it is a beautiful Friday morning and the sun is shining into my room. I love early mornings in the summer! Simply amazing! About a year ago a I did a series on my blog about Heroes and I did one post about the three men in the furnace, called "Brave people of influence". Today I want to share the lyrics of a song by Shane & Shane with you called "Burn us up". I just want to encourage you to be brave, to fear the Lord because when we fear God we do not have to be afraid of anything!
There were three Before the king There were three who wouldn’t bow to him For when you heard The music play And you were standing you would burn. They looked at him and said…
Burn us up! Burn us up! Burn us up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire We give up! We give up! We give up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire! Won’t you throw us in the fire!
The king enraged At what they said Sent the three away to find their death The palace stopped in unbelief When the guilty raised their hands to sing They looked to him and said…
Burn us up! Burn us up! Burn us up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire We give up! We give up! We give up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire! Won’t you throw us in the fire!
You are able to deliver from the fire of affliction It’s the declaration of my Lord You’re not an image of gold You’re the God of old You have made us Come and save us We are Yours But even if You don’t,
Burn us up! Burn us up! Burn us up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire We give up! We give up! We give up! Oh king won’t you burn us in the furnace of Your desire! Won’t you throw us in the fire
I have decided that this is going to be the last Hero that I will write about. After this I will start writing about other things again.
So I wanted to summarize some of the Heros. At first I talked about Joseph and the softness of his heart in every situation. Then I introduced you to Tristan from Tristan and Isolde and how he was willing to make the hard decisions in order to stay honorable. My next Heros were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who honored their God and did not bow to something they didn't believe in. They had influence. After this I showed you how Rocky Balboa is a Hero in my eyes too because he was willing to fight. He had the eye of the tiger. Amy Carmichael was a woman who is a Hero because she was willing to be God's hands and His feet. And the last Hero that I am going to introduce to you is Ruth from the bible.
I find her life remarkable. You might know her from the verse
"Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God"
But there is so much more to that. To tell you the story in short. Ruth was the daughter in law of Naomi. Naomi and her family had imigrated out of Bethlehem to Moab. Their sons married Moabitian women. When Naomi's husband and her sons die she finds herself in a country that is not her people with two daughters in law. She decides to go back to the land of Israel to live with her people. But she wants to set her daughters in law free. Yet Ruth decides to stay with Naomi because she is her family now.
So here's the first reason why she is a heroine in my eyes
1. She stuck with the decision she made, whatever it would cost her. We should do the same, not flounder from one place to the next, one church to the next, but stick with things, fight through things even if it means to sometimes sacrifice something.
So Ruth goes wih her and helps Naomi wherever she can. When she starts working in Boaze's field she finds favor with him and it turns out he is a relative of her family and the family-redeemer ( I don't have time to explain that now to you). So Naomi and Ruth are already blessed through that.
When Naomi gives Ruth instructions on what she has to do on the field and later to show Boaz that he should take is obligations as the family-redeemer, Ruth does so with a humble attitude and Boaz calls her a virtuous woman (Ruth 3:11)
2. Wherever we serve, wherever we help and do things, have responsibility, we should do it with a humble attitude, knowing that God will show himself through our actions. Let not our pride be in the way, let us be virtuous and do what's right.
After Ruth had gone to Boaz, she had to wait until he made a decision whether or not to redeem her family. So her and Naomi wait patiently until Boaz does what is right and organizes everything. Then he marries Ruth.
The astonishing thing comes after that. Ruth and Boaz have children and are King David's grandparents. Mary, Jesus's mother was a decendant of King David.
So to close this up, Ruth is a Heroine in my eyes, because she did whatever was necessary to be done, she was humble, she stuck with her decision and if it hadn't been for her many people hadn't been born because out of her flesh and blood the blood line of Jesus came. This is amazing to me!
Now at the end of my series about Heros you might ask yourself if you could ever be a Hero or you might say you are not a Hero. Let me tell you this. Those people to whom I introduced you were ordinary men and women, they had flaws, but they were willing to do what was necessary. Let me encouarge you here. You are the Hero of your own life story. Are you willing to do whatever is necessary even if it means to sacrifice things? We can be this brave with God's help.
To be a Hero it certainly takes character and love and certainly bravery, but I want to finish this series with a quote by my youth Pastor:
"If you fear God you don't have to be afraid of anything."
This week I am going to write about a woman who's life inspires me and I consider her to be a Hero. Amy Carmichael lived between 1867 and 1951. She gave her life to see people come to Christ and rescue children in India.
Amy Carmichael was born in Ireland (oh how I want to go there...). When she was only around 18 years old she founded a church in Belfast and soon started a Sunday school for girls who worked in the mill factories. In fact this ministry was so successful that it grew and grew and grew. Young girls wanted to be taught and learn about God.
After that she applied to go on missions in China, but was in very poor health condition. She did not end up going to China, but to India.
She was recruited to work with girls who were freed out of forced prostitution in Hindu temples. She founded the Donhavur Fellowship which still exists today and built a home for these young women, a haven to find shelter.
What is remarkable and what I love about God is that there is a reason for everything and that he knows our calling and takes care of things. When Amy Carmichael was a little girl she prayed to God to turn her eyes to blue (she had brown eyes) but that did not happen. It was only when she was in India that she found out why it was so important for her to have dark eyes just like the Indian women. As she went into the temples to capture and rescue these enslaved women she was not recognized easily (she also darkened her skin with make up to look Indian.). Had she had blue eyes she would've looked more European and would have had troubles maybe in India.
What we can learn from that is quite simply what Paul writes about in the Bible. Be a Greek to the Greek, a Roman to the Romans. Be transparent, be authentic, be close to the people surrounding you. Don't miss an opportunity because people are distracted by who YOU are as a person and don't see who CHRIST is in you.
Amy Carmichael gave her life to the children in India, serving them. She actually had very poor health and had to be in bed very often. This never stopped her from fulfilling her purpose, her calling. She served in India for 55 years, 20 of which she was bound to bed because of an injury she never healed from Yet, she kept on pressing, rescueing children, bringing them to Christ. Her heart was burning for the lost and broken, the needy. She loved those children she rescued.
Her most famous quote is:
"One can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving."
This is so true. When your heart is burning for something, when you love something with the immense love that only comes from God you cannot stop giving in any way. It's what God did. He loved us so much, that he GAVE, he gave His son, His only son, to rescue us. We were the lost, the broken, the needy, the ones who abandoned God. Yet, he LOVED and GAVE so that we may be whole, rescued, content, fulfilled and have a meaning in life. But not only for ourselves, but blessed with this to be a blessing. To be a river in the desert and love as He loved us first.
Amy Carmichael died in India, she had never gone back to Europe in the 55 years of ministry.
Her life is inspiring and influenced many missionaries after her. I pray that it may inspire you today to try to grasp again the fulness of God's love and His sacrifice so that we might be with him.
Now it's our calling to go out and be His hands and be His feet, to reach out our hand to the lost and broken. This may be in our neighborhood, in the utmost places of the earth. It may be at your work place. But whereever it is, you bring His light to a world of darkness.
So lift your eyes to Jesus, focus on Him, so that you may not miss what He has for your, the plan and calling for your life.
I want to end this blog with another quote by Amy Carmichael which expresses just that.
"Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is."
With those words and this short video clip, I leave you now but encourage you to ponder about these things and ask yourself where you should reach out your hand.
I am back with my next Hero in my series. It took me awhile to figure out how I was going to write about this person but I think I found a way.
But before I start of, let me repeat a little about the Heroes we already talked about.
We had Joseph whose heart stayed soft through all the hardships and he never stopped loving. Then I talked about Tristan who was willing to make the tough choices no matter what it cost him. And last time I talked about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were brave people who had influence and feared their God.
The next Hero I am going to introduce you to is someone who you might me surprised about but watching the movie (yes he is a fictional person) just inspired me and I saw something that I have to share with you. I will write about Rocky Balboa. Yes, exactly I will write about a fictional boxer played by Sylvester Stallone. Those of you who read this and were born in the 90s, I'll excuse you for not knowing who Rocky is .
In the third movie of the sequels Rocky is really successful and keeps his title as world champion easily. He and his family have all the comfort to enjoy in life and it has become easy for him - especially after such a long journey from not having anything to having everything.
When he loses the fight and his title against a brutal challenger, Clubber Lang, Rocky is brought back to earth. And on top of this, his long year trainer Mickey dies. It seems like his world is falling apart.
Yet he chooses to fight back and gain victory over Clubber Lang. This indeed is easier said than done because, as his new trainer Apollo tells him, he has lost the eye of the tiger. But what does that mean? We’ll come to it shortly.
Things don’t seem to get better until a very crucial scene in the movie where Rocky and his wife Adrian talk at the beach. He confesses that he is afraid, afraid to lose, afraid to not be able to provide for his family, afraid to not being able of keeping up the life they have.
It is in that very scene that we see his heart and see the struggle.
So first thing to learn here is that fear will always hinder us to win. The bible clearly tells us that we should not be afraid. Because when we are afraid we cannot believe and hence not be victorious. It holds back faith!
After this conversation with Rocky’s wife he stays a little longer at the beach. He knows he has to make a decision. But the good thing also is that he knows that no matter what will happen, his wife is with him (just a little side note for you ladies out there ). That empowers him and sets him free.
He chooses to win and not be afraid.
So you can fight, but without the -what they call the eye of the tiger -, you will not win either. The eye of the tiger here basically means that you stick through things, that you are determined to win, to make it happen. In our walk with Christ we might not be afraid, and chose to win, but when we do not have a full commitment, a determination to win, we will not gain the same victories.
Therefore the second thing to learn here is to fight with commitment. In our daily life we have to fight for our faith. We are in this world and there will be struggles and fights, sometimes smaller, sometimes bigger, but when we are single minded on the Lord, not losing sight of Him and fear him (remember the 3 men in the furnace) we will not only gain victory, but gain strong victory. We will defeat our fears, our struggles and grow in the Lord. And people will be drawn to us, because they see our single mindedness.
Rocky did gain back the eye of the tiger. He starts training for real again. But not in the old ways. He challenges his way of doing things and redefines himself.
Hence the third thing to learn from Rocky is that it is important for us, that we allow change in our life. Challenge yourself. Make things different. If gaining victory and really growing in our walk with Christ means that we have to completely turn things upside down and redefine the way we do things, then hey, let’s do it, go for it! Let’s not stick to the same old stuff. If it means that we have to let go of things in our life then we should definitely do it. If we really want to live this overflowing amazing God driven life, we have to allow God to put His finger on things in our life that need change or need to be let go. The outcome of being obedient is amazing - trust me on this one!
After Rocky makes this decision at the beach you see how it is affecting his life and how change is happening. He regains strength. He fights with the Eye of the Tiger and changes himself.
What happens then? You can already guess it. When he fights Clubber Lang again, he wins, he gains victory and not only a little bit or merely. No, full earned, better than ever victory!
That is what makes him a Hero in my eyes.
So before I leave you with those thoughts, I want to encourage you to look at your own life, where do you have fears? Where do you need change? Where do you need to start fighting for real again?
I also posted the Trailer to the Rocky III movie, which gives you a nice overview of the movie.
I hope you fill encouraged and empowered.
As always I would love to hear your thoughts about it.
This week I decided instead of introducing you to a Hero I will post a video that I find very impacting. As you watch it, ask yourself what you run your race for.
We are Heros in God's eyes, so let us run the race that He laid before us.
"I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:13-14)
Recently I have been talked about some great Heros. I started off with Joseph and how he kept a soft heart all through his circumstances and how we have to make sure that our heart stays soft no matter what happens. The last Hero I talked about was Tristan. He was willing to make the tough choices even if it meant sacrifice. Are we willing to make the hard choices and be men and women of character?
Today I want to write to you about three remarkable men in the Bible: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Have you ever heard of them? Well, I guess you have. We can find their story in Daniel Chapter 3 and it is quite a remarkable story I was reminded of it again this Wednesday during you(th).
So what's the story behind these men. Well, King Nebuchadnezzar was one of the most evil kings during the Babylonian times. He erected a huge statue everybody was supposed to be praying to. Anyone refusing to do so would be thrown into the fire. Of course, everybody bowed down and praised the statue. EXCEPT the three guys mentioned earlier. They were Jews and believed in the one God.
Later the King lets them come to him and asks them about it. Their answers is remarkable. We read it in Daniel 3:17
"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty."
I find this absolutely amazing. Just read it again. They were brave enough to say to the most evil king of Babylonia that they will not bow before him and that their God will save them. Amazing! I love that about them.
These three men knew their God. They feared their God and therefore did not have to fear anything. They knew who He was and that He would always protect them if they fear them. When God is for us, who can be against us?
Read with me Psalm 34:9-10
"Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing."
Therefore when we fear the Lord, he will provide for everything else! Amazing. Those tree young men they knew their God. They knew they just needed to trust in the Lord.
And indeed God saved them from death. In the remainder of the story Nebuchadnezzar throws them into the fire, but they did not die. Their God was with them and protected them. He showed Himself powerfully that day. But not only were those three men heroically brave and affronted the king, but they also had a powerful influence on him and the coming generations.
Let us go back to Daniel and read chapter 4:1-3 (chapter 3:31-33 in the German Bible)
"King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: Peace and prosperity to you! “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations."
The most evil king ever wishes peace to everyone! He praises God! This is just amazing and it happened because three brave men who knew and feared their God stood up and made their stand. They had an impact on many other peoples, nations and generations. This is what makes them Heros in my eyes.
Hence in closing let me ask you a few questions:
Do you take God seriously?
Do you truly love and fear him?
Where are areas in your life where you should stand up and proclaim your God?
Remember, people who trust in their God, not only have everything provided, but also have big influence on others. Be that Hero, have this influence. Trust in your God, love Him wholeheartedly and honestly and fear him.
As I watched Tristan & Isolde this weekend I came to decide that my next Hero was going to be Tristan, although I had planned on introducing you to another Hero first.
I know Tristan would not be considered the classic Hero, making everything right and work out. No... he has flaws and he even betrays the person he owes his life to, Lord Marke. He is in love with Lord Markes's wife, Isolde, who rescued and fell in love with him long before she was Lord Markes wife.
Tristan suffers from this love. He is torn between his duty and the life he owes to Lord Marke and the love he finds in Isolde. And with this love he finds a life beyond duty and death.
Throughout the story you might think that Tristan is no hero. He commits adultery and is unfaithful, a liar and a betrayer.
But... oh and that's good... but Lord Marke - after finding out and talking with Tristan and Isolde - gives Isolde free and lets Tristan be with her. Isn't the grace and mercy Lord Marke shows just remarkable?
This grace gives Tristan a choice: Take the easy way, run away with Isolde, whom he loves; or fight for his honor, being a man of character, seeking forgiveness and righteousness.
But Tristan is not a man of compromise or mediocrity. He chooses honor. He chooses the stony path.
It costs him his life in the end, but also washes him free of guilt and he gains Lord Markes forgiveness. That is why he is a hero in my eyes. He is a man of character who in the end understands that grace and honor are to be followed because of the fatherly love and forgiveness which is shown to him through grace by Lord Marke.
Before Tristan dies he says some remarkable words which sum this up perfectly:
"I don't know if life is greater than death, but love was greater than either"
Below you'll find the music video by Gavin deGraw about this movie. I think it gives you a nice impression of the plot.
Before I leave you with the video, let me say one last thing. Do not choose the road of compromise, but choose life. Choose honor and love and grace and forgiveness and righteousness.
The first Hero I want to give you an insight about is Joseph. I think he is a remarkable man of God and his story can teach us quite some interesting principles. We can find his story in Genesis starting chapter 37.
Joseph was one of the two only sons born to Jacob (Israel) by his wife Rachel. Therefore he was something special to his father and in his favor. We all know about his dreams where he dreamt that his brothers would bow before him. Interestingly his brothers probably would've never imagined doing that for real many years later.
Of course his brothers envied Joseph and decided on killing him which then ended up as selling him as a slave. That's how Joseph came to Egypt which I find remarkable because God is positioning His people very clearly! There would be a famine years later and they needed a person favoring them in order to survive it not to mention how God showed Himself mightly by leading the Israelites out of Egypt through Moses' leadership.
Anyways, Joseph is in Egypt and sold to Potifar who served the Pharao. And Joseph had favor everywhere he went and was successful at whatever he laid his hand upon. That is because he pursued the will of God... it was the most important thing for him. By staying in God's will God was able to bless him! And not only him but the people he worked for. I love that!
Then comes the woman. Very obviously she didn't draw her meaning and her worth from the Lord and needed Joseph's attention and affirmation of her beauty. So girls: The only person you should rely your ultimate affirmation on is Jesus! No person, no man, noone can ever affirm it the way God can!
But... and I love that about Joseph... he stayed faithful to the Lord... oh and what a seduction! Well, Joseph was the man you would want, strong, in love with God, focused on God!
Joseph was thrown into prison but God's blessing was sill upon him and by knowing what the Pharao's dreams meant he came out of prison and was positioned very highly in the kingdom of Egypt. Remarkably Joseph was still young when that happened. No matter how old you are. God is positioning you! He has a plan for your life and even if it may seem a little rough here and there. When you keep your eyes focused on God like Joseph God will bless you and bring you to the place he wants you to be.
In Genesis 42 Joseph's brothers came to Egpyt to ask for food as there was a huge famine. Oh and those verses I love. In verse 24 it says how Joseph went into another room and cried. I mean he cried. Why would somebody cry when seeing his brothers who wanted to kill you and then on top of that bless them. Hello? Only someone who trusts in God is able to feel this kind of love. Isn't it remarkable? I love it! It shows that Joseph's heart was still soft after all those hard years. Is your heart soft or has it hardned over the years? Let God carry your heart and guard it. Don't try to protect it yourself all the time!
The story goes on and whenever Joseph sees his brothers he feels such love for them that it's hard for him to keep his disguise. Oh wow... that just awww... I love that. This softness, this love that comes from an overflowing heart of love!
Joseph is a hero for me becaus he loved God more than anything. He was humble and yet strong. He never gave up and trusted the Lord. He stayed in the will of God by which he was blessed and found favor wherever he went. But what's most outstanding for me is his soft heart and love and forgiveness for his brothers who were actually his enemies. That for me reflects the heart of God. I admire that and want to live just like that. Absolutley devoted to God, living out of His strength, no matter how hard the times are and I want to keep a soft heart in every situation.
I want to leave you with a few questions:
Where are areas in your life where you have become hard?
How can you make sure your heart stays soft?
Who are the kind of people you need to show more love even though they hurt you in the past?
I hope you are encouaraged to live a heroic life for the Lord.
Keep coming back to the site to learn more about some amazing Heros soon.
I hope you all started the New Year well! It will be an amazing year, I know. Greater things are still to come! Uhhh... I'm excited Hope you are too!
Well... we started this new series at you(th) which is called BRAVE HEARTS - Dare to live God pleasing! Wow and I think that is just so amazing. I was inspired and decided to start a new series here too.
For the next few blogs I will introduce you to some amazing Heros!
So, keep clicking on my blog on www.ramonasebald.blogspot.com and find out more soon.
xoxo Ramona
PS: I am reading this amazing book by Christine Caine right now. It's called "Run to Win". You should get it!
