“For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise” (Luke 18:32–33 ESV). As Jesus draws near to Jerusalem, He tells His disciples what will soon take place. He speaks
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1 ESV). Before Jesus even begins the parable of the persistent widow, Luke tells us His purpose for telling it. Jesus wanted His disciples to know the importance of prayer, especially in times of delay
“Behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21 ESV). The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come, expecting signs of political upheaval or outward power. But Jesus corrected their thinking. The Kingdom of God was not something to be observed with visible signs—they were missing it even
‘The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”’ (Luke 17:5–6 ESV). This passage comes right after Jesus tells the disciples to
‘And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.”‘ (Joshua 7:25 ESV). This verse captures the tragic climax of the story of Achan, who took some of the devoted things from Jericho—items God had declared off-limits. Though Achan sinned in secret, the result was felt across the
“But Rahab the prostitute and her father’s household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho” (Joshua 6:25 ESV). Rahab was a Canaanite and a prostitute, a person many would overlook or dismiss.
“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’” (Joshua 4:21-22 ESV). After the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, God instructed Joshua to have twelve men, one from each tribe, take a stone
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 ESV). When God called Joshua to lead Israel after Moses, He didn’t give him a strategy manual or a long list of instructions. Instead,
“Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together” (Deuteronomy 33:5 ESV). This verse comes at the beginning of Moses’ final blessing to the tribes of Israel. Before speaking to each tribe, Moses affirmed a central truth: the Lord became King in Jeshurun.
“Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people…” (Deuteronomy 32:49–50 ESV). God