Happy Thanksgiving!
Psalms 105:1-7 (KJV)
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people.
2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works.
3 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.
4 Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.
5 Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;
6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.
Teresa and I are enjoying Thanksgiving this year in Hollywood Beach, Fl. (Miami)with our daughter Tarah, her husband Scott and our little Lucia. We enjoyed a feast with all the trimmings. Scott prayed our Thanksgiving prayer and as we were eating we all shared some things for which we are thankful. We were all waxing pretty elequent when we got to Lucia now 2 years and 9 months. I asked her what she was thankful for and she paused, looked out the window and said, "the trees". Cool with me!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.
Blessings!
L. A.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
Never Quit - Part 3
Once again, "I have never seen an active Christian lose who didn't quit!" You may ask, what about a person who has lost their home, a relationship or even has gone through moral failure. Is winning still in their future? Without question!
There are many enemies to this pursuit of never quitting. Pride is one. When pride is offended it usually wants to run, hide and quit. To remain steadfast takes eating a lot of crow. It is also a lonely place. Everyone runs to surround the winners circle but momentary defeat is a lonely place. I have seen men who followed my leadership look me in the eye and say, "I thought we would be further along by now". Before long they weren't around. Yet, in time I was able to see the breakthrough. They weren't there to enjoy it with me because they quit. Another thing you must develop is "thick skin". Men are fickle and we are all rejected at some time. Rejection can make you want to quit. Jesus was a man "rejected" Isaiah writes. Yet, it was the mission of the Father that kept him going. It wasn't the fear of man nor the accolades of man that drove him forward. He was free of man pleasing. No greater enemy can be found than the disappointment and discouragement that comes from a disappointed man pleasing spirit. Enjoy success when it comes, thank men for their compliments when they are given but quickly give the glory to Jesus and keep on track. Don't quit in success and don't quit in failure. Remember this, failure is not a destination, it is only a transitional spot on the map to winning! It is really a place of gathering more ammunition for the greater battle ahead.
If you are reading this and thinking, "winning hasn't been seen much in my life", please understand it is not over. You are in a very delicate and pivotal place right now. You have a critical, future altering decision to make...DON'T QUIT!
Once again, "I have never seen an active Christian lose who didn't quit!" You may ask, what about a person who has lost their home, a relationship or even has gone through moral failure. Is winning still in their future? Without question!
There are many enemies to this pursuit of never quitting. Pride is one. When pride is offended it usually wants to run, hide and quit. To remain steadfast takes eating a lot of crow. It is also a lonely place. Everyone runs to surround the winners circle but momentary defeat is a lonely place. I have seen men who followed my leadership look me in the eye and say, "I thought we would be further along by now". Before long they weren't around. Yet, in time I was able to see the breakthrough. They weren't there to enjoy it with me because they quit. Another thing you must develop is "thick skin". Men are fickle and we are all rejected at some time. Rejection can make you want to quit. Jesus was a man "rejected" Isaiah writes. Yet, it was the mission of the Father that kept him going. It wasn't the fear of man nor the accolades of man that drove him forward. He was free of man pleasing. No greater enemy can be found than the disappointment and discouragement that comes from a disappointed man pleasing spirit. Enjoy success when it comes, thank men for their compliments when they are given but quickly give the glory to Jesus and keep on track. Don't quit in success and don't quit in failure. Remember this, failure is not a destination, it is only a transitional spot on the map to winning! It is really a place of gathering more ammunition for the greater battle ahead.
If you are reading this and thinking, "winning hasn't been seen much in my life", please understand it is not over. You are in a very delicate and pivotal place right now. You have a critical, future altering decision to make...DON'T QUIT!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Never Quit - Part 2
O.K., I can't resist, "quiters never win and winners never quit!" I know it's a cliche but you just can't say it much better than that. As I said in my last blog, I have never seen any Christian lose who didn't quit. Just think about these verses in this light:
Romans 8:37 (NKJV)
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Chrit...
It is either true or it isn't. We are not supposed to ever be less than conquerors and never involved in anyting that doesn't have victory as it's closing chapter.
Again, the only thing that can stop us is not the devil, not circumstances and not another person. The only thing that can stop us from success is a decision on our part to quit! But how long must I wait? Ah, there is the great question. No one can answer and it is in the waiting that many people give up and lose the victory. Truthfully, it could be hours, months or ever decades. The timing of victory is only known in the heart of God. But this one thing is true, if you won't give up, you won't lose. The two verses above have two comments of absolute in them of which we need to lay hold. First is "in all these things", we are more than conquerors. and secondly, "always leads us in triumph in Christ". That translates to mean steadfastness in Christ is a combination that is impossible to defeat.
O.K., I can't resist, "quiters never win and winners never quit!" I know it's a cliche but you just can't say it much better than that. As I said in my last blog, I have never seen any Christian lose who didn't quit. Just think about these verses in this light:
Romans 8:37 (NKJV)
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
2 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Chrit...
It is either true or it isn't. We are not supposed to ever be less than conquerors and never involved in anyting that doesn't have victory as it's closing chapter.
Again, the only thing that can stop us is not the devil, not circumstances and not another person. The only thing that can stop us from success is a decision on our part to quit! But how long must I wait? Ah, there is the great question. No one can answer and it is in the waiting that many people give up and lose the victory. Truthfully, it could be hours, months or ever decades. The timing of victory is only known in the heart of God. But this one thing is true, if you won't give up, you won't lose. The two verses above have two comments of absolute in them of which we need to lay hold. First is "in all these things", we are more than conquerors. and secondly, "always leads us in triumph in Christ". That translates to mean steadfastness in Christ is a combination that is impossible to defeat.
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