COURAGE

Joshua 1:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The greatest example of courage is what Jesus Christ modeled for us. To lay down ones life for another. Sacrifice, the denial of self.

1

: an act of offering to a deity something precious; especially : the killing of a victim on an altar

2

: something offered in sacrifice

3

a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else

b : something given up or lost <the sacrifices made by parents>

John 10:18

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

As Jesus talks about His life purpose I realize this is the calling, everything centers here. All of the mysteries of life find its purpose here in one laying down their life for another.

John 12:24

New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Think about this, when you plant a seed, it actually dies before it produces life. This is the ministry and call of Jesus and from Him to us.

Matthew 10:39

New International Version (NIV)

³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

This apply s to everything, think about when you get discouraged or feel like a failure and you have internal battles in your heart about what is right and what is wrong, and what you should do to change the results of your choices.Those feeling are connected to the flesh by the spirit producing conviction. The spirit knows it ‘s goal and will work on your heart until you submit to the spirit. The flesh desires pride and ownership of our hearts. the flesh wants to be first, the flesh is selfish, self righteous, greedy. The lust of self-will. The path of holiness is found by offering your life to Christ. allowing the spiritual seed of your body to die so that it will find it’s life in Christ. One day our physical bodies will die and if we die in Christ He says the dead seed of our bodies will produce life eternal. The seed of a sinful mans body glorified by God in death.

John 3

New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]

Flesh and spirit do not go together, one must replace the other. The flesh must die for the spirit to live. This is what Jesus modeled. This is why we love and respect Him above anything else. An all powerful King of the universe humbled himself, died to Himself, came to earth as a defenseless baby, so that we would know how wide, how deep His love is for us! Courage, His name is Courage, and I pray this very morning that we together will find courage to walk in love, dieing to ourselves that we might find life!

Proverbs 21:21

New International Version (NIV)

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity^[a] and honor.

May the Lord fill your spirit with truth and your heart with divine love. May He stamp your heart with courage.

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FACING GIANTS

When I became a Christian I had no Idea about how to face the giants in my life, at least not from a Godly perspective. I think I looked at it pretty much as challenges come and you just have to tough it out, or party through it. Now as I am a Christian, facing giants has a whole new meaning. The kind of giants I am talking about are things like finding out you have a terminal illness, someone very close to you has just passed away, you lost your job and are now loosing your house, you were abused as a child and you are dealing with the anxiety of facing the internal issue and seeking healing. There are so many more. When I first got saved I truly hated myself and facing that giant was very difficult.  Getting to the heart of the giant takes courage, faith and God. I had so much fear in my heart and I didn’t believe in myself. I grew up bullied by other kids, when I was younger I was very small and skinny. It wasn’t until I turned sixteen yrs old that I sprouted and those problems ended. Even though they ended I still deal with some of those emotional issues from back then. What I can tell you is even though I still have some emotional issues and fears, I will take on the giants that come. I have learned as David did with the lion and bear. God is faithful and full of joy when we put on faith believing in Him and His word. Lets look at Davids heart in facing Goliath.

1 Samuel 17

New International Version (NIV)

David and Goliath

³³ Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”

³⁴ But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”

Notice Saul, doesn’t he sound like the whispers of satin? “You are not able” Isn’t that just like our enemy filling our heads with fear and doubt! If I could count how many times I have heard those thoughts “you are not able”. This is where truth comes in. Listen to David “when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God”.

This is how David did it,with His truth in God

Romans 8:37

New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you have conquered a giant before, you can do it again! As David defeated a lion and a bear, he knew if God helped him then, He will do it again! If you haven’t faced your giant yet, then you need to trust God and walk through it trusting Him. Once you have defeated a lion with God you will be ready to take on Goliath! Whatever giants you face you can trust God, you can take hold of His truth, you can put on the faith to be victorious in whatever you face in this life. David didn’t wait for the giant to come to him, he went to the giant, with God at his side.

God bless you and may your faith move mountains by overcoming the giants in your life. God bless you and keep you victorious.

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HILL SONG

Everyday is a new day, some clearer than others. There are days of a clear focus, full of Gods spirit. Days when you feel you have one foot in heaven. There are days heaven feels a thousand miles away. Days where tears are stored in a bottle and lonely hearts go faint. When hope is differed and questions seem to go unanswered. Trials seem to never end, may it be the wilderness before your public appearance, or the valley of death training the Jedi Knight. We all know what it means to grow in the Lord. Your beginning in Christ found at the end of addiction or addiction found its way in after years of serving. Thinking it is impossible to fall from the strength you have in Christ, only finding yourself beginning again. The hope we have calls us to rise up in every situation leading us all to one place. The foot of the cross worshiping Him. Hill Song is where the river flows. Where we follow the river of God. Where we worship and find ourselves at the foot of Jesus. The place our true lives are found. Where healing and freedom takes place. The place of promise we climb to. The river of truth, living water.

Isaiah 41 (New International Version)

Isaiah 41

New International Version (NIV)

The Helper of Israel

¹⁷ “The poor and needy search for water,
but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
But I the Lord will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.
¹⁸ I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched ground into springs.
¹⁹ I will put in the desert
the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive.
I will set junipers in the wasteland,
the fir and the cypress together,
²⁰ so that people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
that the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Things are never what they seem. God is in control and always working to lead us into His everlasting peace and joy. Stay strong, follow the river of His presence. Remain in prayer and encourage one another. Be the shoulder to cry on, the smile that strengthens the one in need. Be His hands and feet along the river’s edge. You never know when it will be you in need. Join hands as we follow the river of God.

May your day be full of encouragement. May your heart overflow of His goodness as you walk towards the river of life. God bless you.

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