Dare to Be Courageous Part 4: Doubt

Recap the Series...

For those of you who are new to this series or new to this blog I would like to extend a warm welcome and thanks for joining us. In this current series we have been examining what hurdles we have had to overcome in order to have true Godly courage. We looked at the obstacle of pride while looking at the story of Daniel and the lions den by analyzing the leaders and the king who because of their own pride and selfish ambitions landed Daniel in a potentially dangerous position. Next, we looked at fear by viewing the story of David and Goliath and the vast Hebrew army who refused to face the giant out of fear and lack of trust in God. These are just two of the three hurdles that have been needed to of been overcome and now we will look at our final issue: doubt. 

The Worst Time to be Situationally A.D.D.

In book of Matthew, there is an account in which Jesus walks on water. We have all heard the story many times and even non-believers know of this miracle so, we will not spend an extraordinarily long time telling the story but, rather look at the other part of it. When Jesus was walking we called out to Peter (one of the twelve pre-ascension disciples) to come out onto the water. Peter did so but, after seeing the waves around him began to sink. Jesus then caught him and asked "why do you doubt?" (Matt. 14:31 NIV).

The best way to describe this is taking all three of our hurdles and combining them together. One, Peter initially asked Jesus to ask him to come out onto the water. If Peter would of shown true courage, he would've just came out of the boat.This shows us his pride got in the way. Two, when out of the boat he noticed the waves and became fearful. This showed his lack of trust in Christ thus he began to sink. This brings us to doubt; if he truly trust Christ, he would have not feared the waves but, instead he doubted the power of God. Now one by itself is dangerous but, all three together is deadly. Take this account for example, because Peter was distracted by the waves, he lost sight of Christ and his faith faded. He began to sink and if it were not for Jesus catching him, he would have drowned. This unfortunately is the condition of our hearts. Now, we like to raze Peter for all of his shortcomings when it came down to his time with Christ but, we must remember he was the founder of the church today and if it were not for his faith and dedication, we would be a lost people without the knowledge of what Christ did for us. Putting this aside though, we can truly see what happens to us, symbolically speaking, when we choose to lose sight of the One who loved us and gave His all for us. God, forgive us our lack of faith and for all the times we have doubted your power.

Wrap it up...

Now comes the point where we tie all of this together. I feel that the story of Peter really helps do this making my job easy. In order to have courage, we must keep our eyes focused on Him. Like a horse with blinders, we have to zone in on what He wants for our lives and and remember He will protect us, not with our own power but, with His. So here is you dare: Remember His love, mercy and power. Remember to take full courage we must have faith, cast away our cares and fears to Him and put our own selfish ambitions aside. Most of all seek first the kingdom He has created and remember the One that began a good work in you is not done with you yet. Seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.
     

  

Dare to Be Courageous Part 3: Fear

Welcome and Thank You

First thing I would like to do is thank all of the faithful followers of the Dare to Series and also a big welcome to those who may be joining our little community for the first time. Although numbers are not everything, the more there are the more people that are reached. So for this thank you and please continue to spread the word! Also, we want to hear from you! If you have any stories of how Dare to Series has helped you in your life or have any requests for future topics please send them to daretoseries@yahoo.com. All emails will be responded to and all victory stories and testimonies will be shared here on the blog with the permission of the writer! Again thank you!

Facing the Inevitable 

Last time we met we looked at the idea that if our pride gets in the way, we can never truly be courageous enough to stand up for God. We looked at the story of Daniel and the lions den and how the pride of those around him not only put him in harms way but, ended their very lives.  Today we continue our series with the second of the hurdles that we must cross over and this is fear. 

In the book of 1 Samuel, there was a war that was raging between the Philistines and the Jews. At this time King Saul, the first king of Israel, was on the throne and the hero of our story, David, was a young shepherd boy. Everything would've gone much easier for the Jewish army if it were not for one great weapon the opposing army had. Standing at over nine feet tall and carrying an extremely heavy amount of armour, the giant of a man Goliath was the only thing that stood between the two armies. Unfortunately, this was enough to halt the Jews in their tracks. Goliath knew this and would shout out and taunt the Jews for one of them to be courageous enough to fight him. None of the men in the army were willing to do so. When David came to bring supplies to his brothers who were part of the army, he heard the taunts of the behemoth of a man and asked why no one stood up to him. When he found out that everyone of the men in the army were afraid he volunteered to fight him. When laughed off by his brothers,  he went to the king. Saul laughed him off but, soon agreed to allow him to go and fight. By seeking strength in God and with his sling and a single stone, David struck down the giant. Then with Goliath's own sword, cut off the head of giant and praised God.

Now we can look at this story in two ways: we can seek strength in  God and also find courage in him.For the sake of this series we will be looking at the later of the two. David stood firm on the foundation that he had built with God. He sought after God's will and without any thought of himself, stood before a giant. Not only this but, when everyone else was too afraid to stand up for God, David did.  The Bible says he found strength in God. In order to do this he had to find courage. By realizing that no one can stand against us when God is on our side, he let go of his fear and stood up for what was right. Fear cripples us and is the exact opposite of courage. If we live our lives in a state of ignoring the idea that God commands legions of angels and will not allow harm to come to us, then we have forgotten the love that He has shown us. Yes at times we may be afraid but, whom shall we fear when our God goes before us and stands between us and our enemies. 

Before we end today I want to pose a dare. Stand firm on the foundation you have built with Christ. If you have not already built one, it's not to late. Accept Christ as your personal Savior and stand on the knowledge that He loves us and will stand for us. 

Fear is not trusting Him when He says, "I can handle this; I am bigger then this problem and I will stand in your place and carry you through if you'll let me." Question is, do you trust him?

    

Daring to be Courageous Part 2: Pride

Thank You...

Before we begin, I would like to take a quick moment to thank our readers. In the past month daily views have doubled. Not only that but, we have been able to begin a Twitter page and hope to continue to gain followers on there. If you would like to follow us on Twitter just click the follow @dare_series button on the side. I am really excited for all of the new additions and the fact we are gaining viewers. If you do not already please be sure to "like" us on Facebook by following this link Facebook page . Now without any further interruption let's get started with today's topic.

Pride and Prejudice 

As we had talked about last time, there are three main reasons we do not have courage. Today we are going to be talking about pride. In the book of Daniel, there is a story of a time where it was decreed that it was illegal to worship any other god except the king. Now Daniel was the second in command over the kingdom and chose not to follow this decree. Instead he worshiped God as he always had and as his ancestors had as well. Due to this, those who were under him went to the king and reported Daniel. By the rule of the law Daniel had to be thrown into the lions den and was. The next morning the king went to Daniel and asked if God had saved him and surely enough, He had. Daniel was then taken out of the den and the leaders and their families were cast into the den and devoured.

For many of us who grew up in church this story was one we all heard on almost a nauseatingly repetitious occurrence. Before you decide you already know where I am going please stay with me and read till the end. In order for and of this to of occurred, there had to be a problem with the hearts of those who made this law. The problem we see at large is pride. All of the other leaders were jealous that Daniel had been elevated to this position since he was one of the Jews who were displaced. In fact the very idea of him being in any form of leadership was hated by the other leaders. In order for them to get rid of him they had to be able to find fault in him. Unfortunately for them, there was no problem at all so, they had to invent one. Playing into the pride of the king, they had the decree made that for thirty days, everyone had to worship only the king and if they did otherwise, they would be killed in the lions den. The king, without thinking about the consequences of his actions and only about his own selfish ambitions, chose to sign the law which made it so nothing could overturn it.

In this case we see there are two problems with pride, pride of self preservation and the pride of jealousy. Nowhere to be seen can we see a pro God pride except in the active worship from Daniel. You see, there is nothing wrong with pride if, it is meant for the glory of God and the furthering of His kingdom. Sadly though, our own selfish intentions seem to get in the way of this and lead us astray from God. We begin looking to preserve ourselves and we forget about those around us and even God. If we are more concerned about our own selves and not the will of God, how can we call ourselves followers of Christ? I am not saying we should completely abandon things that we do to take care of ourselves but, are we doing it for us or for God?

Due to the selfish ambitions of those around Daniel, his life was put into danger and their lives came to an end along with their households. Without realizing that we are hurting others we focus on ourselves and forget those around us. In this case we hurt everyone including ourselves. It's funny how if we are overly concerned with preserving our own lives, we destroy them and those around us.

Courage Application

When trying to apply the idea of stripping away pride to reveal courage there is only one way to. By removing pride from our lives and filling it with the act of worship, we take a stand for what we believe. In fact, we may have to defend our beliefs not because we wish to preserve our own lives but, rather the kingdom of God. The question is which side will you be on? So here's your dare for this section: stand tall on your faith, take pride in your God, seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God. Strip away the vanities of this life and fill the hole with true worship. Dare to be differnet...dare to be courageous.  

 

Dare to Be Courageous Part 1: Introduction

When creating a series that is something that is worth while, One must ask themselves if the series is a God intended series or if it is what you yourself intends. Will it glorify God or is it just a compilation of crafty words to make yourself look good. If the later of these is the reason why the series you are writing does not deserve to exist. In fact we can apply this to our current series. During this series we will look at three specific parts of the Bible where courage was needed. Now we will not be taking a traditional approach to this subject matter instead, we are going to look at some unexpected topics.

In order to be courageous one has to be without fear, prideful in God's ability to save oneself and not doubt the Creator when He says follow me. All of these can cause a man to crumble to the ground let alone only one can be a godly persons achilles heel. For those who like plain speech, during this series we will compare certain topics to certain stories. Our first stop will be in the book of Daniel where we will look at the story of Daniel and the lions den and the idea of pride. Next we will backtrack to the book of 1 Samuel and look at the story of David and Goliath and understand how fear crippled the Hebrew army. Finally,  we will end up in the gospels as we look at the story of Peter walking on water and the doubt he showed when the waves seemed too great. All of these stories will show how great men fell because of the lack of courage. We will see the difference between those who took action and those who stood by; we will see the difference between those who sought after the heart of God and those after their own intentions. My prayer is as we go through this series, both you, the reader, and myself will grow. As I am teaching you I am speaking to myself as to how I should also live my life. Should we continue on the path we are on or change and truly seek to be people after God's own heart. I would like to welcome you to this series. The purpose: seek God's will and not our own selfish ambitions and stand up and say I believe enough to allow our faith to blossom and become all we were created to be.

Letter From the Author: Upcoming Series

Hey everyone, I hope you all enjoyed our last series Breakthrough. Great things and improvements have come to the blog in the last month and all the glory goes to God for allowing the blog to flourish. As some of you may already know, next week we are going to begin a new series. With all the new additions I felt it was only appropriate to rejuvenate some old bones.

I do realize that some of you have been waiting for me to continue on with the Dare to Share series of world religions. Although I will come back to it,  I have felt God wanting me to share other Biblical truths with you. I will say that I will unfortunately be ending the sequence of the Satanic church without a proper conclusion due to the magnitude of the subject. After doing research on the church I feel God leading me to stay away from the topic for the time being and would like to ask for your understanding with the topic. We will however pick back up on the series at a future date with a different world religion. If you have any suggestions please post them to the Facebook at facebook.com/DareToSeries .

Now on to the subject at hand. After praying, thinking and reading as well as a little bit of inspiration  from my church's upcoming sermon, the next series will be a look at having courage. The title for the upcoming series will be Dare to Be Courageous: Lions, Giants and Fears of the Unknown. In this series we will be taking a look at some of the greatest Biblical figures of all time and seeing how they sought out courage from God. This, for those of you who pay attention, will be the newest addition to the Dare to Be series. With seven being an odd number, an eighth point just seems right. I am really excited for this series and I hope you are as well. My prayer is that all who read this blog will be blessed and will apply the dares to their lives. Well that's all the news I have for now so make sure to like us on Facebook, mention us on Twitter  and follow us on bloglovin! And remember the Dare never ends.

Dare to Live: Breakthrough Part 3: Friends, Family and the World

Hey everyone! I'm glad you have joined us today for this very important post! Today is the conclusion of our three part series Breakthrough. So far we have looked at the process of breaking through ourselves, the spiritual myths and fictions of non-biblical Christianity and today we will be discussing how we breakthrough the pressures of everyone else.

One of the most difficult pressures to overcome in life is the pressure of the opinions of everyone else. During our life at home we try to live to standard and expectations of our family, during school  we come face to face with peer pressure from our friends and in the world we want the approval of man. During our final section we will discussing each one of these in detail and how we can overcome these.

Family

First, let's look at the pressure from parents. Although most parents encourage their children to do what they feel is best for them, some choose to turn against those whose opinions differ from theirs. As children we would try to seek the approval of our parents or parent figures. We would do everything they wanted just for the sake of positive acknowledgement. Although there is nothing wrong with this,  there are unfortunately parents who refuse to give any form of positive feedback to their children and instead will find a reason to complain. Now before we go any further let me speak to parents for a moment. Although I myself are not a parent,  I have seen the effects of this in youth while working with them. I have personally known individuals who have gone through this type of life. In every case the individual or child would be angry at their parent(s). In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes, "Fathers,do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." (6:4) This though does not just apply to fathers but, also mothers. Instead you are to bring your children up in the way of God and lead them according to the statutes of the Bible. If your child chooses not to follow the ways of God,  this is their choice.Pray for them and constantly remind them you love them and so does God. You may not approve of the way your child chooses to live their life nor may it be the way you raised them. If you do not approve of their life then do not make them feel horrible about themselves but, remind them they are loved and there is always God's way.

Likewise, children you are commanded to honor your parents not only as a statute for life but, as a commandment from God. Obviously if your parents are demanding you to do something that could put yourself or someone else in danger there are exceptions as well as if they demand you forsake Christ. This is not a get out of jail free card or a reason to use to get out of doing things. It is merely guidelines. So, with this remember that if your family does not agree with your choice to follow Christ, remind them you love them and so does God but, do not let them prevent you from transforming.

Friends and the World

One of the greatest gifts we have been given is the ability to have meaningful relationships with others who are not our family. These people are our friends. Friends are there for you through all things and can be your biggest support but, also your biggest downfall. When you are in school  you're told about peer pressure or the influence your peers will try and have on you. Now one thing we must know is that not all peer pressure is bad. Some can influence us to be a greater person or lead others to Christ. This same pressure though can lead us to fall away for Christ and land us in a pit of despair and shame. The bible says this in Proverbs 27:17: " As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." We are instructed to edify and build one another up. Instead many times we degrade and destroy one another. In order to break through the barrier of your friends, remove yourself from social circles that tear you down and pull you astray. Surround yourself with those who are likeminded and are on the same journey. As someone helps you, you help them.

As for the world remember that you are in the world but, you are not of the world. It will try and tear you away but, remember God is in control of all things and He is greater than the world. So here's the question, are you ready to breakthrough? 

Before we end let me leave you with a dare: Break through the shell of yourself, lay to rest the superstitions and myths of spirituality and most of all do not let anyone or anything stand between you and God. Turn your face to Him who gave you life and be blessed. Give Him your life, breakthrough, be transformed and live.  

Dare to Live: Breakthrough Part 2: Spiritual

Last time we met we began the journey of breaking through to be able to be transformed as we talked about in our mini series Transformation. Today we will be continuing to look at the process of breaking through the obstacles in our life.

Last time we looked at breaking through ourselves and what all we had to give up. We looked at the fact that we were created to be filled and only God could fill us. We also looked at surrendering ourselves to His will because He created us for a purpose. Although this breakthrough is major there are still more that we must conqueror  if we wish to be one with Christ and His ways.

What catches most people of guard is the idea that we have to not only breakthrough ourselves but, also our spirituality. The term spiritual has become something that most Christians seem to want to stray from due to it's general attachment to the pagan and antichrist movements. The term "spiritual" means: of, relating to, consisting of, or affecting the spirit.  No where does it actually say pagan worship, ghost hunting or any other anti-christian thought processes. When being associated with Christianity, the term helps us realize where we are with God and our walk together. Many myths have come up over the years and in order to allow us to have this breakthrough we must put these myths out and replace the Christian mythology and superstitions to rest.

Myth 1: All religions lead to the same place. All can be right; it's just the persons own road to heaven.

This myth by far has become the mainstream way of thinking by popular demand. It also has a rather confusing way of thinking. The idea of "coexist" is that all religions are a "path" to heaven and if you follow your path or are a good person, you will go to heaven. This sounds good but, is so far off base there are no religions that actually believe this. For example, we as Christians believe Christ is the only way where the Muslims believe everyone that is not a follower of Muhammad and Allah are all infidels and deserve to die. Jews believe that their messiah is yet to come for the first time and view Christians as unclean people who are living in blasphemy. There are many other arguments against this belief system and unfortunately people, even Christians still bite onto this. Any easy way to negate this theory is known as the Law of Noncontradiction. The law states that no two things can be the exact same. This is true in all cases. Although Islam and Christianity are both Abrahamic religions, they both teach two very different theologies. With this we are left with which one is correct and only one belief system has had all of it's prophecies come true and we can find physical evidence of the occurrences and that is Christianity. If you are a Christian and believe in the Bible then think of these verses, John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me". Or, Philippians 2:9-11 which is in the picture above. These are just a few of the verses that proclaim the love of Christ and the fact there is only one way. This is not optional this is fact.

Myth 2: If I go to church I am a Christian or if my parents were Christians I am.

This like the myth above is a toxic acid that is running through the church today especially in younger generations. The idea that you are a Christian by association only shows us the unwillingness to break down the barrier of ourselves like we discussed in the previous section. It is only by personal repentance of your sin and acceptance as Jesus as God and Messiah can you be saved. It's really not that difficult yet people feel going to church makes them a Christian. In my mind there are three type of people who claim to be Christians.1: The living Christian, 2: The Sunday do-right Christian and 3: The Creaster Sunday Christians.

The living Christian is one who lives their life to the fullest and tries to do everything for the glory of God. The work their hardest as a person and always ask themselves if this is the will of God or of themselves. Although they do make mistakes, they are willing to do what is right and admit they were wrong. They are in church constantly and feel disconnected if they miss one week. There is never an ounce of dust on their Bible because they are always in it. The knees of their pants are slightly worn from the amount of times the hit their knees in prayer. This Christian is the resemblance of the true Christian and the one who is on fire for God.

Next,  we have the Suday do-right Christian. This Christian is the one you will see in the pew next you every Sunday. They know all the right words, wear the biggest smile and will always drop their money in the offering plate. They are also very well versed in Christainese. Unfortunately, this is where the buck stops. After they leave church on Sunday, they live their lives the same way they always have: screaming, cussing, objectifying the opposite sex, more concerned with material items and wealth then the condition of their walk with Christ, marriage and children. They never hit their knees in prayer and when they do pray it's for things they want and never a time of thanksgiving. Their Bible has very lox milage on it because the only time they open it is at church on Sunday morning. Sad thing is no one usually picks up on this. This is the representation of the "lukewarm" Christian.

Finally we have the Creaster Christian. Now as hopefully all of us know, "creaster" is not a real word rather the mashing of two words Christmas and Easter. If you can't already see where I'm going I'll draw it out. These are the Christians that will literally only show up on Christmas and Easter. They never read their Bible,  their favorite verses are always John 3:16 or Psalms 23. If you ask them what is around those verses or what is being talked about they will have no clue. They can tell you a basic jist of the story of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection but, outside of that they do not know. Most of the time they aren't actually saved but, "Christians by association". They live their lives just like the Sunday do-rights but, they show up less to church, never pray and have no clue what to do when they are in church. Their Bibles are covered in so much dust cleaning it off would cause someone to choke. These are the cold Christians or the ones who claim they are but, inside are not.

Just because you attend church does not make you a Christian rather it could mean you are part of the group(s) that put other Christians with the stigma of hypocrisy.


Myth 3: Suicide is a one way ticket to hell.

This sad myth has circled the Christian belief system for hundreds of years. Once thought to be an excellent deterrent for killing oneself, the idea backfired and led many to believe they will never see their loved ones again. There is only one sin that will land you in hell that is unforgivable and that is never accepting Christ. All sin leads to hell but, only one is unforgivable and it is not suicide. Now hear me out I am not saying it is alright to kill yourself, it is still very wrong and I believe God will definately ask about it when you get to heaven but, if you are saved, it will not send you to hell. You must realize that I am not saying commit suicide, this is wrong and if you need help, seek it and live. Remember if you feel alone, Christ is still there and always will be, live for Him if nothing or no one else.

As you can see these are a few of the myths we tell ourselves to never actually come to grips with the facts that we are avoiding breaking through the spiritual stigma. We must remember we are not called to a life of hiding but, one of announcing who we are and sharing it with other people. When you fall on your face daily, read His word, actually believe He is the only way and actually live for Him then you have broken through the spiritual barrier and are on your way to having a life changing breakthrough like no other.
             

Dare to Live: Breakthrough Part 1: Ourselves

As I have said before, Dare to has gone under some major renovations as well as additions such as the newest section of our series, Dare to Live. So far we have been talking about the ideas of transformation in the lives of Christians. The idea of transformation, as we already discussed, is the reconstruction and fulfillment of the shell we are without Christ not the recreation of something. We are all given a purpose in life and a calling that only God gives. In order to transform we have to step out and breakthrough the barriers that hinder us. This "breakthrough" is the only thing that is standing in the way of you and Christ but, you must be willing to to move out of your comfort zone. This will bring us to our first major obstacle that we have to overcome and that is ourselves.

Most of us have heard the saying "you are your own worst enemy". In the case of Christianity this is true. One of the largest hurdles we must bound over and clear is ourselves. Before a Christian can become a Christian or truly transform, they must be willing to breakdown the barrier they have built up to defend themselves against the influence and rule of others. You may think this is a silly concept and that you do not have any walls but, let me ask you this, when was the last time you read your Bible? How about the last time you went to church? Last time you told a lie for purposes of self preservation (which is all the time)or even prayed? For someone to come to the conclusion that they are truly the only thing that stands in the way of their ability to become a new person, they have already won half the battle. Of course many will try to blame it on work, family and friends. They will say well it just doesn't fit into my schedule or they ran out of time. Let me ask you this,did you run out of time on making room for extra work for your promotion? How about sitting down and watching your favorite sports team play? I'm not saying either of these are wrong but, there is a God who is waiting for you to breakthrough yourself and let Him in.

So, how do we go about doing this "breakthrough" you might ask and it's all really quite simple. First, you have to get rid of your ego. That chip that everyone has on their shoulder is toxic and will ruin a person completely. Not only will it destroy you but, it will seriously effect everyone around you. Unfortunately you are not the center of attention nor should you be. Only one being has this right and that is God. Secondly, let go of your fears. There is nothing worse then being afraid of what tomorrow will bring. You must remember that by giving your life over to Christ to let Him reconstruct you is not the end of the road,it's the beginning and the same hands that made you are the ones that will protect you. There is no fear in Christ only peace, grace and love. Finally, believe that God knows best. This idea of admitting that we are wrong and do not know what is best for us is a tough idea to swallow for most people. We live with us all the time so we know us, right? Unfortunately that is not correct but, luckily someone does and that's God. Who better then the One who made us to ask what we should do with His creation. It's your time to breakthrough you. Only question is are you willing to take that step?

Letter From the Author: Unveiling

Today as many days are good days. I am not just saying it is a good day because of occurrences but, because everyday is a good day in Christ. Though this is true it is not the topic of this letter to you instead I would like to announce something I have been working on for a little while now and kept all hints under lock and key. Although you have already had a taste of it, today is the official unveiling of the Dare to Series' brand new section.

Now after much thought and a few posts I began to realize the Dare to Series seemed to be more about who we are on the inside but, nothing of who we are on the outside to others. Although if we are as we are supposed to be on the inside sometimes we can come across as cold and have a difficult time expressing who we are. This very reason is why today I am unveiling to you the fourth part in our series Dare to Live.

As I have said before you have already had a taste of the brand new section in the Dare to be Transformed series. I hope you have enjoyed the series so far and are looking forward to learning more as we go on. I would like to thank everyone for their support on this blog because without your following a blog would be pointless. We will be officially kicking off the new series today with a brand new section of our series Dare to be Transformed. Also keep your eyes open for when we return to Dare to Share to continue our much anticipated conclusion on the satanic church and our continued look at world religions! We have great things coming our way and the Dare to Series is roaring back. Don't for get to live the dare and remember the dare never ends!

Daring to Begin Again and not Fear

After the last time we met, the Dare to Series blog went under some major renovations. Ironically enough this happened after the topic of transforming our minds and not being conformed to the world. After some thought I decided to continue on this topic of transformation for just a bit longer as a mini series.  In the next few days I will be adding tabs to make the navigation of these series easier to follow. What I really want to talk about here is the life after the transformation of our minds.

After we give our lives completely over to Christ, we must remember that He controls all things and knows how everything will end up for us. Everyday we breathe a new breath, the idea of Christ holding us together and allowing us to do so becomes overwhelming. This is no better talked about in the letter from Paul to the Philippians. In the book Paul says "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain" (Phil.1:21 NIV). This statement is the purest form of surrender and trust. In this one statement Paul states that he does not worry about the next hour, day, week, month or any length of time. He knew everyday was a gift and was given to us because Christ has a purpose for our lives. The only reason we are alive is because we have a purpose. Even with this profound declaration, Paul takes it to a whole different level when he said for him to die would be gain to him. He had nothing to fear, no second thoughts of what awaited him after the grave. He showed no fear because he sought the face of Christ for strength when all seemed to be going wrong. Even when he waited for the day of his execution, he showed no less faith then he did at the beginning of his ministry. If Paul could trust Christ to the graves of martyrdom, why can't we trust him with our daily lives. Paul trusted Christ so much he did not fear death but, found it to be a reward. If we are to truly trust Christ we need to put our daily lives into His hands and have faith enough to know He will take care of us. We should not fear what tomorrow brings because Christ is in control and will not allow anything to happen to you that is not for the good of the kingdom. Everything can be used of Christ. So, if you allow your mind to be transformed now is time to begin anew and not fear because if Christ is for us, then who can be against us. Dare to start over and not fear because to live is Christ and to die is eternal gain.

Dare to Transform (Dare to Be)

                                                                                       In the world today we are exposed to the ideas of singularity, conformity and pop culture. We are told many things that go against the Bible are perfectly acceptable to do. We know this to be common occurrences with in the church and lead many to fall away from the teachings of Christ. Giving way to this line of thinking allows a separation to begin between God and us. In my previous blog, Helpful Points Missions*, I discussed this idea in length. For those of you who read my section on this before we will be reiterating most of what was talked about before. For those of you who are new joining us (those who did not follow HPM) this will hopefully be a fresh take on a commonly used topic within the church.

The verse in the Bible that best describes this idea is found in the book of Romans vereses 12:1-2. In these vereses the apostle Paul writes that we are to give ourselves as sacrifices to God and to be not conformed to this world but, transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can see God's will for our lives. Now before we go any further, let's look at that word "sacrifice" and understand what it truly means. When we hear the word sacrifice we think to kill something or burn it. Where we are not wrong in this thinking, the word sacrifice also means to give something up. In this verse it refers to giving up our sinful nature and allowing God to take over. This in a sense is the laying to rest of our sinful nature and the beginning of our transformation. We are to give up everything to God and lay it all at His feet; our pride, wealth, family, marriage, friendship, career, everything is supposed to be laid at His feet. When we sacrifice our lives to Him and give Him an empty shell of ourselves, we allow Him to fill us and raise us up to be the completed figure that He intended us to be. It is only when we are broken and before His feet can we truly see His face and His plan for us. When we stand completely abandoned of all things and remain silent to hear His voice we have surrendered our lives to Him. He takes us at this point and creates a new person out of our beautifully broken mess and makes all things new. We are broken and destroyed in our state before Him and stand completely separated from His will but, when He fills us He does not destroy the shell; He creates a new beginning for us with a new set of goals and out look on life. He does not create all new things instead makes all things new. He is not a god of destruction and chaos; He is a God of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. In Him all things are not destroyed but, transformed into something new and beautiful. So with this, I dare you to not allow the patterns of this life to to consume you but, to allow the powers of God to renew you and complete the work that He started in you.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." 

Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)

   

Dare to Love: Freedom through Love (Dare to Believe)

Happy Independence Day everyone! Today is a great day in our nations history and a landmark on the history of the world. Though we can sit here and talk about the Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, we are going to look at this a bit differently. No matter what your beliefs are about if this country was founded on the Christian beliefs or not, there is a single freedom that we seem to forget about.

Recently we have been discussing the ideas of love and how we can dare to have the purest of the forms of love. As Christians we have to be reminded on a daily basis that no matter what the world does to us we are still free from the greatest of all oppressors: sin. No matter what the world will throw at us, no matter the circumstance, we are free. If you live in a nation oppressed by a king, dictator or tyrant, just remember if you are in Christ you are free and that this life is only temporary. We as a nation are free in Christ no matter what government tries to define, change or oppress. So if you feel you are living in a nation of lack freedom remember, you are free through love. So here's a dare: share this freedom with someone who feels oppressed and help lift them up.

Dare to Love Part 2 (Dare to Be)

Before we begin I would like to thank everyone who has been reading this blog. I feel this series would not be possible without the support of all of you. Lately, we have been looking at love a lot and I understand many of you may be wondering why. Before I write I try to look at the situations that not only are surrounding me but, others that I know. Recently the idea of love and all of it's implications have been surrounding myself and those I care for. The biggest piece that has been seeming to surround me is the idea of Eros love or romantic love between a man and a woman. This love is one of the greatest creations that have been given to us from God and is part of the very foundations of creation. I have begun to realize that many people in today's culture are either falling out of love with their spouse or, are under the illusion that in a marriage this love will eventually fade into Phillas or brotherly love. This sad reality of the condition we are in shows us the condition of or faith and of our hearts. The difference unfortunately is skewed by a the idea of infatuation or the belief we love someone when in reality we are obsessed with a quality(s) of an individual. We must realize infatuation is not love but, a cheap knock-off of the true God given love. The difference between the two is very simple, infatuation will eventually fade and leave one feeling empty and as if they wasted the time spent. It may feel as though you loved the person but, unfortunately you have fallen snare to one of Satan's knock-off versions of love. Forms of infatuation are lust, greed, idolatry (no this is not just of statues) and addiction. These will always leave you empty and looking for more. Once the "buzz" is gone you will look for the next big "fix". Infatuation will never lead to love.

Eros or romantic love will never end. If you truly love someone in this manner you will stick out life by their side through all things. Companionship is not the key here, it's the selfless desire to be their for the other and help them through all things. Phillas can accompany this love but, is not greater then this love and will never break out over the other. This foundation was ordained by God from the very beginning and if it is a pure form of Eros without the contamination of infatuation then, the love will last and you will be fulfilled. The Bible says " That is why man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh." Gen 2:24 (NIV). This bond was created to be a beautiful thing but, has been corrupted yet, not all is for loss. We can still achieve this pure, holy love. Can you fall out of love with someone? No, but, you can fall out of obsession. Question is, are you in love or infatuated?

Quick Note From the Author...

Hey everyone! I hope you are enjoying the Dare to Series! I have some big news that has come around in the last 24 hours! Dare to Series is know on Facebook and has a forum you can join and take part in discussions and start your own! Follow these links and make sure to like us on Facebook!


Facebook


Forum

A Dare to Love (Dare to Be)

When was the last time you told someone you loved them? Yesterday? Today? Before you went to work this morning? What about the last time you told someone you weren't "in love" with you loved them? We typically shy away from telling just a friend we love them, a family member and sadly even our children. Why is this? Why do we fall into this trap where the word love seems to be taboo? Is it because of the stigma society has placed on this word? How about the implications of the word? We seem to think this word should never be used. Even though society seems to place this on us we must remember who we are in Christ; lovers of the world. When will we stand and realize that He created us to love, be loved and live in love? Dear Christians come back to your first Love, the One who gave it all for you.Be who you were created to be. Do what you were created to do. Live the way you were created to live. So here's your dare: Dare to love, be loved and live in love. Tell a friend you love them because you are supposed to. Most of all come back to the One who gave it all for you.

Dare to Believe

In this blog of many parts, there is one section that seems somewhat repetitious but, it terrifies me to talk about because of the implications of it. This sections known as Dare to Believe is the one section where Jesus is the focus of the topic and not just Him as the Savior but, as a man as well. It's difficult to think of our Savior as a man because of the tone we apply to Jesus but, what we often fail to discuss is the obvious aspect of His humanity. Now I am not here to say that Jesus was only one or the other, because He was both, but, in order to understand the Incarnation we have to separate the Divine and the man and then re-conjoin them together. We are not separating them to eliminate one or the other but, to understand who Jesus is in His entirety.

When I ended my Apologetic's study with a small group of teenagers, I presented them with the central idea that we cannot share the truths of our faith if we do not have the love of Christ in us and showing through us. In this series I would like to take this same idea only tweak it a little by saying this, we cannot understand the depth of the love of Christ if we do not understand that He loves us. Make sense? You cannot understand the extent of the love of someone if you do not already have a basic knowledge of the love the individual has to give. Likewise, we cannot understand how great the love of Christ is if, we do not understand His love in any fashion.

One of my personally favorite songs about the love of Christ is "How He Loves" by the David Crowder Band. The song, masterfully poetic in it's lyrics, describes the love of God as a raging hurricane and us a tree bending under the mercy He gives and the grace that consumes the very struggles that cause us to become side tracked with the worries of this life. Then, simply the chorus reads "how He loves us so". Isn't that amazing? All the glory and power in Heaven and Earth, greater then all of our struggles, our cares, or worries  and fears, put on display for all to see that we might see just a taste of the love Christ has for us. Imagine this as the one inch mark on a ruler on the meter stick that measures the love our God has for us. The immeasurable love of God all for us.      

Better late then never

Hey everyone come over to bloglovin to follow me. Still through blogger but, read through this group since Google Reader has shut down. <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9594673/?claim=c7wksavvwe5">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>