Courage. Some have it, and some don’t. Are courageous people simply born with more of it than others? Is courage part of an individual’s personality…or can anyone develop courage with…
taking a stand
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- AngerAuthorityBishopChristiansConflictConfrontationCourageEmperorInjusticeKillLeadershipMurderPowerReconciliationRevengeTaking a StandTaking Action
Staring Down an Emperor
by davidrsmithby davidrsmithOnce upon a time, a bishop got in the face of an emperor. One had immeasurable power behind him. The other had nothing but righteous indignation on his side.
The outcome of the standoff surprised everyone who heard the story.
- BaptistChristiansChurchCowardDisappointmentRacismTaking a StandTaking ActionThe SouthUnloving
Ruined Wedding
by davidrsmithby davidrsmith“Hurt. Devastated. Crushed.” Those aren’t the typical emotions most newlyweds would use to describe their wedding day. But that’s exactly how Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson feel when they look back on their big day.
Sadly, it was a group of “Christians” who were responsible for their pain.
- ConfessionDenialEvilGuiltyInjusticeMenMistakeRacismRegretTaking a StandTaking Action
Grilled Cheese With the Guilty
by davidrsmithby davidrsmithWhen you notice injustice, racism, violence, or some other form of evil, what do you do? Do you take strong action against it? Do you denounce it? Do you at least pray against it?
At all costs, you should avoid doing what Fred Craddock, the famous preacher, once did.
- ActionsCourageFearKnowledgeLeadershipQuotesTaking a StandTaking ActionVictory
Nelson Mandela on Courage
by davidrsmithby davidrsmith“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.”
- ActionsComplacencyDietrich BonhoefferEvilGod's JusticeGuiltyQuotesTaking a StandTaking ActionWordsWorks
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Complacency
by davidrsmithby davidrsmith“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.”
- ChristianityChristiansCourageDietrich BonhoefferFearGod's WillQuotesSinTaking a StandTaking ActionWorks
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on Christianity
by davidrsmithby davidrsmith“Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.”
- AdviceAthleteCommitmentExample (Being An)FatherIntegrityLifestyleMoneyPromiseSportsTaking a StandWords
Michael Jordan’s Paycheck
by davidrsmithby davidrsmithUnfortunately, many people’s talk is cheap. They say one thing and then do another which makes their promises as empty as their integrity. If the commitments they’ve made might end up costing them something, they break them without any reservation.
But when Michael Jordan gave his word, he kept it…even if it could cost him millions.
- AdvocateAssassinationChristianityChristiansCourageDeathHelpIslamJusticeKillLawMartyrMurderOppressionPersecutionPoliticiansTaking a StandViolence
The Advocate’s Assassination
by davidrsmithby davidrsmithThe car had no sooner left its driveway when it was suddenly attacked by terrorists bent on assassination. The killers mercilessly sprayed the vehicle with gunfire as neighbors dove for cover.
When the smoke cleared, a powerful advocate for Pakistani Christians lay in a puddle of his own blood.
- ChristiansChurchCowardDeathEvilFearForgivenessHolocaustIgnoreInjusticeMurderOppressionRegretSingingTaking a StandTaking ActionWarWorld War II
Cowardly Christians
by davidrsmithby davidrsmith“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,” declares Tolstoy in War and Peace. The truth – and consequence – of that statement has revealed itself time and time again throughout the travesties in mankind’s history.
Sadly, it was true of an entire church in Nazi Germany.