Intentional Faith

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me…my banner will be clear!"

Dr. Robert Moorehead

Well said. Michael.

What if I we’re going to go under a surgeon’s knife to redo my face—but I wanted to stay awake during the operation so that I could freely give out my counsel to the surgeon—and tell him to hurry! Hurry! If he was to start hacking and slashing at my urging—what kind of an outcome do you think I’d get?

"Well, doctor this isn’t what we agreed on! Shouldn’t my nose be a little more centered on my face?"
God is doing a work in you/me that will last eternity. The process is delicate: it takes time, but the outcome is worth the enduring!

When you make a carving of a lion, you chip off everything that doesn’t look like a lion! That’s what God is doing in His Extreme Makeover of us—He is chipping off everything that doesn’t look like His Son!

Let God do His job.  Michael

Theologian Helmut Thielicke said, "A salty pagan, full of the juices of life, is a hundred times dearer to God, and also far more attractive to men, than a scribe who knows his Bible…in whom none of this results in repentance, action, and above all, death of the self. A terrible curse hangs over the know-it-all who does nothing."

Kim Chin-kyung (now known as James Kim) was just 15 when he went to war in 1950, serving for the South Korean army. He was ready to fight to defend his country from the Chinese and North Korean forcesbut on the battlefield in Seoul, their armies were too powerful for his unit to overcome. Many of the 800 soldiers in Kims unit were killed by enemy fire. When a bullet hit Kim, he was sure he would be killed.

So Kim prayed for his lifeand made a promise to God. “If you save my life, I would like to live for my present enemies, the North Koreans and Chinese, to save their lives, not kill them,” he said.

Kim was one of only 17 soldiers in his unit to survive the massacre. After returning home, he went back to school in Seoul, then traveled to Great Britain and the United States for further studies. He became a successful business mogul with a chain of fashion shops in Florida. But all the while, he never forgot about the promise he had made.

Kim founded the Yanbian University of Science and Technology (YUST) in 1992, and he and his wife moved into the dormitory building, living only steps away from the school’s students. Kim forged a strong bond with his students, and encouraged them to give back to their communities as he had: the program required each student to volunteer at nursing homes and orphanages. This unique community service aspect, combined with instruction from highly qualified professors, has made YUST one of China’s top universities.

Here’s to all the Kim’s in the world.  Michael

The results seem counter-intuitive: after all, don’t we usually hear that high blood pressure and heart attacks are often brought on by stress? For people with constantly stressful jobs, or difficult family situations, that is indeed the case. But incidents of short-term stress that are quickly resolved have the opposite effect, inspiring the body to quickly repair itself.

Periodic bursts of stress won’t just help you recover more quickly from illnesses—according to Edward Masoro, a physiology professor emeritus at the University of Texas, “it stands to reason that it would slow down aging.”

So how can you make sure that you’re enduring the right sort of stress?

1. Keep track of your stress level on a 1-10 scale each day. If it comes in at 5 or higher for two straight days, make some time to take part in relaxing activities that you enjoy.
2. Have an adventure. New and exciting activities, such as rock climbing or going to a party where you don’t know anyone, can stimulate short bursts of stress, which will have a positive effect on your body.
3. Create a “What-I’ve-done” list. Focusing only on what needs to be accomplished can lead to long-term stress, so make sure that you remind yourself of your accomplishments on a regular basis to lighten your mood.
4. Try new sensations. Next time you go to a restaurant, try the spiciest dish that you can handle. It may be tough at first, but it’s a great way to kick-start your immune system into overdrive.
5. Exercise. You don’t need to run a marathon to see the effects—any exercise that makes you sweat will give you the stress you need to fix the damage in your body.

Keep stress in manageable chunks.  Remember how you eat an elephant.  Michael

“The Bible has been banned, burned, scoffed, and ridiculed. Scholars have mocked it as foolish. Kings have branded it as illegal. A thousand times over, the grave has been dug and the dirge has begun, but somehow the Bible never stays in the grave. Not only has it survived, it has thrived. It’s the single most popular book in all of history. It has been the best-selling book in the world for years.”

Open this amazing and living book today.  Michael

Rose Crawford had been blind for 50 years. Then she had an operation in an Ontario hospital. She said, "I just can’t believe it," as the doctor lifted the bandages from her eyes. She wept—when for the first time in her life she saw a dazzling and beautiful world of form and color greeted her eyes and she could now see.

The amazing thing about her story, however, was that 20 years of her blindness was unnecessary. She didn’t know that surgical techniques had been developed, and that an operation could have restored her vision at the age of 30.

The Dr. said, "She just figured there was nothing that could be done for her condition. Much of her life could have been different."

Don’t just accept things as they are.  Ask.  Michael

A young man once lost his job, and growing somewhat desperate about his plight, went to see an old preacher that he knew. As he poured out his heart to the preacher he angrily declared "I’ve begged and begged God to say something to help me, preacher. Why doesn’t God answer?"

The old preacher, who was sitting across the room, spoke a reply so quiet the young man was unable to make it out. The young man stepped across the room. "What did you say?" he asked. The preacher repeated himself, again in a soft tone. So the young man moved closer until he was leaning on the preacher’s chair. "Sorry," he said. "I still didn’t hear you." With their heads bent together, the old preacher spoke once more. "God sometimes whispers," he said, "so we will move closer to hear him."

Be still and know. Michael.  Enjoy a great day!

In honor of it, I failed to write my blog today.

At one point during a game, the baseball coach said to one of his young players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?"
The little boy nodded in the affirmative.
"Do you understand that what matters is whether we win together as a team?"
The little boy nodded yes.
"So," the coach continued, "when a strike is called, or you’re out at first, you don’t argue or curse or attack the umpire. Do you understand all that?"
Again the little boy nodded.
"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your mother."

For every sport father out there.  Michael