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| May 2004 |
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He wasn't a believer,
and he had no desire to be one, but there was something
about him that made him stand out. It wasn't his stunning
physique - he was average height and skinny, a natural redhead.
But when he talked to you, he looked you right in the eye.
His voice was strong, and his smile quick and friendly.
His walk was easy, unhurried. I enjoyed just being around
him, and I saw that others were drawn to him, too. Later
he told me his secret.
"It's because I'm
confident," he said and winked. "Girls love it." I rolled
my eyes and laughed. I had seen it work! "But you know,"
he added thoughtfully, "I'm not really this confident."
It was fake, just the face he had decided to show the world.
I thought it was sad. There in front of me was
a boy who lacked something huge - but he was very good at
covering it up. Sometimes I think Christians do the opposite.
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Further
Reading on Confidence
.Job 3 1:24-28 Where was Job's confidence?
.Psahn 27:1-3 Whom shallI fear?
.Prov 14:26 In the reverence of the Lord is strong
confidence.
.Acts 28:31 Paul preached - no man forbidding!
.2 Cor. 5:5-8 therefore we are always confident (we
have holy spirit!) and would rather leave these silly
bodies behind and be with the Lord.
.Eph. 3:11-12 boldness and access to Jesus with confidence
.Phil 1:6 confident that God will follow through
'Hebrews 3:12 exhort one another today, hold confidence
till the end.
.Hebrews 10:35-39 rewarded for confidence and patience
- don't draw back!
.1 John 2:28 abide in him, have confidence at his
return.
.1 John 5:13-15 believe on the name of the Son of
God, have confidence - when we ask we
SHALL receive.
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They HAVE
so much to be confident about, yet they will hide!
Afraid someone will confront them, hesitant to appear
too sure of themselves... How the heck did that happen?
Being confident makes our daily walk
with God a joy, stuff happens, and it builds believing
in others. We can put our confidence in a number of
things, so we have to constantly ask ourselves what
we're trusting in. In Isaiah 29, God's people had
chosen to trust the Egyptian government and their
riches for security. Inverse 15 God said they would
be saved only if they returned to Him and stayed,
and they would also have strength in quietness and
confidence. But no, in verse 16 they fled on horses
instead of sticking with God, and the enemies that
chased them were swift. In the same way, when we put
our confidence in anything but God we're going to
get creamed. But, when we return to and stay with
the Lord, we will be strong in quietness and confidence.
Our goal as ambassadors for Jesus Christ
is to have real, true, hard, fast, unmoving confidence
in the Gospel we preach, the love we show, and the
life we live. If we don't have confidence, it's our
business to get it back!
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Our witness
is weak and puny without confidence in our God But we
don't need to be timid -Just wise Every word God ever
said is true Every promise he ever made will be kept.
Trust Him! I know there are days when we might not feel
that tough We Just want to sleep five more and those apost1e
minutes But it's not about how we feel, it's
a decision we make every moment of every day It's the
decision to say, "God said it and that settles it. It's
going to happen."
Everything we do, we do it with our whole heart
like we were doing it for the Lord (Col. 3:23). That means
whatever we do we can do with love, with grace, and with
confidence.
When we do the dishes, we do them with confidence.
When we have a job interview, we carry ourselves with
confidence. When we're out on the street we look the world
in the eye, yes, with confidence. We pray with confidence.
We don't wear suits and sashes that read "ambassador,"
but we behave as though we were! We keep God's commandments
because we have confidence that God's way is the best
way.
Don't doubt it for a second!
Hannah
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