Not By Works

God, intervene
amen

is it possible that most of our human anxiety boils down to this ...

do we have control over our eternal destination, and given how we never seen the afterlife, nor do we get to peek at the book of like and be like "oh, we see our name, it's all good"

if we have any at all, it's faith in God's grace
faith is a gift from God, and God lovingly draw us toward him.

or else, if none, from a rational practical standpoint, fretting is pointless. (from pragmatic point of view)

noticing this ...
am I becoming wiser, more observant, hmm ...

me too
He will do all His will

So what are you calling Cowardice? Is it lack of Trust in the LORD?


I was not in combat, and some of the others have been, AND my Dad was in the thick of it in WWII. So being afraid in a foxhole, is NOT COWARDICE. THAT IS NORMAL, like Dad used to tell me, only Fools, and Liars say they are not afraid in a foxhole. So what are you calling Cowardice?

Could it be that you are afraid to talk to someone about the LORD?


If that is the case, let me tell you about a true story about me.

When I first got involved with Volunteering to be at the Prison that I told you about. I was going in on Thursday Nights into the HOLE, and on Sunday Afternoon, I was escorting Pastors from the community to go into the Level One Chapel Services to teach the Sermon. About a 18 months of doing that, it was Pastor Terry's turn to do the Sermon. Level One was the Minimum Security, and every prison has one, because they are the ones that mow the lawns, wash and wax the floors in the OFFICE BUILDING, etc. So I am standing at the window of the Chapel looking through the fence, at the Parking Lot. I knew what Car Pastor Terry drove, and when he arrived, I had to walk to the front gate and let him in. So it was 1:50 P.M. and no Pastor Terry and services begin a 2:00, then it was 1:55 and no Pastor Terry and I was getting a little nervous, then it was 2:00 and no Pastor Terry and I WAS VERY NERVOUS, THEN IT WAS 2:05 AND SHEAR PANIC HIT ME LIKE A TON OF BRICKS.

I REALIZED PASTOR TERRY HAD FORGOTTEN THAT IT WAS HIS SUNDAY TO TEACH. I HAD NEVER DELIVERED A SERMON IN MY LIFE, AND I KNEW I COULD NOT EVEN ATTEMPT IT WITHOUT SOME SERIOUS HELP FROM GOD, as my knees turned to Jello. I went into the Chapel Office, got down on my knees and PRAYED, "Lord, you know I cannot do this, you need to do it through me. PLEASE, fill me with your Spirit so that I can teach the Sermon." I had the Plan of Salvation Verses written inside the back cover of the Bible, so I figured with HIM IN ME DOING THE SERMON, and those verses, we would teach a simple sermon on the Plan of Salvation. It was the BEST SERMON that I have ever taught, and it was the first, but that is because I HAD TO TOTALLY TRUSTED HIM FOR WHAT HE WANTED ME TO SAY.

That is the MOST POWERFUL Christian Expression there is. I CANNOT DO IT, if you want it done, then you will have to do it through me. AND THEN PUT YOUR TOTAL TRUST IN HIM TO DO IT. VERY POWERFUL!

YES, I knew it was GOOD SERMON, because I wanted to take notes after I had delivered it.

Good morning my peeps from a nice crisp sunny Missouri National Forest HAHAH Have the workers for done enough today or the Cainologists to remain saved....NOPE......never have never will.....Salvation is by faith through grace........God saves those that believe......called FAITH....................!

I think that's true of all of us.

It's so true that when we reach the point of wisdom when we admit that we can't do it but God can through us, it's life changing

Also I wanted to say bravery is not the lack of fear, but doing what is right even when we are terrified. This can happen if we put our trust in God's ability and not our own.

Awesome testimony and sermon. Thanks for sharing.

Where do you think our focus should be?

I think if we watch God and what he has done and is currently doing in the world, we see more how He wants us to walk and speak to shine His light more clearly.

If we focus too much on what is wrong, how can we see God clearly and see what is right to do and say?

We can look to God and what He is doing or we can look at the world and it's doing.

Hi theanointedwinner, your statement; "I don't believe that it's possible to overcome cowardice." is incomplete. It would benefit everyone a lot if you could be more specific about what it means, "to overcome cowardice", and how does the word "Cowardice" apply to in your post. Likewise as your Professor said in your testimony, I am also being "Sincere"

I'm a Vietnam Veteran, US Army 4th Infantry DIV. 4/42 Battalion. I personally have made 22 combat assaults over the course of 10 months, some under enemy fire some were not. I define a coward as someone who "lacks courage" and I believe you can "overcome cowardice" by taking courageous steps in action just like a trained soldier in the Army would do when confronted in battle.

Christians are in a battle right now, but our battle is not with flesh and blood, our battle is for the souls of men and women. So my answer to your statement is "Yes", it is possible to overcome cowardice by stepping out in faith and enlist in the "Lords Army"

2Timothy2:3,4
3) Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4) No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.

Armor of God: Epheasians6:10-17
10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13) Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14) Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15) and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16) In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17) Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

you don't want to keep your shield in front of your face all the time, blocking your vision, because then you can't see where your opponent's blows are coming from.

Agree with everything, a cowardly mind "lacks courage" because of fear of the unknown -- a prudent mind say's go ahead and do it because its the best decision and just ignore or work through the danger despite your fear.

My first enemy contact was flying into a "Hot LZ", landing zone, the door gunner had to grab me by the scruff of my color and throw me out of a Hue gunship helecopter. Why was I a coward? No I was frozen solid with fear, it never happened again, praise God......Prudence and wisdom walk hand in hand.

It's not just physical but also spiritual.
Let us never forget that.
A lot of spiritually wounded frightened soldiers in the army of God.
An awful lot of wounded enlisted in the army of God.

Both are not fit for battle.
They need doctors and nurses to perform spiritual surgery.
Then they can fight the battle.

As a non-believer, in a spiritual sense I always knew there was "something," I just did not know what that something was. I thanked God for my blessings, even though I did not believe in "that" God. Now that I am a believer, I give honor and thanks and glory and praise to Jesus, knowing Him for Who He is and what He has done for us

let your light shine before men

I agree, it is life Changing. I deliver Sermons for YEARS after that, and like the expression goes, "If it works, don't Fix IT". I NEVER tried to write out a Sermon and then read it. I would gather the Verses that pertained to a subject, printed those verses on a Page, and make copies of it, top hand to the inmates, because most of them did not know where to turn in their BIBLES to find the book. I first Prayed as I stepped up to the Pulpit, to be Filled with the Holy Spirit, asking Him to use my mouth that it may be proclaimed Pure and True; and THEN I WOULD TOTALLY TRUST IN THE LORD TO GIVE ME WHAT HE WANTED ME TO SAY ABOUT THOSE VERSES. HE Gave me what I was to say about those verses every time, SO I NEVER TRIED TO FIX IT.

what you are saying is, there's no limit to your spiritual potential, because you are trying to tell us that we should trust in God who can easily exceed our limitations, and God is capable of bringing us to unpredictable heights.

knowing is one thing, but applying is a totally different story