“I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13).
Hey Gang: What say
you? Do you believe Paul’s words? Do you really believe that you can
do….anything…I mean anything? Now,
before you answer, note Paul’s words in that same chapter: “And my God will supply all your needs, how many? All your needs
according to His riches in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:19). Not quite sure yet? Well, check out these words of Paul”: “For I am confident of this very thing,
that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ
Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).
I love the stories of the Bible where God reached down and
took an ordinary block from off the street and did a mighty miracle through
them. Saul was on his way to make life
as miserable as possible for God’s people and God looked down and said, “I will
take that one”. (Acts 9:3-4). When Gideon received his marching orders he “…was in a cave beating out wheat in the wine
press in order to save it from the Midianites” (Judges 6:11). Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro when
he encountered the burning bush (Exodus 3:1).
And how about Jesus twelve?
In a mock review of each of them, by a professional Management
Consulting Firm, the final analysis stated: “Most of the nominees are lacking
in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise
you are undertaking: one candidate,
however, shows great potential. He is a
man of ability, resourcefulness, meets people well, is highly motivated,
ambitious and responsible. We recommend
Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man.
In my endorphin file is the story of little girl who was
found, by the Pastor, crying outside the church. When ask why she was crying she tearfully
said there is no room for me. Two years
later the little girl died; when the parents went through her very special
things they found a very worn purse with .57 cents in it and a note, “to be
used to build a larger church so that all could attend”.
The parents shared the find with the pastor, who in turn
shared it with his church. The Press
picked up the story and shared it. The
money began to come into the church from far and wide soon surpassing the
quarter of million plateau. That was a
huge sum for that day.
If you happen to be in Philadelphia, make sure you visit the
Temple Baptist Church, with seating capacity of 3,300. Then be sure to drive through Temple
University, then on to the Good Samaritan Hospital and close your tour by
spending a moment or two in the Sunday School building that has capacity for more
than 200 beautiful children- built so that no child in the area will ever be
left outside. A wonderful example of what
God can do with fifty-seven cents and a servant’s heart.
Today is a very special day for my bride and me. This blog, titled Do We Sometimes Sell Ourselves Short is the one thousandth blog
sent since our good friend Paul LeRoy suggested and helped us set up the blog
on internet. Please accept my closing to
this epistle in the spirit of Paul’s words when he said: “If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness”
(2 Cor.11:30). Of which I have many.
In the early years of development of the Village, I
presented a challenge to what was a very young staff to “Seek first the Kingdom of God” (Matt 6:33), and He will be faithful
to fulfill the desire of your heart. At
the end of the challenge one of the young staff came up and said, “Mr. H., while you were speaking, I saw an
image of you standing in water up to your knees and waves going out in all
directions.”
That image remained etched in my mind for many years. As my tenure as Super Eagle was winding down
I was invited to attend an international conference at Disney Land and present
the Village Family Program. I thought
perhaps that was God’s fulfillment of that prophetic image but that dream soon
died on the vine.
Several years after we retired from the Village I was
sitting in my study working on the monthly financial report and a thought - as
powerful as the thought that started me down the road to develop the Village -
entered my mind.
The message received that night was part reprimand and part
promise. God’s message, “You seem to be more interested in caring
for your worldly possessions than in sharing your spiritual legacy.” To that I pleaded guilty and began to seek a
change in my focus. After a time of
prayer and seeking, I felt preparing a morning devotional and sharing with the
family was the route I was to take. I
felt it would be a short route and the readers would soon tire of the
repetition and fad away.
Such was not the case; the opposite began to happen with
increased numbers joining Gramps Morning Thoughts. A year or so ago, the gurus, who tamper with
the computer programs, did something and when I turned the computer on one
morning, I could not understand any thing that came up on the screen.
After several frustrating days, I noticed a new category,
“stats” and when I turned to it was amazed to see a listing of all the places
Gramps Morning Thoughts have been hit. I
learned that over 60,000 hits have been made on the blogs since the first one
went out on May 11, 2011, 7,700 of them in foreign countries.
I close with the
question I began with- ‘Do We Sometimes Sell Ourselves Short”. If “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13), then each one reading this epistle has the
power to be a mighty witness for the Lord.
I believe with all my heart when we stand before the Lord He will ask
“What did you do with My Son Yeshua?
Blessings,
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