Have the Courage to be Courageous!

Courage: mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear or difficulty.

My friends, did you know that while courage can open the door for favor to enter, it also implies a firmness of mind and will withstand in the face of danger. Courage is also being brave in the face of fear. Courage is having the willingness to do the right thing in the face of danger, pain, significant harm or risk. Courage means that you don’t give up; you try new things and admit mistakes. This week, I would like to share with you three steps of courage.

1. Feeling Fear, Yet Choosing to Act - Let’s take Esther for example, it took courage to put her life on the line, but she did it, knowing if the King refused to hold out the golden sceptre that she would surely die (Esther 4:11 and 5:2). Courage is not the absence of fear - it's having the strength to triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done is courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward.

2. Persevering in the Face of Adversity – The Shunammite woman mentioned in II Kings 4:23-26 demonstrated much courage. Her Son was dead, but she never said those words, her courageous words were, "it shall be well." Most of our obstacles would melt away if, instead of cowering before them, we would make up our minds to walk boldly through them! Courage doesn’t always roar - sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, "I’ll try again tomorrow."

3. Standing Up For What Is Right – Daniel took a stand. He didn’t stop praying to his God even though he knew a decree had been signed that he was not to do so. He also knew what the consequences of his actions would be - the Lions den. Despite this, Daniel 6:10 tells us that David faithfully open his window and prayed to his God three times a day as he had always done. Sometimes standing against evil is more important than defeating it. The greatest heroes stand because it is right to do so, not because they believe they will walk away with their lives. Such selfless courage is a victory in itself.

Just as the Lord took care of Daniel, Esther, and the Shunammite woman, He will do the same for us! He said time and time again in the word of God to be of good courage. Good courage is having the right attitude; being positive; serving the end desired; seeing yourself victorious and believing that all is well. Just as we have to exercise our muscles in order to strengthen them in the natural, the Lord has to place situations in our path, so we can exercise that spiritual courage that He has already placed in each of us!

Go and be of good cheer and, more importantly, of good courage!

With all that said, let the church say amen… and Amen!

Sowing and Reaping!

Sow: To scatter or throw seeds on the ground for growth

Reaping: To gather by reaping, a harvest

Sowing consists of scattering seeds for growth - either upon the ground in the natural or upon the soil of our hearts and minds in the Spiritual. Regardless, every seed that is sown and is allowed to grow up will be reaped by the owner of that seed, whether it be naturally or spiritually.

The principle of sowing and reaping is very simple. If we plant wheat, and we maintain that wheat properly, wheat  will come up and wheat is what we will reap. In the natural, farmers know and accept this principle. That means that they don’t plant corn then cry foul when wheat comes up. No, farmers understand that he must plant corn if he expects to reap corn.

Galatians 6:7-8 tells us, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

In the natural, we sow wicked plots, schemes and plans, and then have the nerve to expect a fruitful harvest. Instead, we reap disappointment and wickedness. We even sow discord among the brethren. In Proverb 6:16-19, the Bible says, "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:... A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."

One way we sow discord among our brethren is by dropping a seed of suspicion about a brother’s or a sister’s spiritual integrity. Once we've said what we had to say, we're likely to forget about it - but the person who received the seed of discord does not. Instead that small seed grows into a great big tree of doubt and disbelief concerning that sister or brother's spiritual integrity. Eventually, all unity between the two brethren is broken. What we (the seed dropper) will reap is God anger for sowing seeds of discord.

In the Spiritual, God wants us to sow seeds of righteousness - righteous deeds of truth - so that we can reap a harvest of God’s mercy. Righteousness means to feel right, to be right, to think right and to do right. Righteous thoughts will always produce righteous words and righteous words will produce righteous actions. It's our choice - whatever we sow, we can be assured that we will reap the harvest of it. If we want love, we must sow seeds of love; if we want joy and peace we must sow seeds of joy and peace. God’s law of sowing and reaping is irrevocable whether good or evil, it’s going to produce after its own kind.

With all that said, let the church say amen… and AMEN!

Thank God For Fathers!

It's so easy to pick up the phone and say all kinds of sweet things to Moms, but it's also important to do the same with our Dads. You know, everybody enjoys hearing nice words like "I love you," and "I appreciate all the wonderful things you did and are still doing for me." Those words are precious to a Dad, just as they are to a Mom. I’m sure all the Dads out there wouldn’t mind hearing, "thank you for working long hours to provide for me," "thank you for making sure there was food  on the table and clothes on our backs." There would be no you or me without a Dad.

Just as it is in the natural, so it is in the spiritual. Let us not forget about our Heavenly Father - the one who was, is, and always will be - without Him there would truly be no you or no me! With all that said, I will leave you with a poem from our resident poet, Ms. Shonta Alexander.

I Appreciate My Dad

Times were pretty hard growing up
We barely had water to put in our cups
We barely had cups to put the water in
Times were hard way back then
But daddy would work hard hauling pulpwood
Just so we could have a few things that were good
My daddy would come home covered in sawdust
Tired as he could be but he did it for us
Mama would have his food prepared on his plate
We would always eat after daddy ate
After every meal, my daddy would repeat
"I would eat more but the kids gotta eat"
I thought my daddy was as mean as he could be
But unlike some fathers, he was there for me
Daddy's a preacher now so I guess I’m a preacher's kid
They say we're ungrateful but I appreciate what he did
I appreciate my dad in every way
I especially appreciate him on Father's Day!

It Ain't What it Look Like!

Faith: firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust

Things sometimes appear to be one way, but that doesn’t mean that the outcome is going to be what we think. The word plainly tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. We should take heed to that scripture, because things ain’t what they look like!

Let’s take a look at the children of Israel when they were leaving out of Egypt – the Red Sea was in front of them and Pharaoh was behind them. Exodus 14:10 and 13 tells us, “And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord… And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.” Even when it appeared that the children of Israel were doomed, God was RIGHT THERE even in the middle of their storm – so you see, it ain’t what it look like.

Even if our children are living a life we don’t approve of or there might be friction between husband and wife. Maybe it seems like there are not enough finances to meet the need or things simply aren’t working out the way you thought they would. Just keep on praying and believing because things ain’t what they look like!

And think about Abraham and Sarah – they prayed for a son, but it didn’t seem as if it was going to happen. Their situation also appeared to be doomed, but God had promised Abram a son and despite him being 100 and Sarah being 90, they bore a son! That’s just another example to show you that it ain’t what it look like!

It’s so important to walk by faith and not by sight, because sight alone will fool you. Just keep trusting in our amazing, awesome and loving Savior Jesus Christ and He will show you that it ain’t what it look like!!

With all that said, let the church say Amen… and AMEN!