Owning Your Land: A Study of Joshua

By Karen C. Housholder

We all face problems of varying degrees from time to time in our lives. Its part of being human. As Christians, we are told the answers to our problems can be found in Gods Word. While that may be so, we sometimes find it difficult to locate the answers.

In Owning Your Land: A Study of Joshua, author Karen C. Housholder shares her experiences as they apply to events in the book of Joshua. This profoundly personal journey chronicling Israels adventure is for all who dare to believe they can possess what they never thought possible. It requires stepping away from the familiar to absolute trust in God as one faces fierce enemies. The author includes questions that serve for self-reflection or as discussion points for small-group study. Owning Your Land: A Study of Joshua is enlightening and an effective healing tool.

Karen is extremely adept at sharing her intense insights. I encourage all to consider the depth of research undertaken and be blessed. Dennis Chapman, Chief Development Officer, City Union Mission, Kansas City, Missouri

Karens comprehensive and applicable study on Joshua is one we highly recommend our church has benefited greatly from her insight and teaching. Morgan Idleman; Director of Womens Ministry, Westside Christian Fellowship, Lancaster, California

This study of Joshua is engaging and refreshing. Karens systematic approach offers both sound doctrine and life changing application. Read it and be challenged. Shane Idleman; Lead Pastor, Westside Christian Fellowship, Lancaster, California

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781489703972

Karen C. Housholder

Karen C. Housholder has spent more than thirty years working with community service organizations. As educator, speaker, and writer, she is a passionate advocate of Christ’s restorative power. Often drawing from personal experiences, she has dedicated her life to proclaiming hope for healing to abused, traumatized, violated, and wounded people.

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Copyright © 2015 Karen C Housholder.

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Unless otherwise indicated, scripture is taken from THE NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated Hebrew and Greek word definitions are from BIBLESOFT’S NEW EXHAUSTIVE STRONG’S NUMBERS AND CONCORDANCE WITH EXPANDED GREEK-HEBREW DICTIONARY. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-4897-0396-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-0397-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015900653

Print information available on the last page.

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 02/25/2015

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Session One Introduction

Session Two Be Strong and Courageous

Session Three Fear

Session Four Prepare

Session Five Get Clean

Session Six Disobedience and Restoration

Session Seven Battle Plans

Session Eight Reflection and Re-Evaluation

Session Nine Healthy Boundaries

Session Ten The Nature of Love

Session Eleven Promises Kept

Session Twelve Final Words

Leaders’ Notes

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There is hope in God for true and lasting emotional and spiritual healing. I know because Jesus has healed me. This study is in part my own healing journey, though it is not in chronological order. I have simply taken experiences from my life and applied them where they fit. It would be a mistake to use this as a step by step healing tool. It is not meant for that purpose. However it is a bible study that can be helpful to anyone who has ever been wounded or mistreated in any way.

I was particularly drawn to the book of Joshua not only because Joshua is someone I admire greatly, but also because I identified with the Israelites’ journey from slavery to freedom. It was their hearts’ cry to walk about freely in the inheritance their Father had promised them. For the first time in hundreds of years they would have ownership of the land they worked. They would reap the benefits, not their captors. That promise propelled them forward. In the same way, as a follower of Christ, I hope for my promised inheritance, that part which is mine while I live on this earth now, and also that which is mine to come.

But as it is, they desire a better {country} that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:16 NASB)

I pray this would be an aid for those who choose to read it and do the hard work that accompanies it. Getting to know more about God and pressing into Him always produces good things!

My small group from Grace Evangelical Church in Overland Park, Kansas, allowed me to use them as guinea pigs. A special thank you is due to Gwen & Albert Louie, Penny & Dave Baswell, Kristen & Mark Burdette, Shelley & Bruce West, and Eunae Kim for their thought provoking questions and suggestions. Thank you! And I thank my husband, Steacy, for the many sacrifices he made in order that I would have time to write. Thank you for the hours of reading, listening, and enduring through it all. You have become what I saw in you so many years ago, an oak of righteousness. I love you and thank God for you!

This study is dedicated to courageous people who dare to move past their fears to walk about to freedom in Christ!

SESSION ONE

INTRODUCTION

Overview

Joshua could be categorized as a non-fiction adventure book. God provided for His people an inheritance by way of a journey to a particular plot of land. The journey is as much the gift from God as the promise land itself. While always moving forward toward the destination, it was during the journey that the Israelites were able to grasp the mind set of freedom. The journey prepared them for freedom in their land. This freedom was contingent upon two premises; first that the people believe and trust in the One true God, and second that they would obey Him in all things.

Writers of scripture present the whole truth about the people they write about. In fact these writers tended to go out of their way to show warts and all. The Israelites are real people, with real struggles and real fears, who experience real victories through the power of God.

In the book of Joshua the Israelites must make the decision to trust and believe God, day after day. The good and bad choices they made, while going through the struggles they faced, provide insight, and offer hope to fellow journeyers searching for the way out of slavery to freedom.

Slavery

Slavery can take many forms. Slavery to any habit can become quite comfortable, but it always prevents the enslaved one from being who God designed him or her to be in order to carry out His purposes. The words Sarah Groves chose in her song, Painting Pictures of Egypt express this human dilemma. She feels a tug of war between the promise and her actual experience. The struggle between emotions and truth can be frightening: the future feels so hard. The fact is change is hard. The good news is Christ came to set us free.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set free those who are downtrodden,

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19 NASB)

Freedom

This study is about taking back the land God has given you from the enemy, and keeping it. The land referred to in Joshua was a physical piece of property. The land we will be taking back, for the most part, is spiritual. We will be looking to take back those places in our hearts and spirits which the enemy has infected, and in some cases has kept us in a spiritual or emotional type of slavery.

First, God illustrates what He wants to be understood in the natural, or physical, and then in the spiritual.

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:46-49 NASB)

He knows we need the journey explained in concrete form. The principles which Joshua and the Israelites learned provide that concrete form. Their journey is a road map in the natural or physical, for seekers of freedom to follow.

Preparing the Heart

Prayerful self-examination draws us into the presence of Father God for His healing and cleansing. The Father desires all to be healed. There are several things to remember along the journey. Healing is a process. It may or may not look the same for each person. God alone knows what the best plan is for each person, and His timing is always perfect. Resist the temptation to make assumptions about what healing should look like for yourself, or for others. Instead practice exercising grace.

Make it a habit to ask the Holy Spirit to reveal truth, asking for a spirit of revelation and understanding to guide, counsel, teach, and correct. Ask the Holy Spirit if there is any hidden sin He would like to deal with. He will answer. When the Holy Spirit speaks He provides a way out of the sin, problem, or situation without condemnation. The enemy instead uses condemnation to shame, blame, and cause self-doubt.

When God reveals sin, He shows the way out -- the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. (Revelation 12:10-12 NASB)

When we confess sin to Jesus we know His blood cleanses us and we are forgiven.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-10 NASB)

The devil prefers us to stay in the place of guilt because he knows then we’ll be ineffectual Christians.

Forgiveness

When anyone accepts Jesus into their heart and asks Him to forgive him, He is quick to forgive all past, present and future sins. Living in the land of freedom requires acceptance of this forgiveness and continuous walking in the free gift of grace, throwing out all the enemy’s lies.

Accepting forgiveness can be just as difficult as forgiving others. When we refuse God’s love and forgiveness we are really saying God’s precious Son’s death and humiliation on the cross is not enough. We walk in needless pain when we refuse to receive what He provides for us.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4 NASB)

God has done all the work. He has defeated the enemy. Now step out in faith, and grab hold of victory and freedom.

Resting In His Forgiveness

When Jesus washed His disciples’ feet he was teaching them an important lesson about servant leadership, and also about the cleansing of a person’s heart.

Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus said to him, He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean," (John 13:9-10 NASB)

When we go through a day, we wash our hands many times. We do that spiritually too. When tempted, run from the temptation, effectively washing it off. Understand temptation itself is not sin. God will always provide a way out of the tempting situation.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB)

A Tool

What is offered in these pages is simply a tool to help readers get into the word of God. It’s truth that sets us free! Choose today to know truth. Know change can be hard. God never said it would be easy. The walk to freedom in Christ is costly. Each individual must make the choice whether to journey toward freedom or to ramble on in slavery.

Note from the author: You will find as you work through this study that I have used the word enemy without specifying whether it refers to a physical enemy, a spiritual enemy, and or both. As you contemplate how the word enemy applies in each reference, I hope this will stimulate a richer experience for you.

I pray these pages will encourage you to seek the heart of the Father. It’s in knowing Him in greater depth which brings blessings and freedom.

SESSION TWO

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

Read Joshua 1

Key Scripture

Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. (Joshua 1:7 NASB)

Day One

Wanderings

The years of wandering through the desert were of colossal benefit to Israel. The Israelites’ understanding of their unique relationship to God was solidified and strengthened. On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the law, which he taught the people (Exodus 34:28).

Lengthy wanderings are just plain hard. We don’t enjoy being between jobs or ministries. Yet the wanderings and in-between times are not wasted time. Everything God’s people go through has a purpose and a value attached. God’s character ensures nothing is wasted. The more we know God, the more certain we can be of this. Not only is God good: He is also good at everything He does (Romans 8:28).

On this side of history we see what was accomplished for the Israelites. Read Psalm 107:1-8. God’s goodness is underscored.

Wanderings and the in-between times are there for a reason. God uses these times to develop our character; to bring us to maturity. We learn to trust that God is in control in all circumstances.

During a period of wandering I was going through, I became aware there were things in the past I simply couldn’t remember. I began to be fearful when a dear friend and mentor told me not to worry. She said, God knows what has happened to you, and if He wants you to know, be assured He is in control over when and how you remember. He has the best plan for you. I felt relieved and simply believed her. The fear melted away as I let go of the struggle and accepted God’s plan and timing (Psalm 27:1).

When we stop our anxious struggling, God comforts our troubled spirits and an amazing release ensues. Often we’re surprised because we believed this place of rest and security was not available to us. Sometimes we believe lies simply because no one has told us the truth. This place of rest and security is available to those who seek Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

When Scripture becomes real, it is life altering. God means good for us in all things.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to {His} purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)

We have responsibility for those things we can do for ourselves. When we let go of things that are not our responsibility we have energy for the things that are (Galatians 6:5).

Keeping these truths in balance during times that feel like aimless wanderings, helps to maintain perspective. Trusting in God empowers us to look beyond an uncomfortable present with the knowledge that God is teaching us and bringing us through to a better place. We can have confidence that He has a purpose for us even during times of distress. Confidence in His purpose for us eliminates most stress and anxiety.

The Law

Now that forty years of wanderings came to a close God reassured the Israelites of their victory, provided they followed His requirements (Joshua 1:7).

The Israelites were to be strong and courageous as well as obedient in everything in the law. The law referred to is the law given to Moses based on the Ten Commandments written in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. In order to comply with the law, they would have to know the law. Certainly forty years in the desert would have afforded the Israelites time to know