Courage

The most dangerous man on earth is the man who has reckoned with his own death. All men die; few men ever really live. Sure, you can create a safe life for yourself . . . and end your days in a rest home babbling on about some forgotten misfortune. I’d rather go down swinging. Besides, the less we are trying to “save ourselves,” the more effective a warrior we will be. Listen to G. K. Chesterton on courage: 

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. “He that will lose his life, the same shall save it” is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. The paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or quite brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if he will risk it on the precipice. He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.

(Wild at Heart , 169) John Eldgredge

So What?

So what do you think?  post your comments and questions!

Where is your Jericho?

Read Joshua 6 -The Lord fells the walls of Jericho.

While your reading think about where your Jericho is, has been, and will be. 

INSIGHT
The Word of God often goes against all reason. Consider Joshua, a military strategist so brilliant that his campaigns are still studied today. He is standing afar, looking at the city of Jericho, pondering how to conquer it. The angel of the Lord appears to him saying, "Walk around the city several times and shout. That ought to do it!" Can you imagine the response from the standpoint of military strategy? It is sheer nonsense. Yet it is a test of faith and obedience. Joshua believes and obeys, and the fallen walls are history.

PRAYER
Offer praise to the Lord who fights mightily for His people:
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, 
Who only does wondrous things! 
And blessed be His glorious name forever! 
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. 
Amen and Amen (Psalm 72:18-19).

Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. 

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid; 
Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known; 
In wrath remember mercy (Habakkuk 3:2).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. 

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: 
God was manifested in the flesh, 
justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, 
preached among the Gentiles, 
believed on in the world, 
received up in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
greater confidence in the Lord's power,
revival to pour down on our spiritually parched land,
your activities for the day.

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord who does everything according to His plan and purpose:
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will (Ephesians 1:4-5).

Break Out- Prayer for New York

Today our Fusion Leadership students in Leap are getting the chance to be blessed by the church as BridgePointe collects an offering for their Missions Trip to New York.

Lets Break out today and pray for the offering that God would display his wonder and majesty as people give generously out of their hearts.

If you are not in Leap, find a student, ask them about the trip, and pray for them as they are getting prepared to go on this adventure! 

If you are in Leap go a pray for one of your fellow brothers or sisters going on the trip with you.

Lets all agree together and break out as one body to see God move here in Woodstock and in New York City.