“Now therefore, give me this mountain , whereof the Lord spake in that day…. ” 
Joshua 14:12

What is the secret to spiritual longevity? Caleb, one of the unsung heroes of the Bible, stands as a shining example of someone who never lost his edge spiritually. He was faithful to the very end.

When he was 85 years old, Caleb said, “I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. Now therefore, give me this mountain . . . ” (Joshua 14:11-12).

But there is another statement of Caleb’s that we should take note of: “I wholly followed the Lord my God” (verse 8).

What does that tells us? To be winners in this spiritual race, we, like Caleb, must follow the Lord our God completely-not half-heartedly, but fully. It means giving 100 percent of ourselves to God.

When Caleb said, “Give me this mountain,” it is worth noting that Hebron was one of the most treacherous, mountainous areas of the Promised Land. In fact, there were some formidable adversaries there. No one wanted to take them on-except for 85-year-old Caleb.

Caleb trusted in God’s promises. He had waited 45 years. So he said, “Give me this mountain. In fact, I have already picked out the area. I want Hebron.” People must have thought Caleb was out of his mind.

But I love Caleb’s boldness. He took the mountain. He overcame his adversaries. And he was victorious. While others looked back, Caleb looked forward.

That is an essential key to spiritual longevity. You are always moving forward. You are always seeking to grow spiritually-and never looking back. (By Greg Laurie)

“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”–Acts 5:42   I read about a man who arrived late at church and the people were already leaving. He asked an usher,”Is the service over?” The wise usher replied,”The worship is over, but the service is just beginning.” That’s a good answer!   Several years ago I placed a sign on the inside of the church door, to be seen by those leaving the building. It said—“YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE MISSION FIELD”. Sometimes we forget that. Some folks think they have discharged all their duties to God by simply attending the church service. They could not be more wrong.   Our responsibility goes far beyond the walls of the church building. It involves every area of our life. As disciples we are never off duty. We are to be salt and light wherever we go. We are to bear witness to God’s saving grace throughout the whole earth. In the gospel, we have the message that the world needs most and God expects us to deliver it.   The worship service is of great importance. It should instruct, inspire, and motivate us, but we also need to get to work! We need to take the gospel to the streets. Singing “Amazing Grace” with the saints is an awesome experience, but we need to get the message of grace to the sinners. It is not their duty to come and get it. It is our job to take it to them. It should also be our joy. What could be more thrilling than to tell others of the greatness of God’s grace?

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”-John 3:1-3

Christianity is about a personal relationship with God rather than a series of religious acts..

In John 3 we see the story of a man who was religous but was lost. Nicodemus was a religious leader of his day, a Pharisee. He had studied the Old Testament scrolls and had even memorized many of them. His life revolved around keeping the law and obeying the rules of the Old Testament. He was extremely religous but was spiritually lost.

Nicodemus approached Jesus at night, perhaps in fear of what the other religous leaders would think. Christ was not accepted by the Pharisees because of His teachings of salvation through faith, not through the keeping of the law. He wanted people to have a relationship with Him rather than follow a religous system.

Nicodemus had religion, but he didn’t have a relationship with the Lord. Jesus told him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Salvation comes through trusting in Christ, not through performing religious acts.

Of all the people who could have claimed religion, Nicodemus was one. He had more than likely studied the Bible since he was a young child. Another man who was extremely religious was the Apostle Paul before his conversion. As he said, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless (Philippians 3:5-6). Paul was an elite religious leader, yet until he put his faith in Christ, he was without salvation.

Do you have a relationship with Christ or do you simply perform religious acts? God wants to have a one-on-one, daily relationship with you, and that relationship comes through belief in His Son’s sacrifice on the Cross. If you’ve never accepted Christ as Saviour, take time now to find a Bible, even online, and read through John 3. View Nicodemus’ questions as coming from a religious person who realized eternal life was not gained by religious works.

If you are saved, remember that God desires a personal relationship with you. He wants you to serve Him, but more so, He wants you to spend personal time with Him each day. Don’t let your faith become a religion rather than a relationship with God. (By Paul Chappell)

To many, Jesus Christ is only a grand subject for a painting, a heroic theme for a pen, a beautiful form for a statue, and a thought for a song; but to those who have heard His voice, who have felt His pardon, who have received His benediction, He is music, warmth, light, joy, hope and salvation, a Friend who never forsakes, who lifts us when others try to push us down. We cannot wear Him out; we pile on Him all our griefs and troubles. He is always ready to lift us; He addresses us with the same love; He beams upon us with the same smile; He pities us with the same compassion.

There is no name like His. It is more inspiring than Caesar’s, more musical than Beethoven’s, more patient than Lincoln’s. The name of Jesus throbs with all life, weeps with all pathos, groans with all pains, stoops with all love. Its breath is laden with perfume.

Who like Jesus can pity a homeless orphan? Who like Jesus can welcome a prodigal back home? Who like Jesus can make a drunkard sober? Who like Jesus can illuminate a cemetery plowed with graves? Who like Jesus can make a queen unto God out of a lost woman of the street? Who like Jesus can catch the tears of human sorrow in His bowl?

There is no metaphor with which to truly express Jesus. He is not like the bursting forth of an orchestra; that is too loud and it may be out of tune. He is not like the sea when lashed into a rage by a storm; that is too boisterous. He is not like a mountain wreathed in lightning, canopied with snow; that is too solitary and remote.

He is the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, a gale of spices from heaven.(Author Unknown)

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again—.Proverbs 24:16   You can fail without being a failure. The fact is, you can’t succeed without failing. Those who have experienced the greatest success have also failed.   When Thomas Edison was trying to invent the light bulb he tried 700 things that failed. A friend said to him,”Mr. Edison, you have failed 700 times. Why don’t you quit?” Edison replied,”I have not failed 700 time; I discovered 700 things that won’t work.” It’s no wonder that he is responsible for more than 1,000 inventions. He refused to let failures stop him. That’s the attitude we all need.   Dr. Bob Jones used to say, “Make chariot wheels out of your failures and ride them to success.” That’s good advice! We aren’t a failute because we fail. We are a failure when we stop trying. Think about it—we learn from our failures and that enables us to succeed. None of us learned the alphabet on our first try. Neither did we learn to ride a bicyle on our first attempt–we fell, we got bumps and bruises, and we got up and tried again and again, until we finally learned how to do it. That’s a good lesson for life.   Everybody fails, but only the failures quit trying. Regardless of how you have failed, get up, brush yourself off, learn from your failure and try again. Don’t be discouraged by your failures, they are the stuff that that success is made of. As Winston Churchill said,”Never give up!”  —H.D.S