Tag Archives: fearless

Today in the Sandbox

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Flatter a man, and nothing ever happens.  In effect, you’ve lied to him.  You only gave him the strength to stay where he is. 

Speak to him about how his pride is condemned, and the chances are pretty good, he will hate you for life.  Again you’ve accomplished nothing, but at least you told him the truth.  And the “nothing” produced, belongs to him.

Or you could choose the road that most people take.  You could simply stick your head in the sand and refuse to help one another see.

There are three approaches to our plight as human beings: flattery, bold truth, or ignorance.  If there is another one, somebody has to show it to me.

Most of the time people play in the sandbox together, and refrain from war, by busying themselves with the toys at hand.  Until a squabble develops over a certain toy.  Then the three approaches come to bear with immediacy.

One of the protagonist will obviously be in the wrong.  I’m not saying the other was right.  But one of them abandoned his own toy with greed for what lay in the other man’s hand.  That’s pretty much the sum of what causes wars in the world.

Now let’s look at the options.  Maybe we will flatter the man and say something like, “Wow you’re a good looking and strong fellow.  Perhaps you would play with this toy better than me”. 

Success!  The man gives you I look of filthy distain, grabs your toy, sticks his nose up in the sky, and walks away. 

Well maybe you weren’t very successful.  Because now you’re sitting there trying to make a sand castle out of dry sand.  But at least you live to play another day.

Yeah, you live to play another day.  He gets what he wants because your flattery worked.  But you have not helped the next poor bloke.  In fact you made it worse on the next guy.  Now Mr Pompous, the thief, believes he deserves to win.  How cool is that?  I feel horribly sorry for the subsequent victims. 

Now since this is my story, I’m going to inject a lover of ignorance as his next victim.  I was going to put a truth teller here.  But that doesn’t follow suit with Hollywood’s playbook.  And I was afraid you would think it was the end of the story.

Mister pompous looks over and sees the toy in the hand of the one who loves ignorance.  (The guy really should have been born an Ostrich.  But God decided to withhold the feathers.) 

The second Mr Pompous’ shadow darkens the toy,  the lover of ignorance finds something immediately more pressing to do.  Leaving the toy unattended, as if by mindless action, Pompous gets what he wants.

Bolstered again.  “I really do deserve everything!”  Just peachy.

But you know who comes next.  I only have four people in this story.  Two of them have already given up, and one of them is still quite active.

There’s Mr Truth Teller. playing with his toy.  He saw what happened to the other two.  In his nature, he determined to stand his ground. 

Most people would call him an idiot.  Because there’s a very good chance he’s going to get buried in the sandbox.  But it simply isn’t his nature to care.

He’s not a hero.  That’s how people are going to paint him though.  He just leans hard on the truth.  That’s his home.  And he’ll stay in it, even if it burns to the ground.  “Bring it on Mr Pompous.”

The shadow arrives, and it’s as if the owner of the toy is blind and deaf.  And when the filthy hand reaches to grab, it receives a sharp slap on the wrist.  The statement of war is pronounced.  And the sandbox gets really quiet.

Mr Truth Teller stands up.  If you look real close, you can see his knees shake a little bit.  But he sticks his face right into near proximity with Mr Pompous.  And then he says something that saves his life.

“You see all these people around us?  They lied to you.  They told you you deserve to have everything you want.  Well I’m going to tell you the truth.  This toy belongs to me.

Now you stand in front of me, faced with a dilemma.  You can slap me to the ground and take what you want.  But those who lied to you are watching. 

When you slap me, you just might wake them up.  And there’s a whole lot more of them then there is of you.  You might want to give that some thought before you raise that greedy hand.”

Then Mr Truth Teller gives Mr Pompous a stern sharp nod, and goes back down to play with his toy.  I’m not going to finish the story here by telling you what happened next. 

Chaos does what chaos does.  You know the odds as well as I.  And you fully understand the risk Mr Truth Teller is taking.  But you also perceive it is for your good. 

There’s a good chance Mr Pompous will back off.  There’s also a good chance, that if he strikes Mr Truth Teller, all of you will stand up and pummel him into the sand.

But there are greater odds that he will strike Mr Truth Teller.  And you will do nothing in response.  One of you might dial 911.  But you won’t stand up and get in his face.  There’s a reason why those kinds of headlines are sensational.  It’s really rare when people do the right thing.

By His Grace

That Peculiar Brand of Fear

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Sin has its own distinct pleasures.  There’s no reason to lie about it, sin is fun.  Preferring to live in sin is to live a life full of joy and laughter.  It’s kind of like being drunk with abandon instead of alcohol.

But there’s also no reason to lie about the following.  Sin has its own particular brand of fear. 

The one who lives a life of sin fears everything.  He can’t trust God to watch out for him, so whatever is unknown becomes a potentially destructive enemy.  And the volume of unknowns is endless.

The sinner may say he fears nothing.  He may make great bold statements of his ability to cope.  But as Shakespeare wrote, “Me thinks thou dost protest too much”.  The bold proclamations of a sinner, in regard to his fearlessness, are nothing more than a golden blanket covering the thumb sucking child within.

The sinner knows he stands in a very precarious place.  God has promised to rip him apart at the judgment, and the sinner knows it.  By sheer will and deft ignorance the sinner simply puts it out of his mind.

On top of the coming promise of destruction, is a very curious fear.  They call it bad luck.  It’s also called Murphy’s Law. 

The sinner is always looking over his shoulder to see what’s coming to bite him in the butt.  He’s absolutely sure God has it in for him.  In the sinners mind, God is always trying to cause him trouble.  But such thoughts are only a mirror of his own evil heart.

The sinners fear is equal to his pleasure.  All the while he goes about trying to secure his next joy, he worries and frets that he will be assaulted in some peculiar manner.  Perhaps a broken bone, perhaps severe sickness, perhaps he will be caught doing what he should not be doing and end up in jail.

It’s ridiculous the measures people take to avoid thinking about God and the judgment to come.  But even more ridiculous is the ease with which his fearful burden can be lifted.  All it takes is a tiny measure of humility.  But humility isn’t fun, so it’s given no place on the sinners agenda.

God will not despise the humble heart.  And God will teach the humble man how to be fearless. 

Forgiveness from Christ Jesus provides a distinctly different joy.  While apparently the body is cast into sorrow, the forgiven sinners soul is laughing in the language of heaven.  While the sinner’s joy ends when his current preoccupation is taken away, the joy of the forgiven sinner never leaves him.  Little by little that peculiar fearfulness is replaced by a gentle confidence.

Serving God in Christ Jesus is pure and true freedom.  Pursuing sin and joy of the body will always result in slavery to fear.

The forgiveness of Christ Jesus is not just an arbitrary phrase.  When it is received, the soul knows it has been set free.  With forgiveness from God comes peace and hope.  Two things the sinner cannot possibly attain and retain.

By His Grace

Risk Belongs to the Valliant

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A rich man drove his new BMW to an important meeting.  In the crowded traffic he became stuck in rush hour.

A dirty ragged man came to wash his windshield, at least that’s what the rich man thought.  Instead the bum came over to his driver’s window.

With serious and intelligent eyes, the bum encouraged the man to roll down his window.  With regret, the window move down about 2 inches.

“Give me your shiny car and I will give you all the money in my pocket.”  The bum said.

The rich man smiled.  His eyes lit up, like a hunter who has spotted a trophy.  He opened the door and stepped outside.  He handed the bum his keys and said, “Where can I send you the title”.

With a great loving smile the bum reached in his pockets.  His dirty craggy fingers hauled out five rather large rolls of hundred dollar bills.  “I’ll Drive you to your office and wait for you while you get the title.”

The deal had been struck.  With compassion and abandon for life, the rich man had gained a precious memory. 

The title was exchanged.  When the rich man counted the money, the total came to the price he had paid for the car.

What became of the bum and the car, no one knows.  But what became of the rich man’s heart was easily seen by the life he later chose.  He had been released from the fear of greed.  And all because he was not afraid to take a chance.  He counted compassion as more valuable than money.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, life is given unto the kingdom of the heavens, and the valiant take hold of it.”  (Matthew 11:12, Jubilee Bible 2000)

By His Grace

Receive!

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“The Faith”:

Its fullness stands starkly before all the enemies of God.

Speaking by its presence, “You will never touch me”.

Though the storm may rage around he who abides with in this Faith,

He will sleep in peace.

Though the waves threaten the weakened ones,

The Faith abides in fullness of trust.

Boldness is its radiant marking.

He who has, timidity has become vanquished.

What is the threat that will subdue it?

What threat cast a shadow on the one who owns The Faith?

What is The Faith?

It is that God cannot lie.

He has spoken His Holy promise in flesh and blood.

He has raised Him from the dead by The Faith.

Though they sought to lay hands on him, he walked through their midst.

Yet, when their time of strength was given them, The Faith allowed capture.

Still, The Faith endured; as a lamb is led to the slaughter he did not open his mouth to complain.

The Faith!

What portion do we find ourselves willing to embrace?

Portion, because He is First!

Boldness of The Faith, my brothers!

Receive, do, glorify, accomplish, and become!

It is The Living God’s joy to give.

Receive!

The Fearless and the Ordinary

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Fearless, and ordinary passion for Christ will come face to face with the stubborn ignorance of this world.  But ordinary passion will lose the battle before it is begun.

Stubborn ignorance knows the difference.  When confronting ordinary passion, stubborn ignorance is allowed to use a variety of excuses.  For ordinary passion has only answers for himself.  His lamp is set for use in the house.  It is not built for travel in the streets.

But when stubborn ignorance comes face to face with fearless passion, calculated and decisive strikes will lower his guard.  The lamp of fearless passion is a blazing light that penetrates to the deepest parts of every man.  No matter how the armor of ignorance is turned, the gaps in its protection are pierced.

Fearless passion has a twinge of warrior.  But ordinary passion is a brother to self satisfaction.  This is a harsh saying, but it finds its truth in fruit.

Fearless passion is of the family of godly humility.  But ordinary passion is of the family of man.  Another harsh saying.  War requires a fearless heart.  While the ordinary its content with the domestic.

Fearless passion goes hunting for the transformation of men, regardless the threats to himself.  But ordinary passion has received his desire and finds himself satisfied; full of the gain he hoped to find.

Both passions recognize the holy fire of God (afterall, they are passions).  But the fearless enter in, allowing themselves to be burned by the work of God.  While the ordinary perceive God’s holy fire simply as protection and forgiveness of sins.

The Fearless desire to be sent.  The ordinary are content to stay at home.  By compulsion their message to the world will differ radically.  One perceives the gospel as a choice in lifestyle.   The other perceives the great weeping and gnashing of teeth that will surely come.

Fearless passion will enter into the war for souls.   He will not consider his life of any value, but that he should serve the Sovereign God in Christ.  With abandon, he counts his life as nothing.  He seeks to save the souls of others, and stands before the Lord, willing and daily, to be sent.

Ordinary passion respects the Lord’s love, but fails to make the connection between his own need for salvation and that of others.  Except where he is invited, he keeps the gospel to himself.  This is the proof of fruit that a man may easily see for himself.

Both passions will serve the living God.  But the domains, in which they serve, are radically different.  One is built to willingly embrace death and threat.  The other is built on the gladness of life.

Both will be received by the Holy Lord.  Both are a ligament response to the sacrifice of Christ.  But one seeks understanding (to the “doing), while the other is content to receive and become.

Personally I perceive that the fearless are the intent of the gospel.  But I will not shake the faith of the ordinary.  Still, I cannot help wondering what this world would be like if every Christian were fearless.

By His Grace

Captured and Released to a Better Promise

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All day long, every day, and that without faltering, He holds out His Gorgeous hands to a withering people. His strength is Great and He is not dismayed. His people know Him who calls from Heaven. And through them He has commanded the giving of His testimony. We are a people cut from the dust to serve the Living God of eternity.

You are one of His; captured and released to a better promise. Stand strong and brave, bold and ceaseless in your testimony on His behalf. We are very near the end of our time and the times.

To all who worship Him in truth and spirit, shake all sin from your limbs. The time is here to act with great and sure steps. We are His! There is none like Him and we testify to His Glory.

By His Grace.