“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”  (Eccl 9:10)

In his book, Tallyho, the Fox!, author Herb Hodges quotes Myles Munroe in a comment on potential.  This is a great and a must read for all who would succeed. . .

“The wealthiest spot on this planet is not the old fields of Kuwait, Iraq or Saudi Arabia.  Neither is it the gold and diamond mines  of South Africa, the uranium mines of the Soviet Union or the silver mines of Africa.  Though it may surprise you, the richest deposits on our planet lie just a few blocks from your house.  They rest in your local cemetery or graveyard.  Buried beneath the soil there are dreams that never came to pass, songs that were never sung, books that were never written, paintings that never filled a canvas, ideas that were never shared, visions that never became reality, inventions that were never designed, plans that never went beyond the drawing board of the mind and purposes that were never fulfilled.  Our graveyards are filled with massive volumes of potential that remained potential.”

“Potential demands that you never settle for what you have accomplished.  One of the great enemies of your potential is success.  Small successes destroy great possibilities!  In order to realize your full potential, you must never be satisfied with your last accomplishment.  It is also important that you never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.  The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but a life that never realized its full potential.”

Let’s ALL live up to our potential!

Where is the power of the modern-day church?  Why are souls not being saved?  Why are churches being splintered by pettiness and carnality?  Could it be that the majority of professing believers have never truly been born again?

The day in which we live is a day when conviction has been replaced by pragmatism.  Biblical truths have been exchanged for societal fables (cf. II Timothy 4:4).  Conversions have been declared, even when there has been no conviction.  The demand for conviction does not counteract the fact that salvation is by faith alone.  However, why would a person place their trust in Christ, without being convicted that they were wrong in their prior belief?  Thus, saving faith is always preceded by conviction.  As someone has said, without conviction. . .there is no conversion.

When genuine conversion takes place, there will be evidence of that conversion.  There will be a changed life (II Corinthians 5:17).  Yet, so many today claim to have trusted Christ, and there is no changing of their lives.  There is no forsaking of known sin, there is no desire to walk with God, there is no hunger for the things of God.  Such a profession is foreign to genuine, biblical conversion.  A.W. Tozer, in his book The Pursuit of God, summarizes this issues very well.  He writes. . .

The doctrine of justification by faith–a Biblical truth, and a blessed relief from sterile legalism and unavailing self-effort–has in our time fallen into evil company and been interpreted by many in such manner as actually to bar men from the knowledge of God.  The whole transaction of religious conversion has been made mechanical and spiritless.  Faith may now be exercised without a jar to the moral life and without embarrassment to the Adamic ego.  Christ may be “received” without creating any special love for Him in the soul of the receiver.  The man is “saved,” but he is not hungry nor thirsty after God.  In fact he is specifically taught to be satisfied and encouraged to be content with little.

How tragic and true!  May our churches return to preaching the Gospel that convicts and coverts a man!

The following poem was authored by Greg Locke. Brother Locke was a full-time evangelist for ten years. Approximately two years ago he planted the Global Vision Baptist Church in Nashville, TN.

Troubles

My troubles have come,
My troubles have gone,
And more trouble is on the way.
One thing’s for sure,
My troubles endure,
For my trouble will meet me today.
So often I’ve tried,
Just simply to hide;
My face from it’s long gazing stare.
Yet, running my best,
From the East to the West,
I find that my troubles still there.
From dusk until dawn,
My troubles roll on,
And it seems that my troubles won’t end.
But, then as I look,
In the Word of God’s Book;
I find there,
That troubles’ my friend.

Evangelist Greg Locke
©2006

The following article is one written by Dr. J. Don Jennings, an excellent expositor of the Word of God.  Dr. Jennings shared these thoughts as he recently meditated on Hebrews 11:21.  They are truly challenging thoughts.

Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph

How to Die

“By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”  (Hebrews 11:21)

Jacob may not be the best example in the Hall of Faith as to how to live the perfect life of faith. However, he shows us the strength of faith at the time of death.

“By faith Jacob”
In mentioning Jacob the Holy Spirit selects a small fragment of this man’s life with which to illustrate his faith in God.   As with all the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, not all that transpired in their lives is recorded. We could say that Hebrews eleven is the chapter of “Honorable Mentions.” Just to be mentioned is an honor!

Although Jacob was in many ways the most illustrious of the Patriarchs, and the one who received from God the name “Israel”, he was, in some respects, the least attractive representative of one of God’s heroes of faith. Jacob was inconsistent in his walk with God, and perhaps, more than the other Patriarchs, shows that God is a God of grace.

Jacob was an up and down individual. Sometimes he walked by faith and sometimes he walked by sight – just like us. In spite of Jacob’s failings the principle of faith was constantly at work in His life. Faith is essential to our salvation and spiritual progress even if it be but a ”mustard” seed” faith. (Matthew 17:20) At no time in Jacob’s life was this more evident than at the end of his life.

“When he was a dying”
The threat of death has a powerful way of clarifying the mind. To the sensitive soul the incidental fades into insignificance, the essential looms large; the temporal is less important, the eternal all important.

The valley of death is a crucible that tests faith. The process of dying brings an awareness that only truth matters unless the dying one has been greatly deluded. In the face of death self-deception is forced to (more…)