Thus says the LORD to you “Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s”. 2 Chronicles 20:15

When the people of Judah face a fierce opponent in 2 Chronicles 20, there is a right response made by King Jehoshaphat. Even as he is afraid of the enemies of Moab and Ammon, the king calls for a fast over the land. His prayer in verse 12 is one of the most honest prayers in all of Scripture: "We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” The Lord does end up answering the prayers of the people and the king. The enemy is routed. Judah experiences peace and fear of their nation grips even other nations beyond them.

This week's podcast realizes that even though we face daily battles, those fights belong to the Lord. We must stand in obedience and wait patiently as we give the fight over to Him. Furthermore, we must worship as we go into the battle. As praise goes up, His presence leads us. Finally, as we fight we know the enemy has to run when God shows up. May we take courage and may go into each situation knowing that we can operate from a place of victory. Christ has already won the fight!

In the Book of Judges, a sad thing happens to the people of Israel; God's chosen people for His promise: they fall into sin and disobedience. After the years of being delivered, crossing the Red Sea, and even settling into the Promised Land, the people have done the very thing God warned them not to do. They fell for the gods and idols of the people who surrounded them. Into this, they ultimately forgot what God had done for them and forgot the legacy that was theirs to claim.

If we are not sharing the faith with our kids and making it a daily aspect of our lives, the steps that lead us (and them) from the Lord are not far. In one generation, faith can either be solidified and built up OR it can be torn down and dismantled. It's up to us to talk about the things of God as Moses declared in Deuteronomy 6:6-9. From there, if the generations that follow us have heard, it is their choice to listen and obey. Today's podcast takes us down this trail of thought and uses the Israelites' experience as one we can learn from.

As we follow Christ, there is a tendency that can always creep in to lull our hearts away from Him. This temptation can take various forms. Sometimes we can ask "If I am doing all of this for the Lord, where is the payoff for me personally?" This can be very subtle and an idea that grows over time. We see that in other aspects of life, hard work = reward. But often the rewards we seek in the faith are not in this life but in the one to come. As we follow that temptation and our hearts are drawn from the Lord, we can easily fall into the trap of "the gospel of me." Today's podcast unpacks this thought a bit further as we look at the origins and characteristics of a me-focused gospel. May we rejection this notion at every turn and may we find our rest and hope in the Lord!