Recovering Lost Ground

When Joshua was leading the children of Israel into the promised land, they saw many great victories, but in Joshua 7 we see them lose ground because of the sin of Achan. Recovery of that lost ground was not an easy achievement--it never is. When we chose to live in willful disobedience, we may find ourselves living for years without the blessing of God. If we would remember that, we might find it more difficult to choose to sin.

Read through Joshua 8. The Lord gave Joshua hope after their defeat at Ai. He told him in Joshua 8:1-2 that the ground would be regained. Aren't you thankful that God will not hold your past defeats against you, if you will repent and move on?! The Psalmist said, "If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope" (Psalm 130:3-5). Believer, the Lord will not abandon you because you lost a battle. The victory is already yours! Joshua's army lost the first battle because of sin, but they could lose this second battle because of unbelief. Trust Him and His Word!

The war for recovery that Joshua had to fight could not be won with a half-hearted attitude toward the enemy (when they first fought Ai, they sent only 3,000 men). Joshua chose out 30,000 mighty men of valour and sent them away for an ambush. He had a God-given strategy for winning the war, involving "all the people of war." What is your strategy for regaining the lost ground in your life? Do you have a lackadaisical attitude toward the enemy? We are to put on the "whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). We are not ignorant of the devices of our enemy (2 Corinthians 2:11), and must base our fight upon the directives found within the Scriptures. If your strategy is not based upon the commands of God, you will find yourself following the counsels of the world, and will be more entangled than ever.

After their victory they traveled about 30 miles in order to obey the command of God to worship at Mount Ebal (Joshua 8:30-35, See Deuteronomy 11:29-30; 27:1-8). Here they renewed their covenant with God, their commitment to the Word of God (Joshua 8:32, See Deuteronomy 27:8), and the consecration of their families (Joshua 8:35, See Deuteronomy 29:10-13). When you find yourself in defeat, don't lose heart. Take courage, repent of your sin, and follow the Word of God in order to correct it. Renew your dedication to worship God aright. Commit yourself to the obedience of the Word of God, and consecrate your family to the Lord and His service. You can live a victorious Christian life, in the midst of great battles, the Lord fighting for you, if you will keep Him and His Word always before your eyes!

Celebrating Christmas?

Many believers have a question about whether or not they ought to celebrate Christmas. Is it scriptural to celebrate Christmas? Is it unscriptural, or anti-scriptural, to celebrate Christmas? First, we must understand that the celebration of Christmas is not scripturally mandated. Nowhere in the N.T. do we find the disciples celebrating the birth of Christ. It is more of a social holiday than a spiritual, or scriptural holy-day. We should not try to Christianize Christmas, or "put Christ back into Christmas," for He was never there, but there are some scriptures that will give us guidance in the matter. Paul tells us in Romans 14:5-6a, "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it...."

Secondly, we must realize that the celebration of Christmas is a stumbling block for many believers. The history of the religious observance of December 25th takes us to the celebration of false Roman gods that was transferred to Christ by the corrupt Roman Catholic religious system. "Christ's mass" may be especially a turn off to one raised within that corrupt religion, but has since been delivered. If our celebration of this day is a stumbling block to a weak believer, we should gladly set aside the observance. Or if one cannot "regard it unto the Lord," and do so in faith, he should not observe it. We are not in bondage to observe any holy-day, but are to observe every day unto the Lord, which takes us to our final point.

Lastly, if one is to celebrate Christmas, he must observe it scripturally. Paul plainly tells us that, "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it…" Romans 14:10-23 gives us many scriptural principles that apply to the observance of any day. We are not to "set at nought" our brother, for we will all have to answer for ourselves whether or not we observe Christmas, and how we do it (or don't do it). In all these things we are to "serve Christ" (v.18), and not be an offense, or offensive, to our brother in Christ. If we are to celebrate, it must be of faith, or it is sin (v.22-23).

There can be many dangers in the observance of Christmas. The materialism and covetousness that is so rampant in our society's celebration of the holiday are snares that few Christians can avoid without a close walk with God. It is very easy to get so caught up in the traditions, that it is not observed unto the Lord, and is not done so in faith. We can rejoice that our Saviour was born, but the Bible nowhere tells us the date, nor mandates our observance of it. We rejoice that He came to save His people from their sins, that He did die for us, but is risen again! We serve a risen Saviour who will soon return for His servants. Will He find us watching?

Are You Watching?

Paul wrote to Timothy, a servant of God, and told him to "watch thou in all things..." (2 Timothy 4:5a). To watch, means to be sober, and circumspect, understanding what is going on around you. Isaiah spoke harshly of the Lord's servants in Isaiah 56:10, stating, "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber." What a sad indictment laid upon any of those who would call themselves followers of God, and yet that same charge can be laid against so many of us today, because we do not even understand what is going on around us, that we are in a spiritual battle!

Christian, do you understand the times in which you live? Do you understand that your Lord has given you a job to do, and that you need to be diligent in the performance of that job because He is soon returning and you will give an account of yourself? "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer" (1 Peter 4:7). The Lord has taken a far journey, leaving His house, giving authority unto His servants, and to every man his work, and has commanded the porter to watch (Mark 13:34). Will He find you sleeping when He returns? "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mark 13:37). Christ Himself will gird Himself, cause you to sit down, and He will serve you, IF He finds you watching when He returns (Luke 12:37). What an awesome promise!

We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 that we know that the Lord will return as a thief in the night, but as children of light, that day will not overtake us as a thief. We are not to sleep, but "watch and be sober." Put on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation (vs.8)! We have an adversary that hates us, hates the work of God, and hates the Lord's churches. How sad it is that so many believers are more concerned with their "liberty in Christ" than they are about being sober-minded. They take more interest in throwing off the restraints of the Word of God than they do in striving to please God by living a life of daily obedience. Christ warned the church at Sardis to "be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God" (Revelation 3:2). Do not stand ashamed before Him when He comes. Walk circumspectly, redeeming the time, for the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16).