The Courage To Follow Christ!

'Be strong and courageous.

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,

For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.' (Joshua 1:9)

This is exactly what God speaks to each of us today.

He knows that to walk with Him in a world ruled by the evil one

Will take courage.

It has taken courage in every generation; Now, is simply our turn.

No many of us have endured the persecution that those before us have.

Not many of us have faced jeers and flogging;

Been chained and put in prison; stoned or sawed in two;

Put to death by the sword; Gone about in sheepskins and goatskins,

Destitute, persecuted and mistreated. (Hebrews 11:36-38)

Not many of us have by faith conquered kingdoms,

Administered justice, and gained what was promised;

Who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames,

And escaped the edge of the sword;

Whose weakness was turned to strength;

And who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.

Women received back their dead, raised to life again.

Others were tortured and refused to be released,

So that they might gain a better resurrection. (Hebrews 11:33-35)

However, it is very likely that this lies before us.

What will be our response to what others have endured and overcome?

Will we trust the Lord Who is always with us wherever we go?

How much do we value the resurrection Christ promises?

Do we love our lives so much as to shrink from death?

The world will hate you if you follow Christ Jesus.

The world hates Christ Jesus because He testifies

That what it does is evil. (John 7:7)

The world will hate each one of us for the same reason.

Christ Jesus said:

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first.

I you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own.

As it is, you do not belong to the world,

But I have chosen you out of the world.

That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18-19)

Who do you belong to? The world or to Christ Jesus?

Each one of us will have to answer that question,

And be prepared to die for the answer.

We must get this issue resolved in our hearts now.

Faith in Christ Jesus is a choice of spiritual LIFE or death.

And it often comes to the choice of life or death in this world.

Are you prepared to die for Christ?

Do you have that much faith and that much courage.

Stephen did! The elven apostles of the Lord did!

And many others after them did!

They all followed the example of Christ Jesus.

They did not love this life so much as to shrink from death.

(Revelation 12:11)

This world is going to Hell! The Word of God is clear!

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it;

He will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants--

It will be the same for priest as for people, for master as for servant,

For mistress as for maid, for seller as for buyer, for borrower as for creditor.

The earth will be completely laid wast and totally plundered.

The Lord has spoken this word. (Isaiah 24:1-3)

Read all of Isaiah 24. There is no hope for this earth and the world.

It is a godless place that has rejected the Christ of God.

Yet, any person can turn to Christ Jesus in faith and be saved.

But it takes courage. It takes Christ Jesus living in and through you.

The lukewarm will be spit out of the mouth of the Lord. (Revelation 3:16)

They have no conviction and no courage.

They hope in the hopelessness of the world. So be it.

Nevertheless, the courageous:

Will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

And sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 51:11)

As God has written so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!