Crossing Again with God

S: Joshua 3

O: God did a mini-repeat of the Red Sea crossing with the Jordan crossing – stopping the water though it was at flood stage so that the Israelites could cross over into the Promised Land. This reassured the Israelites that YHWH was still with them though Moses had died, and endorsed Joshua’s leadership.

A: There is often a need to remind people of what God had done earlier. In this case, the reminder was a sequel miracle. Often, it is not, but something more low-key. Sometimes it’s just in reading the scriptures again. That’s why it’s helpful to spend time with Lord daily and read the Bible daily, because these little daily reminders keep us attuned to God’s ways and helps us not drift away.

P: Father, thank You for Your past miracles, as well as the ones to come. May I keep reminding myself of them and teach them to others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Don’t scared lah, God is with you one!

S: Joshua 1:6-9 ⁶ “Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. ⁹ Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”

O: Yahweh told Joshua “be strong and courageous” three times in this short passage! I hear it in Manglish, “Haiya, don’t scared! Don’t scared! I told you already what? Don’t scared lah, God is with you one!” 😊

Not only that, at the end of the chapter, in verse 18, the Reubenites and Gadites also told him “Only be strong and courageous!”

I guess Joshua must have felt that Moses’s shoes are too huge to fill. Suddenly, everything is on his shoulders… but as the story progresses, we realise that no, they’re not all only on Joshua’s shoulders – in fact, Yahweh Elohim is with him wherever he goes, and it is He who enables the victory. First with Jericho and then onwards.

A: Sometimes we, too, feel like Joshua — suddenly responsible for something much bigger than ourselves. Maybe it’s stepping into a new role (which I have faced lately), facing uncertainty, or dealing with loss. God’s words to Joshua are the same for us today: “Don’t scared! I’m with you one!”

The call isn’t to be fearless because we’re strong, but to be courageous because He is with us. That makes all the difference.

Joshua didn’t need to be another Moses. He just needed to be faithful Joshua, walking in obedience to Yahweh. That’s often God’s way — He doesn’t ask us to fill someone else’s shoes, but to walk faithfully in our own, trusting that He’ll lead and equip us.

So when life feels overwhelming — when we feel too small, too weak, or too unsure — may we remember Joshua’s words ringing through time: “Be strong and courageous.” Or, in Manglish, “Don’t scared lah, God is with you one!” 😄

P: Father, I honestly feel the imposter syndrome with my current appointment as programme coordinator. I feel like I have so many balls in the air, I’m afraid I’ll drop one sooner or later. Father, lead and guide me, and help me to be a good witness in my workplace and beyond. In Jesus’s name, amen.

No kings? No other gods

S: Numbers 12:8-9 ⁸ Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a venomous snake, and set it on a pole. It shall happen that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ⁹ Moses made a serpent of bronze, and set it on the pole. If a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived.

Deuteronomy 5:7-10 ⁷ You shall have no other gods before me. ⁸ You shall not make a carved image for yourself—any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. ⁹ You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me ¹⁰ and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 34:5-6 ⁵ So Moses the servant of Yahweh died there in the land of Moab, according to Yahweh’s word. ⁶ He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no man knows where his tomb is to this day.

2 Kings 18:1-5 Now in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. ² He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. ³ He did that which was right in Yahweh’s eyes, according to all that David his father had done. ⁴ He removed the high places, broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because in those days the children of Israel burned incense to it; and he called it Nehushtan. ⁵ He trusted in Yahweh, the God of Israel, so that after him was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among them that were before him.

O: I wonder if God deliberately concealed Moses’ resting place so that the Israelites could not go worship him there? Just like what happened with the bronze serpent.

On Saturday, 7 million people were reported to have joined the “No Kings” rallies in USA. The Bible doesn’t say we must not have kings, but it does say “You shall have no other gods before me.”

A: We so easily put other gods before Him. When we idolise people and other things, when we let ourselves be first motivated by them – whether it’s loyalty to a person, to our desire for wealth and power, comfort, or anything else – above obeying God – that’s a problem.

I am not much tempted by wealth or power, but my weak point is comfort. But sometimes God calls me to do an uncomfortable thing.

P: Father, help me to follow You faithfully, even when it’s not comfortable or convenient. Teach me to keep You first in all things. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Apatu ascribe?

S:Deuteronomy 32:3-4

For I will proclaim Yahweh’s name.
Ascribe greatness to our God!
⁴ The Rock: his work is perfect,
    for all his ways are just.
    A God of faithfulness who does no wrong,
    just and right is he.

O: I’m familiar with these verses from Don Moen’s song

But I always thought the phrase “ascribe greatness” a bit odd — after all, God is already great; He doesn’t need us to make Him great. So I went to look it up.

In Deuteronomy 32:3, the Hebrew phrase is:

כִּי שֵׁם יְהוָה אֶקְרָא הָבוּ גֹדֶל לֵאלֹהֵינוּ
Ki shem Yahweh ekra; havu gōdel l’Eloheinu.

“For the name of Yahweh I will call; give (or ascribe) greatness to our God.”

Reading up on this, I found that the verb הָבוּ (havu) means “give,” “ascribe,” or “attribute.” So it’s not about proclaiming greatness as if we’re creating it, but about acknowledging or crediting God with the greatness that already belongs to Him.

In other words, it’s kinda like saying “I will call on Yahweh’s name — you, therefore, should recognise and declare how great He is.”

It’s like saying, “I will proclaim Yahweh; now, you react to His glory!” We don’t make God great; we recognise His greatness and respond to it in worship.

A: Yahweh is so great and good to us. We need to react to that in worship, in praise, and in motivation to follow Him. Worship isn’t just singing — it’s a recognition that all goodness, justice, and faithfulness flow from Him. We should not forget His goodness for us like the Israelites did in the desert, which Moses went on to remind them of in the rest of this passage. Otherwise we will reap the negative consequences of our negative actions.

The last few chapters has had a lot of reminders about consequences — both good and bad. It’s the principle of sowing and reaping — we reap what we sow. But when we continually ascribe greatness to God — giving Him the honour and gratitude He deserves — it keeps our hearts humble and our lives aligned with His ways.

P: Father, thank You for being our Rock — faithful, just, and perfect in all Your ways. Help me always to recognize Your greatness and to respond with gratitude and obedience.may I always be mindful of Your greatness and Your love for us, and may I always follow You. As You love us, You have warned us about the consequences — both positive and negative. May I sow faithfulness and reap the fruit of Your goodness. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Living God’s Eternal Principles in a Modern World

S: Deuteronomy 27:16–26
Cursed is anyone who dishonours their father or mother… who moves a neighbour’s boundary stone… who leads the blind astray… who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow… who commits sexual sin… who kills secretly… who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person. And all the people shall say, “Amen.”

O:These principles are ancient, from the foundation of Israel as a nation, yet they remain so relevant today: Honouring our parents. Honouring others’ property. Looking after the disabled, the refugee & immigrant, the orphan, and the widow. Keeping sexual purity and avoiding incest. Rejecting murder and corruption.

Though we no longer live under the Mosaic Law, these principles reveal God’s heart — He values justice, purity, compassion, and respect. His standards do not change, and obedience is for our own good and for the health of society.

A: I need to live by these unchanging principles, not out of legalism, but as expressions of love for God and others. I need to examine whether I show honour to my parents and elders, treat others’ property with respect, and stand up for those society neglects.

Am I careful to walk in integrity and sexual purity, or do I tolerate small compromises? Do I speak up against injustice, or stay silent for convenience? God’s blessings come with obedience, but even more, His heart is revealed when His people live righteously and care for others.

P: Lord, help me to live by Your eternal values. Teach me to honour, respect, protect, and love others as You do. Keep my heart pure and my conscience clear. Let my actions reflect Your justice and compassion, so that my life points others to You. Amen.