Topic: Valiant Soldiers Of Christ [Saturday August 8, 2015]
Text: 1 Chronicles 11:26-47
Key Verse: “Also the valiant men of the armies were, Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem” (1 Chronicles 11:26).
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) once said: “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they lie in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” A brave spirit like this, if found in an army, could be the determinant for victory, if God is in it.
This, then, was the privilege of David as God prepared him to be king over all Israel. Great men came to David and serve with him to make his kingdom strong. The list is long but they are all referred to as valiant men in our text. They were tough and no seekers of pleasure. They preferred rejection, danger and every hardship of life than living under the oppressive hands of King Saul. They fought alongside David until he was made king and the kingdom was established under him.True Christians are not only followers but also soldiers of Christ. We are to be brave and steadfast in our faith and service to the Lord. A steadfast Christian soldier is never a deserter. He endures hardness and is never a lover of the world or the attraction it holds. He loves the Lord. We cannot compare with valiant men of our text whose names are in the Book of Life and are now gone to their rewards if we are often cast down in despair and gloom at the slightest experience of pain and difficulty in life.
As David’s great men individually distinguished themselves in battle, and were qualified to be included in the list of great men by their deeds of bravery, so must we fight the good fight of faith and overcome sin, self and Satan. We must manfully fight on to rescue perishing souls in spite of persecution and intimidation that will become common in these last days.
Bible In One Year: John 19-21
Thought For The Day: There is a divine roll call, strive to enter in.
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
