Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Impossible is Possible, Part 3

Thanks for joining me again today as we continue our series of evotionals on the thought “The impossible is possible.”

Today I want to build our thoughts around one of the most indispensable components necessary to achieve the impossible, PERSEVERANCE. One of the best definitions of success I’ve ever heard came from a man named Vernon Sanders. He said, “Success consists of simply getting up just one more time than you have fallen down.” He’s right. Failure must be framed properly in the mind so that it does not scare or debilitate you from future attempts. Failure must be seen as a bridge not a barricade, to success. I love Psalm 37:23-24, it says “When a man walks with God, though he may stumble at times, he is never down for long.”(Message) Failure is proof you are not finished, it may look like a fact but it’s really only an opinion. It’s not how far you fall but how high you bounce back that really matters and makes the difference.

Theodore Roosevelt once challenged a young man who was fearful about a risk he was about to take with this immortal quote, “If you try to do something big and fail, you are vastly better off than if you had never tried to do anything and succeeded.” I have hid these words in my heart and remind myself of them often.

Beginning in January I am launching a new sermon series here at CCA with this title “ENGAGE- RELEASING YOUR GOD-GIVEN POTENTIAL. My spirit is being prepped and my faith seems to be high as I think about the future of our church and the vision that He has called us to. I know there are plenty of difficult days and steep obstacles that stand in the way of the dream God has for us but what gives my heart an infusion of “SPIRITUAL ADRENALINE” is the fact I know it is God’s dream for us and not simply a good idea. Because of this, I am ready for the fight.

The death of a dream never happens because of a failure, dreams die because of indifference and apathy. I heard Ed Cole once say, “You don’t drown because you fall in the water, you drown by staying there.” The best way to go on after a failure is to simply learn the lesson and forget the details. There are a thousand things I wish I could go back and do differently but I can’t and truthfully those negative experiences have served a tremendous purpose in my life. I have missed it before and feel quite confident that I’ll miss it again but I have resolved to never stop pulling the trigger. I don’t have a problem reaching for more bullets.

How about you? Where are you? What is it God has called you to do? What dream does God have for you? Don’t allow indifference, apathy or fear victimize your destiny. The only way to comeback is to go on. A wise old business man once told me something I’ve never forgotten so let me pass it on to you. He said, “ Remember your life is like a tea bag, it’s not worth very much until it’s been through some hot water.” I’m finding that to be true. I pray for you the power to persevere and release your God-given potential so until next week, remember if God is for you who can be against you?

God bless and Merry Christmas.

All for Christ, J.Mark

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