Look at all the time that has gone by and I have not updated my page. My mind is filled with clutter, as is everything in my life!! I can't focus, even though I do study the Bible, even though I do think of God all the time! My prayer today is that my mind will calm down and I can dedicate time to carefully and strategically record what I ask God for, what I thank God for, what I do for God on a daily basis. I will be studying Bible characters in 2014, along with the continue study of the book, Bible Readings for the Home Circle with my friend from South Carolina, Evelyn. So my prayer is that I will be able to document everything I do daily, which I really have NO excuse. I'm on this blasted computer every day, all day.
Here's the first character for the year:
Introducing Joshua
Can we count on God to keep his promises?
Thousands of years ago God promised Abraham, "I will make you into a great nation" (Ge 12:2). "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates" (Ge 15:18). These same promises were renewed with each generation of Abraham's descendants, but hundreds of years passed and his children still had no land to call their own. Even worse, they lived as slaves for four hundred years and wandered in the desert forty years after that. They hardly qualified as a great nation!
The book of Joshua is the story of God making good on his promises. It tells how Israel entered and conquered the land God had promised them. In fact, God's faithfulness is so complete that at the end of the book we hear this proclamation: "You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed" (Jos 23:14).
Can we count on God to keep his promises? The answer from Joshua is a resounding yes! God is utterly dependable, and we can trust him completely. Joshua is a book for those whose prayers seem to go unanswered, for those who wonder if God is really alive and active, and for those who desire fresh assurance of God's dependability.
Joshua is also a fast-paced book. In it we share the excitement of the Israelites, who through God's power saw a river dry up and a city wall tumble. We watch them face overwhelming odds and emerge victorious.
The book of Joshua picks up the story of Israel's history after the death of Moses and carries it through the entry, conquest and division of the Promised Land. The events recorded began around 1406 B.C. and ended about twenty-four years later.
Although the author of the book is not identified, the traditional view is that it was written by Joshua himself, with a few additions made by Eleazar or Phinehas (for example, the reference to Joshua's death in 24:29-30). However, some scholars believe that the book may have been written by a younger contemporary of Joshua, and still others think it was not written until the beginning of the monarchy by someone who had access to various records of the actual events.
Individual Studies
http://www.ivpress.com/bible/joshua/
So, if you care to follow along with me, welcome!! If not, pray for my growth in the Lord, as I shall pray for your growth in our God too! May 2014 bring us closer to the Lord God Jehovah!
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