NEVER A QUITTER

By Richard De Haan

Be steadfast . . . in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain. —1 Corinthians 15:58

A preacher who was growing weary in the ministry had a dream. He saw himself pounding away at a huge chunk of granite with a pick-axe. It was his job to break it into small pieces. But hard as he tried, he couldn’t chip off even a tiny piece. At last, tired and disappointed, he decided to give up.

Just then a stranger appeared and said, “Weren’t you given orders to do that work? Your duty is to give your best regardless of what happens.” The preacher, with a renewed determination, lifted the pick-axe high in the air and gave the granite a crushing blow. It broke into a thousand pieces. He had almost quit—one blow too soon.

The Lord wants us to keep working at our God-given task no matter how difficult it might be. Even when success seems remote or impossible, we are to remain steadfast, assured that there will be an ample reward for those who persevere.

Have you grown tired in your service for God? Have you become so discouraged that you’re tempted to “throw in the towel”? Remember that preacher’s dream. Better still, remember God’s promise spoken by Paul: “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9).

The service that we give to Christ,
If steadfast we will be,
Is sure to reap a rich reward
That someday we will see. —Sper

Failure is not defeat unless you stop trying.

 

Devotional forwarded to you by:

UP CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT

NCCP Ecumenical Ministry – Church of the Risen Lord

University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, QC

 

WHEN JESUS GRIEVED

By Dennis J. De Haan   

[Jesus] was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. —Matthew 14:14

Many years ago, a back-country woman in Florida received news that her son had been killed in the war. Shortly thereafter, she was seen hoeing in her garden.

“It just isn’t fitting,” chided a neighbor who thought it was inappropriate to be gardening instead of grieving.

“Friend,” said Effie Mae, “I know you mean well, but Jim rejoiced to see green things growing because it meant that his mother and the young ones would be eating. This is his hoe, and when I’m hoeing I can almost feel his big, strong hands under mine and hear his voice saying, ‘That’s good, Mom, that’s good.’ Working is the only headstone I can give him.”

Jesus also suffered the pain of grief when He was told of the death of John the Baptist, but it didn’t deter Him from His work. After a brief period of solitude (Matt. 14:13), His great compassion led Him to heal the sick and to feed the multitude of 5,000.

Is your heart broken today? Does life seem empty? Do you feel like giving up? There is hope in the Master’s example. Take up whatever duties lie before you. Dedicate them to God. Refuse the luxury of self-pity. Do something to lift the burdens of others. Remember how Jesus handled His sorrow; He’ll strengthen you to do the same.

There is a destiny that makes us brothers:
None goes his way alone;
All that we send into the lives of others
Comes back into our own. —Markham

To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own. —Lincoln

 

Devotional forwarded to you by:

UP CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT

NCCP Ecumenical Ministry – Church of the Risen Lord

University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, QC

TRUST IN TIMES OF TRIAL

 

by Chip Hale

 

“I will exalt you, O Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O Lord my God, I call to you for help

and you healed me.

O Lord, you brought me up from the grave;

you spared me from going down into the pit.

 

Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;

praise his holy name.

For his anger lasts only a moment,

but his favor lasts a lifetime;

weeping may remain for a night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.”

 

Psalm 30:1-4

 

In ancient Greek mythology, Atlas was condemned to carry the weight of the heavens on his shoulders.  He is always pictured bowed under the pressure of this huge task.  Many of us feel as though we are Atlas.  Our backs are bowed with heavy burdens, and we see no way out of this interminable pose.  But we must remember that we are not God – only God is God.

Jesus went into the desert to face the devil’s temptation.  The Greek verb tempt means “to try” or “to test”.  Testing may bring out our goodness and faithfulness.  But testing sometimes ends in disaster.  As we make our choices, we must come to rely on God very closely in times of testing.

The psalmist celebrates that God “brought up my soul from Sheol” and “restored me to life.”  This was a milestone in his life.  God wants us to rely on the Divine.  This psalm, a song of praise, carries a very important meaning.  It says something quite profound about our relationship with God and God’s relationship with us.  It says that life – all of life, even life at its worst – is a good gift of God.  Suffering does not necessarily mean God is absent.  Temptation does not mean God has abandoned us.  And our lives, no matter what our circumstance, are in God’s good hands.

The psalmist affirms that all who are alive, in whatever circumstances, are called to the holy tasks of prayer and praise.  We, as God’s children, can do no other.

 

 

Devotional forwarded to you by:

UP CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT

NCCP Ecumenical Ministry of the Church of the Risen Lord

University of the Philippines, Diliman Campus, QC

Considering Quitting?

by Charles R. Swindoll

“Come to Me, all who are weary 
and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest . . . 
for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28, 30

Every achievement worth remembering is stained with the blood of diligence and scarred by the wounds of disappointment. 

To quit, to run, to escape, to hide—none of these options solve anything. They only postpone the acceptance of, and reckoning with, reality.

Churchill put it well: “Wars are not won by evacuations.” . . .

Giving thought to giving up?

Considering the possibility of quitting? . . .

Don’t! . . . The only time the Lord ever used the word “easy” was when He referred to a yoke.

 

forwarded to you by UP CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT, NCCP-CRL Ecumenical Ministry

University of the Philippines, Diliman, QC, Pastor Bart B. Kimwell

A Proper Perspective

by Charles R. Swindoll

“So then, none of you can be My disciple 
who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Luke 14:33

Jesus’ words are neither complicated nor vague. He simply says, “If you are going to call yourself one of My disciples, you must release your grip on materialism.” 

To keep all this in proper perspective, think of it this way. He is not saying that we cannot possess anything, but things must not be allowed to possess us. To use His words, we must “give up” our possessions.

Corrie ten Boom, that saintly lady who endured such brutality from the Nazis in Ravensbruck during World War II, once said that she had learned to hold everything loosely in her hand. 

She said she discovered, in her years of walking with Him, that when she grasped things tightly, it would hurt when the Lord would have to pry her fingers loose. 

Disciples hold all “things” loosely.

Do you? Can you think of anything that has a tap root to your heart?  Let go! Give it up to Him!  Yes, it may be painful . . . but how essential!

forwarded to you by the UP CHRISTIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT, NCCP-CRL Ecumenical Ministry, University of the Philippines.

pastor bart b. kimwell