Evidence for God from Science

hey everyone me and some brothers at work have been doing bible studies during our breaks and lunches for about a year now and they have been going pretty well. So far we have read through John chapters 5 and 6, Luke 16, The Book of Job and Matthew 24. Now we have decided to delve into Joshua and so far it's a good study. i'll be posting up some of the things we discuss here and see what you all think. I'm actually really enjoying this study so far as it has made me open my eyes to certain things and I look forward to see it's progress. i'll be posting up what we have discussed and update when i can.

We just finished chapter three today. will be posting up our study notes on chapters 1 and 2 soon. just been busy with a lot of things so haven't had much time. sorry for the late response. look forward to seeing some feed back.

first i apologize for the late post just been very busy with life and work but i got some time so i'll be posting up some of the things i wrote down and discussed with my fellow brothers at work in our bible study. hope you enjoy and appreciate the feedback if any is given. thnx

Introduction:
Before going into this study I believe it's key to understand and analyze a few things before we continue. There is importance and significance in names in the bible; in fact, the name has meaning and usually represents an attribute associated with the individual and Joshua is not an exception. Before having the name Joshua or Yehoshua in the Hebrew his name was Hoshea but Moses changed his name. Why did he do this and what is the significance?

Moses= "to draw" or "to draw out"
Hoshea= "salvation"
Joshua= " God is Salvation"

There are many types and shadows in the OT that reference Christ and i feel it's important to always remember this when reading in the OT.We know that Christ is the mystery revealed in the NT so when reading in the OT if we take the time to research and study a lot of the symbolism behind things that the Israelites did and events that transpired in the OT we can make studies or reading in the OT much more meaningful. Taking a look at the meaning of names we can clearly see that Joshua wasn't just a guy to replace Moses. He was chosen by God to lead the people into their promised salvation and it was Moses role to instruct the people by teaching them God's law and preparing their hearts leading them to Joshua who would shepherd them. Moses would "draw out" the people, lead them by preparing their hearts and mind instructing them and lead them to Joshua or "God is salvation". Joshua's name is also the same as Jesus in the Hebrew or very close and there is a Christ reference here. in the same way Joshua leads the people of Israel into the promises of God or the land of their promised salvation Christ will also do the same when he returns. By knowing these things before reading Joshua it shines more meaning behind Joshua and who he symbolically represents and points to. Also I believe that through analyzing the passing of leadership to Joshua we're also shown that God expects us to accept the roles he has destined us for. so long as we trust in Him He'll guide us as He says. Joshua again being a type of Christ symbolically further shows that not only does God have a plan and that it goes according to His will but that Christ Himself was not a happen chance either. He was destined and foretold from such as Joshua and many other Old Testament references.

these were some of the things i brought up during our bible study before going into Joshua. (another brother wanted to also look into numbers 27: 12-23 too so we could see when God had revealed to Moses the new leader to take Moses place after his death.) I wanted to kind of paint a picture to the guys i study with and set the tone of what we would be reading. i'll post the chapter 1 discussion notes soon. right now we have gone through chapters 1-5 and we're currently on 6 and we're all really enjoying this study. will be posting up what we discuss when i can. thnx

Chapter 1 Notes:
Chapter 1 in essence is the torch passing to Joshua and his acceptance as leader of Israel and Israel's acceptance of him as leader who replaces Moses. Although that is chapter 1 in a nutshell there are some important messages in chapter 1 that can help us all in our lives and duties in Christ. First we see God speaking to Joshua after the death of Moses. As anybody would be we can see in this conversation Joshua probably felt unsure of himself by the continued reassurance of God to be strong and courageous. God reassures us because we are weak in nature and being in the flesh leads us to doubt ourselves but by trusting in God we can be strong and achieve the goals and fulfill the roles he has set us for Psalm 28:7. He is our strength that guides us and in fact he tells Joshua to be strong and courageous 3 times. When something in God's word is repeated it means it has meaning and we should pay attention to what God is trying to tell us. Many times we can be like Joshua and when it's time to take on the role that God has set us to do we question ourselves and tend to think it's too much for us to handle and most of the time it is but if we are strong and courageous and allow God to guide us just as He tells Joshua " I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you." we will succeed and know it was because of Him that we made it through. Whatever the role God has for us it's important even if to us it seems little as Joshua's father Nun or great like Joshua's we need to remember that the whole body is important no matter the part it's important and provides a key function to the whole body. (1st Corinthians 12) We either tend to think too little of ourselves or too little of our roles and duties in Christ but we must remember to be as Joshua would be and as God commands us to be "strong and courageous." By trusting that what God has set for us to do is important and that we will succeed in Him no matter how small or big the role may seem to us it is important to Him and he'll carry us through if we just put our trust in Him.

these were the chapter one notes i had written down so i'll post chapters 2-5 when i can. hope you enjoy and hope it helps anyone who is reading the book of Joshua. will post more as we keep reading through. thnx for taking the time to read.