Monthly Archives: February 2010

Dan Allender wrote a book called Leading with a Limp.  So far he has made many great points.  One of the topics he talks about is courage.  Here are some great thoughts he gives.

The more we are freed by the love of God from the tentacles of shame and blame, the less likely we will be to give in to fear during crisis.  It is brokenness that increases a heart’s capacity to live with courage.

What is courage?  G.K. Chesterton wrote,

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.  It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.  “He that will lose his life, same shall save it,” is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes…A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying.  He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape.  He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape.  HE MUST SEEK HIS LIFE IN A SPIRIT OF FURIOUS INDIFFERENCE TO IT; HE MUST DESIRE LIFE LIKE WATER, AND YET DRINK DEATH LIKE WINE. (emphasis mine)

The essence of courage is not an absence of fear; it is the necessary paradox of leadership.  Facing the extremity of our helplessness opens the door to freedom to fight with a “strange carelessness” and a “spirit of furious indifference.”  This is the foundation for true confidence.

What are your thoughts?

Love Truth
Vernon

Richard Stearns has written an incredibly challenging book called The Hole in Our Gospel.

One of the quotes he gives helps to understand the diversity of our world.

To better understand the makeup of the human race, imagine that all 6.7 billion people on earth could be represented by a single “global village” of just 100 people…Here’s a snapshot of what that global village would look like.

Out of 100 people:

60 would be Asian

14 would be African

12 would be European

8 would be Latin American

5 would be American or Canadian

1 would be from the South Pacific

51 would be male; 49 would be female

82 would be non-white; 18 white

67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian

Stearns goes on to document that Americans only make up 4.5% of the entire world population.

I pray that if you did not know how diverse the world was, that you would be encouraged at the creativity of God.

I pray that you would be burdened by the reality that 2 out of every 3 people in the world (at best!) do not know Christ.  I pray this burden would lead you to hope filled action in Him.

Any thoughts?

Love Truth
Vernon

A friend of mine suggested that I read a book called QBQ.  It is all about personal accountability and how to ask better questions.  It is a quick read, but well worth your time.

The author had a unique twist on the Serenity Prayer that I thought was pretty interesting.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know…it’s me!”

He also had a unique outlook on what it means to be creative.  Since so many times it is easy to think, “If we only had…everything would be better.”  He defines creativity as, “Succeeding within the box.”  Therefore, our question should be, “How can I achieve with the resources I already have?”

Thoughts?

Love Truth
Vernon

Robert Park, a U.S. Activist who crossed over the North Korean border armed only with a letter, and Laura Silsby, an American missionary to Haiti with a heart for orphans, are both great examples of good intentions gone awry. Check out their stories:

Robert Park (entering North Korea)
Robert Park (release from prison)
Laura Silsby

Proverbs 19:2 – Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
Justin Kitchens

Much of what I have been learning and meditating on lately has been inspired by Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods. I finished it prior to moving to St. Louis and it has been a great help. The introduction and first chapter alone have resulted in more questions and revelations regarding idolatry than I have ever had before. Here are some quotes and musings:

• Idols are not bad things. “We think that idols are bad things, but that is almost never the case. The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life.” This reality challenged me to broaden my search radius when seeking to identify idols in my life. For me good things can easily become ultimate things if I am not careful.

• Your thought life is a great indicator of what you worship. “Idols capture our imagination, and we can locate them by looking at our daydreams. What do we enjoy imagining? What are our fondest dreams?” This in conjunction with the first point allowed me to see that, although not inherently evil, my desires for success, security and control had become idols. In specific many of my daydreams are about my future and what I hope to accomplish. My ambition is not a bad thing but when my hope is found in what I think I can potentially accomplish I have made success a god.

• God is so very gracious to us in his denying us the desires of our hearts when they are anything other than Himself. “…one of the worst things God can do to someone is to give them over to the desires of their hearts (Romans 1:24). Why would the greatest punishment imaginable be to allow someone to achieve their fondest dream? It is because our hearts fashion these desires into idols.” Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9). Left to our own devices we would pursue everything but God for things that only God can deliver. I cannot imagine a more miserable existence.

My prayer has been that I would respond properly to the revelation of idols in my life by turning in repentance to God and restoring him to his rightful place on the throne of my heart to be worshiped alone. Read the book if you get a chance it’s worth your time.

Have a great week,
Justin

Last week I was with my Grandpa as he drew his last breath. Before he died I was able to pray with him and read Psalm 23 over him twice. I must say the whole situation has still been kind of surreal.

Here are two thoughts that keep rumbling around in my brain.

1. Death is clarifying. So many times we allow ourselves to get entangled in such tertiary things and make them as major things. Thinking of eternal life and eternal death will help to clarify many things and cause you to examine your life.

2. Many times we derive a false comfort from where a person has gone after death. Don’t get me wrong; great comfort exists (and should) when we think of Heaven. The problem is that so many times the verbage we use makes God ONLY good if the person who has died is in Heaven. I think this is why many times the main consoling words we hear are “He/She is in a better place.”

Again, there is nothing wrong with deriving comfort from Heaven, but if we still can’t find comfort in God if someone goes the Hell then we must realign our thoughts.

I must say that God has provided a great comfort to my soul that has been mainly focused on His goodness, even in this situation. I am not saying I have been free of the pain of losing my grandpa (I don’t think that would be healthy in the first place), yet I do sense the Lord speaking His great encouragement in my life.

Thoughts?

Love Truth
Vernon

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