Testimony - Go After God

At a summer camp this year, one of the messages brought me to the realization that when it comes to both God and the rest of life, I tend to keep my expectations really low. I think I do this because I’m afraid of being hurt — when you have high expectations or hopes and they go unfulfilled, or your hopes “get crushed,” it causes a lot of pain and disappointment. And so, whenever I asked God for help with anything it was always with a mindset of, “well, I guess I’ll ask, and I hope He helps, but I’m not going to hope too hard, just in case He doesn’t — I’m not going to really put all my expectation in Him, in case nothing happens.” 

However, in a really crazy coincidence (that I believe wasn’t actually a coincidence at all), I had – even before hearing that message – gone into the summer camp with really high expectations! You see, this summer was the very end of high school for me, and going into the next part of life (adulthood, yikes!) has been pretty stressful, and I’ve felt a ton of pressure around figuring out what I should do with my life, and what job to go for, and what college classes to take, etc. Because of all this, I was feeling pretty desperate, and decided (well, maybe not “decided,” it’s too deliberate of a word for what I was feeling) that I was going to give Him my all, and really go after listening to what He had to say to me.

And He was there! I mean, obviously He’s always with us, but knowing that and experiencing it are so different. To put it very plain and simple, I had questions, and He gave answers! 

Of course, they weren’t exactly the answers I had expected or asked for, but honestly they were so much better than what I had wanted. I went into it thinking I wanted to know what job to do, but instead of telling me something like, “being a Spanish professor is the way I want to work through you, Ransom,” He revealed/pointed out to me the obvious yet crazy mindblowing truth that I had lost sight of, that wherever I go, and whatever I do, He can work through me and with me. And that as long as I am doing it with Him and for Him, it really doesn’t matter what career(s) I choose.

Anyways, all that to say, God really does respond, you’ve just got to go after Him!

— Ransom W.

Courage

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."(Joshua 1:9)


Being courageous can be difficult at times. You can be courageous and be scared at the same time. Being courageous means that you were brave and bold no matter how you felt. 

We might think of strong, fearless people when we think of someone courageous, and think that we could never achieve that, but if we take on a different mindset, we can. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13) God is powerful, and if he is the one giving you strength, you can do anything.

“So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” (Hebrews 13:6) God will always be there for us, and he will help us in our need. When we have faith and hope in the Lord, he will give us courage. "Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." (Psalm 31:24) 

In the Bible, we have many people who showed courage: Daniel and his three friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; Esther, Deborah, and Stephen. These are only some of the examples that could be given. In 1 Samuel, chapter 17, we find the famous David and Goliath story, where David shows what courage can look like. 

If you are not familiar with the story of David and Goliath, I would recommend you read 1 Samuel 17 before continuing. 

https://www.bible.com/bible/1/1SA.17.KJV

David is described as a youth. “And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.” (1 Samuel 17:42) and he is going up against this formidable character Goliath. “And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.” (1 Samuel 17: 4-7), David is in a battlefield, facing off with this giant who is defying God and intent on killing whoever comes out to face him. This could very well be a frightening situation for most. David had trust in the LORD that he would save him from Goliath and that gave him courage to go on.

“David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.” (1 Samuel 17:37)

Not all of us are going to be like David, and have physical giants to kill in our life, but we can have our metaphorical giants. Our giants that get in our way, disrupt our life, and make us afraid. Trusting in the LORD can help us overcome those. The following poem talks about fighting temptations and doing what is right even when it is hard. Having integrity and being honest can take courage sometimes, because it is simple to take the easy way out and lie. 

Our Heroes

by Phoebe Carey 

Here's a hand to the boy who has courage

To do what he knows to be right; 

When he falls in the way of temptation,

He has a hard battle to fight.

Who strives against self and his comrades

Will find a most powerful foe.

All honor to him if he conquers.

A cheer for the boy who says "No!" 

There's many a battle fought daily

The world knows nothing about;

There's many a brave little soldier

Whose strength puts a legion to rout.

And he who fights sin single-handed

Is more of a hero, I say. 

Than he who leads soldiers to battle

And conquers by arms in the fray.

Be steadfast, my boy, when you're tempted,

To do what you know to be right. 

Stand firm by the colors of manhood,

And you will d'ercome in the fight.

"The right," be your battle cry ever

In waging the warfare of life,

And God, who knows who are the heroes,

Will give you the strength for the strife.




"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)



All verses are from the KJV

Genesis To Ephesians

“For this cause shall man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

-Ephesians 

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they should be one flesh”

-Genesis

We can see that it is not a direct quote, but so far we’ve learned nothing Paul adds is direct. 

As he starts out with in Ephesians, the verse says “For this cause” instead of "Therefore", however, I think Paul might have changed this so it would fit better, as we can see a smooth transition from Ephesians, verse 30, saying “For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.” We can see that Paul used this verse from Genesis, to represent the church body. Opposed to the original quote continuing the creation story, and God making Eve, where we can find in the the verses before that say starting back in verse 21, “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh thereof;

And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he woman, and brought her unto man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 

We also see a pattern of “bones, and flesh” here. As Genesis is saying “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh”, Paul is describing the church like that, by saying “For we are members of his body, of his flesh and of his bones.” So, we should be cleaved to Jesus. Not alone, but united as a church body, and family. 

After the starting words, it’s pretty much the same. Though it does mix around a little with words and timing. When you think about it, different translations say slightly different words. All of them preach the same truth of course, but they are all still slightly different. For instance, I am using the King James translation, but our study we are doing right now uses the NASB, which says 

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

-NASB

Which is slightly different from:

“For this cause shall man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

-KJV