Apr 15, 2013

The Courage to Live in a Culture of Honor

There is honor, and then there is the CULTURE of honor. I have learned this more than once, but it has not been so clear to me as now. As I get ready to read Danny Silk's book, Culture of Honor, I am excited to learn more about this wonderful and courageous, integrity-filled calling that we have been given. As part of Bethel Church in Redding, California, headed by such leaders as Bill Johnson, Kevin Dedmon, and Kris Vallotton, Danny and his wife, Sheri, are part of a movement that is helping to change America, and the world. That movement is the willingness to live in a CULTURE OF HONOR.

The Houghton-Mifflin American College Dictionary tells us that honor can be a noun, transitive verb, or idiom. To honor is to show one's esteem for another; to give the highest regards to another. It is to live with personal integrity in how we interact with those around us. It is a way of showing respect, recognition of others, dignity, and good reputation.
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To live in a culture of honor is a RISK. But every time someone has risked greatly with faith, God has been there on the other side, cheering them on. If we think of Moses, Noah, Jesus, John the Baptist, the Apostle Paul, Esther, Ruth, and so many more from the time of the Bible... if we think of people who are risk takers we know personally: missionaries, pastors, prayer warriors, and circle makers of varying other sorts, we know that risk is a component of COURAGE as well as FAITH.

When we honor the people around us, honor ourselves, honor our authenticity, and most importantly, honor GOD, we are living proof that honor CAN be a culture to embrace.

So, clients and readers... there is a challenge here. I look forward to reading this text, very much, and I encourage you if able to do the same. It just may change your whole life perspective and alter the course of your life in a transformational thrust of  God's goodness. I challenge you to learn to live in a culture of HONOR!



Apr 1, 2013

Courage

What exactly is courage? It certainly gets confused with risk-taking and bravado sometimes, but that isn't a good definition, do you think? Courage, I believe, can be defined as "getting one's feet wet, despite being afraid of the water."

Another way to look at this is to take a stair at a time toward the heights of fear, or to step out in faith, like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, when he is instructed, basically, to jump into thin air. It isn't really that nothing is there... it's that without faith, it cannot be seen. Without courage to take action, faith is mere belief. And I say this not lightly, but to encourage.

Peter stepped out of the boat, and ended up walking on the water. Lepers were healed, blind saw, deaf heard, and dead were raised... and they still can be today. Indiana jumped, and his way appeared. This is where faith meets courage, or action.

Action plus belief, we read, equal true faith. Courage combined with belief. That's faith. Faith takes courage! And both are needed to grow...

As life coaches, as clients, as people with fears, as people who love, we all risk something at some point in order to grow.  If we refuse to move forward, we automatically stagnate, or worse, go backward, and so, in spite of our fears, we take baby steps; sometimes, we leap.

What is courage? It is the hand that holds faith as we walk through life... to help us become all that we can be!

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