Courageous Christian Life

Joshua 1:6 – 9  "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.  "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.  "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.  "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Look at the phrase: be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you: Joshua must take great care to observe the law. God’s word and Joshua’s commitment to it would be the pillars supporting his success. If we desire to be men and women of Christian courage then we must take care to know what is in the Word of God and we must make the commitment to live by. We must take time to read it daily. We must take time to know it and study it. We are not doing this out of duty or because we have gotten up at this time for the last 20 years and done it this way but we do it out of deep love for Christ. I also want you to see that Joshua did not only need to read God’s word. It had to be on his lips (shall not depart from your mouth), and it was in his mind (meditate in it day and night). Be sure to know and live out the Word of God if you wish to live the courageous Christian life. 

Then we have the phrase:  For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success: Obedience to God’s Word is a guarantee of Christian success but not that it promises a life without problems as we already discussed, but it does insure a life able to deal with anything, because it takes full advantage of God’s presence and promises. Something else to add to this and that is Christian success is not measured by the same standards as the world’s success. Even if the world considers us as sheep for the slaughter, we are actually more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:36-37).

We also then see this phrase: For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go: The final encouragement, repeated from Joshua 1:5, reminds us that Joshua’s success did not depend solely on his ability to keep God’s Word. It depended even more on God’s presence with him. The same is true for all of us. We need not be dependent on self at all but wholly on God.

Friends, there is just as great a need for people to stand for the Lord now as there was in the days Joshua! All around us, Christians are falling by the wayside. What we need is for God’s people to be moved in the depths of their souls to stand up, renew their commitments to the Lord and say, "By God’s help, I’ll stand and not fall all the days of my life! I will commit to living the Courageous Christian life."

How would you define living the Courageous Christian Life?

Listening: A Part of Prayer?

I started a new series yesterday on prayers from the Old Testament and I dealt with the prayer of Joshua in Joshua 10:6-14  but today I want to focus in on verse 8.

Joshua 10:8 – The LORD said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you.”

I want you to notice in the verse that the Lord is speaking to Joshua.  The Lord spoke and Joshua heard.  Why did Joshua hear?  Simply because he was listening.  When it comes to prayer we need to be listening to what God is saying.  For many though this becomes a real problem.  Our problem is that sometimes we are so busy reading God our list of things we want him to do like he is Santa that we never listen to what He has to say.  Imagine having a friend who only ever asked you to do this and do this and do this and you are so great and because of that would you do this and this.  That is many times how we must appear in prayer to God.

Sometimes we are so distracted by all the noise and activity that is all around us that we do not hear God.  We have ear buds in our ears,the radio on, the television on, or something playing on our computers.  Sometimes we are distracted by reading all the tweets, texts, cell phones ringing and facebook posts that we do not take time to listen to God.  These things are not bad in and of themselves but sometimes they are a distraction from listening to God or being able to hear God.

In life I believe that there needs to be time or maybe even several times throughout the day were we just stop and listen.  Be still and know he is God.  Listen for that still quiet voice.  Again in the verse above the Lord spoke to Joshua and he listened.

Let me as you some tough questions:  What is God saying to you today?  When was the last time you heard His voice?  Listening is a skill, have you developed it spiritually?

We will look more at verse 8 tomorrow – there are many interesting parts to it.

The Powerful Story of Phocas

I came across this story a few weeks ago while doing some sermon preparation.  It is  is too good to not share – please take the time to read about Phocas:

The True Story of Phocas as told by Dr. John Macarthur…

It’s a story of man who really lived, his name is Phocas. He lived in the fourth century. He has been revered through the years as a real precious saint of God, who lived in Asia Minor. He lived in the city of Sanopae and he had a little cottage outside the city gate in which he grew a garden. The whole story of the man is recorded by one of the ancient bishops and somehow has found its way down through history. The story goes something like this.

Travelers passed his door almost all hours of the day and night as they went in and out of the city gate. And by the wholly ingenuity of love, he stopped as many of them as possible. Were they not weary? Let them rest themselves, sitting in his well-tended garden. Were they in need of a friendly word? He would speak it to them in the dear Master’s name. But then quite suddenly one day life was all changed for Phocas.

Orders went out from Emperor Diocletian that the Christians must be put to death. When the persecutors entered Sanopae they were under orders to find a man by the name of Phocas and kill him. About to enter the city one hot afternoon, they passed in front of the old man’s cottage and garden by the gate. In his innocence, he treated them as though they were his warmest friends, begging them to pause a while and rest themselves. They consented. So warm and gracious was the hospitality they received that when their host invited them to stay the night and go on their way refreshed the next day, they agreed to do so.  “And what is your business?” said Phocas unsuspectingly. And then they told him that they would answer his question if he would regard it as a secret. Well it was obvious to them by now that he was a man to be trusted. Who were they? Why they were the soldiers of Rome searching for a certain Phocas who was a Christian. And please, if their kind host knew him, would he be so good as to help them identify him? After all, he was a dangerous follower of this Jesus about whom the Christians talked and he must be executed immediately. “Oh, I know him well,” said Phocas quietly. “And by the way, he’s quite near. Let’s attend to it in the morning.”

His guests having retired, Phocas sat thinking. Escape? That would be easy. He had only to leave under cover of darkness and at daybreak he could be at least 20 miles away and he knew fellow Christians who would give him hospitality by hiding him. And when the persecution had passed, he could reappear and once again cultivate his little garden. The decision to flee into safety or stay unto death was apparently made without struggle or delay. We can only imagine what he was thinking. Out in his garden Phocas went and began digging in the middle of the night. Was there any earthly thing he loved better than this little plot of ground, the odor of the humus, the feel of the soil, the miracle of fertility? What were his thoughts as he went on digging? Well, there was still time to run away but the Savior didn’t run. He didn’t run from Gethsemane and He didn’t run from Calvary. Or perhaps he thought of his fellow Christians to whom he might go for rest, would not his coming endanger them? And as for these executioners that now were soundly sleeping under his roof, they were, after all, only men who were carrying out orders, and if they failed to find their man, their own lives likely as not would be taken and they would die in their sins. Deeper and deeper Phocas dug. Before dawn he was done and there it was, his own grave.

Morning came and with it the waking of the executioners. “I am Phocas,” he said calmly. And we have it on the word of the Christian bishop who recorded the story that the men stood motionless in astonishment. They couldn’t believe it. And when they did believe it, they obviously were reluctant to perform an execution without mercy on a man who had shown them nothing but mercy. But it was a duty, he reminded them, that they were required to perform. And he was not bitter at them. Besides, death did not terrify him; his heart was filled with hope of heaven. Toward them he bore nothing but the love of Christ and moments later it was all over. The sword had done its work and the body of Christ’s love mastered man lay in the stillness of death in the garden he loved so dearly.

I am struck by so many things in this story:  the faith shown, the love of others, the resolve to do what is right, and wisdom in knowing that the men sent to kill him were just doing their job.

What sticks out to you in the story?  How do you see it fitting in with how we live our daily lives?

Dear Lord – I pray that I might have the faith, show the kindness, the love, resolve, and wisdom as Phocas does in this story.  Lord, my I always consider others and be filled with your Spirit and have eyes that are looking on to heaven. – Amen

Walking in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 – But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.

Here we see the  command to  Christians, “live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” This is important in our daily life –  it is not an option. The verb here “live” in the Greek stresses a continuous responsibility and need. The truth is that all believers are responsible to walk by the Spirit and when we do not, it is a sin of our Will against God’s grace, an act of failing to walk by faith in God’s resources. Just as a person who walks with the aid of a cane, leans on and depends on the cane so to walk by the Spirit is to be faith-dependent on the Spirit for each step of one’s daily life. The promised result that comes from walking by the Spirit is simply that the believer begins to experience behavioral changes: growing deliverance from the control of the flesh or from the reign of sin, but also the positive production of the fruit of the Spirit.

We see  also in this verse that it stresses that the alternative to walking by the Spirit is the control of the flesh. Unless the believer walks by the Spirit, he will fulfill the desires of the flesh. In other words the believer is either controlled by the Spirit or controlled by the flesh. Whatever you depend on for your resource for daily living determines who or what controls your life and the direction your life will take.  What direction are you going?

Walking by the Spirit is a Spirit-dependent walk which means a conscious determination to trust or rely only on the resources of the indwelling Spirit for strength to obey God and overcome the desires of the flesh. It is a two sided coin –  the negative is it is a turning away from and positive is a turning to.  The believer chooses to turn away from self and turn to the Holy Spirit for the ability to live the Christian life. This is accomplished through faith as we see in Galatians 5:5 which says, For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. But something that is imperative is an attitude of constant dependence  that is found in the study of the Word of God, prayer, worship, fellowship with others, and keeping short accounts with God through an honest confession that seeks to maintain a right relationship with Him. The results will be the fruit of the Spirit rather than the deeds of the flesh.

Are you walking in the Spirit or carrying out the deeds of the flesh?  What are your thoughts on walking in the Spirit?

Laughter, Joy, and Rejoicing

Do those you work with or your friends  or even your family really look forward to you showing up and being around?

I have been reading Jesus Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones and the last chapter I read is entitled Having Fun.  In the chapter she shares how she spent a day with a speech pathologist who worked with children.  This speech pathologist is considered one of the best in the field and the children love her and look forward to her coming. They look forward to her coming because she makes learning fun and she laughs with the children.  She is able to balance seriousness with fun and laughter.

Laurie Beth then shared how she was telling a coworker about this experience.  The coworker shared how they have a daughter who stuttered when in elementary school.  The school had a speech pathologist come and they were like a Drill Sargent with the daughter  and they daughter did not learn, did not have any fun, and struggled.  As a result of the way the girl was treated by the pathologist, she closed up and to this day the she still stutters.

It appears that the one pathologist left children different because fun and laughter were a part of the day.  It appears that the other pathologist left children the same because seriousness was all that was known.  Keep in mind that it all had to do with the approach taken.

When we are around people as Christians we need to allow them to have fun and enjoy life.  Let me ask you this:  do you make life fun and positive or are you overly serious and often negative?  As Christians we are to live our lives with passion and with joy.  If we live with passion and joy I believe that people will see more clearly the Savior Jesus Christ in us than if we are negative and boring.

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (emphasis mine)

Job 8:21 – 21 “He will yet fill your  mouth with laughter And your lips with shouting.

Isaiah 61:10a I will rejoice  greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God;

We have a God whose joy is our strength, but do we live it?  We have a God who fills our mouths with laughter but are we laughing?  We have a God whom we can rejoice in but do we rejoice greatly in the Lord?  Do we bring  joy, laughter, and rejoicing to those around us?  Are we like the speech pathologist who is making a real difference because of the fun and joy we bring into people’s lives or  are we like the speech pathologist who is leaving people the same?

I pray people have laughter,  joy, and rejoicing when I am around and in any interactions they have with me .  I pray also that through the laughter, joy, and rejoicing that they see Jesus clearly!  How about you?

Leadership Qualities?

3 John 9-10 ⁹ I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not accept what we say. ¹⁰ For this reason, if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words; and not satisfied with this, he himself does not receive the brethren,either, and he forbids those who desire to do so and puts them out of the church.

John, earlier in this chapter, was praising Gaius for his being a good Christian and showing hospitality to the traveling missionaries, now begins to share his observations about Diotrephes.  There is little known about him except what is written here in 3rd John.  What we do know or can figure is he is most likely a deacon or minister or some kind of leader is the church.  Diotrephes means, “Foster child of Zeus”, which gives us a clue that he is probably of Greek decent.  Most people with the name Diotrephes who are found about same time are people who are of a higher social class.  Some believe that is a clue into why he is the way he is; he thinks he is better than others.  John has written a letter to him, which we do not have, and it was not well received by Diotrephes.

So what then did John have to say about Diotrephes?

1. He loves to be first – verse 9 – He liked being in charge and was prideful of his position.
2. He wants nothing to do the leaders of the church – verse 9 – He is showing others that he is in charge but what he is really showing is disrespect to those in authority over him.
3. He is slandering the leaders of the church – verse 10 – He is intentionally saying things that are harmful to those in leadership.
4. He is not showing hospitality – verse 10 – He is too worried about himself to help out others.
5. He stops others from showing hospitality – verse 10 – He does not want to be shown up by others plus that would take focus off of him, which he liked.
6. He tries to put those out of the church that show hospitality – verse 10 – He here is abusing whatever power he has in the Church.

What a list?  These are certainly not the qualities that you want in a church leader or any leader as far as that is concerned.  The qualities that any leader should have should be ones that build up others not tear them down so as to build self up.

I am asking for some real input today – tell me:  What are the qualities you are looking for in a leader?  What leadership qualities are most important for you to see in a leader?

Go ahead and share your thoughts.