…spreading the fragrance of His knowledge…
(6)A Good Man Has Self-Control
Except you close your eyes and imagine certain stories in the Bible, you will not fully appreciate the situation. Let’s imagine this scenario:
Joseph and Mary were betrothed to each other, right? Therefore, they would have been growing in their familiarity and fondness towards each other. Joseph – like any normal, red-blooded male – would have been fantasizing about the wedding night.
I love the Bible for two reasons:
(1) It Is Very Relevant
More and more people are realizing that – from money to marriage to business to sex to raising children to the workplace – the Bible really gives solid advice that is very relevant in our present world.
(2) It Is Very Real
Humans have a tendency to idolize or demonize people – painting those they love as complete saints or angels, and blackening those they dislike as total devils.
Of all the fears I’ve mentioned in this Bootcamp Courage series, this is probably the biggest fear God will deal with in the life of His children:
The Fear Of Public Opinion.
Ironically, when I began to write on this topic, I thought, “What will people think? They might misunderstand.” Then, it dropped, “Deborah, you are doing exactly what you are writing about”, and I laughed.
I was in my first year in junior secondary school. It was a boarding school. My parents had decided to send me and my sisters to a popular girls’ school in our homestate for ‘exposure.’
At that time, my parents were conservative Christians, and the church we attended was word-based – but quite conservative. Even though they believed in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, these were not really exhibited – like they were in other pentecostal churches.
(continued from last post)
Now, the rib was straightened and stretched, but it was too thin. Too narrow – compared to the man. So, what did God do next?
(3) He EXPANDED her…
So, I got a new Bible at the beginning of the year.
I had heard someone talk about how he started every year with a new Bible, and decided to try it – but I was too much in love with my eight-year-old one, so I kept postponing it.
Example One.
A preacher once shared about how his son (now grown) used to be terrified of the revving of a car engine when he was young. Anytime he heard the sound, he would run away in terror and hide.
One day, his father carried him up in his arms, and took him to where the car was being revved. As they got nearer, the boy tried to pull away from his father and climb down in fright, but the dad held on to him. When they got to the revving car, his father held the boy’s hand and put it on the car.
“Come to the edge,” He said.
“We can’t, we’re afraid!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” He said.
“We can’t, we will fall!” they responded.
“Come to the edge,” He said.
And so they came.
And He pushed them…
And they flew.
(Guillaume Apollinaire)
Get ready.
We are in a time and season where God is going to ask you to do things that will take you beyond your comfort zone – way, way, way beyond your comfort zone.
Debby Osa 