Be Strong and Courageous
"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."
(Joshua 1:9 NASB95) [1]
Joshua was commanded by God to do some things. He was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land and drive out all of the people that lived there. While doing this Joshua was to read the Book of the Law and meditate on it. If he did this and obeyed all of the laws, he would be successful in everything god commanded him to do.
That is quite a task that God gave to Joshua. Just seeing an angel would make you tremble but having that angel give you all of these commands from God? Who wouldn't be shaking in their boots? That is why he is told several times to be strong and courageous.
We who know Jesus Christ are also to read the whole Word of God and meditate or think about what we have read.
We also need to commune with Jesus Christ through prayer including talking as well as listening with God. We also have our marching orders as found in Matthew 28:19
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
You will notice that both of these selections contain a similar phrase. He will be with us and will never leave us. He gives us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and as Paul said:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) [2]
So as you go making disciples everywhere you go, may you go with the power of the Holy Spirit and the love of Jesus Christ and do not be afraid of what others may say or think or do. You are not alone. The
Lord will lead you by the Holy Spirit to minister whenever and however He wants you to.
By Dean W. Masters
Owner of the Masters List
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/masterslist/
Unedited Redistribution Approved
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[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.