Courageous Christianity

I must begin with apologies for the lack of blog action recently. I have been very busy and sometimes it is also nice to have a break and refresh myself, watching Cardiff City get to the Carling Cup final last night being a particular highlight since my last post!


Last year I made the theme for my blog, 'Love' and whilst I didn't write every post about that I really hope that my posts inspired you to increase in your love for God and your love for the people He created.


This year I want to start a different theme (but please be encouraged to keep up the love!) and it is one I feel very passionate about.


We live in a world today that is very resistant in an almost militant way towards Christianity and we also live in a world where we see Christianity represented so badly by many. I feel it is time for Christianity, the people of God, to be brave. That's why this year I want to write about Courageous Christianity.


Mark Twain sums up today's world by saying, 'It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.'


To understand more clearly what I mean by courage I have a few more quotes:


Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.  ~Ambrose Redmoon


Courage is doing what you're afraid to do.  There can be no courage unless you're scared.  ~Edward Vernon Rickenbacker


I think Dan Rather sums up courage the most accurately in my view 'Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow'

There are many things in life that demand our attention, that demand our reverance and priority. I know in my own experience that I can get so swamped with my hobbies that I forget to pay significant attention to the really important thing in my life, which is Jesus. 

I feel that too many times in my life I hold onto things instead of God, I focus on other things that comfort me instead of God. This may comfort me but it doesn't give me the joy that focusing on the One who Loves me perfectly and gave His own life to save me. It's easy to let the emotions of music and a football match, whether positive or negative take us over. I need to be courageous and fight the inbuilt selfish desire for an easy life and let God reign over all. 

Paul puts it wonderfully in 2 Corinthians 10:5, 'We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.'

This probably doesn't sound very courageous but I really think it is, let's make it our effort in 2012 to give all of our lives, thoughts including the comforting rights to God, the one who truly cares and has the power to take care of all our worries and stresses.