Again?

I just got home from seeing a good movie, "Bridge of Spies."  The major thing I will carry from it is the fact that one man makes a difference when he goes above and beyond what is asked of him in his own "line of duty" regardless of what his job title is.

As I pondered James Donovan's heroic deeds, it reminded me of the verse Steve and I are studying this week:  "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." Hebrews 12:1.

After we did our journaling, I mournfully noted that we just don't have such great men and women that we personally know to be the "great cloud of witnesses" to incite us to great deeds.  Sad, but true.  Neither of us could name a soul that we had been impacted by who had accomplished great deeds in the name of Jesus.  Oh sure:  there were lots of folks we could name as being good examples but none that stood out as having been through the fire and coming out still standing tall.

So, as I blunder about here (keep in mind it's after 7:00 pm and all bets on me having a sound mind are off after this time), I was checking my Facebook notes and messages a few moments ago and saw this one person whose name keeps popping up on our prayer list.  She is a lovely lady and has had so many problems in her life that it just doesn't seem fair.  But--at the same time--I wondered: how long can we keep praying for her before our prayers just become rote, that they just are muttered words of "Help her, Jesus" of "Thy will be done" rather than earnest, heartfelt pleas to God for her healing, for her deliverance?  Does that make sense?  Seems like there are some folks who are constantly needing a touch from the Lord and even though I consider myself to be quite the word smith, I often find myself at a loss when talking to God on their behalf and unable to pray fervently for them.

Back to the movie.  There was a blurb at the end that spoke of the fates of the main characters in it.  The Bay of Pigs negotiations allowed for over 1100 CIA trained soldiers to be released by way of James B. Donovan his works and he later returned to Cuba in April 1963 and was able to secure the release of an additional 8,000-plus people.

One man who did what he felt in his soul was right.  One man who persevered until the deed was accomplished.  Effectual?  Yes?  Fervent?  Definitely!  Righteous?  His tombstone bears the opening line of the Prayer of Saint Francis: "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace."  So, yes, I'd like to think so.  Mr. Donovan wasn't satisfied with one when so many more lives were at stake.

In conclusion, one man made a difference.  He campaigned for the freedom of so many that probably never even knew his name or that he fought so valiantly for them.  May you and I emulate his perseverance when we get tired of repeating the same old prayers.  May we model his longsuffering over the many rejections and mostly?  Mostly will we keep praying for God to intervene and do what He does best!  Let's get fervent, friends!  Imagine what God could do in us if we don't quit now.

What would you do?

Have you ever heard that expression "If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"  Apparently, on Friday, these nine were targeted for their faith and found "guilty."

“The shooter was lining people up and asking if they were Christian,” she wrote. “If they said yes, then they were shot in the head. If they said no, or didn’t answer, they were shot in the legs." (New York Post)

As Steve and I pondered this last night, whether we would have stood up for Jesus, I questioned if these people made the right choice.  I mean, it's one thing to take a stand for what's right and for our faith when things are easy.  But when our lives are literally on the line:  would we have stood up, knowing our family was out there, waiting on us to return to them, waiting on us to keep teaching them, waiting on us to be Jesus to them?

Please don't get me wrong.  I admire these people.  Many of you may have seen the meme going around yesterday as to who the bravest person in the world was (the second one who stood after the first had been executed).  Many of you might quote the Bible Verses to me that is found in Matthew 10:32-33:  "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven."

But when push comes to shove, would I have stood?  Would I have unhesitatingly confessed Jesus as my Saviour?  I'm not sure.  Honestly, it's easy to say in the ease of the moment that nothing would keep me from loudly proclaiming Christ but...but...why does it take a shooting to make this so?  Why does it take a life-changing event for me to speak up, to let the world know I am His and He is mine?  Should not every moment of my life scream this out, volunteer it, and no one even have to ask?

I'd like to think had I been in this situation that I would have responded but in a different way.  I'd like to think that I--along with my fellow hostages--would refuse to be victims but rather have joined together to jump this person, to overpower him and stop his madness, and then?  Then I'd like to think the situation could have ended on a more positive note and that my fellow man and I would have later visited with this man and let him know that indeed we were believers of Christ, so much so that we felt the best way to not deny Him was to introduce this shooter to Him himself.  I'd like to think that as a Christian I would indeed stand for my faith, for my Jesus, and for my fellow man and fight.

Please don't get me wrong.  I am one of the biggest chickens out there.  But Christ in me is stronger than any army, any foe of the wicked.  My hope is that if I ever am in a situation of this sort that rational thought overcomes scary emotions and that my focus is on Christ and what He would be saying to me in that moment.  My hope is that my life will reflect His and that I too would not be afraid to declare Him as Lord.