I have a rather strange request of you. I have been working on a book for about four years. I have enormous hopes for its impact to shift the common believer from mediocrity to abundance. The book is about the great secrets I see leading to a wonderful, God-filled life; i.e. gratitude, being a nobody, power is perfected in weakness, etc.
Today the book is called, "Proceed Without Caution" (When Life Takes A Turn For The Better!).
God has given me a most paradoxical life. I'm all backwards and, yet, so much of it works. I would like to hear from you ideas which I might not have thought about as to what you think makes life tick for you or for me. What are traits in our walk that I would assume everyone knows, but you think others would be encouraged and motivated once they knew the thinking behind it?
12 comments:
George Morgan is 85 years old. I thought of him when I read your post. He was an elder in Blackwell when I was working there as the youth minister. He took me to lunch at least once a month (he sponsored my membership in the Lions club; there were 7 of us. I was the only one under 65). One day I asked him what the secret to long life and health was. He said hot peppers and plenty of them. Proceed without caution.
One trait I can think of that keeps me taking that next step is anticipation. I think it was the Heinz ketchup commercial that showed the kid waiting for the ketchup to come out of the bottle, hardly being able to stand it because he knew how good it would be. I anticipate the goodness of God each day, wondering what he has in store for me in my walk, ultimately anticipating the glory of heaven and being face to face with my Savior. (that is if we will have faces)
Terry - I would throw this out there. I don't think that your life is backwards or different from anyones. Things happen to you just like they do to me. There are great days and horrible days. There are days that we feel like we could soar and then there are days when we feel like a dead lifeless carcass. The difference, the thing that is backwards is the way that you interpret everyday things. It is the way that you anticipate God working. You catch things and notice things that most people don't notice or get. That reason is that you are wearing one-way mirroed glasses with the mirrors pointing in - our mighty God looks into your eys and sees your value and perfectly weak strength and that truth reflects out of you and you get it. That is what the world needs to be able to embrace. That they are perceived as treasured by the creator of the world.
I love you brother - Shawn
I love the title for your book! I can't wait to read it. As for input, I agree completely with Shawn. You are a very unique individual. You have such a way with words. And the way you explain things, I can always see you and hear your voice in everything you write. God has a way of radiating from you like I have never seen on anyone else. God looks great on you! And I know your book will bless many lives all because of Him.
Constantly overwhelmed by the job and inadequate for the job. Keeps it all in perspective. What difference do I make? Why would God use me? Yet somehow it makes a difference and God hasn't retired me yet. The longer I preach (30 years this April), the less adequate I feel for the job. But I've learned to leave just about everything else alone and focus on Christ in my preaching. Took me a lot of years to finally realize all the issues do nothing to help people grow spiritually. At best, it just polarizes us and makes us bitter. I want a signed copy of the book, please!
Every major moment I have questioned God/what God was doing eventually made sense. Every time. Now when something shakes me up I just remember that there were times in the past I wondered and they all eventually made sense, so why will this time be any different. Now here is the hard part - I try to live with the peace of everything making sense even when it doesn't yet because I know one day it will and I just don't/can't see it yet.
Another one - I was talking with a homeless man one time. He bragged about how he had quite a bit of money in the 80s and that he had been into sex and drugs pretty heavily. But now he is homeless and empty. I asked him how fulfilled he was making money and having all the things the world says will make you happy. He said he really felt just as empty then as he does now that he is homeless. Question - "If you had it all and felt empty and now have nothing and feel empty - don't you think there has to be something more to life than that?" It was a real eye opener to him. He started coming to church but eventually never made it out of that pit.
Not sure if that is what you are looking for, just my two cents.
God can use our failures and heartaches. A few years ago, my wife and I were trying to adopt a baby. We received a phone call from our adoption agency, letting us know of a baby that had just been born. The original adoptive parents had backed out of the adoption because the boy had been born with a disease similar to Down Syndrome, a cleft palate, 6 fingers on each hand, 6 toes on each foot, and webbed fingers and toes. The birth mother's agency had contacted our agency looking for anyone to take the child. We said, "Yes!" However, another couple was chosen. When I received the call at work, I had tears in my eyes. I was devastated. Later, a co-worker told me that she would never tell anyone to have an abortion again after she saw how much we wanted that little boy. We never expected our disappointment to change anyone's heart (or possibly even save a life), but God uses our failures and disappointments in ways that we cannot imagine. (A couple of years later, we adopted another wonderful little boy.)
A false sense of Guilt and shame tell us we're not trying or working hard enough.
And that mindset keeps us from ever enjoying forward living.
Sabbath is the key to all of this for me. There is a 24 hour period in life that God gives us weekly to take our hands off of the world completely and trust him with it.
That 24 hour period is to characterize the approach we take to the rest of our lives.
Sabbath is God's permission to show him that you know that you can't and don't have to do anything. Just rest and know...
John 5 - Jesus told the man to get up - not so a miracle could be displayed - but so the man could teach the Sanhedrin what Sabbath was.
Picking up his mat was grounds for death.
He did it anyway.
Are people willing to die in order to experience the essense of Sabbath?
Talk about Proceeding without caution.
He picked up his mat and walked - redefining Sabbath rest and healing in the journey forward.
Proceeding without caution is Sabbath Rest to me... without it I can't proceed very well
What makes me tick? Is the fact that God has taken me (a nobody) with nothing special, no famous relatives, not rich, not loved or wanted by biological mother, an overweight orphan and turned me into a creature capable of being the salt of the earth and a light to the world. With blessings beyond belief. I did not deserve anything I have received. How can I possibly repay him! The more I try the more I get returned back to me! My head is spinning trying to do good and my local congregation thinks I'm nothing special, I don't get called on to lead mothers group, or teach because my education level is not COLLEGE GRADUATE. But I get to touch the lives of the lost through my business..daily..need any insurance? You go GOD!!!
I have been faced with that question a lot in the last few weeks. Not that I have been asking it, but regardless the topic comes up and it is an answer to something I didn't even know I needed to ask. One key to this goal is to memorize and grasp in sincere belief to God's word...to memorize his scripture, just something that stands out to you, repeat it throughout each day, and see how God uses that.
Another answer I have received is to view other people with Christ's eyes. God loves us, all of us. So many times my short-comings in Christ come by the way I let others determine my mood, my attitude and the way I treat others. God wants us to see the good things in each other and not dwell on the negative that Satan draws us to focus on. Yes, there are things we should not accept from mankind, but our bitterness and anger is not ever going to change those things...but our Christ-given love will. I think to witness that will truly make someone know they are filled with Christ.
Terry, this sounds so trite, but we have to enjoy the journey. During the summer when I was in junior high, a friend of mine and I would walk (really) a mile and a half one way to a little store to get a Zero bar and a coke. We talked about girls, we talked about life, we talked about our parents. Once we arrived, the coke was gone as was the candy bar in about 5 minutes. But the very next day, my friend would say, "Want to go to Jet Store?" Was it because the drink and the candy bar tasted so good? No, I think it was the trip. There's nothing better than a good journey with a good friend. That's my two cents worth! JW
thats it drjimwhite fellowship!
we're missing it in our churches, & homes...many churches are trying extended family church or house church.....wonder if that is why we all seem to "eat out" a lot. Its more fun with someone!...how will we answer to God with our big beautiful homes that sit empty a lot...........share.........share.........share
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