I am Not Ashamed

...also found this over at "the Search for Integrity"

Enjoy!


I need to tell you what I am not ashamed of:

I am not ashamed to stand with Jesus Christ when he proclaims that he has come to proclaim good news to the poor.

I am not ashamed to be on his side when he touches the untouchable;

when he gives priority to a woman who has endured years of suffering over the child of a leader in the community;

when he goes out of his way to speak words of life to a Samaritan adulteress, or to a man tormented in mind who has been abandoned by his community to wander among the tombs.

I am not ashamed to see him moved with compassion.

I am not ashamed of his instructions when he tells me to love my enemy and do good to the one who hates me.

I am not ashamed when he counts himself among the homeless.
I am not ashamed of the way he prevented a righteous mob from executing a woman caught in sexual sin.

I am not ashamed of how he wept over the hypocrisy of religious leaders.

I am not ashamed of his call to pursue greatness by choosing to serve rather than rule.

I am not ashamed of his decision to pray for his killers to be forgiven, while they were killing him, nor am I ashamed that in this also he calls on us to follow him.

I am not ashamed that he healed indiscriminately and instructed his disciples to do the same, saying: “freely you have receive, freely give.”

I am not ashamed to say that I want to do more than be his worshiper, adoring him from a distance, as many do, proclaiming with false piety that it would be wrong to try to be like him.

I am not ashamed to be his apprentice, a student of the Master. My aim is to learn by doing.

A Disciple of Christ

Here's hoping that your Christmas has been filled with Christ and Love. I heard this in a sermon and looked it up online to find the author.

God bless you!


I am a Disciple of Jesus Christ
by Bob Moorhead

I am a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
I have Holy Spirit power.
The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of His.
I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.
I’m finished and done with the low living,
sight walking, chintzy giving, dwarf goals.
I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position,
prominence, plaudits or popularity.
I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized,
praised, regarded or rewarded.
I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk with patience,
lift by prayer, labor by power.
My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is Heaven,
my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my guide reliable, my mission clear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured,
lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice,
hesitate in the presence of the adversary,
negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity,
or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I will not give up, shut up, letup, until I have stayed up, stored up,
prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.
I must go until He comes, give until I drop,
preach until all know, and work until He stops me.
And when He comes for His own,
He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be quite clear.
Amen.

Smarter Than Your Average Bear...

I hear people today often say that we're more knowledgeable today than in generations past. Our systems are better, our standard of living is better, we've just come so doggone far from the "bad old days"...

Let's take discrimination as an example. Christians should never discriminate on the basis of race. We can look at the not too distant past and see examples of racism in general populations of a nature that is baffling to us today. We look at many of those who held those beliefs with an unbelieving disdain that people could so ignorantly condemn and abuse others. We struggle to understand why they could not perceive the evil they were advocating.

We think of Proverbs 14:12

"There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death."

And we "tsk-tsk" and shake our heads at such cruel ignorance and then come back to the enlightened present as the phone rings...

... and we casually agree that "there's really no way to stop kids from being kids and they're going to experiment no matter what we say or do" and we put our daughters on birth control and advocate condoms to our sons in a world rampant with sexually transmitted diseases even as the resulting sterility has become an epidemic in our nation...

...and we stand behind the multi-billion dollar abortion industry because "There's really no choice in cases of incest rape or when the mother's health is endangered" when 99% of the children being killed have nothing to do with rape, incest or the mother's health...

... and we advise our friendS that "although terrible, divorce probably is the only solution and to be brave because the kids will eventually get over it"...

...and bigotry is excused as "outrage"...

...and lies are accepted as "another's truth"...

...and Truth is labeled "intolerance"...

...and lust is welcomed as "healthy urges"...

...marriage is called abuse and serial adultery is called "monogamy"...

... and crime is called a "bad choice"...

...and raw filth has become "entertainment" as we continue to spiral lower to find ever more degrading perversions to shock and titillate a calloused generation...

Whew! But at least we stopped being mean to minorities! Yea!

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

- Romans 12:3

We marvel at the blindness of past generations while we blythely ignore our own crippling cruelty and foolishness. And as I sit and write of these things I am compelled to ask myself, "Where are you missing the boat, buddy?"

"Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere:

“He has blinded their eyes
and deadened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”

Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.

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; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."

- John 12:37-43