Courage

What is courage? Webster defines it as:

"The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear."

Recently I've been faced with an obstacle that will require a lot of courage on my part if I want to see it through to the end. Being one who does not appreciate conflict, this does not sit well with me. However, this is something I really want, so I looked towards God's Word for direction, and this is what I've found:

1 Samuel 14:6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, "Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few."

Jonathan, full of faith and courage, knew that if God was with him then nothing could stop him. Jonathan believed that if he was willing to risk everything, depending only on God, to save his people, then the Lord would protect him.

There are three things that I gather from this passage:

1. Trusting in the Lord can often mean doing things we don't agree with at first. Even things that seem crazy.
2. Sometimes others are counting on our courage, much like the armor bearer was counting on Jonathan's.
3. The best example of courage is when Christ gave His life for us all. He had opportunity to run away, but He chose to remain and do what needed to be done.

I'd recently heard courage described as this: Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid, and act anyway.

What does that mean for me? While I may still be afraid, I can still do what I need to do. I just need to ask God to help me.

Furthering education

While I wanted to stay away from blog posts that began with "I saw a rainbow today..." I feel like I should have at least one. I've started another semester of college. My classes range from 9am until 9pm, with long breaks in between each class. That isn't the way I would have preferred it, but at this point in my college career I have to take what I can, when its offered.

Only one of my required courses were cancelled this semester, which is better than last semester. I've replaced learning about how Java works to 'learn' about Excel instead. Because of this another semester is tacked on. Maybe I can find a summer course.

Things are different at the community college. In order to 'save money' the college is not adjusting the air-conditioning units, printing anything, or using the elevators in the parking garage (not that this is an issue with me). My only question so far is this: How come my tuition went up? Maybe my Economics teacher can explain it to me.

I have not seen any rainbows today.

How's your dirt?

Matthew 13:1 - 9

1That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 3And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6"But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7"Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9"He who has ears, let him hear."

In the past I've heard it said that the seeds Jesus were referring to were individuals who were exposed to the Word of God. While that could be the case, I personally believe that the dirt is the individual and the seeds are the Word of God. So by looking at these set of verses within that context, here is what one can get out of it:

Starting in verse 4:

and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

Other versions of the Bible replace the word 'road' with 'path'. Back in Jesus' time, roads were traveled all day, every day. Hundreds of people would walk on these roads, causing the dirt to become packed, and nearly impossible to penetrate. This type of dirt is not the most ideal for planting seed.

Just like a well-traveled road, people themselves can become packed and nearly impossible to penetrate. This could be caused by a "been there, done that" attitude, or someone being too busy to let God work on them. When the Gospel is shared with them, it just stays on the surface and never has time to mature.

Verse 5-6:

"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

The person who is like verse 5 and 6 is one who may have started off as an "on-fire Christian", but if you compare how they are now to how they were then, their fire seems to be snuffed out. Why does this happen? Because the seed didn't have any root! A person receives the message of Christ's love, but doesn't allow the proper amount of time and effort to mature in it! Sooner or later something will 'burn' them and they decide "This isn't for me."

Verse 7:

"Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

The thorns are anything that try to prevent someone from maturing in Christ. It could be anything ranging from situations to sin. When you leave dirt alone, weeds and thorns begin to grow up around it. You must stay on top of it, weeding out anything unwanted. Even though a thorn or weed might start out small, eventually it will consume everything and choke out the good seed. Just like sin.

Verse 8:

"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Finally, the good dirt. This is someone who really 'got it'. They heard about Christ's saving grace, accepted it, and allowed it to mature. This is the type of dirt we must all strive to achieve.

There's hope for the 'bad dirt'. It might take some time, and it might hurt a little, but everyone can be 'good dirt' if they choose to. The path can be tilled. I've seen roots break through concrete. Thorns can be burned.

God can do anything.

Not easily persuaded

During Sunday's church services, my mind tends to wander from the scripture being delivered, to its neighboring passages in the Bible. This morning I stumbled upon this small parable that Jesus taught.

Jesus was telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In the story both of the men die, as Lazarus goes to Heaven and the rich man goes to Hell. One statement made at the very end of the parable caught my eye:

Luke 16: 27 - 31

27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' 30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.' 31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

Verse 31:

If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets...

That's interesting. It seems to me that the rich man's brothers already knew about the Law, yet were choosing not to follow it.

...they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.

How peculiar. Surely if someone saw someone who'd returned from the dead, they wouldn't question its validity.

But nevertheless, even in today's society people still question whether or not the Living God of the Bible is real. Even when the evidence to support it is staring them directly in the face. This morning in Bible Study the question was asked, "Do you ever stop and ask yourself 'What's the point in all of this?'". Meaning: Do you ever wonder if you're making a difference in people's lives by telling them about the saving grace of Jesus Christ? When time again and again people simply refuse to listen and believe what you're telling/showing them? While this verse definitely speaks warnings to non-believers, it should give believers some form of encouragement: People aren't going to "get it" on their own.

Don't give up hope! When you're sharing the Gospel with someone, they might throw it back into your face, but don't lose heart! I think part of the reason Jesus used this illustration was to let His followers know that even with undeniable proof, people will still reject Him.

So what do we do? Do we stop sharing Christ with others? Absolutely not! Just be prepared for the hard-headedness of the unsaved, and don't lose faith!

Abe and I go way back

Matthew 3: 7 - 10

7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

The Pharisees and Sadducees believed that just because they were God's children, that made them exempt from the judgement that would befall mankind. When John spoke in the second part of verse 9, he stated that simply being a Jew was not enough, for God could raise up children for Abraham from the stones themselves if He choose to (emphasizing that God was not impressed).

People today act in the same way that the Pharisees and Sadducees behaved. By believing that because they're "A good person" or "an American", or my personal favorite, "My grandmother went to church." that their spiritual well-being is 'okay'.

I feel sad for them. Christ Himself said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. So what about you? Is your eternal salvation dependent upon your grandmother's church-going? Or the community service you do? Or the charities you donate to? Or is it dependent upon the one thing that does matter; eternal salvation through Christ's sacrifice on the cross?