Sunday, May 31, 2009

courage

Would you be brave enough to admit that God "spoke' to you?
Nobody really cares if God spoke to you right?
How about if God told you to tell someone else?
YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOUR MIND !!!!

God may not have told you anything at all!!
...but how do you know for sure?

"So what does it mean to muster and demonstrate courage as a Christian living in the world today? ......You know what it means to face economic isolation, persecution, danger and perhaps even death for your faith. You know well that Jesus is not merely aware of your struggle and your fear; he is also with you, until the very end of the age. He offers the eternal victory for those who stand firm in the faith. He stands at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you, that you would be strong in courage. And he reminds us all, that he is the one who has conquered death, that even death would not eternally conquer us. Be faithful, and remain strong, that Christ might give you the lasting crown of life. ".....What grave dangers am I facing for the cause of Christ? Not many. And for those of us living in free societies, that is not our fault. We are blessed to live under a government supportive of freedom of religion, generally.
But we can ask ourselves, as disciples who follow our Lord, are we boldly going where Christ has gone before? Are we taking risks for the Kingdom of God? Where we are called? If we are not going anywhere, then we must be standing still, and so cannot say that we are being led. ....
We need the courage to be different. We are commanded not to conform to this world, not to accommodate ourselves to the corrupt customs of the world. The Christian must expect to meet opposition for being distinctive. .....As individual believers we ask ourselves such difficult questions. I encourage you to take a kind of spiritual inventory of your life. Are there areas where you are playing it safe? Are you avoiding difficult conversations at work or within your family or circle of friends, conversations that challenge behaviors that hurt other people or are in other ways unholy? Are you giving generously to God, are you tithing your income, even in this time of worldwide recession, not because the church budget needs it, but because God in his sovereignty asks it of you? Have you committed yourself to being an active part of a local church body, since that is the way the Holy Spirit addresses Christians in giving us the Scriptures?
Evangelism in particular is an area that calls for courage in the life of those who follow Jesus. We need the courage to persevere. This will mean more than speaking out in faith once, then pulling back".....
FROM THE BACK TO GOD HOUR

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