“…to the ends of the earth”
I’ve just started a journey through the book of Acts. My final year of university is approaching and I want to milk it dry for the glory of Jesus. Acts is the perfect book to read when you’re thinking about mission.
It only took the first few verses of Acts 1 for me to find some big challenges:
After finishing a journey through Joshua, I decided to carry onto into the following book, Judges. It had been a while since I’d last looked at Judges. Samson’s in there, right? Isn’t it all just a bit crazy and full of gruesome passages that atheists use to make God out to be vicious and evil?
Despite such initial thoughts, it’s been an unbelievably helpful and challenging book. The Lord has blessed my reading of it, teaching me some real lessons. This post is an attempt to tie those lessons together under some specific and (hopefully) helpful headings.
“If a man guilty of a capital offence is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse” – Deuteronomy 21:22-23
During this year’s summer term, the hall groups of my university Christian Union went through Joshua 1-6. The book of Joshua tells the story of how, after the death of Moses and 40 years of wandering, the Israelites finally move into the land which God promised them.
It was a challenging series, generating lots of discussion all round – but it’s always great to be challenged by God’s word, and to learn increasingly that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
As term ended, I decided to carry on reading Joshua alone throughout the summer. Term finished a month ago and I’ve only just finished Ch. 10, so it’s looking more like a year’s devotional plan! However, I have been struck by so much in the few chapters I’ve covered; so much so that, in a way, I’m glad I’ve gone so slowly, as it means things have had a good amount of time to lay themselves on my heart.
An Unshakable Kingdom 