Editorial B Fall 2006
No idea who took this photo, but it exemplifies the message. It is of the U.S.S. Honolulu at the arctic...as a curious polar bear investigates the submarine. Now THAT's fearless!
Fearless Faith
For those of you who woke up the day after mid-term elections, and wondered how most of your prayers were seemingly ignored, this message is for you! There are several levels of the election results: 1) a reaping of what we've sown and 2) a turning away from God in the nation and listening to lies.(2 Tim 3)
If we want to make a difference in the earth, we must have the character of Christ. Otherwise we are no different than the world. There is truly a difference between Christianity and Islam or other religions, but if we don't live it, the words fall flat and no one can see the difference. If we don't have God's power, and no signs and wonders follow us, and our attitudes stink, how different are we than anyone else? We are already seeing the trend that portrays us as the enemy, and as the winds of time blow harder and faster, we will see things come into our lives in America that we would not believe even if God had told us ahead of time. (Habbakuk 1).
The principle of sowing and reaping is more than just for finances, it is written into the DNA of all humankind and the earth. (Seed time and harvest-- Genesis 8:22) Before election day, we prayed for righteous people to be elected, and watched as the entire make-up of the Congress changed dramatically. OUCH. Of all the messages you will hear, take this one to heart: God will use whoever He chooses to get His people's attention. If we do not seek His face NOW, we will reap a whirlwind of evil that will destroy the weak in faith.
If you will read Habbakuk, you will see that God used the Chaldeans (read that, Iraq and the Middle East) to bring judgment to His people who had walked away from His plan for their lives. Yes, He does miracles in the midst of trials. Yes, He performs signs and wonders in the midst of trouble. But the purpose is for His beloved people to seek His face and fellowship with Him- to live thankfulness, mercy, love, and all of the attributes of Christ. It is the FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT that He wishes to create in us...not big ministries, not lots of money, not fame. He wants our hearts to follow Him, to love Him, to be His friend for eternity... and to care about people as He does.
To open ourselves up and allow that kind of dramatic change requires fearless faith. The kind of faith that Moses had when he "turned aside to see" the burning bush and encountered the Living God. The kind of faith that faces down evil in the Name of the Lord (David versus Goliath). The polar bear above faced a nuclear submarine and tromped on it to see what was going on. He wasn't afraid to claim it as his very own territory as he investigated around it. We usually hide from new things. We like to be comfortable. God is telling us that we must seek Him. Investigate Him. Soak in Him. Walk in His authority. Do the works He tells us. Get out of the pew and onto our knees. Do YOU have fearless faith?