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There are two kinds of people in the world. The "Can-dos" and the "Will-dos." Everyone can do something, but not everyone is willing to persevere and be a will-do something.
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In the foreward of his book, Inside Out, Larry Crabb writes this: “Modern Christianity, in dramatic reversal of its biblical form, promises to relieve the pain of living in a fallen world. The message, whether it’s from fundamentalists requiring us to live by a favored set of rules or from charismatics urging deeper surrender to the Spirit’s power, is too often the same: The promise of bliss is for NOW! Complete satisfaction can be ours this side of heaven.....
We are told, sometimes explicitly but more often by example, that it’s simply not necessary to feel the impact of family tensions, frightening possibilities, or discouraging news. [We are told that] life may have its rough spots, but the reality of Christ’s presence and blessing can so thrill our soul that pain is virtually unfelt. It simply isn’t necessary to wrestle with internal struggle and disorder. Just trust, surrender, persevere, obey.
“The effect of such teaching,” continues Crabb, “is to blunt the painful reality of what it’s like to live as part of an imperfect, and sometimes evil, community. We learn to pretend that we feel now what we cannot feel until Heaven.
But not all of us are good at playing the game. Those whose integrity makes such pretense difficult sometimes worry over their apparent lack of faith. “Why don’t I feel as happy and together as others? Something must be wrong with my spiritual life.” To make matters worse, these people of integrity often appear less mature and their lives less inviting than folks more skilled at denial. And churches tend to reward their members who more convincingly create the illusion of intactness by parading them as examples of what every Christian should be.
[But] beneath the surface of everyone’s life, especially the more mature, is an ache that will not go away. It can be ignored, disguised, mislabeled, or submerged by a torrent of activity, but it will not disappear. And for good reason. We were designed to enjoy a better world than this. And until that better world comes along, we will groan for what we do not have. An aching soul is evidence not of neurosis or spiritual immaturity, but of realism.
From rags to riches. These kinds of stories always excite us somewhat. They are feel-good stories and they always offer to the common person a bit of encouragement to make something of ourselves in life. HAVEN’T WE ALL DREAMED AT ONE TIME OF PERHAPS DOING SOMETHING GREAT OR EXTRA-ORDINARY? Perhaps not becoming rich and famous but perhaps doing something out of the ordinary. That’s what 25 year-old Jennifer Hudson of Chicago did. She was a talented singer who got her start in church like many others. She tried out for the American Idol show and made it. She even made it to the final 12 in 2004. On April 21, 2004, Hudson became the sixth of the 12 finalists to be voted off the show, finishing the competition in seventh place. But that didn’t stop Jennifer Hudson She persevered In November 2005, Hudson was cast in the prized role of Effie White, the role originally created in a legendary Broadway performance by Jennifer Holliday, for the film adaptation of the musical Dreamgirls. I never saw it but it was hit with many. On February 25, 2007, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in this film. At 25 years old, Hudson became the eighth youngest winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She also became only the third African-American to win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. During her acceptance speech Hudson said through tears of joy, "I have to just take this moment in. I cannot believe this. Look what God can do. I didn’t think I was going to win." At least, she had the good sense to give God the credit for this good thing in her life. Better than most. Of course, we assume and believe that Jennifer Hudson is a Christian. From rags to riches and it’s not over for Jennifer Hudson. But listen to this: Ps. 84:10 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” No matter how much we prosper in this life (including Jennifer Hudson) may we all realize that heaven will be better Glorification in heaven will be better
Perseverance
When all the world is looming dark
And things seem not so clear,
When shadows seem to hover ’round
Lord, may I persevere.
When it seems everything’s been tried
And there’s no way to go,
Just let me keep remembering
Sometimes the journey’s slow.
I may just need to stop and rest
Along the path I trod,
A time to try to understand
And have my talk with God.
As I gain new strength to carry on
Without a doubt or fear,
Somehow I know thing...
"Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer; support the tottering knees. Have you any days of fasting and prayer? Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down."
Wesley, John
Perseverance--Perseverance means that through the Holy Spirit we are able to continue in the Christian way even while facing trials on every side. Perseverance is a gift of God’s grace whereby we continue to patiently depend upon Jesus. Sometimes in Church we hear a lot of talk about “perseverance of the saints.” I like what Handley Dunelm says about this, however, in his article on “Perseverance” in THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA: “It is important to make the ‘perseverance of the Saviour’ our watchword rather than the ‘perseverance of the saints’ [--Dunely, Handley. “Perseverance.” International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Quick Verse 8.0.4. Computer software. Cedar Rapids: Findex.com, 2004.]. We persevere in times of trials as we practice the Christian acronym FROG:
FULLY
RELY
ON
GOD.
3. Christopher Reeve
a. Superman brought fame
b. Man of Steel – Hero #1 (A hero is someone who commits a courageous actions with ou considering the consequences, someone who is larger than life)
c. Horse Accident, Memorial Day 1995, on 3rd of 15 jumps, horse stopped and he fell, breaking his neck. He was unable to move or breath
d. Paraplegic– Hero#2 (an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles)
e. Created new life focused on future,
i. Autobiography “Still Me”
ii. Directed HBO film “In the Gloaning” (got 5 Emmy nominations)
iii. Established own charitable foundation to raise awareness and money for spinal chord research
iv. Speeches at Democratic Nat. Conven. And Acadamy Awards inspired people around the world
v. Testified before congress for better healthy insurance, lobbied Wash, working relationship with President Clinton….
vi. died Oct 10 @ 52 yrs old
vii. “Chris and Dana Reeve have gathered the will and the spirit to created a new life, one responsive and engaged and focused on the future”
? Heb 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the Joy set before Him endured the cross…”
source: http://ministry.wikia.com/wiki/Obession_Sermon
May 31, 2005 “Our Semper Fi Brother!” Matthew 9:18-26 Key verse(s) 22“Jesus turned and saw her. ‘Take heart, daughter,’ he said, ‘your faith has healed you.’ And the woman was healed from that moment.”
Nothing defines endurance better than a Marine. I have known a few Marines in my life; in fact my father-in-law was a Marine and I have several friends who have served in the corps. These are a special breed of people, not that they really look much different in civilian life than you or I. It’s more a matter of heart than it is body that defines a Marine.
One of the most tragic events during the Reagan Presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their trapped brothers from beneath the rubble.
A few days after the tragedy, I recall coming across an extraordinary story. Marine Corps Commandant Paul X Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors then in a Frankfurt, Germany, hospital. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man; yet he survived.
As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words -- “Semper Fi” the Latin motto of the Marines meaning “forever faithful.” With those two simple words Nashton spoke for the millions of Americans who have sacrificed body and limb and their lives for their country -- those who have remained faithful. (J. Dobson & Gary Bauer, Children at Risk, Word, 1990, pp. 187-188.)
Never giving up. I guess that’s the import of this story. Even when things are seemingly hopeless and the pain is unbearable, a Marine is forever faithful. I asked a Marine friend of mine recently what “forever faithful” really meant to him. I thought that it would take a while for him to respond in the careful and detailed way so endemic to the Marine psyche. Yet, his eyes simply brightened for a moment as if he was wondering why I had never asked the question before. He took off his baseball cap and with hands at his side he simply said, “It means that no matter how hard it gets or how bad I feel, I know that there is always one thing I can rely on; something that blunts the pain and brightens my ...
Part of the creative process is having the patience to persevere.
"Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, and its power of endurance the cheerful man will do more in the same time, will do it better, will persevere in it longer than the sad or sullen."
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