ENCOURAGING AND INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS by Stan Blevins

ON-LINE WITH PASTOR DALE
A Monthly Magazine

FEBRUARY 2001 ISSUE

THE CHALLENGE TO ENCOURAGE

Bob Weiland did what he set out to do. So what, you might ask, and who is Bob Weiland?

Bob Weiland walked across the United States - on his hands! He served our country in Vietnam and in the line of duty stepped on an anti-personnel mine. The explosion took off both his legs.

Recovery was long and difficult, but Bob was persistent and determined. He lifted weights to strengthen his upper body, and then one momentous day he started "walking" across our country.

The journey took 4.9 million "steps." He used his hands, thickly padded, as his feet. He started at Knotts Berry Farm in California and ended up at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. It took him almost four years to cover the distance.

Now here's the good part. When asked about his motivation for such an undertaking, he said he took on the challenge "to encourage those with legs to take the first step in faith to please God."

Wow. Pretty heavy stuff. Bob Weiland took the challenge to encourage others in the most serious way possible. How about you and me? Who could you encourage to "take the first step in faith" and change their life for all eternity?

THE DIFFERENCE

How different are Christians from the other people in the world? Certainly we have the same opportunities and problems of life, and we share the demands of our society and our life style. But what is the difference? Is there a difference?

There certainly should be. Christ is a transforming Savior. He brings a new dimension to life, and everything about life. As His people, we should have a world view and a life perspective that is uniquely guided by our Lord.

Are you different? Do you see your family, your work, your own self, through the eyes of Christ? Are you sharing about Jesus whenever you can, caring about others as opportunities come, and bringing to your relationships a positive spirit of victory in Jesus? Gary Redding says this in Disciples in Difficult Places:

Someone has said that every person is born an original and dies a copy. Life is often a gradual process of whittling away our distinctiveness until we are all just alike. Indeed, our society does seek to "make us all alike." It pressures us to think the same, talk the same, dress the same, and act the same.

But Christians are not copies. We are all originals, given by our Creator the uniqueness that is each of us. In Christ we discover who we are, what our purpose is in life, and how to give eternal meaning to all we are and do.

Let your Savior be the difference. Put Him at the center of your life, and give Him control. He will be the gyroscope that gives you balance, and no matter what pressures life may bring, you will be able to be His person in His strength.

YOUR OWN SPRING

Sarah Orne Jewett wrote The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories in 1896. In it she said: There's sometimes a good hearty tree growin' right out of the bare rock, out o' some crack that just holds the roots; right on the pitch o' them bare stony hills where you can't seem to see a wheel-barrowful o' good earth in a place, but that tree'll keep a green top in the driest summer. You lay your ear down to the ground an' you'll hear a little stream runnin'. Every such tree has got its own livin' spring: there's folks made to match 'em.

Sarah Jewett wasn't a theologian, but she knew people. There are indeed "folks to match 'em;" folks with their own living spring on the inside.

Who are they? Listen to what Jesus Christ said: Whosoever drinketh of this water (from Jacob's Well) shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13,14)

Believers in Christ have their own "living spring" on the inside. A spring of water that nurtures everlasting life, and gives an eternal dimension to life every day that we live. Think of it! We need never "thirst" for self-worth, life values, or lasting purpose. We have that already, within us, through Christ Jesus!

So, like the tree on the stony mountain side that Jewett spoke about, we find strength in the "driest summer" to "press on" for our Lord. What's the answer to your lonely and seeking heart? Why, it's your own spring, flowing within you, forever, by faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dr. Stan Blevins is the pastor of Highland Baptist Church of Lubbock, Texas and Adjunct Professor at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. The Lord has allowed him to minister all across the nation and around the world. Now, he pauses to share three encouraging and inspirational thoughts that will challenge us as we step into a new century of blessing and limitless opportunity.