All posts by 5Q

Coca-Cola’s Worldwide Vision

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“And then he [Jesus] told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.’”1

If you’ve traveled much or little, or have seen movies shot in various parts of the world, inevitably you will see the Coca-Cola emblem just about anywhere you or the movie camera goes.

I’m not here to either praise or otherwise the benefits or otherwise of Coca-Cola but one thing I find fascinating about this company is that “at the end of World War II, Robert Woodruff, president of the Coca-Cola Company from 1923 to 1955, had a mission. ‘In my generation,’ he declared, ‘it is my desire that everyone in the world have a taste of Coca-Cola.’ With a vision and dedication rarely matched in corporate American culture, Woodruff and his colleagues spanned the globe with their soft drink.2

Would to God that we Christians would pull together and make it our goal in our generation to give everybody in the world a taste of the Water of Life!

One thing is certain, if you drink Coca-Cola or any other soft drink, you will thirst again. But as Jesus said, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”3 What Jesus was referring to, of course, was the “water” of eternal life which his gift of salvation brings.

In today’s world with all its turmoil, terrorism, and threat of war, perhaps now, more than ever, people around the world are thirsting for the “Water of Life” that only Jesus can give. That’s our goal here in ACTS International; that is, to reach as many people as possible worldwide with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ while the doors of opportunity are so wide open. To see how you can have a vital part in this outreach, please consider joining the People Power for Jesus network. For more information go to: www.actsweb.org/people_power.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please give me a passion to help reach my generation with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help me to be as Christ to every life I touch and help me to stand with others who are spreading the gospel around the world. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Mark 16:15 (NLT).

2. Dr. Gary Nicolosi.

3. John 4:14 (NIV).

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What on Earth Are You Doing for God?

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“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”1

Brett Blair tells how the late Dr. Paul Quillian, the beloved pastor of First Methodist Church of Houston, Texas, saw (in his fifteen years of ministry) the church grow from 2500 to 6000—an effort that he called a labor of love. Not many knew that Dr. Quillian as a young man had little thought of ministry and was working in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, at a bottling plant when his minister paid him a call. His pastor started with the question, “How old are you?”

“Thirty.”

Quillian’s preacher then said, “When you stand finally before the Lord God, what will you tell him you did on earth—made red soda water?”

The young man snapped back, “And what is wrong with red soda water?”

Nothing—except you happen to be endowed with great talents and abilities which I cherish for God and the Christian ministry.”

Consequently, the young man went back to school and prepared for the preaching ministry. He itinerated in Arkansas. Finally he was called to the First Church in Houston. He became a wonderful leader for Christ because someone recognized the gifts and talents within him and took a few minutes out of the day to tell him so.2

Are you using your talents for the glory of God and the betterment of others? And do you know someone whose potential you see? Be sure that you tell them and be an encourager to them.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for all the people who encouraged me when I needed it most. Please help me to use the gifts you have given me to serve you no matter how small or big that way may be. And help me to be an encourager to those who also need a word of encouragement whatever that word may need to be. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV).

2. Brett Blair, Sermon Illustrations, January 2000.

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Giving to Gain

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“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”1

In a Reader’ Digest article, author Robert Fulghum tells about “an international chess competition many years ago in which a man named Frank Marshall made what is often called the most beautiful move ever made on a chessboard. Playing against an equally skilled Russian master, Marshall sacrificed his queen in an unthinkable move—a move to be made only in the most desperate of circumstances. But it turned out to be a brilliant move, so brilliant that the Russian conceded the game.

“When spectators recovered from the shock of Marshall’s unusual tactic, they showered the chessboard with money. Marshall had achieved victory in a rare and daring fashion. He had won by sacrificing the queen.”2

One of my life’s goals was to build my own home, which I did in South Australia quite a few years ago. It was high up at the top of the Adelaide hills overlooking the city and the ocean beyond. The view was magnificent. I built that house with the idea of living in it till the day I died. At the time my ministry was flourishing and there was no way I planned or wanted to leave the house I built or the work I started. But the “Hound of Heaven” kept bugging me … and bugging me … and bugging me through circumstances beyond my control. In exasperation I finally prayed, “Okay, God, you win. You can have my new home and my ministry and everything I have here. I’ll go anywhere in the world if you’ll just give me peace.”

I think God must have a sense of humor too because in my prayer I said, “But P.S. God, please don’t send me to Alaska because I hate the cold.”

Little did I know what lay ahead. As a result of what I thought was “sacrificing” my most prized earthly possession, God has blessed me far beyond all that I dreamed would ever be possible (not that it happened overnight). The ministry I believed God called me to has greatly expanded, and I am now living in, of all places, sunny, warm Southern California. It was no sacrifice!

I’ve learned through experience that you cannot out-give God.

If there’s something you are holding on to that is hindering you from becoming and doing what God wants you to be and do, consider it prayerfully and be willing to let go of it. As another has said, “Don’t sacrifice your future on the altar of the immediate.”

And as Jim Elliot, martyred missionary, said: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, if there is anything I am clinging to that is hindering my becoming and doing all that you envision for me to be and do, will you become ‘the Hound of Heaven’ in my life and show me what it is. And please give me the courage to let go of it to become all that you want me to be, and to do all that you would have me do. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus in Matthew 6:33 (NIV).

2. Robert Fulghum, “Time to Sacrifice the Queen,” Reader’s Digest, August 1993, p. 136.

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Winners Vs. Losers

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“According to your faith will it be done to you.”1

A winner sees an opportunity in every risk while a loser sees a risk in every opportunity. Winners know that to risk nothing is to risk everything. They know that if they are going to win, they have to be willing to try, to take chances, and to risk failure. They have to be willing to strike out if they are going to hit home runs.

The year Babe Ruth broke the world record for hitting the most home runs in baseball he also broke the world’s record for the most strikeouts!

The point is if I am going to hit home runs, I have to be in the game, stand at the plate and keep swinging. Sooner or later, if I practice hard and do my best, I will hit a home run.

As somebody else has said, “To try when there is little hope is to risk failure. Not to try at all is to guarantee it.”

Some people think that success comes to those who are lucky. Luck, if you want to call it that, comes when preparation meets opportunity.

True winners make sure their goals are in harmony with God’s will and because of this, know that with his help there is a way to achieve them. Furthermore, they believe in their cause and they believe in themselves in a healthy way. They know that God never calls or expects anyone to do anything that can’t be done. Therefore, they expect to win and believe they will—and work hard to make it happen. They know that “the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

They also know that if they tried and did their best already they have won.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to see and live according to eternal values and not those of the world, and to know and do your will so that in your sight I will be a true winner. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Jesus in Matthew 9:29 (NIV).

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Wonderful or Wonder-empty

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“Behold, You [God] desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.”1

Some people you meet are very warm, genuine and connected. Others seem to be cold and distant. Their life seems rather flat line, dull, and even boring. I’m not talking about times of sickness, sadness or sorrow but this is how they are pretty much most of the time.

Why are some people like the latter group? One of a number of reasons is because they are repressed in their emotional life. Chances are that they grew up with a sense that emotions—especially negative emotions—were not acceptable, so they learned early in life to bury and deny them. Or they may have been hurt deeply as a child and found that they had to stuff their emotions in order to survive. It may sound crude but it is a fact of life that the stuff we stuff stuffs up our lives. This can cause all sorts of emotional, physical, relational and/or spiritual problems.

Emotions are God-given and are a vital part of a healthy, mature life. We are not talking about emotionalism which is a cover of true emotions. We are talking about being connected to our inner self and being in touch with all of our God-given emotions. If my emotions are buried and I am disconnected from them and my inner self, I cannot be truly connected to anyone else or to God at any kind of intimate level. At best, my relationships will be very shallow.

Furthermore, when emotions are repressed, instead of life being wonder-full, it may be wonder-empty. As such I will characteristically be bored with life.

If one’s life is wonder-empty, how do we overcome? How do we get connected to our inner self? In younger days my emotions were very much buried. I was doing all the right things outwardly but inwardly I felt very empty and, among other things, was disconnected to my emotion of wonder. Much of this was caused by growing up in a very dysfunctional family. I was taught that you couldn’t trust your emotions, but my life was so empty that I got down on my knees and asked God to give me my emotions back anyhow. Whew, God answered in a way that was the exact opposite of what I expected. My world fell apart. I was rejected by the most important person in my life and felt torn apart. But this was the beginning of getting in touch with all my emotions and my inner-self and learning to live and love again.

It took a long time and a lot of counseling but I can truly say that life for me has never been better. I am physically healthier than I was at half my age and my life is filled with love, loving relationships, and fulfillment.

Apparently Renoir, the famous artist, kept painting in his older years even though he was in great physical pain. In relating to Renoir’s suffering his friend, Matisse, said to him, “Why do you keep painting when you are in so much pain?” to which Renoir replied, “The pain passes but the beauty remains!” And so it is with us, if we commit and trust our life to God and ask him to confront us with our reality so that we become fully connected to our inner self, we may go through some very painful experiences (that are often needed to break through our defenses) but, in time, our pain will pass but the beauty of our life will last forever.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, in keeping with your desire please help me to be connected to my inner self and always be honest with myself and with you and thus grow up into the fullness of my salvation. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 51:6 (NASB).

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Strength out of Weakness

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“But he [God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”1

I read a few years ago the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. “No,” the sensei insisted, “let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and the sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind: “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

“The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.”2

Hmmm … very interesting. When it comes to life, for some folk their biggest strength becomes their biggest weakness. For example, as Jesus said about the wealthy man, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”3 The eye of the needle was referring to a door in the wall of the city (as it was commonly called) which was too small for a camel to go through, meaning that it was impossible for a person who trusts in his riches—or his fame, personality, power or position—to get into God’s heaven.

On the other hand, when we acknowledge our weaknesses and know that we need to depend on God for guidance, wisdom, discernment, and deliverance from temptation—this can become our greatest strength.

Suggested prayer, “Dear God, please deliver me from the sin of pride and help me always remember to be dependent on you for guidance, wisdom, direction, power to overcome temptation, and for my eternal salvation. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV).

2. Thought for the Day, by Alan Smith, http://www.tftd-online.com.

3. Matthew 19:24 (NIV).

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Discovering God’s Will for You

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“I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.”1

How do you know what God’s will is for you? Or how will you know if you are called of God?

Brent Porterfield, quoting from Frederick Buechner’s book, Wishful Thinking, provides an answer well worth pondering. Buechner “says that a good rule for finding one’s vocation is this: Our special mission in our life is usually one of the following:

A. That which we’d love most to do and

B. It is work that the world most needs to have done.

“Buechner says that if we really get a kick out of our work, we have probably met requirement A, but if that work is writing TV deodorant commercials, chances are we haven’t met requirement B. If our work is being a doctor in a leper colony, we probably have met requirement B, but if most of the time we are bored and depressed by doctoring, chances are we have not only bypassed A, we probably aren’t helping our patients much either.

“Buechner concludes: ‘The place God calls us to, is the place where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.’”2

Oswald Chambers described God’s call this way: “The call of God is like the call of the sea to the sailor. Only he who has the nature of the sea within can hear the call.”

Like a born-sailor who never rests until he answers the call of the sea and launches out into the deep, when God’s Word is written in our heart, neither will we find rest until we do what we know in our heart what it is that God wants us to do. And when we answer that call, we too, like King David, will delight in God’s ways and doing his work—no matter how humble or noble that may be.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you that you have a plan and purpose for every Christian, and that includes me. Like David of old, please give me a love for your Word and your ways so that I, too, will know and delight in doing your will and answering your call on my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Psalm 40:8 (NASB).

2. Brent Porterfield, www.eSermons.com.

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Unsung Songs

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“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”1

How many songs never sung,
poems never written,
pictures never painted,
risks never taken,
bridges never crossed,
romantic words never spoken…
locked inside a lonely heart
the prison of another’s making…
are left unexpressed
because somebody
shamed us, abandoned us,
or perhaps silenced us
with a cruel word,
a thoughtless deed,
and said or just implied
we were not good enough?
And tragically
we believed them—
so let this be the moment
we choose to believe them
no more … and sing, sing, sing.2

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, Please help me to know and appreciate the talents you have given to me, get the necessary training to sharpen these, and the opportunity to use them to be a blessing to others and to bring glory to your name. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV).

2. Dick Innes, © Copyright.

NOTE: A very attractive printed copy of this poem is available at: http://tinyurl.com.unsung-songs

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Three Kinds of People

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“It is required that those who have been given a trust [gift] must prove faithful.”1

It has been said that there are three kinds of people: Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!

Former Australian swimmer, Shane Gould, who won three gold medals in the 1972 Olympics, was considered one of the greatest swimmers of all time. She didn’t sit back and watch things happen. She made them happen.

Early in her career, when she was only 14 years of age, a news reporter asked her how she thought she would do in one of her early swim meets in the U.S. She replied, “I have a feeling there will be a world record today.”

There was!

Shane set a world record in the one-hundred-meter freestyle event and a second in the two-hundred. When asked how she thought she would do in the more punishing four-hundred-meter event she said, “I get stronger every race, and besides … my parents said they’d take me to Disneyland if I win, and we’re leaving tomorrow!”

She went to Disneyland with three world records! By the time she was sixteen she had five world records. It is true, she also had talent but she won not only because of this, but because of her preparation, hard work, and her positive self-expectancy.

Only a few are gifted sufficiently to be able to win a gold medal. However, every one of us is gifted in some area and most of us are gifted in several areas. And while we are not all called of God to be famous, we are all called to be faithful in serving him and our fellow man with the gifts that we have been given—not with those we haven’t been given.

We can all be “gold medal winners” in God’s book if we are well trained in our area of gifting, are adequately prepared for the task we want and feel called to do, have faith in our cause, see and take advantage of every opportunity when it knocks, disallow our fears to control us, believe that with God’s help we can achieve what we set out to do, and are prepared to work hard to make it happen.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the gifts and talents that you have given to me. Help me to know what they are, get well trained to use them to the best of my ability, and use them for your glory and the betterment of the world in which I live. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV).

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Encourage One Another

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“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”1

King Duncan writes about Larry Doby who was one of baseball’s finest hitters. He is well known by baseball fans because he was the first African-American to play for an American League team. “The year was 1947. Doby was a promising rookie for the Cleveland Indians but he didn’t look very promising his first time at bat. He was tense and nervous. He swung at three pitches, missed each of them, and struck out badly. He didn’t get within a foot of the ball. Slowly he walked to the dugout with his head down. He sat on the very end of the bench and rested his head in his hands.

“A player by the name of Joe Gordon was on that same Cleveland team. Joe was an outstanding second baseman. He batted right after Doby. Gordon had a good record batting against the pitcher who was on the mound that day. But something quite extraordinary was about to happen. Joe Gordon went up to the plate and missed three pitches in a row—each of them by at least two feet. He walked slowly to the end of the bench and sat down next to Larry Doby. Then Joe Gordon slowly put his head in his hands.

“Did Joe Gordon strike out that day deliberately? We will never know. However it is interesting to note that every time Larry Doby went out on the field from that day on, he first picked up Joe Gordon’s glove and tossed it to him.”2

One would suspect that Joe Gordon probably did strike out deliberately. Good for him if he did. Sad to say there are some people in the church who are threatened by anyone who might be able to do something better than they can do or gain a little more recognition, so they underhandedly seek to block them at every turn. Think of how the religious people of Jesus’ day treated him? They were so green with envy, they eventually had him crucified.

But thank God for the “Joe Gordons” who have the gift of encouragement and exercise it generously! Let’s all encourage someone today. It could make a great difference in their life—perhaps for eternity.

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, thank you for the many people who have encouraged me along the way … have cheered me on when I was dragging my feet … and lifted me up when I have fallen. Please help me to do the same for others. And above all, thank you for your unfailing faithfulness to and everlasting love for me, even when I have been at my worst. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV).

2. King Duncan www.sermons.com

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