Do You Want to Be a Hero?

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

Arthur Ashe

With the quote above in mind, I ask again; Do you want to be a hero?

In May of 2014 I wrote a post about Batman and Alfred called Who's the Real Hero?. I brought up the point that there would have never been a Batman in the story without Alfred. Alfred is just as much a hero as Batman yet there is nothing remarkable about Alfred. Alfred didn't have a fancy suit, weapons, or training to fight. Alfred was just a butler who had an undying commitment to serve one man no matter what. 

Lately I've been getting into tv shows about super heroes and one theme seems to be repeated across all stories: you can't be a hero alone. 

In Arrow you see Oliver Queen starts alone but slowly realizes his need for help. He gradually starts bringing people into the fold until suddenly he has an entire team working together to save the city. Who is more of a hero Oliver Queen or Felicity Smoak?

In Flash you have a super powered speedster but even he needs a team of people around him to help him succeed. He has Caitlin, Cisco, and Detective Joe West as well as many others. In one episode he even brings in the Arrow to help him face his greatest enemy. Each one of these people is a hero.

Sometimes our quest to be a hero makes us think we have to stand out or do this on our own. But true heroism is about service, it's about working as a team to make a difference and often it's about lifting someone else up. This is of course a Biblical concept as well. 

Paul talks about us as the Body of Christ. We are all a part of one body and it is only when we work together as one body that we truly make a difference in this world. It is only when we walk in unity that we can bring about his mission on this earth. This is how we become a hero. 

Be Still...

“Be still and know that I am God.”

Psalm 46:10

Sometimes we need to learn to just “Be still…” 

It is in those moments of stillness, those moments of focusing on God and who He is that we allow ourselves to be assured of His greatness, of His ability to take care of everything. It is in the moments of stillness that the peace of God, the peace that passes all understanding, can flood our hearts and minds regardless of anything that might still be going on. It is in these moments of stillness that the worries of this world are washed away and all that remains is the realization that He is God, that He is sovereign, that He is great, and that He loves you!

Take some time today to just be, some time in silence, some time in His presence. 

The Spirit of Fear

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

2 Timothy 1:7

Fear is not to be taken lightly.

On Thursday I shared a post I wrote on Halloween of 2013 titled The Perplexity of Halloween. In this post I shared how I didn't understand people's fascination with death and fear on this day. So many people seem to be fascinated with fear. They dress up in the scariest costumes, watch scary movies and even go to haunted houses hoping to be scared. But fear is not something to be trifled with.

Fear is a spirit.

Paul told Timothy that God did not give us a spirit of fear. This tells us two things, one that fear is a spirit, and two that fear is not from God. Any spirit that is not from God is a spirit of the enemy. Back in December I wrote a post about the importance Knowing Our Enemy. One main part of knowing our enemy is knowing our enemies tactics and methods. Fear is the main tactic of our enemy.

So why would we play around with fear?

I think one of the tactics the devil has put into play is trying to make light of fear. Fear holds us back from God's will more than anything else so the enemy wants us to let down our guard to this weapon. He makes us think it is fun and something to play around with. He makes us think we are cowards if we can't take the scariest movie out there. In the end we end up completely unaware of the fact that this fear is holding us back. 

So should we run and hide from Halloween?

This seems to be the response of many Christians. Shut your door, turn off your lights, and don't acknowledge anyone but in a sense this is just another way of giving in to fear. Paul doesn't stop in letting us know what fear is, he also lets us know how to fight it. He says that God gave us a different kind of spirit, He gave us a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. We need to allow ourselves to be taken over by these three things and it will allow us to fight this spirit of fear. 

By acting out in love and power we are truly combatting the enemy's strategies.