BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

Let’s look at that word endure. Many of us hate it, but that’s only because we have the interpretation wrong. Endure doesn’t mean to cope with or accept. It means “to make it through.” Another way to say endure is to say, “don’t quit because of it.” If we don’t have our “no-quit switch” yet, we need to fast and pray until we get it because there will be many occasions when our flesh will tell us to quit. But again, that’s not us. We endure. Verse 4 says, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” In other words, as believers, we must consecrate and separate. We’re not of the world; we’ve been called out from it. We’re like the priests of the Old Testament who were called to show the difference between holy and unholy, between clean and unclean (Leviticus 10:10). In the kingdom of God there should be no cloudiness or fog. In the Body of Christ, it ought to be crystal clear what’s up, what’s down, what’s right, what’s wrong, what God blesses and what He doesn’t bless. That’s what we do. As believers, we bring clarity and we help with the cleansing process. Our churches should be decontamination stations for Christians and sinners. Grab the Lion by the Beard We’re not in these battles for ourselves. We’re in them for others—for those in our care and those around us who aren’t strong enough yet to fight for themselves. Just look at David’s example. In 1 Samuel 17, David and Saul were preparing for battle with Goliath. “And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him” (verses 34-35). When you read a passage like this, you might as well put your whine and cry to bed. David had come face to face with a lion and a bear. It was hand-to-hand combat, and he had the lion by the beard. Why did David react like that? Because the lion and his posse messed with what belonged to David. As a result, David was determined to protect his responsibility, his duty and calling. A pastor today might say, “That’s my ministry, my calling, my flock, my family. I’m not going to let anyone come and take God’s people out from under my care. I’m going to grab that lion by the beard!” Similarly, a parent might say, “I’m not going to let anyone lead my kids or my grandkids astray. I’m going to grab that lion by the beard and remind him who he’s tangling with!” Fill Your Shepherd’s Bag David told Saul about defeating the lion and the bear to prove he was ready to face off against Goliath. Saul agreed and even loaned him his armor, but David needed to face off with the giant in his own way. “David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him” (verse 39). It’s as though David was saying, “Thank you, Saul, but these don’t fit.” He needed to do what only he could do, not merely mimic someone else’s battle strategy. It’s the same for every believer. Each of us must do what we’re called to do—what only we can do. Instead, David “took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine” (verse 40). He chose the weapons that suited him: five smooth stones, a shepherd’s bag and a sling. His shepherd’s bag was where he kept his ammo. This begs the question: What is our ammo? What are we keeping in our shepherd’s bag? Hopefully, it’s the Word of God and the lessons we’ve learned from those who raised us in the faith, those who paid a price to raise us up and believed in us when we didn’t believe in ourselves. 10 : BVOV

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