ARE YOU BATTLE HARDENED? A good soldier gets battle hardened by being in the fight!
Guest post by Donald Cline
Joshua 1: 1 ¶ Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
A good soldier gets battle hardened by being IN the fight. As soldiers of the Lord we must stay in the fight. Once a soldier steps away from battle it’s easy to get comfortable. At this moment we don’t have a cushy building to kick back in, get comfy and listen to some sweet music, finished off by a milk toast message. But the conflict is on the battle field, not in the barracks. We must stay Battle Ready!
No one knows the real story behind this virus. But what I do know is it has scattered the church in a way not seen since God scattered it out of Jerusalem that we read about in the book of acts. The church is not about a building with the trappings. WE are the church. But the today’s “church” has become fat, lazy and soft. No longer going out to reach a lost and dying world. No longer preaching the true Word of God without apology. No longer glorifying God with its music and message. No longer representing our Lord and Saviour with Godly grooming and dress.
Give the adversary his due. He has succeeded in melding the church back into the world with the surrender of church leadership. But WE must not surrender. These conflicts will serve to make us stronger! God told Joshua to be strong and of a good courage! Note that he did not tell Israel that. He told Joshua that. It’s a personal thing.
You are responsible for you. You will be accountable to Jesus one day for what YOU do, not what the “church” does, or what someone else does. So don’t wait for someone else to step in and take the lead. Grab your armor, gird up the loins of your mind and get into the battle! Fight for the souls of your fellow man! Our enemy may be winning a few battles, but I’ve read the end of the Book. He loses the war! We’ve already won! So let’s behave like winners! No long faces! No doubts! No fears!
Tomorrow we will look at ways to stay Battle Ready and strategies we can use to fight the good fight while living in today’s world. But for now …
Keep Lookin’ UP!
Brother Donald Cline is the Associate Pastor at Yakima Bible Baptist Church in Yakima, WA. He is the former pastor of Olde Tyme Baptist Church of Calgary, AB, and the author of Faithwalkers, which is available on Amazon in Kindle Version, paperback and hardcover format.