BraveHeart

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate..." Amos 5:14-1

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:6-11.

Brave - courageous endurance
Heart - spirit, courage, or enthusiasm

Perhaps the reason that we do not understand bravery as believers…at least here in the United States…is that, in recent times, we have not suffered in any kind of way for our faith. Our forefathers who came to the shores of the New World were seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe. From 1800 until this moment, there has been no religious persecution. However, we are beginning to taste a bit of that from time to time. (And might I say that this is the reason that our political participation in is so very important….do we want socialism or do we want to retain the republic we now enjoy?)

Christians will not join together until we realize what is going on around us. We are too comfortable in our secularized establishments that we call ‘church’, construct buildings and call them ‘churches’. establish ‘programs’ and call them ‘ministries’. All the while our communities are looking at the facilities and have no idea what the Church is. Do not get me wrong. Our buildings and programs are necessary vehicles for us, but are we being brave in our secular world?

As a Nation, we are currently in the midst of political turmoil. This is the only way that I am able to describe our election process…turmoil. Of all the people in our Nation that are sometimes brave – or stupid – are folks that dare step into the political ring for they risk everything to be candidates for any kind of political office. Looking at them, I wonder if we as Christians ares so brave. For the Apostle Paul wrote, “I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:23-29. “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.” Philippians 1:30.

I will fit myself into my air-conditioned, heated automobile fitted with power everything, radio, CD player, seat belts, air bags, headrests, Blackberry and Blue Tooth, Bible on CD, all kinds of stuff to keep me awake as I drive. In my pocket I have a credit card to purchase what I want and sometimes need, am wearing a neatly pressed shirt, comfortable shoes, and I do not forget my dark chocolate that will help keep my body healthy. And I do all of this in the name of Jesus so that I can stand behind a pulpit that is equipped with a wireless microphone so that fewer than 200 people can hear what they hope to be a 15 minute sermon. After all, the ball game begins at 12:30. And we call this ‘going to church’.

People will meet in adobe buildings with dirt floors, sit on wooden benches, mothers will nurse their babies while others will sleep on the floor, older children will play on the floor and many will come to hear the Bible read because either they do not have one of their own or they cannot read. Some of them may walk for several miles, and they would never say that they are ‘suffering for Jesus’ and we might speak the same in careless gesture.

As believers our responsibility is not so much to ourselves as it is to the huge numbers of folks that do not know Jesus Christ. They probably know of Him but they really do not know Him. This responsibility for us is to Brave Hearts in a culture that has become numb to the Christian faith and is often times refusing us the platform to speak our faith publicly.

Theodore Roosevelt said, “No man is worth his salt who is not ready at all times to risk his body, to risk his well-being, to risk his life, in a great cause.” Our cause is absolute and we must not be afraid to speak out. My prayer is “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:19-20.

True enough, we are not in the chains that Paul found himself, but the chains that sometimes bind us are fear and sometimes embarrassment. But let us be reminded that we must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Ephesians 6:10. Eternity depends upon our courage, Brave Hearts..