game. Set. Match. And God will smile! That, my friend, is the best victory of all: Making God smile.

For Israel, that took a very long time. Some of that extended time was the result of their stubbornness and rebellion—they had to repeated first grade several times; some of it was simply the nature of conquest—remember, this wasn’t a field trip, this was warfare, and warfare requires grit and determination; some of it gets chalked up to the sovereign ways of God—he lives outside of human time, so he is not a clock-watcher like we are as he develops his people into champions for life.

Not only did Israel take a long time, but it was full of hardship, battle, and testing. Again, chalk that up to the sovereign ways of God—he was preparing his people for possessing his promises, and they needed to first be tempered. Yes, it took a long period of walking, then waiting, then working, followed by a long period of working, then waiting, then walking some more, but none of the time was wasted.

Finally, the day came when Joshua declared, at least for this stage of Israel’s journey with God, “mission accomplished!” Game. Set. Match. God had given all of Israel’s enemies into their hands and fulfilled all of his good promises to them.

That is a true picture of the believer’s journey with God—periods of walking, waiting, and working, but never any wasted time. God is leading, guiding, strengthening, purifying, and tempering us into a holy people fit to possess his promises. And at stages in the journey, he brings us to places of victory and rest. We should anticipate those places, pray for them, and cooperate with God to get there as quickly as we can—knowing that our stubbornness, rebellion, and lack of trust will slow the journey down. But when we get there, we should continually remember that it was the good Lord who gave us the victory.

Game! Set! Match! That is the story the good Lord has pre-written about your life and mine. And while there will be other conquests until you reach heaven, when you reach victory in the present moment of challenge, remember who gave it to you. When you overcome a sin, receive an answer, and achieve a success, remember that it was the good Lord giving you a win over your enemies and fulfilling his good promises to you.

Likewise, remember that since God has a history of giving victory and fulfilling promises in your life, he will definitely be there for the next conquest, too. He is true to his character and faithful to his covenant with you—always. And he will never fail you—never!

So, enjoy the victory of this moment and be encouraged with whatever tomorrow holds. And between now and heaven, get ready to hear this a lot:

Game. Set. Match.

CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY: Are you in a season of victory—even just a small one? Rejoice—give God the glory!

The more I study scripture, the more impressed I am with God. I mean, I already love him, serve him, and worship him wholeheartedly, but as I get to know him more and more over the years, the more amazed I am at who he is—his character, his benevolence, his love for his people. And here in Joshua 20, as we learn of the cities of refuge he commanded Joshua to establish, I am struck by how accommodating toward his people he is.

We develop some very interesting ideas about God along the way; some of them entirely wrong and inaccurate, some of them flat-out heretical, some of them misguided, and some of them incomplete. Mostly our tainted views of God come from second-hand information—learning about him from extra-biblical sources, like parents, Sunday School teachers, Christian club leaders, etc. Now, there is nothing wrong with learning from the people who disciple us; that is actually the way of God. And we depend upon others to help form our understanding of God when we are children or new believers. So, I am in favor of human teachers and deeply appreciative of what they do for us. After all, I am one!

Yet we can end up with a view of God that has not been informed directly by the Word of God. That is why we can develop a theology that sees him as detached from our daily lives and common concerns, or that sees him as angry and spoiling to judge us, or as a grandfatherly-type cosmic deity who winks at our sin; one who is at our beck and call to give us our every wish. If you hold any of those views of the Almighty, it didn’t come from scripture; it came from people.

At some point, we desperately need to know God from scripture. When we do, we quickly learn that he is not perpetually angry, or disconnected, or wishy-washy about sin. In fact, we see from Joshua 20, which details his prescription for dealing with accidental deaths in the community, that he is very much concerned about both justice (the righteous punishment for sin) and the accommodation of our human frailty (his anticipation that there will be accidental deaths among the human race).

Furthermore, we see in the founding of these cities of refuge that God didn’t merely give rigid, inflexible rules to govern the social and legal needs of his people, but he took into consideration that there would be some gray areas of the law, as well as highly reactive human emotions to accidents and grievances. It also shows us that God went to great lengths to provide practical guidance for even the mundane matters of human life. Actually, it shows us that nothing about our lives is too small for his involvement.

God is a loving, caring, involved Father to his people. That was true back in the days of the conquest as he held the Israelites’ hands and settled them into a land of their own for the first time. And what was true of God back then is just as true of God today: he keeps an eye on his children, watching over the smallest of details of their lives, making accommodation for their weaknesses while guiding them into the righteous living necessary for his gracious blessings in their lives.

So be encouraged. God cares about your life—every last detail of it.

Of course, God cares about the small things. He has to, or he won’t care about anything. You see, everything is small next to the bigness of God! ~

Dr. Ray Noah

SUMMARY: Are you willing to ask big things of God? God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible. God is honored when we pray bigly. But if you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God gives you. God wants to give in abundance, but he will never waste kingdom resources on the unprepared. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out; to steward it in a way that brings glory to him. So be willing to ask big and live large.

God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 19:1 & 9

Are you willing to ask big things of God? I hope so! God loves it when his children trust him so much that they dare to step out in faith beyond the ordinary to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible to attain. Here’s the deal:

God is honored when we pray bigly.

So are you ready to live large! If you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches that God’s generosity will require of you. You see, God is a God of abundance, and he gives in abundance. Now, not to worry, I am not promoting some sort of prosperity gospel heresy. Simply yet biblically put, divine abundance means that God gives us more than enough. But while he gives abundantly, he never wastes kingdom resources on those unprepared to steward his generosity so that it brings maximum glory to himself. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out. In other words, he wants you to leverage every ounce of his provision to the fullest so that he can give you more. If you waste it, settle for less than maximum use, or misuse what he provides, he will not release more to you. In fact, there is an indication in scripture (see Matthew 25:24-30) that if we don’t steward his gifts wisely and industriously, he will even take away what he has given and give it to someone who will develop it in faith.

In the case of the land allotment to the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the visionary folks of Judah had an industrious spirit about them. So, God gave them much more land than they needed at the time. Yet because they had not taken full advantage of it, God took a portion of it and assigned it to the Simeonites. Judah, however, was not content to shrink into their land. They got fired up and later asked the warriors of Simeon to join forces with them to take the land that was not yet under their occupation:

The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So, the men of Simeon went with Judah…. Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So, the town was named Hormah. In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. (Judges 1:3,17)

I like that about these two tribes. God’s blessing was more than they could handle, but they were unwilling to shrink into what they could handle. That is not the case with many believers today: they get overwhelmed by abundance, as unbelievable as that sounds, and for a variety of reasons, fritter away their opportunity to fully occupy their blessings. They are like the intimidated steward in Matthew 25, fearful that he might lose what he was given. But in the case of Judah and Simeon, they got smart: they joined forces and helped each other take the land. By strong faith and hard work, they expanded into their blessings.

That is the kind of believer I want to be. I want to not be afraid to ask bigly of my Father. And I want to be unafraid to leverage the large opportunity he gives in response to my asking, but maximize what he has placed in my hands. I want to do that to show him how much I trust him. I want to do that so that he can trust me with more. I want to do that so that others will be provoked to godly discontent in settling for anything less than God’s generous abundance.

Among the many things I want people who know me to say in reflection of my life, I hope they will say, “He asked big, but he lived large for God.” I want to leave nothing on the table when my life is over. I want none of heaven’s treasures appointed for me while I am on earth to remain in heaven. I want it all for the glory of God alone.

How about you? Make a commitment from this day forward to be a person who asks big and lives large.

Choose You This Day:

Ask your Heavenly Father for some big, hairy, audacious provisions today. Choose to ask big, then live large.

God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 19:1 & 9

Are you willing to ask big things of God? I hope so! God loves it when his children trust him so much that they are willing to step way out in faith to possess promises that are way beyond what is humanly possible to attain. God is honored when we pray bigly.

So are you ready to live large! If you ask big things of God, get ready to be big enough for the britches God’s generosity will require of you. You see, God is a God of abundance, and he gives in abundance, that is, he gives us more than enough, but while he gives abundantly, he never wastes kingdom resources on those unprepared to steward his generosity so that it brings maximum glory to himself. When he gives you something, he expects you to fill it out. In other words, he wants you to leverage every ounce of his provision to the fullest so that he can give you more. If you waste it, settle for less than maximum use, or misuse what he provides, he will not release more to you. In fact, there is an indication in scripture (see Matthew 25:24-30) that if we don’t steward his gifts wisely and industriously, he will even take away what he has given and give it to someone who will develop it in faith.

In the case of the land allotment to the tribes of Judah and Simeon, the visionary folks of Judah had an industrious spirit about them. So, God gave them much more land than they needed at the time. Yet because they had not taken full advantage of it, God took a portion of it and assigned it to the Simeonites. Judah, however, was not content to shrink into their land. They got fired up and later asked the warriors of Simeon to join forces with them to take the land that was not yet under their occupation:

The men of Judah said to their relatives from the tribe of Simeon, “Join with us to fight against the Canaanites living in the territory allotted to us. Then we will help you conquer your territory.” So, the men of Simeon went with Judah…. Then Judah joined with Simeon to fight against the Canaanites living in Zephath, and they completely destroyed the town. So, the town was named Hormah. In addition, Judah captured the towns of Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, along with their surrounding territories. (Judges 1:3,17)

I like that about these two tribes. God’s blessing was more than they could handle, but they were unwilling to shrink into what they could handle. That is not the case with many believers today: they get overwhelmed by abundance, as unbelievable as that sounds, and for a variety of reasons, fritter away their opportunity to fully occupy their blessings. They are like the intimidated steward in Matthew 25, fearful that he might lose what he was given. But in the case of Judah and Simeon, they got smart: they joined forces and helped each other take the land. By strong faith and hard work, they expanded into their blessings.

That is the kind of believer I want to be. I don’t want to be afraid to ask bigly of my Father. And I want to be unafraid of leveraging the large opportunity he gives in response to my asking. I want to live as an example of maximizing what he places in my hands. I want to do that to show him how much I trust him. I want to do that so that he can trust me with more. I want to do that so that others will be provoked to godly discontent in settling for anything less than God’s generous abundance.

Among the many things I want people who know me to say in reflection of my life, the one thing I hope they will say is, “He asked for big things of God, and he lived large for his glory.” I want to leave nothing on the table when my life is over. I want none of heaven’s treasures appointed for me while I am on earth to remain in heaven. I want it all for the glory of God alone.

How about you? Let’s commit from this day forward to be people of ask big and live large.

SUMMARY: As moral relativism increasingly influences our present world, people will do what seems right in their own eyes, but it will always be so wrong. Perhaps we can be agents of change by simply and fiercely committing to and winsomely declaring a source of truth that is unchanging, the Word of God, and unapologetically calling our culture to God’s standard, even as our culture by and large has forgotten God. The prophetic drift of this fallen world is inexorably toward forgetting the Almighty Creator and Ruler of us all. Let’s not let our fellow human beings forget God without a fight.

I know, this is the exact sentence that begins Judges 18. It is not a mistake. It is the third time in three chapters that the writer uses the same sentence to describe the moral condition of Israel during this time. And each time, the sentence is followed by a story that disturbs our sensibilities. In this case, what follows is arguably the most revolting story in the Bible. I won’t even retell it—you can read it for yourself—but it is brutal and disgusting. But pity poor me, trying to come up with an edifying devotional from it.

To unpack that phrase in more detail—in those days Israel had no king—I would refer you back to the devotional I presented for the previous chapter. Just to summarize, we are being given a picture of what life was like in Israel when they had abandoned any controlling moral authority that kept them between the lines of social civility and moral uprightness. Not unexpectedly, things got increasingly ugly.

It seems to me that the writer of Judges has prophetically summed up our twenty-first-century world in this hat-trick statement: “In those days, Israel had no king.” Then, in the very last line of his book, he adds to it: “There was no controlling moral authority to govern people’s lives, so everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (Judges 21:25)

“What was right in their own eyes” reflected a philosophy of moral relativism, which is simply put, public and private life without the presence of a “controlling moral authority.” Unfortunately, both in the day of the Judges as well as in our day, without fail, moral relativism produces personal, cultural, economic, and global chaos. It is when truth is no longer propositional, but what you or I want it to be, e.g. “My truth.” The brilliant author and famous Soviet dissident, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, presciently described this unfortunate state in his now-famous Templeton Address, “Men Have Forgotten God.” He lamented, “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

While he was describing the atrocities that took place in Eastern Europe, he might as well have been describing Judges. And sadly, he is describing what will happen in an American culture that, like the aforementioned cultures, embraced relativism as its philosophy of life. When we have no controlling moral authority—a God who decides what truth is, who determines how human beings should live, and who holds them accountable for it—each of us will begin to do what seems right in our own eyes.

We will do what we think is right, but it will be so wrong!

All that to offer this reminder: you and I can perhaps be agents of change by simply and fiercely committing to a source of truth that is unchanging, the Word of God, and unapologetically calling our culture to God’s standard, even as it has forgotten God.

The prophetic drift of this fallen world is inexorably toward forgetting the Almighty Creator and Ruler of us all. Let’s not let the world forget God without a fight.

CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY: Tell someone about your belief in God’s truth today. Even if they don’t believe, they need to know that you do.

“It’s for your own good that God gives spiritual leaders to watch over your soul. It’s so important that God will hold them accountable for how well they do their job. So, make it easy for them!”

SUMMARY: Like he wanted from Israel, God wants to be our sole Lord and King. Yet he knows we need a controlling moral authority in our lives with skin on. So, he has ordained leaders to watch over us. No longer are they kings, but they are shepherds, pastors, spiritual leaders, mentors, spiritual directors, and accountability partners. And the charge that God has given them is to watch over our souls as those who must give account to God someday for the way we live our lives. So joyfully, willingly, gratefully come under their authority—that is God’s path for you to thrive.

God Speaks—I Obey // Judges 18:1

I have selected only a portion of a verse for today’s devotional. The rest of this chapter is the same song, the twenty-ninth verse of what we have seen over and over again in Judges. We have been treated to the depressing fare of what happens to a people when they have no controlling moral authority: They do what seems right in their own eyes. And that is never, ever pretty.

So, rather than going into the particular details of the sad account of Judges 18, let’s just say the spiritual anarchy that we saw in Judges 17 had continued into this chapter. In fact, chapter 18 literally continues what began in chapter 17. It is a strange mixture of idol worship openly disguised as worship of Yahweh. It is stunning how easily Israel has come to believe that their surrender to idols made by man’s hand is simply a legitimate representation of their worship of the Lord God.

Back to the opening line: We are told that Israel had no king. While they would get one soon enough, Judges bridges the time gap between Moses and Joshua to the start of the inauguration of the Israelite monarchy, beginning with King Saul and carrying forth under the Davidic dynasty until the nation is sent into Babylonian exile. And while a king to control the nasty impulses of this nation seems to be the spiritual antidote to what ails them, an earthly king will be God’s concession to a stubborn and calloused nation. God himself wanted to be their sole king; that is his ideal. Yet they were hopelessly flawed by sin. So, God would graciously send them a man who would hopefully be that controlling moral authority they so desperately needed. But God warned them: While some kings would be good and godly, others would not. And when they were not, Israel would rue the day they had begged God for a king.

Now, how about us? Like Israel, God wants to be our sole Lord and King, but he knows we need a controlling moral authority in our lives with skin on. So, he has ordained leaders to watch over us. No longer are they kings, but they are shepherds, pastors, spiritual leaders, mentors, spiritual directors, and accountability partners. And the charge that God has given them is to watch over our souls as those who must give account to God someday for the way we live our lives. The writer of Hebrews made this appeal:

However, we live at a time where we have been conditioned to bristle at the thought of submission to anyone. We question authority. We do not like the idea of being accountable to anyone who might call us out for our behavior. The result is that far too many of us live unexamined lives. But if nothing else, Judges show us the ugly truth about having no king, that is, of living without any controlling moral authority in our lives. So, we do what is right in our own eyes. And like chapter after chapter in Judges, that never paints a pretty picture.

I would appeal to you that it is God’s will for you to voluntarily and joyfully submit to a spiritual leader. Slowly, carefully, prayerfully re-read Hebrews 13:7 & 17. It is for your own good that God has ordained people to watch over your soul. So important is it that God will even hold them accountable for how well they do their job with you. It is a blessing to you that you submit to them—submit not as a doormat, which is a misreading of the biblical word, but rather to willingly line up under their oversight. That is the true meaning of submission. And if you will, believe me, you will thrive under the humble, godly, servant-hearted guidance of an anointed leader.

Israel had no king, and it was disastrous. What about you? Who is the controlling human authority in your life representing God to you? If you can’t answer that, you may be in trouble. If you can, come under their loving leadership willingly, gratefully and joyfully.

God Speaks—I Obey // Joshua 18:1-3

Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle. But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land. Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?

Perhaps what you are waiting on from God is waiting for you to do what God is waiting for from you. Wait! What? Wait? I know, it sounds a bit convoluted, but simply put, sometimes we are waiting when we should be working. God has done his part, but we haven’t done ours, and so the answers to our prayers are delayed.

The Christian life is a balance between what God does and what we do. Of course, our work is in response to his work—we don’t work to get God to do anything; he has already done everything, and our effort is always what is right and fitting because of his gracious acting on our behalf. We have a covenantal partnership with God, and each plays a role in order to live out the covenant. Or as Paul puts it in Philippians 2:12-13,

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

We must work out what God has worked in. But so often we wait for God to do what he has already done. We misunderstand our responsibility in the partnership, or we avoid it because of spiritual laziness, or we are irresponsible, or frankly, we are in rebellion against God and are simply not carrying our weight in the deal. Whatever the case may be, God will not do what we are to do. God will do what we can’t, but he will never do what we won’t.

Now, in Israel’s case, God had promised them the land of Canaan as their home. He had brought them through 400 years of slavery in Egypt and through forty years of wandering in the desert to the edge of their new homeland. He had gone before them and had driven out their enemies. He had guaranteed their victory. But he had also called them to cross the Jordan into the land. He expected them to fight their enemies, drive them out, and take possession of the cities and farmland the Canaanites left behind. He had been clear that they were to stay at it until the task was complete. Yet after more years than they needed, the work was incomplete. They had not done what they were supposed to do in response to what God had already done. So, Joshua called them out on it.

I suppose all of this makes sense to you, and that you agree with it in principle—that God plays a part and we play a part. But I also suspect this is a bit vague as it relates to your life specifically. So, the challenge I have for you in response to this chapter is to do some hard thinking about where you may be waiting on the God who is waiting on you to do your part. What does that look like for you? Where do you need to step up and get after it? What promises are unclaimed in your life that God desires to fulfill (the constraint is not God, it is you)?

These are tough questions, but let me encourage you to get after it. The effort will be well worth it, and besides, God has already done his part. The victory is already yours. So why wait any longer? Let me give you a verse from another section of scripture that applies to what I am asking you to do:

Be bold and get after it—God is waiting on you!

God Speaks—I Obey

There was a man named Micah, who lived in the hill country of Ephraim. One day he said to his mother, “I heard you place a curse on the person who stole 1,100 pieces of silver from you. Well, I have the money. I was the one who took it.” His mother replied, “The Lord bless you for admitting it,” He returned the money to her, and she said, “I now dedicate these silver coins to the Lord. In honor of my son, I will have an image carved and an idol cast.” … In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Judges 17:1-3

If we were to hold a vote on the weirdest stories in the Bible, this one would be in my top ten—maybe even in my top five. You read this story and it leaves you scratching your head. A man named Micah has admitted to his mother that he stole money from her, she praises the Lord for his “honesty” in returning the loot, then turns around and celebrates by commissioning a family idol, declaring that it is in honor of her wonderful son and of the Lord.

What…wait…what? She somehow twists stealing into honoring God by carving an image and casting an idol! What in the name of sanity is going on here? Simple explanation: This is spiritual anarchy, plain and simple. Anarchy is defined as “a state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority.” That is exactly what Judges 17: 6 describes:

In those days Israel had no king, so everyone did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Israel had no controlling moral authority—or at least they chose not to follow a controlling moral authority, since they did have the law of God that should have been their constant guide. But over time, they moved God to the margins and devolved into spiritual anarchy. As a result, a lot of really weird stuff happened in a nation that God had called to be his own holy people. Israel began to look like the pagan nations to whom they had called them to witness as a living testimony of a loving but holy God. They begin to do unacceptable things that were outright repulsive to God, then justify their sinful behavior as acceptable and pleasing to the Holy One of Israel.

Twisted, right? Yet is it all that different than what we see today among people who claim to follow God? When the rate of divorce is as high among so-called Christians as it is in secular society, you have spiritual anarchy. When you have so-called Christians celebrating lifestyles and philosophies that are clearly opposed to what they are called to in God’s Word, you have spiritual anarchy. When you have so-called Christians whose way of living is clearly rooted in this present world and not in the kingdom to come—“believers” who are addicted to money, pleasure, and power—there you find they have drifted into spiritual anarchy. Where you find spiritual communities who make their worship about what they prefer, who employ entertainment techniques to attract new members, who move the Holy Spirit to the edge of their services in order to employ more relevant styles, who focus more on a cool café in the lobby rather than the call to seek God at the altar, there you find an inexorable rush toward spiritual anarchy.

In our day, Christians have set aside any controlling moral authority, so they do whatever seems right in their own eyes.

So now that I have gotten that rant out of my system, answer me this: Is this not the state of Christianity among far too many believers and far too many churches in America today?

If you think so, then make sure you are not in that camp, and make sure you do what you can to encourage your church not to drift into spiritual anarchy.

Choose You This Day:

To be honest, have your prayers fallen into the category of “My will be done?” As you pray today, pay close attention to the way Jesus taught us to begin our prayer: “Our Father, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done!”

The Scriptures teach that the age will end in anarchy, apostasy, and apathy – anarchy in the world, apostasy in the professing church, and even apathy in the true church – because lawlessness shall abound, the love of most will wax cold. Men will turn from the truth to fables.
- Vance Hanver

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 17:1-10

Manasseh’s boundary ran along the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. North of Manasseh was the territory of Asher, and to the east was the territory of Issachar. The following towns within the territory of Issachar and Asher, however, were given to Manasseh: Beth-shan, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphoth-dor), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.

Ever get the holy shivers? Yeah, me neither. But I’ve seen people respond to God’s blessing in ways—physically and emotionally—that far exceeded their capacity to manage it. Especially in foreign, rural contexts, I have watched worshipers get so beside themselves with joy in the Lord that their expressions of love, praise, and gratitude broke human containment. They got down and boogied in response to the blessings of God.

Now, when you read Joshua 17, holy shivers are the last response you are likely to have. Frankly, only a real estate agent would be inspired by the details as land is parceled out to the tribes of Joseph. A cartographer might enjoy the chapter a little bit as well because of the prospects of mapping out the Holy Land. But other than those two, I doubt if too many readers are going to be excited with the details of the land distribution that make up chapter 17.

So, what is in this for us? Let me answer that by having you put yourself in the sandals of the people in this chapter. Imagine yourself as one of the members of a clan in the tribe of Ephraim. Pretend that you are one of the five daughters of Zelophehad (one of the young ladies was named Noah, by the way; she must have been an amazing woman!), who stood to gain real estate as an inheritance because their dad had no sons as heirs. Imagine that you, your parents, grandparents, and ancestors going back 400 years had been hearing about a Promised Land that would one day be yours, and all you had known for centuries was slavery and decades of wilderness wandering. You had nothing to your name, no place to call home, no sense of permanence, and no real geographical identity. And now, you have been given land—and the land has been described for you with geographical specificity. Do you think you might be a bit excited about the description of your real estate in that context? I think so!

What is described in this chapter (and several surrounding it) represented the promises of God finally fulfilled after what seemed like interminable waiting. This represented answers to prayer. This was a bit of heaven on earth. And the Israelites were rightly excited about real estate details that today we find boring and worthy of skipping past. But don’t refuse to get either bored or skip-happy. Write yourself into this and other stories like it.

Even though you don’t have a literal Promised Land for which you are waiting, you are waiting for God to fulfill his promises to you—and believe me, you care about the details of what that will look like! So, whenever you come to a section of scripture like this, rejoice in the details as an act of faith, because one day, sooner or later, God will answer your prayers and fulfill his promises with specificity and generosity.

Choose You This Day:

Turn to the back of your Bible today and look at the map of the Holy Land that offers a schematic of the allotment of land for Israel’s twelve tribes. Now take a moment to rejoice in advance of the Promised Land into which God is bringing you.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Judges 16:4-6

Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the valley of Sorek. The rulers of the Philistines went to her and said, “Entice Samson to tell you what makes him so strong and how he can be overpowered and tied up securely. Then each of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me what makes you so strong and what it would take to tie you up securely.”

What is it that drives you? What motivates you at the deepest core to do what you do? What are the driving convictions of your life? Figure that out, and you will have figured out you, that is, who you are, what you are, how you live, and where you are headed.

Unfortunately for Samson, one of Israel’s most famous but most flawed judges (the judges were more military deliverers than paragons of moral purity), it was passion that drove him more than principle. Especially his passion for women, which we also saw in Judges 14, and now again in this famous “love” story in Judges 16 as Samson takes up with a new wife, Delilah. As you read this account with the added benefit of historical hindsight, you wonder why in the world would Samson put up with Delilah’s traitorous antics even once, let alone four times. Why couldn’t he see what we so clearly see?

Easy answer: Samson was driven by passion more than principle. So are a lot of people—perhaps even you. Sometimes I am, too. Now, to be sure, God created us with the capacity to be passionate. Without it, we wouldn’t be human. Without it, we could never express righteous indignation. Without it, we could never experience compassion. Without it, we might be perfect, but let’s not forget that God rarely chose the perfect; he mostly chose the passionate to accomplish his purposes, imperfect people like King David and the Apostle Peter.

Yet while passion is a God-given capacity, it must be kept in its rightful place. Like any other capacity, it is never to be out of control; it is never to be the master of our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Only the Holy Spirit is to control what we think, how we feel, and what we do.

“For a God-honoring life, we must make principle the driver of our car and assign passion to push it!” ~Dr. Ray Noah

So what is the right purpose of our passion? Ralph Waldo Emerson offered this insightful thought: “passion, though a bad regulator, is a powerful spring.” He was saying that our passion is never to govern our lives; our principles are supposed to do that. Our passion is to fuel our principles. Passion will be what elevates what we believe at the deepest core to the level of driving conviction over the long haul of our lives.

I believe the main takeaway from Samson’s life is that we would be wise to think through and then codify what I would call our driving missional convictions. These would be our non-negotiable values, like living for the glory of God alone, ruthless trust in God’s sovereignty, obedience to God’s Word, submission to God’s will, wholehearted love for God—as well as our neighbor—and full-throttled commitment to the Missio Dei—the mission of God. I could go on and on, but for practical purposes, we would benefit most from settling on five to ten missional convictions, then allowing those convictions to drive everything in our lives at all times and in every way—our thoughts, feelings, and actions.

In fact, if you want to avoid the Delilah effect, that is, an approach to life that puts passion in the driver’s seat, then I would suggest that you spend some time thinking through your life convictions—like ASAP. Then discuss them with the people in your life whose help you will need to live them out. Finally, codify them and literally place them where you will see them early and often to remind you of what you want your life to be about.

Do that … then get passionate about them!

Choose You This Day:

Write out your missional convictions, the principles that you want to drive your life, share them with your closest relationships, post them in an unavoidably visible place, and then make a habit of verbally reviewing them every day.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Joshua 16:5-6,10

The boundary of their homeland began at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, then on to the Mediterranean Sea…. But the tribe of Ephraim did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves among the people of Ephraim to this day.

The modern reader of Scripture cannot help but read the Old Testament through the eyes of twenty-first-century Western culture. For that reason, much of what we read seems harsh and unfair, if not brutal and primitive, and definitely at odds with our current values of acceptance and inclusiveness. Even in warfare, how we treat our enemy is much different from how it was in Old Testament days—and for that, I am sure our enemies are grateful (although I don’t think they would take the same approach with us).

Case in point: God told the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites and purge them from the land as they went in to possess it. As the people of God moved in, by Divine command, the current residents had to go—every last one of them.

Now, while most Bible-believing Christians today accept that, we are certainly uncomfortable with both God’s command to displace the nations and his method for displacing them. When non-believing people question the harshness of the God of the Old Testament in light of such stories, we have no adequate answer, though there are reasonable explanations. We simply surrender territory on this issue of the sovereign God’s loving but just nature. My point here is not to defend God. For one thing, he can defend himself. And for another, if we truly understood the wickedness and brutality of the people who occupied Canaan in the days of the conquest—people who would make the worst terrorist group imaginable look like a Girl Scout pack—we would feel a little better about God’s commands.

Let’s set that aside for now. The point I want to make here is that when we fail to do what God commands, for whatever reason, we will suffer the logical consequences of that failure. Whether it is flat-out disobedience or benign neglect, our disobedience always allows sin to grow. And where sin grows, sin festers, and spiritual anemia, spiritual sickness, and spiritual death will result, sooner or later. God told the Israelites to drive out the Canaanites; they didn’t. They had their reasons: the Canaanites were harder to get rid of than we might imagine; most of them had been decimated anyway, so what would it hurt leaving the few that were left actually made good slaves for menial labor that no one else really wanted to do? So leaving them actually made better sense than driving them out. The Israelites had their reasons, and I suspect many of the reasons sounded good.

“When we justify anger, lust, pride, judgmental attitudes, and other sins that are easy to camouflage, we commit the sin of the Israelites. We have allowed Canaan to camp out in our hearts.” ~Dr. Ray Noah

But sin always has consequences, and the outcome of sin is never good! What was true for Israel is true for you and me today. We are not called to drive out a people from our neighborhood; that kind of literal biblical conquest is over. Yet there is another conquest God has assigned his people: to get rid of sin from their lives. The Apostle Peter spoke of being done with sin:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. (1 Peter 4:1)

Theologically, we know that; we understand that sin must go. But like the Ephraimites, that is not always as easy as it sounds. For that, God gives the Holy Spirit to help us do away with sin in our lives, and he gives the grace of forgiveness when we fail. Moreover, he walks with us as we exert continuous effort to mortify our sinful nature. That is not the real problem here: it is when we make acceptable what God calls sin; it is when we allow the sin that will ultimately enslave us to hang around in our lives—that is the problem.

When we justify anger, lust, pride, judgmental attitudes, and other sins that are easy to camouflage, we commit the sin of the Israelites: We have allowed Canaan to camp out in our hearts.

“When we justify anger, lust, pride, judgmental attitudes, and other sins that are easy to camouflage, we commit the sin of the Israelites. We have allowed Canaan to camp out in our hearts.” ~Dr. Ray Noah

The Bible should serve as a cautionary tale in this regard, for there is story after story of how allowing Canaan to camp out paved the way for Canaan to rise up and bite Israel on the backside. The end result of inattention to sin is always far greater than the pain of sin when it is in full bloom in our lives—and it will always grow into bloom if we neglect our call to decimate it.

Got sin? Deal with it! Even the little, leftover stuff. Be killing sin or it will be killing you

The good news is, God stands ready to assist those who get with it in getting rid of sin.

Choose You This Day:

Is there leftover sin in your life—the little stuff that is easy to camouflage and justify? Quit! Stop! Deal with it! Today is a great day to start, and God will supply both the want to and the will to give it the boot from your life.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Judges 15:13-15

The Philistines bound Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the rock. As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.

The first senior pastor I worked with out of college used to say, “There is a lot more to God that we don’t understand than we do understand.” He was right. Not that we shouldn’t pursue the knowledge of God—we should. There is no greater or more worthwhile effort than knowing God. And God graciously grants us wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, according to Proverbs 2:3-6 and James 1:5.

“If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding…. If you lack wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.”

But keep in mind in your honorable pursuit that there will be things about God and the record we have in scripture of his dealings with man that do not always make sense—at least in our minds. In those cases, we just need to chalk it up to the fact that God was at work in ways that are much higher than ours. There is a large part of God that will remain in the realm of mystery, and even though we are curious about it, we need a Deity whom we don’t fully understand, and therefore cannot control. Paul states in this way in his eloquent doxology from Romans 11:33-36,

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”
“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”
For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

I would put Judges 15 in that category. In several instances, God uses a deeply flawed judge—which by the way, the judges of Israel were not so much moral leaders as they were national deliverers—to bring judgment upon the godless Philistines and relief to the suffering Israelites. As you read this chapter, I would simply suggest you remember that the sovereign God can use anybody he chooses to bring out his larger purposes. God can use a deeply flawed prophet, preacher, or president for his glory—and he does early and often. In this case, he used a deeply flawed Samson to deliver his people.

Now, keep in mind as you read this passage, and others like it, that what is described in the Bible doesn’t excuse sinful and flawed behavior; it only explains it. It requires a little bit of wisdom to know the difference. So, once you understand that, then you will begin to see in matters great and small, God is in charge, and God is in control. Aren’t you thankful for that?

And if you understand that, then you will also understand that every action has consequences. Our behavior, significant and insignificant, is either bless-able or punishable. So, stay constantly alert to that!

Going Deeper With God:

Take a moment today to affirm in a prayer of praise and gratitude that God is sovereign over the affairs of this world—and of your life.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Joshua 15:18-19

As Caleb’s daughter, Acsah, got down off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What’s the matter?” She said, “Give me another gift. You have already given me land in the Negev; now please give me springs of water, too.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

In your praying, don’t just ask for the bare minimum; go for the whole enchilada. That is why I think this otherwise unimportant story was included in scripture. If anything, Acsah’s request of her father teaches us not to sell God short. God is a big God, and his resources are unlimited. As A.B. Simpson, the founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination, said, “Our God has boundless resources. His only limit is us. Our thinking and praying are too small.”

Acsah was the daughter of Caleb. Caleb was one of two spies out of twelve who came back from scouting the Promised Land with a positive report. That story is told in Numbers 13, forty-five years prior to this moment in time. Caleb was of a different kind of spirit than the average guy. He was a possibility thinker. He didn’t see obstacles; he saw opportunities. He never saw giants in the way; he saw God as the way maker. His faith in God informed his asking and his acting.

When the ten other Israelite spies saw their enemies as giants and themselves as grasshoppers by comparison, Caleb (along with Joshua, the twelfth guy in this consortium of spies) saw only the God of Israel who was bigger than Israel’s biggest enemy—even bigger than that gigantic men of Anak (Numbers 13:28). In fact, four decades later in Joshua 14, Caleb, now an eighty-five-year-old, boldly asks Joshua to give him the mountains around Hebron for his inheritance. And in declaring that he could take the mountains, he specifically called out the giants of Anak, who were still in the land occupying the very mountain that now belonged to Caleb. I think Caleb was still spoiling for a fight with these Gigantor-types all these years later.

His daughter was cut from the same cloth as Caleb. Like her father, she was bold, she was brassy, and she didn’t see problems; she saw possibilities. When her father gave the inheritance—a rarity that a woman would be specifically named in the allotting of land in that time and culture—she decided that what he gave her was not enough. Not that she was ungrateful, she just knew the can-do spirit that her father possessed—and she leaned into it. She knew that he was motivated by faith; that his eye saw beyond what normal people saw, so she appealed to his character in asking for not only a piece of land, but for the nearby springs as well. After all, what good is land in the wilderness if it has no access to water? Acsah wasn’t just asking to gratify her selfish desires; she was asking for something essential for her family to succeed and expand.

And her father granted her request. (Joshua 15:19) My guess is that as she walked away from this encounter, old Caleb turned to his buddies and said, “That’s my girl!”

And your Father will grant your requests, too. But if you don’t ask, he won’t. And if you don’t ask bigly, don’t be surprised that you don’t receive bigly. Your Father is of a different Spirit—one that wants his children to see unlimited possibilities in him. He longs for his kids to ask and ask daringly. That is why he has encouraged them throughout his Word to ask for the desires of their heart. In one of the most stunning passages in scripture, the Son of God said,

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” (John 15:7-8)

Now obviously, this isn’t a blank check for selfish asking. The key to what John 15:7-8 says is that we first must “abide in him and allow his words to abide in us.” The “abiding in his word” isn’t about Bible reading or scripture memorization, it is about intimately knowing the character of God—and letting that knowledge inform your asking.

This is the story of Caleb and Acsah. Both were of the tribe that asks for the whole enchilada. I hope you will join me in being a part of that tribe, too! Yeah, how about you and I form the Enchilada Tribe?

Choose You This Day:

What are you asking God to do in your life? Kick it up a notch; don’t just ask for the land, ask for the springs, too. God loves it when you do that.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Judges 14:2

One day when Samson was in Timnah, one of the Philistine women caught his eye. When he returned home, he told his father and mother, “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye. I want to marry her. Get her for me.”

All of us have made really bad choices in life at one time or another. If you haven’t, just wait a few hours; you will. And usually, the core culprit in bad decisions is impulsiveness. Who among us hasn’t surrendered to an impulse purchase? That is usually what is behind buyer’s remorse. What person has never spoken out in anger or foolishness before we thought about the consequences of our words? That is why most good parents teach their children to think twice before they speak. Is there any person on the planet who has never acted on a whim? I doubt it.

Samson is arguably the poster boy for impulsive choices—he liked the ladies and exercised neither a whole lot of good judgment nor self-control in the woman he chose to be with. In this case, it was a girl who became his wife. In chapter 16, it is a prostitute. Later in the same chapter, a woman named Delilah becomes his second wife. In the case of Delilah, the marriage looked good on the outside, but over time, it caused great pain for Samson and his family and ultimately cost this famous judge of Israel his life. In Judges 14, this unnamed girl captured his affections—a Philistine beauty whose character went no deeper than her flawless skin.

Samson’s choice of women has been the plot for several Hollywood movies over the years, but in the real story of this marriage, however, the romance part of it ends quickly, and the marriage not too long after that, when the girl’s father marries her off to the best man at Samson’s wedding. Mr. and Mrs. Samson—bad choice, bad marriage, bad outcome.

Now obviously, as you look at the whole of Samson’s story, God accomplished a great work through this impulsive man’s life. God redeemed his bad choices for a good outcome (at least for Israel; Samson died in the process). We are told in Judges 14:4 that when his parents questioned his choice of a wife, “His father and mother didn’t realize the Lord was at work in this, creating an opportunity to work against the Philistines, who ruled over Israel at that time.” It is true, as John Newton said, “We serve a gracious Master who knows how to overrule even our mistakes to His glory and our own advantage.”

That is the big picture of the story of Samson’s life—God uses flawed people to accomplish his purposes. And the micro story here in Judges 14 is equally instructive. So let’s dissect Samson’s decision so that we might see how easily we fall into the same kind of impulsive living—and most importantly, learn from Samson that it is best to avoid impulsive choices. Here are three aspects of Samson’s poor decision-making:

First, visuals took precedence over values. The opening words of the text tell us that when Samson gazed upon this lovely woman, it was love (or lust) at first sight: “A young Philistine woman in Timnah caught my eye.” What we see can be deceptive; perhaps it is always deceptive. A good rule of thumb is “don’t believe everything you see.” Of course, I am not just speaking of what you can verify factually, but you must learn to see what is congruent with the values of your faith and avoid what is incongruent with your most deeply held values.

Second, desire outweighed wisdom. Samson’s “wanter” took the baton from his “see-er”, while any kind of thought process took a backseat to both. After he “saw” Timnah, he said to his dad, “I want to marry her.” I see; I want. There is no indication that Samson gave any consideration to what the consequences of marrying a Philistine girl might be. Delayed gratification was not in the picture here; self-control was not exercised. He saw her, he wanted her, therefore, he had to have her.

Third, action dominated reason. I saw her, I want her, now go get her for me: “But Samson told his father, ‘Get her for me! She looks good to me.’” (Judges 14:4) Unfortunately, Samson’s father Manoah didn’t put the brakes on his son’s wishes in the way a father should; we see no fatherly insistence that a reasonable process be followed. So Samson got what he wanted—he got Timnah, and with her, he got a boatload of trouble. The outcome of his flawed decision reminds me of what James talked about,

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. (James 1:14-15)

Again, God used Samson’s mistakes for his own glory. And he will use yours and mine, too. But wouldn’t you rather God use your good decisions for his glory and your good? I sure would. And maybe one of the reasons we have this compelling story of Samson and Timnah is to alert us to slow it down when we are in the middle of a strong desire to get what we think we want.

Think early; think often—that is why God gave us a brain and then commands us to think: “‘Come, let us reason together, says the Lord.’” (Isaiah 1:18) And if that weren’t enough, he placed the Holy Spirit within us to give us in-the-moment counsel!

Think, listen, then do—or not!

Going Deeper With God:

Are you in the rapids of an emotional desire right now? Are you looking at a website and feeling mesmerized by that hunky guy or foxy gal? Are you flirting with a purchase that will over-extend you financially? Is there an emotion—anger, jealousy, sadness—that is getting the best of your ability to think” rationally? Pull into a Holy Spirit eddy and let the Lord bring some rational wisdom to bear.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Joshua 14:10-13

Then Caleb said to Joshua, “Now then, just as the Lord promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.” Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.

Are you daring great things for God? Whether or not you are is your choice, but I say, “Why not?” You and I have only one life to live, and it will be over soon enough, so let’s try something daring for God. Why not do something that will make a difference in someone’s life one hundred years from now? How about we try something that will leave them talking about us long after we are gone? Yes, let’s attempt something that will be celebrated by saints and angels alike for all eternity! Why not at least try?

That is the story of faith in the Bible. Read Hebrews 11 and you will see that God’s Great Hall of Faith is made up of men and women, no different than you and me, who stepped out and attempted the impossible for the sake of the kingdom. Now some of them were successful and some of them were not, by the word’s standards anyway, but it was the faith that led them to try that got them eternally noticed in Hebrews 11.

“As Christ-followers, we’re in the mountain-moving business, and our currency is faith.  If what we’re doing doesn’t require a desperate need for God—then we’re not doing the Lord’s business.”~Dr. Ray Noah

Caleb was one of those kinds of people. He was in his mid-eighties when he informed Joshua that he was ready to take on a certain warrior-like and historically large—and I mean physically big and imposing (see Deuteronomy 2:10, 21; 9:2)—segment of the Canaanites in the well-fortified hill country surrounding Hebron. “Give me this mountain,” Caleb said to Joshua as the land was being allotted to the tribes, and that has forever become the war cry of unlikely men and women whose faith sees farther than the eye sees and whose spirit dares to attempt impossible things for God.

I love what William Newton Clark said, “Faith is the daring of the soul to go farther than it can see!” As believers in Jesus, you and I are in the mountain-moving business, and our currency is faith. If what we are doing doesn’t involve faith—if we can do it ourselves without a desperate need of God—then we are not doing the Lord’s business. But with faith, nothing is impossible. Jesus, the Founder and Finisher of our faith, said, “The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, ‘move!’ and it will move. There is nothing you wouldn’t be able to tackle.” (Matthew 17:20)

We have been given faith—more than enough, actually—but are we daring to exercise it? We have in front of us at the present moment “things farther than we can see.” Or at least we should. If we don’t, then we need to come before God and ask him to give us a scary big vision of what could be.

Whatever that vision is, however impossible it might seem, whatever the obstacles that stand between us and it, if it is noble, if it is consistent with God’s kingdom, if we hunger after it, we must stretch ourselves to reach it, to achieve it. William Carey, missionary to India and considered to be the father of modern missions, said, “Attempt great things for God—expect great things from God.”

That is the story of common men and women who stepped out to where others wouldn’t and in so doing, ended up achieving the uncommon. They didn’t step out thinking they were doing the heroic; they just stepped out thinking God would take care of them, which he did. And by stepping out in faith, they stepped into God’s Great Hall of Faith.

“Give me this mountain,” eighty-five-year-old Caleb boldly demanded. He was the forerunner of many others who would do similar:

Jabez said, “Enlarge my territory!”

David said, “That giant is no big deal!”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, “We like it hot!”

Nehemiah said, “Let’s rebuild this wall!”

Esther said, “If I die, I die!”

What are you saying? What are you praying? What is your faith laying hold of? What is the Holy Spirit daring your soul to see that your eyes cannot? Dare great things for God—do great things for God.

Going Deeper With God:

Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:12-14) Ask for some big things today!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 13:12-14

So Manoah asked him, “When your words come true, what kind of rules should govern the boy’s life and work?” The angel of the Lord replied, “Be sure your wife follows the instructions I gave her. She must not eat grapes or raisins, drink wine or any other alcoholic drink, or eat any forbidden food.”

It may not be as dramatic as the visit Manoah and his wife received from the angel of the Lord. A mighty divine messenger probably won’t appear to you and freak you out. It is not likely that he will consume with fire the thanksgiving sacrifice you set before him. But your child is as every bit important to God as Samson was.

God would use Samson as one of the greatest deliverers of Israel, the nation was to ever know. The stories of his battles with the Philistines are epic. His life was the grand story that both movies and books have retold over the ages. So to be sure, this family, and this baby that the angel of the Lord showed up in such an unforgettable way to announce, was going to become an altogether unique script in the religious history of Israel.

Yet I say again, the child that God gives you is no less important to God. That would be true of your grandchildren, too. It is also true of the children in your church, or your neighborhood, or in the classroom you manage. God has an indescribable love for them; he has plans for them that are beyond exciting; he has designed and built them with the seeds of greatness. Unlimited potential resides within their DNA.

Now it is up to you as a parent, grandparent, or mentor to figure out how to water those seeds of greatness in that child. That is a huge and sobering challenge, and you would do well to ask the Lord how he wants you to go about your task, as Manoah and his wife did in Judges 13:12. They asked the angel, “Give us the guidelines for growing this child into a great man!”

God has guidelines for you to follow, too. They are found primarily in his word. The whole of the Bible is an amazing guide for understanding the law of the Lord. Especially helpful is the book of Proverbs, which will show you day by day the way to inculcate wisdom, knowledge, and understanding into your child’s heart and mind. Another source of help is the Holy Spirit. Asking him daily in prayer to show you your child’s glidepath is a privilege you have because of your relationship with God. Just ask him, submit to him, expect his help, and God the Holy Spirit will walk with you as you train up your child in the way he or she should go. And then there is the body of Christ—men, women, grandparents, pastors, class leaders, and the parenting resources they offer are an incredibly helpful resource of parental richness that you would do well to tap into.

This is the most important role you occupy: mentoring the child the Lord has placed under your influence. Lean into God, ask him for guidance, then submit to his wisdom, and you will bring up a child with whom God will be well pleased.

And never, ever forget, even when they try to prove it wrong, your child was designed and built by God himself with the seeds of greatness implanted within their genetic code.

Choose You This Day:

Pray for your child today. Ask God for wisdom in how he wants you to train them. Encourage them. And hang on to the fact that greatness is the potential within their DNA.

God Speaks—I Obey
// Focus: Joshua 13:1,6

When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.… “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites.”

We will rest when we get to heaven. Until then, there is still work to be done. I am sorry to disappoint you if you were thinking of your Christianity as a spiritual vacation. It is not; it is a spiritual victory. Of course, there are ebbs and flows in the journey of faith along with regular rhythms of renewal that we call sabbath, but there will always be more promises to possess, territory to claim, enemies to overcome, and victories to secure.

Thus, it will always be. That is the ongoing saga of redemptive history. While God brings us through challenges and gives us victory over our enemies, the end has yet to be written. Of course, the outcome has been predetermined, but it is still in the making. That is why we say he leads us from victory to victory.

While the promises of God are as good as done, and even though the outcome has been predetermined, that never means the believer gets to sit back and rest on their laurels. God’s rest is not a piece of geography—not at this point, anyway—it is a spiritual condition of triumph. That triumph is experienced in the advance of his kingdom through our lives. Through the work that he has given us to do, we are victorious—and that is what propels us along our journey of joyful rest.

That is evident in the story of Joshua 13. General Joshua has been one of history’s most brilliant military strategists. He has won conquest after conquest against enemies that were fiercer, stronger, better equipped, and more battle-hardened than Israel’s army. But God was on Israel’s side, and city after city fell into Israel’s hands. Now, after a long period under Joshua, the time had come for others to lead in the remaining battles.

Yes, battles remained. Get used to it! In preparation for the end of his career, God told Joshua to divide the land between the twelve tribes. He was to assign specific geographical territory to each tribe, even though some of it was yet to be firmly in Israel’s possession. So why divide the land between the tribes before Israel had conquered it?

For one thing, Joshua was advancing in years, and the day of his death was looming. The task would not be complete by the time of his passing. Furthermore, there would not be a singular leader over Israel for the next four hundred years as they continued to possess and settle the land, so God assigned Joshua the task of allotting the land among Israel’s tribes, clans, and families.

Behind all of this was a great promise from God: he was on their side, and he would see to it that the land came under their possession. While they would have to do work and fight wars to possess it, God tells them, “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites.” God’s promise to work on Israel’s behalf was so certain that the division of the land could be made even before it was conquered. When God makes a promise, it is as good as done. God was asking Israel through this division of land to picture what he had promised. As we have seen before in Joshua, the faith principle is that we need to picture what we want to possess.

So, what’s the point? Simply this: God always leads us in triumph. There is always more territory to conquer. There are always more enemies to defeat. And while a part of you may yearn to sit back and relax, the glory of what it means to be Christian is to march forward as more than a conqueror. And why would we not embrace our calling to conquer? We have the promise of God that he himself will drive out our enemies.

Yes, the time will come for rest soon enough. In the meantime: onward toward yet another predetermined victory.

Choose You This Day:

Memorize Romans 8:37-39, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

SUMMARY: Too many leaders today are proficient at rising to a position of power, and they might even have the systems in place to keep them there, but they have not moved the ball down the field during their time in leadership. They occupy places of importance but have no track record of impact. They are “all hat and no cattle,” as they say in Texas. Having a position of importance isn’t the end game; it’s the means to the goal. Leaving a footprint of service, blessing, and accomplishment is the best evidence of noteworthy leadership.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 12:11

After Ibzan died, Elon from the tribe of Zebulun judged Israel for ten years. When he died, he was buried at Aijalon in Zebulun.

Elon judged Israel for ten years, then he died. End of story! And you will find his administration not that unusual in the book of Judges. There were plenty of other leaders who occupied positions of import but had no track record of impact. They were “all hat and no cattle, ” as they say in Texas.

I don’t want to be a leader like that, and you don’t want to sit under the leadership of a man or woman like that, be it a pastor or a president. Too many leaders in our day are proficient at rising to a place of power and authority, and they might even have the systems set up around them to keep them there, but they have not moved the ball down the field during their time of leadership.

Now, to be certain, there is nothing wrong with having a position of importance, nor with desiring that. Those positions can provide much larger opportunities for impact. But a position of importance is not the end game; it is the means to the goal. Leaving a huge footprint of effective service, blessing, and mission accomplished is the best evidence of noteworthy leadership.

So what does it take to have both importance and impact? Let me offer some thoughts:

First, while you can position yourself to be important, I believe letting God promote you to places of power and authority is the better way to go. Of course, you need to show yourself winsome, committed, visionary, and skillful, but it is the sovereign hand of God that is the greatest PR machine in the universe. Let God promote you.

Second, get a vision—and not just a vision for your own fame or success. How will the people you lead be better off because of your leadership? How will your organization—family, church, business, community—creatively and compellingly make a difference by collaboratively marshaling your corporate energies to do what you do? Just how do you expect to change the world?

Third, make sure you have the character to match your charisma. Charisma will attract followers; character will keep you in leadership.

Fourth, serve the people you lead. They best lead who also serve—a philosophy that is not talked about all that much in our culture, but was clearly modeled by the greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ. Leaders of impact are truly servants of the public.

Fifth, through your influence, make it your chief aim to make Jesus famous. I am not speaking only of what we would term spiritual “leaders.” In whatever you do—at home, in the marketplace, in the academe, in the halls of government—you are on duty for Christ. As the Apostle Paul says, “In whatever you do, do it with all your might, as serving the Lord, not men; it is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

If you desire to lead, you desire a good thing. But check your motives, make sure your goals are worthy, submit yourself to God, get filled with his Spirit, then get out there to serve the people and to make Jesus famous.

Choose You This Day</strong Whatever state of life you are in, ask the Lord to give you impact. He hears and answers prayer.

“ Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.

—ALBERT SCHWEITZER

SUMMARY: Perhaps you think that reading through the seemingly endless lists of names in Scripture is unnecessary. Maybe you think taking the time to utter these names is boring, meaningless, and a colossal waste of your time. But let me ask you this: why do you think God, in his providential oversight of bringing the Bible into existence, saw fit to include so many statistical and genealogical lists? Do you think it was merely for historical purposes? Or were they to build the faith of his people? I would argue for both. Don’t neglect these genealogical praise songs!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 12:1-2

These are the kings east of the Jordan River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan Valley: King Sihon of the Amorites… King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaites….The king of Jericho…The king of Ai, near Bethel…The king of Jerusalem…The king of Hebron…

We have seen it many times already in reading through the Old Testament: endless lists of meaningless names—at least, meaningless to us. But not meaningless to the people of Israel! Every name is a story—a God-story, to be specific—of God’s provision for his people and punishment for his enemies. And every time Moses or Joshua wrote these lists down, they became a kind of checklist of praise for the people of Israel. You might say that these were praise songs for statisticians. God even loves the numbers geek!

We might be tempted to just skip over these names when we come to them in our Bible reading—at least I am. But I would encourage you not to do that. As an act of worship, read the names out loud. Of course, you won’t know how to pronounce half of them, so just make them up. Remind God of what he did for his people. Of course, God doesn’t need reminding, but in reminding him, you are really reminding yourself that the activity of God is rooted in history—it is real; that God is for his people—he is not an uncaring, distant deity; and that God fulfills his promises, which includes empowering his people to overcome their enemies.

I would then encourage you to list out your own victories. Write a “faithlist” of things that God has done for you. Go back into your past and dredge up your God-stories. Write down the things he has done for you lately. Include little provisions and big miracles. Remember what God has done and memorialize it on a list. Then thank God for each one of those answers—out loud. Do it as an act of worship. Remind God of how great he is. Of course, he already knows his own greatness, but you will be building your own faith as you do it.

Perhaps you think that what I am suggesting is unnecessary. Maybe you think it is a colossal waste of your time. But let me ask you this: why do you think God, in his providential oversight of bringing the Bible into written form, saw fit to include so many genealogical and statistical lists? Do you think it was merely for historical purposes? Or are they to build the faith of his people? I would argue for both. They are to remind us that God’s work is not merely a spiritual fable; it is rooted in history. Moreover, what God has done in history is to teach us that he will do again. Since he is a covenantly faithful God, the interventions, provisions, and victories that he wrought for his people in the past, he will work into the lives of his people today.

These statistical and genealogical praise lists are powerful. That is why I would suggest that you come up with your own list from time to time in your journey of faith. There is an old gospel song authored in the late 1800’s by Johnson Oatman that captures what I am calling you to do. When I was growing up, my faith community often sang this song, Count Your Blessings. One of the verses and the chorus went like this:

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged; God is over all.
Count your many blessings; angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Count your blessings;
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings;
See what God hath done.

Truly, God has been good!

Choose You This Day: Try counting your many blessings today? Make a faithlist of all that God has done for you. You will be amazed at God’s goodness and filled with more faith to take in the day ahead.

“ After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.

—PHILIP PULLMAN

SUMMARY: Newsflash: Your spiritual leader is flawed. Gifted, yes, but also flawed. So don’t confuse the gift with the package. Lift them to God in prayer today. He or she is probably wrestling with a personal flaw. Instead of idolizing them, intercede for them. That would be the best way to return the favor for their spiritual oversight in your life.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 11:29-31

At that time the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he went throughout the land of Gilead and Manasseh, including Mizpah in Gilead, and from there he led an army against the Ammonites. And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord. He said, “If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will give to the Lord whatever comes out of my house to meet me when I return in triumph. I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”

From a historical perspective, Israel may have been scraping the bottom of the barrel when Jephthah was chosen to lead them. God had an altogether higher purpose in using this unlikely man as a judge, deliverer, and leader of the nation, but Jephthah was a piece of work. He was an outcast in his family, literally and figuratively. Born from a union between his father and a prostitute (Judges 11:1), his brothers from another mother flat-out rejected his legitimacy to their father’s inheritance. And they were not shy in telling him why he would do well to get the heck out of Dodge (Judges 11:2).

As a result, Jephthah removed himself from his father’s “real” family—there is some indication that it wasn’t just a good idea that he leave, it was good for his health, as in, they would have killed him. He lived in exile, and while there, developed quite a reputation as a fighter and leader of a band of marauders who made their living taking what they wanted, perhaps even exhorting money in exchange for protection from the locals (Judges 11:3).

Now the Israelites had once again fallen under the dominion of a foreign nation—this time, the Ammonites—and no one else in Israel stepped to the plate as a leader. So the elders turned to someone they despised but whose fighting skills they reasoned would serve them well now that they needed a deliverer. They came with hat in hand to Jephthah to ask him to lead (Judges 11:4-6). Jephthah agreed, but only after extracting an admission that they had been jerks to him all his life and that they would make him ruler over them should he win the battle against the Ammonites (Judges 11:7-11). They didn’t have much of a choice, so they agreed to his conditions.

Now here is where the story gets even weirder: as Jephthah leads Israel to war, we are told that the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him (Judges 11:29), but in the very next two verses, we see that the first thing he does is to make one of the most foolish vows you can imagine:

Meanwhile, Jephthah had vowed to the Lord that if God would help Israel conquer the Ammonites, then when he returned home in peace, the first person coming out of his house to meet him would be sacrificed as a burnt offering to the Lord! (Judges 11:30-31, LB)

Alternative meanings have been assigned to this rash vow to sanitize it for our modern minds. Precisely because of the juxtaposition of these two verses with the antecedent verse, that is, how could someone filled with the Holy Spirit make such an evil vow, commentators have suggested that Jephthah’s declaration really meant that he would force his daughter (the first thing coming out of his house) to become the living sacrifice of a young woman living in perpetual virginity. But the simplest way to read the verse is to understand that he meant to literally offer a human sacrifice if the Lord gave him victory.

Pretty messed up, wouldn’t you say? So the question is legitimate: how could someone filled with the Holy Spirit make such an evil declaration? And perhaps we wonder that in our own context when we see leaders who have been uniquely gifted by God turn around and say weird things or do dumb stuff. How could an amazingly gifted communicator or a miracle-working faith healer or mesmerizing worship leader misappropriate money, or have an illicit affair or promote a false teaching?

I think the easiest explanation for that is simply that we should never confuse the gift with the package. In other words, God’s gift is always placed within flawed human packages—and even if the person so gifted never goes off the rails, they are still sin-broken people. The fact is, God uses broken people to accomplish his purposes, and that is a grace to his people. If he used only the perfect, he would use no one.

Of course, that does not excuse bad behavior; it just explains it. So, the bottom line is that as you view the gifted spiritual leaders in your life, celebrate the gift that God has placed upon their ministry, but don’t idolize the person. Like you, they, too, are human. Furthermore, don’t limit God from empowering you with his Holy Spirit by thinking you are too flawed and unqualified. Remember, as someone has said, God doesn’t choose the qualified, he qualifies the chosen.

Thank God for his gifts. They are a grace to us.

Choose You This Day: Lift your spiritual leader in prayer today. He or she is probably wrestling with a personal flaw. Instead of idolizing them, intercede for them.

“ If God only used perfect people, nothing would get done. God will use anybody if you’re available.

—RICK WARREN