What I Know

Devotional

Day 1: When Pagan Prostitutes Outshine Fearful Hearts

Rahab’s story begins with a shocking confession: “I know the Lord has given you this land.” While her city cowered behind locked gates, she alone recognized God’s authority over heaven and earth. Her words reveal a heart transformed not by religious duty, but by encountering divine reality. Everyone in Jericho heard about Israel’s miracles, but only Rahab let that knowledge reorient her allegiance. True faith isn’t just knowing God’s power—it’s letting that knowledge rewrite your loyalties. [54:03]

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given you this land. A great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you… When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear… The Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.’” (Joshua 2:8-11, ESV)

Reflection: What current “locked gates” in your life (relationships, habits, fears) might God be asking you to open through radical trust? How does Rahab’s bold confession challenge your own response to God’s track record in your story?

Day 2: Scarlet Cords and No Plan B

Rahab’s scarlet cord wasn’t just a marker—it was the death of every alternative. By tying it in her window, she burned bridges with Jericho’s systems while staking everything on Israel’s integrity. This wasn’t hedging bets but total surrender. Like the spies’ escape rope, the cord symbolized dependence: no backup plan, just raw trust that God’s people would honor their word. True conviction always costs our exit strategies. [01:00:08]

“The men said to her, ‘We will be released from this oath you made us swear… unless when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down.’” (Joshua 2:17-18, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tying “scarlet cords” of compromise instead of full surrender? What practical step could embody your trust in God’s faithfulness this week?

Day 3: Applause or Approval?

Paul’s razor-sharp question to the Galatians cuts through modern people-pleasing: “Am I now trying to win human approval or God’s?” Rahab faced this same tension—protect her reputation in Jericho or align with God’s unstoppable plan. Every decision whispers this question: Will we edit our convictions to match our culture’s script, or live as those who’ve already read the story’s victorious ending? [01:05:12]

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10, ESV)

Reflection: What recent decision did you make primarily to avoid others’ disapproval? How might embracing God’s “well done” free you from performance-based relationships?

Day 4: The Algebra of Conviction

Standing with God often subtracts earthly security to multiply eternal reward. The pastor’s costly choice to stay with his church cost friendships but gained spiritual authority. Rahab risked execution but gained a legacy. Like Romans 8’s math—if God gave Jesus, “how will he not also…?”—true faith calculates loss through resurrection’s lens. What seems sacrificed becomes seeds for harvest. [01:12:55]

“What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32, ESV)

Reflection: What current “loss” frightens you into compromise? How might trusting God’s “all things” promise transform your perspective on this situation?

Day 5: Prostitutes in the Family Tree

Rahab’s story crescendos not with walls falling but with her name in Christ’s genealogy. The woman deemed unfit for motherhood became ancestor to kings. God specializes in grafting unlikely people into His redemptive narrative—not despite their past, but through transformed conviction. Our surrendered stories become kingdom heirlooms, proving no one is beyond God’s repurposing grace. [01:17:53]

“Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” (Matthew 1:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your story feels disqualifying? How might God want to repurpose your scars as testimony of His redeeming power?

Sermon Summary

Joshua chapter 2 sends two spies across the Jordan, straight into Jericho, and right into Rahab’s house. Jericho’s king hunts them, but Rahab hides them and speaks what her city only fears to admit: “I know that the Lord has given you this land… the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” Rahab’s line marks the turning point. Everyone else melts in fear. Rahab opens her heart. The Holy Spirit meets her, and her knowing shifts from what she heard to who she has encountered.

Rahab’s confession births conviction. The text turns from intel to allegiance. “Who trumps the what every time.” Rules and checklists cannot hold when culture pushes hard, but a living relationship can. Rahab surrenders her future, stakes everything on Israel’s God, and says “my life for your life.” The scarlet cord hangs from her window like a line in the sand. No plan b. She cuts the ropes and stands all in.

Romans 8 speaks into that risk. If God did not spare his own Son, he will not fail those who stand with him. If God is for her, Jericho’s king cannot finally be against her. Conviction looks costly because it is. But in God’s economy, nothing is lost that is placed in his hands.

Galatians 1 presses the choice: approval of people or the approval of God. The contrast refuses a middle way. Servants of Christ do not chase applause; they choose obedience. Rahab cannot shield her city and follow the Lord at the same time. She chooses the Lord.

God’s faithfulness answers her faith. When the walls fall, her house stands. The rescue is only the start. Grace folds Rahab into Israel’s future. She marries, bears children, and gets grafted into David’s line and Jesus’ genealogy. God believes better about her than she ever did. He writes a future she could not have imagined from a window on Jericho’s wall.

This call still lands. Culture will not train anyone toward holiness; it will teach them how to spend and how to drift. Christ offers a new who to define the whole life. Put the future in his hands, stand where he plants, and let conviction carry the cost. God is going to come through.

Key Takeaways

1. Who trumps the what every time [55:51] Knowing God personally holds when pressure rises. Information and routines crack under cultural weight, but communion steadies the soul. Rahab’s shift from facts about God to faith in God becomes courage in a hostile city. Let the who be the anchor that keeps every what from drifting. [55:51]
2. Conviction cuts the ropes clean [01:01:13] Real conviction says no plan b and means it. Rahab ties the scarlet cord and entrusts her future to the Lord, not to options. Half measures keep a life stuck between two masters. Cut the ropes, and let obedience simplify what fear keeps complicating. [61:13]
3. God is for you in costly stands [01:02:10] Romans 8 answers the fear that obedience will ruin everything. The God who gave his Son will not abandon those who stake their name on his. Cost is real, but it is not final. Where God calls someone to stand, God supplies what that stand requires. [62:10]
4. Seek God’s approval, not people’s [01:05:12] Galatians 1 exposes the split inside the heart. The hunger for applause twists judgment and erodes fidelity. Choosing God’s “well done” frees decisions from the tyranny of the crowd. Aim the life at one set of eyes, and the fog of pleasing people begins to lift. [65:12]
5. Grace writes a better future [01:17:53] God does more than spare; he restores and re-stories. Rahab moves from a condemned city to Messiah’s family tree. Grace does not just get someone out of judgment, it places them inside promise. Trust makes room for the kind of endings only God can author. [77:53]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[35:24] - Remembering early years here
[47:35] - Calling, advice, and character
[49:18] - Culture versus a God-shaped life
[49:52] - Turning to Rahab in Joshua 2
[51:01] - Spies sent and Jericho alerted
[52:31] - Rahab hides them and tells the truth
[53:01] - Rahab’s confession: God of heaven and earth
[55:51] - Who beats what in discipleship
[59:24] - Scarlet cord and no plan B
[62:10] - If God is for us
[64:55] - Whose approval do you want
[68:16] - A costly stand in ministry
[75:50] - From rescue to royal lineage
[81:22] - Invitation to surrender to Jesus

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Joshua 2:8-11 (ESV)
Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof and said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt... For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.”

Romans 8:31-32 (ESV)
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Observation questions

What specific actions did Rahab take to protect the spies, and what did she confess about God in Joshua 2:8-11?
How does the scarlet cord in Rahab’s story symbolize her commitment to God, and what risks did she accept by hanging it? [59:24]
According to Romans 8:31-32, what two truths about God’s character are highlighted to encourage believers in costly decisions?
What stark contrast does Galatians 1:10 present about priorities in a believer’s life?

Interpretation questions

Why did Rahab’s knowledge of God’s power (Joshua 2:10-11) lead her to act differently than the rest of Jericho, who also “melted in fear”?
How does the phrase “no plan B” in Rahab’s story reflect the nature of true conviction? What might “ropes” need cutting in modern life? [01:01:13]
In Romans 8:31-32, how does God’s sacrifice of Jesus strengthen the argument that He will provide for those who take costly stands?
Why does seeking human approval create a conflict with serving Christ, according to Galatians 1:10?

Application questions

Where in your life do you feel pressured to prioritize cultural norms over faithfulness to God? What practical step could you take to “hang a scarlet cord” in that area? [59:24]
When have you experienced the tension between wanting others’ approval and obeying God? How can you intentionally shift your focus to seeking God’s “well done” this week?
Is there a situation where you’ve been holding onto a “plan B” instead of fully trusting God’s promises? What would it look like to cut that rope?
Rahab’s story shows God rewriting her future beyond her expectations. Where has God surprised you with grace in your past, and how does that shape your willingness to trust Him with your future? [01:17:53]
What relationships, habits, or decisions might require a “costly stand” for your faith right now? How can Romans 8:31-32 give you courage in that process?
How can you cultivate a daily awareness of who God is (not just what He does) to anchor your decisions when pressure rises? [55:51]

Sermon Clips

39s

#RahabRedemption

“This pagan prostitute who couldn't have children, who had no standing, no reason to be in relationship with God at all except for that he sought her out. He called her out. He said, I see that you have more in your life than you could ever imagine. Let me give you a new direction, a new destination. Here's a new family, a new hope. You'll be great great grandma to king David, which means she's in the lineage and genealogy of Jesus. That God says, I will even trust my son to your family and your genes, your DNA.”

45s

#GodHasYourBack

“This is more than Rahab could have ever hoped for when she makes this stand in Joshua chapter two, and everything's against her. Her entire culture is against her, and she says, no. I'm surrendered and submitted to God. I'm gonna live for him. I'm gonna do his things, and God says, I've got your back. It might not be a popular decision, but I've got your back, and I will bless you more than you could ever have dreamed. When you can stand in conviction of his goodness, God believes better about you than you ever will for yourself. He has a better future for you. He sees more for you. He cares more deeply. He has more in mind than you could ever get to on your own.”

40s

#ChooseGodsApproval

“And you and I, we have a choice. Who am I going to live for? Whose approval do I want most in my life? Do I want the approval of other people, of others around me, of friends, family members, of whoever is on social media? Do I want those approvals, or do I want to have God's approval? It's a question that each one of us has to answer for ourselves. You have to answer this question. Whose approval are you seeking? Who do you need recognition from?”

38s

#WhoOverWhat

“And when you encounter God in the same way as Rahab where it's not just I learn about him, I hear what he's doing, but I see him at work in my life, this is a completely different thing. It goes from just what I know to who I know. Who I know matters so much more. Who trumps the what every time because you can know what you're supposed to do, how you're supposed to live, but end up around a culture, a group of people who do things differently. And if it's just this is what I've always done, what can fail real quickly?”

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