Hello, thank you so much for joining me today for Give Him 15.

Today's post is from our friend Will Osten, a retired U.S. Army major and seasoned patriot.

You might recall that Will is the soldier who introduced me to the Appeal to Heaven flag.

I believe that his message today, shared from a combat veteran's

perspective, will inform and encourage you. His title is Christian courage. Will says as world

events continue to escalate due to America and Israel's just war against Iran,

Russia's illegitimate long war in Ukraine, and an aggressive China making its intentions known for

eventual world domination by the end of this decade,

the church has a stark choice on how it responds to these volatile times.

Will we retreat?

Or will we stay engaged in the culture through prevailing prayer and a resolute determination

marked by Christian Courage? In his book, Impossible People with the subtitle, Christian Courage

and the struggle for the soul of civilization, author Oz Guinness writes, and he quotes him,

in the golden air of the Roman Empire, Pliny the younger, advised Emperor Trajan,

that Christians should be executed solely for their tenacity and transigence.

He said, I'm convinced that their stubbornness and unshakable

obstinacy ought not to go unpublished, end quote. Christians in the early church confronted

far more dire consequences than we do today in America, including instantaneous death or dismemberment for illegally

proclaiming the gospel. Yet they refused to stay silent and cower in fear. Instead, they became known as,

quote, impossible people, end quote.

Because of their courageous stand,

and because of their courageous stand marked by what the world called unshakable obstinacy.

...