Leadership lessons from Joshua

Joshua 5: 1 -2, 8

1 Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they[a] had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites. 2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” …8 And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed.

Sun Tzu in his hugely influential book the Art of War said that “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.” What remarkable insight Sun Tzu conveys here…in the world, successful warfare is based on deception. We see Joshua use deception to defeat Ai. As the Hebrews cross the west side of the Jordan, it seems as thought they are taking a page right out of Sun Tzu’s book again. If you look at vs. 1 the key phrase is “their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.” The enemy is terrified and has no will to fight just by the mere mention of God’s power. This seems like it would be a great time for Joshua to attack, but look at God’s command to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.” Now if the Lord would have told Joshua to “appear as though you were going to circumcise yourselves to lure them in and destroy them,” I would have said ‘man Sun Tzu principles were universal and for every satiation. But, God tells the Hebrews to circumcise themselves. This is a major problem because doing so would make them vulnerable to attack, even annihilation. Why? Well, you can not fight when you have recently been circumcised. The healing process takes three-weeks. In vs. 8 of chapter 5 the text says, “And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. It seems as though the decision to circumcise is an act of deception to lure their enemies in for the attack. But, nothing could be further from the truth. God is more interested in the covenant than He is with them quickly winning the war. For God the war could wait, but to be in a “right” relationship with Him could not. I can not imagine how difficult it was for Joshua to obey this command. Seemingly, obedience to this command could result in certain death if the enemy rallied and attacked them in this circumcised state. The Kingdom leader must always remember that God is more interested in maintaining His relationships than He is in us fulfilling our calling. Sun Tzu has remarkable insight…successful warfare is based on deception. However, Joshua is asked to circumcise the men of Israel making them vulnerable to attack, which is not an act of deception. Obedience could lead to certain death. Yet for a kingdom leader Obedience to God, which maintains a healthy relationship with Him, is his or her priority when leading God’s people.

I just finished reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

I just finished reading Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond...it was a fascination book. I had to read most of it with a filter though. Especially, when it pertained to his conclusions on evolutionary philosophy and carbon dating. But the premise of it was right on...to summarize... the book was an attempt to dispelled the racial argument that White Europeans came to dominate the world because of intelligence. Rather he proposes the assertion that even though all ethnicities have the same anatomy, they did not have the same opportunity. Diamond suggest that what was need to create a thriving technologically advanced society was the right "package" of conditions: the right type of land that could grow the right types of domesticated plants and food that could sustain the right type of domesticated animals. As a result the philosophy of the people would transition from a hunter gather mentality to a planting a growing society. This new society would result in a denser population and more diseases. Those who would survive the diseases would then move to other vocational fields rather than farming. As the population would grow then wars would begin resulting in an advancements in technology. Thus, if you don't have the right "conditions" the progressive advancement of the society would be hindered.

Leadership lessons from Joshua

Joshua 4:14

14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.

The obedient leader is the leader who brings glory to God. Obedience is the key…the theme of obedience is constant throughout the lives of any successful leader in the Kingdom of God. Without obedience God can not utilize a leader for the specific purposes of drawing people to Himself through the revelation of His unending grace. For example, Moses’ disobedience at Mount Horeb, where he hit the rock instead of speaking to it, resulted in him not being able to enter the Promised Land. In this instance we see that the Holiness of God is absolute. Even though Moses was “the meekest man on the earth” and that God had used him mightily, his disobedience had catastrophic consequences. However, we see Joshua’s obedience to God stand in distinction to Moses’ disobedience, and as a result of his obedience he entered the Promised Land unlike Moses. This does not mean that Joshua was a better leader than Moses; it simply means that Joshua’s obedience made him useful in fulfilling God’s purposes. Usually the only way a disobedient leader draws people to God is through a sense of reverence following the judgment (i.e.) Moses not entering the Promised Land as a result of his disobedience imparted more reverence into the heart of Joshua. Nevertheless, as a result of obedience, a leader will be exalted and the sole purpose of that exaltation once again is designed to bring glory and fame to God. We see in the text that Joshua has learned well from his predecessor. And, because of his faithfulness and the grace of God, he is now receiving the same exalted position in leadership that Moses did (vs. 14 That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses). Joshua did not perform half of the miracles Moses did, but his obedience resulted in the same level of status and glory as Moses had. The obedient leader glorifies God. Obedience is paramount for success in the kingdom…this theme is constant throughout the lives of successful leaders in the Kingdom. Obedience is essential in drawing people to Himself through the revelation of His unending grace.

Some pics from the past!!!

If God can turn a Shepard into a king, then he can use me for anything he wants...

Leadership lessons from Joshua

Joshua 4

⁴ So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."

Some believe the axiom that leadership is influence. The leader knows his influence is specifically useful for the mission set before him or her. For the most part leaders influence those people whom they have direct or indirect contact with. Now with advancements in technology direct contact may mean communication via the internet or cell phone as well as face-to-face interaction. Today, the leaders influence is expansive to say the least. Nonetheless, the Kingdom leaders influence is even vaster. In looking at the nature of the Kingdom leader’s influence, we are introduced to a broader paradigm when we are considering the leaders function in the Kingdom of God. In the Kingdom the leaders actions not only affect those people who he or she has contact with whether directly of indirectly, but they will affect their progeny for all time as well. Look at the text in vs. 5 - 6 God command’s Joshua to take up a stone from the River Jordan and place it on the opposite bank. What was the purpose of this action? “The purpose was to serve as a sign… In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.” The stone that Joshua was commanded to set up were to be a memorial to God’s power and faithfulness. The scope of Joshua’s influence here is remarkable…vs. 7 says “These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." The Scriptures makes it clear Joshua’s influence would last forever. Joshua’s obedience to God leads to the establishment of a eternal reminder of God’s faithfulness. Joshua’s obedience would influence believers for millenniums to come. Rarely do leaders think about legacy usually that term is used within the context of family; however, in the Kingdom its inhabitant are family and for the kingdom leader his or her influence is just as big as is their family is great. Leadership is influence; the leader knows his or her influence is designed to accomplish a mission. With the advancement in technology the leaders influence is expansive to say the least. However, the Kingdom leader’s authority is even larger. In the Kingdom the leaders actions not only affect those people who he or she has contact with whether directly of indirectly, but they will affect their progeny for all eternity.

John 21 Devotional

John 21: 18 - 19 When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."

Have you ever failed at something? When you failed how did you react? Did you give up and never try again? Or, did you get up, dust yourself off, and learn from your mistakes? You know most people would say our response is determined by our personality. And, I would agree with them. However, sometimes our failures are so bad we are powerless to do anything when we are put in the same situation again, and in those cases it is the very fear of failure that robs us of our ability to learn from our mistakes and robs us of our courage to try again. When we are in this state, we psychologically become reluctant to try again because we are fearful we will be identified as a failure and see ourselves as worthless. So instead of risking failure we become cowards and run from our opportunity to succeed and overcome life’s challenges. The shame of feeling worthless due to our ineptitude to pass our tests can drive one to self hate and eventually to self destruction. This can become a viscous cycle that requires repentance and the grace of God to over come. The funny thing about our walk with God is that our relationship with Him does not exempt us from any test. As a matter of fact, because of our relationship with God we will be tested even more. This is the reality that Peter is facing at the end of the book of John. Is it not interesting that the last story in the book of John is not Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, nor is it His ascension into heaven; but it is Peter’s restoration from his sin of denying Jesus, and the vivid declaration of how he would die. That is not how I would have ended it, but then again I am not its author. Nevertheless, Jesus after uncovering Peter’s lack of true commitment to Him, in vs. 15 – 17 describes Peter’s future in a gloomy way. Jesus said, “When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me." Jesus was actually telling Peter that he would be executed when he got older. Scholars believe that Peter was crucified the in same manner in which Jesus was. I think the point John makes is Peter’s true commitment level to Christ would be revealed by the test he would endure through out the course of his life. Remember, Peter had already failed his first test when he denied Christ three times. Do you want to know something ironic? Jesus even told him that he was going to deny him. Nevertheless, by God’s grace Peter had another chance to redeem himself. So, here at the end of the book of John, Jesus basically tells Peter he would face the same test he had previously failed but at the end of his life. [Whoa! Imagine looking forward to that] Hold up that is not the key of this scripture the key is what Jesus did not say to Peter this time that is encouraging. Yes, I know it is very scary that Jesus is telling Peter he is going to be executed. And, I agree it is hard to find encouragement here. But, what Jesus did not say this time was that Peter would deny Him. You see, somehow Peter was eventually able to learn the one lesson every believer of Christ has to learn in this life. We can not pass life’s test in our own strength. We can only pass them through the power of God. Therefore, now in the last chapter of John Peter is facing his life’s final examination. Peter was being tested once more to prove his love for his Savior. Fortunately, in God’s mercy, He restored Peter and gave him a second change. And, just like Peter when we fail, God can restore us and give us a second chance as well; however, we must understand even though we have to continually take the test, which many we will fail, they do get any easier; therefore, it is essentially we learn how to trust God. Eventually, Peter passed his test. He did not deny Christ; moreover, he even asked to be crucified upside down. What a change of heart! What was the difference in Peter? When Peter was older he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he had learned how to trust in God’s ability and not his own. Friend, you will be tested all your life, and you will fail some of them. The point is will you get up and take it again! Well, will you?
Three action steps:

Take the time to memorize John 21: 18 - 19
Do you like test? Why or why not?
What test in life have you failed in life? What test have you passed in life?