Step Out

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Deep, right?

I know. I wish I would have come up with it, but, unfortunately, these words are not mine. They belong to the late great Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In the quote above, Dr. King gives us a clear definition of what faith is. Faith, according to him, is the ability to do something when it doesn’t make sense to. It’s the ability to trust God when our circumstances tell us not to. It’s what Peter did when he stepped out of the boat and walked on water to Jesus. Or what Abraham did when God told him to leave his home to go to an unknown land.

You see, as human beings, we are constantly striving to be in control. It’s a natural part of who we are. When we were created, God himself commanded us to have dominion over the things around us. So, it’s natural for us to want to control our surroundings.

The problem is that we forget where the source of power comes from. We think we control our own lives and destinies. Despite what the world tells us, true power does not come from our own abilities, but rather from those given to us by God. In fact, ironically, true power and control doesn’t come through being the toughest, smartest, fastest, strongest, etc. Rather, they come through characteristics typically considered to be weak – humility, submission, and meekness.

See, Dr. King's quote hits on something that many of us have not learned. As much as we try to plan out our own destinies, ultimately, we are not in control. God is. No matter how hard we try, we will never know enough, plan enough, prepare enough, or be strong enough to handle every storm that comes our way. There will always be situations that arise that we will not be able to handle on our own. It is God’s way of showing us that we are not Him. We cannot do everything by ourselves. In fact, we cannot do anything by ourselves.

But that’s where faith comes in. Like Dr. King said, “faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” It’s trusting in God even when our own minds tell us not to. It’s doing what He tells you to do even when it doesn’t make sense to do so. This is what we mean when we say “stepping out on faith.” And here is where true power lies.

God bless,

J.W.

He Who Has Ears...

A few weeks ago, Michele and I were watching an episode of Dr. Phil in which they were discussing the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California that prohibited gay couples to marry. In watching the show, what was disturbing to me was not the fact that the bill was passed, not the fact that gay rights activists are now protesting a democratically-elected piece of legislation, but rather the fact that here you had two parties, one in favor of the bill and one opposing the bill, sitting across from each other, intent on simply hurling insults at each other. Neither side would listen to the other. Rather, it was all about simply stating your own position and fighting against what the other side had to say.

In my opinion, this is what the American people are tired of. This is the reason that John McCain, Sarah Palin and the entire Republican Party lost this election. People are tired of arguments and constantly placing the blame on others. Rather, people want to see action. They want to see us working together to find common ground so that we can solve the tough problems that we are facing today.

That is the spirit that President-Elect Obama tapped into during his campaign. In fact, today, I learned that a lot of this ability grew out of what Obama learned as a community organizer in studying the organizing practices and techniques of famed organizing mastermind Saul Alinsky. In his first book, Reveille for Radicals, Alinsky insisted that organizers “begin by listening and learning the mores, history, and values of any community they work in. Their work is not to convert,” he argued, “but rather to help draw out the democratic potentials in any community.” Called “relational organizing,” it was the same technique upon which Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC built their Civil Rights Movement and the same technique that President-Elect Obama used to turn this country from a 51%-49% nation into a 60%-40% nation. As Thelma Craig put it, if the goal is culture change, then the strategic objective should be to get to 80% - not 50% - of the people.

That’s why, today, I’m tired of hearing the rants of people like Keith Olbermann and Arianna Huffington on the left, and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity on the right, who simply toe the party line and either fail to see or simply ignore the absurdities of their own ideology. I’m tired of hearing gay rights advocates tell me that people of the Christian faith are gay-bashers and homophobes, while those who claim to follow Christ try to convince me that gay people don’t deserve equal rights simply because their lifestyle is different than theirs. We may not agree on everything, but if we would just stop talking and listen more, we may find that there are certain concessions that we each can make in order to find a solution with which each side can live. The old saying that God gave us one mouth and two ears so that we could listen twice as much as we speak reigns true. There’s value in listening. Try it. You might learn something.

Give Thanks

To each of us, Thanksgiving holds a different meaning.

To students, it means a day off from school.

To football fans, it means the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions, a tradition that dates back over 50 years.

To department stores and retail chains, it marks the day before Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year and the start of the Christmas shopping season.

To most of us, however, it means gathering with our families and friends to stuff our faces with Thanksgiving turkey, dressing, macaroni and cheese, rolls, pies, and a host of other dishes that will remain nameless.

But in the hustle and bustle of this holiday season, let’s not forget what Thanksgiving is really about – that is, giving thanks to God for all He has done for us throughout the year and throughout our lives.

As my Facebook status reads, if you can read this, you have something to be thankful for. So, if you’ve never prayed before, if you’ve never been to church before, even if you’ve never even thought about God before, it’s never too late to reach out to Him. God isn’t interested in your perfection. All He wants is a relationship with You. So, remember Him as you go through this Thanksgiving Day and partake in your various holiday traditions.

God bless and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

J.W.

"And whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." ~ Colossians 3:17

That That Don't Kill Me, Can Only Make Me Stronger

A man was sleeping at night in his cabin when suddenly his room filled with light and the Savior appeared. The Lord told the man he had work for him to do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained that the man was to push against the rock with all his might. This the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from sun up to sun down, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore, and worn out, feeling that his whole day had been spent in vain.

Seeing that the man was showing signs of discouragement, the devil decided to enter the picture by placing thoughts into the man's weary mind "You have been pushing against that rock for a long time, and it hasn't budged. Why kill yourself over this? You are never going to move it." This gave the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man. "Why kill myself over this?" he thought. "I'll just put in my time, giving just the minimum effort and that will be good enough." And that is what he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

"Lord" he said, "I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?"

The Lord responded compassionately, "My friend, when I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, with your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so?

Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back sinewy and brown, your hands are callused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard. Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven't moved the rock. But your calling was to be obedient and to push and to exercise your faith and trust in My wisdom. This you have done. I, my friend, will now move the rock."

At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what He wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Him... By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is still God who moves the mountains. You just P.U.S.H.!

When everything seems to go wrong... P.U.S.H.!

When the job gets you down... P.U.S.H.!

When people don't react the way you think they should... P.U.S.H.!

When your money is short and the bills are due... P.U.S.H.!

When you want to curse them out for whatever the reason... P.U.S.H.!

When people just don't understand you... P.U.S.H.!

Pray Until Something Happens!

Taken from David Langerfeld's Daily Encourager series - Visit http://www.injesus.com/index.php?module=group&task=details&GroupID=2A000MJQ to subscribe.

Have You Sharpened Your Axe?

A message from David Langerfeld's Daily Encourager series. Enjoy!

A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. "That depends," replied the foreman. "Let's see you fell this tree." The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, "You can start Monday."

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by. Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, "You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today."

Startled, the young man replied, "I thought you paid on Friday."

"Normally we do," said the foreman. "But we're letting you go today because you've fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you've dropped from first place on Monday to last place today."

"But I'm a hard worker," the young man objected. "I arrive first, leave last and even have worked through my coffee breaks!"

The foreman, sensing the young man's integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, "Have you been sharpening your axe?"

The young man replied, "No sir, I've been working too hard to take time for that!"

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to "sharpen the ax." In today's world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But God doesn't want us to get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like taking time to pray, to read and study scripture or to listen to "the still small voice of God."

We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don't take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness. Take time today to sharpen your axe!

Waiting to Exhale

Just wanted to share a brief message I received yesterday. It reminded me of the importance of slowing down, letting go, and letting God. I hope it's a blessing to you as well.

God bless,
J.W.


He is a young man in search of God's plan for his life. Presently, he is living in Australia involved in a ministry that brings him into contact with a wide variety of people. He touches lives that many of us would ignore or avoid. He genuinely loves people and does his best to live like Jesus in their presence. In a recent letter he shared a few stories, described some of the people he has met, shared some of what he is learning about himself and the Lord, and asked for specific prayers.

In one paragraph he talked about the continuing search for his place in the world. He spent a couple of days in meditation and prayer and asked a man of wisdom and experience "...for any advice in terms of spiritual discernment, direction, vocation; he said something really interesting: he said 'first of all, relax. Enjoy your life and try not to worry, that God will place you where you need to be, and to trust that.'" He admits he is trying to do that. I admit that I am trying to do that. "First of all, relax." We get in such a hurry to see God's plan for our life to be revealed that we wonder what is He waiting for? Why doesn't He show us what He wants us to do? Has he forgotten how desperate we are to know what we are supposed to do? What are we supposed to do?

"First of all, relax."

Just relax. In spiritual terms that means we acknowledge that God is in control, God is aware, God is concerned, and God is working. If you find that you are feeling a bit panicky about where you are headed, or when it seems you are not headed anywhere, "First of all, relax."

"Enjoy your life."

It is difficult to enjoy life when we hurry through it at neck-break speed. It is almost impossible to enjoy life when we are constantly reaching for more, living with the regret of what could have been, and seldom allow ourselves to be content. "Enjoy your life."

"Try not to worry, that God will place you where you need to be."

God knows what we need to be doing and where we need to be to accomplish His purposes. He is working His plan for us and through us. He knows us. He understands our gifts and talents. He did create us. So, "Try not to worry, that God will place you where you need to be."

"Trust that."

If the other things were not difficult enough, the wise man concludes his advice with "trust that." Simply "trust" that God knows what He is doing and will do what He needs to do when He is ready to do it. There is no need to rush it, there is no need to panic, and there is no need to spend sleepless nights worrying about whether or not we are doing what God wants us to do. "Just trust that God will place you where you need to be."

BBC Radio!

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that yesterday morning, I received an e-mail from Karnie Sharp of the BBC, the largest news media network in the world, asking if I'd be willing to participate in an international panel discussion addressing the question: is Barack Obama's nomination the biggest moment in modern black history. She said she read my blog and thought I'd be a good panelist. Needless to say, I was willing.

So, below is the link to the radio program's site. On it, they posted a link to the Journal. It's under the headline, "Is it wrong to support Obama because he's black?" Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://worldhaveyoursay.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/on-air-is-this-the-biggest-moment-in-modern-black-history/

Also, if you have time, listen to me on the radio at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/wservice/aod.shtml?wservice/world_hys_wed. It's about 10 minutes in and I'm only on for about a minute, but I'm there.

This will hopefully be the first of many opportunities like this, as this was an incredible experience that I wouldn't trade anything for. The discussion included people from all over the world and somebody thought me worthy enough to weigh in. It's just one more instance of God continuing to show me the direction he wants to go in, and I look forward to journaling this new journey with you all.

As always, thanks for all your support.

God bless,

J.W.

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