Scripture: Luke 10:6 And the Gibeonites sent to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, saying, “Do not abandon your servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us; for all the kings of the Amorites who live in the hill country are gathered against us.” 7 So Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the fighting force with him, all the mighty warriors. 8 The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.”
Observation: Joshua took over for Moses to lead the Israelites as they occupied the land promised them by God. Along the way they made a covenant with the people of Gibeon. This essentially made them like family. They shared an identity together. What belonged to one belonged to the other. And most relevant in this passage, a threat against one was a threat against the other.
In verse 8 we see another covenant, this one between Israel and God. Israel went to battle on behalf of Gibeon and God went to battle on behalf of Israel. The result was a stunning victory for all of them.
Application: The concept of covenant (where two peoples become one), fundamental to civilized existence in ancient times, is almost extinct. Marriage is perhaps the last vestige in Western culture. In any event, those of us in Christ are in a covenant relationship with God through Christ. We are one with Christ and with one another, though we don’t often act like it. Even churches within the same denomination. The results are not good.
Too often churches function as islands unto ourselves. We share very little. We often see each other as competitors rather than brothers and sisters in Christ. There is a reason why the apostle Paul describes the church as “one body, many parts”. I wonder what it would look like for churches to reclaim our covenant identity, not just with God in Christ but with one another.
Prayer: Lord we live in a very individualistic culture. We share little. It’s often everyone for himself/herself. Yet, covenant relationship is fundamental to how you created us to live in community. Give us grace to explore this kind of life together. Amen.
Fuel for the journey 
You could say that our VBS is like a covenant relationship. Joining with two other churches to teach the children in the community about God’s love. Maybe we expand on that? We are hosting briarwood cook off this year.. not exactly covenant relationship, but it is sharing our land, our resource, and a chance to build relationship with other churches. And Vince told me about inviting the local police and firefighters to a bbq during pumpkin patch, which is a fantastic idea. A chance at making relationships on both a community and personal level.
Joshua 10:6 (it didn’t feel like it was from Luke).
Where more than one is gathered, God is with us. We just need to be with the Holy Spirit and not our mortal egos.