Bible Study: Acts 5, 34 to 42 and John
6, 1 to 15.
Seeing the Apostles in our first reading this morning rejoicing
that they had received some public disgrace because of witnessing to the name
of Jesus tells us something: they were men of COURAGE! Do you consider yourself
as one who has this precious gift of courage? To what extent are you prepared
to stand by what you know is right even in the face of danger, lack, hunger,
disgrace or poverty.
To be courageous is to deliberately decide not to give up doing
that which you know is right even when people around you try to stop you. It is
to keep pushing on even when the environment becomes unfriendly, even if the
Government of the day places a ban on you, even if no one cares to listen to
you anymore, even if you were to lose all your friends and lose all your money,
and all that you call your own. Courage is seeing the light at the end of the
tunnel and being determined to push on till you get to the light.
Courage means that you would never stop talking about Jesus
wherever you go even when you are publicly flogged for it. Courage is seeing a
huge crowd like the Gospel passage and believing that you can feed them with
just five loaves and two fish. By asking Philip how to provide bread to feed
the multitude, Jesus was testing the extent of his courage. To be courageous is
to be a believer in the simple fact that WITH GOD, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE. We
may sing it again and again but honestly only few people believe that truly
nothing is impossible with God on their side. Courage to some extent may look
like madness but it a boldness that can be fuelled only by FAITH which sees
things that are not there as if they are there.
Spirituality is not all about holding hands like angels,
refusing to talk or associate with people. It is not all about locking oneself
in a room or in the chapel. Spirituality is being able to interact with the
world with your convictions. It is refusing to tell a lie while doing business
because you are courageous enough to know that God will provide for you and
that you will not run at a loss for being honest. Spirituality is seeing evil
and being able to speak up for what is right.
To be spiritual is to be a person of Courage. It is refusing to
take “NO” for an answer, it is silencing the voices of your so-called friends
who come around you to tell you that what you intend to do or accomplish is impossible
because no one has ever done such before. It means that even if the values you
cherish as a Christian such as honesty, integrity, chastity, decency etc.
become more and more unpopular in our world that is now so obsessed with vices,
you do not join the crowd.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, endow me with the gift of courage. Let not the fear
of men or my personal lack or poverty become an obstacle to me in my journey of
faith. Amen.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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