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Day 64, or March the 5th. Are you just going

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to stand there? Our thought today is rooted in

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Joshua chapter 18, verse 3. So Joshua said to

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the Israelites, How long will you wait before

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you begin to take possession of the land that

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the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given

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you? First the big picture around this verse.

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The boundaries and borders for each tribe dominate

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the book of Joshua. There are chapters and chapters

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of them. There seems to be no end, but whilst

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we may have difficulty seeing the relevance of

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them, all the people in Joshua's day must have

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thanked God through Joshua for being so clear

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and transparent in his expectations. Each tribe

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knew exactly what God had for them, and readily

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accepted it. Now today's action step. Doesn't

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God love things to be well -ordered and specific?

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The book of Joshua is a great example of God's

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accuracy in attention to detail. In amongst the

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details, however, there is a little gem of a

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question. It can be summed up in these words.

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How long are you going to wait before you do

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something? I believe that's a question we should

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all ask ourselves. I've heard churches say, as

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soon as we're prepared, then we will move on,

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but we must take time to prepare. Preparation

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is important, of course, but it must never be

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used as an excuse for inactivity. Sometimes individuals

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will say, I just don't know enough yet, but as

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soon as I feel confident, then I'll step out.

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No, you won't. You will never feel confident

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enough, or if you do, Please ask a supplementary

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question. Confident in what or whom? Many tell

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you all you have to do is believe in yourself.

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You only have to watch some of the cringe -inducing

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performances on reality TV to know that believing

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in your own ability is rarely enough. As believers,

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we need to believe in God before we believe in

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ourselves and prepare as much as we can. but

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act as urgently as we can. Today's a day for

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action. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring.