1. We need churches that are forward moving in the Lord (listening and looking to Holy Spirit to lead the way, to direct in the actual thing that any one congregation is to be about, to be a church willing to limit itself to the instruction of God through them for their community, the parish in which they are located – for instance).
2. We need pastors that are growing and alive in God, in order to take a congregation forward (a congregation will only grow or develop to the level of its pastors, the pastor is a cap on spiritual maturity, choose well who you put yourself under and where your agreement goes).
3. We must understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is offensive at its core (think forgiveness, holiness, taking up your cross, for instance) and that to prioritize making church acceptable to the world is a serious tactical error (the principle is that we never negotiate with darkness, whether that is an abusive spouse, a tyrannical government, a thief, terrorists, a kidnapper demanding a ransom, and such – to negotiate only results in the demand increasing and contempt [for those too nice] growing).
In other words, to remain in place, to doubt the ability for the congregation to mature, to limit the call to cross-bearing, to make church ‘nice’ for people, is to bring contempt on the cross of Christ, the heart of The Father, and the ministry of Holy Spirit.
Imagine that you are travelling through towns and villages outside of your normal area, you are on a bit of a trek, a journey. You come across many different kinds of folks. They realize that you do not belong, so to speak, and that you come from somewhere else. Both your dress and your accent would give this away. All this, the looking and sounding different, being unaware of the local customs, and not completely sure of your route, might leave you open to abuse and robbery. At each conversation, cross-road, inn or tavern, with each person you meet there may be foul play at hand, against you, who you are and where you are going.
Except, that you belong to the landholding, the house so to speak, the laird of the land from which you come; this is where your allegiance lies. You are a servant of the Lord of the manor. Now, the people you are encountering do not know you. You mean nothing to them. You carry no authority, no weight of influence, no recourse to your own care even. But, they know the lairds of the land. These are big men and their reputations go far.
And so, on the brink of an assault, out of your mouth comes, “I belong to the Laird of Grendgaven”. At which your would-be robbers shrink back. They know this name. And if you belong to him and his house then there is nothing they can do without grave repercussions. Your Laird has the authority to overrule, to overcome, to hold them to account for what they may do to you. They turn their backs and you are free to go on your way as before.
In medieval England it is not safe to travel outside of the protection of the Laird of the land.
So too, today, it is not safe to travel through life without the name of the LORD on your side.
You are nothing. Within yourself there is only braggart, presumption, arrogance, to believe it okay to navigate through life on ones own name, ones own strength, ones own wisdoms. But, wise are those who call on the name of the LORD, who give allegiance to Jesus Christ, Laird of the land. It is by His name that we are covered and kept, safe from the attacks of Satan and the assignments of darkness.
I stand, journey, pray, come, in the name of my Laird Jesus the Christ. And all darkness shrinks back.
He is the LORD of the manor, the keeper of our lives, the ONE to whom our allegiance is due.
Here it is another Sunday. My experience of church after some years of new wine reality, is that of a lullaby. I am lulled into a stupor, satisfied with crumbs, made to feel glad with little substance. It’s like candy, a quick fix to any conviction, just enough truth to mimic a meal, pats on the back all-around with little that lasts. Milk is being served and I am desperate for some meat. And I attend a good church.
It’s not all bad but it does make me wonder what the heck we are all doing.
You know, halfway there is worse than not there at all. At least if it was atrocious we could spot it. But no, we’ve got just enough truth to make us miss the half-truths, just enough bonhomie to make us miss the outpoured sacrifice of Christ and the call upon our own lives to the same, just enough comfort such that we forget our troubles but can never realize our purpose, our exact participation, the cross that we are to carry.
Do you know what your cross is? I ask.
How have you died to yourself this week, and who for?
What has God asked of you lately and are you doing that thing?
How has God directed you this week and how might we support you in that?
I rarely hear these things from the few churches I’ve attended over my lifetime and I wonder why and I think something is wrong.
“He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Psalm 103:3-5
He heals all my diseases.
He heals my pride and my arrogance.
Healed is my fear and doubt.
“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.” Isaiah 57:18-19
In healing are my bones and body made strong.
He heals my pettiness and my bitterness.
Healed is my poverty and hunger.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5
In healing do I eat of the land and find strength in my being.
He heals my worries and my confusion.
Healed, my life goes forward with me.
“As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!”” Psalm 41:4
In healing do I have hope for tomorrow.
He heals the pain in my shoulder and my bunged up knee.
Healed is my capacity for joy, for wonder, for gladness.
“O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.” Psalm 30:2
In healing I partake of community.
He heals my organs, bones, muscles, and the systems of my body.
Healed is my delight in each day gifted by God.
“Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” Then the man got up and went home.” Matthew 9:5-8
In healing do we find friendship.
He heals the wounds of my past.
Healed are my emotions and the circuitry of my brain.
“Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” Isaiah 58:8
In healing I bring my whole self to God.
He heals more than I know.
Healed, becomes my life.
“But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.” Malachi 4:2
“The church has only ONE altar, the altar of the Almighty … before which all creatures must kneel … whoever seeks something other than this must keep away; he cannot join us in the house of God … The church has only one pulpit, and from that pulpit, faith in God will be preached, and no other faith, and no other will than the will of God, however well-intentioned.” 1933 Dietrich Bonhoeffer
All that is required, at its most basic, is a turning to the Lord. Whether I am a mass murderer or am disconnected from God because I’ve been so busy, all that is required is a turning to the Lord. This turning is a heart shift towards God. It includes a vulnerability, a need of help, a contrite heart, a humility and a trust that God can do for us, that Jesus has already done for us, what we cannot do for ourselves.
It assumes a letting go of our own effort, with an intention of dependancy on the Lord, a reckoning of our humanity and our own best efforts as loss. Namely, we turn to God to save us and to lift the burden of our sin, dismay, fear, and to restore us, heal us, and enter us into himself. We long for righteousness and holiness, knowing that only in God are these things found. We are sick of sin and loss, sick of worry and dread, sick of doubling-down on effort, sick of religion, sick of evil, sick of our own goodness (that is no goodness at all).
It is God that is our answer. The oil of the Lord is flowing from the throne-room of God. Enter in. Dare to come, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
Chapter 4 of Hebrews speaks of entering into the rest of the Lord. Of ceasing from our labours (some of which is our self-effort to save ourselves, to manage our lives, to make things right) and trusting in the work of God that was accomplished at the creation of the world. vs.3.
I recall being a young mom with many littles, and this injunction to partake of a sabbath day, a physical day of rest from the concerns and needs, the unending demands of life, took some intention and courage. Taking a sabbath day was an act of trust for me. It was possible only as I entrusted my next week to God. The challenge required me to understand that the work would never end, but that I could set the demands aside for a day and rest.
This rest of God comes as a physical, in-time, practical, ceasing from the hustle. In my heart it is the same but more. My soul can find it’s peace and joy and rest in the presence and companionship of God. While the world has its trouble I can be quiet, without rushing, in the Lord. As we practice this week by week we find that the world or our own circumstances have no hold on us. God has the last say regarding our lives and in God we trust.
And so, we turn to God. We set down fretting and we settle our gaze on the Lord. We bring our illness and look to the one who heals. We bring our family along with us into the throne-room of God. We put our sin at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. We take pause to give thanks, to allow gratitude to flood our being, to say a simple Amen to all that is beautiful around us. We welcome Holy Spirit.
Are you afraid, turn to God. Are you convicted of sin, turn to God. Are you ashamed and embarrassed, turn to God. Are you unsure of your future, turn to God. Are you worried, turn to God. Are you unclear of what to do next, turn to God.
Pause, and turn to the one who created you, sustains you, loves you.
A turning is all it takes. Turn to God and find life.
The Lord has told me to ‘make Kenya happen’. This post is for those that have been inviting Cyndy and Capturing Courage International Ministries to Kenya, to make clear your invitation, to help me choose where to go, be, and minister in the country.
If you are from Kenya and have been wanting me to come and minister with you, then please fill out the form below.
Once you press the ‘submit’ button at the bottom of the form, this will come to my email. I will then take a month or more, to pray and seek the Lord, and will get back to you after that. You may receive a ‘yes’ I can come to you, or you may receive a ‘no’ I cannot come to you.
Please look at our primary website https://capturingcourage.org before submitting your request for me to minister with you. We want to have a good match between what you want and what Capturing Courage offers. Looking at our website is a good way to help with this.
Thank-you for your invitation to Kenya and to your ministry there. Let us hold all things before the Lord and see how Holy Spirit leads.
We have begun videoing each chapter of College of Capturing Courage. I am finding it to be heavy work. The presence of the Lord weighs strong on me. There is a courage required to advance with this, to be sure. I recently realized that I am afraid of the glory of God.
I grew up understanding the value of hard work, the importance of diligence, the necessity to be productive and to prove oneself in this world. Now, all of this is important in its own time and place. Yet, within this work of Capturing Courage I’ve found that God continues to call me to the deepest emotional and spiritual labours. It is in this that I have struggled the most.
For instance, in the midst of my journey with compassion fatigue and as I was sitting more in the Lord, because of the illness naturally brought low, and consequently often overcome by the Lord and drunk in the Spirit a lot of the time, my first reaction was irritation.
I wanted to be productive. Have you ever tried to be productive while drunk? I am reminded of the writing of our college course. During those years, as God poured revelation and conviction and wonder into my writing, I would often get off of my chair and go to my knees before the Lord; I was so overcome by the Lord and brought low in worship. Finally, one day I cried out to God, “God, how am I supposed to write this course when I have to keep getting on my knees!”
Similarly, getting used to being drunk in the Spirit required of me this prayer, “Okay God. If you want me to settle into your presence in this way, if being drunk in you is the way you are moving with me, then I put down my need to be productive. Let me sit and become overcome with your Spirit, with your presence God. Amen.”
And that has settled it for some time. I’ve adjusted to a certain inability to get as much done, to stay on task (my tasks), and to write as much as I want. I’ve given over my ego that would like to prove myself. I’ve been stripped of childhood mantra’s of ‘stay busy’. Jesus, after all, did say of Mary, “She has chosen the better way.” I understand this now.
Yet, as it comes time to video record my reading of each chapter of College of Capturing Courage, I am pressed hard by the weight of God’s glory. I don’t really know how to explain it, except that my natural person fights this at all costs. I am afraid of the weight of God and not very used to this. It is not very comfortable to wander around my house for a couple of hours, completely impotent to do anything ‘useful’ after completing a recording. And the pressing beforehand is another thing entirely.
A week ago or so I prayed this, “Okay God. I will bear the weight of you as you choose. Amen.”
I don’t know how the Lord will use these recordings for others. On my part it is sheer faithfulness and obedience. Brutal faithfulness is what I have always called it. For yourself, I suppose your experience of this is up to you and your own journey with God.
All this to say, here is video of Chapter One – The Great Expectation, College of Capturing Courage. May this bless you, may the Lord be your All in All, may the Living God touch the deepest parts of your heart and life. For all time. Amen.
It has come to be that Capturing Courage will be in Tanzania within a month’s time. We have been looking ahead to this for some years time and now glad to be on the cusp of another time in Africa.
“Through the heartfelt mercies of our God, God’s Sunrise will break in upon us,
Shining on those in the darkness, those sitting in the shadow of death,
Then showing us the way, one foot at a time, down the path of peace.”
Luke 1:79 The Message
Peace is powerful. Chaos cannot remain where there is peace. We do not know exactly what God wants to do in Tanzania. So, we have been putting down our own thinking, setting aside any agenda we may have, and endeavouring to bring our anticipation and glad-hearted agreement unto the Lord for this time.
Therefore we pray peace. And we come in peace. We allow the Lord to make us people of peace. Peace makes way for refreshment. And specifically, God has been speaking to us about the waters of the Lord upon the hills of Tanzania. Yes Lord, may it be so.
Some years back I began to deeply think, pray, and consider what I might want from a gathering of believers. Having been born into church and grown there for decades I was feeling a certain disconnect from the programs and services and the endless talk, the teaching and preaching.
Now, I am a teacher and a preacher. I’ve ministered in hundreds of churches. Even so, (perhaps because I’ve been to so many churches), I began to sense a certain hollowness in our gatherings. Something seemed to be missing. I was longing for something more. Even though I did not know what that was as I cried out to God with a hunger in my heart.
Now, I must also express that my experience of God across these many churches has been one of wonder and delight. Holy Spirit marks us all the same. With a gladness of heart, with eagerness for the Lord, with easy song and worship and that particular essence of God’s breath in our hearts, the church around the world holds something of God that transcends culture, race, socio-economic classes, language, geography, and countries; we can travel anywhere in the world and find a people of God just like us.
Yet, even so, because of this familiarity of God within us around the world, I’ve come to what we are calling Jesus Meetings. I am eager and the time seems right to explore and engage and experience the Lord, to set our attention to Jesus Christ, to sit within the love of the Father, and to inquire of Holy Spirit.
Let me share what I wrote some years ago about this:
“We are a people gathered to celebrate our Lord Jesus Christ. To be in deep gratitude to God our Father. And to welcome our Beloved Holy Spirit.
“Yet for us there is only one God — the Father. Out of him is all things, and our lives are lived for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus, the Anointed One, through whom we and all things exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:6 TPT
We hold space for each other and for the Lord. Our understanding is that each of us are welcomed as part of God’s living body on earth; together we are the temple of God.
Church is the people. People are the church.
Each of us wants something more of God. There is more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control than we have experienced thus far. There is more intimacy and forgiveness, more gladness of heart and bounty of life than what we have known. We want more of the Lord.
We want to grow. To be challenged. To be strengthened, emboldened, and courageous in our listening and in our walking and in our daily lives with God at our side and within us, and us within God.
As the church, as Ecclesia, a body of people called out for a specific purpose, we seek to live our lives for the glory of God for the renown of his name on earth and in our worlds, in your and my context.
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!” Psalm 96:3
We hold this framework and welcome our Holy Spirit to lead us:
SILENCE – allowing Holy Spirit to touch our hearts.
WORSHIP – exalting Jesus Christ together.
TESTIMONY – what have we seen of God this week?
SCRIPTURE – what might God speak, as we gather?
PRAYER – for and with each other and before the Lord.
WITNESS – how might we position ourselves to witness the glory of God?
We gather for a few hours. Come and go as you want. We literally use the above Silence, Worship, etc as our ‘order of service’. We follow the leading of the Spirit regarding time and depth. We point to Christ together.”
As we have entered 2023 there is a quickening of the Lord within and for us. Have you felt this? I am all about an equipping of the body of Christ. We must be nimble before the Lord in our hearts and minds. Our hearts and lives are meant to abide in God. It is good to sit before the Lord together. Each week demands a pause in which we turn to God, “God, we love you, we trust you, and we know you to be good.” Amen.
I am recently home after two-months across the country and back again. It was a praying across the land in faithfulness to the Lord, in agreement with the heart of God. I’m hosting an evening of sharing about this trip. I did not write or video or post nearly what I thought I would while on the road. I forgot how much energy and how deep are these kinds of prophetic works.
Now that I am home, Join Us, for an evening of hearing more:
NOTE: I will be hosting this in my home for those who want to gather in person. The big blue house in Surrey (Greater Vancouver Area, Canada), if you are familiar. If you have no idea on this, send me a message and I’ll give you the address. To come in person please arrive between 6:30 – 6:45 pm, as the zoom begins at 7:00.
See you then!
To come in person, use this form to RSVP and receive the address of where we are gathering:
