Have you ever wanted to runaway and hide? Have you ever been "chicken" in the face of danger? Have you ever lacked the courage of your convictions? As we have often heard folks say, "Been there; done that; got the Tee shirt. Now I'm writing the manual." It is easier to talk "courage" than it is to be courageous. But trials calling for courage face us more frequently than we like to admit. People with courageous hearts do  not appear to flinch when facing the worst life has to offer them. Jesus did not want to endure the horror of the cross and all its sin-defiling ramifications when he prayed, "Let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39). Nevertheless, He assented to His fate by adding, "Not my will but thine be done." When He told the apostles of His impending death, Peter did his utmost to talk Jesus out of it (Matthew 16:22). The temptation to withdraw must have been great, because Jesus' reaction was so averse to Peter's idea. "Get thee behind me Satan" (Matthew 16:23), He cried to the impetuous Peter. The book of Revelation warns us that "cowards" (courage-less ones) will have "their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8).  Our compromising, spineless, jellyfish-like  "politically-correct" culture we are now enduring, turns most people into whimpering cowards who are too timid to buck the system. We stand for nothing. We fall for everything. We pretend we are brave. "Hearts Courageous" escape us. We can turn that around by making a difference by having. . .

 

The Courage to Care: All about us there are hurting people. Their hearts may be broken, their spirits weary. Like the Priest and the Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:31-32), we might pretend to see nothing. There are none so blind as those who will not see. We can declare, "It is none of my business. I do  not want to get involved." The truth is that we Christians have not been exempted from caring. We have not been excused from helping (Matthew 25:34-46). We are involved in mankind whether they like it or not. "No one lives unto himself and no one dies unto himself" (Romans 14:7). Sometimes the helper will be taken advantage of or even fleeced. Sometimes the caring one will be bitterly disappointed by the short-lived improvement in the recipient's condition. The Bible cautions "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9). It isn't easy to care. It requires courage.

 

The Courage to Confront: Both in the world and in the church, there are people who are straying from the straight and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14). They have lost their way (James 5:19-20). They are victims of specious reasoning or a faulty personal outlook. They have inadvertently fallen victim to the schemes of the Devil (Ephesians 6:11). Cowardice calls for us to walk away from them and ignore it. Courage, however, demands that we confront them for their soul's sake (Ezekiel 3:18-21). Sometimes they will be angry declaring "what they do with their life is their business." No, it is not. If three men are in a boat in the middle of a large lake when one of them suddenly starts drilling a hole under his seat, what are the others to do? Will they say, "Well, that's none of our business. He is free to do as he likes?" No, they are all affected by his irresponsible actions. When Eli refused to confront his sons concerning their contemptible conduct in the temple, God held Eli responsible for NOT confronting and restraining them (1 Samuel 2:17,25;3:13). Eventually, they all paid the supreme penalty. Whether one gets mad or not, we have to intervene when someone is heading in the wrong direction. We do not have the luxury of choice in that matter (Galatians 6:1-2). Confronting is a part of caring. It isn't easy. It requires courage.

 

The Courage to Convict: It always amazes me when I note a Bible-believing church, that correctly makes no clergy-laity distinction,  but leaves converting the lost to only the preacher or to whatever "hired staff" there may be. Where has this idea come from? Who dreamed up this theology? Brethren, bringing people to Jesus is a joint-responsibility of the whole congregation. No one is exempted. Everyone is expected to participate in making disciples for Jesus. Jesus tells us to do it (Matthew 28:18-20). Paul told us to do it (2 Timothy 2:2). Peter tells us to do it (1 Peter 3:15). We are soldiers of the cross and our commanding officer requires it (2 Timothy 2:3-4). What makes us neglect this duty? We lack the courage of  our convictions, don't we?. Convicting a sinner to come to Jesus isn't easy. We risk rejection--and, yes, that hurts. It takes courage to speak a word for Jesus.  Alternatively, we may have no convictions regarding the matter. You do not have to have courage to walk away from a perceived threatening situation. Jesus didn't have it easy either when He died to save a lost world. It isn't easy. It requires courage. Do we have hearts courageous?

 

The answer then is for someone to have the courage to care enough to confront folks with confused convictions, isn't that right? Let us have courage to do what Jesus wants us to do no matter how politically incorrect it may be. We are not here to bend to our culture. We are here to bow to our God. Then we will see the church as Jesus envisioned it! It will go...and grow... and glow. Let's ensure that we have hearts courageous!

 

Love you all,

 

Al ("The Horne of Africa")

 

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