COURAGE TO TELL THE TRUTH!

"The man answered , "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening  the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."" John 9:30-33

I love this story! The courage of this man to tell the truth about what Jesus had done in his life despite the doubts and insults of the Pharisees is courage born in faith.

The Pharisees, like all legalists, get hung up on technicalities. But, the real issue is power. Power over others and the illusion of power over their own lives. They tried to set the rules and interpret the Bible in ways that made them righteous by their actions. Jesus came and threatened (in their eyes) everything they thought about God and themselves! They couldn't get to Jesus yet so they went after the man whose eyes Jesus had opened. 

Sometimes telling the truth about Jesus will get you ridiculed and ostracized. The cool thing is that after the Pharisees threw the out the man whose sight was given to him, Jesus found him (John 9:35ff). After every battle, look for Jesus because he will find you. 

Father, give us the courage to tell the truth about Jesus no matter what others may think. Praise be to you in us today! 

"I GOT THIS" (DAVID'S COURAGE AND FAITH)

"David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."" I Samuel 17:32

You've got to love it! Simple courage and flat out faith. Saul and the whole army of Israel, including David's older brothers, were paralyzed with fear, unable to fight the giant of a man Goliath. David comes to the battle lines to deliver supplies to his older brothers and their commander. He sees everyone reacting in great fear to Goliath. He ends up in the king's tent and basically says, "Don't worry guys, I got this." 

How could David have such faith and such courage while everyone else was running away at the very sight of the enemy? David told Saul, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine" (I Samuel 17:37).  David knew, by faith, from experience that the battle is the Lord's and he was ready and willing to step out in faith and fight Goliath. 

So, the lesson for us is that we need to fight the battles of our lives by faith in Christ. Faith that the power that raised Jesus from the dead can work in our lives today! 

Father, help us to fight the daily battles of our lives by faith in you. Thank you for you faithfulness! Praise be to you in us today!

BIG COURAGE

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
     do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
 I will strengthen you and help you;
     I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
 Isaiah 41:10

When I think of people I have know who have shown courage in their faith I am always reminded of a little lady from Uganda I met while attending Capernwray Bible School in England. She seemed so small and so fragile but, after talking to her I was blown away by her courage and faith.

She told me that while she, her husband and her sons were attend a home bible study the notoriously brutal Idi Amin's (Uganda) men barged into the house and told everyone to lay face down on the ground. They were warned to not look up or be shot! After 20-30 minutes someone finally looked up and said they were gone. All the men and boys were gone! Although she searched for them she never saw her husband or sons again. 

I asked her how she was able to move on from that. She told me that she did not know how, she only knew that God gave her the strength each day to make it through that day.  

Father, help us to courageously hold on to you by faith. Thank you for giving us the strength we need for today. Praise be to you in us today!

GO TELL WHO?

Have you ever felt led to tell someone about Christ yet you just knew that they were going to be hostile? Imagine how "a disciple named Ananias" (see Acts chapter 9) from Damascus felt when the Lord told him to go to lay his hands on Saul from Tarsus to heal him? Ananias knew Saul was arresting Christians. Yet, God was sending him to Saul. 

Sometimes courage is obeying God even in the face of danger. Ananias had to have the faith to be courageous enough to face the person who was wrecking havoc on the early church. Saul represented the whole of the cultural and religious ruling class of the day. Obviously the early believers lived in fear and when they heard that Saul was in town and he was the last person they wanted to run into!

Ananias obeyed God and "went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord - Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here - has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength" (Acts 9:17-19). 

Ananias, overcame his fear by obeying the Lord. That is courage. That is faith. 

Father, help us to overcome our fear and act in faith, to be courageous in Christ! Praise be to you in us today! 

Stephen's Courage vs. Stones

At church we have been studying people of courage in the Bible. I was thinking about it when I thought of a few people who I think demonstrate tremendous courage. One of them is Stephen in the book of Acts. He was chosen to help overlook the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1) and was described as "a man full of God's grace and power" (Acts 6:8). 

After being seized by the Sanhedrin and being accused of blasphemy Stephen spoke. He recounted a few points in Jewish history where they rejected God's prophets. Then he flat-out called his accusers "stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears" (Acts 7:51ff). He let them know that they, like there ancestors, persecuted and killed those who told them the truth about the Messiah and now that he actually came, they killed him too! 

So, true to form, they mob rushed him, dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death. 

Just before he died Stephen "fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"" (Acts 7:60). 

I am amazed at Stephen's courage to speak the truth to a hostile crowd, knowing that they probably would kill him. What really hits me is that as he is dying, while being stoned, he asks God to not hold it against those stoning him! He did not shout out, "See! Just like I said, you're killing me too!" He told them they were stiff necked yet he knew they needed God's forgiveness and grace in Christ. He told the truth of Christ even though it cost him his life. That's courage. 

Father, help us to tell the truth in love even if we know we will be rejected. Praise be to you in us today!

BOASTFUL HOPE

"But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast." Hebrews 3:6

Think of Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with you." And I Corinthians 3:16 says, "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" Theses verses teach us the truth that we, as believers, have a special relationship with God where his very Presence becomes a part of our lives.

Christ, God's son, is faithful as the builder. He will do what he set out to do. He came to save us from sin, to make us children of God. Our job is courageously hold on to the hope we have in Christ's faithfulness. To some our hope may seem a bit bold, maybe even absurd. But, we are not hoping in our own strength. Our hope is in Christ Jesus who died and rose again. That same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power that God is working in our lives to conform us into the image of Christ Jesus, his son. He is faithful and he will do it!

Father, help us to hold on courageously and confidently to the hope we have in you. Open our eyes to see you in our lives. Praise be to you in us today!