Tag Archives: courage

Commanded To Stand

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As our nation becomes increasingly anti-Christ we will be called upon to take a stand for God.  Some Christians do not want to do that.  Well, there is no room for wishy-washy Christians in our day any longer.  Our numbers are being beheaded for their faith and killed in various ways.  There is no time for us to be sitting on our padded Church pews singing “Blessed Assurance”.

In the Word of God we are charged, challenged and called to do many things. God gives a command to Jeremiah to God’s people.  Look at what that was.  Jeremiah 6:16, “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.”

First of all God exhorts His children through Jeremiah to “Stand ye in the ways,”.  If we are not careful we will fall for the schemes of the devil.  This is one of those exhortations that is good for you and I to take note of and obey.  God has called each of His children to stand.

If you and I take a stand for God we will be targeted for sure.  The world will laugh at us.  They will make fun of us.  They will ridicule us terribly.  They might even go so far as to take our lives.  Rest in the knowledge that God knows all of this.  You and I need to just simply keep standing for God no matter what the world or anyone else does.

So, how are you doing?

 

We Need To Be

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The other morning a thought came to me.  It was a thought about what a Christian should be.  So, I hope you endure my thoughts.

First of all we need to be an encourager.  To encourage means to fasten upon, to seize, to be strong or to strengthen.  Deuteronomy 1:38, “But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.”

We can look around and find so much that is a discouragement.  Our nation is imploding before our very eyes.  We see our enemies on every hand gaining a foothold and it will knock the wind out of your sails if we are not careful.  If we focus on the negative, worldly things then we can lose courage, we can lose heart and it will render us ineffective if we do not deal with it quickly.

I have a Pastor friend who is great at encouraging others.  He is one of those guys that you just want to be around because you are always better for being with him.  I wonder what other say about me?  I wonder if people would call me an encourager.  Are people encouraged because they have spent time with me?  Now, what about you?  Ask yourself the same questions.  Would people call you an encourager?  Are people encouraged because they have spent time with you?  It is a sobering thought, I know.

We need to be putting courage into people around us.  I don’t mean blowing smoke in their faces.  I don’t mean telling them a bunch of lies.  I mean being honest and giving them courage from the Word of God.  If you need courage that is where you need to start.

So, how are you doing?

Although

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On Monday this week I had the amazing opportunity of spending the morning with some dear people to me.  I went to Lighthouse Baptist Church in Dennison, IL for a Pastor’s breakfast.  That Church is one of a hand full of Churches that are very dear to my heart.  The breakfast was wonderful.  Spending time with the Pastors and Christian workers that attended was deeply valuable to me (and others I am sure).  Pastor Phil Price and the dear people of the Church did a great job making us all welcomed and full.

My dear friend Dr. Larry Lilly was asked to give a charge from the Scriptures.  Once again God used this man to minister right to the heart of all who attended.  His text was Habakkuk 3:17-19.  I was so moved by his message that I could not even make my pen scribe notes on paper as I listened.  So, I cannot recreate what I heard; but, I can share some thing with you that came to my mind as I read again this passage.

Habakkuk 3:17-19, “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:  Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.  The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.”

The first thing I see is the ruin.  We are told about the fig tree will not blossom, the vine will have no fruit, the olive will fail and the fields will not yield.  This spells total ruin to me.  When I look at this from the standpoint of a farmer it is total ruin.  What will we eat?  What will we drink?  How shall we live?  Maybe these are questions that you posit on a daily basis.

Then I see the response.  The writer is giving us a look into the heart of someone that is deeply courageous.  This person is deeply committed.  Did you see that?  Look again, “I will joy in the God of my salvation.”  What a response.  There is no pity party here friend.  There is only simple worship directed to The One who gives us breath and life.  Joy is based upon your relationship with Jesus Christ.  Happiness is based upon your circumstances.

Thirdly I see the reality.  The writer says, “The LORD God is my strength…”  Our biggest problem is that we try to figure out our problems.  We try to fashion a plan to get out of our problems.  Then we end up fighting against God’s will for our lives.  We need to quit trying to orchestrate the end of our problems.  We need to rest in the reality that God is our strength.  Read the Psalms and see how they minister to you in your hour of darkness.

No matter the ruin in your life you can have a godly response when you realize the reality of Who is really in control.

So, how are you doing?

Christmas 24

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In our lives today we have so many things that we are told make life easier.  Everywhere you go you see someone with headphones or something in their ears that they are listening to.  This is not always bad.  What if this kept people from hearing something they need to hear?  That would be tragic.

Let’s look at the Word of God for a moment.  Look at Luke 2:10, “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”  As we saw yesterday, the angel appeared to the shepherds and it was like the angel was standing on them.  I believe that this appearance was in the air just above them to give them that idea.  No matter.

Notice what the angel tells them first.  “Fear not” is the exhortation.  Right, an angel just appears out of nowhere and appears to be standing above you in the air and you are told to “fear not”.  Ha!  In the Word of God we are told 365 times to “fear not”.  This seems to be one for every day of our year.  No matter what life throws at you remember the counsel of the angel and “fear not”.  Easily said and not so easily done, I know.

So, how are you doing?

Highway Robbery 1

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Baptist Preacher from the past I. B. Kimbrough was a fearless ambassador of Jesus Christ!  Read on about an account where his fearlessness proved vital.

‘”As he was traveling from one appointment to another through a secluded forest, he was confronted by two highwaymen. Holding their guns on the man of God, they insisted that he dismount from his horse and hand over all his money.   “Very well, gentlemen, please give me a little time, and I will obey your orders.” Kimbrough responded. After dismounting, he laid his money in two piles, then turning to the highwaymen he said: “Gentlemen, this small pile of money is mine: you are at liberty to rob me of that; the larger pile is God’s money, and I dare you to touch it. I collected it for the young preachers of the state who are struggling for an education at Carson and Newman College.”

The earnestness and courage of the man attracted the attention of the robbers, and they began to inquire into the work in which he was engaged. He told them he was a Baptist preacher and explained to them his mission. After hearing what he had to say, the elder of the two men said:

“We will not take either your money or the money of the young preachers.”
Turning to the young men, and looking them full in the face, Dr. Kimbrough added: “Young men, you are in a mighty bad business. I believe you ought to give it up. In the meantime, I will be grateful if you will help me in the work in which I am engaged.”

This account was taken from Dr. Dale R. Hart: Adapted from: This Day in Baptist History Vol. I. (Thompson/Cummins) pp. 261 – 262.”‘

What fears are keeping you from serving God today?  I hope this will inspire you to get back to the work God has called you to do.

How are you doing?

Bullying

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Wednesday morning we received word of a young boy who had taken his life due to bullying.  This is a real tragedy.  This tragedy strikes adults as well.  I am sharing part of an article by Dr. Don Boys about a bullying incident from the past.  He writes about Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand:

“He and Sabina were at a meeting where 4,000 priests and ministers of all denominations had gathered. Soviet Dictator Joe Stalin was the honorary president of that group. Many speakers spoke about how Christians and Communists can get along with each other. After a few minutes of antichristian rhetoric,  Sabina nudged Richard in the ribs and said, “They are spitting on the face of Jesus. Go wash the shame off His face.” Richard said, “If I speak against the Communists, you will no longer have a husband.” His wife replied, “I do not wish to have a coward for a husband.” She was true to self, the Scripture and the Savior.

Richard slowly arose from his seat, went to the microphone and shocked his friends and co-laborers by advocating only loyalty to Christ. He would not coexist, cooperate, or compromise with Communists. He was arrested in 1948 and again in 1959 and spent about 13 years in prison, three of those years in solitary confinement, and was tortured by his captors. Sabina was also arrested and spent three years in a labor camp. They were both people who lived by the truth.”

The time is here that we who name the name of Christ will and are the targets of bullying.  Are you prepared to take a stand for Jesus Christ?  It is high time for us to make up our mind if we will bow to the pressure or burn for Jesus, Who walked up Calvary’s mountain and willingly gave His life to pay the debt of sin we all owe.  Please pray for those who are being targeted for bullying.  Pray for so many families who have lost loved ones to suicide because of this tragedy.

How are you doing?

Go Forward

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My dear friend Dr. Larry Lilly wrote yesterday on Dietrich Bonhoeffer,  It was very moving to me.  Let me share some quotes from his daily blog:

‘”You have granted me many blessings; let me also accept what is hard from your hand.”  Prayers from Prison”I know in my life that I don’t like the hard things of life.  I love the saying that Dr. Lilly and his people say at the conclusion of their services:  “With Christ, I am tougher than the tough things of life!”  This is a great reminder.The children of Israel, like the disciples and yours truly have had problems getting a grasp on the truth of when Christ commands us to go somewhere or do something that He will make the way for us.  He does not promise the path will be smooth, though.Sometimes we have to press forward in spite of the situation we face.  This is easy to say; but, harder to do.  This can be difficult.  If we can yield ourselves to Christ it makes the path a little smoother.

Instead of turning back we have to keep pressing on just like in Exodus 14:15, “And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”  We must go forward!

So, how are you doing?

Go Where?

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My father was an over the road truck driver for a long time.  He always gives me grief about my lack of ability to navigate in unfamiliar places.  This is a guy that you could blindfold and drop somewhere in the United States and he would just drive home.

I was telling him that the G.P.S. I have had sent me into a corn field recently.  Well, that brought on another round of gouging me for not knowing where I am going apart from that thing.  Such is life.

In our lives we can take wrong turns too.  We can not listen to God and be led astray easily.  Many have compared the Scriptures to a “spiritual road map”.  That would be accurate.

Imagine the Children of Israel after leaving Egypt and having the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian army pursuing behind them.  God tells Moses to “go forward”.  What?  Into the Red Sea?  Look at Exodus 14:14-15, “The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.  And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:”

It is an issue of trust.  Do we trust God enough to “go forward” even when we cannot see a clear path?  It is easily written about in a blog such as this; but, to put it into practice, I know is a horse of a different color.  We need to pour ourselves into doing it God’s way and just “go forward”.

So, how are you doing?