Encouragement

I Love Being Rejected!

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For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:3

If you are a writer, then you know that the most dreaded response from a publisher begins with the words, “Thank you for your submission, but…” We cringe because we know that those nice words invariably begin every rejection letter! However, if your first novel, article or poetry was jubilantly accepted by a large highly acclaimed publisher, then read no further. But, if like many of us, you have written several novels, articles, or oodles of poems and have little to show for it beyond a few meager acceptances and an inbox filled with rejections, then let’s see what the Bible has to say. In today’s verse, James, tells us that it is neither our acceptances, nor our successes that increase our faith but our tests. When our best efforts are challenged, just as heavy work pushes our muscles to the breaking point, so our rejections cause us to dig deeper and focus more clearly on our writing goals. They bring us face to face with the why’s of our ambitions, and the purpose of our message. Are we writing so that we can become popular, or is our true motivation to serve God and our readers? Rejection has pushed me to keep going beyond my frustration, when what I thought was a great poem or article, wasn’t something anyone wanted to read, or a publisher was willing to pay for. But to be honest, it has been my rejections that have motivated me to work towards becoming a better writer, a better editor and most of all a better follower of Jesus. So, I love being rejected! It is those wonderful rejections that have drawn me closer to the heart of Jesus: Who is The Word of God, and the best-selling message of all time!

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Mind – Motives and Ministry

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Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:5 NKJV

I hate dental exams and am not too crazy about routine checkups at my primary care doctor either. It isn’t that I don’t like or trust the medical professionals in my life. My problem is that I worry about what they will find and some of the probing they do can even be a bit painful. Those unsettling sessions remind me of how God works on my motives. Just like many of you, I usually start off into service of one kind or another with enthusiasm, and without a doubt, by God’s grace some good gets done. But after a while, I discover that God schedules a visit to His examination room. There He pokes around in uncomfortable areas of my motivations, shines a bright light on the dark corners of my methods and then sends me off with a referral to a specialist by the name of Dr. Holy Spirit. Then I notice that He has written a recommendation for surgery! It says that I need the removal of at least 10 lbs. of self-promotion and the insertion of a pacemaker to keep my weakened heart in proper rhythm. If you have been to God’s exam room lately and come away feeling discouraged, I want to remind you that along with the referral, He also gives us some prescriptions to fill at Heaven’s pharmacy. Here are three of the medications that He recommended for me that I have found have helped prepare me for the upcoming medical procedures. This first one you will need to take early in the morning, before your day begins: so that you can start things off in the right direction.

Then around midday, when things are getting a little busy, sit down for a moment and take this second one, along with a tall glass of God’s living water. You will find that as soon as it goes down, that it will refresh your heart and put your crazy day back into perspective.

Then in the evening, when you are feeling worn down from all that has been piled on you during the day and it seems like you don’t have anything left to give, try a double dose of this, just before you lie down for the night. This one always gives me peace and rest, because it comes from the one who loves us the most and who is working every detail of our life out for good!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

Feel Like Giving Up?

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Years ago, we had a poster on the wall, of a young boy sitting hunched over on the sidelines of a football game, with the quote, “I quit!” Then, just to the side of that was a picture of the cross with the words, “I didn’t!” If that is you today, then I pray that this little devotional which I wrote several years ago would give you hope.

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word 
I will let down the nets.”  Luke 5:5 ESV

Peter was like the farmer who has just finished his spring planting only to have his field washed out by a rainstorm. We all sometimes come face to face with our inability and failure no matter how hard we try. Maybe you were the last to get picked for your neighborhood team and only got to play because they ran out of other people. Maybe your marriage is struggling or has failed. Maybe you don’t have a friend. Whatever you may be facing, that is also how Peter felt that day.

But Jesus doesn’t come to choose the best fishermen, fathers, mothers or pastors. Jesus came to pick people for His team who have worked all night and have nothing to show for their efforts. And the call of Jesus is not to just try harder. Jesus only asks us to believe and obey His word!  When Peter simply did what Jesus asked him, he saw immediate results. When he cast the net on the other side of the boat, it became so full that it took all of the efforts of Peter his friends to pull them in. But Jesus doesn’t stop with filling our nets. We think it would be great if Jesus showed up to give us blessings like Peter’s full nets, but this story is about more than blessings. The call of Jesus then, as now, was to come by faith and follow Him wherever He chooses to go!

And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him! Luke 5:11
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