Showing posts with label Televangelists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Televangelists. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Horizontal Missionaries Don't Rise!

So What Was The Big Deal?!

Do You Really Have The Gall
To Ask Such A Question!?!

Yes, I Do!
Now, Answer The Question!

Very Well!
She Was In Here Using Some Language
That No One Wanted To Hear!

Does That "No One" Include You!?!

Well, Yes, Sorta, Kinda ...!

Please Explain!

We Were Talking About Working For The Lord
And Telling The World The Good News
And I Guess We Got Carried Away
Romanticizing The Journey
And Minimizing The Effort Required
To Do A Good Work To Hasten The Great Day
When She, She, She Just Exploded!

She Started Talking About
Self-Denial
Self-Sacrifice
Self-Crucification
And All That Hurtful, Painful Stuff!

Oh, You Mean She Got Beyond
The Televangelist Fluff Of
Fully Equipped Television Studio
Smooth Riding Elite-Class Private Jet
Armed Body-Guards
Fawning Followers
Quarterly Vacations
Lavishly Appointed Primary, Secondary
And Tertiary Homes
Servants Innumerable
Vicuna Wool
Silk Sheets
Diamond Watches
Custom-Made Fragrances
Personal Chefs
Personal Trainers And ...!

... How ... How Did You Know!?!

Been There, Done That!
The Devil 
Is 
The Liar Baiting The Servants Of The Lord
Telling Them That
If
They Do Things His Way
Great ... Will Be Their Reward
And
Many Of Us Are Falling Into The Trap!

But, Why!?!

Just As Man Recoils From 
The Thought And Sight Of Death
Man Recoils From Perceived Pain
And
Assumed Deprivation!

We Have Gotten Away From The Source Of
Our Strength
Our Hope
Our Help
Our Salvation
And
We Have Forgotten
Or Have Willfully Chosen To Ignore The Fact That
He Whom We Serve Pointed 
The Way
And
It Was Dusty And Dirty
Filled With Self-Denial
Replete With Abuse
Absent Comforts And Ease
Built On Prayer 
And 
Constant Communication With Father
And
No Comfy Chair! 

Simply Put ...

Obedience To The Will Of The Father
Was The Savior's Air!
He Did Not Put On Airs And Indulge Graces!
He Did Not Have An Inside Track With The Leaders Of His Day!
He Was Not In A Back-Pat Relationship
With The Local Bank President
And
He Did Not Have Five Changes Of Clothing Per Day!
He Slept In The Open Air! 

He Was Despised And Rejected
But
His Prayers Were Never Neglected!
He Did Not Choose The Easy Road
And
He Submitted His Will To His Father
- The Ancient Of Days -
And
He Was Crucified
And
He Was Laid In A Borrowed Grave!

That Borrowed Grave Alone
Should Tell You Everything You Need To Know About
Doing A Self-Denying, Self-Sacrificing Work
While Serving A Self-Sacrificing Holy God!

I Don't Understand!
What Do You Mean!?!

Was Jesus Wealthy!?!
No!

Did Jesus Advance-Purchase A Grave!?!
No!

Can You Really Borrow A Grave!?!
No!

Don't You, Yourself, Pay Back What You Borrow!?!
Yes!

Can A Dead Man Do Anything!?!
Of Couse Not!

Is Jesus Christ Still In The Borrowed Grave!?!
Of Course Not!
He's In Heaven
- In The Most Holy Place Of The Heavenly Sanctuary -
Interceding For Us!

Do You Believe In And Trust Jesus!?!
Of Course, I Do!

So, My Young Friend
What, Now, Are You Understanding!?!

It's Not An Easy Road
But With Jesus Christ For Me
With Jesus Christ Beside Me
With Jesus Christ Directing My Traffic
I Will Rise Up To Live With Him
Even If I Get Placed In A Borrowed Grave!

The Grave Cannot Hold Me: I'm His
And The Work Isn't About Me
Or My Comfort
Or My Status In The Eyes Of The Blind World! 

I Am Here To Work
For The Love Of My Master
And I Must ...!

... Must! 
Good Word! I Like It!

I Must Look Up To Live
Because Looking In Will Mean My Death!

I, Now, Really, Truly, Understand!
In And Down!
Out And Up!
If I Look Inward ... I Fall Downward!
When I Look Outward ... I Rise Upward!

I Accept That Striving On And For 
A Horizontal Plain-Prize
Will Not Cause Me To Have Strong Spiritual Muscles!
Even If I Win ... I Lose!

Well Said!
Please Take This To Heart
And
Always Remember That
A Butterfly Struggles Mightily To Get Out Of His Cocoon
Easy Does Not Mean Good
Comfort Does Not Equate With Blessing
Hard Work Does Not Kill
And
A Vertical Climber Rises In Spite Of Himself! 

Pure Gold Emerges From Smelting ...!

... And The Saints Of God And Christ
Emerge Purified
After
Testing, Trial And Perfection
In The Crucible Of The Mortal Strife!

I Get It!
We Must Go Through To Come Through!