Be strong and courageous...

 Be strong and courageous.....words I have often heard from the Bible.  Upon looking I see where they are repeated eleven times in the Old Testament as God spoke to His people.

Two of our grandsons competed in wrestling at the high school level this winter.  After watching their matches I realized that they had to be very strong and courageous.  As they wrestle they couldn't stall or just hold their own but they had to go forward and try to get new holds on their opponents so they could obtain points or get a pin for themselves.  To do this they had to risk losing points or possibly getting pinned themselves.  

Recently I was with Gail at a roping competition.  When the ropers (a header and a heeler) catch their steers quickly enough they get to come back to a final round, called the short go. Gail had been roping well and was in the short go.  I was so nervous!  Almost as nervous as when I watch an action-packed movie!!  I thought to myself that I needed to be strong and courageous to watch! (Sorry what a silly thing to be nervous about but I was! Gail works so hard at his roping sport and I so want/wanted him to get a sweet win for his hard work.)  Any, I was nervous!

I mentioned this to our daughter, Lindy.  She said, "Yes, we all have to be strong and courageous in our lives."  Lindy is a nurse in the ICU at our local hospital.  She had to draw upon her courage to give someone a difficult IV that day. Gail had been strong and courageous to enter the roping competition.  Other family members or friends were strong and courageous at their jobs.  Do you have something staring you in the face that is causing you to need to be strong and courageous? Is there someone or something at work causing you to fear?  Is it a decision you need to make about yourself or your spouse's future?  Is it a business decision? 

We all have times and things we face that require courage.  We CAN have the courage if we know the Lord.  He is with us and will give us all the power we need to face the situation or task. He also is sovereign and in control. 

I have been recently reading about faith, more specifically the faith of Abraham.  He had faith in God and because of his faith, he was able to trust God and live in obedience to Him.  Because of his faith, he was able to do good works.  James 2: 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.  

Thinking through all of this I am reminded that I do have faith in God, that I can trust Him to be with me, that he will never leave me, and that I can be strong and courageous in whatever He calls me to do.  You can do this too!! If we have faith in God, we can trust Him to take care of us. Our works can show our faith is on solid ground and we can be strong and courageous. 

Friends? Yes! Are you a Friend of God?

I have recently been reading about Abraham.  God asked Abraham to do some hard things.  First, he and his family were to move - to leave all they knew and go to an unknown land.  Then God said that Abraham and Sarah would have a baby in their old age!  And, yes, the miracle happened and Isaac was born.  Then God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the altar.  And, yes, Abraham was obeying God's request when miraculously God provided a ram for the sacrifice.'

The devotional I was reading said Abraham was the only person in the Bible called "a friend of God". This is taken from Isaiah 41:8c the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

Why? Why was Abraham called a friend of God?  My devotional said it was because Abraham had the right relationship with God because of his faith.  Then his faith was shown through his works. 

So what is faith?  How do we show that we have faith? Faith is belief in the one true God without actually seeing Him.  (Heb. 11:1 - faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.) We show that we have faith in God that we have not seen by our obedience to His Word.  Thus, Abraham hadn't seen God but he did have faith and showed it by his obedience AND he was called a friend of God.

How about you? or me?  Do I have faith?  Am I obedient to God and what he asks of me when I can't see where I'm going? Prov. 17:7 says "a friend loves at all times."  Do I always show God I love Him?  Do I treat Him like a friend?  Do I want to be with God? Would I be called a friend of God?

A Friend of God.......could that be said of us??

Prayer...most important 'thing' we can do!

 Prayer.....something we are going to get around to...when we have time.....

I was thinking about what I would do today and it came to me that maybe the most important thing I could and should do was to pray.  Years from now no one will remember me or what I wrote.  Years from now we will have grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.  NOW we can pray for them.  We can pray that they will know our God, that He will be real in their lives, that they will have the salvation that comes from accepting Jesus, that they will have strong Christian families, and that they will be strong leaders and examples for those around them.  

Praying is the thing that really lasts!  Several years ago my husband, Gail, was visiting with our neighbor, Lloyd Hall.  Gail had been sharing the gospel with some of the neighbors and they were open and receptive to salvation.  Lloyd told Gail that the reason they were open was that there had been an older widow lady in their area years ago who prayed that someone would bring the gospel to the cowboys where she lived.  Lloyd said that because of her prayers, people were open to Gail sharing the message of salvation.  

We may not see our prayers answered now but know that God does hear and will answer.

Let's pray more for our families who are with us now and those that will come in future generations. 

Ephesians 6: 18 ...praying at all times in the Spirit,...