Courage and commitment: this devotion is about courage and commitment.
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
By Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
"Courage and Commitment"
June 29, 2017
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
~ Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
Courage and commitment: this devotion is about courage and commitment.
Now if there was a committee that had the job of finding the "poster child" for the concepts of courage and commitment, they could probably stop their search when they came into contact with Hope, Maine, resident Rachel Borch. Let me tell you her story.
It wasn't so very long ago that Borch was out for a jog in the woods.
She was still running when she was attacked. No, Borch wasn't accosted by a mother bear guarding her brood. No, she was attacked by a "ferocious looking" beastie with "beady eyes and tiny teeth." There was no possibility of her being wrong in her assessment. That creature was making straight for her, with the intent of doing some damage.
Borch says she did everything in her power to avoid the animal.
Even so, it soon became obvious that one way or another she was going to be bitten. Thinking quickly, Borch made a decision. She reached out to the animal, a raccoon, which immediately chomped down on her thumb. The raccoon chewed away as its claws scratched away on Borch's legs and forearms.
Understandably, Borch screamed.
But Borch did more than scream. With her hand in the animal's mouth she pushed its head down into the mud alongside the trail. She pushed down hard until the animal stopped its struggles. Freed at last from the beast's bite, she raced home.
Two days later Maine's animal control people certified Borch's belief: the raccoon had had rabies.
Borch, a lady of commitment and courage, immediately received the shots and all is all right.
As I look through Scripture, I see God's heroes of faith quite often had those same attributes. Yes, they fell into sin and had moments of weakness, but when they did what the Lord wanted, when they showed their faith in action, they exhibited the qualities of commitment and courage.
Maybe that is because the Lord had promised them a Savior, who also would be committed and courageous.
Look at Jesus' life and you will never find a time when He did not show those attributes. Even as He carried our sins to the cross, He remained courageously committed to the Father's plan, which would offer forgiveness and eternal life to all who believed in Him as the Savior.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I give thanks for the Savior who courageously remained committed to saving sinful and condemned humanity. I also rejoice in those heroes of faith who have gone before us. May we learn to follow their examples. Send Your Holy Spirit so that we may be bold in our proclamation of the Christ, who has saved us. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen
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