November 20
Joshua 2 & 1John 3
Hide/Show Verse Numbers

Joshua 2

Chapter 2

2:1Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, "Go and scout the land, especially Jericho." So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.
2The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land." 3Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land."
4But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, "Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn't know where they were from. 5At nightfall, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!" 6But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut.
8Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. 10For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. 11When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death."
14The men answered her, "We will give our lives for yours. If you don't report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land."
15Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. 16"Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won't find you," she said to them. "Hide yourselves there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way."
17The men said to her, "We will be free from this oath you made us swear, 18unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father's family into your house. 19If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head, and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed, his blood will be on our heads. 20And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear."
21"Let it be as you say," she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.
22So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them. 23Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them. 24They told Joshua, "The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us."

1John 3

Chapter 3

3:1Look at how great a love the Father has given us that we should be called God's children. And we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it didn't know Him. 2Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.
4Everyone who commits sin also breaks the law; sin is the breaking of law. 5You know that He was revealed so that He might take away sins, and there is no sin in Him. 6Everyone who remains in Him does not sin; everyone who sins has not seen Him or known Him.
7Little children, let no one deceive you! The one who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8The one who commits sin is of the Devil, for the Devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the Devil's works. 9Everyone who has been born of God does not sin, because His seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, because he has been born of God. 10This is how God's children-and the Devil's children-are made evident.
Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. 11For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16This is how we have come to know love: He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need but closes his eyes to his need-how can God's love reside in him?
18Little children, we must not love with word or speech, but with truth and action. 19This is how we will know we belong to the truth and will convince our conscience in His presence, 20even if our conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience, and He knows all things.
21Dear friends, if our conscience doesn't condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and can receive whatever we ask from Him because we keep His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight. 23Now this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us. 24The one who keeps His commands remains in Him, and He in him. And the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit He has given us.

Daily Comments