(Literally) carrying the cross, part one

A new movie, "The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story," has just been released. It tells the story of (surprise!) Arthur Blessitt, a man who has carried a 12-foot wooden cross around the world for nearly 40 years.

The Charisma Web site reveals that Blessitt simply started his journey on one street:

Blessitt began his ministry on Sunset Strip and became known as the 'Sunset Strip Minister.' Because he loved the people he met on the Strip, he was reluctant to leave when he sensed God calling him to walk around the world carrying a wooden cross. But God reminded him that Sunset Strip stretches around the world.

Blessitt was ready to obey. Two weeks before he was to leave Los Angeles, however, doctors discovered he had a brain aneurysm. He explains in the film that circumstances don't change the call of God. Facing possible death, Blessitt decided he would rather die while in God's will than to live out of it. He left on schedule—Christmas Day 1969.

Blessitt's journey has taken him to the far reaches of the world. He has traveled to 315 countries, walked more than 38,000 miles, journeyed through 52 war zones, and been arrested 24 times. But God has been with him every step of the way.

Letting our love for Christ flow out

I'm reading a book called "Outflow: Outward-Focused Living in a Self-Focused World" by Steve Sjogren and Dave Ping. It's about how to share the gift of Christ with others. I'm kind of a shy person, and so I get nervous about sharing my faith with others because I'm afraid that they will reject me.

I'm hoping that this book helps me get over that fear. After all, people deserve to know the Good News!

In essence, the book's message is to do something nice for someone, and when they ask why you did it, you say, "I wanted to share God's love with you." I'll give it a try. Here goes. . .

Serve your wife

Each morning I ask God, "What would you have me do today? What is your will for me today?" Sometimes I don't really hear anything, but last Thursday I definitely heard something. Over and over, I heard:

"Serve your wife."

So I started to ask my wife how I could serve her. She inquired why I was asking her that question. I told her about the message from God, and she cried. It definitely hit a nerve. She has felt overwhelmed by household things such as doing the laundry, and was relieved when I offered to help. I keep trying to think of ways to serve her.

Men, ask your wives how you can serve them. They will appreciate it. Take some of the burden off of their shoulders.

When something is stolen from us, release

It's not uncommon for disputes to occur among deer hunters over hunting boundaries and who shot the buck. Bob Hendrickson wrote in the Journal-Pilot about an experience that he had a few years ago. Hendrickson shot at a buck, which then proceeded to go onto another property owner's land. He therefore was not able to go after the buck.

The next morning he asked the property owner if he could hunt on his land, and the property owner agreed. Hendrickson found a trail of blood -- meaning that he had originally shot the deer -- which then led to a pile of guts. Someone had taken the buck! He was filled with anger and rage, until God spoke to him:

Then God spoke to my heart. He asked if I had forgotten all the successful hunts he had blessed me with? What about all the deer God had provided me with and the wonderful hunting experiences? It was not my place to hold bitterness and I needed to let it go and leave it with God. In short I had to forgive those that had stolen from me and go on.

It is so easy for us to focus on the negative and the things that aren't right. At times, we just need to let go and focus on God.

The gift of music instead of the gift of birth

Silivea Johnson wanted so desperately to give birth to a child. God told her that he had something different for her:

On her knees in a back room of her house, Silivea Johnson cried and pleaded with the Lord.

She asked why it was it taking her and her husband, Chris Johnson, so long to have a child.

'I did wonder what if I died and there was no trace of my life,' she said.

When God spoke back to her, Johnson wrote down His words.

'God said my legacy lives on in you and that’s how people will remember you.'

(StarNewsOnline.com)

Johnson eventually found her calling -- contemporary gospel singer -- after working in radio and newspaper advertising and as a beautician. She since has released two albums -- "I Give Him Praise" and "Legacy of Christ".

A little bit about St. Patrick. . .

Columnist Rocky Cahill of swva today has done some research into the origins of St. Patrick's Day. Cahill wrote a very concise summary, including how God spoke to Patrick. Check it out.

What's next for the creators of "Fireproof"? God only knows.

If you haven't seen the movie "Fireproof" yet, see it. It's an excellent film -- and the highest-grossing independent film of 2008. The writers/producers of "Fireproof" are brothers Stephen and Alex Kendrick of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga. They have produced three movies so far: "Flywheel", "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof".

Where do they get their inspiration? You guessed it -- God. Alex Kendrick shared what's next in an interview on LifeSiteNews.com:

The natural question for fans of the films is what's up next. But in answer to that, Kendrick could only respond with his own version of the cliché 'God only knows.' But for Kendrick it's no cliché, it's just a fact. 'I do not have any pre-conceived notions about what all our movies are going to be about,' he said. He described the process as going through a 'season of prayer' where the brothers ask: 'God, what would you have us to do.'

For now, according to the article, God has told the brothers to "Get your house in order" -- they are going to focus on their families.

For the love of Jesus, not profits

I'm currently reading a book called "Transforming Leadership: Jesus' Way of Creating Vision, Shaping Values & Empowering Change". On p. 260-261, there's an excellent story of a man named Charles Olcott choosing the honest way:

Charles Olcott was a successful businessman and a conventional churchgoer when God seemed to speak to him one night and say, 'All this stuff you own is not yours. It is mine. I have a purpose for you to use these things for me.'

This led to a new commitment to Christ. Shortly after, he was appointed as the chief executive officer of a large franchise fast-food chain. He was able to turn the company around and improve its financial condition. 'For the first time I took my hand off the steering wheel and turned it over to God,' he says.

But then he faced his own crisis. The chairman of the corporation which owned his company asked him to doctor some figures, to build a mathematical model which would project a level of future earnings which had no relationship to reality. The idea was to increase the value of their shares so they could sell the business at a handsome profit but at the expense of the company, its employees and shareholders.

Charles said he could not do it. 'Then you are off the team,' said the chairman. It was a harsh sentence. Twenty years on the corporate ladder were gone. When he told me this story, I asked him what difference it would have made if this episode had happened before he made a commitment to Christ.

'I would still be at that company,' he said. 'I would have found a way to bend the figures, because then I was living by earthly values.' Now in a new business, he is a wounded but contented man who knows he did what was right but at significant cost.

Olcott's choice took serious courage and commitment.