Truth: God is on mission to destroy all unrighteousness. Part of God’s purpose was to give His people the inheritance He had promised them, but another reason for destroying these nations was because they were wicked nations. God had given them time to repent and to trust the one true God. God is a righteous God, and it is right to judge wickedness. Grace is for everyone, but it is not forever.

Response: How should God’s righteousness and Christ’s judgment on his return affect your words and actions today toward those who have not pledged their allegiance to the one true God? Reflect on God’s mercy to you in Christ and that you are righteous in him. Is there anyone to whom you need to extend that same quality of mercy today?

Truth: God is on mission to save those who trust Him. Rahab was saved because she trusted God. First, Rahab heard about the Lord. She didn’t just hear, she believed. She didn’t integrate God into her belief system; she abandoned her old belief system. She heard, she believed; then Rahab’s belief produced obedience. She acted on her belief by hiding the spies and sneaking them out of the city.

Response: Is your faith producing a new life of following after Jesus and his commands? Rahab moved from knowledge of God to trust in God. How did you move from knowledge of God to trust in God? How do you express this?

Truth: God is on mission to display the depths of His extravagant grace. Rahab, from another nation and a prostitute, would become a part of the lineage of the Christ Himself because God wants to display the depths of His extravagant grace. Extending grace only to one nation would have limited the display of His grace. Extending grace only to the moral and religious in society would have limited the display of His grace.

Response: Are you living as one who has been sent? Are you willing to go wherever He sends you? Are you stewarding your time and resources for His mission? If Christ is your Lord, have you joined Him on His mission? Praise God for his sovereignty to save sinners from among the nations and pray for God’s help to demonstrate your faith in Christ by joining him on his mission.

Family Response

Truth:  God is on mission to save those who love Him, and the testimony of Rahab displays this process clearly.  First, she begins hearing about the Lord; how He is acting by His power for the people of Israel. Second, she genuinely believes these facts she’s heard about God are true and by faith abandons the beliefs of her culture and chooses to follow after the one true God.  Then, she shows the evidence of her faith by acting obediently for the cause of God even though it will cost her everything she’s ever known.

Response:  The spies carried Rahab’s story back to the people of Israel who would protect her and her family when the time for battle came.  The unique stories of others powerfully resonate with us because they help us see the proof of truths we haven’t personally experienced yet.  Just look through the “likes” and “re-tweets” connected to your social media accounts to see this happening everyday. Use the three concrete steps described above to share your unique story to your children.  If there are other believers in your family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc.), ask them to share their stories of faith with your children as well. If they can’t do so in person, ask them to share in a brief video message.  Celebrate God’s work of salvation!

Prepare for Sunday, May 19, 2019