The Cowardly (Fearful) Christians Will Be There Too!

Fear can keep you from danger, hurt, pain, and suffering. It can also keep you from some of God's richest blessings. It caused the children of Israel to wander in the wilderness for forty years, Peter to deny his Lord three times, the one talent man to be cast into outer darkness, and many today to follow a sinful, least resistant life path, ending in being lost eternally.

The scriptures below were overlooked by me for several years. Self righteously pounding my chest, I was sound in doctrine, and my name was not and would never be on that list. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son, but the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation21:7-8, NKJV)

Notice the first word on the list above is cowardly.  The King James version says, "the fearful".  In this verse, cowardly is referring to Christians who, through cowardice, give way under persecution and apostatize.-(Thayer's Lexicon)  Confessing Jesus was the Son of God, could get you killed in those times.  In some places in the world today, it still can.

What does this word mean to you and me today?  If we say we are Christians, are we strong or cowardly Christians? Is this serious? You betcha! You ever heard a sermon on the topic of  "being cowardly"? Do you really think the Devil wants you to?

What does God want? He wants us to believe in Him and trust Him. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV)  God does not want us to doubt Him nor not trust in what He promises or commands us to do.


The definition in Strong's Lexicon for the above faith is: belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or Christ, springing from faith in the same. You and I must trust God and believe who He is.
 
If I act fearfully or cowardly, I am afraid of losing something. I am still fearful, although God has said, He will never leave me nor forsake me. What am I afraid of losing? I believe the number one fear is losing favor with friends, peers, and family.

 According to The Center for Study of Global Christianity, in 1970 the United States had 90.9 percent of its people professing to be Christians and that number declined to 69.4 percent in 2010.  It is projected to be 66 percent in 2020. 

In the mid 1960s and early 1970s in this country, in my opinion, there were seeds planted that have now produced uncontrollable giants. The anything goes sexual revolution, prochoice movement, and removing God's name, and any form associated with it, from every public institution, seemed to test our society.  Only a small number started this and the uniformed went along with it.

Did the 90.9 percent professing to be Christians catch your attention? Is this telling me that the 9.1 percent not professing to be Christians, in that same time period, had more power than those professing to be Christians? What happened? The salt lost its flavor and the light was hidden under a basket.  You and I, professing Christians, lost it. We ran and hid, as did David's brothers, along with God's army, when Goliath challenged them morning and evening for 40 days.

David was the only one who had a cause and a backbone to go with it. He was the only one to have a pleasing faith toward God. One young man, slayed a giant, causing God's army to come out of hiding and defeat the army of the Philistines. God was with David and he knew it.  God was with us in the 70s, but evidently we didn't know it.

Today, July 22, 2018, the three giants have grown to an uncontrollable strength. The approximately 68 percent of those still professing to be Christians are weaker than the 90.9 percent in the 70s.  Of these only a small portion will worship God in spirit and truth this Sunday.

The "light of the world" is hidden not under a basket, but under the roof of multi-million dollar "church" building and the "salt of the earth" is in this same building as salt in a salt shaker, not yet to be shaken.

Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 3:16-21, warns God's people and we are warned against being cowardly in Revelation 21:8. You and I can't go back and start a new beginning, but we can begin today and make a new and better ending.

Being lukewarm in our faith is not going to get the job done. (Revelation 3:14-17) You and I need to examine our faith, because our children and grandchildren are watching. Do we want them to go to heaven?

Thanks for reading. Comments can be sent to rhepler52@gmail.com .

You can go to:  http://amzn.to/1Mi2AXW to purchase my book, "The Heart Behind the Stone:Develop a Giant Slaying Heart". I tell about the three giants mentioned above and what we as Christians can do to defeat them.

Rick Hepler. 

 

If I live a cowardly Christian life, I will not only take my place in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, I will take my peers, friends, and family with me. 

I want to be a Christian with a courageous love for God and you, my neighbor.  If I love you as I love myself, we will both make it to heaven. And it doesn't matter neighbor, if you are scarred, tattooed, or wounded, I want to show God's love to you by my love for you. This will change us both, back to the image and likeness we were created in.

I believe you will agree, the people in this great land need to focus on loving one another, instead of all the hate we see each day on the news.
                                                                            --Rick Hepler
 








 








  

 

Your Hope Bucket Empty?

If you could carry your hope in a bucket this morning, would yours be empty? If this is the case, it was probably difficult for you to get out of bed this morning. Did that cloud of failure hovering over you last night keep you awake? Are you too tired to face today?  What is your problem: addictions, incarceration, financially bankrupt, family problems, lonely, or something going on in your life giving you the thoughts of ending it.? Yes I agree, any of these could drain all hope from your bucket.  I want you to procrastinate thinking about your problems for 7 minutes.

I had a leaky outdoor water faucet a few years ago. Instead of fixing it, I just put an empty 5 gallon bucket under it.  After several hours, that bucket was running over. It filled up from one drip of water at a time.  Hope can return to you in small increments just like the drops filled my bucket. Yes, it does take time, but not as long as you may think.

Who you are, what you have done, or the mess you have created doesn't concern me at the moment.  What does concern me is you are my brother or sister in humanity and are hurting, helpless and feeling hopeless at this moment.

Ok. Let's begin.  In the morning, just before sunrise I want you to go outside, sit in a chair or on the ground, facing the east. I then want you to look at the sun rising. Just look at it rising and not after it has risen enough to blind you. I don't want you to ruin your eyes. You have enough to deal with without ruining your eyes. Have you ever done this, watching the sun rise?

Now, as you look at that beautiful powerful sun come up above the eastern horizon, ask yourself this question, "Where did the sun come from?" While you are pondering this, notice how slowly the dark is replaced by light. Now you can see everything around you.  Listen to the sounds around you. What do you hear? Birds singing? Squirrels barking? People going to work?

Feel the heat from the rising sun and the life it brings to the morning. Where did this big yellow ball come from? Did it come from nothing? Did it come into existence by a creator? Was that creator God? Guess what. He created that powerful ball in the sky to give us light, warmth, and many other numerous blessings.  Think you are worthless and evil? He still created it for you as well as the righteous.  ...for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust. (Matthew 5:45,KJV)

Get your bucket. Here is your first drop. God created the sun for you. Whether you are good or evil, he made it just for you.  Do you realize what I just said? Right now you may feel worthless, hopeless, guilty and unimportant, yet you were created by the all powerful God who created the powerful sun just for you. Read it for yourself. Then God made two great lights: the greater to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. (Genesis 1:16, NKJV)

Also, I would like to ask you to read about how another, who thought of himself as a poor and lightly esteemed man, came from nothing to be a man after God's own heart. ( 1Samuel 18:23 and Acts 13:22)  How did he come from an having an empty bucket of hope to one overflowing. He did as I am asking you to begin doing. Something had to get his attention and he was put in a position of needing fulfillment. He began to notice the rising and setting of the sun, and realizing what tremendous power was needed to create the sun that gave him warmth and light each day. Please take time to read Psalm 19:1-6. I believe this reveals to us how David prepared himself to have such a love for God, transforming his thoughts and actions to later be a man after God's own heart doing all His will.

Some of the drops in my bucket are the drops of hoping you will do this simple exercise. Feel free to set aside a least 7 minutes in the morning to watch the sunrise, notice its power and precision,your hope bucket will also fill and read the scriptures I have recommended.

If God created a powerful sun for you, why did He create you?  Did you know we are created in his image and likeness? Of all of His creation, we are the only ones created in His image. Now read Genesis 1:26-27. You are not junk, worthless or hopeless. You have just let things of this world cover up the image you were created in.  I did the same and everyone else has too. Please work with me as I show you the way you can get it back.

My email is rhepler52@gmail.com.  You need to know God cares for you. Let me help you find the way back. If you want me to personally help you by email that is fine.  I will keep it confidential or you can just read my blog post as we both study together.  The only cost is your time.

Please share this blog post with someone you know who needs help. I just want to help. I am tired of seeing people living hopeless lives.  God's word gives us hope of a better place. You have to trust Him.  He doesn't lie.

Thanks for reading. I hope in some way I can help you. Give yourself another chance. Walk down a different path. You will begin to see your life differently when you do.

Rick Hepler







 

Turning Age 66 Today and My Thoughts Looking Back

Wow, 66 years old today. A lot of years and hoping for many more.  Papaw Hepler always told me  his granddaddy, if I can still remember correctly, lived to be 3 days past his 100th birthday. Papaw's goal was to live past 100. He died at 93, but he would probably have made it if he had not smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day and instead of drinking all that whiskey had left it in the bottles.

I have started getting in my office at 5:00 every morning to study and write. This morning I paused my writing project for a few minutes to reflect back on my 66 years. Looking back, the time has flown by much quicker than when I was way back there living it. My time is much more valuable to me now than it was back then, because I do not have as much of it left.

Reflecting back on the good times is easy, but acknowledging my failures, not so easy. But my failures have driven me to something I love doing.  I honor those failures as teachers, along with the other great teachers I have had from first grade through college. Today I am jotting down some thoughts of what I have learned, some funny, some sad, and some I just don't know how to categorize. I imagine many of you could do the same. Remember, these are my thoughts and I am accountable for them. I am going to go for it.

1. Friends are great to have, but the one's you have from childhood are always special.
2. I have had many great teachers, but my failures were the greatest.
3. I have cherished my courage to be vulnerable. My prior years I tried to please everyone.  My desire now is to please God and everything else will fall into place.
4. I try not to be as cantankerous, but it still slips up on me now and then.
5. Worry is an enemy and I am not going to give it my valuable time.
6. At 66 years old, I can't go back and start a new beginning, but I can begin today on having a great ending.
7. To the young and unmarried. Don't let your first blind date scar you for life. Go on and go on a second blind date. I did and married her. She is absolutely the best thing that has happened to me.
8. In life, we all need to hit a walk off home run, but if we never get up to bat we never will.
9. What I admire most about professional athletes, is not the money they earn, the way they play, but the discipline they have in getting there.
10. We were created by God in His image and His likeness. Don't let anyone teach you we evolved billions of years ago from some slime in the ocean. I had some college professors that probably thought I was stupid. They are dead now. Sad to say, they now know who the stupid one was.
11. I am not going to vote for someone who wants to kill innocent babies in the womb and doesn't want me to call a man a man and a woman a woman. PERIOD!
12. I don't follow the herd unless I know where they are going and I know the leader .  We have too much of that nonsense going on today as it is.
13. Live right and die right. This can only be done by living the way God has told us to live. In doing so, you will make a difference in this world and will have lived the purpose for which God has created you.
14. I am so glad that tattoos were not the fad in 1970. I would probably have gotten one, which I would now probably have regretted.
15. I have learned it is not my outside appearance that builds integrity, but what is in the heart. Remember, "The pure in heart will see God", and I want to see God.
16. You wouldn't give your children counterfeit $100 bills, so make sure you don't give them a counterfeit plan of salvation.
17. Humility, repentance, seeking God's face, and fervent prayers are the only things that will make our country better, not who we elect to govern it.
18. In 1970 there were about 90 percent or more people in this country who professed to be Christians. In that period of the seventies, prayer was taken out of schools, the law was established allowing women to murder their unborn child, and sensual living began to be the lifestyle of many.  Only a few got this started, with 90 percent professing to be Christians. I read the other day by the year 2020 that number will be around 66 percent. Old people we better watch it. It will be us next. We better get to looking useful in our old age or we will be euthanized to save the government money.
19. When I die, and I don't know when that will be, whoever does my funeral, please don't tell the audience that I was a faithful Christian and I loved the Lord. If they don't know it by then, Christ won't either. So it is not going to make much difference will it?
20. We live in a fallen world and life is not fair sometimes. 
21. Remember this. Everyone shouldn't get a trophy and everyone doesn't go to heaven. You must work for the one and live a life of gratitude, obedience and love for the Christ who made going to heaven possible.  Earning a trophy brings value to it. Christ dying in our place shows us how much God loves us. Oh, if we would only love Him as much.
22. Don't let their tattoos, addictions and felonies run you off. Yes, some are just plain evil, but some just made  several wrong choices. Christ said for us to even love our enemies and pray for them. I am not saying these are my enemies, but if I should love and pray for my enemies should I not also love everyone?
23. Looking back on my life, I have many regrets. Looking forward in life, I am going for what I used to think was impossible. I don't want to be good, I want to be great with what God has given me. I want to erase all my regrets, and to use them to propel me forward in living for God.
24. Just because I am 66 doesn't mean I am dead yet. I still have a lot of faults and weaknesses to correct with God's help. I want the fruit of God's Spirit to be seen in me, not because of duty or guilt, but because I love Him and this fruit makes this fallen world a better place to live for everyone.
25. Well, I think 25 thoughts are enough for now. Looking back is tough. Made lots of mistakes. I just have to work toward my goals today. One last thing. I want to live the rest of my life encouraging, loving and being a Christ-like example to all I meet. The greatest gift and example I can leave to my family, the day of my funeral, is many coming up to them saying, "Your dad had an influence on me to live a better life or your dad always prayed for me"..

Remember these are just my thoughts. Age has changed my thinking over the years. Hope you enjoyed reading. To my old friends, "Love you guys", you are part of my life. To my new friends, I am looking forward to knowing you better, loving you and making you part of my life.

I thank everyone who has wished me a "Happy Birthday" today and also for you spending the time to read what I write. I am working to be a better writer and the only way I get get better is to write more. Sometimes I may bore you and sometimes my writing may challenge you and me.

Thank you so much!
Rick Hepler

Please send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .

Sometimes You Just Need to Go Against The Grain

"Going Against the Grain”

If you say that an idea or action goes against the grain, you mean it is very difficult for you to accept it or do it, because it conflicts with your previous ideas, beliefs or principles.  -Collins English Dictionary

I have made many mistakes in my life.  Consequences always follow wrong choices or decisions and they certainly do not discriminate. It doesn’t matter who you are, they will show up sooner or later.

Letting the crowd, peers, friends, and family formulate your ideas, beliefs and principles can cause unwanted consequences, guilt and regrets. Going against the grain can be very difficult.  So how can we go against the grain, why would we, when should we, and what are the benefits?

Today I am writing about someone who went against the grain of the traditional thinking of his time, producing impossible actions with amazing results. If you and I want to go from average to great in using the talents God created in us, we can follow the same pattern as he did.

That someone was the lowly shepherd boy David.  How did he prepare his thinking and develop the courage to go against the grain at such a young age, around 15 years of age, among all the naysayers?

 The Preparation: Knowing Who Created You.

It was the best thing that could have happened to him.  His father gave him the job of tending his sheep.  Evidently, the father thought it was a menial job. His father didn’t even think of David when Samuel came to anoint the next King of Israel.  Jesse sent David’s seven brothers, without David, for Samuel to choose and anoint the next king.  Why did he not send David?

I don’t know if David enjoyed being a shepherd or not, but in doing so, he was placed in a position to discover his God, know this God, and to highly reverence this God.  What was the key of tending those sheep? “Be still and know that I am God”. (Psalm 46:10)

Was Psalm 19 written because of David's spending lonely days and nights in the wilderness overseeing his father’s sheep?  I believe it was and influenced David to serve God and to reveal God’s glory to the children of Israel.  The first 6 verses of this Psalm reveal God in nature. The next 5 in His law and the last 3 reveal David’s belief and trusting in God by his prayers to Him.

God sought a man after His own heart (1Sam. 13:14) and said, "I have found My servant David." (Psalm 89:20) Again, in the New Testament, God is quoted as saying, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will." (This is taken from 1Sam. 13:14 and quoted in Acts 13:22)

David was prepared by seeking the One who created him, having all trust in this Creator (God) and laying his heart out to this God in prayer.  A great pattern to follow if you want to bring out the best of yourself.

Samuel, the priest, attempted to go with the grain in choosing the next king, God wanted, by his outward appearance.  Don’t we do the same?  God plainly lets all of us know in this important matter, "For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  (1 Samuel 16:5)

Even David’s father Jesse, didn’t believe David needed to be with them at the sacrifice.  He left him uninvited with the sheep.  Evidently, this father did not know his youngest son’s heart either.  God knew his heart and out of this heart came devotion, trust, and desiring a relationship of fervent prayers to Him.

David was given something by God after Samuel anointed him. "…and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." (1 Samuel 16:13) David cherished God’s Spirit upon him. How do I know? The prayer of David’s repentance in Psalm 51: 10-11, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me.  Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me."

David learned about God in the wilderness while protecting his father’s sheep. He knew God’s word was truth, and more importantly he knew Him well enough that he unloaded himself in prayer daily.  He reverenced God’s glory and he would serve Him in honor and do his best to reveal to all His glory.  I believe that is why God said, “I have found David, a man after My own heart, who will do all of My will".  This is what God wants in you and me.  If we remember this, God’s glory will be shown by us in our generation and we will live to obey all of His will as David.

So, David was prepared to follow and obey God’s will wherever it would take him.  As Christians, we should expect no less from ourselves.


( In the next few post I am going to show how thoughts of living in this world can become so ingrained into our thinking that our faith is slowly, and sometimes subtly, dissipated. We as Christians have slowly allowed the ways of the world, (going with the world's grain of thinking and living) to influence our decisions of the way we act and the lifestyles we manifest with that line of thinking.

Is this important? Should we begin (and that we includes me) to notice how the world view is affecting our living as God would have us to live.  Do we delight in the Lord any more? Is our heart's desire to do His will.

Choosing to live by the ways of the world or the commandments of God is our choice.  In the next few post on "Going Against the Grain" I want to use the same pattern David did.

Our children and grandchildren, in a culture of instability, need to have a solid faith to stand on. They must first learn to love God and believe Him.

In my first book, "The Heart Behind the Stone: Develop a Giant Slaying Heart" is a good book for your teenager to read on how David prepared his faith and love of God in order to face and defeat his giants.  Also, I write about the three giants that have taunted the moral fiber of this great country in which we live.  Have you listened to the news the last several months?  Do you want your  children to live as the world or the way God directs them?)

What motivates us to go against evil? Are we afraid of going against the grain of world view? David wasn't and the three giants we are faced with today can be put down just as David put down Goliath.  All we need are men and women after God's own heart. Don't you think it is time? Are you ready to be like David and have "A Cause"? The cost is only $2.99. You can click here to go to: http://amzn.to/1Mi2AXW to purchase online.  This is a Kindle E-book.

Thank you!

Rick Hepler

 

Lessons From the White Car in Martin, TN

It was just like every other Sunday morning.  Deb and I were with her parents coming in to Martin, Tn. from Union City, TN.  The 15 minute ride over was quiet and peaceful. As we approached the stoplight in front of Walmart, something caught our attention from the field on our right.  It was a white car out in the middle of a muddy field.

Did you see the white car in the middle of the field?  Wonder how it got there and who was driving it? How did they get that far?  Another 100 yards and they would have made it.  It was stuck in mud up to the frame. I wonder what happened? These were questions and statements made in every restaurant, church, school, and any other place of conversation in Weakley and Obion County.  Social media had a field day (no pun intended) with it.

I still do not know any of the above answers, or at least the truth of what happened. I have heard every theory possible and even opined a few of my own.  Still no actual facts.  The only true fact I do know is this peculiar occurance has brought more people together with laughter than anything I have seen in a long time.  Strangers talking and laughing together.

We have all been unified in laughter and with the same curiosity. In a time when there is so much bitter division from politics to religion and terrible news of shootings, sexual harassment, actions or inactions in Washington, D.C., we have the "white car".

We owe it to the white car for bringing us together with laughter.  Maybe the City of Martin should purchase the car, get permission from the land owner, and place the car back in the field and let it serve as a monument.  A monument of the time we laughed together as a united people, being able to escape a few minutes each day from the burdens we carry.

Now let's move on to some serious questions.  Who (we're in the South, "Bless his/her heart") was driving this car and why did he/she drive it there?  We know someone put it there.  It is an actual fact the car didn't put itself in the middle of the field, just like the sun didn't put itself in the middle of our galaxy. Well maybe some folks down the road may think the sun did, but they are united with us in believing this car had a driver.

Now let's get back to the person responsible for all of this. I laughed, belly laughed, every time I saw it, but my laughter was at the expense of the driver of the car. I started thinking how it must be with everyone laughing at you.  Whether this was accidental, intentional, medical caused, or under an influence, the consequences are still the same. He/she was the main topic of laughter.

He/she could be a bad person, addict, felon, have medical issues, lonely, confused, troubled, or a good person, but he/she has something in common with us all.  We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) If this individual had made it to the end of the field, we would have never known.  It would have been between him/her and God.  Many of our mistakes and sins are only known by us and God alone.  If they were made public, we may be the talk of the town also.  Many of us strive for perfection, but like the car, we don't make it to the end of the field.

Over two thousand years ago, there was another man who was made a public spectacle. They laughed at Him, but they also hung Him on a cross. He was the only perfect and sinless person ever to walk on the face of this earth.  He went to the "end of the field" for us. We got stuck in the middle of the field (life) with mud (sin) all over us.

We all get laughed at. Not by each other, but by Satan. He knows we will never make it out by ourselves. He does all he can to deceive us into not following the only one that can present us righteous before God.  Evil works hard to keep us from following truth.

What is the truth that counters the evil that is wanting us to get mired down in the mud (sin)? God's word is truth and sets us apart. (John 17:17) Following this truth will set us free. (John 8:32) When David felt stuck, he wrote: I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth--praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. (Psalms 40:1-3, NKJV)

All of us have a "white car" episode in our lives. Those episodes have been public and private, with each producing a consequence affecting us and those around us. How can we overcome these episodes?  We can overcome these and be pulled out of them by being part of the family. The family I am talking about is God's family. In this family, we laugh together, we cry, we forgive, and are forgiven by God and each other.

So, to the driver of the "white car", I  hope you are okay. If you want to be a part of a group of people, including myself, who have been stuck in mud (sin) before, come and be my special guest Sunday at the Martin Church of Christ. Morning service starts at 9:00 A.M.. We remember each Sunday what Jesus did for us. He suffered, bled, and died for us, because we were also stuck in the middle of a field of mud (sin).

This offer is also to anyone else who may also be stuck in that same field. We encourage each other and help each other when we get stuck with life's problems. Look forward to seeing you there. Tell them Rick Hepler invited you and we won't ask you if you are the driver of the "white car".

Thanks for reading. Please send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com  .  Also I was literally stuck in mud one time with my brother Randy. I wrote about it a few years ago. Please go to https://rick-hepler.blogspot.com/2011/07/blue-mud.html to read about it.

Hope you have a nice day!

Rick Hepler

Courage To Be Vulnerable=Changed Lives

Vulnerable: open to, or be liable to be hurt by criticism or attack. (1968 edition of The New World Dictionary of The American Language, The Southwestern Company, Nashville, Tennessee).

I have been enslaved almost all of my life with the fear of the above word.  The thought of allowing myself to be vulnerable in seeking to do what I love in life, produced a chilling fear of failing, rejection, being the topic of local conversations (gossip), people not liking me anymore, being broke and, most importantly the fear of just compassionately making the commitment to try.

I have just recently realized that it is so important for me as a leader, a father, grandfather, husband and a Christian, to have the courage to be vulnerable. The best life I have found to imitate is the life of Jesus Christ. From His birth to His death, He was always vulnerable to the world we live in. He faced it all with love and courage. Even his mother and those who closely followed Him, were openly vulnerable.

The first test of His ministry was His being vulnerable in the wilderness.  He then subjected Himself to the subtle and deceptive temptations of the Devil. His vulnerability did not stop there.  We have read of His speaking the will of His Father in heaven to the religious people of the time. This placed  Him in a dangerous degree of vulnerability. You can and probably have already read of His courage.

His courage in overcoming the fear of being vulnerable came from loving and wanting to do the will of His Father in heaven. And He accomplished this bravely, lovingly, and perfectly. How do I know? God said He did. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ''This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'' (Matthew 3:17, NKJV)

If we fervently and zealously seek to do the Father's will as Jesus, we will have the same courage to live vulnerably for the Master, without any fear or hesitation.

Now, I want to discuss the scriptures that surprisingly got my attention. The first one I have read all of my life and have never noticed the message that would so quickly allow me to be emancipated from the fear and battle I have from being vulnerable.

Please carefully read along. Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said,  "Let the little children come unto Me, and do not forbid them, for such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:13-14, NKJV)  What is it that jumps out at you?

Have you noticed when your children or your grandchildren began to talk and put sentences together, how bold they were in asking questions or talking to someone?  Also they are very creative and enjoy being with others their age, but it doesn't last long.  We are the ones who teach them the fear of being vulnerable.  We teach them quickly to watch what they say. When they get older they realize in order for some people, even us, to like them, they have to act in a certain way to be accepted. An ego is born.

Do you think those little children heard the rebuke of Jesus's disciples? What if Jesus had not corrected them when He did?  Those children would probably have never  wanted to go to Jesus. Would the parents mentioned have ever tried again? The seed of feeling vulnerable was attempted to have been sown through the disciples and guess by whom? Don't you think it may have been the Devil?

Little children do not feel, nor have they developed the fear of being themselves.  We teach it to them for the rest of their lives.   Read what Jesus says, Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4, NKJV.)   What does this mean? How many little children do you know who have a big ego or much pride?  At the earliest age they do not even know what pride or ego is.  Again, it is taught by us and others for the rest of their lives.

Why would Christ say we need to be humble as a little child? Before we had an ego and pride, we were humble.  We didn't live to protect ourselves from the criticism of others. We subconsciously followed the  pattern of others needing acceptance and fearing rejection.  Our egos wanted everyone to like us and when pride was introduced we wanted the best toys, best cookie, etc. and MINE! was vocally and forcefully stated.  We were taught of scarcity and not abundance.  So therefore as we got older, we fiercely protected what was ours.  We cared not to lose our ego, pride or "toys".  Thus vulnerability was introduced along with the fear to hide it.

So, we adults have to be humble like very young children.  With years of life behind us, living in the fear of rejection and toiling to be accepted, we now read that Christ wants us to erase this out of our habits and subconscious mind to be humble. How does He want us to do this? Does He tell us how.  Oh yes. But are you ready for it?

These, I believe are the scriptures He uses to instruct us how.  But you have to know where you are now.  Have you built up an ego along the way that tries to please everyone to get acceptance? Has this caused you to give up your values? Your courage?  Your dreams?  What has your pride done to you lately? Are you afraid of making yourself vulnerable?

Read these and see what he is asking and why. "For whosoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whosoever loses his life for My sake will find it". (Matthew 16:25, NKJV)  To me if I try to save my life, my pride and ego, I will lose it. I will not allow myself to be vulnerable.  I will compromise my values to appease my peers, who I feel like I so desperately need. I will say the words I think they want to hear.

Another scripture that goes along with the above is, He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life'. (John 12:25, NKJV)  God created me to be Rick Hepler. He has given me talents to use for His purpose. I do not know what the commentaries say about this verse, but if I love my life of impressing my peers, doing and living a life of pleasing others not God, I lose that life Rick Hepler was created to be.

If I have the courage to be vulnerable and live as Christ has commanded me to live, that fake life I was living, instead of who I was created to be, will fade away.  I will then be living the purpose I was created for.  I will have the courage to be vulnerable in serving God the way He has commanded.  My Ego and pride will cease to be what drives my life.

When I have the courage to be vulnerable to criticism, rejection, and disappointment in serving God and spreading the gospel, Christ will not be ashamed of me when He comes. (Luke 9:26)  Yes, Christ's vulnerability to live and teach the truth, love, and will of the Father in heaven, resulted in His death.

Jesus, by His example, has shown me how to have the courage to seek not after the glory of the world,  (Matthew 4:8-10) but the glory He regained when He went back to the Father in heaven.  (John17:5)   

The Bible shows us other examples of courage and fear dealing with personal vulnerability.  Peter would have been the last person I would have pictured fearing vulnerability.  Yet he did it three times, even when he said he would never be made to stumble.  (Matthew 26:33-35)  When Peter was warming beside the fire with people of the world, his courage left him and at that moment he cared more of what they thought of him than Christ.

You and I have been placed in similar situations when we feared the rejection of the world by our decisions to speak up for the truth of the Christian values we have believed in. Sometimes I have remained silent and inactive in these particular situations.  Will God forgive me and still use me in His service for this? Yes He will. What can I do?  Just do what Peter did.  (Matthew 26:75) Did Christ ever use him again? Do you remember reading about the first Gospel sermon? Who preached it? What did he preach?  (Acts chapter 2) 

He will use us also, if we weep for having given in to the fear of what other people think of us when we follow Jesus. That weeping, as Peter did, produces repentance.  For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.  Peter had this godly sorrow, which lead to his salvation and introducing to thousands the path of that salvation.  On the other hand, sorrow of not pleasing the world continues a never ending cycle of living to please the world thus compromising the godly values you believe in. The courage to be vulnerable is lost in appeasement of others that do not desire those same values. Spiritual death then follows for you and others under your influence.

I want to be a better leader to my family, friends, people off the street, those in jail, those in the church  and those who I reach by my writings.  I cannot do this if I do not have the courage to be vulnerable as Christ, while He was on this earth.

God does not only expect His people to have this courage, but He commands it.  I have never read of His allowing Christians to compromise His commands to please others.

When Moses died and God told Joshua to cross over the Jordan river, leading His people to promised land, He expected him to do it. "Have I not commanded You?  Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9, NKJV)

Joshua,like Christ, was not afraid of being vulnerable in carrying out the will of God. If you and I claim to be Christians, should we do any less? Joshua had faith and 100 percent trust in God's promises.  He never questioned nor was he afraid of his own vulnerability.

Joshua was told by God to take  people into the promised land and possess it.  What does Christ command us to do that takes courage, faith , trust and places us vulnerable to the world?

 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV)

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned". (Mark 16:15-16, NKJV)

As Christians in this country, have we done this? You may say we have. We send and support missionaries to foreign lands. That is great, but what do we do in our communities? Pay the preacher to do it? Yes we do and this is a good thing. When you and I send our money, are we not expecting them to be vulnerable for us? We think this relieves us of any type of personal evangelism.  We say we want to be like New Testament Christian, but do we really?

The early Christian were not afraid to be vulnerable in spreading the Gospel. Some of them died doing it.  To be honest, for years It made me uncomfortable.  I wanted everyone to like me.  My ego wanted nothing to do with it. I would just go to church every time the doors were opened. If I had died they would have said at my funeral I loved the Lord and was very faithful.  I was more faithful in avoiding the vulnerability of  talking to people about Christ, and fearing the rejection from people not liking what I said. Yeah, I know, very weak. What about you?

I see I need courage to be vulnerable living as God wants me to live in this fallen world. What will it look like if I do? Whose life will change because of it? How can I develop the courage to overcome this fear of being vulnerable?

How do we do this? Do we want to do this?

(To be continued)


Thanks for reading. Please send comments to rhepler52@gmail.com .

Rick Hepler