Something We Could Learn From A Parrot

November 4, 2011 Leave a comment

In Queen Victoria’s Windsor Castle there was a suite of rooms that were used by her personal chaplain. A private passageway connected the chaplain’s study to the Queen’s quarters. Oftentimes she would use this passageway to consult the chaplain on important matters. Sitting in the passageway was a pet parrot in a cage.

One day, as the Queen was returning to her quarters after a consultation, the parrot spoke to her. She couldn’t make out what it said, but she knew the tone was rather rude. Curious, she asked the chaplain what the bird had said. Greatly embarrassed, he answered, “If you please, Your Majesty, I would rather not repeat it.” “But what was it?” she insisted. “Something I fear Your Majesty will not like; therefore I hope Your Majesty will excuse me from telling it.” At that point the Queen’s curiosity couldn’t be held in check. She said, “Come, I insist.” The chaplain then bowed himself and answered, “Since Your Majesty insists, the parrot said, ‘Go along, you ugly old woman!’” Upon hearing that, the Queen burst out in laughter and said, “Well, I am glad that there is at least one voice in the kingdom which is not afraid to tell me what it thinks of me.”

I once heard a preacher say, “Straight talk is easily understood.” I always liked that line. I even entitled my book Straight Talk About God’s Will. I am a firm believer that there isn’t enough straight talk in our society. We are masters at mincing words. We water down the truth to take the edge off it. We live in terror of offending someone or hurting their feelings. This has made us a nation of weaklings where everyone is sheltered from uncompromising truth, a country where being blunt is looked upon as a sin and being critical as an abomination. I’d say that we could learn something from that Windsor Castle parrot.

I have to wonder how God’s Old Testament prophets would fare in modern-day America. Take Amos for example. He called the ungodly women of the northern kingdom of Israel “cows of Bashan” (Amos 4:1). I doubt that he could build much of a congregation with such preaching today. Of course, Jesus sometimes preached in that same vein. He called the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:13), “blind guides” (Matthew 23:16), “fools” (Matthew 23:17), “serpents” (Matthew 23:33), and a “brood of vipers” (Matthew 23:33). That’s not exactly, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” is it?

I’m not saying that tact and diplomacy don’t have their place. As a matter of fact, they should be the basic rule that governs our words. My point is that we have swung so far in that direction that we’ve just about forgotten the value of straight talk. It’s hard for honest-to-goodness communication to thrive through the mountains of “fake nice” smiles we wear and words we use. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself when was the last time that you either got an honest answer or gave one to the question, “How are you today?” If anyone ever answered that question truthfully rather than give the generic response, “I’m fine,” the person who asked would be shocked!

So what do I want you to do with this post? That’s simple: use it as an incentive to be more “real” in your conversations. If there is a problem, say so. If something needs to be corrected, speak up. If a change needs to be made, don’t keep to yourself about it. Vanilla words might allow us all to remain in our comfort zones, but they will never advance God’s work in this world. Sometimes you’ve just got to tell it like it is and let Him handle the fallout.

Filed under Communication, Courage, God's Work, Honesty, Influence, Ministry, Personal, preaching, The Tongue, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

God Knows Your Size Exactly

November 3, 2011 Leave a comment

The Cornish preacher Billy Bray was a well known Methodist leader of another day. One day he was approached by a Quaker who said, “I have often observed thy unselfish life and feel much interested in thee, and I believe the Lord would have me help thee; so if thou wilt call at my house, I have a suit of clothes to which thou art welcome if they will fit thee.” “Thank’ee,” said Billy in his thick Cornish accent, “I will call, and thee need have no doubt that the clothes will fit me. If the Lord told thee that they were for me, they’re sure to fit, for He knows my size exactly.”

Jesus said, “But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30). When was the last time that you really grasped the full significance of that statement? Perhaps you’ve never grasped it. If that’s the case, then it’s time that you did. A God who has every last hair of your head numbered surely has an incomprehensibly thorough knowledge of you. He knows what makes you tick. He knows what appeals to you. He knows what’s in your wheelhouse. How well would you say that you know yourself? He knows you even better than that.

This is why you mustn’t be afraid of His will and plan for your life. Whatever it is, it will be your size exactly. It will play to your strengths and make use of your talents and gifts. Remember that you are unique. God doesn’t use a cookie-cutter to create people. So never try to be someone that you’re not. Be yourself. That’s the role you were born to play.

Filed under Choices, God's Omniscience, God's Will, God's Work, Individuality, Ministry, Service, spiritual gifts, Talents Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

“Yes, We Know That Man”

October 4, 2011 Leave a comment

A missionary assigned to a foreign land zealously embraced his new ministry by promptly telling a crowd of the natives about Jesus. He spoke of Christ’s love, compassion, and power to heal. As he spoke, he was surprised to see the people smile and nod their heads. It was as if they already knew all about Jesus.

Finally, at the end of his sermon, the missionary asked, “And how many of you have ever heard of this man?” Oddly the entire crowd indicated that they knew of him. This puzzled the missionary and he began to further question them. What he discovered was that they all thought he was talking about a Christian doctor who had lived among them at one time and faithfully ministered to them.

Now that, fellow Christian, is what you are after. To live such a life that the unlearned could so closely associate you with Jesus is the ideal. The apostle Paul described it this way:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

There’s an old gospel hymn entitled “Let Others See Jesus In You.” Christian, do your best to live out that ideal today. You’ll be amazed at the impact it makes not just upon you but upon others as well.

Filed under Character, Discipleship, Doing Good, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Missions, Personal Holiness, Service, Witnessing Tagged with , , , ,

Let Me Illustrate

September 26, 2011 2 Comments

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables, and without a parable He did not speak to them… (Matthew 13:34)

Yesterday I was once again reminded of the power of sermon illustrations. At the close of a funeral service we both attended, I talked with Geraldine, a friend whom I had given some c.d. copies of a sermon series I had preached on the life of David. Even though she had listened to several of the sermons, Geraldine had just one question to ask me about them: “Are you enjoying having Josh on your football team again this year?”

I have to say that the question caught me off guard, and I got a deer-in-the-headlights look for a moment. My mind began to race. “Josh? Josh who? And how does Geraldine even know that I’m helping coach football right now? And how could she possibly care about a little kid or youth-league football? What’s the connection that I’m missing here?”

Well, since we currently have two boys named Josh on Royce’s team, I stammered out something like, “Yes, he is.” I don’t think Geraldine could tell that I was trying to bluff my way through the conversation, but the truth was that I was still trying to get up to speed subject wise. But then she said something that made everything clear. More or less her comment was, “I thought the way you used him as an illustration was just perfect.”

Okay, now I knew exactly who and what we were talking about. In one of the David sermons, I had spent a couple of minutes talking about how “little Josh” was the best tackler on Royce’s football team even though he was one of the smallest kids on the team. Since Geraldine knew that I had preached the David sermons about a year ago, she rightly assumed that I would be helping coach Royce’s football team again this year and that Josh, being the same age as Royce, would be on the team again. Once all that clicked in my mind, I told her that, yes, Josh is on our team again, and, yes, he is still our best tackler. We both got a good laugh out of that.

As Geraldine and I exited the church and went our separate ways, I couldn’t help but be impressed by how she had remembered my Josh illustration. She hadn’t asked about a sermon title, an outline, or a finer point of some text. No, apparently the top thing that had stuck in her mind out of all my preaching was an illustration that I had used, even a personal one at that. I guess that Jesus, being the master communicator, teacher, and preacher that He was, knew exactly what He was doing when He spoke in parables.

The word “parable” comes from the Greek word parabole. Literally, the word means “a placing beside.” So a parable is a story that is placed alongside a teaching to help illustrate the teaching and make it more memorable. You see, Christ’s parables were what we would call sermon illustrations. Of course, His illustrations were of a significantly higher grade than ours’!

The book Love Worth Finding is the biography of Adrian Rogers, the great Southern Baptist preacher. His life certainly makes for an interesting read, but my favorite part of the book is its closing section, which is entitled “The Preaching Philosophy of Adrian Rogers.” Concerning the use of illustrations, Rogers says this:

One of God’s great ways of communicating spiritual truth so it is easily understood is by use of illustrations. I attempt to include an illustration with every outline point of the sermon.

Rick Warren is another noted Southern Baptist preacher. In his classic book The Purpose Driven Church, he writes:

Jesus was a master storyteller…In fact, the Bible shows that storytelling was Jesus’ favorite technique when speaking to a crowd (Matthew 13:34). Somehow preachers forgot that the Bible is essentially a book of stories. That is how God chosen to communicate his Word to human beings…Long after a pastor’s clever outline is forgotten, people will remember the stories from the sermon. It is fascinating, and sometimes comical, to watch how quickly a crowd tunes in when a speaker begins telling a story and how quickly that attention vanishes as soon as the story is finished.

Now, I realize that every Christian is not a preacher or a Bible-teacher. But I also realize that every Christian is supposed to share the gospel as well as the truth of God’s word. And how can we effectively do this sharing? Well, I don’t think there is a canned answer to that question, but surely one of the best ways is to incorporate interesting, relevant, thought-provoking illustrations into what we are saying. If Jesus, who was God in the flesh, chose to major on this way of teaching, who are we to think that we can come up with something better?

Filed under Communication, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Personal, preaching, Sunday School, Teaching, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Throw Up Your Cap

September 21, 2011 1 Comment

Years ago, in a small fishing village on the coast of New England, a winter storm blew up suddenly and caught the small boats out at sea. The men rowed hard to reach the safety of the harbor, and all the boats made it in except for one. Just when it was almost there, a huge wave struck and hurled it up against a rock. The boat was captained by an old man named John. With his boat in ruins, he did the only thing he could do: pull himself up onto the rock and commence to hang on for dear life.

John’s fellow fishermen saw his plight, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. The idea of taking rescue boats out into the teeth of the storm was ludicrous. To further complicate matters, it would soon be dark. So being the good, practical New Englanders they were, they decided to wait until the morning to attempt a rescue. In the meantime, they built a bonfire on the shore and dedicated themselves to keeping it burning all night. Every now and then, by the light of that bonfire, one of the men would throw his cap up into the air just to let John know they were there and hadn’t abandoned him.

Finally, after a long, rough night, the winds subsided and the dawn broke. The fishermen put out their boats and were able to rescue old John. After he had warmed himself by the fire and been given something to eat, they asked him what it had been like out there on that rock all night. Here’s what he said:

Well, it was the longest night of my life. I made out pretty well at first, but then a big wave came along and flattened me out and I felt myself slipping. I was worn out. I was ready to give up. My old father went down at sea, and I had decided my time had come. But just as I was ready to let go, I looked through the darkness and saw somebody’s cap going up in the air. I said to myself, “If there’s somebody who cares enough about old John to stay out on a night like this, I guess I’m not going to quit yet.” Just then the winds seemed to ease up, and I got a fresh hold, and well, here I am.

With this story in mind, I’ll ask you to throw up a cap yourself today. Johns are out there everywhere, just trying to hold for dear life. Find someone who needs some encouragement and let them know that you appreciate them. Let them know they’d be missed if they weren’t around. Let them know that you care. You might just give that person reason to keep pressing on rather than quit.

Filed under Comfort, Doing Good, Encouragement, God's Work, Influence, Ministry Tagged with , , , , ,

Wise As Serpents, Harmless As Doves

September 2, 2011 1 Comment

In Matthew chapter 10, we find Matthew’s account of Christ’s commissioning of His chosen twelve. It’s a marvelous chapter to study in terms of basic ministry, bold evangelism, and preaching for a decision. With that said, I’d like to draw your attention to a single verse from the chapter. It’s verse 16. Jesus says:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

Notice that Jesus begins by describing Christians as sheep. That’s good. But then He says that we are sent out into a world filled with wolves. That’s bad. Because of this, we can’t be regular sheep. Like all sheep, we are to be as harmless as doves. But unlike sheep, we are also to be as wise as serpents.

Can you picture sheep in the midst of a ravenous pack of wolves? That doesn’t conjure up a pretty outcome, does it? Oh, but wait, these aren’t regular sheep. These sheep are as wise as serpents. Going all the way back to the garden of Eden, the serpent is described as being more cunning than any of the other creatures. A sheep as wise as a serpent wouldn’t be such easy pickings for the wolves. And that’s exactly the point that Jesus is making.

A Christian who is as wise as a serpent will exhibit good sense, prudence, and tact when it comes to evangelism. He will not go out into the world wide-eyed, ignorant, and hopelessly naive. He will not be of the world, but he will be in the world, and he will understand what all comes with that. Charles Spurgeon described the situation as follows:

He sends them, not to fight with wolves, nor to drive them out of their haunts, but to transform them. The disciples were sent to fierce men to convince them, and therefore they must be wise…The Christian missionary will need to be wary, to avoid receiving harm; but he must be of a guileless mind, that he do no harm…we are to be simple-hearted, but we are not to be simpletons.

Is it a tough balancing act to stay as wise as a serpent and as harmless as a dove? You’d better believe it. Let’s admit that the typical way of thinking is to equate wisdom with power and, by implication, the ability to inflict harm. But that’s just not how Jesus expects His followers to wield their wisdom.

Do you remember the story where James and John learned this lesson? It’s found in Luke 9:51-56. When Jesus and the twelve came to a certain village in Samaria, the citizens of the village wouldn’t let them enter the village. James and John, being as wise as serpents in the racial hatred that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans, understand the roadblock for the insult that it was. They responded by wanting to strike like King Cobras and exact revenge on those Samaritans. They said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But Jesus rebuked them and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” He might as well have said, “Calm down boys, I need doves not King Cobras.”

And so, Christian, I’ll ask you how you are doing on your balancing act. Are you a sheep that has either too much dove or too much serpent about you? Neither imbalance is good. If you are too gullible in worldly matters, you need to develop more of an edge. On the other hand, if you are too quick to strike, you need to develop more of a calm and peaceable nature. Think of it this way: Too much dove will make you easy pickings for the wolves, but too much serpent will keep you from converting any of the wolves into sheep. And, at the end of the day, turning wolves into sheep is why we’re to go out in the first place, right?

Filed under Adversity, balance, Evangelism, God's Work, Ministry, Missions, salvation, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , ,

Why The Christian Will Be In Heaven

August 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Evangelist Dr. A.J. Fristoe tells the story of something that happened to him when he accepted an invitation to preach a revival in London, England. He said that upon his arrival he was met by those who had invited him. They told him that he would be staying in one of the finest palaces in England. It had all been arranged by the couple who owned the home. They had put in a special request that Dr. Fristoe be allowed to stay with them.

Even as Fristoe traveled to the home, he had to question why the wealthy couple would be so gracious to him. The mystery only deepened when he met them and realized that they were strangers to him. It wasn’t until all three were comfortably seated in an exquisite living room that he got his explanation.

The couple’s son, an officer in the Royal navy, was stationed on the other side of the world, but he had heard that Dr. Fristoe was to be in London. It was the young man who had sent instructions for his parents to be so hospitable to Dr. Fristoe. As the couple described their son, Dr. Fristoe did indeed remember him. The officer had been on a ship that had put into Norfolk, Virginia for repairs years earlier when Fristoe was serving as the pastor of a church there. The officer had attended Fristoe’s church and gotten to know the preacher quite well. Fristoe had invited the young man into his home for dinner on multiple occasions. There the two had enjoyed long discussions on the subject of religion, and those discussions had led the young man to believe in Christ as Savior. Dr. Fristoe had even baptized him.

After the officer’s ship had pulled out of Norfolk, he had kept in touch with Fristoe. Upon hearing that Fristoe would be preaching a revival in London, the officer had cabled his parents and instructed them to extend the invitation to the evangelist. After the explanation was all given, the couple ended it by saying, “Dr. Fristoe, you are here because of our son.”

The spiritual parallel isn’t hard to spot. Christian, when you journey to heaven and arrive at that indescribably beautiful place, God the Father could rightly look at you and say, “You are here because of My Son.” Take some time today to thank Jesus for the awesome fact that heaven awaits you when you leave this world.

Filed under Christ's Death, church, Church attendance, God's Work, Heaven, Influence, salvation Tagged with , , , , , ,

“You Almost Missed Me”

August 2, 2011 Leave a comment

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30, K.J.V.)

Dr. Louis Evans was the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California. He used to tell a story about his father, Dr. William Evans, who was also a prominent pastor. As the story went, one day a man came knocking on William Evans’ door and presented himself as a typewriter salesman. The salesman said, “Dr. Evans, I know that you write a lot, and I would like to show you this new machine that we have.” Evans said, “I’m sorry, but I’m working on a manuscript for a new book and I’ve got a deadline to meet. I just don’t have the time.” So the salesman went away.

A couple of days later the same salesman knocked on Dr. Evans’ door again. He said, “Dr. Evans, I thought you might have some time for me today to show you this machine.” This time Dr. Evans wasn’t as cordial as he had been the first time. He said, “I thought I made it clear to you that I don’t have the time. I’m pressed with this deadline that I’ve got to meet.” So the salesman went away.

A couple of days later, though, he again knocked on Dr. Evans’ door and asked to be allowed to show the new machine. Dr. Evans again declined the offer, but this time, just as he was about to close the door, the Lord spoke to him in that still, small, inner voice and said, “Why don’t you tell him about Me?” So, in obedience, Dr. Evans invited the man into his home and told him about Jesus.

And how did the man respond to the conversation? He broke down somewhat and said, “Dr. Evans, I’m so glad that you spoke to me today. I’ve come here three times now, but I’m not really in this kind of business. I’ve been coming here because I knew that you were a preacher of the word and I hoped that you would share with me. And Dr. Evans, you almost missed me.”

Tell me, Christian, have you recently found yourself in the somewhat unusual situation of consistently ending up in the company of a particular person? Well, have you gotten around to telling that person about Jesus? If you haven’t, be careful, you don’t want to miss them!

Filed under Evangelism, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, obedience, salvation, Witnessing Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

The Importance of Speaking Up

July 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Well, we made it to and from the beach safely, and I really appreciate those of you who prayed for us along those lines. Not surprisingly, my next few posts will involve stuff that I experienced while on vacation.

I’ll start with something that happened on our last night out on the town, the Thursday night before we checked out Friday morning. Since the boys had never been in the attractions and stores of Ocean Boulevard, we drove up there and made a night of the whole scene. Royce went into the Ripley’s Haunted Adventure while Ryan went into the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum. Then they both went into one of the arcades and played some skeet ball. That’s the game where you roll the ball up the ramp and try to make it jump into certain holes. Some holes are worth more than others, and in the end you are rewarded tickets based upon your point total. You then take those tickets to the counter and swap them for a prize. The more tickets you have, the better prize you get.

Okay, so Ryan goes to one lane and Royce goes to another. When Ryan finishes his game, his tickets start rolling out of the machine appropriately. But when Royce finishes his game nothing happens, even though he has accumulated enough points to earn some tickets. So now Tonya and I have a decision to make. Do we let the injustice go and chalk it up to bad luck? Or do we take the time to go and tell a worker what has happened? We decided to go and tell. (I’ll admit that our decision was helped along by the fact that Royce was none too pleased about not getting any tickets while Ryan did.)

After we reported the problem to the girl at the counter, she came over and very politely said, “I’ll call our maintenance guy, but this will take a few minutes. Will you wait?” At this point, I was beginning to regret saying anything. Who knew where this dude might have to come from? But as the old saying goes, “In for a penny, in for a pound,” so we agreed to wait.

Thankfully, the young man wasn’t too long in coming. He took a quick look at the machine and saw that it was simply out of tickets. He then pulled out a big roll of tickets and reloaded the machine. That’s when things got interesting. As he finished the reloading, he said, “Now get ready because whatever number of tickets this machine should have been giving out is going to come out, and your boy is going to get them all.” Ever the pessimist, I thought to myself, “Sure, sure. We’re probably talking four or five extra tickets here. The thing probably ran out just before Royce played it.”

But then those tickets started rolling out and spilling down onto the floor! My eyes lit up and so did Tonya’s. Royce squealed in delight. Ryan, the classic older brother, stood there green with jealousy because he had actually gotten a higher score than Royce and should have ended up with more tickets than him. On and on the scene went. A few seconds into it the worker grinned at us and reminded us, “Remember, I’m giving him all these tickets.”

So, what was that final total? We ended up with approximately 275 free tickets. To put that total into perspective, Ryan had won about ten with his game and Royce had earned even less than Ryan. Obviously, that machine had been out of tickets for a long time and a great number of kids had played it and taken their losses without reporting the problem. We ended up splitting the tickets between the boys and letting them go nuts cashing them in for multiple gifts at the counter.

And that brings us to the spiritual application to all this. It’s a simple one, really. Since God has called us Christians to be “salt” and “light” in this world, He will bless us when we take the role seriously and speak out when something is wrong. You see, He doesn’t want us to just sit back and let wrong go unchallenged. He doesn’t want us to act like the rest of the world and just accept things as they are. The state of things never gets any better that way. Somebody has got to put in the time and effort to say something.

Christian, could it be that you are right now in the throes of some situation in which you are wondering whether or not you should speak up? Could it be that you are the one whom God is burdening to throw out some salt or turn on a light? Believe me, I know that speaking up is not the easy thing to do, and I’m not trying to needlessly stir up trouble for you here, but the plain fact is that sometimes life’s skeet-ball machines don’t get fixed until someone points out the problem. And, Christian, there are times when that someone has just got to be you because the situation has your name all over it.

Now, will the person whom you correct appreciate your attempts? That’s tough to answer because it depends upon the person. But keep in mind that you aren’t responsible for how the person responds. Once you’ve gone to the counter and reported the problem, once you’ve thrown out the salt, once you’ve turned on the light, your job is done. And God will then reward you somehow or someway with some tickets of blessing. I can’t say exactly what those tickets will be, but you can rest assured that you’ll be satisfied with them.

Filed under Choices, Discipleship, Doing Good, faithfulness, God's Will, God's Work, Honesty, Influence, Ministry, obedience, Problems, Reward, Service, Sin, The Tongue Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Harold & Ella Mae

July 13, 2011 2 Comments

Here’s a follow up to yesterday’s post about being yourself as you allow God to use you in His service.

Harold and Ella Mae were sitting on the front porch swing. Harold said, “Ella Mae, I wish that I had the arms of the strongest man in the world. That way I could hold you like you ought to be held.” Ella Mae just blushed. Then he said, “And I wish that I had the voice of the world’s greatest orator. That way I could properly tell you how much I love you.” Ella Mae just smiled. Then he said, “And I wish that I had the softest lips imaginable. That way I could kiss you as tenderly as I want to kiss you.” At that point Ella Mae giggled, moved in close to him, and said, “Harold, why don’t you just use what you’ve got?”

I had only been preaching for a few years when I was asked to preach a revival at a certain church. I went and did my best and even thought that I had done a fairly decent job of filling the pulpit each night. But that church had one member who was a proponent of a style of preaching different from my own. Whereas I have always been more of a teaching preacher, this man liked “fire” in the pulpit. He thought that my sermons needed more emotion, more attitude, and more VOLUME.

So one night, toward the conclusion of the service, this fellow stood up in the congregation and tried to offer me some encouragement. He said, “One of these days Russell is going to cut loose, and I hope I’m there to see it.” Well, that’s been many years ago now and I have to say that I still haven’t “cut loose.” And as for that well-meaning Christian, he died and went home to be with the Lord a year or so ago.

Immediately following that revival night all those years ago, I had a couple of folks come to me and express how angry they were over the man’s remark. Honestly, though, they were more upset than I was. I knew the deal. That guy was simply wired differently than me. It didn’t make him right and me wrong any more than it made me right and him wrong. It was just the difference in people. In the years since, I’ve met other people with his same mindset, but I’ve also met many others who love to hear me preach and think my style is the best. That’s why I never get all upset when I don’t ring someone’s bell as a preacher. It’s also why I don’t try to be someone I’m not in some feeble attempt to suit someone else.

But why am I telling you all this? I’m doing it to help you understand, Christian, that God will never ask you to forfeit your individuality in order to serve Him. To the contrary, He knows how to use your individuality to reach people that other Christians can’t reach. So, Harold, stop pining away for spiritual gifts, natural talents, and developed abilities that you don’t have, and start using what you’ve got. Remember, there’s an Ella Mae out there somewhere who just wants you to be yourself.

Filed under God's Work, Humor, Individuality, Influence, Ministry, Personal, preaching, spiritual gifts, Talents Tagged with , , , ,

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