Verse of the day: Joshua 11:23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.
I have a difficult time imagining that Joshua barely had time for anything else other than being in battle while he and Israel claimed the land that God gave them. When we read of Israel’s conquests, we must realize that God did not just hand the land over to them. He promised that it was theirs, but Joshua and the Israelites had to fight and engage the enemy in bloody battles, executing many people. Some today, even Christians, would say that this is not right and that they cannot believe that the God of love they know would command this (which tells me that they really do not know Him). Nonetheless, this is the truth given to us in God’s Word. He is a God of love, but He is also a God of war. He is a God of mercy and grace, but He is also a God of justice. When I read these passages, it makes me wonder and question, “Do we do enough today to engage in the war we are in?” “Are we so distracted with the things of the world that we are losing the fight?” “Is our enemy gaining ground around us because we are too lazy to put on the armor God has provided us (Ephesians 6) and too self-absorbed to even care about anyone, or anything, but ourselves?” As Christians, God did not give us eternal life in Jesus Christ so that we can just sit around and overindulge in the things of this world. Yes, we have lives to live here, and there is nothing wrong with enjoying life with family, friends, and such, but we must be careful that we not become so entangled in the “here and now” that we forget what is most important…eternity. The fact of the matter is that whether we like it or not, the moment we became born again believers we were automatically, and immediately, drafted into God’s army. Therefore, our life is no longer our, but Christ’s. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 clearly tells us, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” Keeping this in mind, we must follow the same command given to Timothy by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6:11-12, “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” Notice that he was told to “fight” in verse 12. As a soldier in God’s army, the more we seek to live for Christ, the more the enemy will oppose us, and the more we will realize that our Christian life truly is a fight. Therefore, we are told in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier.” If we are going to have victory in our Christian life, if we are going to make an eternal difference while here on earth, we are going to have to change the focus of our life. We must become more concerned about the things of Heaven than we are about the things of earth. We can do this and still enjoy life. In fact, until we change our perspective to a heavenly perspective we will not truly live life more abundantly in Christ here on earth. Jesus told us in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” The devils want us to be of no heavenly-worth as Christians so that we do not share the Gospel and so that we gain no heavenly rewards, but God wants us to live life abundantly in Christ Jesus as we serve Him and win others to the Lord. Joshua and the Israelites won great victories, even though they experienced some setbacks and difficulties because of their own propensity to stray from God. However, in the end, God gave them the land, and they were finally able to rest from war. We are called to endure suffering like a good soldier of Christ, and not be so entangled in the world that we are failing to make a difference, until we are finally home with Jesus. If you are reading this, you are not home yet. This means that both you and I must continue to fight the good fight. We must continue to be sober and be vigilant, for the devil seeks to devour us (1 Peter 5:8-9), as we face the everyday battles that we will encounter if we are truly serving the Lord and striving to live a life that honors God. The enemy seeks to sift us as wheat, and make us, and our testimony, useless for the cause of Christ (Luke 22:31). Let us therefore continue in prayer, reading and studying God’s Word, applying it to our lives, being doers and not just hearers (James 1:22-25). Let us stay focused on what we are supposed to be doing in carrying out our part in this battle for eternity we call life, for there will come a day when we too will finally rest from war (Revelation 14:13).
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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