The Courageous Life

The Courageous Life

But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
Proverbs 4:18

Strive to live a courageous life. Confess Christ before men. Whatever station you occupy, in that station confess Christ. . . . Strive to live a joyful life. Live like men who look for that blessed hope, the coming of Jesus Christ.
--- J. C. Ryle

A New Year, a fresh start, a blank slate

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

What will be written on your life this year?

The fellowship of being near unto God must become reality, in the full and vigorous prosecution of life. It must permeate and give color to our feeling, our perceptions, our sensations, our thinking, our imagining, our willing, our acting, our speaking. It must not stand as a foreign factor in our life, but it must be the passion that breathes throughout our whole existence.
---Abraham Kuyper

This Year Will Be Different !!!

In Him we live and move and have our being.
Acts 17:28a

Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23

Pushing Back the Fall

• We live in a fallen and fractured world
  
• In a fallen world, things fall apart
  
• In nature, the inexorable law of entropy moves all things continuously backward, reverting in the direction of disorder and chaos
  
• Life requires constant upkeep
• We all invest in things: we exchange current resources for a future hope.
  
• We delay an immediate pleasure in order to receive a greater long-term benefit.
  
• We may invest heavily in the intangibles; family, church, or other charitable activity.
  
• We may invest in the tangibles; education, property, business, stocks, etc.
• Wrong investing
  
  • sacrificing now based on false hopes which results in disillusionment and disaster
    
• As long as we live, we invest time and energy into the future.
• Optimism is only as good as the place where one has placed their trust.
  
• Misplaced trust is a recipe for crisis!

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior
Isaiah 43:1b-3a

Prerequisites for Peace

• Philippians 4:6-7
  
• Isaiah 26:3
  
• John 16:33