Post 46--:
Introducing Rick Warren
You may enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has with his wife now having cancer and his having 'wealth' from book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
Someone sent me this interview and I pass it on to you not because Warren has the last word on wealth. I would probably use it for some other or additional purposes, less oriented to church, more to the world. But that's OK. Here is another concrete example of NOT using your wealth for your own purposes, to invest in the good of your neighbour.
The Purpose of Life
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body -- but not the end of me I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity....
Life: Hills and Valleys?
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
Life: Railway Tracks
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life..
The Strengthening Focus
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her - It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
Dealing with the Good and the Bad
You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
What He Did with His Wealth
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.
Self-Examination
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..
If you do not pass it on, nothing will happen. That's a switch!!
God's Blessings
HE ARRIVED THIS MORNING, WE HAD PRAYER;
SPENT SOME TIME JUST TALKING, AND HE HELD ME FOR AWHILE BECAUSE I WAS HAVING A BAD MORNING. THEN, HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO YOUR PLACE.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Jack Layton: Love Is Better than....
Post 45--:
Wonderful Summer Weather
It’s been and still is a wonderful summer here on Canada’s West Coast, though it was unusually slow in starting. I have loved it and spent a fair amount of time—weeks in fact—away from my desk and, hence, away from this blog. Visiting our kids and families in WA and near SF in CA with days of RV-“camping” in between. Since then, “backyard” RVing in southern BC—with more to come. If you like a moderate climate without extremes of heat and cold, then BC’s south-west coast and much of Vancouver Island is the place to be. So a bit of a lull, but one you can understand, I believe. But, while it’s still great summer stuff in the middle of September, here I am, once again slogging/blogging it out. Welcome to Fall.
The Passing of Jack Layton
While my wife and I were enjoying it out there in the sunshine with children and grandchildren and, not to forget, the 20-foot RV, not everyone was so blessed. In fact, most of my cohabitants in Canada and, indeed, the world, were either working hard, which really is a blessing, or they were suffering in any of a thousand ways. One of these was Jack Layton, the leader of the opposition in the Canadian Parliament. Layton succumbed to cancer at the relatively young age of 61.
Though I am interested in politics, I have not followed Layton very much in his activities or speeches and am hardly enamoured with his party, while my concern for the poor and marginalized is no less than was his. But everyone one liked and respected “Jack” as he now is popularly called, personally, even his political opponents. He was honoured with a state funeral. Maclean’s, Canada’s premier news magazine, published “A Special Tribute” about him.
Jack and Religion
I don’t know whether Jack himself or others would consider him religious. Admittedly, I have read little about him, even during these days of national mourning, but I get the impression that religion was not one of his focal points. I have not read any references to such a phase of his life, except that I did read that he was deeply influenced by Charles Taylor, one of Canada’s premier philosophers and an overt Christian.
Jack's Dictum
Be that as it may, among other things, Jack left behind him a statement that has suddenly become very popular. Not only is it featured on the Maclean’s cover (Sept. 12, 2001), but parts appear on T-shirt and on all kinds of popular trinkets. The entire statement reads:
“Love is better than anger.
Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair.”
There is, of course, nothing new about these sentiments; the Bible is full of them throughout. Was Jack intentionally summarizing Biblical teachings or was he merely expressing common platitudes that few would disagree with but understand in a secular framework? I don’t know. Probably only his closest associates know.
The Dictum's Popularity
My question is why this has become such a popular quotation in Canadian culture. Why do I see it all around me in Vancouver’s secular downtown? I suspect it is because it strikes a common chord in the minds of my fellow citizens. Many of them are plague by anger, fear and despair. Jack knew his countrymen well and was aware of the negative climate blanketing the nation. Canada has never been cited by the polls that measure degrees of happiness. A country as wretched as Nigeria has made it more than once near to the top of such happiness polls, but Canada has never come close. Vancouver as the best place in the world to live? Polls have often concluded that, but the happiest? Apparently, even living in the best city in the world is no recipe for happiness.
If a Christian preacher were to make such a pronouncement publicly, few Canadians would pay attention. Most would regard it as just so much Christian humbug, but when Jack Layton, a popular politician who just died, says it, it touches a deep chord in the hearts of the people of the status of the Dalai Lama.
Why the Popularity
I believe Jack was aware of the blanket of anger, fear and despair over the nation and wanted to leave a positive message to them, a way to overcome those negative features with love, hope and optimism. I appreciate his words of encouragement. But why are these sentiments not common place among us, when they have been in the Bible all along and are being preached from Christian pulpits for centuries? And why do people listen to it now, from Jack? My answer would be that there is a general anger, fear and despair among the people that is directed towards Christianity and the church. It is the same when the Dalai Lama comes to town and makes pronouncements very similar to what the church has been preaching all along without being heard.
I would urge you, my readers, to think about Jack’s words of encouragement and seek to deepen your understanding. There is no place like the Bible for you to find that. That’s what it is all about.
Thank you, Jack. May your words resonate in our hearts deeper and deeper and lead us from anger, fear and despair to love, hope and optimism, the genuine article, the one found in the Bible.
Wonderful Summer Weather
It’s been and still is a wonderful summer here on Canada’s West Coast, though it was unusually slow in starting. I have loved it and spent a fair amount of time—weeks in fact—away from my desk and, hence, away from this blog. Visiting our kids and families in WA and near SF in CA with days of RV-“camping” in between. Since then, “backyard” RVing in southern BC—with more to come. If you like a moderate climate without extremes of heat and cold, then BC’s south-west coast and much of Vancouver Island is the place to be. So a bit of a lull, but one you can understand, I believe. But, while it’s still great summer stuff in the middle of September, here I am, once again slogging/blogging it out. Welcome to Fall.
The Passing of Jack Layton
While my wife and I were enjoying it out there in the sunshine with children and grandchildren and, not to forget, the 20-foot RV, not everyone was so blessed. In fact, most of my cohabitants in Canada and, indeed, the world, were either working hard, which really is a blessing, or they were suffering in any of a thousand ways. One of these was Jack Layton, the leader of the opposition in the Canadian Parliament. Layton succumbed to cancer at the relatively young age of 61.
Though I am interested in politics, I have not followed Layton very much in his activities or speeches and am hardly enamoured with his party, while my concern for the poor and marginalized is no less than was his. But everyone one liked and respected “Jack” as he now is popularly called, personally, even his political opponents. He was honoured with a state funeral. Maclean’s, Canada’s premier news magazine, published “A Special Tribute” about him.
Jack and Religion
I don’t know whether Jack himself or others would consider him religious. Admittedly, I have read little about him, even during these days of national mourning, but I get the impression that religion was not one of his focal points. I have not read any references to such a phase of his life, except that I did read that he was deeply influenced by Charles Taylor, one of Canada’s premier philosophers and an overt Christian.
Jack's Dictum
Be that as it may, among other things, Jack left behind him a statement that has suddenly become very popular. Not only is it featured on the Maclean’s cover (Sept. 12, 2001), but parts appear on T-shirt and on all kinds of popular trinkets. The entire statement reads:
“Love is better than anger.
Hope is better than fear.
Optimism is better than despair.”
There is, of course, nothing new about these sentiments; the Bible is full of them throughout. Was Jack intentionally summarizing Biblical teachings or was he merely expressing common platitudes that few would disagree with but understand in a secular framework? I don’t know. Probably only his closest associates know.
The Dictum's Popularity
My question is why this has become such a popular quotation in Canadian culture. Why do I see it all around me in Vancouver’s secular downtown? I suspect it is because it strikes a common chord in the minds of my fellow citizens. Many of them are plague by anger, fear and despair. Jack knew his countrymen well and was aware of the negative climate blanketing the nation. Canada has never been cited by the polls that measure degrees of happiness. A country as wretched as Nigeria has made it more than once near to the top of such happiness polls, but Canada has never come close. Vancouver as the best place in the world to live? Polls have often concluded that, but the happiest? Apparently, even living in the best city in the world is no recipe for happiness.
If a Christian preacher were to make such a pronouncement publicly, few Canadians would pay attention. Most would regard it as just so much Christian humbug, but when Jack Layton, a popular politician who just died, says it, it touches a deep chord in the hearts of the people of the status of the Dalai Lama.
Why the Popularity
I believe Jack was aware of the blanket of anger, fear and despair over the nation and wanted to leave a positive message to them, a way to overcome those negative features with love, hope and optimism. I appreciate his words of encouragement. But why are these sentiments not common place among us, when they have been in the Bible all along and are being preached from Christian pulpits for centuries? And why do people listen to it now, from Jack? My answer would be that there is a general anger, fear and despair among the people that is directed towards Christianity and the church. It is the same when the Dalai Lama comes to town and makes pronouncements very similar to what the church has been preaching all along without being heard.
I would urge you, my readers, to think about Jack’s words of encouragement and seek to deepen your understanding. There is no place like the Bible for you to find that. That’s what it is all about.
Thank you, Jack. May your words resonate in our hearts deeper and deeper and lead us from anger, fear and despair to love, hope and optimism, the genuine article, the one found in the Bible.
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