The Guts

Dear Friend:

When you believe in something or someone , do you speak up and tell your thoughts? Like, animal rights, war, the “Go Green” campaign and the presidential candidate. You believe in something or someone so strongly you can’t keep your mouth shut! You risk that others may not like you because of your opinion. You don’t care, you say what you think! Right? YOU HAVE “THE GUTS.”

I heard a message this pass weekend that spoke to my heart and I am just passing it along. Look at this verse below:

John 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;

12:43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

12:44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.

The word, believe. verse 42, in the original Greek means “especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ-commit, put your trust in.

So here were the religious leaders in the Synagogue who were in fear of letting others know what they really believed in there heart. They believed yet they did not have “the guts” to speak up. Because they chose not to speak up Jesus died. Why did they do that? They feared man more than God. Do people know what you believe about Jesus?

Jesus went on to say:

John 12:47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 12:48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.

I think you and I need to have “the guts.” Let’s get a scale and weigh the two sides.

On one side you have keeping things to yourself and people liking you.

On the otherside you have Jesus and the blessings of God. Each time we get “the guts” to speak up and do the right things we are blessed by God. That means living a moral life vs. just going along with the crowd. Most importantly people finding out about Jesus and eternal life.

(la di da )Let’s see:

Jesus and blessings (GOD PLEASER) vs. people liking us?

Now the big question:

DO YOU HAVE “THE GUTS”?

Trying to have “the guts”,

Elaine