IN THE TIME OF PEACE, PREPARE FOR WAR III
MEMORISE:
And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. Deuteronomy 34:7
READ: Joshua 14:7 -12
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
MESSAGE
There are many people in the hospital now who would not have been there if only they had been eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. They ate whatever they felt like eating and did not do any exercise because they didn’t seem to be having any health challenges, only to find out later that a disease had been growing inside them all the while. In the time when you are feeling healthy, that is when you should pay good attention to your health. For those whose health deteriorated to such an extent that they landed in the hospital, it may be too late for them to go out and exercise. They can only pray for God to heal them and I am quite sure that when they get better, they will begin to eat healthy. I join my faith with whoever is reading this from the sickbed now; be healed in Jesus’ name. I know some Christians will quote 1Timothy 4:8;
For bodily exercise profiteth little; but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
They interpret the verse above to mean that spiritual exercise is the only important thing to consider. That passage however, did not say physical exercise does not profit at all. It says it profits little. That little profit must not be ignore. A lot rests on that ‘little’ as you cannot be as spiritually profitable as you would be if you were sick. God needs your body to help Him fulfil His will on the earth. The more Christians live healthy, the more work He can use them to do and the longer they can do the work. God was able to use Moses right up until he was 120 years old because Moses was strong and healthy even at that age. Caleb was able to say, “Give me this mountain” at the age of 85 because he was strong and healthy. Take care of that body. Don’t let it break down before you pay attention to it. If you find out that when you walk a few miles, you start panting, you need to start exercising. If your back seems to be aching more quickly than before, then maybe your sugar intake is becoming too much. Pay attention to your health now so that you don’t run into trouble later.
It is advisable to have a comprehensive medical check-up once or twice a year. It is not just when you are feeling sick that you should ask the doctor to examine you. By then, it may be late.
REFLECTION
When was the last time you did a comprehensive medical check up
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicles 25-28
HYMN 16: O GOD OUR HELP IN AGES PAST
1 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
2 Under the shadow of Thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
And our defence is sure.
3 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.
4 A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
5 Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
6 O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be Thou our guard while life shall last,
And our eternal home.
