Word for Today, Wed, 04 2005: Find Purpose: Flap Your Wings?

#1 · October 4, 2005, 10:55 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on October 4, 2005, 10:55 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Wed, 04 2005: Find Purpose: Flap Your Wings?
Dear friends,

My friend Larry Davies often comes up with creative stories that
are easy to remember in order to make a point. I still have his
books: "When A Used Car Salesman Becomes A Preacher... There MUST
Be A God!" and his most recent work: "Breaking the Peanut Butter
Habit: Following God's Recipe for a Better Life". Larry and I
have been exchanging Email messages and praying for each other
for many years now, and for the past couple of years, I have
worked part time for Larry as his mailing list editor for a
prayer needs letter that goes out three times a week to pray for
people all around the world.

We are all here for a reason. In case you don't know why you
were born or why you are still living, your life was intended to
be a continual relationship with God. Yes, God desires the
fellowship and praise of His people. Our lives find meaning and
purpose when we live for God, surrendering every private area of
our hearts to Him and offering our attitudes, actions, and deeds
to Him in gratitude and praise for what He has done for us.

Just doing stuff isn't what it's all about. Yes,
God wants us to serve Him and serve one another. But before any
of that, God wants us. How can we know how God wants us to serve
if we never allow God any time with us?

We ought to serve one another in love. Before we do that, we
ought to get a love fix. We need time with God each and every
day. Read His Word. The Bible says faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God. Then allow time for God's Word to
penetrate through our hardened hearts, softening, molding, and
shaping them into the shape and purpose for which God intended.
Then, and only then, are we equipped to go out and do His will,
but we must keep coming back to Him.

Remember, "5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is
like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are
picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me
and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you." (John 15:5-7, NIV).

Those are the words of our Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He is the One from which my life comes, which is why I sign my
messages:

Yours in Christ,
Brian
___________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"If You're Going to Fly... You've Got to Flap Your
Wings!" Larry Davies

There is a parable about a wild goose shot down by a local
hunter. Only wounded in one wing, he landed safely in a barnyard.
Naturally the local turkeys and chickens were quite startled by
this sudden visitor from the sky. As they became more comfortable
with this stranger, however, it was only natural to ask about
what they had seen but never experienced: "Tell us what it's like
to fly?"

"It's wonderful!" said the Goose who told story after story
of his flights. "It's so beautiful to soar out in the wild blue
yonder! Why this barn looks only an inch high and all of you look
like tiny specks from such a distance. First you fly high and
then you can glide and enjoy the astonishing scenery."

All the birds were quite impressed by the goose and his stories.
Later they asked him to tell more yarns about flying. Soon, it
became a weekly event for the goose to entertain all the barnyard
birds. They even provided a little box for him to stand on so
everyone could see him better.

But the strangest thing happened or maybe I should say...
never happened. While the domestic birds very much enjoyed
hearing about the glories of flight, they never tried to fly
themselves. And the wild goose, even though his wing healed,
continued to talk about flying but never actually flew again.

As a church pastor, I find this parable frightening. Why? Because
it hits too close to home. How easy it is to talk about being a
Christian without acting like one. How easy to stand in church
and say, "Jesus is Lord," without actually turning my life
over to His direction. How easy for us to sit in our comfortable
seats and ignore a world in desperate need of our witness. How
easy for me to talk ministry without actually doing anything.
Talk is easy but you must flex your muscles and really flap those
wings to fly.

Jesus spoke to his disciples about what it takes to fly: "'If any
of you wants to be my follower,' he told them, 'you must put
aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But
if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good
News, you will find true life.'" (Mark 8:34-35)

"Shoulder your cross and follow me." Other versions of the
Bible quote: "Take up your cross and follow me." I used to
think the cross stood for the pain of being a Christian. In other
words: "If you really want to follow me, you must be willing to
endure pain and suffering." This is not exciting and also
not completely true. Although pain strikes us all, it's not what
Jesus had in mind. If this were about pain we would all keep
'pain' diaries to see which one suffers the most and
'pain' winners would go to heaven.

So, what does it truly mean to 'shoulder your cross and
follow Christ?'

Well, you're not going to believe this but I think Jesus is
talking about flying.

"What? Larry, have you lost your mind? Where is flying mentioned
in the Bible?"

Jesus is talking about being committed to your mission. Jesus
accepted suffering because that was his purpose. The cross was
his ultimate assignment and Jesus was committed to seeing it
through to the end. A bird's purpose is to fly but must first be
committed to the work and effort of flapping wings over and over
in the process. Our decision to take up the cross of Christ and
follow God regardless of the cost is our commitment to flap our
wings and to keep flapping until we finally fly.

But flying is the best part. It may be safer to stay in the
barnyard but look at what you miss. Imagine the beauty of soaring
as you ride the air currents? If we always live carefully
protecting and watching our own self-interests, making no effort
for anyone but ourselves we will miss the very best part of life:
knowing our God-given mission and having the satisfaction of
carrying it out to the best of our ability.

A song from the musical "Godspell" said it best: "Day by
day, day by day: Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: to see thee
more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day
by day. If we learn from God to see more clearly, love more
dearly and follow more nearly we will take our cross and fly.
--------------

Speaking of flying... efforts are still underway to help those
harmed by Hurricane Katrina.

-----Original Message-----
From: ermadw [mailto:ermadw@c-gate.net]
Subject: Re: "Katrina & Mission Mississippi"
I wrote you recently about being in hurricane Katrina. I live in
Laurel, Mississippi and we have been the recipient of many love
actions. One that I would like to tell you about is the day we
discovered we had no more bread, not even a slice. Lo and behold
three young men came by from Knoxville, Tennessee and guess what
they had - Bread. Talk about a miracle. I expressed to them that
we needed gas to run our generator and if they could find some,
we would really appreciate it. About two hours later they
returned with five gallons of gas. Yes, indeed I know firsthand
about God's rich blessings. God bless you and your ministry, Erma

What can you do?

1. School Kits - We are filling back packs with school supplies.
We hope to send a thousand book bags so that children scheduled
to start school in October will have adequate supplies.

2. Packaged Food - These are still major items of need.

3. Cleaning Supplies -- Bleach and other basic supplies used to
clean houses of water damage.

4. Money -- is always needed. You can donate through your church.
We support "Gleaning for the World" receiving free food but
needs money for transportation. So you can spend approximately
$25 per family and ship a month's worth of food. This is a
bargain we want to take advantage of.

5. Work Teams -- The rebuilding is beginning now with great needs
for carpenters, electricians but also people with chain saws,
people to pass out food or work in the kitchen.

6. Cots or Air Mattresses -- These are needed to sleep the many
folks working in the area.

7. Gift Cards -- This allows families to make their own choices
based on different needs.

Sowing Seeds Ministry Website set up a way to donate for Katrina
relief. The money will be transferred to Timberlake United
Methodist Church to be used for supplies. Over the next few
months there will be a need for medical and building materials as
our church will send physicians and nurses as well as
construction crews. No money will be used for overhead, only for
supplies going directly to the area. Our website address is:
sowingseedsoffaith.com/s-cart/form.phtml?g_intCatID=1

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our
prayer team today. Check it out by clicking here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds
Ministry partner. Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the worldu2014like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your
light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine
for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

"Breaking the Peanut Butter Habit: Following God's Recipe for a
Better Life" now on sale only through our website.
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
mail.yahoo.com

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Wed, 04 2005: Find Purpose: Flap Your Wings?
Dear friends,

My friend Larry Davies often comes up with creative stories that
are easy to remember in order to make a point. I still have his
books: "When A Used Car Salesman Becomes A Preacher... There MUST
Be A God!" and his most recent work: "Breaking the Peanut Butter
Habit: Following God's Recipe for a Better Life". Larry and I
have been exchanging Email messages and praying for each other
for many years now, and for the past couple of years, I have
worked part time for Larry as his mailing list editor for a
prayer needs letter that goes out three times a week to pray for
people all around the world.

We are all here for a reason. In case you don't know why you
were born or why you are still living, your life was intended to
be a continual relationship with God. Yes, God desires the
fellowship and praise of His people. Our lives find meaning and
purpose when we live for God, surrendering every private area of
our hearts to Him and offering our attitudes, actions, and deeds
to Him in gratitude and praise for what He has done for us.

Just doing stuff isn't what it's all about. Yes,
God wants us to serve Him and serve one another. But before any
of that, God wants us. How can we know how God wants us to serve
if we never allow God any time with us?

We ought to serve one another in love. Before we do that, we
ought to get a love fix. We need time with God each and every
day. Read His Word. The Bible says faith cometh by hearing and
hearing by the Word of God. Then allow time for God's Word to
penetrate through our hardened hearts, softening, molding, and
shaping them into the shape and purpose for which God intended.
Then, and only then, are we equipped to go out and do His will,
but we must keep coming back to Him.

Remember, "5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from
me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is
like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are
picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me
and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be
given you." (John 15:5-7, NIV).

Those are the words of our Precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
He is the One from which my life comes, which is why I sign my
messages:

Yours in Christ,
Brian
___________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"If You're Going to Fly... You've Got to Flap Your
Wings!" Larry Davies

There is a parable about a wild goose shot down by a local
hunter. Only wounded in one wing, he landed safely in a barnyard.
Naturally the local turkeys and chickens were quite startled by
this sudden visitor from the sky. As they became more comfortable
with this stranger, however, it was only natural to ask about
what they had seen but never experienced: "Tell us what it's like
to fly?"

"It's wonderful!" said the Goose who told story after story
of his flights. "It's so beautiful to soar out in the wild blue
yonder! Why this barn looks only an inch high and all of you look
like tiny specks from such a distance. First you fly high and
then you can glide and enjoy the astonishing scenery."

All the birds were quite impressed by the goose and his stories.
Later they asked him to tell more yarns about flying. Soon, it
became a weekly event for the goose to entertain all the barnyard
birds. They even provided a little box for him to stand on so
everyone could see him better.

But the strangest thing happened or maybe I should say...
never happened. While the domestic birds very much enjoyed
hearing about the glories of flight, they never tried to fly
themselves. And the wild goose, even though his wing healed,
continued to talk about flying but never actually flew again.

As a church pastor, I find this parable frightening. Why? Because
it hits too close to home. How easy it is to talk about being a
Christian without acting like one. How easy to stand in church
and say, "Jesus is Lord," without actually turning my life
over to His direction. How easy for us to sit in our comfortable
seats and ignore a world in desperate need of our witness. How
easy for me to talk ministry without actually doing anything.
Talk is easy but you must flex your muscles and really flap those
wings to fly.

Jesus spoke to his disciples about what it takes to fly: "'If any
of you wants to be my follower,' he told them, 'you must put
aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But
if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good
News, you will find true life.'" (Mark 8:34-35)

"Shoulder your cross and follow me." Other versions of the
Bible quote: "Take up your cross and follow me." I used to
think the cross stood for the pain of being a Christian. In other
words: "If you really want to follow me, you must be willing to
endure pain and suffering." This is not exciting and also
not completely true. Although pain strikes us all, it's not what
Jesus had in mind. If this were about pain we would all keep
'pain' diaries to see which one suffers the most and
'pain' winners would go to heaven.

So, what does it truly mean to 'shoulder your cross and
follow Christ?'

Well, you're not going to believe this but I think Jesus is
talking about flying.

"What? Larry, have you lost your mind? Where is flying mentioned
in the Bible?"

Jesus is talking about being committed to your mission. Jesus
accepted suffering because that was his purpose. The cross was
his ultimate assignment and Jesus was committed to seeing it
through to the end. A bird's purpose is to fly but must first be
committed to the work and effort of flapping wings over and over
in the process. Our decision to take up the cross of Christ and
follow God regardless of the cost is our commitment to flap our
wings and to keep flapping until we finally fly.

But flying is the best part. It may be safer to stay in the
barnyard but look at what you miss. Imagine the beauty of soaring
as you ride the air currents? If we always live carefully
protecting and watching our own self-interests, making no effort
for anyone but ourselves we will miss the very best part of life:
knowing our God-given mission and having the satisfaction of
carrying it out to the best of our ability.

A song from the musical "Godspell" said it best: "Day by
day, day by day: Oh, dear Lord, three things I pray: to see thee
more clearly, love thee more dearly, follow thee more nearly, day
by day. If we learn from God to see more clearly, love more
dearly and follow more nearly we will take our cross and fly.
--------------

Speaking of flying... efforts are still underway to help those
harmed by Hurricane Katrina.

-----Original Message-----
From: ermadw [mailto:ermadw@c-gate.net]
Subject: Re: "Katrina & Mission Mississippi"
I wrote you recently about being in hurricane Katrina. I live in
Laurel, Mississippi and we have been the recipient of many love
actions. One that I would like to tell you about is the day we
discovered we had no more bread, not even a slice. Lo and behold
three young men came by from Knoxville, Tennessee and guess what
they had - Bread. Talk about a miracle. I expressed to them that
we needed gas to run our generator and if they could find some,
we would really appreciate it. About two hours later they
returned with five gallons of gas. Yes, indeed I know firsthand
about God's rich blessings. God bless you and your ministry, Erma

What can you do?

1. School Kits - We are filling back packs with school supplies.
We hope to send a thousand book bags so that children scheduled
to start school in October will have adequate supplies.

2. Packaged Food - These are still major items of need.

3. Cleaning Supplies -- Bleach and other basic supplies used to
clean houses of water damage.

4. Money -- is always needed. You can donate through your church.
We support "Gleaning for the World" receiving free food but
needs money for transportation. So you can spend approximately
$25 per family and ship a month's worth of food. This is a
bargain we want to take advantage of.

5. Work Teams -- The rebuilding is beginning now with great needs
for carpenters, electricians but also people with chain saws,
people to pass out food or work in the kitchen.

6. Cots or Air Mattresses -- These are needed to sleep the many
folks working in the area.

7. Gift Cards -- This allows families to make their own choices
based on different needs.

Sowing Seeds Ministry Website set up a way to donate for Katrina
relief. The money will be transferred to Timberlake United
Methodist Church to be used for supplies. Over the next few
months there will be a need for medical and building materials as
our church will send physicians and nurses as well as
construction crews. No money will be used for overhead, only for
supplies going directly to the area. Our website address is:
sowingseedsoffaith.com/s-cart/form.phtml?g_intCatID=1

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our
prayer team today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds
Ministry partner. Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the worldu2014like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your
light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine
for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

"Breaking the Peanut Butter Habit: Following God's Recipe for a
Better Life" now on sale only through our website.
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/peanbutt.htm

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
mail.yahoo.com