Joshua 3:10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

If you thought that the title of this devotional is in any way related to being left behind after the rapture, well it is not. But then again, let God speak in your heart.

How do you know with any certainty that you are walking with God? Joshua promises victory to those who possess the promise land. Allow me to move ahead to the issues that directly affect success.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

At first glance your mind might be drawn back to Noah’s flood and the old gods. Not so for many other versions of the bible use a more accurate rendering of the Hebrew word nahar which is river or stream. What river and why the condition of a flood?

Joshua 3:15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

The flood Joshua was referring to here was the flooding of the Jordan and the parting of those waters by the entry before them of the Ark of the Covenant. He made a way where there was no other way.

Having entered into this covenant, have you left the gods you served behind you?

This recent series about timelines, the rapture and the bride has been said because of my past mistakes. I allowed men, who were supposed to be respected, fill my head with many interesting mysteries. They all had their own reasons for believing the what, where and why of their answers to the conversations of the day. I got caught up in the fascination of the mysteries and began my own hunt for the truth of matters far beyond me.

Matthew 24:36-37.39,42-44.46 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

It has been given to us to do the Father’s bidding. That being true, if we should want to hasten the coming of our Lord because we grow weary of this world and all the evil in it, then being active in doing the Father’s bidding is the way to achieve that end.

Perhaps my mistake was in treating the events of 2 Thessalonians 2 as prophecy. Perhaps I would have been better served to see it as a promise. “Not to worry son, I have your back.” Then perhaps I could have relaxed in that assurance and gone about doing my chores.