A Bit of Business, or The Way Things Work

Yesterday, Steve asked, “Why do I have to look at those unpleasant ads at the end of your blog?”

Ahh, the light went on at that moment. Most of you, my very valued readers, may not know about the way things work.

 

First of all, thank you for reading! It means a great deal to have you taking in my words and considering them.

Secondly, thank you for commenting. That’s really the only way I know you’re reading. It means the world to me to hear what you have to say.

Last of all, my apologies for those ads. However, those are added by WordPress at their discretion, because I don’t pay for an upgraded site. I hope those ads never dissuade you from reading to the end of each essay. And if they do, please be sure to let me know.

Here’s something else you may not know. In order to remain respectful of your time, I try to keep each blog down to 300-400 words. Since I’ve already used up about half of that, let me just leave you with a few favorite quotes this week:

• “When Satan reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.” (Jim Harris)
• “Essential to parenting is being the person you want your kids to become.” (Ky Faciane)
• “We don’t have the power to control people’s emotions.” (Uncredited)
• “If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.” (John Ortberg)
• “If you’re only going to enjoy the day if your plans work out, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.” (Joel Osteen)
• “If people determined our destiny, we would never have heard of King David.” (Uncredited, but I heard this basic point from 2 separate pastors in one week.)
• “God’s faithfulness in the past needs to motivate our worship in the future.” (Ty VanHorn)

So, which one of those strikes you today?

And do you have a favorite inspirational quote? Send it on! I’d love to read it!

Wiser Words than Mine

I keep a list of quotes that strike me as challenging and true. When the list lengthens, it’s time for me to share them with you. Here are my favorites from the past few months, credited wherever possible.

“Often the work of the Lord itself may tempt us away from communion with Him. A full schedule of preaching, counseling, and travel can erode the strength of the mightiest servant of the Lord. Public prayer will never make up for closet communion.”

“The Christian should never worry about tomorrow or give sparingly because of a possible future need. Only the present moment is ours to serve the Lord and tomorrow may never come.“–Both by George Muller in The Autobiography of George Muller. Whitaker House, 1985, p. 46 and 207.

“God’s plan isn’t something he just threw together.” –Paul Washer in a sermon entitled “Walking with God” available on sermonaudio.com.

“Sin is a process. You arrive there on a journey of small decisions gone wrong…Satan’s goal through sin isn’t to draw you to himself, but to draw you away from God…Christianity is not about avoiding sin, it’s about chasing after Jesus.” –Matt Werner in a sermon at Bannockburn Baptist Church.

“God’s faithfulness in the past needs to motivate our worship in the future.”–Ty VanHorn in a sermon at NorthWest Bible Church

“Following Jesus is more than just agreeing with the tenets of the gospel, it is living and experiencing God living in you.”

“God calls all of us to be Jesus where we’re at.”

“What you worry about most is what you trust God with least.”

Got a favorite quote you’d like to share with me?

 

 

 

 

Food for Thought

 

TRUST

• When you worry, you’re acting like an atheist.    Rick W.
• Worry gives a small thing a big shadow.    Richard K.

GETTING ALONG

• Our judgmental reproaches do not save souls.    Matt W.
• Sandpaper does its job by coming in contact with rough things.    Matt W.

SELF-IMAGE

• Don’t let self-condemnation take you down. Jim H.
• Pride deceives me into thinking I am better than others. Jim H.
• God didn’t describe the outer appearance of the women of the Bible. Liz H.

PRIORITIES

• You can tell what’s most important to someone by what they brag about. Rick W.
• Righteousness is placing value on the same things that God does. Dudley H.

OBEDIENCE

• Would your life be better if you prayed as much as you text? Rick W.
• You’ve got enough time to obey God. Dudley H.
• How do we become old happy Christians? By loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength.” Doug W.

Once in a while my quote collection simply begs to be made public. So, today I’ve shared some of my favorites with you. I sure hope you’ll share a few of your favorites with me!

 

 

Mrs. Oswald Chambers

I’m reading Mrs. Oswald Chambers, and my aim today is to urge you to do the same. It’s the story of Biddy Chambers, helpmeet to the man credited with writing My Utmost for His Highest. It recounts the life of faith that Oswald and his wife lived and explains how the famous devotional came to be. I’m savoring this book, reading a bit at a time in the quiet of each morning. It’s engaging, inspiring, full of history, and packed with wisdom. Let me share just a bit with you.

These quotes from My Utmost for His Highest remind me to renew my trust:

 

• How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear?
• It is God who engineers circumstances.
• God…gives strength…only for the strain of the minute.

These quotes from Mrs. Oswald Chambers have taught me once again that we serve God in all we do, even the simple things, and that we ought to be ready all the time to lay down our own agendas.

• Their day together still began in the early dawn hours with the Daily Light reading, prayer, and a cup of tea…Other people filled their days, but they remained mindful of each other. (p.115)
• Biddy ran a ministry open to interruptions throughout her life…Fortunately tea and soup could always be stretched. (p. 59)
• The secret to Biddy’s unflustered reactions to her lengthy to-do list and surprise visitors lay in her prayer time every morning. She gave God the day and watched it unfold in his timing with anticipation.
• Oswald’s teaching was plain: When you were not sure of what God wanted, examine the situation and your options and then do the next logical thing. (p.127)

Each time I open the book, I learn something new. Of course, the same is true of My Utmost for His Highest. I hope you will add that devotional to your reading list as well. Biddy and Oswald were missionaries no matter where they were. They took difficulty and discomfort in stride as they served. They loved deeply—both Christ and those He put in their path. What a description of life well lived!

And how was the world’s bestselling devotional born out of their efforts? I hope you’ll get a copy of Mrs. Oswald Chambers and see for yourself! You can click here to read more about the book. There’s even a free download of the first two chapters available at the bottom left corner of the site.  

 

Listen! Listen

I grew up in a delightful family. My home was filled with lots of love. I remember spirited games of chess and canasta and paddleball (think racquetball on an outdoor court). We enjoyed good food, frequent guests, and plenty of laughter. Some of the laughter was over the same jokes enjoyed time after time.

When a new and uninitiated guest joined us, my dad would ask, “What’s that coming out of your nose?” After a moment of embarrassed confusion on the part of our visitor, he would continue, “Air! There’s air coming out of your nose!”

Then sometimes he’d say, “Listen! Listen!” After an awkward pause, he would add, “Somebody’s saying ‘Listen!’” We always laughed.

The other day, as I was thinking about my dad’s funny lines, the one about listening struck me in a new way. Taken more seriously, it comes out this way:

Listen! Listen! Because there’s always someone out there practically begging that you listen!

I’ve been doing a lot of listening lately. Some of my hurting friends need me most as a prayer partner and a listening ear. In fact, I often have to remind myself that they need my ear but not my mouth, my empathy but not my advice.

Pride can lead us away from the smaller tasks the Holy Spirit hands us. Becoming a compassionate listener isn’t very glamorous. In fact, it’s a ministry of the nearly invisible. It falls into the “He must increase; I must decrease” part of the Christian walk. But it is powerful. It is a silent language of love. Today I want to encourage you to allow a part of your busy life to be eaten up by the gift of an attentive ear, because if you listen, listen, you will almost certainly hear someone crying out, “Listen!”

Matthew Kelly

Who were the first people who didn’t read the Apple agreement?

Adam and Eve 

A neighbor invited me to a Matthew Kelly conference, and that was one of his opening jokes. I don’t know him well enough to endorse all he says and does, but I want to share a bit of wisdom, gleaned from that conference, with you. (My notes are not perfect, so these quotes are actually paraphrases. The italicized comments are mine.)

“Four signs of a dynamic Christian are prayer, study, generosity, and evangelism.” (Well, that’s enough to work on for a while, don’t you think?)

“Be hungry for best practices.” (So back we go to the Manufacturer’s Handbook to learn how to live.)

“Our lives change when our habits change.”

“Get good at saying no. The only way to say no to anything is to have a deeper yes.”

“God speaks to you daily through three ordinary voices: Your legitimate needs, your talents and abilities, and your deepest desire.”

“Often times God does his greatest work in the midst of our darkness.” (Actually, the credit for that one goes to the conference worship leader, Eliot Morris.)

“If I lived out just one Gospel reading 100%, my life would change radically. We need to work on the gap between that life and the lives we are living now.” (More on this later.)

“There are two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” (Matthew was quoting Albert Einstein here. I want to live the second way!)

“Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” (That’s from Winston Churchill. Do we live according to the eternal truths we have?)

“When we walk humbly with God, he leads us to exactly who and what we need, to those people, things, and experiences he has designed and intended for us.”

I’d love to hear what you think of Matthew Kelly’s thoughts. Feel free to use the comment box below!