Press On

Not everything can be with it, however, little can be done without it. Persistence that is. Nothing can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. Press on.

Exhibit A of the product of persistence is the Republican Vice President candidate James David Vance, J. D. for short.

Vance has held public office for less than two years. Vance served in the Marine Corps in the Iraq War. He graduated from Ohio U and Yale law school. He worked as a lawyer and venture capitalist.

In 2016, his memoir, “Hillbilly, Elegy” became a New York Times best seller and was eventually adapted into a feature film directed by Ron Howard, with Gabriel Basso playing J. D. Vance.

Growing up turbulence was common at home and at school. His grandmother, called Mamaw, was his saving grace. She reared him with tough love and discipline that kept him on the straight and narrow. A “blue dog” Democrat, she owned 19 handguns and nurtured a deep Christian faith in herself and her family. She negotiated with “Meals on Wheels” staffers for enough food to feed both of them.

Those are but of the many events that could have held him captive to poverty, lethargy, and a poor work ethic. These negatives did not lead him into cultural and economic bondage. They were compensated for by his persistence, his drive to press on.

A code of ethics can be designed by the following text, all of which are in a Modern English version. Don’t let your mind stumble over these ageless gems.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous…” (Psalm 1: 1, 2).

Meditate on this explanation of why God created you… think about it.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2: 10).

J.D. Vance is a classic example of what can be done if you only press on.

On No Longer Being a Human Being

Former Georgia Governor Lester Maddox was known as an avowed racist. When I spoke at his funeral I said he was not a human being – – – he was a human becoming. By this I meant it was not that at a point in his life he reached a state of arrested growth beyond which he did not change. He grew beyond it and became a new man with new ideals and aspirations. In that sense he became a human becoming, a new man. He included in his administration more blacks than any governor before him.

Are you a human becoming, developing in your faith and Christian life, or have you reached a point of arrested spiritual development? Many people did so long ago and became spiritually stagnant.

Believers are under the mandate to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ… Amen” (II Peter 3:18).

Two distinct areas are noted, which are grace and knowledge.

You can’t grow grace, but you can grow in grace. God’s grace is boundless. It can’t be increased, but in the sphere of grace you can grow. It is not the grace that grows, it is the believer who lives in grace that must grow. How? Knowledge is the means of growth. Therefore, it is imperative that the believer study to show self approved in knowledge. It is knowledge of Jesus that is to be gained not minutiae that feeds a sense of curiosity, but does nothing to aid spiritual growth. If a person is intrigued by insignificant Bible issues that should be a separate study. Many Christians are so spiritually lazy they don’t devote themselves to a regimented study of God’s word.

Christian growth is not just garnering information, it is dependent on growing by exercising. It comes by being a doer of the word not a hearer only. It is a human becoming more like the Lord.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12).

“For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe” (Hebrews 5:13).

Time spent growing in knowledge is essential “…that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Colossians 1:9-10).

There it is again the necessity of increasing in knowledge.

Ephesians 4:22-24 gives guidelines as to how to grow spiritually, “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Resolve today to grow as a human becoming.

Our Promise Keeping God

The Bible is a book of promises. They represent the good will of God and serve as the anchor of His will.

The difference in a promise by God and one made by a person are defined for us in Numbers 23:19, saying: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Yes will!

Promises are “irreversible obligations and declarations of God, which He has freely made. Edward Leigh says the promises are the grounds of our hope, the objects of our faith, and the rule of prayer.” Indeed they are. Whether espousing good or condemning evil they embody His will. If He says to do something it is good for us to do it. If He says not to do something is for our good not to do it.

There are absolute promises and there are conditional promises. There are absolute promises that make known a certain and sovereign purpose, while conditional promises reveal what God will do if the fulfillment of those promises glorifies Him and is best for His people. We might say that with absolute promises we are passive recipients of God’s sovereign pleasure, while with conditional promises something is first required of us. If we fail to meet this requirement, we may lose much spiritual comfort.

Absolute promises, such as God’s sending His Son into the world, have no condition annexed to the performance of them, while conditional promises, such as the promise that he who believes shall be saved, require some condition to be met by the Christian before the promise is fulfilled.

Avoid self-deception. Don’t be fooled into thinking you cannot forfeit  promises. God is faithful always, but we can of our own free will walk away from Him. Live mindful of the fact, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1: 1 – 3).

With every promise of great blessing, there comes also a responsibility and requirement for us. What God has promised we have a responsibility to perform. You can be confident God will keep His promise if we perform our responsibility.

God’s promises are based upon an “if, then” condition. His word always says that “if” we will do our part and remain obedient and faithful, “then” God can send the promised blessings to us.

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10: 23). As He is faithful so must we be.

Colorful Speech

Take this lighthearted break and enjoy a brief break from life’s load.

Coaches are aces at using colorful speech. These comments by former coaches illustrate this.

“Son, you got a good engine, but your hands aren’t on the steering wheel.” Bobby Bowden

“Line up by height alphabetically.” Bill Peterson

“Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football.” John Heisman

“If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, ‘Roll Tide, roll!” Bear Bryant

“If lessons are learned in defeat, our team is getting a good education.” Murray Warmath

“We didn’t tackle well today, but we made up for it by not blocking.” John McKay

“I’ve found that prayer works best when you have big players.” Knute Rockney

When asked if Fayetteville was the end of the world. “No, but you can see it from there.” Lou Holtz

“Lads you are not to miss practice unless your parents or you died.” Frank Leahy

“I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there two terms – Truman’s and Eisenhower’s.” Alex Karras

“They cut us up like a boarding house pie, And that’s real small pieces.” Darrell Royal

“The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.” Tom Landry

“I celebrate a victory when I start walking off the field. By the time I get to the locker room, I’m done.” Tom Osborne

“A metaphor is one thing conceived as representing another; a symbol.” They are often colorful speech. The Bible is full of metaphors, such as, the bread of life, the light of the world, the vine, and the door. All of these illustrate a characteristic metaphorically.

The Old Testament is littered with them, none more peculiar than these two.

“As a ring of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a lovely woman who lacks discretion” (Proverbs 11: 22).

“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25: 19).

Few Bible passages have a grouping of more metaphors that Psalm 18: 2. Read them and meditate on each. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold” (Psalm 18: 2).

What to Do When Frustrated – Part Four

There are certain things we need to do regarding frustration. Do – – – .

* Respond constructively. Let it stimulate positive change. Let a positive response to it make it work for you.

* Rely on the Lord. “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in the time of trouble” (Psalms 9:9).

To the oppressed, refuge is offered.  There are many oppressed in our land. You are on occasion oppressed by circumstances or people. All of us are.

We are a generation that has been taught to demand its rights. No race of any generation has been so committed to demanding rights. “Let each esteem others better than themselves” (Phil. 2:3).

“In honor preferring one another” (Romans 12:10).

Can you imagine Christ demanding His rights? “Here Peter, you take this towel and bowl and wash my feet. That’s your job – not mine.”

* Resort to prayer. “Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you” (Psalms 55:22).

You can express frustrations to the Lord. He cares for you.

Wait on the Lord. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the brilliant Russian literary genius, was imprisoned in a horrible Siberian camp because of his religious and political views.

Consider the emotional, cultural, financial, or educational prison in which you might presently be. He had no contact with the outside world and was subjected to strenuous work under adverse conditions.

His frustration drove him to consider suicide, but his faith wouldn’t allow it.  In that frustrated state Solzhenitsyn contrive a plan. “I will run in an attempt to escape. They will shoot me, but it will not be suicide.”

Frustration had driven him to the brink of self-destruction.

Just as he was about to spring up and run, another prisoner whom he had not seen before came and stood in front of him. Of this one Solzhenitsyn said, “He looked into my eyes as though he could read my thoughts.”

These prisoners were not even allowed to speak, so no words of encouragement were forthcoming.  Then, with a stick, as though doodling, the unknown old prisoner drew a cross in the dirt and walked away.

Solzhenitsyn said, “I knew he was a messenger from God and that what I was doing was wrong. I settled down to trust God.”

It was a moment of unqualified trust. Little did he know at the moment that the impossible was about to happen. Within a few days he was a free man in Switzerland, having been miraculously released unexpectedly.

By not waiting on the Lord you may be about to prevent Him from doing a great and mighty work in your life. “Wait on the Lord, run not before Him.”