TAKE COURAGE
BREAD
5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5 (NIV)
11 “Act with courage, and may the LORD be with those who do well.” 2 Chronicles 19:11 (NIV)
28 Because the hand of the LORD my God was on me, I took courage and gathered leading men from Israel to go up with me. Ezra 7:28 (NIV)
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9 (NIV)
24 They saw the works of the LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep. 25 For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves. 26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away. 27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. 29 He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven. 31 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Psalm 107:24-31 (NIV)
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.” Daniel 10:10-12 (NIV)
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:8-10 (NIV)
11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Acts 23:11 (NIV)
25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Matthew 14:25-27 (NIV)
20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:20-21 (NIV)
8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)
BUTTER
“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying …..‘I will try again tomorrow.’” Mary Anne Radmacher
“It’s really your ugly pride that makes you afraid. Just bow in humility — and you’ll rise up in courage. It’s only pride’s hunger for perfection that paralyzes a heart. It’s being enslaved to perfectionism that keeps us enslaved to fear. Pride is fear’s father — and pride is the kin to all cowards. Courage for the impossible can only be found in the possibility of humility. Because ‘This is the one God esteems: he who is humble…’ (Isaiah 66:2). Courage lives in the heart of the lowly… those who can embrace humility and the possibility of imperfection … because that needy place is the place we meet God. Humility births courage and is brother to the brave.” Ann Voskamp
“Fits of depression come over most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous; the wise, not always ready; the brave, not always courageous; and the joyous, not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron…..but surely the rust frets even these.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“In an age bereft of courageous leadership, declining biblical literacy, and rising cultural accommodation, a faithful voice from the gospel center is needed- a voice that prophetically speaks the ancient text to our contemporary context. The Gospel Coalition seeks a renewal of faithful preaching that is rooted in the Scripture and centered on the gospel.” The National Gospel Coalition
“Are you fighting with the adversary today? Are Satan, the world, and the flesh, all against you? Be not discouraged nor dismayed. Fight on! For God Himself is with you; Jehovah Nissi is your banner, and Jehovah Rophi is the healer of your wounds. Fear not, you shall overcome, for who can defeat Omnipotence? Fight on, ‘looking unto Jesus;’ and though long and stern be the conflict, sweet will be the victory, and glorious the promised reward.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“The most oft repeated command in the Bible is ‘fear not’…’do not be afraid’. Probably because for most us we lack courage. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. In fact, fear might be a constant companion for the rest of your life. But courage is an essential ingredient for those following Jesus. It is a moral value—an operating quality of someone with a radically changed heart. How do we get courage in the midst of all that frightens us—when the Dr. says there isn’t any more that can be done? When you get a pink slip at work? When your spouse says, ‘I found someone new’? When you spend one more night in the lonely dark? You won’t get it by your own will power. But, by faith in the One, Jesus, Who when faced with the most frightening of all experiences, death for our sin, abandonment from the Father, did not run. He stayed and offered up His life for you. When you see his courage and believe his promise, “I will never leave you or abandon you”…you will face your fear with courage.” Tom Wood
“Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee…..Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify His might in the midst of thy distress. The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“One reason we don’t grow in ordinary, grateful obedience as we should is that we’ve got amnesia; we’ve forgotten that we are cleansed from our sins. In other words, ongoing failure in sanctification (the slow process of change into Christlikeness) is the direct result of failing to remember God’s love for us in the gospel. If we lack the comfort and assurance that his love and cleansing are meant to supply, our failures will handcuff us to yesterday’s sins, and we won’t have faith or courage to fight against them, or the love for God that’s meant to empower this war. If we fail to remember our justification, redemption, and reconciliation, we’ll struggle in our sanctification.” Elyse Fitzpatrick
“God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill He treasures up His bright designs and works His sovereign will. You fearful saints, fresh courage take; the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour; the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. Blind unbelief is sure to err and scan His work in vain; God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.” William Cowper
“It is not through our own power that we can muster up sufficient courage in all of life’s circumstances. Flesh will fail and flee. It is only through the life controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit that the believer is equipped to stand firm and fully assured in all the will of God while the winds of life blow hard. It is not what we do, it is what He does though us. And the One Who gives the power gets the glory.” BHY
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received — only what you have given: a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage.” St. Francis of Assisi
“Take courage. We walk in the wilderness today and in the Promised Land tomorrow.” D.L. Moody
“Let us arm ourselves against our spiritual enemies with courage. They think twice about engaging with one who fights boldly.” John Climacus
“Never undertake anything for which you wouldn’t have the courage to ask the blessings of heaven.” George C. Lichtenberg
HEART SAVOR
• We cannot muster up the courage to do His will – flesh fails – it is God who gives it through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling every believer.
• Pride is fear’s father.
• Knowing that God has my best interest at heart in all He allows, knowing that He is the Master at making beauty from my ashes, knowing He loves me with an everlasting love, knowing that He rejoices over me with singing, knowing that He is the all Sufficient One – Omnipotent, Omnipresent Omniscient, infuses me with courage – not in myself – but in my Father Who knows every hair on my head, every thought in my mind, every inclination of my heart.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 