(Friday) 28 Feb. 2014 ~ Daily Devotional of Pastor Wayne M.
Bass
OUR INTEGRITY HERITAGE
OUR INTEGRITY HERITAGE
Friday, February 28, 2014
OUR INTEGRITY HERITAGE
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY
A beloved Amish proverb is my constant call to practice
personal responsibility and accountability.
It simply says, “Instead of putting others in their place, put yourself
in their place.”
How easy it is to get caught up in the blame game! Don’t you agree? But finger-pointing is never a comely, polite
or healthy practice. My Dad often
reminded us: ‘Whenever you point your index finger to condemn others, there are
three pointing back at you and one pointing up to God.’
Life experiences teach us that other people are certainly
capable of causing pain, pressure or problems.
But I have a suggested solution, one that might at first seem cynical,
but represents a more practical response to the offenses of others. When you ‘feel’ a certain way about something
someone else has done, silently ask yourself this question: “SO WHAT?” After all, when we net it all out, there are relatively
few things others can do that will have a lifelong impact on us…unless WE allow
it to be so. Therefore, any decision to repeatedly
rehearse the offenses of others, i.e. to hold tenaciously to angry unforgiving
spirits, is much more detrimental to ourselves than it is to others.
So why not take personal responsibility? It’s a healthy
choice. Frequently, I pray to our
Lord, asking Him to reveal my flaws, errors, inconsistencies or misconceptions. This enables me to see MYSELF more clearly
and to move on with my life – even when I recognize someone has acted in a way
that is damaging or deceitful.
This choice informs and instructs me.
This choice motivates and mobilizes me.
This choice favors and blesses me.
This choice frees me to continue the marvelous journey The
Creator has designed – with personal purity, with passionate power, with genuine
love.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
LOOK OUT FOR LANDMINES!
LOOK OUT FOR LANDMINES!
Landmines are explosive, concealed, military devices, which
are designed to passively destroy or disable enemy targets without the risk of directly
engaging the warring adversary. Injury
or death results, either from the direct blast or from lethal fragments hurled with
great force from its epicenter. During
past wars, landmines were detonated by direct pressure, i.e. the weight of the
person stepping on the landmine or the vehicle driving over it.
The latest
generation of landmines is deployed to destroy military personnel and
vehicles. These weapons are called “IEDs”
or improvised explosive devices. During our
most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, numerous allied combatants lost both life
and limb as the result of these IEDs. The
use of such landmines remains controversial because they were originally condemned
by “The Geneva Conventions” [seven treaties and protocols that establish standards
of humanitarian treatment during warfare – 1949], and later legally prohibited
by “The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and
Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines.” [1997]
It is important
to recognize that landmines are typically deployed by cowards who seek to destroy their enemies from a safe
distance. It occurs to me that the chief coward, Satan, plants
spiritual landmines in his desperate attempts to “kill and destroy” the people
of God. (John 10:10)
How so? The archenemy of the cross of christ and all it represents is fully aware
that he could never damage or destroy Almighty God. Recognizing this, every satanic strategy of tactical
destruction is aimed directly at the “children of God,” whom he recognizes as “heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17)
Satanic
landmines are deployed by a variety of agents and in a myriad of life
circumstances. The IEDs of Hell include all
of the following, and many more: 1) Our perceptions of hurt and abandonment when
we are on the receiving end of unwarranted criticisms; 2) The temptation to
become divided against our spiritual siblings over transient and trivial
matters; 3) The human tendency to embrace anxiety, loneliness, isolation and depression
during times of loss or grief; 4) Our habit of holding on to stress, doubt and fear
instead of trusting in our God and His unfailing Word; 5) Etcetera, etcetera
and etcetera.
We are warned by
the Apostle Peter to constantly be on the lookout for cataclysmic landmines. “Be sober, be vigilant, because your
adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
Nevertheless, there
is exciting news! GOD has endowed and
armed us with robust weapons of spiritual warfare that will obliterate every
IED deployment of our sworn enemy. (II Corinthians 10:4) Additionally, we are privy to advance
intelligence briefings which precisely identify the location and potency of all
destructive landmines. By what means are
we provided such life-saving information?
Whenever we “pray without ceasing” – whenever we “study to show
ourselves approved unto God” – whenever we “walk in the Spirit” – we become amenable
and available for THE HOLY SPIRIT to teach and reveal to us those potentially
destructive “things to come.” (I Thessalonians 5:17 – Galatians 5:25 – II
Timothy 2:15 – John 14:26-27 – John 16:13)
Finally, we are assuredly shrouded and safeguarded within the “whole armor
of God,” through which no satanic weapon could possibly penetrate or prevail.
(Ephesians 6:11-18 – Isaiah 54:17)
Monday, February 24, 2014
TRUE BEAUTY
TRUE
BEAUTY
How might
beauty best be described or characterized? It is an enigma, an elusive mystery that constitutes
centuries of scholarly debate by our greatest philosophers, poets, and theologians. Dictionary.com defines “beauty” as “the
quality present in a thing or person that gives intense pleasure or deep
satisfaction to the mind, whether arising from sensory manifestations, a
meaningful design or pattern, or something else.” In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” the English romantic
poet, John Keats, wrote “Beauty is truth,
truth beauty – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”
Keats
seems to have arrived at a reasonable definition, especially since Jesus Christ
declared “You shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)
Contemporary
culture is inundated and obsessed with so-called ideal beauty. This superficial
quest is the crux of our media-related experiences, whether in the film,
television, publication, cosmetics or fashion industries.
However,
I love the entirely simplistic and sensible manner in which Sam Levenson
defines beauty. He offers the following prescriptive
admonition for all who seek to join the ranks of ‘the beautiful people’:
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a
day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you will never walk alone.
People have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed.
So never throw anybody out.
The beauty of a woman is not in her clothes, her figures, or her hair.
The beauty of a woman lies in her heart, the place where love resides.
The beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.
It’s the caring she gives and the passion she shows.
This kind of beauty just grows and grows!
The sage,
Solomon, wrote “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears
the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30) The genuinely beautiful are authentic lovers
of God.
Friday, February 21, 2014
THE ETERNAL LEGACY OF OVERCOMERS
THE ETERNAL
LEGACY OF OVERCOMERS
WINNER-BELIEVER, you are presently engaged in spiritual
warfare that might ‘feel’ inescapable and endless. (Ephesians 6:12) Nevertheless, you MUST “fight the good fight
of faith” with full awareness that you will ultimately prevail. (I Timothy
6:12) Jesus Christ has provided strategic
and tactical advantages for you: an incontrovertible Word, an impenetrable
armor and an incredible arsenal. (Colossians 3:16 – Ephesians 6:13-17 – II
Corinthians 10:4) Best of all, the final
chapter in your spiritual saga has already been penned; it reveals that you are
(right now) victorious and (already) seated “in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus.” (II Corinthians 2:14 – Romans 8:37 – Ephesians 2:6)
WINNER-BELIEVER, YOU ARE AN
OVERCOMER! So believe it, receive it and
walk with a confident spiritual authority. (Hebrews 10:35) Why? You win! Numerous accrued benefits are the spiritual
legacy of each and every overcomer. Many
of these are present-day realities. (Matthew 19:29 – Galatians 5:22-23) Moreover, magnificent endowments await you at
the final stop of your earthly stewardship.
“The Word of God is living and powerful,” and speaks eloquently
concerning your future estate; so let’s hear The
Word. (Hebrews 4:12)
I John 5:4-5 (NKJV)
For whatever is born of God
overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus
is the Son of God?
Revelation 2:7 (NKJV)
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in
the midst of the Paradise of God.”’
Revelation 2:11 (NKJV)
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. He
who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’
Revelation 2:17 (NKJV)
“He who has an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit says to the churches. To
him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I
will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one
knows except him who receives it.”’
Revelation 2:26 (NKJV)
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give
power over the nations.
Revelation 3:5 (NKJV)
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot
out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My
Father and before His angels.
Revelation 3:12 (NKJV)
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he
shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of
the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My
God. And I will write on him My new name.
Revelation 3:21 (NKJV)
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also
overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation 21:7 (NKJV)
He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he
shall be My son.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
THE CHALLENGE OF KNOWING
THE CHALLENGE OF KNOWING
During the Old Testament era, God
unveiled a simple yet powerful truth through the Prophet Hosea: “My people are
destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6) Self awareness is mission
critical, but it can be extremely elusive, especially in the presence of
background noises or distracting voices. Resultantly, many live and die without
ever realizing their identity or actualizing their purpose.
It reminds me of the story of a
farmer who found a displaced eagle’s egg. Failing to recognize its true
identity, he gingerly placed the egg in the nest of
a barnyard hen. Soon afterwards, the eaglet hatched. Naturally, he assumed that
the hen was his natural mother and the brood of chicks were siblings.
So all of his life, the eagle did
whatever chickens customarily do, assuming his destiny was intrinsically tied
to residents of that barnyard. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He
clucked and cackled. And occasionally, he would thrash his wings and fly just a
few feet in the air. He was dramatically shaped and limited by his 'home
environment' and by his response to it.
Years passed by and the eagle grew
old. In his declining years, he spied a beautiful bird flying high above in the
cloudless sky. This magnificent creature glided in graceful majesty through
powerful currents of wind. And it soared to lofty elevations with scarcely a
beat of its gorgeous golden wings.
The old eagle gazed upwards in total
awe and wonder. “Who is that?” he whispered.
“That’s the eagle, king of all
birds,” offered an observant barnyard neighbor. “HE belongs to the sky. WE
belong to the earth – we are chickens.” So the poor displaced eagle lived and
died as a chicken, for that’s exactly who he thought he was and all he might
ever be.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
We have all heard this advice, time and again: Drink lots and
lots of water. A medical snippet I read recently
suggests that we drink two glasses of water in the morning (to kick-start our
internal organs), along with one glass prior to meals (for digestive purposes)
and one glass at bedtime (to prevent heart attacks and strokes). Other medical professionals recommend eight
glasses daily for a healthy water regimen.
Apparently, the consumption of copious amounts of water is crucial to
the maintenance of health.
First, let’s look at the natural, then the spiritual. Both the composition of planet Earth and the
human body provide key clues to the Creator’s intentions regarding water. Our world is comprised of two-thirds water, in
contrast with the totality of land masses.
Likewise, our bodies are approximately two-thirds water, which varies
somewhat based upon individual characteristics.
Our brains are seventy-five percent water; our lungs (believe it or not)
are eighty-three percent water. That fact
makes drowning in water a bit more difficult to understand, right? Nevertheless, it clearly depicts the biological
necessity of water.
Long distance runners talk about “hitting the wall,” which
means their energy drops to nearly zero if they do not sufficiently hydrate. The bottom-line is that our bodies were
designed to function best with ample H2O.
It might seem counterintuitive to some, but marathoners’ pit-stops for
water do not actually slow them down.
Rather, taking a few seconds for water quickens their steps and potentiates
their ability to run well and to finish the race.
Scientists who specialize in the search for extraterrestrial life
search diligently for evidence of water content on other planets. Their conclusion: Where there is water, there
is the possibility of life.
In the Spirit realm, water is also of vital importance. The word “water” is mentioned over 635 times
in the scriptures. Very early in
creation, “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis
1:2) And shortly thereafter, God ordered
“the waters [to] bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.”
(Genesis 1:20) Thus, one might rightfully
contend that sea life emerged from those potent created waters at Almighty God’s
command. Wow!
Jesus Christ invited the now famous Samaritan woman-at-the-well
to drink of “living water” that would forever quench her spiritual thirst.
(John 4:10) This liquid spiritual encounter
totally transformed her life, and that of others in her community as well. It’s like that. When your thirst is satisfied, you are
motivated to share your experience with others.
In the final chapters of The Holy Bible, Jesus invites “him that is
thirsty” to drink “of the fountain of the water of life freely.” This offer is generously extended to “whosoever
will.” (Revelation 21:6 and 22:17)
Even the sanctification of members of the Body of Christ is
predicated upon “the washing of water by the word.” (Ephesians 5:26) Thus, Christ’s spiritual water has both
life-giving and purifying properties.
Within The New Jerusalem, John’s apocalyptic vision reveals the
presence of “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb.” And “on
either side of the river, was there the tree of life…and the leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2)
Beyond any shadow of doubt, we are now spiritually alive because
of His constant infusion of living water. For the superstitious Athenians who created
an altar dedicated to “The Unknown God,” Paul summarized it with clarity: “In HIM
we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:23;28)
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
CHECKS YOU CAN'T CASH
CHECKS YOU CAN’T
CASH
It has been reported
that during the prime of Muhammad Ali’s
boxing career, a close friend grew tired of his continual claims that he was
the greatest. Knowing that Ali never
played golf, his friend casually inquired of him, “So how are you at golf?” Ali responded with an
expected and humorous confidence: “I’m the best! I just haven’t played yet.”
Point to ponder:
‘Does your mouth write checks your life can’t cash?’
Last night, I
read an interesting quotation by Simon Cowell, formerly of American Idol
fame. He said “I could sit back and get
someone to spin my achievements, I suppose, but when I see others do it, I
always think, ‘Why are you telling me how successful you are?’ I am always suspicious of those kinds of
boasts.” Me too, Mr. Cowell; me too.
There is a
synonym for boasting, one which is often employed in our day by those who
relish self-exaltation. It is called “promotion.” To be candid, many of us (in the guise of
promoting our personal achievements or ministries) resort to daily dispatches of
unchecked and unabashed boasting. It makes me scratch my head and wonder: ‘Where
is our humility?’ Have we so soon forgotten
Solomon’s sage advice? “Pride goes
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)
My father, the
late Bishop Joseph Edison Bass, Sr., often posed a question specifically
designed to make us aware of the need for genuine humility. Dad asked all of us, “What do you have that
you did not receive?” His question was a
condensed paraphrase of the Apostle Paul’s admonition to the Church of Corinth:
“For who makes you differ from another?
And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you indeed receive it, why do you
boast as if you had not received it?” (I Corinthians 4:7)
Paul expanded on
this ethical concept in his letter to the Church of Rome: “Where is boasting
then? It is excluded. By what law?
Of works? No, by the law of
faith.” (Romans 3:27) Although he was “a
Hebrew of Hebrews,” Paul modestly concludes that “I will rather boast in my
infirmities [as opposed to my accomplishments] that the power of Christ may
rest upon me.” (Philippians 3:5 and II Corinthians 12:9) And to the Church of Galatia, Paul wrote, “God
forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)
Here’s the thing. Boasting is not only framed in unbridled arrogance;
it is also the personification of ignorance.
Why? Because any degree of self-exaltation
overlooks the undeniable fact that you and I “are bought with a price.” So I must…you must…“glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I Corinthians 6:20) May I be transparent? Whenever I am tempted to expand my own ego
and to start tripping, I hear the
whispered voice of a very wise father: “What do you have that you did not
receive?”
James, the
brother of Jesus, did not mince words about this egocentric condition: “All
such boasting is evil,” he wrote. (James 4:16)
David’s testimony is confirmation: “My soul shall make its boast in the
Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.” (Psalm 34:2) In other words, humility heals; arrogance
divides and destroys.
Monday, February 17, 2014
ALL ARE NEEDED
ALL ARE NEEDED
In an age when the institutional
church is becoming certifiably crazed over organizational positions and titles,
it is vitally important to remind ourselves of the order that Jesus Christ has established for His Body.
Almost weekly, I learn of plans for someone
else’s consecration service, as a bishop or an apostle. Nowadays, even this seems to be ungratifying
and insufficient for some. Consequently,
many now seek recognition as archbishops, metropolitan bishops, chief apostles,
or some such non-biblical and nonsensical title of their choosing. Enough!
In our desperate efforts for
self-elevation and self-aggrandizement, we are simply playing ourselves. Worse yet, we are detracting from the
simplicity of the gospel and, at the same time, we are denying glory to the
only worthy object of our devotion. In
case some have forgotten, that is Jesus Christ.
Jesus is Lord!
Let us be practical. While there is a definite need to have church
leadership, with a concomitant need to respect church leaders, we have taken
this to a level that is totally ungodly and unbiblical. Hence, the current situation in the
institutional church is no less a form of idolatry than Baal worship was for
ancient Israel. Think about it.
We seem to have forgotten that ALL
spiritual gifts are significant and, indeed, ALL are vital to the overall
health and global ministry of the body.
So let’s focus less on what we ‘call’ ourselves and more on what we can
achieve to expand the Kingdom of God.
While we play these dangerous church games, the world is literally
perishing before our eyes.
All spiritual gifts are equally
significant and, indeed, all are of vital import to the overall health and
global ministry of the Body of Christ. So
let’s stop elevating each other; let’s start edifying the Body; let’s start ministering
to the world – by elevating our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Word speaks for itself:
I Corinthians 12:1-27
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that you
were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.3 Therefore I make known to
you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one
can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. 4 There
are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of
ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And
there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in
all. 7 But the manifestation of
the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the
word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the
same Spirit, 9 to
another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to
another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But
one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one
individually as He wills. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all
the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we
were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or
free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. 14 For
in fact the body is not one member but many. 15 If the foot should say,
“Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the
body? 16 And if the ear should
say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of
the body? 17 If
the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? 18 But
now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. 19 And if they were all one
member, where would the body be? 20 But now indeed there are many members, yet one
body. 21 And the eye cannot say
to the hand, “I have no need of you”; nor again the head to the feet, “I have
no need of you.”22 No,
much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary.23 And those members of the body which we
think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our
unpresentable parts have greater modesty, 24 but
our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor
to that part
which lacks it, 25 that
there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should
have the same care for one another. 26 And
if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is
honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members
individually.
Friday, February 14, 2014
WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Love enables to forge endearing and
enduring connections with Christ and with others.
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another.
I John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that
loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Bottom-line: What’s love got to do
with it? EVERYTHING!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
MAYBE YOU DID NOT GROW UP IN CHURCH
MAYBE YOU DID NOT GROW UP IN CHURCH
The institutional church seems to
have embraced a tenure system.
Recently, Belinda and I attended a
Sunday morning service in which I was the slated guest speaker. During the announcements, the congregation
was informed of a member’s passing and plans for her funeral service. The announcer’s laudatory remarks were
diluted by a strange preamble: “Although
she was not with us for very long…” Later on, we learned she had been a member for
five years. Headed homeward afterwards, Belinda
queried (not with one iota of criticism or cynicism): “How long do you have to
be a member of the church to be ‘counted’?”
We are grateful that grace happens
on Heaven’s schedule, not ours.
Some people arrive rather early;
others later. For example, the motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, known all over
the world for his energy, his optimism and his faith, first embraced Christ (not
as a child), but in his mid-forties. Ironically,
due to his family’s involvement, Zig grew up in church, but church had not
grown up in him.
To wit, Zig
found himself with more doubts than belief.
Then something unexpected happened.
On July 4, 1972, shortly after he left a successful sales career to
pursue a full-time public speaking career, Zig was taking an evening dip in his
swimming pool. Suddenly, he was struck
by the urge to pray. While he swam, his
mind wandered, and he was filled with many questions. Is God real?
Is He truly present in our day-to-day lives?
Zig floated
on his back, staring up into the heavens.
Just then, a brilliant shooting star streaked across the night sky. He was startled and elated. An unusual warmth filled him with inner light,
brighter than the shooting star. In a
flash, he knew the answers to his questions with utmost certainty. He also knew that he must share not just positive
thinking and optimism in his speeches, but also his newfound faith in God. Throughout Zig Ziglar’s life, he talked about
his heavenly sign. He was convinced that
it was a divine confirmation, a stirring up of true sustainable faith.
Maybe you did not grow up in
church. Perhaps your natural chronology
lists you as a full-grown adult, while your spirituality index still hovers at
the child or adolescent stage. By all
means, avoid the temptation to contrast your development with others who have
more time and experience in matters of faith.
As you apply yourself, you will surely discover that God does not work
on the basis of seniority. Quite the
contrary; God honors availability, commitment and consistency. And FYI, God habitually restores ‘lost’
years. (Joel 2:25)
WAKE UP
WAKE UP!
Some years ago, there was an
unforgettable horse named Sunday Silence.
The back story is that Sunday Silence should have been dead…twice. As a young colt, Sunday Silence contracted a deadly
case of colic. Colts with colic only
rarely survive. Sunday Silence got colic
as colt, yet he survived.
Due to his prior medical condition,
Sunday Silence was put up for sale at two separate auctions. However, no one wanted to purchase a horse
that had colic or such an unsightly appearance.
On top of his horrific health issues, Sunday Silence was almost killed
when the driver of his trailer had a heart attack and caused a terrible traffic
accident. Bottom-line: Sunday Silence
was an unwanted and unmarketable horse.
Eventually, a man named Charles
Widdingham bought Sunday Silence (sight unseen) for $25,000 because everything
he had heard suggested to him that Sunday Silence was a tough horse, a
survivor. At the age of 76, Charles was
the oldest trainer to ever bring a horse to The Kentucky Derby, but he entered that
prestigious event anyway, only to become the brunt of everybody’s jokes.
Even the jockey he had chosen, Pat
Valenzuela, was in a semi-broken condition.
He had only recently been rehabilitated from drug abuse. So the odds were heavily stacked against
them. Most people would not have wagered
one dollar on that horse, his rider, or his trainer.
Nevertheless, Charles and Pat had
faith and they trained Sunday Silence rigorously. They worked around the clock to get him ready
for the toughest race in the world. Of
course, they were surrounded by million dollar horses with wealthy owners, possessing
deep financial pockets. And they were categorically
dismissed, as an old fool, a young punk drunk and a sickly unsightly horse.
The day of The Kentucky Derby finally
arrived. When the gun sounded and the
horses bolted out of their gates, a pitiful looking Sunday Silence (at first)
wobbled back and forth, appearing to be completely confused. But the gloating spectators overlooked one
important thing: Sunday Silence had heart.
All of a sudden, something strange
and unprecedented occurred. For reasons unknown
to his startled critics, Sunday Silence seemed to wake up – and he raced down the track like a champion
thoroughbred. It seemed that he realized
‘I’m in a big race…and I want to win!’ Sunday Silence shot off like a bolt of
lightning, passed all of his ungulate competitors, and won The Kentucky Derby that
day – all because he had heart.
Perhaps others have grossly
underestimated your worth or occasionally devalued your contribution. Please do not allow your dream to be deterred
or deferred by their disapproving glances or commentary. You know better. Wake up!
Put your entire being (body, soul and spirit) into that unique
assignment for which only YOU been positioned on this planet. No, it is definitely not too late. Start seeing (TODAY) what GOD had in mind for
you, long before the foundation of the world.
Write it down, meditate on it, plan it and act upon it. Then evaluate your progress, tweak your
strategy, and try again and again and again, until you succeed!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
CHANGE
CHANGE
Sometimes change is dreaded; sometimes change is desirable. For many, there is nothing more intimidating than
the prospect of major changes in familiar routines and circumstances. New conditions immediately result in attacks
of anxiety and morbid fears of the unknown.
Others welcome and embrace life changes as golden opportunities to potentially
forge fresh connections with growth or restoration.
Allow me to cite two diametrically-opposite Biblical examples:
Jacob submitted to Laban’s requirement of indentured servitude to gain
the hand of his lovely daughter, Rachel.
However, his employer resorted to deceptive practices in order to ‘marry
off’ two daughters, Leah and Rachel. As
a result, Jacob worked a total of twenty years to fulfill the terms of the betrothal
covenant and to gain a substantial endowment of cattle. Jacob did not anticipate such an extended
time frame and was not very happy with his unexpected life-detour. Even in their animal transaction, Laban
intended to slight Jacob, but God intervened with a creative strategy by which
Jacob prevailed and prospered. [Genesis, chapter 31]
Genesis 31:6-7;41
And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
And ye know that with all my power I have served your father.
And your father hath deceived me, and CHANGED my wages ten
times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.
Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee
fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou
hast changed my wages ten
times.
Although
Laban designed contractual changes and deceptive methods to gain the upper hand
over Jacob, GOD allowed this grandson of Patriarch Abraham, this father of
Israel’s twelve tribes, to prosper.
On the other hand, Job was totally desirous
of change. His life situation had completely
deteriorated, in sudden and catastrophic ways.
Virtually overnight, Job lost his children, his health, his wealth, his
wife’s goodwill and his closest friends’ support. In that quagmire of absolute loss, Job’s mind
pondered eternity: “If a man die, shall he live again?” Nevertheless, he answered his own question
with great faith and intestinal fortitude: “All the days of my appointed time
will I WAIT, till my CHANGE come.” (Job 14:14)
In the end, God restored Job’s tragic losses, and his latter years were
more blessed than his former.
While these two situations
seem to be radically different, they possess one common thread. Whether we are happily experiencing those changes
in which we delight or struggling desperately with those changes that we dread,
our GOD is absolutely in control. Both
Jacob and Job prevailed over their detractors and circumstances. For both parties, the element of PATIENCE was
a necessary prerequisite to personally experience divine favor and
blessing. Jesus Christ declares to us
across time and eternity, “By your patience possess your souls.” (Luke 21:19,
NKJV)
Thursday, February 6, 2014
THE BELOVED OF THE BELOVED
THE BELOVED OF THE BELOVED
I love how the Father institutes a covenant of sonship with fallen
man. It’s all about grace – it’s all unmerited
– all completely undeserved! This
covenant is fully manifested at the baptism of Jesus Christ, when the Holy Spirit
descends in the bodily shape of a dove and the Father speaks from Heaven, identifying
the Son, the Messiah, the Savior of all men. “And suddenly a voice came from heaven,
saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17,
NKJV) This is the Father, publically
proclaiming that Jesus Christ is His “beloved
Son.”
Jesus’ heavenly connection as the “beloved
Son” was of such vital importance that He spoke of it frequently. In John 3:35, Jesus declares “The Father
loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.” In John 5:20, Jesus affirms that “the Father
loves the Son, and shows Him all things.”
And in John 17:23 (a portion of His High Priestly Prayer), Jesus
testifies “You [The Father] have sent Me, and have loved them [believers] as
You have loved me.” Clearly, Jesus
Christ, the Son, is the “only begotten” and “beloved Son” of the Father.
However, for the believer, this relational-testimony
of Jesus Christ becomes a profoundly personal and awesome benefit. As the “beloved Son” of the Father, Jesus
Christ was empowered to die vicariously for our sins, allowing us to be liberated
from satanic bondage and to be born again.
As we are born again (by grace through faith) and made alive “in Christ,”
we receive the bona fide benefit of divine
acceptance. Because of Christ, we
may now boldly approach the throne of grace.
Because of Christ, we are fully pardoned and completely “accepted…in…THE BELOVED.” (II
Corinthians 5:17 – Hebrews 4:16 – Ephesians 1:6) Indeed, because of our relational-connection
with the Son, the Father “has raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places…IN CHRIST JESUS.” (Ephesians 2:6)
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