Category Archives: Courage

The Pathway

March 25, 2020 By in Courage, Faith, Trust 3 Comments

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had to stay in the castle because a great malady had come over the land. She filled her days with reading books and spending time with the Lord. He became her best friend. They would have deep conversations.

forest-clearingOne day He asked the little girl if she would like to go on an adventure with Him. She enthusiastically responded and asked where they would go. He told the little girl to trust Him, took her hand and said, “Follow me.” 

Soon they came to the edge of the forest. The woods were thick and wet from the recent rain. The little girl hesitated because it seemed like there was no way to pass through the thick undergrowth. The Lord, sensing her dilemma, told the little girl to just trust because there is always a way. As He held her hand they both stepped in the underbrush. Continue reading →

Men With Chests

January 10, 2015 By in Courage, Truth, Tyranny, Virtue Leave a comment

C.S. Lewis bemoaned, in The Abolition of Man, that the West was becoming a culture of men without chests – meaning we have either lost the courage of our God-given convictions or in many cases denied those virtues altogether.

moneychangers

Offending the Offensive

This is amply illustrated by relativistic “tolerance”, which has been used for too long as a counterfeit “virtue” to attack what is true, beautiful and moral.

Lately, however, those who rationalize Jihadist atrocities in the name of “tolerance” – and who then protest that we must not “offend” Islam – are causing more and more people to reject the moral bankruptcy of their squishy relativism.

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Liberty and Christian Cynicism

February 22, 2014 By in Courage, Culture, Liberty, Redemption Leave a comment

I applaud my brothers and sisters in Christ who stood firm in Ukraine against oppression and earned with their blood the right to now rebuild their nation.

Cynicism and retreat are popular today among some Christians who have never suffered national tyranny, corruption and malaise, but enjoy the ease of privileged comfort because of past sacrifices by others.

They have not earned the right to criticize those – in Ukraine or elsewhere – whose faith is big enough to redeem cultures, affirm virtue, and establish liberty.

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Repentance

July 24, 2013 By in Courage, Forgiveness, Repentance 3 Comments

In the New Testament, repentance means to change the way that we think and act. Without the Lord, this would be impossible. However, when we bring, and then surrender, our thoughts, beliefs and actions to the Lord, He replaces them with peace, truth and hope. True repentance brings transformation.

gardenI love to work in my garden. Have you ever dug a large hole in hard clay to plant a bush? I think repentance requires many of the same steps.

When I dig the hole, I expend a tremendous amount of energy. Being willing to openly expose my sins and faults to the Lord also requires much effort.

Sometimes my feet hurt from stomping down on the shovel as I try to break through the hard soil. Likewise, there have been times when my body, soul and spirit ache as I struggle and my heart can feel like heavy, solid clay.

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The Prophets?

May 20, 2013 By in Courage, Faith, Prophetic 7 Comments

German martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Where the world seeks gain, Christians will renounce it; where it exploits, they will let go; where it oppresses, they will stoop down and lift up the oppressed. Where the world denies justice, Christians will practice compassion; where it hides behind lies, they will speak out for those who cannot speak, and testify for the truth.

Do we really want virtue, justice and truth – especially when they challenge the status quo of our settled lives, churches and ministries?

Do we really value virtue, justice and truth – even if they challenge any self-affirming relationships with Jesus and each other?

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. (1 John 1:5-6)

May God send prophets among us yet again.

~ Jim

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Gentleness

March 12, 2013 By in Compassion, Courage, Fruit, Struggles 2 Comments

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness… Gal 5:22-23 NIV

Webster lists the characteristics of gentleness as being soft, meek, passive, mild, delicate, kind and docile. In Psalm 18:35 David says that the Lord’s “gentleness has made me great.” This seems to be a contradiction. How could the characteristics of gentleness, as defined by Webster, make someone great? Perhaps the Lord’s definition of gentleness implies much more.lion and the lamb 2

I believe that the Lord wants us to be gentle, but His gentleness is not a wishy-washy docility. Gentleness has a hidden core of strength and this core is what makes someone great. Gentleness’ strength runs deep, like the molten lava in a volcanic magma chamber. Tremendous heat transforms hard rock into a flexible, moving force.

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Goodness

February 21, 2013 By in Brokenness, Courage, Fruit, Struggles 3 Comments

god is goodThe fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness… Gal 5:22 NIV

When reading fairy tales or watching movies, good usually triumphs over evil by the end of the story. Often in real life, our desire is for the happily ever after fairy tale ending. But even in movies or fairy tales, the hero or heroine has to overcome many obstacles before they achieve goodness.

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Patience

January 27, 2013 By in Courage, Fruit, Gratitude, Patience, Struggles 9 Comments

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience… Gal 5:22

The King James Bible calls patience long suffering. Somehow to me patience sounds like a virtue to desire, but long suffering… well that sounds tentjpgtoo much like Job!

I think everyone would love to be able to say that they are patient, but probably none of us enjoy the process of long suffering that is required to actually become patient.

I believe the only way to grow in patience is to experience times of trials, disappointments, frustrations and failures. It is during these difficult stretches that the Lord enables the fruit of patience to grow strong.

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Slaying Giants

January 1, 2013 By in Bondage, Courage, Fellowship, Jail, Redemption, Victory 6 Comments

giant-slayerOn Christmas eve, Marianne and I spent time with about thirty brothers in the jail. During our time of fellowship, one of the men read the poem below. Here’s the story behind the poem, then the poem….

Earlier in December, I had shared with those men how our journey in the Lord is like Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt, through the desert, and then into the promise land.

God takes us out of the bondage of Egypt, but then uses the wilderness to burn Egypt out of us.

In the wilderness, God prepares us to take possession of the promise land – that place where we are able to own and responsibly manage the things He has created us to both be and do.

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Postmodern Idolatry

November 1, 2012 By in Authority, Church, Courage, Doctrine, Postmodern, Sovereignty, Truth 18 Comments

Does God do what is right, or is it right because God does it?

Many think God is subservient or subject to external standards – that He does what is right because there is a higher moral code that even He obeys.

This denies God’s sovereignty, and as a result many today seek to hold Him to the standard of their own sense of right and wrong.

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I Want More Religion (Part 2)

July 8, 2012 By in Courage, Faith, Great Commission, Postmodern, Redemption 15 Comments

I’ve heard privately from some who were offended with my use of “lazy-assed” in my blog, I Want More Religion (Part 1).

In my own defense, I was going to say “stinkin’ white-washed sepulchres” and use a whip to toss some tables, but I thought I’d tone it down and used “lazy-assed” instead. 😉

Seriously, if we don’t get out of this post-modern, introspective, insular, Jesus-is-all-about-affirming-my-own-sensibilities funk, then there is no hope of redemption and wholeness – for ourselves, for those He calls us to tangibly love and bless with real deeds, or for our culture.

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Feeling God’s Pleasure

June 15, 2012 By in Courage, Faith, Grace, Gratitude, Joy 3 Comments
Feeling God’s Pleasure

This scene from Chariots of Fire helped define my life when I saw it as a young man in 1981.

In it, Olympic runner Eric Liddell explained what motivated him: “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.”

What a wonderful way to feel, know and experience the Lord and His purpose.

Most of my life has been guided by the sense of His pleasure as I’ve been the man He created me to be and done the things He created me to do. Even when there’s been adversity, I have felt His pleasure as I serve the King of Kings with whatever gifts He’s given me.

There is no greater joy, no greater fulfillment, no greater purpose.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyltmUR3MU%5D

Peeking Through the Cracks

May 10, 2012 By in Courage, Epiphany, Faith, Joy, Life 1 Comment
Peeking Through the Cracks

Being the Church!

“Church” – as a platform for the gifted man and his anointed ministry – is crumbling all around.

As people start peeking outside the walls through the cracked facades, some find liberty.

Many, however, choose to remain trapped in the ruins.

We all have a choice. Liberty and life, or bondage and stagnation.

Seek grace, find courage, embrace joy and venture forth.

You’ll be surprised at how many other brave hearts await you outside the walls.

God’s call is clear: It is time to be the church once again.

Outside the Box

March 20, 2012 By in Courage, Institutional Church, Organic Church, Pastors 3 Comments

For most Christians, “church” is the big box where they attend a “service” on Sunday mornings.

If they are super-committed Christians, maybe it means attending additional meetings and programs that emanate from the Box during the rest of the week.

Outside the Box!

It took me years to learn to think – and act – outside that box!

Yes, Christ can be found in the box. But He does His best work, I’ve found, apart from and outside the box.

My spiritual heritage was outside the box. I was birthed into the Kingdom of God during the Jesus Movement and was very active in what we’d now call a network of “organic” or “simple” fellowships. But as the decades passed, I allowed myself to be slowly but surely drawn into the box.

Getting back out required a fundamental paradigm shift as I honestly and painfully let Scripture strip away my man-made traditions and accumulated expectations.

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About Justice

December 8, 2011 By in Abuse, Christ Chapel, Compassion, Courage, Justice, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse 5 Comments
About Justice

Jesus comforted the afflicted, and afflicted the comfortable.

Compassion for the Afflicted or for Evildoers?

When, through your silence or denial, the afflicted pay the price to maintain your comfort zones – in your personal life, your church, your community or your nation – watch out!

Justice, in its most basic terms, is making sure that evildoers – rather than their victims – bear the cost of their evil.

Injustice is when we impose those costs on the victims, often because we are unwilling to be discomforted by admitting to – or dealing with – the evil among us.

Jesus, because He is love, is also about justice.

And so, even today, He comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.

~ Jim Wright

Silence = Death

October 21, 2011 By in Brokenness, Christ Chapel, Courage, Sex Abuse 1 Comment
Silence = Death

To those who have been violated, and to those who know, may God give you the grace to find the voice they took from you.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KQ9xG3yWfw%5D

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

For help, or to offer help, I urge you to contact Nathan’s Voice.

Hypocrisy and Courage

September 10, 2011 By in Abusive Pastor, Christ Chapel, Courage, Predatory Leaders, Sex Abuse Leave a comment

Why is it that folks who condone sexual abuse by refusing to bear witness against sexual predators in our churches, often seem so concerned about young people otherwise staying sexually pure?

Condoning Abuse and Predation

If those folks don’t care enough about the sexuality integrity of our young to protect them from sexually exploitive church leaders, then why do they think our young will listen to their messages about sexual purity?

What stark hypocrisy!

I must add, however, how grateful I am for all who did come forward to bear witness against the evil that occurred over the last several years at Christ Chapel, a large Assembly of God church in the area. Thank you!

Your willingness to step forward, even though it was difficult and it took lots of courage, is making a difference. You have shown the world that there yet remains men and women of integrity in our churches.

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