Missions is an important topic. No bible believing Christian would deny its importance. Jesus made the mission clear- go and make disciples. This is true for every child of God; we are to go and tell others the gospel. This isn’t just for preachers or other full-time minsters.

            God has given you a mission field. Maybe it’s your home or extended family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbor, that waiter you always have at your favorite restaurant, your doctor, your mechanic, or anyone else God puts in your path. Again, this is true for all of us.

            For some, however, God has taken that mission field and placed it in some other city, state, or even country. Many men and women have taken up that call and gone to places perhaps they never thought they’d go and did things for the cause of Christ they never thought they’d do.

            Wherever your mission field, here’s the truth- you can’t do it alone. This is where I think the story of Jericho comes in. You probably know the story- the Israelites first test when entering the promised land was Jericho, and what a test it was. The city was highly fortified with walls that were essentially impregnable.

            God then gives them their test- walk; walk around the city- don’t attack. So, they did. They walked for six days, then on the seventh they walked around the city seven times and the walls fell. Through their obedience God made a way, however, now it was time to fight.

            “So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.” (Joshua 6:20)

            Now, the amazing thing is the nation as a whole came and took this city, yet later we read (Joshua 18:21) that the privilege of owning Jericho went to the tribe of Benjamin. When it came to this battle, Benjamin benefited more than the rest of Israel- but they couldn’t have done it without them.

            When it comes to missions- we can’t do it alone. Not only does it take the power of God, but it takes the prayers of God’s people, and in many cases, it takes the sacrificial financial giving of God’s people.

            Ultimately, it may not be you or I leading a person to Christ- that privilege may go to someone else- but it takes all of us for the gospel to be properly propagated. Furthermore, the plan is ultimately God’s, and while He may break down the walls to get us in the proper place- sometimes it’s up to us to take up arms and fight.
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            What we must understand is that when it comes to missions- it doesn’t really matter who gets Jericho (1 Corinthians 3:5-8). What matters is did we join in the battle, did we do our part, and did we do what it takes to take the city? 

2 Peter 3:10-14

            In this great chapter Peter is expounding upon the truth of the second coming of Christ. Yes, there will be scoffers, but God always keeps His promises. We don’t need to think about if He’s coming, we need to think about what His coming means.

           Peter asks this question, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness”. The fact is, since Jesus is coming back, it should cause to act a certain way.

           He then gives us that way in which we should live, “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

        We are told to be found in peace. This could refer to the peace found in salvation, namely, peace from God. However, he is already speaking to Christians, so this doesn’t seem to to be the case. This, then, is likely a reference to peace of God. The peace that keeps our “hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).

          We are told to be without spot and blameless. I put these together because Peter gives these together in contrast to what he had previously written about the ungodly false teachers in chapter two. “Spots they are and blemishes” (2 Peter 2:13). Without spot refers to the way we live; in other words, living in right standing with God and by the Word of God. Blameless refers to how we are perceived by others, having a godly reputation- as opposed to those who are ungodly.

            Peter also says that we should do these things diligently. We must work at this; it won’t happen on its own. The flesh will strive towards the things of the world and the Spirit will pull us toward Christ (Romans 7). If we are not diligent about feeding, and not grieving (Ephesians 4:30), the Spirit, our flesh will eventually win us over and sin will take place. When we are living in sin, we stop resting in the peace of God, we cease to be spotless, and we are potentially no longer blameless before the world.
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                So, the question is, what are you looking for? If we’re simply looking to get by in the shadows without the world knowing who we are- we won’t care about diligence. However, if you genuinely believe that Christ is going to return, and you are looking for that day- it should spur us to be diligent about the way we live our lives.