10/01/2026
Now then, you and all these people,
get ready to cross the Jordan River
into the land I am about to give to them…
- from Joshua 1:2
God’s people were about to enter the promised land. For years (an entire generation) they had been wandering in the wilderness. They waited. They grumbled. They obeyed…and they disobeyed. They worshipped God…and they worshipped other idols. They lived in anticipation…and they lived in discouragement. Why was it taking so long to enter the land God had been promising for all these years? Why aren’t things going the way they wanted? It has been a long and wearying journey. But now, in the next chapter of their story, God is telling them, “Now then…get ready.” God is about to lead them into the Promised Land and God has chosen Joshua to guide them.
This is exciting! At long last what was far off had now arrived. It is time. But the next steps will take courage.
Like the Israelites, we sometimes wander and wonder (and grow weary) in the waiting for the next step God has in mind. We experience this as a church at times, too. We go through the motions of ministry, of doing good things, of hoping and of discouragement. In our October sermon series, Moving Forward: Courage to take the next step we will travel with the Israelites as God leads them into the Promised Land. We pick up their story in Joshua 1 and will follow them as God expands their territory. Their next steps required trust and action. They had to push past yesterday’s struggles, grief, and stagnation to pursue the new things God had in store for them.
Friends, Asbury is in such a moment. God is saying to us, “Now then, get ready!” Get ready to take that courageous step into something new. Get ready to focus and align your efforts. Get ready to be refreshed. Get ready to reclaim your purpose. Get ready to meet new people and to expand your reach. God has kingdom work for us to do!
This is exciting!
In Christ,
Pastor Rachel
