Welcome to my randomized study & miscellaneous thoughts about the Awesome God of the universe, who He is and what He wants us to be.

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Verse of the Day

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Today's Quote

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Courage Under Fire

Are you naturally a courageous person? Are you self-confident and self-assured whenever facing new situations? Are you the first one to speak up in a crowded room? Or are you the "fraidy cat" who peers from underneath the covers at the strange sound coming from the darkened hallway? Maybe you're somewhere in between?

Well, God's Word calls us to be courageous and to "fear not." Good words, but how do we apply them in our lives? How do we help spread the Gospel message to a resistant, even antagonistic world, when we may feel overmatched, outnumbered, unprepared?

Thankfully God has not left us to our own strengths and abilities. He has promised to lead us, guide us, teach us, comfort us, heal us, strengthen us, encourage us and reward us. As we abide in Him, place our faith and trust in Him alone, He is able and sufficient. Praise God! Because I know that I personally do not have the abilities and talents to convey His message of love and freedom adequately!

So, we turn to our guidebook, our textbook, as always, God's Word. Here we find many instances where men and women were able to push through their fear, being obedient to God and courageously found victory by remaining steadfastly in His will.

Courage...it is NOT the absence of fear. Rather, it is the ability to do what must be done even in the face of great danger to ourselves - in spite of the fear we may have.

Here are a few examples of those who have faced the fear and pressed on:


Abram/Abraham (and Sarah):
Genesis 12:1-4
1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you;
2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
4 So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.


Gideon: see Judges 6:11-7:25
Judges 6:14-15
14 The LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?" 15 He said to Him, "O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father's house."

Judges 7:15-18
15 When Gideon heard the account of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, "Arise, for the LORD has given the camp of Midian into your hands." 16 He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers. 17 He said to them, "Look at me and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outskirts of the camp, do as I do. 18 "When I and all who are with me blow the trumpet, then you also blow the trumpets all around the camp and say, "For the LORD and for Gideon.'"


David:
1 Sam 17:23-24
23 As he was talking with them, behold, the champion, the Philistine from Gath named Goliath, was coming up from the army of the Philistines, and he spoke these same words; and David heard them. 24 When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from him and were greatly afraid.

1 Sam 17:32
David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."

1 Sam 17:37
And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you."


Peter and John:
Acts 4:18-20
18 And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; 20 for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard."


Paul:
Acts 20:22-24
22 "And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. 24 "But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.


Now, these men (and women) all have at least 2 things in common:
(1) they were afraid and
(2) they were obedient to God.

David did not conquer Goliath out of his great strength. Peter didn't sway thousands with his eloquence and training in public speaking. And Gideon asked God for proof that He was who He said He was...TWICE! But the Bible does not tell us that these examples were perfect and sinless creatures, for they were not. They had failing just as we do. But they were obedient and placed their faith in God - only He knows the end from the beginning. So, when they fell down (or were knocked down), they kept the faith and with the heart of a champion, they got back up! That's the true measure of a champion, not "does he ever get knocked down" but "does he get back up one more time?"


I have a dear friend who just recently pressed on through her fear in order to step out into an area of ministry that she believes that God is calling her to. She wrote, "It's not easy telling you now. This is what God wants me to do. If I'm going to give my testimony at churches I have to believe it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of me only what God thinks."

I believe that she hits the nail square on the head! Being courageous as a Christian is not about having no fear, it is about recognizing who God is and what your relationship with Him is. Some of our fears may be alleviated through prayer, bible study, scripture memorization and other such preparations. But, I think that only when we come to the point where He is what matters first and foremost in our mind and exhibited in our life, will we be able to leave behind our fear of what "others" will think while we step out into an area that Paul says will make us look "foolish."

May your bumpersticker read: I'M A FOOL FOR JESUS!

Roll on, while clinging to the Rock,
Dr. Larry
Have you seen the Emergent Church yet?

scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 2:23 PM