Go do it!

Ephesians 2:10
'we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.'

This is quite a well known verse, I love it. There's quite a lot contained in it, so let's break it down a bit:

- we are his workmanship
We are God's handiwork, his invention, handcrafted and developed by him. Now, as God, is, well, God, he knows what he is doing! You are no mistake, you are not a blot on humanity, you have been designed, and intricately woven together. Every curve, every line has been fashioned and lovingly put together by the Almighty! We all have doubts, I. Shelf have had to grow to understand this. The fact is, the Bible is truth it is God's word, so it is true. It doesn't matter how we feel. We can feel worthless and unwanted, but the truth states that you, 'are his workmanship'. There's no mistake in that. God handcrafted you, you are a part of his creation and he is pleased with all he has made. That's the truth.

- created in Christ Jesus for good works,
We are also made in Christ Jesus. Through Christ's death, we gain life. We have been reborn if we decide to accept all Jesus has done and allow that to change our lives.
We have been created to do good things, we have been created to work. Not everyone has a job, but everyone can do good works. It could be helping out a neighbour, buying a homeless person a sandwich or writing a note to cheer someone up. There's no end to the good works we can do. What good works can you do? God has created you, given you talents and opportunities, are you using them for good works?

- which God prepared beforehand
God has a plan! Even when we don't!
God knows what you are created for, he has designed you for a significant purpose, to make a difference in this world. He has prepared your tasks, and prepared you for them. To find out what they are, you'll have to ask him. Spend time listening to the one who made you, then you'll find out what you're made for.
The great thing is God put all this thought and purpose into not only designing you, but designing you for a purpose. The world needs you in it to complete the works you've been made for. God knows what you're meant to do, so you can trust him when he's leading you into sometimes scary paths.

- that we should walk in them
So, God designed us, designed us for purpose, all in advance, now what?

 Now..... DO IT!

There's no point in knowing and understanding this stuff if we're just going to sit there and not do anything about it. You have been designed to do good things, so go and do them!

We are the church!

What is the church?
Is it a building, a set system of beliefs? A bunch of people? A place filled with religiosity?
These are common assumptions.
In the Bible church actually is; the house of God, the bride of Christ, the whole body of Christian believers, an army.

The church is the house of God.
It's the place where God lives and works. Where he is present, moving and changing lives. It is a place of power, strength, and impossible things because God is there. It is where God is, permanently. So it will always have power and strength and the miraculous taking place because that's where God is

Now, that's not enough because if the church is just a place of power then it could be strong, but it would be pretty cold and scary. So, the church is also the bride of Christ. It is beloved, cherished, taken care of and secure. The church is what Jesus died for. If he hadn't died, it wouldn't exist. Jesus died because he loved the church SO much, he put the church first, he built it and he saved it. So the church is a place of fierce love, where love always wins.

Physically, the church is the whole body of believers. It is not a building in a village or city, it is not a small group of people that worship in a living room. It's not defined by the confines of a room or space. The church is a multinational, multilingual, diverse range of people across the world. It has millions of members who are all connected through the love of Jesus! It is not one person on their own. The church walks your streets, it works in shops, schools, hospitals, banks and in the tax office. The church is growing and moving as the people in it do their daily business. The church is alive!

What does the church do?
It invades!
The church is an army. We have one commander, and we move together to make his name of known. His name is Jesus. Now, an army fights. We will fight for what we believe in, we will stand on the truth of God's word. We will be fought against, we will come against opposition, and we are ready for it. God has equipped us. We received God's love, we have access to His power, we know His truth, we are advancing!

The church has the power and love within it to change the world - are you a part of it?

confident commitment

Joshua 24:15
'But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” '

I love this verse. It displays a confident commitment. It seems defiant. Almost like Joshua is saying, 'whatever you lot do, I'm going to do this anyway!'

Joshua is clear where he stands.

He encourages the rest of Israel to follow his lead by reminding them of all of what God has done. How God has revealed himself to them and rescued them. Ultimately though, Joshua realises he can only be responsible for himself and his family. It's up to each family, each person what they choose to do.
This is not Joshua washing his hands of responsibility, he is still the leader of Israel, n
But even as leaders you cannot force people to do what you want, what you know is best. Each person has their own mind. Our responsibility, like Joshua, is to remind people who God is, remind them of the facts and warn them of a life without him.
Then what?
Then, like Joshua, we lead by example.

Joshua doesn't mind standing out from the crowd. Despite what the rest of the nation may decide to do, he knows where he stands. He has made a confident commitment to the one true God and it doesn't matter what anyone else may; do, say or think.

Sometimes, faith in God will call us to make a stand. Sometimes, we will need to stand out from the crowd and do things differently. Don't be ashamed to let others know why. We shouldn't apologise for our faith, we should stand for it. Joshua gives his reasons and then makes his stand.

We all have a reason for our faith. Sometimes this will mean we do or don't do things the same as everyone else. It will make us stand out and can make us feel uncomfortable, but don't let comfort dictate what you and your family stand for. Don't compromise your beliefs to go along with the crowd. No-one notices you in a crowd, and sometimes that's a nice idea, but how does that demonstrate who you are and what you believe?
There are increasingly more and more stories in the news about how Christians have taken a stand. Sometimes they are held up and ridiculed, but they are standing for what they believe. They realise their lives are about more than money or jobs or whatever else it is they are facing. These people, like Joshua, have made a confident commitment and by their actions they state, 'But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”.

Will you join them? Are you prepared to stand up for what you believe, no compromise? Stand out from the crowd and declare, 'But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”!

How do we receive God's promises?

Joshua 23: 5-6
"5 The Lord your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the Lord your God promised you. 6 Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, "

God will:
Push back our enemies
Drive them out
Fulfil his promises

We shall:
Possess the land

We must:
Be strong
Keep the law

God has said he will push back our enemies.
God works hard for us, did you know that?
Pushing back enemies takes; time, power, strength, logic and control. God will do all of that for us so that we can have the good stuff.
He will drive out the enemy. Drive them out implies that they are completely out of our lives. They are not welcome, and God can and will take care of that. God will do all this work. He will and does battle for us. He will fight for us, he will defeat our enemies. God keeps all his promises - that means he does everything he ever said he would - do you know anyone else that does that? I sure don't! Everything God says he will do, he will do. Everything he says will happen, will happen.
God has said he WILL remove our enemies, he WILL fight our battles. So, he will!

Then, who or what are our enemies? Enemies can be people. They can also be a whole host of other things including bad habits, or wrong mindsets.
Whatever it is, God has the; time, power, strength, logic and control to overcome them and drive them out.
God is ready. He's prepared, willing and able to fulfil his promises. He will push our enemies back and drive them out. However, it's up to us to keep our part of the bargain.
So what does our part entail?

We MUST, 'be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law'. Being strong. It doesn't mean we all have to have mighty muscles or be a black belt in martial arts, but we need to be strong.

How are you strong?
Maybe you persevere even when the going gets tough. Maybe you have unshakeable faith. Maybe you have peace in the midst of chaos, in the darkest hours you have hope. These are all ways we can be strong. Whatever is thrown at you in life, keep hold of who you are and who God is, then you will be strong.

Being strong isn't enough though. We've also got to follow the rules. If we are serious about being God's people, we've got to keep the family rules. Rules are there not to limit or harm us, but to protect us and others. They are not easy to keep, but we have responsibility to demonstrate who we are through what we do or do not do.

God promises great things to the obedient and faithful. Are you ready to do what it takes to receive them?

Your allotted land

Reading through Joshua, I've come to the part that allots the land to different tribes. There are specific areas where each tribe should settle, where they have to drive out the current inhabitants, set up and make their homes and livelihoods. The size, site and shape are all predetermined and clearly set out. The Israelites were made up of different tribes, each tribe was allotted an area of land, told to occupy it and were to honour God in it.
Their new mission after the wilderness years was to overcome some battles, exert their influence and establish themselves as God's people in the promised land. Then they would be fruitful.

This caused me to think about how God gives us allotments too:
He gives us areas in which to exert our influence.
He gives us battles which we must overcome.
He gives us the opportunity to establish His kingdom where we are.

God has set the size, site and shape of or ministry. He has set the boundaries.
We are to work within these areas doing our everyday thing God's way. By honouring God in what we do, we don't know the influence we have. We don't need to see the impact, but we will make one.
Our areas of ministry also have boundaries. We have areas where we have influence, and here are areas where we won't. We should not be surprised or upset if others have success where we don't. We have a different site to establish. Other people will have different areas where they are successful, and you don't seem to take any ground. Well, that doesn't matter. That's the site allotted to them, not to you.

It may take you time to figure out where and what your allotted area is. You need to discover what 'tribe' we are a part of and get to work. To help you, look around. Whether you like where you live and work or not, God has given that place for you to  exert your influence as His people. He may be calling you elsewhere, if he is, then obey His voice. If not, then stick it out. You are God's representative in that place, even if you feel alone. Even if there are great battles that need to be faced, God is with you and will strengthen and uphold you. Don't be afraid. Take the land God has given you.
He has given you authority and the ability to influence in that place. You may not feel like that is true for you, but let me tell you with this; The Israelites had many experiences which caused even outsiders to recognise that God was with them. This caused some people to get together and fight, others melted in fear. This will be the same for you and I. We will meet with opposition, and we will be met with melted hearts. It is our responsibility to demonstrate who God is wherever we are and with whoever we meet.