Nice Job!

"Nice job!" 

-Anonymous

Don't those words usually give you an indescribable boost of courage, energy and purpose? Especially when your name is after them?

Those words come as a result of Doing the Right Things. (DRTs)

How do you know what the right things are?

As a Christian, the right things are found in an awesome book called the Bible.

The story of Paul and Timothy is an incredible story that I've been meditating on recently. 

It shows how by having a strong case of DRTs, you can earn special honor.
The story illustrates that Timothy does the right things, and as a result Paul gives him special honor.

Background:
Paul tells the Philippians that he trusts in Jesus to send this young guy named Tim to see them.
Why?
-So Paul will be of good comfort, when he hears about them.
-Because he doesn't know of anyone besides Tim who is as likeminded as him.
-Tim is the one who will best care for the Philippians.

But the coolest thing about it is that Tim actually earned that respect from Mr. Paul.

It's amazing to see how Paul gives a Christian endorsement of Timothy to all the Philippians, basically saying:
"Tim is the man. He can lead you all."
"This guy has a track record that we can trust."
"His history, of serving with me, not just any serving,
but serving with me in the gospel, is proof of that."
"You know how I know? He humbled himself, we worked together, and learned from my example."

"But ye know the proof of him, 

that, as a son with the father, 

he hath served with me in the gospel."

Paul's letter to the Philippians, speaking about Timotheus

(Phil 2:22)

What an honor to be mentioned by Paul, essentially as his "main man" !

Question:
Wouldn't it be a WAY greater honor to be praised like that by God?
As he looks at you and says:
"Hey [Insert your name here],
Nice job!
I have no one like that is serving in the gospel like you. Keep up the good work! Well done, my good and faithful servant."

"Nice job, [you]!"

Sorry for the late post, (Out of state travel is my reason)
God bless you all this week,
Your brother in Christ,
Landon

Who You REALLY Are

"We should live a life so that we wouldn't be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip."
-Ray Comfort; In sermon Subtle Doctrines of the Devil

I just heard that quote by Mr. Comfort last week, and it reminded me of what Mr. Scott Brown said:

"Who you are at HOME,
is who you REALLY are."
-Scott Brown.

To understand the full context of the quote, listen to this:
(Recommendation of the Week How Young people in the Church should Interact, semonaudio.com) thanks Dan Romanowitz for the referral! :)

God certainly used that quote and sermon to convict me real good!

Examining myself:
I had to ask myself these things (and you can do a little EXERCISE either mentally or physically and just insert your name too) :
Q. "[Landon], how do you treat your family when no one else is around?"
A. Could be better!
Q. "And how do you treat those outside your family?"
A. Quite a bit nicer than my family a lot of times! (More patient, gentle, joyful, giving, loving)
Q. Why?
A. I don't know. Maybe I just know them too well.
Q. What happens when you get to know that person so well, that they practically ARE part of your family? As in either a friendship like David and Jonathan, or getting married (in which case they literally ARE part of your family!).
A. Ah, good point. Never thought about that!

That doesn't mean we lower our standard outside of our home.
It means we RAISE it in our home!

I also heard this quote from one of the smartest business men I've ever met or known of:
"How you do ANYTHING,
is how you do EVERYTHING."
-Holton Buggs

What is the solution?
It was Dr. Bill Thrasher who said this very wisely in a sermon:
"We need to be one person,
WHEREVER we are."

And that person,
is an ambassador for Christ,
and in bonds for His gospel.

Christians are brothers and sisters...

So we really are all family!
That means the main thing is this: We ought to love one another.
And we're to do good unto all, but ESPECIALLY the household of faith. (Gal 6:10)

 What a privilege to serve together in one accord and bring honor to the God of the universe!

I'm so grateful He allows us to serve Him ANYWHERE in ANY state, at ANY TIME!
Whether out and about,
Or in our home.
Whether wide awake through the day,
Or sleepy going to bed.
Whether we're eating dinner,
Or drinking tea.
Whether clean in an office,
Or dirty from a day of outdoor work.
Whether on a mountain
or on the moon.

We each GET to do EVERYTHING for His glory.
Our God is an awesome God! =D

God bless you all this week!
Your bro in Christ,
Landon

"Whether therefore ye eat or drink, 

or whatever you do, 

do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Just Do It

"Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."

Joshua 1:9

Have you ever read that verse and wondered. "How do you all of a sudden just, 'Be strong'?
Or, "That sounds easy, but how do you simply gain 'good courage?'"

I heard Ray Comfort's advice on that.
I believe it's true, based on the scripture that he gave.
A good quote that summarizes his reasoning from scriptures was something like this

Courage isn't action without fear, 
But action in spite of it.

It was from his series that I've been working through here
Recommendation of the Week I believe it was Lesson 6, How to Witness and Preach Effectively. http://www.wayofthemaster.com/audiolessons.shtml

And here's the passage from scripture that he gave an example from.
This is how Paul felt when he started witnessing to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 2:1-4
The apostle Paul said that he came and preached the gospel with 4 things:
1. Not excellency of speech, wisdom or knowledge, b esides Jesus Christ and him crucified.
2.Weakness
3. Fear
4. MUCH trembling. (Not just any trembling, but MUCH trembling!)

So if you think you haven't been as STRONG and COURAGEOUS as you should have been,
Don't be disheartened, discouraged, and frustrated;
Let Paul's testimony convict, encourage, and inspire you,
To be strong and of a a good courage.
Why?
Because the Lord your God is with you WHEREVER you go.
And when you know that God wants you to do something, and when there's fear that shows up....
JUST DO IT.
For the glory of God. :)

Just do it.

God bless you all this week!
Your brother in Christ!
Landon

Bible or Breakfast?

"Be still, 

and know that I am God:

I will be exalted among the heathen,

I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10

You probably wouldn't pour good oil down the drain, right?
You probably wouldn't dump quality gourmet coffee in the grass, right?
You probably wouldn't throw 70 pounds of gold into the sea, right?
I've heard those are the top most traded commodities in the world.

But here's the crazy question: Would you throw time away?

By not being still, and reflecting on God, that's what you're doing.

It seems that a brand new Christian, when just figurign things out, asks questions like:
"What is restricted, as a Christian?"
Or, "What's off limits?"
Or "What should I not do?"
Or "What can I do?"
Or "What am I allowed to do?

Wanting to push the limits, and be as similar to the world as possible without crossing the line.
Can I go to this party, can I talk to this person, can I hang out, can I watch this movie, can I read that book, can I listen to this music.
Well, counsel, I definitely will say, is better that not asking at all!

But the cool part is that...
Eventually, from my observation of godly adults, it comes to a point where a mature Christian's decision making process is not as much
"What can I do?",
as...
 "What should I do?",
"What must I do?",
and "What is BEST to do?

One example of this, is the story of Mary, Martha, and Jesus. in Luke 10:38-4
"Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
The lesson from Jesus to Martha in that passage was essentially,

Learn to be still and know that I am God,
and place TOP PRIORITY on investing time in your relationship with Me.

Jesus said that to her, even though she was serving.
I find that amazing.
She was probably doing what most of us think that Christians are supposed to do, right?
But Jesus understood and explained something very important (mt 4:4)
"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeht out of the mouth of God."

Today, the way that we spend time with God, is through reading His Word, and prayer.

Make Time
So some may say, "I don't have time today to read the Bible."
Or "I don't have time to invest in learning about God."
Or "I don't have time to pray to God, more than just 'flare prayers'."
I have been guilty.
Guess what?
Jesus had 24 hours in His day.
Joshua and David had 24 hours.
But they learned to MAKE TIME.
I believe they actually learned to operate with less sleep.
David and Jesus both talk about waking up early.

Suggestions
Some principles that I've heard Ray Comfort talk about are these:
"No Bible, no breakfast."
"No read, no sleep."

And what I've done is at least adapted the second one.
So I don't go to bed without reading what I'm supposed to read in the Bible.
I'm working on the first one, "No Bible, no breakfast."
As well as a new one of  "No pray, no play."
Why? Because of this:

Spending time with Jesus,
Is an eternal investment that will not be taken away from us.

I meant for this to be my shortest post of all.
I was going to practice the VSS (Very short sentence) technique, and be done in about 10 minutes.
I guess that didn't happen. :)

God bless you all with grace and peace this week!
With the love of Christ,
Landon

Recommendation of the Week
Ray Comfort, Freedom from the Fear of Man. Look it up! It's incredible how God has used this sermon to inspire and teach me, through the wisdom and experience (particualrly in evangelism) of Mr. Comfort!

Which is more important, Bible or breakfast?

"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil" -Ephesians 5:16

Obituary

"LORD, 

make me to know mine end, 

and the measure of my days, what it is;

that I may know how frail I am."

Psalm 39:4

That verse is a powerful prayer to God. I read it last week and it really impacted me.

I went to a funeral yesterday, and then came back and read this verse again.
Now I think I understand that verse even more.
It helped me to realize my end is really not too far away,
whether I die tomorrow when I'm driving,
or whether I die when I'm 150.

It's all pretty short. And I realize a little bit more "how frail I am."


As I was sitting there for the service, I asked my self these questions:

Would you do anything different if ...
     You knew you had one year to live?
     What about one week?
     How about one day?

If so, what would you do?

I started to write some of those things out, and I encourage you to try it too.

Now I'm asking myself some more questions, when looking at this list:
     Why am I waiting to do this?
     When exactly will I do these things? (The more specific the more likely it is to happen.)

God has been teaching me to number my days a little bit better. (Ps 90:12)
So that I can do what?
Apply my heart unto wisdom.

I want to live today in a way such that those at my funeral are sad that I'm not with them,
but happy because they know that I'm with the Lord.

The ultimate statistic: 10 out of 10 people die.

If you were to die today, how would others remember you?

Were you more eager to criticize than to compliment?
Were you more likely to spread gossip than the gospel?
Were you more enthusiastic about self gratifying activities than service?
Were you more concerned about fame than fellowship?

Or would they say, 5 years from now, when your name is brought up:
"Oh, [Insert your name here]?
I remember [your name].
[your name] loved the Lord so much.
Even to a point of unpopularity and persecution.
[your name] just seemed to love others selflessly, as Christ loved Him.
[your name] definitely inspired and encouraged me to live a life that was all about glorifying God, and telling others about Him."

Lesson:
Live for Christ now.
And then to die is gain. :)

Challenge:
Write out what God would like to be on your obituary.

Recommendation of the Week
Mark Cahill, One Heartbeat Away
Just listened to that last week. Another great book by Mark Cahill. Very biblical and practical application of the great commission.
MarkCahill.org

Sorry I posted late! And thank you all for your patience.
God bless you guys this week. :)
Your bro in Christ,
Landon

"For to me to live is Christ,

and to die is gain."

Philippians 1:21