Second Stage Ministries

We are back in Joshua this week after the one week break last week. We are looking at chapter 17 and something that I find interesting. God had taken the Israelite people all this way, battle after battle, and they had gotten a lot of land. But on tribes came to Joshua and said - “The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.” - Joshua 17:14 NIV So on the surface I see them complaining about their share of the land. They wanted more. They were unsatisfied with what they had been given. So Joshua gives them a solution: “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.” The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain

This week we are going to take a break from our look at the book of Joshua. Last week I heard a song that has been playing my head for a week. The song is "Ultralife" by Oh Wonder[1]. As I was listening to the song, not really paying attention, this phrase caught my ear: "And I got love falling like the rain I never could've asked for more"[1] So I stopped and listened. This time I heard most of the chorus. I was even more intrigued. So I looked up the rest of the lyrics and as I read them with the song playing in the background, I was reminded of something amazing. The song starts with the word "Lovesick". When I heard this word I couldn't help but think about some people who are lovesick. They have this desperation for love that they don't have, have never had, or don't have any longer. This can be heart breaking for people and it can leave them feeling unloved and unwanted - lovesick. The rest of the first verse co

We are now in the home stretch of the book of Joshua. In the second half we start to see all of the land that Israel had won from the battles. So with that said we are going to jump around a little bit in the last few chapters of Joshua. In Joshua 14, the one thing that jumped out me was the word.... rest. Yes, out of all of the words in the chapter, REST , jumped out at me and here's why.... Rest is a big part of God's character. He encourages rest right from the very beginning: “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:3 NIV God shows us here that rest is good. God didn't need to rest, but we do . In fact, it is the very first thing that Adam did as well. So when I see ".....Then the land had rest from war" (14:15 c, NIV) it shows me that God still values rest. God has made them work for what He gave them and then He gave them a rest period

Ahhhh... a reward. There is nothing more satisfying then finally getting to a place where you receive a reward. I remember as a child finishing a task and getting the reward that was promised to me. There is nothing better than receiving a reward after hard work. It's that moment when you realize that all of your hard work paid off. You have that ribbon, the candy bar, the promotion or raise. You got the reward! In Joshua 11 Israel finally gets their reward for all of their hard work. All of the battles and times of trail had paid off. “So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:23 NIV After the last few battles Israel finally takes the land that God had promised them long ago. After all the ups and downs and twists and turns, they finally got their reward. The same thing goes for us as well. We have navigate

In chapter 10 we see another battle. The Amorites had heard about Joshua and Israel’s battles with Jericho and Ai, and that they had made a treaty with the Gibeonites. The Amorites assembled and went to attack the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua pleading for his help and to not leave them hanging (Joshua 10:6).  So Joshua went up and told the Gibeonites to not be afraid, that God has given them the battle.  Israel caught the Amorites off guard, and God threw them into confusion. Some of the Amorites began to flee, and God hurled down hailstones killing most of them (Joshua 10:11). God even held the sun in place at the request of Joshua, and there has never been a day like that since. The sun stood still for an entire day (Joshua 10:12-14).  God was fighting for Israel. God fights for us, too. When we think we aren't enough or can't handle the situation, God can! He is there to help us get through any situation.  God told Moses: "I A