Others May, You Cannot

In commemmorating Orphan Sunday yesterday (and National Adoption Month) I came across this excellent challenge for Christ followers:

OTHERS MAY: YOU CANNOT
-by G. D. Watson (1845-1924).

If God has called you to be really like Jesus He will draw you into a life
of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience,
that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by
other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other people do
things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful, may
push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans,
but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will meet with such
failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes, of
their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such
thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification
that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy
left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants
you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence
upon Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by
day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden
in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for
His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.  He may let
others be great, but keep you small.  He may let others do a work for Him
and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without
knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more
precious He may let others get credit for the work which you have done,
and thus make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and
will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time,
which other Christians never feel distressed over. So make up your mind
that God is an Infinitely Sovereign Being, and has a right to do as He
pleases with His own.  He may not explain to you a thousand things which
puzzle your reason in His dealings with you, but if you absolutely sell
yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you up in Jealous Love, and
bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the
inner circle.

Settle it forever, then that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit,
and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or
chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem
to use with others.  Now, when you are so possessed with the living God
that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this
peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management
of the Holy Spirit over your life, then you will have found the vestibule
of Heaven.

Good bloggers and bad bloggers, and nonbloggers

Good bloggers actually blog and use their site, bad ones are “bad about updating” the page, and nonbloggers waste the bandwidth and storage in cyberspace by creating a page, writing a couple random things for a week, and then never return.

A good blogger would have an update on their page of November 3 or November 4

A bad blogger would have their latest post in August

A nonblogger started his blog in April of 2005 and hasn’t returned.

I think I’m a bad blogger, even though I started this page being annoyed by “bads” and “nons.” But it is tough as life goes through seasons.

I hope you’re doing well.

Jon Gosselin Drops Kate, Picks Up Octomom Nadya Suleman In Upcoming Reality TV Show — chicagotribune.com

Jon Gosselin Drops Kate, Picks Up Octomom Nadya Suleman In Upcoming Reality TV Show — chicagotribune.com

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Idol Worship and stuff

One of the folks I’ve mentioned that I listen to is Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

Natalie and I DVR’d his interview segment on last night’s Nightline having to do with what our modern day idols are. If you listen to Driscoll, you know he understands and teaches the importance of recognizing and the ridding of your life from idolatry in all of its forms. This is a great segment…check it out and I’d really love to hear your thoughts…and if you’re honest, what your idols are. One of mine would be simply…living life with comfort and pleasure. How about you?

American Idol Worship

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I Sang

But I shouldn’t have. This was such a bad idea.

Tiger Bytes

They asked some good questions…

From’s today’s “Five on Friday”

http://olivetnazareneu.blogspot.com/

Featuring Johnathon Eltrevoog, program director and Rise and Shine Morning Show host for Shine.FM

1. You recently went on a missions trip to Haiti. What was one thing you learned from that experience?

I basically learned how much of a “Third World Country” the United States is. Not economically, like Haiti, but our riches here actually put us at a disadvantage because we feel like we don’t really need spiritual things all that much. We feel like we’re doing God a favor when we pay attention to Him, rather than really know that we need Him.

2. Why did you decide to start working on a master’s degree in Christian ministry?

I don’t have any plans right now to leave Christian broadcasting, nor become a pastor. But I am open to where the Lord leads; and I’m very interested in the subject matter. There are two sides to broadcasting: the ministry end and the business end. I almost started an MBA program but realized that I’m more excited long-term about the ministry end. I might not always see myself in radio or business, but definitely always in ministry.

3. What’s the most bizarre phone call you’ve ever received from a listener?

Oh … you had to ask. Probably the listener who called our 800 line from a mental institution and asked me if I could send him some cigarettes in the mail. When I told him I couldn’t really do that. He screamed, “I thought you were my friend,” and hung up. Bizarre for sure … and pretty sad at the same time.

4. What’s currently making the cut on your iPod play list?

You mean other than the 39 potential singles for airplay? In my “not listening for work” iPod listening, I’m tending to listen to stuff like the new “The Great American Midrange” record from my favorite rock and roll band, The Elms. I’m listening a lot to the newly re-mastered catalog of the Beatles. And, well, ever since I went to the Billy Joel and Elton John Wrigley Field concert back in July, I’ve been listening to a LOT of their stuff too. What pros they are, truly.

5. Your job requires you to be an early riser. What’s one thing that helps you wake up in the mornings?

Can I give you several? Because no one thing necessarily works every day. My main answers would be:

1. If I don’t get up right at 4 when my alarm goes off, [my wife] Natalie will start kicking until I’m up and out of bed.

2. Minimum of four cups of black coffee
3. Looking forward to my regular time of Scripture reading, prayer and reflection before I head into work. That’s a new thing for me, and I’m really starting to love it. It’s great when it can become a love more than a discipline-like “have to do” kind of thing.

It comes every 365 days

First of all, I want to be clear that I’m just sharing my own angle of relating to 9/11 this morning.  My point is not at all to complain or seek sympathy.  The true sympathy and prayers should be for those who were affected in a human way by what happened on this date eight years ago.

Since then, every time 9/11 has come, it’s always been a tough day in preparation of our morning radio show.  I just don’t think I understand how our audience wants to hear about the anniversary of 9/11.  Note I’m not saying they don’t want to hear about it, I just don’t know the context in which listeners want to hear about it.  I’m just not sure.

In the past, we’ve played patriotic songs, given short remembrances, carried the bell-ringing and name-reading audio live from NYC, and things like that. Today, we’ll probably do a little of that, but most of the show will be business as usual. Conversation, contests, promos, call-ins, devotions, the normal thing.

And it’s pretty weird…this is the first anniversary of 9/11 on the air that I’ve felt pretty calm and at ease.  Thing is, I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.  I’ve always approached the day with such dignity, awe, and reverence that I’m hoping I don’t just have a “whatever” approach to it like a lot of people seem to these days.

Either way, God bless the people who serve our country, yes?

Laboring on Labor Day?

Sure, I am working today…but OK, so I don’t really consider myself a “laborer.”

Just want to salute those of you who actually endure physical pain or strain at work every day and come home physically exhausted.  Sure, I come home frequently mentally or emotionally spent, but not usually hurting because I’ve been lifting heavy stuff or standing on my feet all day long. I’ve done that in the past and I can honestly say I don’t miss it.

In our fellowship on Sunday, we were reminded that it is an honorable thing to work hard, provide for your family, and give it your all.

So hats off to you today, whatever you might be doing.  Even if you DO have the day off and I’m just a little jealous…

To the closed-minded

I’m not real happy about it, but I’ve had the “pleasure” of interacting with quite a few people lately to whom I might refer as “closed-minded.”

I think this is a bad thing.  Sitting in judgment of one thing or another without having read, question, sought clarification of, or really even paid attention to is just not healthy.  I was reading something today that seems to put those of you who do this in pretty bad company.  This is the brother of Jesus, named Jude, speaking to the church about people who are working AGAINST the church, such as false prophets, apostates, etc:

“But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturually, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. “

It doesn’t advise simply against speaking out against stuff or people who are doing wrong; we should be doing that.  We should always be discerning truth versus error.

It advises against speaking evil of things we do not know.  This could mean judging a friend, relative, or co-worker for doing things that don’t seem right to you, but not knowing their whole circumstances.  Or it could mean judging a pastor, speaker, or writer simply because “you think you heard” something from them that didn’t sound right to you, but you don’t care to check up on the context.

I think that just good ol’ common sense advise. I tend to gravitate sometimes toward this quote, which is attributed to Lincoln, Confucius, Twain, and probably many others:

“It is better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt”

Solomon seems to agree with that one:

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.” Proverbs 17:28

You ever have one of those days where it…

You ever have one of those days where it was an EXCEEDINGLY SLOW start to the day, and not even feeling too well, and you just wonder on your way in to work how in the WORLD you are going to be able to make it through the work day?

Well, things have gotten a little better (with focus and…coffee), but that was the start today today. Ever been there?