“The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. Thats the essence of it.”
― Vince Lombardi Jr.
“There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.”
― Colin Powell
JOB 1-6
6One day the angelsa came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satanb also came with them. 7The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
8Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
9“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10“Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
12The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.(1:6-12)ACTS 7:1-43
1Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these charges true?”
JOURNAL
Here in these passages are two men who have done nothing wrong...to the contrary they are doing everything right...yet they are about to get pummeled. Job is given to the hands of Satan and will lose everything but his life. Stephen is about to be stoned.
What does this tell me about trusting in God and obeying him. It says that worldly success is not a guarantee. It says that my life will be used for his glory but it might be at the expense of success and accolades in this world. It just depends on how God wants to use it.
Or to the contrary it may include riches and wealth and worldly success. The point is it won't really matter...what will matter is the joy that I will receive from obeying and living my life as an Outpost of the Kingdom of God. To give my life as an offering...a living sacrifice...is to take my eyes off the approval of man and focus my eyes on the love of God. It is to see that right here, right now I am blessed with life, with opportunity to worship God and obey him. What does that look like? I think it is different for everyone but I know it is a passionate, joyful active existence that pushes the envelope of what I consider possible.
I think it must be an existence that stretches the boundaries of what I feel I can do and accomplish. I think it must be a life that honors my gifts and talents and seeks to multiply them. I think it must be a life that inspires courage and respect from my children and close friends. This is not to be a life of passive contemplation, but rather a life of active engagement.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What does this tell me about trusting in God and obeying him. It says that worldly success is not a guarantee. It says that my life will be used for his glory but it might be at the expense of success and accolades in this world. It just depends on how God wants to use it.
Or to the contrary it may include riches and wealth and worldly success. The point is it won't really matter...what will matter is the joy that I will receive from obeying and living my life as an Outpost of the Kingdom of God. To give my life as an offering...a living sacrifice...is to take my eyes off the approval of man and focus my eyes on the love of God. It is to see that right here, right now I am blessed with life, with opportunity to worship God and obey him. What does that look like? I think it is different for everyone but I know it is a passionate, joyful active existence that pushes the envelope of what I consider possible.
I think it must be an existence that stretches the boundaries of what I feel I can do and accomplish. I think it must be a life that honors my gifts and talents and seeks to multiply them. I think it must be a life that inspires courage and respect from my children and close friends. This is not to be a life of passive contemplation, but rather a life of active engagement.
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
ROMANS 12:1-2
No comments:
Post a Comment