Word for Today, Fri, 13 May 2005: Be Strong and Courageous
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>
Dear friends,
Moses was the man that God chose to lead Israel out of Egypt
toward the promised land. The people of Israel, just like many
of us, were stiff necked, stubborn, unwilling to change and
unwilling to believe. As a result of their disbelief and
disobedience, they wandered through the desert for forty years.
As they scouted the promised land, two men, Joshua, son of Nun
and Caleb, were among only two who realized the potential of
the inheritance that God had granted to them. They were willing
to overcome obstacles. Nevertheless, Joshua needed repeated
reassurance from God.
The Word of God is powerful and true. Whenever God repeats
something, you especially know not only that it is true, but also
that it is something near to God's heart, something He definitely
wants us to see, hear, embrace, and follow.
So it is with today's message, which calls us to be bold, have
courage, and take action, obeying God's Word and following His
call, whatever that may be and wherever it may lead.
Two good questions to ask are:
What is God's call?
Where is God leading me today?
Yours in Christ,
Brian
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Neil Anderson's Daily in Christ Devotional
May 13
SPIRIT-INSPIRED BOLDNESS
Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the
LORD your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).
The third qualification for demonstrating authority over rulers
and authorities in the spiritual realm is boldness. A
Spirit-filled Christian is characterized by a true, godly sense
of courage and boldness in spiritual warfare. On the eve of
taking authority over the Promised Land, Joshua was challenged
four times to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9,
18). When the early church prayed about their mission of sharing
the gospel in Jerusalem, "the place where they had gathered
together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy
Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness" (Acts
4:31). Spirit-inspired boldness is behind every successful
advance in the church today.
The opposite of boldness is cowardice, fear and unbelief. Notice
what God thinks about these characteristics:
I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give
to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life
without cost. He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I
will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and
unbelieving and abominable and murders and immoral persons and
sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the
lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death (Revelation 21:6-8).
That's pretty serious - cowards lined up at the lake of fire
alongside murderers, sorcerers and idolaters! It should serve to
motivate us to exercise authority with boldness (2 Timothy 1:7).
A lot of Christians I meet fear the dark side of the spiritual
world. It's true that a little knowledge can be a dangerous and
frightful thing, but a growing knowledge of the truth is
liberating. Seminary students have told me, "I used to be afraid
of that stuff, but now I know who I am in Christ, and I'm not
afraid anymore." That's exactly the perception we should have.
Lord, increase my courage to light candles of truth and dispel
the darkness in Your name. I will fear only You today, not the
enemy.
Copyright 2005 - Freedom in Christ - Taken from "Daily in
Christ" by Neil T. Anderson and Joanne Anderson
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/
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