"How to Get What You Want... and Want What You Get!"

I have been reading a very excellent book by Willard Tate. It's contents outline: "12 Steps to Christian Living at Its Best." I want to share a couple of excerpts that I particularly enjoyed.

"The Disciple's Charge"

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I am finished. I'm done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving, or dwarf goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, platitudes, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by presence, lean by faith, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my God reliable, my mission clear.

I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, meander in the maze of mediocrity!

I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me--my colors will be clear!
--(Author unknown)

What a great message that is! I pray we can all have that determination for Jesus! Here is another great story I want to share...

"A Request of Mr. Lincoln"

During the Civil War, despite his busy schedule, Abraham Lincoln would occasionally take time to visit hospitals and cheer up the wounded soldiers. One time he came to the bed of a young soldier who was near death, and Lincoln said, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The soldier, not realizing whom he was talking to, said, "Yes, there is. Would you please write a letter to my mother?"

So Lincoln sat down and wrote as the young man dictated. The letter read, "Dearest Mom, I was badly hurt while doing my duty, and I'll not recover. Don't sorrow too much for me. May God bless you and father. Please kiss Mary and John for me."

At that point the soldier grew so weak that he couldn't continue or even sign his name, so Lincoln finished the letter with this: "Written for your son at his request by Abraham Lincoln." And as he was going to put it in the envelope, the young man recovered enough to say, "May I see the letter? I'd like to read it once before you send it." When he got to the bottom and saw Lincoln's name, he was shocked. "Are you really the President?" he said.

Lincoln smiled and said simply, "Yes, I am. Is there anything more I can do for you?"

The soldier answered feebly, "Yes, Mr. President, would you mind holding my hand and seeing me through to the end?"

And so Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States and certainly one of the greatest ever, took the soldier's hand and held it all through the night until finally, as the dawn began to break, the young man's grip weakened and he died.

As we go through life, and then as we draw near to those chilling waters of death, Jesus will be there beside us, and He'll say, "Is there anything I can do for you?" And if we'll just ask, we'll get the best He has to offer, including His hand on ours as we finally cross over to heaven.

What great comfort Jesus is in our lives! I would like to share some quotes that I found really great...

"...Enjoying life--getting the most out of it you can--is not the most important thing. What is? Being rightly related to God through a personal, saving relationship with Jesus Christ in accordance with the Scriptures."

Chapter 1: Decide What You Want

"The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"In a sense, you see, it doesn't matter who Jesus is if we don't want Him. If we choose a life of independence from God, knowing the truth about Him won't help us."

A Mission for Life

"Yes, you can get a lot of money if that's what you really want and you're willing to pay the price. But in deciding what you want in life, make sure your choice is one worthy of your efforts, one that will bring you true happiness and no bitterness with it. I'm not saying you can't be well off and happy, but make sure money and things and ambition don't possess you. By themselves, they won't ever produce a satisfying life."

Golden Goals

"God made us to be goal-seeking creatures."

"...Life's mission around which all of our goals must revolve is to glorify God if we are to enjoy a fulfilled, abundant life."

Reaching Your Goals

"Whatever our goals, as Christians we want to commit them to God and pray for His wisdom and power so that, when achieved, they will help us to honor and glorify Him."

" I was like the old boy who said, "I had never seen an English teacher, and now I are one!"-- Ha! That one is just funny!

Chapter 2: Be Willing to Pay the Price

"Nothing of a worthwhile, durable nature in the world has been produced without sweat."
- Herbert Lockyer

Willing to Work

"The tougher we are on ourselves, the easier life becomes. The easier we are on ourselves, the tougher life becomes."

The Value of Work

"If you never do more than you get paid for, you will never get paid for more than you do."

Chapter 3: Ask for It

"If you are reluctant to ask the way, you will be lost."
- Malay proverb

Truths About Asking

"Receiving begins by asking."

Why We Don't Ask

"...You've got to learn to fail in order to succeed."

"You usually get what you expect."

"...It's the wise person who asks for help, not the weak person. When help is available and we need it and we refuse to ask for it, that's not strong but stupid. ...Such thinking is just plain un-Christian, because faith is based on admitting we're weak and sinful and in need of a Savior."

Chapter 4: Get Excited

"The simplest man, fired with enthusiasm, is more persuasive than the most eloquent without it."
-Rochefoucauld

"Without realizing it, many of us have got the brakes on our lives today. We may have some ambitions that put one foot on the accelerator, but we've got the other foot jammed on the brake of our emotions and enthusiasm."

"Make up your mind that nobody's going to hand you an exciting career, an exciting marriage, or an exciting life. If you want those things, you have to generate and maintain some enthusiasm yourself."

The Excitement Boomerang

"Whatever you get excited about--gets excited about you."

Staying Excited

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

Chapter 5: Expect to Get It

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow."
- O.S. Marden

"Whatever the mind harbors, the body manifests."

The Power of Choice

"It is not the things that happen to us that make or break us. It is our mental reaction to those things that counts."

A Living Hope

"If we have hope, all things are possible, no matter what our circumstances."

"We who belong to Christ need never be without hope."

Chapter 6: Don't Demand

"The Christian understanding of power is that it is found most often in weakness."
- Charles Colson

Why We Do It

"Don't confuse privileges with rights."

No Way to Be Happy

"When you demand what you want, you're not going to be happy, even if you get it."

The Futility of Trying to Control

"The fact is that even when your needs are legitimate, people will disappoint and hurt you. Trying to control them is a sure route to unhappiness."

"Some will accept you, and some will reject you. You just can't depend on people every time, even when you have real needs. So trying to control them is a futile way to try to be happy. A better way is to realize that we can depend on God and His love."

Antidotes to Demanding

"As soon as we turn our preferences into needs, happiness walks out the front door."

"If there's no joy in your life, what appeal is there to a nonbeliever?"

"It's a good idea, too, to make a list of all the things you have to be thankful for, then carry the list around with you and review it every once in a while. Make a special point of looking it over whenever you start to feel down about some unfulfilled desire."

Jesus' Example

"...The most important approach to overcoming the tendency to demand is to adopt the submissive attitude modeled by Jesus Christ."

"...A life of submissiveness is the way you get the most that's gettable and enjoy what you're getting. Demanding what you want isn't the way."

"There's a quiet power in living a Christlike life. The French emperor Napoleon observed that he, Alexander the Great, Caesar, and Charlemagne had all founded empires based on force. Jesus, however, founded His kingdom on love and humility. Today there are millions who have committed their lives to Jesus and would probably die for Him. How many would die for Napoleon or Caesar? So which is the great power?"

"...If we understand who we are--children of God who will one day go to spend eternity with Him--what our great purpose is--to take as many others as possible with us to heaven--and that we have different standard--the words and example of our Savior--we'll be ready to live as He lived and we will overflow with joy."