My Daily Dose of Courage

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.  (1 John 4:17-19)   John the Beloved teaches us that God is love. When we love as He loves, we are manifesting the true and living God in the world. God’s love is undeniable and unmistakable, as it is of a higher order, and no other love compares to it. God’s love is without manipulation or agenda, it gives its all and expects nothing in return — it is not exhausted nor frustrated, because God is neither exhausted nor frustrated.   Therefore, when we abide in Him and He abides in us, we enjoy the perfect union that casts out the fear and uncertainty that hinder every other relationship. We are fearless lovers of God and men, because of the love Go...

I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.  (Habakkuk 2:1-3)   If we allow, God will pepper our lives with blank spaces, seasons of stillness and quiet, times where we feel passed by and forgotten, overlooked and excluded, and left out. But for God’s man or woman, these are precious and opportune seasons where we learn to be small and humble in His sight, knowing He never leaves or forgets us or His promises.   What spirit will you harken to in those times? Will you serve Him, seek Him, wait on Him with patience and perseverance? Or will you take things in your own hands and make ...

Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.  (1 John 2:7-11)   The Christian life is the progressive life, and we are to grow from faith to faith. In other words, God intends that we never stop growing in grace and love. John is not contradicting himself as he writes of the “old” and “new” commandments being both the same and different. God’s commandment ha...

“ And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."  (Luke 2:12)   What a strange place to stash a priceless, extravagant Gift — a barn, an animal stall in the dark of night! I am sure it was not heated or air conditioned, it did not smell so good, and there   were no beds, linens, or even a bathroom. And how do you think Mary and Joseph felt when the promises of God led them on a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem in the ninth month of her strange and inexplicable pregnancy? Yet the fulfillment of all God’s promises could not be found in the palaces, treasuries, or museums of the world -- but in a manger. Look to the manger.      If God wanted the world to receive the Gift of Jesus Christ, why would He hide Him where most of us were sure not to find Him? And how do we find our way there? The manger can only be found by students of the Word following the ways of God, and when we seek Him w...

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."  (Matthew 1:20)   Joseph and Mary were not "special" people; just righteous, simple, and willing to be obedient. We must be the same in our day. Simplicity of heart allows us to hear, obey, and finally see God in ways we never dreamed possible. Who knew that their simplicity would allow Joseph and Mary to see God face-to-face? Who knows what your obedience will allow you to see? The Spirit of God will "conceive" things in us that are beyond what we have ever expected if we will simply believe. Things will occur in the life of faith that will astound our common-sense limitations, and we must be childlike enough to receive and rejoice in those things. That is what it means for the Kingdom of God to come on earth as it is ...

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus . . . (Philippians 2:5) If we are not mindful, we will become obstacle to those our Savior wants to reach. We can become a hindrance and grief to the Holy Spirit with our religious agenda and proclamations, and we will make demands that sinners cannot meet — that we ourselves cannot meet. Jesus never had this attitude. He never expected anyone to please God, but He prayed that we would see God in Him and believe.  Once we see God in Christ and believe in Him, we are on the path to heaven; and as we continue to look to Jesus and trust Him, we are changed into His image. Then, God gives us a heavenly perspective, and we can worship God in spirit and in truth. That is the mindset that pleases God. That is the mindset we need. Let’s Pray  —  Precious Lord, thank You for the Mind of Jesus Christ. May my reality be based on the knowledge of Christ and nothing else. Jesus is enough. Amen.