service based on Love

Jacob's love for Rachel during the seven years that he had to serve for her
"seemed but a few days."

Why? Service based on love is never burdensome!

"And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few
days, for the love he had to her." Genesis 29:20

And the Teacher Becomes the Student

I just received an email from one of my past students when I was an administrator in western NY that I thought I would share.  She is now a mom with a sixteen year old.  She also just recently was miraculously healed from years of depression and has miraculously conceived as well.  I will send her miraculous story in tomorrows blog but first I would like you to read her comments on memorizing the Word so many years ago (and please pray for her as she faces possible cancer surgery):

 

---

Mark,

PLEASE share my story!  I know that there are people out there who can benefit from my life experiences & it would be an honor for me to be used of the Lord in this way!  "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord & He will lift you up!"  You can use my real name.  I am not going to hide in the shadows anymore.  I've got a new life!  You would hardly recognize me!  Im so glad I saw the "signs" and it opened up my eyes.  Life is demanding without understanding. 

God truely speaks to me.  God told me to stop hiding in the shadows and get into the light where I (and these issues) belong!

I just want to share with you, Mark, the verses that I have held tightly to all of my life.  I may not have understood at the time why you (and Ms. Keany!) had all of us kids at PBS put all of those scriptures to memory.  It seemed like a huge waste of time since we could just pick up our bibles and read them...but I do now.  God has OPENED MY EYES TO SO MANY WONDERS....

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)”  This verse was actually initally discouraging and disheartening to me because I didn't understand biblical time & God's timing....a night was not a night but 20 years in my case.

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)”

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and don't lean on your own understanding. In all things acknowledge him, and he shall direct your way. [Proverbs 3:5, 6]”

“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord (Psalms 31:24).”

“Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope (Romans 5:3-4).” 

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek; and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. [Matthew 7:7-8].” 
 
“And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” 

“Be patient and you will finally win, for a soft tongue can break hard bones. (Proverbs 28:13)” 

“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people’s sins but delights in the truth; it is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love does not come to an end.” 

“The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalms 18:2)” 

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling (1 Peter 4:8-9).”

I Love you mark.  I wish I could see you and give you a big huge hug right now!  You made your "mark" on my life and for that I will always be truely grateful.

God Bless

Lori

P.S. Please keep me & my family in your prayers.  I see a surgeon Friday for breast cancer.

Talent is Never Enough chapter 6 by John Maxwell

This will be the last overview for Talent is Never Enough. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this book for every parent and teacher in the preparation of our children’s work ethic, character development, and career goals. We have gone through chapter six and the best I have reserved for you to read for yourself. I hope you have enjoyed the review…now for chapter six.

If you want to sum up what lifts most successful individuals above the crowd, you could do it with four little words: a little bit more. Successful people pay their dues and do all that is expected of them—plus a little bit more.

Performance Can Always Be Improved

“A good leader understands that anything that has been done in a particular way for a given amount of time is being done wrong. Every single performance can be improved.”

Dale Carnegie advised, “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do little things well, the big ones tend to take care of themselves.”

As I was pondering the truths in Maxwell’s book, Talent is Never Enough, I began thinking about his particular insight on how small gains make big differences. He gives the illustration how an Olympic gold medal is often hundredths of a second better than second place. The Apostle Peter encourages the same in his second letter when he said, “Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge…” When we make moral decisions to remain pure of heart for example, or spend a little extra time doing a job well, those little “additions” bring an accumulated positive effect upon our lives and the lives of those we serve. Peter’s words carry more meaning that meets the eye; the word “diligence” means “to make a decision to go a different direction;” the word “add,” means “add at your own expense.” Developing discipline always beings with struggle. It is a matter not of conditions but of choice, as Peter so skillfully conveys. Greek philosopher Aristotle observed, “Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.”

Though I would agree with Aristotle, I would caution that excellence is not synonymous with character.

A person of excellence without character is a proud person who serves himself more than others. A person of excellence who has his character forged, is a person who recognizes that his skills are gifts from a Great Giver, to be used for the benefit of others and his own enjoyment. John Piper so aptly changed the wording in the Westminster confession that gives this sense: “The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.” When one understands that God wants us to enjoy Him with the skills that He has so graciously given, then a whole new approach to one’s work will begin.

Andrew Carnegie also said, “There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself.”

Joe Theismann said of the two super bowl rings, the winners and the losers that the difference “lies in applying oneself and not accepting anything but the best.”

Pepperdine University sociology professor Jon Johnston makes a distinction between excellence and mere success: “Success bases our worth on a comparison with others. Excellence gauges our value by measuring us against our own potential. Success grants rewards to the few but is the dream of the multitudes. Excellence is available to all living beings but is accepted by the ….few. Success focuses its attention on the external—becoming the tastemaker for the insatiable appetites of the …consumer. Excellence beams its spotlight on the internal spirit…Excellence cultivates principles and consistency.”

Bill Hybels said, “Most people feel best about themselves when they have given their very best.”

Charles Kendall Adams, president of Cornell University and later University of Wisconsin observed, “No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount of excellence of what is over and above the required that determines greatness.”

Successful people practice harder and practice longer than unsuccessful people. Success expert Peter Lowe said, “The most common trait I have found in all successful people is that they have conquered the temptation to give up.”

To purchase Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell click here.

talent is Never Enough ch 5 by John Maxwell

Chapter 5:  Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell

            Did you know that Thomas Jefferson chose Meriwether Lewis to lead

the expedition of the American west when he was only 18 years of age?  When

asked why he didn't choose a credentialed scientist, he said it was

impossible to find a person possessing a "complete science in botany,

natural history, mineralogy and astronomy" who could add to it "the firmness

of constitution & character, prudent, habits adapted to the woods, & a

familiarity with the Indian manners & character, requisite for this

undertaking.  All the latter qualifications Capt. Lewis has."  Lewis had

taken charge of a two-thousand acre plantation after his father's death

while a teenager. In the middle of the night he was known to go hunting on

his own-at the age of eight. He possessed undaunted courage, self

discipline, and steadiness of purpose. These were the skills and character

that Jefferson knew could not be taught but only conceived through natural

gifts and forged character.  The sciences could be taught and through formal

training and personal tutoring by Jefferson himself for two years, Lewis was

prepared for the expedition. Jefferson knew that formal preparation

paled in comparison to the preparation of the man.  The life of Meriwether

Lewis shows a truth about preparation: spectacular achievement comes from

preparation of both man and talent.  Talent minus preparation often lead to

disaster.

            In my new book, Worth It All—Values Re-Clarification for the 21^st Century: A Blueprint for Parenting—Where to go and how to get there,  I will address the rest of the story concerning Meriwether Lewis and how is life ended in suicide.

 

            Though talent may be a gift, success must be earned.  Proverbs 18:16

states, "A man's gift makes room for him."   Your cultivated God-given

talents opens the door for opportunity, but your preparation makes your

opportunities into successes.  General Douglas MacArthur said, "Preparedness

is the key to success and victory".and "the more you sweat in peace the less

you bleed in war."  Andrew Hamilton, a Founding Father of the US and fist

secretary of the Treasury, said, "Man gives me credit for genius; but all

the genius I have lies in this: When I have a subject on hand I study it

profoundly."  John Maxwell goes on to say, "Hamilton was a disciplined and

highly productive man. He understood that no matter you circumstances,

resources, or natural talent, certain things were always within your

control-your ability to work harder and smarter than anybody else."

            John Wooden says that the best way to improve your team is to

improve yourself.  There is an old saying, "You can claim to be surprised

once; after than you are unprepared."

            Minister Benjamin Disraeli of England remarked, "The secret of

success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when it comes." 

            John F. Kennedy said, "The time to repair the roof is when the sun

is shining."

"If you are preparing today, you will not be repairing tomorrow."

            Abraham Lincoln said, "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd

spend six sharpening my ax."

            Joe Namath, hall-of-fame and star quarterback for the NY Jets, said,

"What I do is prepare myself until I know I can do what I have to do."

            In the next chapter we will look at "Practice." 

To purchase this book, click here: Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell

           

 

Gush Out

I quote this verse often from Romans 5: "Suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character (which means in Greek, "proven
character proven through testing), and character produces hope, and hope
makes us not ashamed." Great verse that teaches us how character truly
develops--through endurance of suffering and trials...but what I rarely
quote is the rest of the verse which says, "because the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts..."
The word "shed abroad" means to "gush out, pour out, to bestow, or
to run greedily (out), to spill or shed.
Why can we have hope during our most hurtful trials in life,
particularly those where love is not returned, you feel unloved,
unappreciated, and quite empty...why hope? Because God is greedily gushing
out his love into our hearts to keep us from despair...He knows how
difficult it is and without His love we would crumble...He is there for us
and He is gushing out His love in us.

Talent is Never Enough by Maxwell chapters 4

Thanks for reminding me...i have been immersed in many great books lately for my doctoral research that I feel that I need to leave behind my review of Talent is Never Enough by John Maxwell, for the moment. So what I would like to do is to give you some of the highlights and strongly urge you to buy and read the book...if you are a parent or an adult searching for your "calling," this is a must read.

Chapter 4:

Successful people forget…easily. If anyone does them wrong, they consider the source and keep cool. It’s only the small people who cherish revenge. Be a good forgetter. Business dictates it, and success demands it.

Peter Drucker said, “Concentration is the key to economic results. No other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration…Our motto seems to be, “Let’s do a little bit of everything.”

Everything I do must go through the filter of: “Am I adding value to people?”

What you commit yourself to will change what you are and make you into a completely different person. What are you commitments? Where are you going? What are you going to be? You show me somebody who hasn’t decided, and I’ll show you somebody who has no identity, no personality, no direction.”

Delay Rewards Until the Job is Done. Pay now, play later. Be intentional, make every action count. Too many people today want rewards before the results. If you know you have the talent and the energy but lack the results, then lack of focus is likely your problem. It takes talent plus focus to reach your potential.

Nehemiah

Recently I finished reading several books: The books of Nehemiah and Esther in the Scriptures and the books Amusing Ourselves To Death and The Disappearance of Childhood both by Neil Postman.  I have been so blessed, informed, and awakened to our current disintegration of our entire culture.  What is interesting about the truths that I have been able to discover is that they came at a time in my life that I was enduring enormous spiritual cleansing from the Lord...a form a chastisement that I have not experienced in a long time.  But whom the Lord loves He chastens...the author of the book of Hebrews (I believe to be Paul) goes on to say that,

 

  "Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby."

 

Well, I have sure had my exercise lately.  The way you will know that you are learning what you need to learn is that you will experience peace.  No peace, no resolution, no restoration…it really is as simple as that.  When in the midst of conflict it is so difficult to see another’s shortcomings and sins.  We have been hurt and wounded and can see only the faults of others. If they only could realize how much we desire to love and serve them; but they trample and reject our love and somehow distort their own sin and make it seem as if we were the cause.  So many experience this exact scenario but so many are never able to obtain the peaceable fruit of righteousness.  Why?  Because they were unable to follow the rest of the instruction in Hebrews:

 

”Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.”

 

There is the first instruction.  Stop moping and feeling sorry for yourself and do something.  Particularly, lift up your hands.  Why?  It is a form of surrender and worship to God.  The feeble knees: start moving and doing something positive…start serving…one foot in front of the other.  Otherwise, depression and discouragement will set in and overtake you.  Listen to the rest of the verse:

 

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby, many be defiled;”

 

Following peace and holiness are the key.  Even when we think we are right and have been so wronged, the way toward reconciliation is to be a peacemaker and respond with a self controlled holy behavior; it is then that the life-changing grace of God becomes operative once again in our lives.  To remain in our sorrow and sadness is to invite bitterness which will without doubt destroy relationships.  Just as Christ was the initiator and reconciler for us, so we too must follow His steps.

 

Oh, the books…let’s talk about them next time….but I would highly recommend ever parent to read the Disappearance of Childhood by Postman. 

 

I Disagree

It is not often that I receive strong opposition to my blog, but when I do, I think it is important to look into the reason why.  The concern is over my statement that a woman was God’s crowning achievement and that the Scriptures no where speak to this.  Here is the comment:

 

"Beauty Is Transcendent":

I take issue with the statement that woman is God's crowning achievement. Scripture nowhere says anything like that. It is a nice sentiment, but not a true one. The Eldredges, while providing a needed service to the Christian community by helping us to understand ourselves, do quite poorly when it comes to helping us understand the nature and character of God (and Satan as well) as understood from the Biblical record.

 

My reason for making the statement that a woman was God’s crowning achievement comes from 1^st Corinthians 11:7 and 1^st Timothy 2:15….

”For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.”  

“Notwithstanding she (the woman) shall be delivered in childbearing, if they (her children) continue in faith, and love, and holiness with sobriety.”

 

I consider the woman to be God’s crowning achievement in the sense of beauty, grace, virtue, and most important, redemption.  As I look at the animal kingdom and see the male animals as the most beautiful, I see the opposite in the human realm.  A woman is the attractive force, with her beauty and grace.  This to me cannot be contested. This is not to say that a man in his strength, meekness, wisdom and valor is not also of the highest achievement in God creative genius.  First, I would say before I go further, that it is true that the Scriptures do not speak of the woman being God’s highest achievement.  From a man’s perspective, and I think I can speak on behalf of my gender, we see women as God’s highest achievement in regard to beauty. Since there is so much more in God’s creative realm, I agree that a woman is not solely His highest creative achievement.  However, it is through a woman that redemption is brought to the world (of course through Christ), if she can influence her children to continue in faith (I Tim 2:15).  And for me, this would be the highest achievement on earth.  Please don’t misunderstand, I am not saying that a man’s role in redemption is minor, nor of lesser importance, but the real work and beauty of the woman, in my opinion, is the redemption of her children, to then bring redemption to a lost world.  

            Your comments are appreciated…and like Augustine said in my opening paragraph on the blog "We who preach & write, do so in a manner different from which the Scriptures have been written. We write while we make progress. We learn something new every day. We speak as we still knock for understanding…If anyone criticizes me when I have said what is right, he does me an injustice. But I would be more angry with the one who praises me and takes what I have written for Gospel truth than I would be with the one who criticizes me unfairly." Augustine

Beauty Is Transcendent

John Eldredge has expressed the beauty of a woman in terms that is refreshing.  He insights breathe life and nurture a longing in the heart of men and women alike.  For men love to gaze at beauty and woman love to create it…or posses it.  But I would raise a flag of caution which I would like to express at the end of John’s insights below:

Beauty Is Transcendent 04/10/2008 "Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal. Think of what it's like to behold a gorgeous sunset or the ocean at dawn. Remember the ending of a great story. We yearn to linger, to experience it all our days. Sometimes the beauty is so deep it pierces us with longing. For what? For life as it was meant to be. Beauty reminds us of an Eden we have never known, but somehow know our hearts were created for. Beauty speaks of heaven to come, when all shall be beautiful. It haunts us with eternity. Beauty says, There is a glory calling to you. And if there is a glory, there is a source of glory. What great goodness could have possibly created this? Beauty draws us to God. All these things are true for any experience of Beauty. But they are especially true when we experience the beauty of a woman— her eyes, her form, her voice, her heart, her spirit, her life. She speaks all of this far more profoundly than anything else in all creation, because she is incarnate; she is personal. It flows to us from an immortal being. She is Beauty through and through. Beauty is, without question, the most essential and the most misunderstood of all God's qualities—of all feminine qualities, too. We know it has caused untold pain in the lives of women. But even there something is speaking. Why so much heartache over beauty? We don't ache over being geniuses, or fabulous hockey players. Women ache over the issue of beauty—they ache to be beautiful, to believe they are beautiful, and they worry over keeping it if ever they can find it. A woman knows, down in her soul, that she longs to bring beauty to the world. She might be mistaken on how (something every woman struggles with), but she longs for a beauty to unveil. This is not just culture, or the need to "get a man." This is in her heart, part of her design. (Captivating , 40–41)

            The caution I wish to express about a woman’s beauty and her longing to bring it to the world, is wrapped in theology.  First, this world is not our own; we are passing through; and at the same time we are to be in the world but not be a part of it; and we are to bring redemption to a lost world…we are to beautify this dark world as light in the midst of darkness.  Women, as God’s crowning achievement, represent Him with the most attractive qualities. They are more special than the sunset and more profound as Eldredge wrote, than anything else in creation. But as I ponder upon the women whom I admire the most, they were not women of beauty. They were women of sacrifice, of humility, of faith, of godliness, of wisdom, of insight, of courage…I think of Esther Anne Kim who was savagely abused in a Japanese concentration camp.  She is one of my heroes.  She inspired me to more like Christ.  I think of Gladys Alwardt who led two hundred Chinese orphans across enemy lines in the face of enemy fire…she inspired me to walk by faith.  I think of Amy Carmichael who went to India to stop teenage prostitution…she inspired my courage. I think of Glenda Revell who was raped by her father for years…she taught me that in our darkest hours we can find God, and that all things really do work together for good.  I think of  I think of Corrie Ten Boom who helped the world to see that our bodies are not our own and that God sometimes allows hurt in order to bring forgiveness to a lost world.  When I think of the most beautiful women that I can remember, they are not those who are beautiful on the outside, though they are wonderful to enjoy for the moment, but I remember those women whose lives have been etched into the very fabric of my soul. These women possessed something far greater and longer lasting than outward beauty…they possessed an intimate relationship with their God….and they were willing to pay a price to cultivate a lasting beauty that fades not away.

            If sin had not occurred, then the beauty of a woman would stand as God’s most crowning achievement.  But because of sin, God’ crowning achievement for both men and women is a cross. Women are design first to bring redemption to her children, as 1^st Timothy 2:15 so wonderful records.  She is redemptive to her husband as Peter states;  the reason I say that a woman’s role is based in theology and not beauty is because when seen through theology, we see that her role as redeemer, requires her to get dirty.  One cannot take up a cross and remain beautiful.  Oh, please don’t misunderstand.  Both men and women need to do everything they can to keep themselves fit, attractive, and strong; but not at the expense of doing and being what we have been called to do and be…redemptive.  And redemption requires sacrifice…it always leads to a cross.

 

Add to your faith

I am convinced that Peter’s second epistle, first chapter, was written as a systematic character development study guide.  Here is what he said:

 

“Being diligent, add to you faith, virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge self control, and to self control perseverance, and to perseverance godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.  For if these qualities are in you and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.  Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

 

So often in the west, we focus on academic preparation.  But Peter teaches us otherwise.  Virtue always precedes knowledge.  Virtue, or moral excellence, or character development is the foundation on which all knowledge rests.  As I state in my lectures, when moral excellence increases, fear decreases; when fear decreases, faith and a willingness to risk increase, thus building maturity, self confidence, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love for others. 

I find it noteworthy that Peter begins with the word “diligent.”  In the Greek this term refers to a resolute choice to go in a different direction.  Once this choice occurs, the next word “add” becomes the first step in the process of genuine character development, which Peter refers to in the Greek as “adding at one’s own expense.” Without sacrifice, growth cannot occur.  King David understood this well in 2nd Samuel 24:24 when he said, “I will not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing.”   His son Solomon learned this lesson as well as he leaves us this challenge in Proverbs 22:29, “Show me a man diligent in his work and he will stand before kings and not before mean men.”  Diligence and sacrifice, births knowledge into wisdom, especially when joined with reverence for God and his goodness toward us.

The Greatest News!

This past week has been filled with more blessings than I could possibly share meaningfully in a blog. It would literally take a book.  But as Paul said in Corinthians , "A great door and effectual is opened unto me, AND there are many adversaries."  Isn't that a picture of our Christian lives?  I would have to say that the blessings of this past week have had an equal amount of temptation and trouble, but praise be to God that because of His mercy we are not consumed, and His compassion is new every morning....i love the mornings!

            In this past week I have had the opportunity to visit three childhood friends.  I am presently in western NY staying with my mom while I am helping her to adjust to my dad's departure to be with the Lord.  She is another blessing that I will share shortly. Two of my childhood friends that I visited both have terminal cancer and it would appear only weeks to live.  The first I was able to give Christies Old Organ to read, since this is the book that led my dad to Christ.  I will be stopping by again today, hopefully to share the good news from my own lips.  The second childhood friend met me with strong resistance, cursing and anger.  His son had died a few years ago of cancer and his wife had died of a terrible debilitating disease as well.  To say the least he was bitter against God.  After listening and trying to show that I cared for him, he allowed me to share in my words (he wouldn’t let me share from the Bible) how Lucifer was the cause of sin, sickness, and despair and that God so loved us that he sent his own Son into this filthy world to purchase us back with His Son's own life.  I told him that he could probably understand more than most people what that must be like to lose a son.  And of course the good news that Jesus didn't stay dead and anyone who wants to restore their relationship with God can, by believing in His Son and what He did for us...well, he graciously allowed me to finish my story, but that was it...pray for him...i will be going back tonight.  His life hangs in the balances of heaven and hell.

            The best of the blessings occurred last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  My best friend growing up whom I have been praying for, for thirty years, showed up at my father's memorial service. It was great to see him...he shared how important my dad was to him...to all of us.  Now two months later, I looked him up and found that he has been facing some very distressing situations, to say the least.  In a relatively short period of time, his father died, his grandmother, his wife, and then his mother, as well as quitting his job that was only adding to the stress.  To make a long story readable, I decided to spend some time with him helping him get his house in order...lots to do...especially lots of raking of leaves.  The first night we decided to go to an Indian restaurant.  There we were, thirty five years later, enjoying an evening together.  It was a very nice restaurant.  The waiters wore bow ties and formal attire.  But we were the only one's in the restaurant!  So the waiter gave us special attention.  He was from India and he let us know that he studied in Russia. He shared how they tried to make him a communist but failed because of the influence of a Russian girl he met.  When I asked what she did, he said, "Well, she led me to Jesus Christ as my Savior."  I almost fell out of my chair!  My friend looked at me, and basically was saying, 'I've been set up!"  Can you imagine that God would set something up like this?  It was too good to be true, but here I was, in the midst of God's great plan for my friend.  And not only was this man a born again Christian, when I asked him where he went to church, he said, North Baptist, with pastor David Whiting is the pastor....that is the church that I attend when I am in NY and the same church where I was going to invite my friend to come that Sunday!!!  What a God...what a Savior...he will go to the corners of the earth to save us.  Well, the next day was Saturday and we were able to accomplish a lot in the yard...as well as the soul.  His sister n law also came to visit and of course, God had planned that the good news must continue.  I just happened to have a Teddy's Button and Christies Old Organ with me which was perfect because she had young children.  It was an amazing day filled with so many blessings.  Please pray for my friend and his sister n law...they are earnestly seeking.

            On Sunday, my friend came to church with me and my mom and Pastor Whiting just happened to be speaking on John 3:16 with the theme "Whosoever believes."  This couldn’t have been a more perfect weekend....well there was one thing that wasn't perfect.  We played racquetball on Friday night, and he beat me by two points the first game...but the second game was no contest, so we still have to play the final match...the funny part is that we both blew out our achilles heal...my left and his right....we worked the next day limping but we enjoyed the day immensely.  Oh, we topped off Sunday with my mom preparing a meal for us that we were able to eat on his clean patio...the grill was fired and we had a feast that we will never forget.  And with my dad's passing and mom's new found faith, God's plan continued to unfold before my very eyes.  Please pray for him...we ended the day in tears watching my favorite video, "Everything" by Lifehouse.  May our Lord Jesus bring another son home.  Busy days...please pray for me as I continue to discern God's will if I am to move Lamplighter to western NY...mainly the shipping part of the ministry.  Oh, I said I would share a blessing about my mom...well, these have been hard days for her, now that she is back home among all the memories.  She has been devastated that dad is dead.  She has been repeating over and over again, that dad is dead, until I finally showed her and proved to her that dad is NOT dead, nor will he ever be.  She of course didn't believe me until I shared the following:

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.  And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?”  Since she read this verse, she has been telling everyone the greatest news that she has ever heard!

comment on lying spirit from God? pt. 2.

A question was asked whether I believe that there are lying spirits, in light of what I wrote on the prophets use of the lying spirits in I Kings 22 and 2^nd Chronicles 18 (http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/blog/2007/12/lying-spirit-from-god-pt-2.html).  The short answer is yes I believe that it is possible that there are lying spirits.  There is also the spirit of lying which occurs when someone is under the dominion of this particular sin.  It is no different than sexual sins, alcohol, drugs etc…--when we stop fighting the fight of faith, we become vulnerable to speak lies; the path of least resistance becomes our guide and we will do or say anything that will fill the voids that war against our weakest defenses. 

 

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From: Anonymous [mailto:noreply-comment@blogger.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 10, 2008 8:02 PM
To: mark@lamplighterpublishing.com
Subject: [Mark's Blog] New comment on lying spirit from God? pt. 2.

 

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "lying spirit from God? pt. 2":

Do you believe that there are lying spirits though?

Publish this comment.

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Posted by Anonymous to Mark's Blog at 4/10/2008 7:01 PM

Teddy does it again!

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Dear Mark:

Our son has been growing spiritually in neat ways lately.  God has particularly used Teddy's Button, to touch his heart.  It's his own book and when we finished it he told me he intended to read it to his children when he was a daddy and hoped they would read it to their children.  He's become quite strong in his resolve to fight his own "Bully".   Just today I got a precious view into my son's heart.  He told me that it's so hard when his older brother picks on him, but when he feels like hurting him back he thinks about how much it would hurt and he just can't do it!    I pray almost daily that the Lord will keep him strong.  His neighbor friend has been stealing at school and was found out today.  My son heard his mother tell me, which I would have rather kept private.  However, it sparked a very deep discussion about his friend's relationship with Jesus. My son said he thought his buddy knew about God, but not "all the way".  I thought that was an interesting perspective and that our little book helped him think it through.  He really loves this friend and so much wants him to "enlist in God's army", too.  I think he understands much better our battle with sin and our desperate need for God's help. 

 

Thank you for helping families locate books that God can use to strengthen precious young ones.  They truly are a treasure. 

A Thankful Mom.

 

I love to receive letters like this!  God is going to raise up a generation of new soldiers who fight the good fight of faith at an early age.  I can’t wait to see the results!  By the way, there are two new books coming soon that are equal and possible better than Teddy’s Button!

Sir Malcomb and the Missing Prince and Charlie’s Choice….i can’t wait till you read them….coming soon this Spring.

surprise gift to Lamplighter!

Yesterday we received a substantial surprise financial gift to help
Lamplighter fulfill its mission. What is amazing about this gift is that it
came at the same time I had just taken a step in faith to purchase an elite
software package that will enable us to be on the cutting edge of our new
interactive web development. Here is the letter I just sent to thank them:

Dear________:
Thank you for your surprise gift to Lamplighter Ministries. Only in
eternity will you understand the blessing that came to us on exactly the day
that this gift was needed the most. You can be sure that your gift will be
used fully to propel the mission of "making ready a people prepared for the
Lord, by building character one story at time." In fact on the day that
your gift was received, was the same day that I took a step in faith to
purchase the new software that will allow us to create our new interactive
website. God's timing is unfathomable!
For the future, it is my passion and conviction to create the
dramatic audios this year. As cultural critic Neil Postman once said, "Our
culture is amusing themselves do death." It is my desire to change this
disintegration and bring back into our culture, characters that will
motivate readers and listeners, both young and old, to adopt similar moral
codes that have now been etched into their awakened conscience. As I
complete my doctoral research, I have tentatively titled my dissertation,
"Etched-In Character." As a play on words with "Etched-In Stone," I am very
excited about my current research that I believe will be used to turn many
from the error of their way, hiding a multitude of sin, and saving many
souls from death (James 5).

Working together for Him for others,
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby

Safe Passage for our Children

I love the passage in Ezra where he boasts to King Artaxerxes that the God of Heaven is a protector of all who seek Him and the power of His wrath is against all who forsake Him.  It is one thing to say this however, and quite another to walk by faith in the midst of danger and believe it.  And that is what Ezra has to do; he has to now journey back to Jerusalem with the exiles, in the midst of those who would love to see him and his people dead.  So what does he do?

            "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, 'The hand of our God is for good to all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.' So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty."

            Fasting, prayer, and humility are powerful protectors--for ourselves, our children, and our resources.

A Spiritual Lobotomy

A Spiritual Lobotomy 04/01/2008 Being unable to defeat God through raw power, Satan’s legions decide to wound God as deeply as possible by stealing the love of his Beloved through seduction. And having “seduced them to his party,” to ravish them body and soul; and having ravished them, to mock them even as they are hurled to the depths of hell with God himself unable to save them because of their rejection of him. This is Satan’s motivation and goal for every man, woman, and child into whom God ever breathed the breath of life. Like a roaring lion, he “hungers” for us. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8–9) God could have given up on the love affair with mankind. He could have resorted to power and demanded our loyalty, or given us a kind of spiritual lobotomy that would take away our choice to love him. Even now, he could easily obliterate our Enemy and demand the allegiance of our hearts, but the love affair that began in the laughter of the Trinity would be over, at least for us. And Satan’s accusation that the kingdom of God is established only through raw power would be vindicated. (The Sacred Romance , 104–5) See also the Ransomed Heart Podcast at www.ransomedheart.com/podcast

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