Joshua 1:9 Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.
Well Friends, the party’s over! It’s time now to get back to the reality and deal with the sad, untenable situations surrounding us. Our modern day Joshua, Barack Obama has now been officially sworn in as the 44th President of the U.S.A. It was a glorious day of sunshine and cold, most fitting for such a joyous and momentous occasion, with the Lord’s many blessings pouring down upon us that we had lifelong enemies laughing, talking and breaking bread together. Let’s pray for Ted Kennedy though, who fell sick and had to be taken to hospital. The problem now though, is how much of the glad handing and back slapping that took place yesterday, will evolve into more sensible working relationships today? Like the ancient Israelites crossing over the Jordan, our task of rebuilding our world will be monumental. The first requirement will be for the leadership to settle in, then set realistic goals and plans for improvement. Hopefully the Lord has assured Barack, telling him, like He did Joshua: ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage.’ (Josh.1:5-6) I believe He has. The Lord wouldn’t bring him this far under the prevailing circumstances and not reassure him of His ever present strength and guidance. But people, remember he’s only one man; the leader, the visionary. His vision cannot be implemented without the positive and enthusiastic cooperation of we the people. Now that’s where the true colours and real desire of the people will be made known, cause it will need a tremendous amount of working together as one, for the common good of all. If that doesn’t happen, then sadly, the whole exercise will be doomed to failure. Only with everybody going in the same direction, with the same goal, is any positive and long lasting rebuilding possible. The differences amongst us should be there just to keep checks and balances on each other, not stumbling blocks that will negate our positive efforts. And Friends, since we did not descend to our current depths overnight, and have such a long way to rise before we can return to our former glory, we must realize that our rebuilding won’t be done overnight either. We’ve got to band our belly and jaw for a long, hard restoration. That means there’s no room for petty selfishness and divisive party politics. Just as the Israelites after so many years of fear and indecision finally followed Joshua’s direction to cross the Jordan, so too we must follow Obama’s direction to change our negative thought patterns, put on a new, positive demeanour and lift ourselves from the mire we’ve allowed ourselves to fall into and wallow in for far too long. Note Friends, the Lord might have only said Today’s Bit to Joshua on that particular occasion, but He’d been saying it to the people ever since they came out of slavery in Egypt. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ How much simpler and plainer can He get my people? Note also, the major theme of the Lord’s talk to Joshua is strength and courage: ‘Be strong and of a good courage;’ (vs.6) ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous,’ (vs.7) ‘Be strong and of a good courage,’ (vs.9) Even the people told Joshua at the end of his talk; ‘only be strong and of a good courage.’ (vs.18) That means my brethren, we’ve got to gird up our loins, set our hands to the plough and forge straight ahead with strength, courage and conviction, with no looking back, neither ‘turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (vs.7-8) Oh Friends, from day one that has been the cardinal rule in achieving success and prosperity; study the Word, and live by its rules, and it hasn’t changed one iota to this very day. We’ve elected Obama on the platform of hope and positive change, so let’s see if we can be like those Israelites of old nuh, who, when the Lord gave them a second chance under Joshua, eagerly grasped it and got up the courage to finally cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land. ‘And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.’ (vs.16) It’s imperative that we listen to our leaders, while continually praying for the Most High God Jehovah to guide and direct their paths, as well as ours, for it’s only under His loving-kindness and gracious mercy that we can ever find long lasting success and prosperity. Much LOVE!…yes we can…if we believe we can…and behave like we can…
Well Friends, the party’s over! It’s time now to get back to the reality and deal with the sad, untenable situations surrounding us. Our modern day Joshua, Barack Obama has now been officially sworn in as the 44th President of the U.S.A. It was a glorious day of sunshine and cold, most fitting for such a joyous and momentous occasion, with the Lord’s many blessings pouring down upon us that we had lifelong enemies laughing, talking and breaking bread together. Let’s pray for Ted Kennedy though, who fell sick and had to be taken to hospital. The problem now though, is how much of the glad handing and back slapping that took place yesterday, will evolve into more sensible working relationships today? Like the ancient Israelites crossing over the Jordan, our task of rebuilding our world will be monumental. The first requirement will be for the leadership to settle in, then set realistic goals and plans for improvement. Hopefully the Lord has assured Barack, telling him, like He did Joshua: ‘There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so will I be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage.’ (Josh.1:5-6) I believe He has. The Lord wouldn’t bring him this far under the prevailing circumstances and not reassure him of His ever present strength and guidance. But people, remember he’s only one man; the leader, the visionary. His vision cannot be implemented without the positive and enthusiastic cooperation of we the people. Now that’s where the true colours and real desire of the people will be made known, cause it will need a tremendous amount of working together as one, for the common good of all. If that doesn’t happen, then sadly, the whole exercise will be doomed to failure. Only with everybody going in the same direction, with the same goal, is any positive and long lasting rebuilding possible. The differences amongst us should be there just to keep checks and balances on each other, not stumbling blocks that will negate our positive efforts. And Friends, since we did not descend to our current depths overnight, and have such a long way to rise before we can return to our former glory, we must realize that our rebuilding won’t be done overnight either. We’ve got to band our belly and jaw for a long, hard restoration. That means there’s no room for petty selfishness and divisive party politics. Just as the Israelites after so many years of fear and indecision finally followed Joshua’s direction to cross the Jordan, so too we must follow Obama’s direction to change our negative thought patterns, put on a new, positive demeanour and lift ourselves from the mire we’ve allowed ourselves to fall into and wallow in for far too long. Note Friends, the Lord might have only said Today’s Bit to Joshua on that particular occasion, but He’d been saying it to the people ever since they came out of slavery in Egypt. ‘Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.’ How much simpler and plainer can He get my people? Note also, the major theme of the Lord’s talk to Joshua is strength and courage: ‘Be strong and of a good courage;’ (vs.6) ‘Only be thou strong and very courageous,’ (vs.7) ‘Be strong and of a good courage,’ (vs.9) Even the people told Joshua at the end of his talk; ‘only be strong and of a good courage.’ (vs.18) That means my brethren, we’ve got to gird up our loins, set our hands to the plough and forge straight ahead with strength, courage and conviction, with no looking back, neither ‘turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’ (vs.7-8) Oh Friends, from day one that has been the cardinal rule in achieving success and prosperity; study the Word, and live by its rules, and it hasn’t changed one iota to this very day. We’ve elected Obama on the platform of hope and positive change, so let’s see if we can be like those Israelites of old nuh, who, when the Lord gave them a second chance under Joshua, eagerly grasped it and got up the courage to finally cross over the Jordan into the Promised Land. ‘And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go.’ (vs.16) It’s imperative that we listen to our leaders, while continually praying for the Most High God Jehovah to guide and direct their paths, as well as ours, for it’s only under His loving-kindness and gracious mercy that we can ever find long lasting success and prosperity. Much LOVE!…yes we can…if we believe we can…and behave like we can…
SCRIP-BITS 