Romans 1:176 says: The Just shall live by faith, or as another paraphrase version puts it: The righteous thrive in the midst of unpredictable change.
And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? Shall you sit while others go to War?
(Num 32:6 KJV)
Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them?
(Num 32:7)
One of the Greek words translated "discouraged" means to break the spirit, remove life's passion, to crush. The English word "discouragement" has at it's root the French word for the heart (coeur). Dis-"cour"-age-ment is to take away the heart. A metaphor for the robbing of a sense of purpose or the inward ability to overcome with purpose.
-Excerpt from the book "Silent Killers of Faith" by Dr. Stephen Crosby
1 comment:
I was recently asked what the opposite of love was, I said hate, and the person said that he thinks, and the author of a book somewhere too, that the opposite of love is fear. I think this fits here with your post. It's not hate that keeps us from our faith, it's fear. Probably mostly the fear to love. And believe me I have had this on my mind lately. Courage, love, fear, discourage and round and round. Yesterday a friend of mine asked me if I will carry a gun... I said I don't want to kill anyone. He said "yeah me neither" And then he told me a story about the man I am going to make a film about, when he decided to carry a gun. He said he decided to carry a gun when he realized that the people around him were carrying guns to protect him. And he appreciated that they were willing to do so. So it began to make sense, not as self-protection or out of fear of dying, as he is not afraid to die, but to respect those around him and to protect them as they do him. Actually out of love. It's never black and white is it?
love.
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