Skip to main content

"Every beginning ends something. Every ending begins something new."


A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2013-10-08) from his book, Sometimes You Win--Sometimes You Learn:Life's Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses (p. 180). Center Street. Kindle Edition.

Have you ever read the book of Acts in the Bible?  The book starts with Jesus leaving and going to heaven and how troubling it was for His followers but He had done what He was here to do and He had to end His stay so the work of the Holy Spirit could begin.  What would have happened if Jesus said, “I don’t want to leave”?  “I still have work to do.”  Then we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to reap the benefit of His coming.  For His work to continue, He had to leave it to His followers through the Holy Spirit to continue it.

I had to leave my position of being a Pastor to begin the privilege of becoming a writer.  Something had to end for something to begin.

John shared that “Poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson had an insightful take on this. He asserted, ‘For everything we gain we lose something.’ We like gaining, but we don’t like losing. We want to have the one without the other. But life doesn’t work that way.”  He also said, “We are continually making trades in life. Unfortunately, if you resist change, you are trading your potential to grow for your comfort. No change means no growth.”

Have you found that true yet in your life?  I sold my car so that I would have to walk.  We had worked hard for those two cars but the one was getting in the way of my desire to not be an invalid as an older person.  I needed to get out and walk.  That change forced me to walk.

What change do you need in your life?  I remember the day I quit using my typewriter and got my first computer.  I remember the day I signed up for Juno and the Internet which is now my avenue of ministry.  It is also a great way to connect with friends and family all over the world.  I can see the latest picture of my granddaughters every day.  My life is so exciting because I have constantly looked at the opportunity for new things.  But what if I hadn’t changed?

I am called to be an evangelist.  My dad was an evangelist and we traveled all over the US and Canada holding revivals in churches but in my day I was a Church Planter.  That was how I initially reached out to people who didn’t know Christ now I use the Internet.  The calling is the same but the method changes.  But we don’t want to change.  We want to be comfortable.

What is it that you need to change?  Are you fighting it?  Are you too comfortable? 

So what are you going to do?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Sometimes we think we’re stuck simply because things are hard.”

A thought by Matt Perman, from his book, How to Get Unstuck (p. 52). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the That is a possible trap for many, isn’t it? Matt says, “But if you’re continuing to make progress and aren’t experiencing huge snags, you’re not stuck. Rather, you’re in a dip. “A dip is a temporary hard slog that you will get through if you keep pushing and don’t give up. And pushing through the hard slog is actually the fastest route to the destination. In these cases, you will be especially tempted to bail. Be discerning and able to identify that you’re in a legitimate dip and you’re not a failure.” Matt says another trap to be careful of, “Some people are stuck and don’t know it.” He goes on, “Everything can be going your way, going smoothly, and going quickly. Everything feels and seems wonderful. Yet... you are still headed toward a dead end, a form of getting stuck, if you are leaving God out of t...
Post a Comment
Read more