Not "If", But "When"

"Be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, 

for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do."

Joshua 1:9 

 

Have you ever wondered why Abba told Joshua to be strong and brave?  Guess what? Abba wasn't speaking just to Joshua!  He is speaking to us as well. 

 

Not only did Abba tell Joshua to be brave and strong, He told Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, its king, and the mighty men of valor."  Abba had already conquered and Joshua just had to go in and take the land Abba had already provided.  Joshua didn't have to wonder IF he would win, Joshua knew that Abba had ALREADY won.

 

Isn't this the same thing Abba has done for us through the sacrifice of Christ? Abba has ALREADY won, so we don't have to wonder IF Abba will help us overcome our challenges because He has. Life will ALWAYS bring challenges, if there were no challenges we would have no reason to believe that Abba will ALWAYS give strength to face them!   

Be Not Complacent!

"Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong."

1 Corinthians 16:13

One of the duties I hated being assigned was Guard Duty.  It came in many configurations such as "Fire Watch", or "Perimeter Watch" but it always meant  the same thing, having to be on the alert while everyone else got to relax.  It that I would be awakened during the night to get dressed (full gear) and report to the Sergeant of the Watch and then came the tedium of watching for a threat we just knew would never come.  Until it did!

I remember one night, we were on a training mission, had dug tandem foxholes and were settling in when our First Sergeant made his rounds to check on us.  He reminded us that to "while your buddy sleeps stay on guard, in two hours wake your buddy up and you get two hours of sleep."  We just knew this was an exercise and nothing was going to happen so we didn't take our First Sergeant's warning seriously.  Next morning, our Captain called us to formation.  There, neatly laid out beside him, were several weapons that had been taken from sleeping sentries during the night.  He told us, "when I call your weapon number, you will step forward and receive punishment!"  

The attacks in France and those in Kenya were devastating!  They were demoralizing!  They have revealed that we face a very real and dangerous threat!  We cannot become complacent if we want to remain safe.  We cannot fall into the sense of "This will NEVER happen to us" because it will come like a thief in the night.

Paul tells us to BE ON GUARD!  
He reminds us to STAND FIRM IN YOUR FAITH!
He calls us to BE COURAGEOUS!
And we are called to BE STRONG!

These are our Marching Orders! Take them seriously!