Tag: act like men

119. Do not be afraid. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome,

2 Samuel 10:6   When the Ammonites saw that they had become a stench to David, the Ammonites sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob, 12,000 men. And when David heard of it, he sent Joab and all the host of the mighty men. And the Ammonites came out and drew up in battle array at the entrance of the gate, and the Syrians of Zobah and of Rehob and the men of Tob and Maacah were by themselves in the open country.

When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to battle against the Syrians, and they fled before him. And when the Ammonites saw that the Syrians fled, they likewise fled before Abishai and entered the city. Then Joab returned from fighting against the Ammonites and came to Jerusalem.

Numbers 13:20    Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Deuteronomy 31:6    Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Joshua 1:6-7    Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.  Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.

2 Chronicles 32:7    “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

Nehemiah 4:14    And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

Hebrews 13:6    So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

1 Chronicles 19:13     Be strong, and let us use our strength for our people and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.”

1 Corinthians 16:13    Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

We chase after many things to comfort our fears.  In this chase and seeking hopefully we come to an end and we see the folly of it.  Who is able by their chasing after what the world has to offer has any more lasting comfort than before?  It is God who has all things in control.  It is God who has plans and purposes greater than our thoughts could ever imagine.  It is God who heals, strengthens, encourages, and gives power or not.  He gives and He takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.  Who is able to start or stop things God has put into motion?  The answer is no one.

Some will deny God exists and will latch onto false hopes.  Others will deny God is in control and will latch on to false hopes.  And then there are those who don’t deny God’s in control but who can’t seem to trust that He is.  Blessed is the man who with his whole heart, mind, and soul humbly severs, honors, follows, relies on, trusts in, and obeys God.  He will stand firm.  He will have courage and strength of God.  He will not fear the unknown but rather will give the outcome into the very hands of Jesus and find refuge, hope, peace and rest.

77. They do not know me, declares the LORD.

Joshua 23:6   “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Proverbs 4:26-27     Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

1 Corinthians 16:13     Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Ephesians 6:10-19     Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Jeremiah 9:3     They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the LORD.

Be strong, stand firm, ponder your path, do not swerve left or right, put on the whole armor of God, do not turn aside, hold fast, and be watchful – these are all words of warning and encouragement. We would not have words encouraging us to be strong, stand firm, hold fast, and our on the whole armor of God if there was not going to be something to fight against.  We are to stand firm against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  They are very real and you do not have to look very hard to find their cunning and deceptive work in the lives of people.

We are not to allow ourselves to be drawn in, influenced, and enticed by our culture and the dark forces that lead it.  We are to be watchful and stand firm in faith to God.  Just because our culture tolerates (in the name of being progressive) pornography is called adult entertainment, abortion is called women’s right to choose, LBGTQ is alternative lifestyles,  does not make it right or progressive or in line with serving God.  Be watchful.  If God’s word is not ever present in our daily lives how are we to see these dark forces at work in our world.  If God’s word is not daily present in our lives how are we to know right from wrong when our culture has adopted and called right that which is wrong.  If God’s word is not daily present how are we to know false from the truth? I saw this quote yesterday and thought it appropriate for today.  “And gradually though, no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable, and then acceptable, and then legal, and then applaudable.” 

We will not be able to stand before God and plead we did not know.  The very fact that we choose to neglect and become complacent with His word condemns us because we chose to ignore.  Do not spend another day blindly following a world heading straight to hell.  Pick up His word and intentionally choose to spend time in it with all your heart, mind, and soul with the purpose of humbly serving, honoring, trusting, following, and obeying God.