"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the night saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'" --Author Unknown

by J. Randal Matheny

[This went to the UPLift list several days ago. Seems I'm doing more there than here ...]

Dr. Seuss met a brain surgeon at a party. The surgeon said, "Oh, you're that man who writes those children's books. Some Saturday, when I have a little extra time, I am going to write one of those."

Dr. Seuss replied, "Ah, yes. And some day when I have a little free time, I'll do brain surgery."

Some people want to accomplish great things. But they want to do them in their off-time, in their spare moments. They think they can do them in a snap, easy, no sweat. They are mere dabblers, not masters of their skill.

If you would excel, devote yourself wholly to it.

Most worthy of complete devotion is receiving God's approval. No weekend enthusiasts need apply. Punching a Sunday time clock earns no credits.

Christianity is an all-out effort, a full-time job, an undertaking that will consume you entirely.

One of the great words of Scripture is "diligence," generally translated from the Greek word "spoudazo." Louw and Nida translate it "to do something with intense effort and motivation --'to work hard, to do one's best, to endeavor.'" We find this word in 2 Timothy 2:15:

"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing -- rightly handling and skillfully teaching -- the Word of Truth" (Amplified).

I quoted the words of Yoda to my son recently. They fit here: "Do or do not. There is no try."

Neither is there dabble.

Whether you want to be a Dr. Seuss, a brain surgeon, or a Christian, it's not the extra time but the overtime that will bring you success and, more importantly, God's approval.

So be diligent.

"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them." --John Updike.

Substitute "nature" with "God," and you have a very true statement.

Reminds me of 2 Thess. 1.11, for some reason.

"Let us try to follow the Savior's steps; let us remember all day long what it is to be men; that it is to have everyone whom we meet for our brother in the sight of God; that it is this, never to meet any one, however bad he may be, for whom we cannot say, 'Christ died for that man, and Christ cares for him still. He is precious in God's eyes, and he shall be precious in mine also.' --Charles Kingsley

Who will you meet today?

Ponder long and well this quote:

Another age may learn to look upon our use of activities much as we look upon the use of the sword by an earlier age. Because in them money takes so prominent a place, ours may one day be known as the age of financial Christianity, just as we look upon that earlier age as the age of military Christianity. As we regard the sword, so a later age may regard money. It may learn the wisdom of the Apostle and decline to use such an ambiguous weapon. If the sword was an ambiguous weapon which might easily confuse the issue, money, and activities which depend upon money, are not less ambiguous and may as easily confuse the issue. The time is not yet full. We have yet to learn the consequences of our use of money. --Roland Allen, Mission Activities (1927)

Doesn't look like we've made much progress on this one yet.