Others May, You Cannot

By G.D. Watson

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Others who seem to be very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping 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.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature. The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you. God will take you at your word; if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely 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, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.

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I remember one day when I was serving my bride as her full-time caregiver that I heard John Lomacang saying on 3ABN that he was at the pinnacle, at the top  of his form, in the prime of his ministry, and doing the most satisfying things he could imagine.  Selfish pride smote my heart and I thought, "I wish it was me.  I wish I could say that."  I would tell my bride, "I wish I had a ministry," to which she would reply, I am your ministry.  And she was right, for God taught me many lessons through that season that John Lomacang has never had opportunity to learn and God is yet preparing me for that work which He, in his kindness, has not yet shown me, lest I faint.

remain faithful,
Dave

G.D.Watson (1845-1924) was a Wesleyan Methodist minister and evangelist based in Los Angeles. His evangelistic campaigns took him to England, the West Indies, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Korea. He also wrote several books.

Fellowship of the Unashamed

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

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The preceding was said to have been found written on a scrap of paper by an African Christian pastor who was murdered the next day. Like Paul, he may have said,

2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

As the new year bursts upon us, let us, too, submit and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ that we might be able to preach, pray, or die at a moment's notice, unashamed, and with the peace that comes from knowing that our sins have preceded us to the throne of grace and been blotted out by the blood of Jesus.

Remain faithful,
Dave

It Was Only a Quarter

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change.

As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.'

Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it , it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.'

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Photo by Thrasher Dave

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When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change.'

The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town? I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday.'

When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.'

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and will put us to the test!

Always be on guard and remember that you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

I'm glad a friend forwarded this to me as a reminder.

by Victor Gill

Chartreuse Pillowcase

When I lay down in bed to sleep tonight, I will sleep on a Chartreuse Pillowcase. I bought it at a thrift store along with a set of sheets. I did not buy it because it matched the sheets, because it didn't. Nor did I choose it because it matched the sheets that were already on my bed, because it didn't. The reason I bought it, however, was because it clashed with the sheets I was buying less than the other pillowcases in the bin. And the funny thing is that, though the sheets are long gone, I still have the pillowcase and I sleep on it every night. It doesn't match my sheets; in fact it clashes. I reflected to my bride one night, “Honey, I hope my pillowcase doesn't keep you awake. It's pretty loud.”

And you know what else is funny? I have a pillowcase that matches my sheets, but I don't use it.

My sheets have a Navajo sort of print with lots of Southwestern colors, like turquoise, green, and salmon. It should be fairly easy to find something that matches something in my sheets because they have so many different colors.

But, like the crippled boy who buys a crippled dog “because the dog needs somebody who can understand him,” I love my Chartreuse Pillowcase because it is so reflective on my life and my walk with God.

From a purely practical point of view, it really doesn't matter what color my pillowcase is. All I really need is a bit of cloth around my pillow to keep it from getting greasy, to keep it form getting sneezed on, and, perhaps most importantly, to keep it from getting drooled on. Certainly, my designer bride would prefer something that matched some color in our home or in my sheets. And it isn't as if there wasn't quite a palate from which to choose. My wooden headboard offers some great wood tones. The bare linoleum on the floor is in warm stone tones and the carpeting that covers part of it is in an earthy blue and gray. The quilt on the bed offers a rainbow of blues. The under quilt is off-white with red and blue embroidery flowers. The sheets try to fit in with a Southwestern palate of turquoise, green, burnt salmon and beige. But for all of the color, there is no chartreuse. In fact, there is no chartreuse in our entire house. The pillowcase doesn't fit in. It is a stranger, an alien, a refugee from some bold bedroom set made up of a palate completely missing from my home. More than once I have thought I should get rid of it and replace it with something else, something more agreeable, something more “normal.”

And that is how I feel in this world of ours. I have set my heart upon God, upon His law, upon His values and I find that I frequently stand out in my dealings with the inhabitants of this world. My employers often wonder that I would make such a big deal over not working on the Sabbath, and that I would be so ticklish about when Sabbath started and what I would be willing to do on the Sabbath. My business associates marvel that I would be willing to lose money on a sale because I insisted on speaking the truth concerning some “gray” area. My banker was aghast that I would risk losing the house I was trying to buy because I insisted that, if the document said that I signed it on such and such a day, that I had, in fact, signed it on such and such a day. Every day, it seems, Satan is at hand to tell me how mentally deficient I am and how exalted position I could obtain if I would just compromise on this principal and how much easier my life would be if I would just give in on that scruple.

I am afraid that I am called to be a Chartreuse Pillowcase in a world of earth tones, off-white and gray. The world would have me dim my colors by dye or by bleach, just so long as I didn't stand out quite so much. “You're clashing with the headboard. You're clashing with the sheets. You're clashing with the comforters! Why don't you just get real and grow up?”

But when I stop and listen for that still, small voice within, I hear a smile and anticipate the echo of His voice, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in little things. I will entrust you with big things. Enter into My rest.”

And that makes it all worthwhile.

--Dave
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

To Know the Value...

To know the value of a sister
Ask someone Who doesn't have one.

To know the value of ten years:
Ask a newly Divorced couple.

To know the value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To know the value of one year:
Ask a student who Has failed a final exam.

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photo by Mike Baird

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To know the value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To know the value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to A premature baby.

To know the value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To know the value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To know the value of one minute:
Ask a person Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To know the value of one-second:
Ask a person Who has survived an accident.

To know the value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics

Time waits for no one.

Treasure every moment you have.
You will treasure it even more when you can share it with someone special. – Author unknown.

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Some bonus values...

To know the value of a yard, ask an NFL running back.
To know the value of a tenth of a second, ask a basketball team down by two.
To know the value of an inch, ask an architect.
To know the value of a pint, ask someone in need of a blood transfusion.
To know the value of a child, ask someone who can't have one.

To know the value of a life, ask God while His Son was on the cross.

I especially like that last one.

-Dave

Gods of Men

I used to dream of being famous
Well, my name would be a household word.
I thought that it would thrill me, then I saw that it could kill me
Now it strikes me as a little absurd.

I used to dream of being Don Juan,
Of having all these pretty girls on my mind.
It made shambles of my mind, so I found myself a wife
Who's a lover and a friend of mine.

As the world, keeps turning 'round,
You either learn to bend with the wind or it knocks you down.
Turn your back on the gods of men
And the Lord, who is true, will give life back to you again.

I used to dream of being a rich man,
Yeah, I swore I'd have it all someday.
Once you chase it you will find that it isn't worth a dime
Until you're free enough to give it away.

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photo by Issy Craig

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And I used to dream of chasing vengeance
All my enemies would crawl and sweat.
Well my happiness was drained from reliving all the pain
Now I'm learning to forgive and forget.

As the world, keeps turning 'round,
You either learn to bend with the wind or it knocks you down.
Turn your back on the gods of men
And the Lord, who is true, will give life back to you again.

I used to dream of being a wanderer,
With just my sneakers and my own guitar.
Well, it got lonely right away, now I'm happy just to play
With my daughter in my own back yard.

And I used to dream of being a hero,
Yeah, I told myself I'd never fall down.
But I couldn't take the strain and Jesus is the name
Of the only hero I've ever found.

As the world, keeps turning 'round,
You either learn to bend with the wind or it knocks you down.
Turn your back on the gods of men
And the Lord, who is true, will give life back to you again.

by Randy Stonehill
from the album Love Beyond Reason
Copyright 1985 by Word Records

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I used to listen to this song when I was in high school and the words have always stayed with me. "Turn your back on the gods of men and the Lord who is true will give life back to you again." All of my life "the world" has said, if you are willing to pay the price you can have it all. But what was the price? Only my soul, my values, my family, my time, my God. And my immortal soul is worth more than that.

Rom 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

BTW, the rock hounds among us will notice that the picture that I chose for this post is Iron Pyrite, a pretty, but worthless rock, also known as Fools Gold. Everything that this world has to offer is passing away and only a fool would exchange the things of this world (Fools Gold) for the true riches of the world to come.

-Dave