Years ago, when he was born we knew he was special. He was the firstborn son, and he has an anointing on his life.

At the time, my brother and I were visiting my sister in Colorado. He had been born a short time before we arrived. When we got to their home and saw him, we were thrilled. My sister's first child, a son.

The problem was he seemed to breathing abnormally fast, and his pulse was racing. He seemed to be struggling. It was not long before he was in the hospital...fighting for his young life. I wish I could remember the right terminology, but I do not. What I do remember is that there was a problem with his heart, and the blood was not pumping properly.

To say were all a bit scared is an understatement.

The Lord gave me a verse to share with Lynae and Rich (his parents). It comes from Hebrews 4:7-8. "Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day."

Yes, his name is Joshua. He was fighting an incredible battle for survival. The Lord wanted them to know that He was in control, that He was with them, that there was an anointing on Joshua's life. That the Lord would speak into Joshua's life, that on "another day." This would not be the end.

It was evident that God was speaking through this circumstance. My sister and her husband were ministering to the other families in the newborn i.c.u. I know they were very unsettled that their first child was in the hospital, and that his fate seemed uncertain. That did not stop them from giving of themselves to the other parents whose situation was more dire than their own.

I was amazed at their strength, and their ability to face surgery on their own son's heart with such peace! I know this also blessed the other parents as well.

God did a remarkable work on Joshua's heart through the skilled hands of the surgeon. Very soon, he was functioning as a normal baby.

He still bears the scar on the left side of his chest, under his arm. Yet he has no memory of that day, nor how traumatic his situation. God was setting him aside for "another day."

I have shared before how much Joshua and BJ loved each other. The age difference between them was 9 to 10 years, yet there was no gap in their hearts for one another.

They never lived near one another. The trip to see each other was always long for whoever was driving. The reward that awaited far exceeded the anticipation of time spent traveling.

You recall that when BJ passed away, Joshua sobbed and grieved hard. He still has to talk about it from time to time.

It was Joshua who jumped up first to "take BJ's place" at his funeral celebration. His arm extended in the air like he had the only answer to the question, indicated the urgency he felt in doing so.

Joshua, "keeper of the sword," was living for "another day."

The Lord knew the plans He had for these young men. There was a reason sword play was such a bonding point between them.

BJ wielded his sword, the living Word of God, in the way he was called to. Joshua, "living for another day" was taking up that sword, to later unsheathe it, and use it to declare Truth.

Farther down that same passage in Hebrews 4, it says "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow..."

Last week, Joshua pulled out his sword. A month or so after his seventh birthday, a little over a year after he stood to declare his intent to serve the Lord his God by taking BJ's place, a year after receiving the sword which helps declare the mantle of authority in his life, he humbly and quietly used his weapon.

He delivered Truth to a neighbor boy who comes from an unbelieving family. That Truth was received, and that young man gave his heart to Jesus...the One who also bears a scar under his left arm.

Joshua would want no credit, he is just doing what he was born to do. To "live for another day."

Praise God, he has taken up his cross...he has unsheathed his sword!

I love that little man!

uncle brent