DIG for Saturday the 12th of August…..what He promised to Joshua He promises to you…..Joshua 1 v 9

Nunsy said tonight that the next time she is preaching she will be coming from Joshua, and that made me head straight to that book for the DIG tonight.

What the Lord says to Joshua as he embarked on his ministry, into leadership, He is saying to us today.

And I find that truth extremely encouraging.

He promises to be with us on the mission He has tasked us with (Joshua 1 v 5).

He promises that He will not fail us (Joshua 1 v 5).

He promises us that if we follow His guidance we will prosper in whatever we do (Joshua 1 v 7).

He promises that if we focus on His Word and speak out His Word we will have good success (Joshua 1 v 8).

He promises that with His presence we can live without fear (Joshua 1 v 9).

Now there’s a great model for anything that we do in life, be it ministry, school, work, indeed any part of life.

Follow the Lord’s guidance through His Word and through your personal relationship with Jesus and you cannot go wrong.

You cannot fail to succeed and prosper if you go with His guidance rather than with your on understanding.

This is a truth confirmed in Proverbs (Proverbs 3 v 5 and 6).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the promises that you gave to Joshua, and thank you that you have also given them to me”.

Joshua 1 v 9…..Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest

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DIG for Wednesday the 29th of June…..Joshua did not live in fear…..Joshua 1 v 9

Life without fear is a life of freedom; that is what I have been meditating upon as I travel on my last leg home this morning.

One of the good things about travelling and working away from home (one of the few good things!) is that I get a lot of thinking time sitting in airports and hotels.

Today I’ve been meditating upon what we should see in our lives if we are free from fear; and Joshua “popped” into my mind.

To cut a long story short Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, He was of course a picture of Jesus, leading us into salvation.

The Lord gave Joshua some wonderful advice when he started to lead the people and this is still very valuable to us today.

The Lord told him not to be afraid, not to fear, and He also told him to be courageous and strong (Joshua 1 9).

Being strong and courageous talks to me of assertiveness, and this is what we should see in our lives if we are free from fear.

Assertive enough to strongly live out our lives of faith without being aggressive and offensive.

Assertive enough to talk openly and eloquently about Jesus without being abusive and intrusive.

Assertive enough to carry out what the Lord wants us to do without leaning on the knowledge or suggestions of men.

We are free to live our lives like Joshua and Caleb not like the other “spies”, living in fear because of what the world could potentially throw at them.

A life free from fear is what we should be living.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the example of Joshua, thank you that I can live an assertive life, free from fear”.

Joshua 1 v 9…..Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with the whithersoever thou goest

DIG for Thursday the 10th of March…..we all have to be leaders sometimes…..Joshua 1 v 9

You may not be a pastor or minister, but there are times when you will be a leader.

This may be at work, in school, with family of friends, but there will be a time when we all have to take the lead.

The Lord gave some awesome advice on how to lead when He spoke to Joshua.

Joshua had just taken over the leadership from Moses, but this is applicable to anyone in any form of leadership.

The Lord says, “be strong and of good courage”; indeed he tells Joshua this three times so it must have been important.

This talks of talking a stand, of being bold and brave and of being firm in what we believe and in what we do.

The Lord also tells Joshua why he can be strong and courageous; he can do this as God is with him and will be with him wherever he goes.

In all the hard times when strong and courageous leadership was required the Lord would be there with Joshua.

And the same is true for us; indeed we have even more than Joshua.

We are living under the New Covenant and as born again believers we have the permanent in dwelling Holy Spirit, a privilege that Joshua never had.

We have been promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13 v 5).

In any situation today, but especially in leadership, we can take comfort, we can be strong and we can be courageous, in the absolute assurance that the Lord is with us wherever we go.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you are always with me and thank you that you will never leave me not forsake me”.

Joshua 1 v 9…..Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord they God is with thee whithersoever thou goest

DIG for Saturday the 14th of June…..be strong and of good courage…..Joshua 1 v 9

When I was training to be a manager many years ago I was given some great advice about what to do when I was teaching people; the course facilitator said to me “tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you have just told them”.

In other words use repetition to press home something important.

When the Lord spoke to Joshua after the death of Moses He repeats the same advice three times in a very short space of time (Joshua 1 v 6 to 9).

In 4 verses He tells Joshua to be of strong and to be courageous.

Do you think this was important for Joshua to hear?

Of course it was, he was told three times!

And it is just as important for you to hear; God is still saying this today and He is saying it to you.

Are you about to step into something new? Are you going somewhere different? Is your life about to change?

OK, be strong and be courageous.

You may be thinking but Vic you don’t know what I have to do or what I am going through.

That is true, but I do know (that like Joshua) God is with you where ever you go and whatever you do!

With that truth in your heart you will be able to keep well away from fear, being strong and courageous.

Do you know that if Joshua could do it then we can as we live under a far better covenant than he did?

We now live under the new covenant of grace (Romans 6 v 14), and we have the Living God inside us saying that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13 v 5).

Surely that will fill us with strength and ensure that we can be courageous.

We are much better off than Joshua ever was!

We can be strong and we can be courageous if we choose to be.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through the finished work of Jesus Christ I now live under the new covenant and I can be strong and I can be courageous”.

Joshua 1 v 9…..Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest