Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Great Reading
Congrats to the perennially techno-challenged guy! That would be me. I finally figured out how to add a list of other blogs to mine. PLEASE go check these out if you haven't already done so, they are all phenomenal, challenging, and exciting to read. Stop reading this! Click one!
Fight or Flight
It never ceases to amaze me how Satan uses the same trick over and over again, and somehow manages to make you forget the 300 times he used it before. You would think that human beings would have a longer attention span, but it seems that ADD is not limited to kids hopped up on sugar.
I went to bed last night thinking of all the different ministry opportunities that God has given me, and excited about how He gives me the strength to do everything He asks of me. Somewhere between 11:00 PM and 5:45, that excitement completely drained off. I dreamt of failure after failure, defeat after defeat. By the time I woke up, all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die. The very thought of trying to do anything for God filled me with apprehension and fear of failure.
Had I not went to the Lord for my strength, I would have spent the rest of my day afraid, which the enemy would have loved. I opened my Bible, and begged God for His help, and read these verses:
" In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. "
Any time a Christian stands up and determines to bring glory to the God of Heaven, Satan bends his bow and takes aim. A bird can be safe from the hunter's arrow, but only if he accepts that he can never fly. Satan whispers to the Christian who would fly,
"You will fail. Don't take a chance, don't bite off more than you can chew. Find somewhere safe and comfortable, find your mountain. Go home before you get hurt."
David had the right answer! Why should I listen to you? God is my refuge! My trust is in the Lord, not in my own strength.
David says that if his foundation is destroyed then he could do nothing, but he knew that his foundation was the Rock that could not be moved, much less destroyed! If we can do nothing without our foundation, the opposite is true: with our feet on the Rock, all things are possible. I think Paul might have even mentioned something to that effect...
This psalm is a testament to the sovereignty of God over man and the enemy. God is the sure foundation, the enabler, the One who is forever seated on the throne. He is forever worshipped in His temple, and he watches and cares for His own.
How do you beat fear? Realize who is in your corner, and come out fighting!!!
I went to bed last night thinking of all the different ministry opportunities that God has given me, and excited about how He gives me the strength to do everything He asks of me. Somewhere between 11:00 PM and 5:45, that excitement completely drained off. I dreamt of failure after failure, defeat after defeat. By the time I woke up, all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock and die. The very thought of trying to do anything for God filled me with apprehension and fear of failure.
Had I not went to the Lord for my strength, I would have spent the rest of my day afraid, which the enemy would have loved. I opened my Bible, and begged God for His help, and read these verses:
" In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. "
Any time a Christian stands up and determines to bring glory to the God of Heaven, Satan bends his bow and takes aim. A bird can be safe from the hunter's arrow, but only if he accepts that he can never fly. Satan whispers to the Christian who would fly,
"You will fail. Don't take a chance, don't bite off more than you can chew. Find somewhere safe and comfortable, find your mountain. Go home before you get hurt."
David had the right answer! Why should I listen to you? God is my refuge! My trust is in the Lord, not in my own strength.
David says that if his foundation is destroyed then he could do nothing, but he knew that his foundation was the Rock that could not be moved, much less destroyed! If we can do nothing without our foundation, the opposite is true: with our feet on the Rock, all things are possible. I think Paul might have even mentioned something to that effect...
This psalm is a testament to the sovereignty of God over man and the enemy. God is the sure foundation, the enabler, the One who is forever seated on the throne. He is forever worshipped in His temple, and he watches and cares for His own.
How do you beat fear? Realize who is in your corner, and come out fighting!!!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Who Do You Want To Be?
Do you want to be remembered, respected, published and known, or do you want to train men and change the world?
In all likelihood, the world will not long remember W. Austin Gardner. Even the relatively small universe of fundamentalists does not and will not know this name. When the day comes that the pulpit is forever bereft of his presence, it is doubtful that he will leave a congregation of thousands in his wake. Unless he is sent to prison, or becomes a hermit, no lengthy Bible commentaries are likely to be written.
What he will leave is a core group of men of the Book; leaders and men-trainers who will change their world; a group whose lives were forever changed because this man chose to invest his time and energy in developing their character and walk with God. His words of wisdom are written on the lives and hearts of people, not paper.
His life work, his ministry, is the building ministries that are not his own; his glory is the glory of others, and thus, God's glory.
Why would a charismatic and gifted leader devote his time, talent, and treasure to build everyone around him; let himself be used and derided, humiliated, scorned, and under-appreciated?
The simple answer is because he has sought to emulate the One that is his life and joy. He leads by example because Christ led by example. He invests because Christ invested. He gives because his Saviour gave all.
The world may not remember W. Austin Gardner, but those who carry a part of his life engrafted on their very soul will never forget him, and the Jesus that he represents. More than this, his God will never forget his sacrifices and labor.
Little glory lays before my Pastor in this life, because he doesn't seek it. In fact, he will in all likelihood "rip my face off" (a great Gardnerism) for writing praise about him, but I know that God will honor him one day, because he has honored God with his life.
At times I am tempted to desire fame and posterity when I think about my ministry, but how much greater to be a true servant, and let God change the world around me with a life of sacrifice!
In all likelihood, the world will not long remember W. Austin Gardner. Even the relatively small universe of fundamentalists does not and will not know this name. When the day comes that the pulpit is forever bereft of his presence, it is doubtful that he will leave a congregation of thousands in his wake. Unless he is sent to prison, or becomes a hermit, no lengthy Bible commentaries are likely to be written.
What he will leave is a core group of men of the Book; leaders and men-trainers who will change their world; a group whose lives were forever changed because this man chose to invest his time and energy in developing their character and walk with God. His words of wisdom are written on the lives and hearts of people, not paper.
His life work, his ministry, is the building ministries that are not his own; his glory is the glory of others, and thus, God's glory.
Why would a charismatic and gifted leader devote his time, talent, and treasure to build everyone around him; let himself be used and derided, humiliated, scorned, and under-appreciated?
The simple answer is because he has sought to emulate the One that is his life and joy. He leads by example because Christ led by example. He invests because Christ invested. He gives because his Saviour gave all.
The world may not remember W. Austin Gardner, but those who carry a part of his life engrafted on their very soul will never forget him, and the Jesus that he represents. More than this, his God will never forget his sacrifices and labor.
Little glory lays before my Pastor in this life, because he doesn't seek it. In fact, he will in all likelihood "rip my face off" (a great Gardnerism) for writing praise about him, but I know that God will honor him one day, because he has honored God with his life.
At times I am tempted to desire fame and posterity when I think about my ministry, but how much greater to be a true servant, and let God change the world around me with a life of sacrifice!
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