20 Seconds of Insane Courage

Have you ever watched the movie, “We Bought a Zoo?” The movie is centered around a true story about a man named Benjamin Mee. It outlines a man’s attempt to rebuild his and his two children’s life after a devastating circumstance occurs. If you have ever watched the movie, you will no doubt recall the powerful scene when the father is standing with his two children outside of a restaurant, retelling them about when he initially met their mother. He retells the children about when he first saw her inside the restaurant, how he felt when he saw her beauty, and then goes into detail about how he approached their mother with trepidation. He explains how timid he was to go up and start a conversation with her. Then he explains to the kids that he decided to face his fears, and says, “You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just 20 seconds of embarrassing bravery, and I promise you, something great will come of it.” Twenty seconds. A few weeks ago, I was preaching about a woman named Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute. You can read more about her story in Joshua Chapter . A quick summary for the sake of space and time is that she saved two Hebrew spies from death by making a deal with them. The deal was that she would hide their whereabouts, but when they returned, they must spare her and her family. I keep thinking about that decision she made. It was a gutsy one, indeed! She put her life and the life of her family on the line. If the Hebrew spies had gotten caught, it meant she was a traitor and ensured certain death. The Scripture informs us that the spies made it safely to their destination and, upon return, saved Rahab and her family. In fact, one of the spies ended up marrying her! Marvelously, Rahab is mentioned several times throughout the New Testament, once in the book of James, once in the book of Hebrews, and once in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Let’s go back to the twenty seconds… I think a lot about Rahab and wonder about her decision. I wonder how long she wanted out of that lifestyle. I wonder if she had prayed for a better future than the one she was involved in. I wonder about her courageous decision to act. Now I wonder about you. Is there something that you have wanted to do but have been too scared of? Maybe you just need twenty seconds of insane courage

The Lonely Ember

Years ago, I read a story called, “The Lonely Ember.”   A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.   Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.   After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.   As the one lone ember’s flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and “dead as a doornail.”   Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.   Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.   As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, “Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.” The story above teaches us two powerful lessons: First, it reminds us that we should attend worship on a regular basis. Isolation is a bad thing. Cutting ourselves off from one another is never a positive thing, and oftentimes isolation leads to negative consequences. The New Year is among us; I am not sure about your relationship with Church. I am not too concerned about the Denomination, more so that you attend regularly. Yes, I know firsthand that, unfortunately, churches are indeed filled with imperfect people. But I like to remind folks that we are imperfect people saved by a perfect Savior. Attending church has its benefits. You might find a community that supports you, a place to keep you motivated to live a better life, enjoy meeting people with similar values, and contribute your God-given talents. Why not find a church and visit? Second, if you are a regular attendee, look around, and see who is not in the pews. Did you know there are roughly 59 “one another” statements in the New Testament? I.e. “Love one another”, “Be devoted to one another”, “Be patient with one another”, Etc. Community is important to the Christian faith. Oftentimes, people fall away for whatever reason and need a phone call or personal visit. Going the extra mile just might be what a person needs to feel the warmth of the fire again.