Musings by John Weir

It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.

That’s Teddy Roosevelt speaking at the Sorbonne a century ago in 1910.

Some truths are timeless: The critics, your critics, will always be there, lurking and worthless.

There’s no storybook about "The Boy Who Followed Somebody Else’s Dream", no movie rights sold for the tale of "It Wasn’t Within My Purview To Consider Alternatives", no Sinatra tune entitled "I Did It The Way My Critics Requested I Do It".

All the songs, all the movies, all the books say the same damn thing about you and your dream for a reason, because it’s true!

You’ll be on a stone slab someday too soon — far too soon — and your children will look at you and you’ll look at yourself, and you’re going to ask, and they’re going to ask, and wherever you are right now just do me a favor and… stop

…and listen to the wind.

And count the years between here and birth — your birth,  — and count the years between here and death.

And count the words of your loved ones, and your family, and your friends, and your kids, and your own words in your own head about who you are and who you want to be and who you always wanted to be. And realize that that is beautiful. And that is what you were made for.

And count the words of the critics and naysayers and the negative people in your life and the words they’ve piled up like stones for you with their wants and their desires and their demands of you.

Count the piles and feel their weight and add them up and ask yourself…
Which one do you want to carry with you to the end? Which one do you want to carry for the rest of your days?

Which one is worthy of you?

A story is told about a distinguished hassid, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, who wanted to see the Prophet Elijah. He had heard that certain mystics and Kabbalists had had this privilege, and he asked the Baal Shem Tov which spiritual exercises in order to merit the same.

The Baal Shem Tov discouraged him, but the hassid persisted. For months he implored the Baal Shem Tov, yet the great master kept rebuffing him. Finally, a few days before Passover, the Baal Shem Tov acquiesced. He told the hassid that he would help him to meet Elijah, but on one condition – he’d have to carry out his instructions exactly as conveyed, without deviating even one iota. The hassid readily agreed.

“If you want to see the prophet, this is what you need to do,” the Baal Shem Tov instructed. “Fill up nine boxes with large quantities of food: fish, meat, matzah, wine, etc. Then, on the day before Passover, travel to the neighboring town with all the food you purchased. At the outskirts of the town, at the edge of the forest, there is a dilapidated house.

Shortly before the holiday begins, knock on the door and ask if they would put you up for the holiday of Passover.”

With enthusiasm, the disciple followed the instructions of the Baal Shem Tov. He purchased parcels of food and drink, and on the designated day traveled to the impoverished home. He knocked on the door. The woman of the house opened it, and he asked her if he could stay with them for the holiday.

“How can I welcome you when I don’t have any food in the house?” she cried. “We are a very poor family.”

“Well, I happen to have plenty of food here with me,” he replied. “I have enough food for all of us.” The woman could not believe her ears and welcomed him into their home, introduced him to her husband and children, and gave him bed to sleep in. Seeing how the entire family was overjoyed, and the children were dancing around, the man guest realized how impoverished they truly were. These poor kids had never seen so much food in their life.

And the parents were the happiest people in the world, feeling that they could finally celebrate Passover properly, with abundant food, matzah and wine. The hassid spent with them the first two days of Passover, celebrating together. All the while, he was eagerly waiting to see Elijah. But to no avail … Elijah never showed up.

Frustrated, he returned to the Baal Shem Tov and complained: “I was in that house for two days, but I did not see Elijah! Why did you disappoint me?”

“Did you do everything I told you?” asked the Baal Shem Tov.

“Yes, I did!” he asserted. “And you didn’t see him?” “No!” “In that case,” said the Baal Shem Tov, “go back to the house for the last days of the holiday, but this time remain outside and just stand near the window, listening.

The hassid wondered about the meaning of this strange instruction. But he followed orders. He went back to the house. He stood near the window. Inside he heard the following conversation taking place between the wife and the husband: “Sarah,” the husband was saying, “Where do will we get food for the last days of the holiday? I am so concerned.”

To which his wife responded: “Why are you worried Yankel? Didn’t we see how God send us Elijah during the first days of Passover with all the packages of delicious food? Surely God will send Elijah again for the last days of Passover!”

And suddenly the man understood what the Baal Shem Tov was telling him. You want to see Elijah? Don’t look for him elsewhere, in the heavens above, or in the holy people living in the mountains or caves.

No! You want to see Elijah? Fill up nine boxes with food, feed hungry children, then take a good look in the mirror and you will see Elijah! You will see Elijah in yourself.

So yes, we can all perform miracles. We all have that power. All we need to do is to not be self-consumed … to be sensitive to others and help anyone we can.

Jesus Through The Bible
In GENESIS, Jesus is the Ram at Abraham’s altar
In EXODUS, He’s the Passover Lamb
In LEVITICUS, He’s the High Priest
In NUMBERS, He’s the Cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night
In DEUTERONOMY, He’s the City of our Refuge
In JOSHUA, He’s the Scarlet Thread out by Rahab’s window
In JUDGES, He is our King
In RUTH, He is our Kinsman Redeemer
In 1st and 2nd SAMUEL, He’s our Trusted Prophet
In KINGS and CHRONICLES, He’s our Reigning King
In EZRA, He is our Faithful Scribe
In NEHEMIAH, He’s the Rebuilder of everything that is broken
In ESTHER, He is the Mordecai sitting faithful at the gate
In JOB, He’s our Redeemer that ever liveth
In PSALMS, He is my Shepherd
In PROVERBS and ECCLESIASTES, He’s our Wisdom
In the SONG OF SOLOMON, He’s the Beautiful Bridegroom
In ISAIAH, He’s the Suffering Servant
In JEREMIAH and LAMENTATIONS, it is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet
In EZEKIEL, He’s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man
In DANIEL, He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace
In HOSEA, He is my Love that is forever faithful
In JOEL, He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit
In AMOS, He’s our Burden Bearer
In OBADIAH, He’s our Savior
In JONAH, He is the Great Foreign Missionary
In MICAH, He is the Messenger with beautiful feet
In NAHUM, He is the Avenger
In HABAKKUK, He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival
In ZEPHANIAH, He is the Lord mighty to save
In HAGGAI, He is the Restorer of our lost heritage
In ZECHARIAH, He is our Fountain
In MALACHI, He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings
In MATTHEW, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God
In MARK, He’s the Miracle Worker
In LUKE, He’s the Son of Man
In JOHN, He is the door by which everyone of us must enter
In ACTS, He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the Damascus road
In ROMANS, He is our Justifier
In 1st CORINTHIANS, He is our Resurrection
In 2nd CORNITHIANS, He is our Sin Bearer
In GALATIANS, He redeems us from the law
In EPHESIANS, He is our Unsearchable Riches
In PHILIPPIANS, He supplies our every need
In COLOSSIANS, He’s the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily
In 1st and 2nd THESSALONIANS, He is our Soon Coming King
In 1st and 2nd TIMOTHY, He is the Mediator between God and man
In TITUS, He is our Blessed Hope
In PHILEMON, He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother
In HEBREWS, He’s the Blood of the everlasting covenant
In JAMES, it is the Lord that heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd PETER, He is the Chief Shepherd
In 1st, 2nd, and 3rd JOHN, it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love
In JUDE, He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints
And in REVELATION, He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

The con man works harder and pays more for what he gets out of life than any other person, but he kids himself into believing he is getting something for nothing.

There is a fundamental rule in sales, that applies to life in general: You must sell yourself first before you can effectively sell others. If you can’t believe in the value of your products or service, no one else will either. If you are conning others into an unfair deal, you must work mightily to overcome your internal resistance to doing something wrong. A deal is a good one only when it is good for everyone involved. When each participant has an equal opportunity to profit and the risk is shared among partners who care about one another’s welfare, not only is the likelihood of success far greater, but the journey toward it will also be much more enjoyable.

The Word is my friend. The Word is my best friend, for The Word is the Word of God, whom I must always listen to, rather than other words. I pray that I only listen to His Word, not others, and that I be directed by His Word, not my own evil inclinations, or false words.

We all have days to wonder about, because we think too much about our jobs, from our viewpoint, and we have lost sight of our jobs from God’s viewpoint. Our lives are to be a reflection of Him, and our work should be as work for Him. When we forget that, our heart wanders and we need to get pointed back in the right direction, UP.

Every day remind yourself that you are serving God and you can do all things through him, then  you will feel that you can do what he has placed you into. When you listen to your own yetzer hara then you will question if you can or not. Man has a yetzer hara (evil inclination) and a yetzer tov (good inclination). The existence of the two allows man to have the free will to choose good. The yetzer hara will first try to grab a person through a subtle gesture. If an individual falls prey at the early stage he will likely fall deeper and deeper into its clutches. Our goal is to overcome the yetzer hara on its onset because this is when we are strongest and most able to resist its pull.

Stay focused on His Word, and all the rest will fall into place

Lamentations 3:21 Memory is frequently the slave of despondency. Despairing minds remember every dark prediction in the past and expand upon every gloomy feature in the present; in this way memory, clothed in sackcloth, presents to the mind a cup of bitter-tasting herbs. There is, however, no necessity for this. Wisdom can readily transform memory into an angel of comfort. That same recollection that on the one hand brings so many gloomy omens may be trained instead to provide a wealth of hopeful signs. She need not wear a crown of iron; she may encircle her brow with a tiara of gold, all spangled with stars.

Such was Jeremiah’s experience: in the previous verse memory had brought him to deep humiliation of soul: "My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me"; but now this same memory restored him to life and comfort. "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope." Like a two-edged sword, his memory first killed his pride with one edge and then slew his despair with the other.

As a general principle, if we would exercise our memories more wisely, we might, in our very darkest distress, strike a match that would instantaneously kindle the lamp of comfort. There is no need for God to create a new thing upon the earth in order to restore believers’ joy; if they would prayerfully rake the ashes of the past, they would find light for the present; and if they would turn to the book of truth and the throne of grace, their candle would soon shine as before.

Let us then remember the loving-kindness of the Lord and rehearse His deeds of grace. Let us open the volume of recollection, which is so richly illuminated with memories of His mercy, and we will soon be happy. Thus memory may be, as Coleridge calls it, "the bosom-spring of joy," and when the Divine Comforter bends it to His service, it is then the greatest earthly comfort we can know.

The Secrets of TIME Mastery

•1) Divide Your day up into 3 SFB’s- Sections For Blessings.

•Morning- Afternoon- and Evening- SFBs!

•2) MORNING- What are your Priorities – THEN tasks? How are you going to bless God this morning? Is it a GREAT MORNING or Go into MOURNING?

•3) AFTERNOON- What are your Priorities- THEN Tasks? How are you going to bless God this Afternoon? Is it Afternoon or After Later?

•4) EVENING- What are your Priorities- THEN Tasks? How are you going to bless God this evening? Is it Evening or Eventually?

A group of botanists went on an expedition into a hard-to-reach location in the Alps, searching for new varieties of flowers. One day as a scientist looked through his binoculars, he saw a beautiful, rare species growing at the bottom of a deep ravine. To reach it, someone would have to be lowered into that gorge. Noticing a local youngster standing nearby, the man asked him if he would help them get the flower. The boy was told that a rope would be tied around his waist and the men would then lower him to the floor of the canyon.
Excited yet apprehensive about the adventure, the youngster peered thoughtfully into the chasm. "Wait," he said, "I’ll be back," and off he dashed. When he returned, he was accompanied by an older man. Approaching the head botanist, the boy said, "I’ll go over the cliff now and get the flower for you, but this man must hold onto the rope. He’s my dad!" – Our Daily Bread.

F.B. Meyer wrote about two Germans who wanted to climb the Matterhorn. They hired three guides and began their ascent at the steepest and most slippery part. The men roped themselves together in this order: guide, traveler, guide, traveler, guide. They had gone only a little way up the side when the last man lost his footing. He was held up temporarily by the other four, because each had a toehold in the niches they had cut in the ice. But then the next man slipped, and he pulled down the two above him.

The only one to stand firm was the first guide, who had driven a spike deep into the ice. Because he held his ground, all the men beneath him regained their footing. F.B. Meyer concluded his story by drawing a spiritual application. He said, "I am like one of those men who slipped, but thank God, I am bound in a living partnership to Christ. And because He stands, I will never perish." – Our Daily Bread.

The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear he asked, "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied, "Whenever it breaks!" – Daily Walk.

The 3-year old felt secure in his father’s arms as Dad stood in the middle of the pool. But Dad, for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, "Deeper and deeper and deeper," as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The lad’s face registered increasing degrees of panic, as he held all the more tightly to his father, who, of course, easily touched the bottom. Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he’d have realized there was no reason for increased anxiety. The water’s depth in ANY part of the pool was over his head. Even in the shallowest part, had he not been held up, he’d have drowned. His safety anywhere in that pool depended on Dad.

At various points in our lives, all of us feel we’re getting "out of our depth" — problems abound, a job is lost, someone dies. Our temptation is to panic, for we feel we’ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that does not change. God is never out of his depth, and therefore we’re safe when we’re "going deeper" than we’ve ever been. – Charles Ryrie.

Wow! Now that our hearts are beating regularly, let’s consider what we have just read over a cup of Java, and thank the Lord that He will never leave us, or forsake us, and also for the power of the Holy Spirit, that reminds us of these powerful promises.

Loving Father, I thank you for the beautiful weekend that I have just had. Help me by the power of the Holy Spirit to start off this week, by taking on board some of the advice that I have just read, and to remember that I am safe in my Savior’s arms. In the wonderful and mighty name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Watchman Nee tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salvation."

Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess, he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He died." We are Christ’s heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace. – Watchman Nee.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?" – Hebrews 13:5-6. TNIV

•God has given us all an amazing equal gift.

•It is called  God’s “Success Capital.”

•It is what you have to invest daily and get  return on with your Success Investment.

•God expects a return on His Success Capital.

•Like investing in the stock market, you can either get a Return on Investment, or a Loss.

•Most people operate with a loss with their Success Capital- and struggle in life because of it.

“To one He gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.” Matt 25:15