Seizing God’s Promises Fearlessly

Welcome!

Welcome to the Seizing God’s Promises Fearlessly Bible study! We're about to spend six weeks studying the conquest of the Promised Land, and many lessons from Joshua and the people he led.

For six weeks, there are five daily homework assignments followed by a group discussion note space. This page indicates questions from the homework intended to spark meaningful group discussion. There is a Group Study Leader’s Guide at the back of this book to help your group’s facilitator(s).

As you go through each day’s homework, mark questions that you feel would be valuable to discuss or share when you gather with your study group. Underline or highlight any text you feel would be worth discussing or sharing with anyone who may have missed a day’s assignment.

You may notice I did not quote much Scripture in these pages, and that was no accident, my friend. I want you do open the pages of your Bible and find them. The discoveries are so much better when you make them yourself! Any time I do reference Scripture, it comes from the NIV, mostly because that was the beloved, worn, pocket sized Bible that went everywhere with me for months and months as I studied and wrote. Use whichever translation you prefer.

The pages of Joshua have become a place for me to camp and learn, and to allow God to heal and encourage me. A book about war was the last place I expected to find healing and peace, but isn’t that how God likes to work?

Throughout Joshua, God drives home the command: Do not fear! Be strong! Be courageous! He follows that with a promise as the empowerment to obey His command: Because the Lord your God is with you. Joshua’s testimony – after he was delivered from slavery, his faithfulness was discounted by his community, he wandered the desert for forty years, he crossed Jordan into the Promised Land, and fought for the better part of forty-five more years – is that God is good!

Not one of God’s good promises has failed!

I want to approach my last days on earth with the same confident proclamation: God is good, and all of His promises are true!

Fear has been a frequent companion of mine throughout my life. So have self-doubt, insecurity, and a feeling that I have no idea what to do next. God has used Joshua to teach me. He has used Joshua to call me to the mat on a few things, but Almighty Comforter that He is, He picked me up off the mat, drew me close, and pointed to victory in Him. Praise God!

***

Week 1, Day 1

Intro to Bible Study

The Story of God from Genesis to Joshua

Today is dedicated to the brand new student of the Bible!

If you are one of the people who say, "I've never read the Bible," or, "I've never done a Bible study," or, "I have no idea what I'm getting myself into," then today is for you! And it will be an easy day! If you’re not in that boat, read it anyway, so you are reminded of where some people are starting.

I became a Christian as an adult, and I will never forget how dumb I felt in my first Bible study when the leader said to open up to whatever verse it was. I didn't know where on earth to search in that giant book! I didn't realize it then, but that didn't make me dumb – it's like anything else in life: the longer you use something, the more familiar it becomes!

Lesson 1: Use your table of contents! If you want to make it less obvious, use a tiny flag sticker or post-it to mark the Table of Contents page so you can find what you need. I promise, no one else is looking to see if you find a certain verse faster than they do.

***

Week 3, Day 1

Crossing the Jordan River

Have you been thinking about acting in faith since yesterday’s lesson? Today’s step of faith is an exciting one!

Read Joshua 3:1-5

Something big is about to take place; crossing into the Promised Land has been the most anticipated event of the past forty plus years! As it is right around the corner, Joshua instructs the people to consecrate themselves. Consecrating meant they were to set themselves aside as belonging to God.

Read Exodus 19:9-11, 14-15

1. What physical actions did they take to display this consecration?

[leave space to write answer]

Consecration brings the sacrament of baptism to mind. The act of being dunked in the water is not in and of itself consecrating, but when done as a declaration of the old self, being dead to sin and the believer rising in new life with Christ, it is a beautiful picture of setting oneself aside as belonging to God. But as believers, we are always to be set aside for Christ, so the act of consecrating ourselves to God should be ongoing.