Daily Inspiration

We all love the idea of ‘safe places’ – places of sanctuary, of protection.  For many of us we like to imagine our home as being such a place, or a particular room in our home; for others it’s a place of worship; it might even be a remote spot, somewhere quiet where we feel … Read more

Today I’m being nice to you!  (Only today, obviously….)  Much of chapters 13-19 of the book of Joshua consists of long and detailed lists of boundaries and towns – which I’m going to spare you, save this one passage!  These essentially define the land allotted to each tribe, and in which they can now settle.  … Read more

The bible is a book full of promises.  Many of them are made by human beings, and are sadly broken.  But there are hundreds made by God as well, and one of the greatest encouragements of our faith is that God keeps them – all of them! Today’s passage outlines a very personal promise kept.  … Read more

Today’s passage comes as something of a shock.  Over the last few chapters, the Israelites have conquered the land in what seems like a whirlwind series of successful encounters.  You may be thinking that this all took a matter of a year or two, maybe even a few months.  And yet, here at the beginning … Read more

Chapters 10-12 of Joshua, in whirlwind fashion from 10:28 onwards, detail the Israelites’ successful conquest of much of the land.  It’s a hard read, so today’s passage is illustrative, and I’ve chosen it in part because it allows us to keep looking for those ‘echoes of grace’ tucked away in the narrative of battles and … Read more

I love a good disguise.  I’m hopeless at wearing them myself – being well over 6ft tall, it’s hard to convince anyone that you aren’t who you are.  But the world of fiction and entertainment is full of great disguises: I enjoyed reading the Arsene Lupin novels a few years ago, and pretty much every … Read more

Today’s passage is one of the reasons why most people – even Christians – don’t read much of the Old Testament.  It’s also why I thought long and hard about whether to look at Joshua for our Daily Inspirations.  Where’s the feel-good factor here, the nugget of encouragement?!  It’s tempting to settle for enjoying the … Read more

In 2021 the late Queen Elizabeth memorably declined an award: she was nominated to be ‘Oldie of the Year’ by the magazine of that name, but wrote in reply that she felt she didn’t meet the criteria and hoped ‘someone more worthy’ would be given it instead. It is a remarkable display of humility to … Read more

Our week began with Rahab. It’s fitting that it ends with Rahab, too – as she is indeed spared, along with all her family.  Her courage and faith were rewarded, not just with life, but with a place in God’s people: ‘she lives among the Israelites to this day’ (v25). As we reflected yesterday, this … Read more