187 Sermon Illustrations on Perseverance

See MASTERY.

WINNING

Young man, What is your plan Of progress? Are you Going to pull through? Or will you lie down in the road And let your load Sink you out of sight in the mud? Have you white blood and pale, That curdles at the hard word “Fail,” And dares not face The chances of the race? Or, have you red, clear red, The good strong color All the great have shed In deed or thought, For every triumph wrought Out of what seemed full Of the impossible? Have you the nerve To serve Until you can master? To wait And work outside the gate Until you win The strength to open it and enter in? Have you the heart to meet Defeat Day after day, And yet hold to the way That upward leads, And must needs Be hard and rough To make man tough Of sinew and of soul, Before he sees the goal? Young man, Think on these things, What each one brings Is as you choose it; You make take The stake, Or you may lose it. Start in To win And keep straight in the way Unflagging to the end; Whatever it may be Is victory.

--WILLIAM J. LAMPTON, _Success_.

Keeping promises makes life more stably human. Promises have power.

1. Human destiny rests on a promise.

2. Freedom comes alive in a promise.

3. The power of promise makes human community possible.

Nineteenth-century inventor Gail Borden was obsessed with the idea of condensing food. His first effort, a condensed "meat biscuit," failed miserably. But an ocean voyage gave birth to a better idea. Borden was concerned about the sickly condition of the children on board. Cows on the ship were too seasick to produce healthy milk, and four children died from drinking contaminated milk. Borden was determined to condense milk so that it would be safe and easily transported. After many tries, he devised a vacuum process that removed water from milk. Conditions during the Civil War made the canned milk a success, and Borden made a fortune. His epitaph, inscribed on a tomb the shape of a milk can, was, "I tried and failed; I tried again and again, and succeeded."

John Killinger retells this story from "Atlantic Monthly" about the days of the great western cattle ranches:

"A little burro sometimes would be harnessed to a wild steed. Bucking and raging, convulsing like drunken sailors, the two would be turned loose like Laurel and Hardy to proceed out onto the desert range. They could be seen disappearing over the horizon, the great steed dragging that little burro along and throwing him about like a bag of cream puffs. They might be gone for days, but eventually they would come back. The little burro would be seen first, trotting back across the horizon, leading the submissive steed in tow. Somewhere out there on the rim of the world, that steed would become exhausted from trying to get rid of the burro, and in that moment, the burro would take mastery and become the leader.

"And that's the way it is with the kingdom and its heroes, isn't it? The battle is to the determined, not to the outraged; to the committed, not to those who are merely dramatic."

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Another version:

Have you ever had something in of your life that controlled you instead of your controlling it? It is easy to get discouraged and feel that you will never become the master of that area of your life.

2 Peter 1:4-9 (NIV) says: “Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, 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 you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”

Think about what your definition of self-control is.

In the days of the great western cattle ranches, a trick was used to tame a particularly difficult and unsubmissive stallion. The horse would be harnessed to a little burro. The two would go off into the desert bucking and raging, looking like a mini-Texas tornado by the dust they kicked up. The great stallion would be tossing the little burro to and fro like a paper doll as they went over the horizon. They might be gone for days, but eventually they would come back over the horizon, the little burro leading the submissive steed in tow. Somewhere out in the desert the stallion had become exhausted in its struggle and at that moment the burro stepped in to become the master of the situation.

You may feel that the area you have a hard time controlling is like a “wild stallion” harnessed to your back. The battle for control can be won if you don’t give up but persist in your fight for control. With God’s help, the day will come when you step in to become master of the situation.

How Christians should handle failure.

1. Failure is hard to accept.

a. Society and the church are success-oriented.

2. How to handle failure.

a. Expect failure.

b. Analyze your failure.

c. Measure success by God's standards.

d. Learn from failure.

e. Keep faith in God.

3. Don't give up, in spite of failure.

a. God gives us permission to succeed.

Napoleon Hill, who studied the lives of many successful people, stated, "I

had the happy privilege of analyzing both Mr. Edison and Mr. Ford, year by

year, over a long period of years, and therefore the opportunity to study them

at close range, so I speak from actual knowledge when I say that I found no

quality save persistence, in either of them, that even remotely suggested the

major source of their stupendous achievements."

#1613

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On March 6, 1987, Eamon Coghlan, the Irish world record holder at 1500 meters, was running in a qualifying heat at the World Indoor Track Championships in Indianapolis. With two and a half laps left, he was tripped. He fell, but he got up and with great effort managed to catch the leaders. With only 20 yards left in the race, he was in third place -- good enough to qualify for the finals.

He looked over his shoulder to the inside, and seeing no one, he let up. But another runner, charging hard on the outside, passed Coghlan a yard before the finish, thus eliminating him from the finals. Coghlan’s great comeback effort was rendered worthless by taking his eyes off the finish line.

It’s tempting to let up when the sights around us look favorable. But we finish well in the Christian race only when we fix our eyes on the goal: Jesus Christ.

During a Monday Night football game between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants, one of the announcers observed that Walter Payton, the Bears' running back, had accumulated over nine miles in career rushing yardage.

The other announcer remarked, "Yeah, and that's with somebody knocking him down every 4.6 yards!"

Walter Payton, the most successful running back ever, knows that everyone - even the very best - gets knocked down. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard.

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Illustrations For Preaching & Teaching

Editor Craig Brian Larson, Baker, p. 176.

For years William Wilberforce had pushed in Britain's Parliament for the abolition of slavery. Discouraged, he was about to give up. His elderly friend, John Wesley, heard of it and from his deathbed called for pen and paper.

With trembling hand Wesley wrote: "Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them stronger than God?

"Oh be not weary of well-doing! Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery shall vanish away before it."

Wesley died six days later. But Wilberforce fought for 45 more years and in 1833, three days before his own death, saw slavery abolished in Britain.

Even the greatest have needed encouragement.

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Another version from SermonCentral.com:

Young William Wilberforce was discouraged one night in the early 1790s after another defeat in his 10-year battle against the slave trade in England. Tired and frustrated, he opened his Bible and began to leaf through it. A small piece of paper fell out and fluttered to the floor. It was a letter written by John Wesley shortly before his death. Wilberforce read it again:

“Unless the divine power has raised you up... I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that (abominable practice of slavery), which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? Oh, be not weary of well-doing. Go on in the name of God, and in the power of His might.”

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Daily Bread, June 16, 1989; contributed by Bruce Howell

[see also HolwickID #18611 and #32106]

[see final version at end]

In June of 1955, Winston Churchill, who was then near the end of his life, was asked to give a commencement address at a British university. At this time he was physically infirm; he had to be helped to the podium. Then he held on the podium for what seemed an interminable amount of time.

He stood with his head down but then finally raised that great leonine head of his, and the voice that years before had called Britain back from the brink of destruction sounded publicly for the last time in history:

“Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.”

With that, Churchill turned and went back to his seat.

I’m told there was silence, and then, as if one person, the whole audience rose to applaud him, because he was a man whose life and words were together. Again and again throughout Churchill’s political career, he had known setbacks. Three times, his career apparently over, he was sent off to oblivion, and yet somehow he had a sense that there was still something left after the worst.

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Version in “Chicken Soup of the Day” (internet version, 10/5/98):

Sir Winston Churchill took three years getting through eighth grade because he had trouble learning English. It seems ironic that years later Oxford University asked him to address its commencement exercises. He arrived with his usual props. A cigar, a cane and a top hat accompanied Churchill wherever he went. As Churchill approached the podium, the crowd rose in appreciative applause. With unmatched dignity, he settled the crowd and stood confident before his admirers. Removing the cigar and carefully placing the top hat on the podium, Churchill gazed at his waiting audience. Authority rang in Churchill’s voice as he shouted, “Never give up!” Several seconds passed before he rose to his toes and repeated: “Never give up!” His words thundered in their ears. There was a deafening silence as Churchill reached for his hat and cigar, steadied himself with his cane and left the platform. His commencement address was finished.

By Speaker’s Sourcebook II, from Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul,Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N.

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Version from Rev. Brett Blair, March 18, 2001 (derived from www.HomileticsOnline.com):

From the many true and fictional stories about the life of Winston Churchill comes the report of a singular commencement address. After enduring a lengthy introduction, Churchill is reported to have risen from his seat, strode to the podium and stared fixedly at his audience of new graduates. “Never give up!” he pronounced solemnly. Churchill then turned, walked back to his chair and sat down. As the stunned students momentarily sat in silence, Churchill, with perfect timing, once again rose from his chair, returned to the podium and again announced, “Never give up!” Now, terrified they might respond improperly, the audience never uttered a squeak as their speaker once again returned to his seat. Sure enough, Churchill returned to the podium again, and again and yet again — five times — each time delivering his single-minded message, “Never give up!” At last, feeling he had exhausted his audience and driven home his point, Churchill himself did give up and returned to the podium no more. But you can be sure that every graduate in that audience never forgot that speech and never forgot that he or she was to “never give up!”

Has the church forgotten that it has received the same message from the divine? God has promised never to give up on us. All of the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments together, are a record of how God never, never, never, never, never gives up.

• Adam and Eve disobeyed the very First Rule. But God never gave up.

• Abraham wandered, and Sarah laughed. But God never gave up.

• Moses hid and shook with fear. But God never gave up.

• Saul went insane. But God never gave up.

• David plotted against Uriah. But God never gave up.

• Ahaz sold out to Assyria. But God never gave up.

• Israel fell into pieces. But God never gave up.

• The Jewish people became exiles. But God never gave up.

• John the Baptist was beheaded. But God never gave up.

• Peter denied he even knew him. But God never gave up.

• The disciples all ran away. But God never gave up.

From www.HomileticsOnline.com.

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Still another version, and the definitive one by Rev. David Langerfeld:

This speech/illustration has been misquoted many, many times. (I have used it many times myself just the way you shared it — for sermons, speeches, devotionals, etc.) However, it’s just not true.

The actual speech is several paragraphs in length and contains these words… “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

You can read the actual speech at the Winston Churchill Center home page: www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=423

At 7 P.M. on October 20, 1968, a few thousand spectators remained in the Mexico City Olympic Stadium. It was cool and dark. The last of the marathon runners, each exhausted, were being carried off to first-aid stations. More than an hour earlier, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia - looking as fresh as when he started the race - crossed the finish line, the winner of the 26 mile, 385 yard event.

As the remaining spectators prepared to leave, those sitting near the marathon gates suddenly heard the sound of sirens and police whistles. All eyes turned to the gate. A lone figure wearing the colors of Tanzania entered the stadium. His name was John Stephen Akhwari. He was the last man to finish the marathon. His leg bloodied and bandaged, severely injured in a fall, he grimaced with each step. He hobbled around the 400-meter track.

The spectators rose and applauded him as if he were the winner. After crossing the finish line, Akhwari slowly walked off the field without turning to the cheering crowd.

In view of his injury and having no chance of winning a medal, someone asked him why he had not quit. He replied, "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it."

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Another version by Chuck Swindoll, collected by Nick Lica:

Hours behind the runner in front of him, the last marathoner finally entered the Olympic stadium. By that time, the drama of the day's events was almost over and most of the spectators had gone home. This athlete's story, however, was still being played out.

Limping into the arena, the Tanzanian runner grimaced with every step, his knee bleeding and bandaged from an earlier fall. His ragged appearance immediately caught the attention of the remaining crowd, who cheered him on to the finish line.

Why did he stay in the race? What made him endure his injuries to the end? When asked these questions later, he replied, "My country did not send me 7,000 miles away to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it."

Likewise, we as Christians are to finish the race of life. Although we will stumble and endure many hardships, we must get back on our feet and continue running the race. We must make it to the finish line so that we may receive the crown of life.

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The Tale Of The Tardy Oxcart, Charles R. Swindoll, Word, p. 210.

Mario Cuomo, governor of New York, writes in Life magazine about a time when he was especially discouraged during a political campaign:

I couldn’t help wondering what Poppa would have said if I told him I was tired or - God forbid - discouraged. A thousand pictures flashed through my mind, but one scene came sharply into view.

We had just moved to Holliswood, New York, from our apartment behind the store. We had our own house for the first time; it had some land around it, even trees. One in particular was a great blue spruce that must have been 40 feet tall.

Less than a week after we moved in, there was a terrible storm. We came home from the store that night to find the spruce pulled almost totally from the ground and flung forward, its mighty nose bent in the asphalt of the street. My brother Frankie and I could climb poles all day; we were great at fire escapes; we could scale fences with barbed wire - but we knew nothing about trees. When we saw our spruce, defeated, its cheek on the canvas, our hearts sank. But not Poppa’s.

Maybe he was five feet six if his heels were not worn. Maybe he weighted 155 pounds if he had a good meal. Maybe he could see a block away if his glasses were clean. But he was stronger than Frankie and me and Marie and Mamma all together.

We stood in the street, looking down at the tree.

“Okay, we gonna push ‘im up!”

“What are you talking about, Poppa? The roots are out of the ground!”

“Shut up, we gonna push ‘im up, he’s gonna grow again.” We didn’t know what to say to him. You couldn’t say no to him. So we followed him into the house and we got what rope there was and we tied the rope around the tip of the tree that lay in the asphalt, and he stood up by the house, with me pulling on the rope and Frankie in the street in the rain, helping to push up the great blue spruce.

In no time at all, we had it standing up straight again!

With the rain still falling, Poppa dug away at the place where the roots were, making a muddy hole wider and wider as the tree sank lower and lower toward security. Then we shoveled mud over the roots and moved boulders to the base to keep the tree in place. Poppa drove stakes in the ground, tied rope from the trunk to the stakes, and maybe two hours later looked at the spruce, the crippled spruce made straight by ropes, and said, “Don’t worry, he’s gonna grow again....”

If you were to drive past that house today, you would see the great, straight blue spruce, maybe 65 feet tall, pointing up to the heavens, pretending it never had its nose in the asphalt.

Remembering that night in Holliswood, I now couldn’t wait to get back into the campaign.

________

see attached photo of tree in 2015

Sermon in James series. Patience in face of adversity. James 5:7-11

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WAITING FOR GOD

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I. How patient are you?

A. Real life reveals us better than our theories of ourselves.

B. Impatience is normal, patience has to be learned.

II. Be patient, God is always on time.

III. God has a secret timetable for us. 5:8

A. Life is not open-ended, but is drawing to a conclusion.

B. Problem: James wrote almost 2,000 years ago. 2 Pet 3:8f

C. It may seem slow, but God has his reasons.

IV. The coming of Jesus should make a difference.

A. Stand firm. 5:8

B. Be positive. 5:9

V. We stand in a long line.

A. Most of the prophets suffered (for good), yet kept the faith.

B. The "patience" of Job.

C. Hang in there.

The care used to shape the stones of Solomon's Temple is an image of how God shapes us through adversity. All the symbolism of Jerusalem's Temple - the sacrifices, furniture, rituals - reach a climax in the life and death of Christ. He is the cornerstone; we comprise the walls. In preparing people as "living stones," God must use tools that hurt, such as frustrating relationships and perplexing experiences. But to be of use in His Kingdom, we must obey the call of the quarry, the one that takes us from a mass of useless stone into a finely fitted building block.

1. Saints must be surveyed.

God knows where we need to be cut.

2. Saints are sliced.

Being cut from false dependencies.

3. Saints are shaped.

Discipline is necessary to expose the flaws of private sin.

(Illust. of submitting to campus regulations as an older student)

"If God's net purpose in saving an individual is just to get him to

Heaven, He would probably take him to glory immediately. But God

wants to prepare him for rulership in an infinite universe that

demands character. Progress in sanctification, in the development of

Godlike character and agape love, is impossible without tribulation

and chastisement." [Paul E. Billheimer, "Don't Waste Your Sorrows"]

4. Saints are set in place.

We must remember our destination. Trials are necessary for the

finished product.

Scottish preacher George Matheson knew suffering. He was blind. He

said he often thanked God for his roses, but not once for his thorn,

his blindness. He admitted he looked forward to another world where

he'd get compensation for his cross. Then he began to see this cross

as a present glory. His prayer changed: "Teach me the glory of the

cross. Teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed

to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made

rainbows."

#2848

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QUOTES ON PERSEVERANCE

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Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.

-- Benjamin Disraeli

The last dejected effort often becomes the winning stroke.

-- W.J. Cameron

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

-- Samuel Johnson

Decide exactly what you want and resolve to persist, no matter what, until you achieve it.

-- Brian Tracy

Be like a postage stamp. Stick to it until you get there.

-- Harvey Mackay

I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult.... I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.

-- Og Mandino

“When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a moment longer, never give up then - for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”

-- Harriet Beecher Stowe

“Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting.”

-- Christopher Morley

“We have not wings we cannot soar; but, we have feet to scale and climb, by slow degrees, by more and more, the cloudy summits of our time.”

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Fall down seven times. Get up eight.”

-- Japanese proverb, B&P 1/8/03

“The Green Bay Packers never lost a football game. They just ran out of time.”

-- Vince Lombardi, QFTM 1/10/04

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.”

-- Walter Elliott, cited in BITS & PIECES

“When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

-- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Quotes from the Masters (QFTM) 12/5/01

“Many men fail because they quit too soon. They lose faith when the signs are against them. They do not have the courage to hold on, to keep fighting in spite of that which seems insurmountable. If more of us would strike out and attempt the ‘impossible,’ we very soon would find the truth of that old saw that nothing is impossible... Abolish fear and you can accomplish anything you wish.”

-- C. E. Welch

“Paralyze resistance with persistence.”

-- Woody Hayes, QFTM 2/8/03

“People of mediocre ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most men succeed because they are determined to.”

-- George E. Allen, QFTM 4/24/04

“I’d look at one of my stonecutters hammering away at a rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet, at the hundred and first blow, it would split in two, and I knew it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

-- Jacob A. Riis, New York photographer and social activist, W&W 5/11/04

“The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is, that one often comes from a strong will and the other from a strong won’t.”

-- Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, quoted in the Ontario Farmer; The Week magazine, 5/9/08

A few years ago, our family vacationed in California – the land of the great redwood forest. The author John Steinbeck wrote of them: “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always.”

There’s something worshipful that happens when you stand in front of a giant tree. I was reading about the mighty California redwoods recently, and came across this note online:

Redwood tree roots are very shallow, often only five or six feet deep. But they make up for it in width, sometimes extending up to 100 feet from the trunk. They thrive in thick groves, where the roots can intertwine and even fuse together. This gives them tremendous strength against the forces of nature.

Notice what keeps these huge trees from falling in the high winds of nature. It is not their depth, but rather, their relationship with surrounding trees. By joining underground arms with neighbors, they gain enormous stability. Conversely, a redwood standing all by itself is a fragile one.

Think about that metaphor in light of where we are as a family of churches. There is a spiritual truth in there, summarized in four simple words: We need each other.

What holds a denomination, or even a single local church together? It is the humility to say: we need others in order to be strong. It is not wise to stand alone.

In Hebrews 10, the author is switching from a doctrinal to a practical posture. Having established the weighty matters of Jesus Christ as the Great High Priest, the author now aims to motivate the believer to do something with it.

21 and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:21-25

Each of these “let us” statements is connected to a key component of Christian living. Here we see what strong Christians do.

Strong Christians draw near to Christ in prayer (Hebrews 10:22).

As you know, the Old Testament practice in the temple restricted access to the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest could enter, and only for a short amount of time. But that era came to a close with the crucifixion of Christ. The final sacrifice was made, and every single Christian can freely enter the inner sanctum. And we do so by prayer.

One of the special people God put in my path this year is Bill Elliff, a pastor and revivalist in Little Rock, Arkansas. He spoke at a denominational meeting about the difference between prayer being in the side room of your house as opposed to the foundation of your house:

If someone gave you money to build a home, you would develop your plans with an architect. But you might discover that the money they provided was not enough. Back to the architect you’d go. You would downsize one room or another, maybe even deciding that some rooms would be nice, but unnecessary. But there is one part of the construction you could not eliminate: the foundation. Even though unseen, everything depends on the foundation.

And from there, Elliff makes the connection to the local church and to individual believers. Prayer has been moved to the periphery of our ministries, to the side rooms of our lives. It is not foundational. It is not our first reaction to conflict. It is not our natural reflex when we feel hurt by other believers.

If Hebrews had been written today, this verse might read: Too much tweeting; not enough praying. I believe that we all should be asking ourselves about the decreasing levels of prayer taking place with increasing levels of screen time.

Strong Christians hold on to hope in Christ (Hebrews 10:23).

One of the worst games ever invented is Tug of War. I always manage to pick the losing team. The game ends with my body being drug along the ground, as if I’m being pulled behind a vehicle. My hands blister from the wear and tear of clinging to that rope. Sometimes it hurts to hold on.

The author of Hebrews is speaking to a highly Jewish audience – a group of people who would not let go of the Old Covenant. They were holding onto the outdated rules which were abolished at the cross. Even worse, they were not holding on to the hope we have in Christ.

Last year, Lifeway Research conducted a study on the well-being of pastors, assessing their overall needs. The findings were fascinating, particularly in the pandemic season, when congregations were split down the middle due to masking and vaccination arguments. This is hard on the heart of the pastor who longs to see his people unified and focused on the mission.

What’s more, 66 percent of pastors confessed that they were wavering – that they did not feel solid in their belief that God would pull them through. In the words of Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” Don’t give up. Take it one day at a time and believe that the Lord will see you through.

Recently, my wife Lynley and I were at a gathering of pastors and one of them was Gregg Matte from Houston’s First. Gregg was sharing what he has learned over the years about endurance, about hanging on in hard times. He shared two insights that stuck with us:

Today’s newspapers line tomorrow’s birdcages. Hard times will come, but remember that the news cycle is short. This too shall pass. The church belongs to the Lord, and He will preserve it.

The clouds are always moving. If you look above and see dark, overcast skies, just wait a few days, or months, or years; the sun will shine again. Don’t lose heart when it feels gloomy in your life. Conversely, when the sun is shining and all is well, be aware that James 1 is true – that trials are the tests we must undergo if we are to be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

There are seasons when the only thing God expects us to do is to hold on, to be faithful with what is in front of us, and to wait upon His rescue. Draw near to God in prayer.

Strong Christians provoke one another in love (Hebrews 10:24).

The Greek word for provoke is used in another place in the New Testament, describing an annoying behavior. It is used to explain how one person can negatively rub off on another, but here the word is used in the opposite way – to be a positive irritant. To disrupt a person’s life in a most inspiring way. This is the ministry of encouragement.

Former Lifeway president Jimmy Draper told me this year: be kind to everybody, because everybody’s having a hard time. It is kindness that truly impacts the people around us, not our condemnation. People need to be told how important they are to you.

This brings us back to the redwood tree. What makes those massive trees strong is their interlocking roots with neighbors. They draw strength from one another.

Now it becomes clear why Hebrews goes on in the next verse to say, “let us not give up the habit of meeting together.” Being in proximity, in the same room, our lives touching one another brings tremendous stability and joy to our lives. When we are rooted in a local church, we are far better people.

One person who paid the price for Jesus is Reshem Raj Poudel. He came from

Pokhara, Kaski in West Nepal from the high caste (a Brahmin). He became a

Hindu Priest and a trainer of Hindu Priests. He learned the Hindu scriptures

thoroughly. He could quote many texts from memory, including Gita 4:7-8 which

reads, "I Krishma come to seek and destroy the sinner." Then one day he was

in his library reading through a resource book, the New Testament. He came

across the verse in Luke 19:10: "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save

what was lost."(NIV)

Impressed by the compassionate character of the God of the Bible, Reshem gave

his life to Christ. It was 1962. Kicked out of his home, he found himself in

prison two years later. Every two hours he was beaten by the police. He had

no food for four days and nights. His leg was broken as he was kicked in the

beatings. And this was but the beginning. He was severely persecuted for his

faith twenty-two times, and spent a total of two years in jail, yet he

persevered. Reshem says, "We paid the price for our nation, now the nation

rightfully belongs to us."

#3890

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In May, 1982, Leonid Brezhnev was president of a country that no longer exists — the Soviet Union. In Baltimore, a lanky shortstop named Cal Ripken played the first game of what became known as “the streak.”

The 6’ 4” fielder was considered too tall for the position. Yet he just kept plugging away. Last season, 2,131 games later, he set the all-time record for consecutive games played by a major-leaguer.

Greatness comes not just from ability, but also from consistency.

Senator John McCain tells this story from his days as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam:

In the final years of our imprisonment, the North Vietnamese moved us from small cells with one or two prisoners to large rooms with as many as 30-40 men to a room. We preferred this situation for the companionship and strength we could draw from our fellow prisoners. In addition to moving us to new quarters, our captors also let us receive packages and letters from home. Many men received word from their families for the first time in several years. The improved conditions were a result of public pressure put on the North Vietnamese by the American public.

In our cell was one Navy officer, Lt. Commander Mike Christian. Over time Mike had gathered bits and pieces of red and white cloth from various packages. Using a piece of bamboo he had fashioned into a needle, Mike sewed a United States flag on the inside of his shirt, one of the blue pajama tops we all wore.

Every night in our cell, Mike would put his shirt on the wall, and we would say the pledge of allegiance. I know that the pledge of allegiance may not be the most important aspect of our day now, but I can tell you that at the time, it was the most important aspect of our lives.

This had been going on for some time when one of the guards came in as we were reciting our pledge. They ripped the flag off the wall and dragged Mike out. He was beaten for several hours and then thrown back into the cell.

Later that night, as we were settling down to sleep on the concrete slabs that were our beds, I looked over to the spot where the guards had thrown Mike. There, under the solitary light bulb hanging from the ceiling, I saw Mike. Still bloody and his face swollen beyond recognition, Mike was gathering bits and pieces of cloth together. He was sewing a new American flag.

________

Copyright(c) 1998 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc./Leadership Journal. Fall 1998, Vol.XIX, No. 4, Page 67

From a speech that John McCain made before the 1988 Republican National Convention.

====================

Another version from Don Johnson:

From a speech by U.S. Senator John McCain:

As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment; the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn’t wear a pair of shoe until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country, and our military, provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle.

Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike’s shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell, it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike’s shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us; beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him us as well as we could. The cell in which we live had a concrete slab In the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag.

He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.

You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

About eight weeks after my first mastectomy, I agreed to accompany my husband on a business trip to Connecticut and Rhode Island during June, with the understanding that I could rest as much as necessary and not overdo it. In an attempt to make sure we balanced pleasure with business meetings, my husband asked if there was anything special I wanted to do while we were in that beautiful part of the country. Because I grew up in Arizona with desert and dryness I have always had a genuine love of and appreciation for the ocean. I suggested we try to get down to Newport beach if at all possible. For me, there is something therapeutic about the ocean. The waves, walking in the sand, watching the tide, just experiencing the presence of the ocean. Somehow I felt I would feel more connected to nature, myself and the healing process.

Armed with a map and directions from the lady who sold us our box lunches, we were on our way. The drive was beautiful and far shorter than we expected.

We gathered our things and headed for the shore. I couldn’t wait to take off my sandals and scrunch my toes in the wet sand. As we topped a hill, the beach looked like a patchwork quilt of beach blankets. I had never seen so many people on so little sand in all my life. We weaved our way through the crowd toward the water. As I took a step, I looked down, and to my utter surprise, saw a beautiful starfish. I thought to myself, How could this be? All those people, and no one stepped on it or even bent over to pick it up. I was as thrilled as a child. For me it was magic: my own personal gift from the sea.

Then I realized something unique about this particular starfish. It had a message - a very special message. One of its arms was bent and curved around. At that moment, from someplace deep within me, I had an overwhelming awareness, a sense of meaning. This was no less a starfish because it had a bent arm, and I was no less a woman because I lost my breasts. I called it my “grace moment.” I realized it was no accident that I found myself on that beach, that day, at that moment.

This experience was simply an answer to my prayer. I knew I would survive breast cancer from that moment on. Furthermore, I had a message I would willingly share with others.

No matter what our setbacks, difficulties or pain, we can get through them. Only through these moments of hell do we reach deep down within our being and discover who we are, what we believe and what is important and “real” in our lives. We experience a “knowing of our soul.”

Today, I have my little starfish on a special table in my home. Every time I pass it I think of its message. I’m grateful for the insight having cancer gave to me and for a relationship with a Higher Power that blesses me with little miracles on a daily basis. Most of all, I am grateful to know in my heart that I am no less a woman because I lost my breasts to cancer. I am more than my limitations.

________

By Katherine Stephens Gallagher, from Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul, Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patty Aubery & Nancy Mitchell, R.N.

Cynthia Kersey has written a book on successful small-business entrepreneurs. "Unstoppable" is written for those with dreams but who've been discouraged by the nags of naysaying. Kersey profiles 45 small-business owners who've overcome every obstacle in their journey to fulfill their dream.

Seven common factors appear in each of these success stories:

a. They followed their hearts!

b. They were devoted to their goal!

c. They believed in themselves!

d. They prepared for/anticipated challenges!

e. They accepted help/built a support team!

f. They sought creative solutions!

g. They persevered to the end!

[Unstoppable, published by Cynthia Kersey & Associates)

Application: I am continually astonished at the world's propensity to co-opt biblical principles and concepts without attribution. Kersey may have written a fine book but her material is not original, to her or any other latter-day social scientist.

Jethro offered Moses a lesson in "span-of-control" and hierarchical leadership models long before the first French management specialist supposedly originated the idea. Joseph demonstrated ethics in his workplace, long before Bill Clinton fail to do so in his and started a whole industry of business ethicists. And Jesus, well His lessons on perseverance are legend. These are just a few of the many examples to be gleaned from the Testaments. Yet Paul told us the world knows the Law of God instinctively. [Romans 2:14-16]

Each of Kersey's seven observations are well documented in the God's Word:

a. God tells us our hearts are the seats of the motivation to do good

or evil; where our treasure is our heats will follow.

b. We are taught we are to set our minds of things above, eternal

goals.

c. The Bible says a wee small voice will guide us, and while listening

to that voice we are to trust ourselves to Him.

d. The parable of the ten virgins teaches us to prepare; we are told

that we should anticipate tribulations in this world.

e. Paul said we should be united in the bonds of peace, that we should

work together, and that we should consider the interests of

others as more important than our own.

f. We are taught not to fear man but God and that all things are

lawful but not all things are profitable.

g. Certainly the letters to the seven churches in Revelation

challenge us to persevere.

It occurs to me that the business world would benefit greatly by requiring all first year business and management students to take a course in biblical business and management principles.

Source/Attribution: John Gillmartin

*

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight, [or he will direct your path]” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

And the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,

When funds are low and debts are high,

And you have to smile, but you want to cry,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if your must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow,

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit. — Author Unknown

To quit or not to quit? That is often an extremely difficult decision to come to. There are times when we may need to change our direction, our job, or our location, or quit a destructive or “just-plain-not-going-anywhere” situation. The important thing is not to quit because we are running away from a situation we need to face and resolve. At the same time, it’s equally important not to hang in too long and to keep “flogging a dead horse!”

But how do we know when to hang in and when to quit? After we’ve done everything we can to redeem a bad situation without success, sometimes we still don’t know. It’s then that we need to commit our situation to God, seek his direction, and just plain trust him that the decision we make is in harmony with his will for us.

In times like these I ask God to give me the insight to see reality and the truth about the situation in question. Once I see this, I know what I need to do. Then I pray for the courage to do it!

God hasn’t promised to make our decisions for us or to tell us what to do. What he has promised is wisdom, guidance, and understanding and to be with us as long as we are genuinely seeking to walk in his ways. This is why in every situation I commit it and myself to God and trust him to guide and direct me.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to trust you with all my heart in every situation and not depend on my own understanding so I can know in my heart that you are directing my path. Gratefully in Jesus’ name.”

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #18363]

"Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace."

-- Jerry Bridges

"The good things of prosperity are to be wished; but the good things that belong to adversity are to be admired."

-- Seneca

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him prosperity."

-- (unknown)

"Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."

-- Victor Hugo

"In adversity a man can become very well acquainted with himself because he is free from admirers."

-- (unknown)

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

-- Anne Bradstreet, Quotes From the Masters (QFTM) 6/20/02

"When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure."

-- Peter Marshal, QFTM 7/1/02

"Prosperity discovers vice, adversity discovers virtue."

-- Francis Bacon, QFTM 7/1/02

"We think adversity itself is darkness, but the reality of the darkness is that it can serve to illuminate the light. Without pain there is no pleasure, without valleys there are no mountain tops and without struggle there is no sense of achievement."

-- Max Cleland, politician, B&P 1/7/03

"One very important ingredient of success is a good, wide-awake, persistent enemy."

-- Frank B. Shutts (1870-1947), publisher, B&P 1/7/03

“A good man never has enough enemies.”

-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."

-- Chinese Proverb

"By afflictions God is spoiling us of what otherwise might have spoiled us. When he makes the world too hot for us to hold, we let it go."

-- John Powell

"Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amid joy."

-- Felicia Hemans

"Though all afflictions are evils in themselves, yet they are good for us, because they discover to us our disease and tend to our cure."

-- John Tillotson

"To bear other people's afflictions, everyone has courage and enough to spare."

-- Benjamin Franklin

"Humanity either makes, or breeds, or tolerates all its afflictions."

-- H. G. Wells

"As threshing separates the wheat from the chaff, so does affliction purify virtue."

-- Richard E. Burton

"I thank God for my handicaps, for through them, I have found myself, my work and my God."

-- Helen Keller

"Affliction comes to us, not to make us sad but sober; not to make us sorry but wise."

-- Henry Ward Beecher

"Affliction, like the iron-smith, shapes as it smites."

-- Christian Nestell Bovee

"Men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war; and this lesson saves their children, their homes, and their properties."

-- Aristophanes

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records."

-- William Arthur Ward, educator, B&P 8/5/03

"One of the greatest evidences of God's love to those that love him is to send them afflictions, with the grace to bear them. Even in the greatest afflictions, we ought to testify to God that, in receiving them from his hand, we feel pleasure in the midst of pain, from being afflicted by him who loves us, and whom we love."

-- John Wesley, “Christian Behavior”

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have

strengthened me… You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the

teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

-- Walt Disney, QFTM 11/1/03

"There is nothing the body suffers the soul may not profit by."

-- George Meredith, www.sermoncentral.com 1/12/04

After being told suffering was normal for God’s friends, she replied, “Little wonder, Lord, you have so few of them.”

-- Teresa of Avila

*

“As communicators, we learned a long time ago that God loves us, but everybody else has a plan for our lives,” according to Pastor Rick Warren. He outlined seven ways Christians can last in the ministry. “Jesus was stress-resistant because He knew who He was,” Warren said. “If you don't know who you are, someone will pressure you to be something you're not.”

Warren said everyone faces criticism from someone, but what they do with it is what matters. “Treat criticism like praise -- chew on it a while and spit it out. Don't pay attention to the cheers or the jeers in the stands. God is my judge, not others.”

Warren's seven principles of how to last in the ministry:

1. IDENTIFICATION -- “Know who I am,” he said. “Write down your strengths and be honest about your weaknesses.”

2. MOTIVATION -- “I must know who I am trying to please. Ask yourself: 'Why do I do what I do?’ Continually consider this. The 'why' always determines the 'how long.'“

3. PRIORITIZATION -- “I must know my purpose. What does your schedule reveal about your priorities, and how can you change one thing to reflect more of God's purpose?”

4. EDUCATION -- “I must never stop learning. Growing ministries require growing ministers,” he said. “Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, '... skill will bring success.’ Not dedication. If you go pick cotton with a tomato picker, no matter how much you pray, it won't work.”

5. MEDITATION -- “I must get alone with God often. If I don't, I can become like a poor photo -- overexposed and underdeveloped.”

6. RELAXATION -- “I must take time off to enjoy life. Jesus went to the desert. I use this as a biblical example for a Palm Springs vacation,” Warren laughed. “Matthew 11:10 says, 'Jesus came enjoying life.’ If you don't take time to come apart, you will come apart. Rest is so important that God put it in the top 10 -- take a sabbath.”

7. CONCENTRATION -- “I must focus my life. We think, 'I've got to do this or I have to do that.’ No, we don't. We can get so many irons in the fire that the fire goes out. The more focused I am, the more effective I will be. I have just enough time to do God's will. Figure out what God's will is and do that and don't worry about the rest.”

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #16465]

Going For the Gold

Dwaine Powell

The Olympics. Just the mentioning of the word brings to mind ideas like "competition at the highest level", "going for the gold", and "victory lap." You may be a good athlete, maybe even a great one, but the Olympics extend an invitation to only the best. As a spectator, you follow your stars with enthusiastic hope and patriotic pride. And each Olympics creates special moments of greatness not soon forgotten. Yet not all great memories conclude with a gold medal, or any metal for that matter. Let me share one of those moments with you.

It was the Olympics of 1992 in Barcelona, Spain. The athlete's name was Derek Redmond of Great Britain and he was running in the 400-meter semifinal. About 175 meters into this event in the lead, Redmond pulled his right hamstring. He said later it was "like getting hit by a bolt of lightning." Redmond crumpled to the track. Obviously disappointed, it occurred to him that he would not run in the finals. And, through the pain and despair, it also came to him that he would not be stopped from finish this race. Redmond shooed away a stretcher and other attempts to help him. As the other runners were crossing the finish line, Redmond thought, "I've got to finish."

So he began to limp around the curve, in agony. At this point, Jim Redmond had already left his seat in the top row of the stands and was running to the track. The 49-year-old Londoner had only a ticket, and no accreditation to get on the track, but reasoned, "You don't need any accreditation in an emergency when your child is involved." His face was contorted in pain and disbelief, but Derek Redmond did not start to cry until he saw the man who fought his way onto the track to help him.

In the 1988 Olympics, Derek pulled out of his first-round heat just 90 seconds before the race with a tendon injury. He's had five tendon surgeries. "This time," said his father, "We had an agreement. If anything happened, he was to finish the race. He had to finish the race. This is his last Olympics. He worked eight years for this day. It wasn't going to be stopped for anything." Jim reached his son just as Derek, crying, screaming with pain, entered the final straight away. He put his arms around him and helped him toward the finish line in the 400 meters. As track officials came on the track, Jim waved all of them away.

They finished to a roaring ovation, father helping son across the line. "I wasn't doing it for the crowd, I was doing it for myself," said Derek. "I just wanted to finish. And he was there to help me." Together they crossed the finish line. Though he was last by a mile, Redmond had a victory of a special kind. On the official results, Derek Redmond is listed as AB: abandoned. Yet in his moment of greatest need, he was not abandoned by his father. Together, Jim and Derek Redmond won an Olympic gold medal in synchronized father-son.

Dear reader, it is true that there is a race God wants you to finish. It is also true that this race will be difficult and cannot be completed without the help of your Heavenly Father. His promise to you is that He will be there to help you cross the finish line (Hebrews 13:5-6).

--FROM THE HEART, Auburn, AL