Jesus doesn't call us to follow him to safe places but to follow him wherever he leads. He calls us to reach people, and we can do that by showing them love. [Audio to follow]

When taking the gospel to people from different cultures, we need to understand whether they come from an "innocence/guilt" culture, an "honour/shame" culture or a "fear/power" culture. We need to be careful of reading "honour/shame" passages in the Bible as "innocence/guilt" passages.

God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, because he is with him. We need to hear God's exhortation to be strong and courageous because God is with us in all circumstances.

How do we live by faith in dark times? We should keep on praying. Like Habakkuk, we should recount what God had done in the past, not become detached from the troubles around us, and commit ourselves to rejoicing whatever happens.

We never get beyond the need to trust in God. We will be fruitless if we trust in man.

Habakkuk doesn't just rush to God with a complaint; he determines to wait on God and listen to this answer.

The writer finishes the letter by requesting that his readers pray for him and bear with his word of exhortation. He also prays to the God of peace and of power, that God will equip his readers through his Word, his Church and his Spirit, to the glory of God.

Habakkuk confronts God when it looks as if God has forsaken the covenant. Like him, our faith should enable us to wrestle with God when we are perplexed. This involves taking the problem to God, being honest with God about our questions, not prescribing the answers, and learning to wait when God does not respond straight away.

We must guard the treasure we have received by remembering its value and putting it to work.

NB - The sound quality improves after a minute or so

We are called to live a certain way because we have come to the holy one who makes us holy. The exhortations in this passage are not just a list of rules but are part of our DNA.