When in danger the state can conscript men to fight for her freedom, but there are no conscripts in the army of the Lord. To bear a cross the Christian must take it up of his own free will. No authority can compel us to feed the hungry or evangelize the lost or pray for revival or sacrifice ourselves for Christ’s sake and the sake of suffering humanity. The ideal Christian is one who knows he is free to do as he will and wills to be a servant. This is the path Christ took; blessed is the man who follows Him.
Courage
Ed Stetzer
We look back on those who publicly stood up for the civil rights movement during this period with respect and admiration, precisely because of their sacrifice. If we want to emulate that kind of love, it goes beyond merely quoting them in the safety of historical retrospect but to speaking out on the same issues, which often remain unpopular today.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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.
Joyce Meyer
Today, Lord I am going to do my best with Your help and for Your glory. I realize that there are many different people in the world with a variety of opinions and expectations. I will concentrate on being a God-pleaser and not a self-pleaser or man-pleaser. The rest I leave in Your hands, Lord. Grant me favour with You and with men and continue transforming me into the image of Your dear Son.
Max Lucado
When’s the last time you ran in the direction of your challenge? We tend to retreat; we tend to duck; we tend to hide. We may escape for a moment, but as soon as we emerge from our hiding, there’s our Goliath, still waiting on us. Why don’t you try another tact? Saturate your mind with God, and then—in faith—run at our giant. Emboldened by an un-squashable resolve, load your sling with the rock of faith and take a swing at your giant.
Andy Mason
It was said by Mordecai to Queen Esther. Her people were about to be exterminated and she could have sat quietly and comfortably protected by title and privilege. Mordecai challenged her, “What if you were born for a such a time as this? You can speak up and use your privilege to help your people… OR God will cause help to come from another source.” (See the book of Esther in the Bible). What about today? When things get hot and volatile and risky, do you hide behind your privilege and pretend you cannot see or hear… or do you go all in, knowing ‘you were born for such a time as this!’
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
If we want to be Christians, we must have some share in Christ’s large-heartedness by acting with responsibility and in freedom when the hour of danger comes, and by showing a real sympathy that springs, not from fear, but from the liberating and redeeming love of Christ for all who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behaviour. The Christian is called to sympathy and action, not in the first place by his own sufferings, but by the sufferings of his brethren, for whose sake Christ suffered.
Jill Parr
March 8, 2020
Maybe today was hard for you.
Maybe you’re in a difficult season.
Maybe grief has robbed your joy.
Maybe you “feel” all alone.
Maybe you wanted to find thanks and gratitude but circumstances have you feeling like life is more unfair than it is good.
Can I just tell you that, you made it.
The only way to get through hard things is to do just that:
Get through it.
You did it.
You’re through it.
And hope still abounds.
Joy is still to be found.
Mercies are new every morning.
Grace is still endless.
You are never alone.
And the only thing you have to be is to just BE.
Chris Mathis
February 15, 2020
Get us back to the place where we were alive with a flaming fire in our hearts, where we would wake up in the middle of the night and seek Your face. Where tears would stream down our cheeks, the place before religion tamed us. God, get us back to the Holy Wild.
Chris Mathis
Gayle Erwin
Dec 14, 2019
The body of Christ, especially in well-functioning, small, intimate groups, is the most healing body in the world; yet we do not treat it as such. We wouldn’t think of relating to a medical doctor with the same reserve as we have in the healing body of Christ. Would we say to a doctor, “I have this unspoken illness?” Of course not! But we often use this term, unspoken request, in sharing our needs with the body. Would we try to deceive a doctor into thinking our hurt is nonexistent or in a different place than it actually is? Of course not! Would we say, “I am here for a friend – examine me and diagnose him?” Of course not! Yet we treat the church with such distrust and fear. We choose to hide.