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~Our Thought For This Week ~ 2 Timothy 2:3 "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
The Tranters....... Herman & Audrey
Evangelists For Christ
Romans 8:38-39
URL: www.evg-tranter.org |
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Grit, Not Glamour! 1 Peter 1:13
“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Today there seems to be greater emphasis on the glamour of achievement than the grittiness of it. Jamie Clark writes about the grit that's required in preparing to climb Mount Everest: "In order to get yourself up for the climb, you spend several hours a day walking on a treadmill with a heavy back-pack. You look goofy, you smell. It's an ugly scene. That's always true. The road to success is not pretty." The winners in life know this and it doesn't alarm them. They understand the words of Peter, "Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled."
And Paul adds in 1 Corinthians 9:25 "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things…" Note the word "stiveth". If you're not strict with yourself you won't make it. The prize is great, but the process can be grueling. Gratification and achievement are usually postponed for a long time. The disciplined person doesn't pursue ways that are likely to make him or her popular. It's only after the season of discipline is over and the payoff comes, that the world offers applause.
The runner, the wrestler, the swimmer all push their bodies to heightened levels of performance by demanding of themselves longer, faster, and stronger episodes of physical output. They don't stop simply because there's a feeling of fatigue or even pain. They understand that these are mental barriers that must be overcome. They insist that their bodies behave in accordance with their commitment, not their comfort level. And the same is true of the follower of Christ who responds to a call from Heaven to undertake a great task.
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~Spiritual Nuggets~
~~~ If you expect to SOAR with eagles during the day, you can't hoot with the owls at night. ~~~
~~~ 2 Corinthians 6:17 ~~~
"Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,"
Evangelist Herman Tranter |
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~POINTS TO PONDER~
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*** The pen is MIGHTIER than the sword! ***
Hebrews 4:12
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
{Evangelist Herman Tranter - Gospel Knight} |
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Who Lifts You? Who Do You Lift?
Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ”.
A few years ago at the Special Olympics, the competitors lined up to run the 100-metre sprint. Everyone took off, but one of the runners fell and began to cry. Suddenly all the others stopped, came back, helped him up, then locked arms and walked across the finish line together. It was an unforgettable moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the stadium.
Now, nothing like that is going to happen in the regular Olympics. Some years ago a sports magazine carried the photo of a famous woman runner, holding her leg in agony after falling on the track as the others raced past her. What made the Special Olympic runners come back for their friend who'd fallen? Perhaps they realized that they all had weaknesses, and they knew it could have been any one of them lying there on the track, so they reached out to him. In a very real sense all the runners won the race that day. If the runners in the regular Olympics had gone back to the woman who fell, helped her up, then crossed the finish line together, they may not have won individual medals. But it's safe to say that they would have grown as human beings that day.
God is more interested in our growth than in the medals we win for ourselves. Are you getting the idea? We only grow in grace as we run together, stopping to lift and encourage each other along the way, and finish victoriously together. That's why you need to be connected to, and committed to a local, Christ-centered church.
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