Courage

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Nelson Mandela

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_courage.html#KWrimDHETtrkYQj6.99

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Nelson Mandela

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_courage.html#KWrimDHETtrkYQj6.99

After preaching Sunday's sermon, I found these quotes, which I wanted to pass on to you:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”
― Ambrose Redmoon

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.”
― William G.T. Shedd

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.”
― Mark Twain

“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.”
― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

“Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Courage is grace under pressure.”
― Ernest Hemingway

“Courage isn't having the strength to go on - it is going on when you don't have strength.”
― Napoleon

“Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
― André Gide

“It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson

“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”
― John Wayne

There are a lot of wonderful quotes about courage, but we often think courage is exhibited only in rare instances when our lives are on the line.  The past few weeks, I have preached sermons which require daily courage.  Living in a pagan, morally-disintegrating culture can take away our daily courage.  The bar of moral excellence has been lowered greatly in the past twenty years and the Church has fallen in step with our culture.  Rather than abstaining from the moral relativity of our age, the Church has sought to embrace it and be more acceptable to the lost in our culture.  Jesus reminded us that we really on have two choices:  (1) the wide path that leads to destruction, upon which most of the people we know are traveling or (2) the narrow way that leads to life, but only has a few on it.  As we see the zenith of American's goodness in the rear view mirror, what choice will the Church make?  Even more personal than that, what choice will you make.



The sermons of the past few weeks have centered on God's expectations for those who are married.  We all know that marriage has dropped out of vogue (As more couples choose to live together rather than get married) or been hijacked away from God's original purpose for giving us this wonderful gift of marriage.  So those of us in the Church have to decide what we truly believe about marriage.  This has nothing to do with our politics, but our actions.  What do our marriages look like?  Is our marriage inviting and presenting a testimony of Jesus and His Church to our community?  We know that those involved in church only have a divorce rate of 7% as opposed to 48% for the rest of our culture.  But that is lowering the bar of excellence.  Is the goal of our marriages just to avoid divorce?  Shouldn't the purpose of marriages be to prepare each other for Heaven and lead others to saving faith in Christ?  What have you been doing to assist your spouse in growing in his/her faith in Christ?  What have you been doing to make sure your spouse is utilizing his/her spiritual gifts?  How have you been praying for your spouse and praying with your spouse?  Who are the two of you inviting into your lives so they could see your passionate love for each other and Jesus?  Have you been forgiving your spouse in the same way Christ forgave you?  Have you been playing with your spouse lately? 

Ultimately, do you treat your spouse as a brother or sister in Christ?  It takes courage to have a thriving marriage which is a testimony to our world.  It takes courage to love you spouse with the love Christ showed to you.  It takes courage to put his/her needs above your own.  It takes courage to make her/him your best friend and take the ridicule which inevitably comes from our pagan friends, co-workers and neighbors who don't value marriage.  Live, today, with courage and express that courage in the way you treat your spouse.  One of the greatest testimonies we can share with the world is the testimony of our marriage.  So invest your energy in that which truly matters, your marriage and allow the love of Christ to permeate it entirely.  If so, you will be an example of courage to all those around you!