But there’s a problem
There’s a huge logical problem with that statement. Believing in yourself is a surefire way of “wandering around [...]]]> In educational circles, I often hear teachers or administrators tell students to “Try your hardest, do your best, and believe in yourself.” This kind of stuff is intentioned as a motivational phrase.

But there’s a problem
There’s a huge logical problem with that statement. Believing in yourself is a surefire way of “wandering around in life like Gomer Pyle on valium,” to quote Dave Ramsey.

Last I checked, I am the source of pretty much all of my problems. Either me directly or my response(s) to circumstances. So why in the world should I believe in myself — one whom I know full well is capable of screwing my life up entirely?

Well that sure is a downer
Maybe, but then again, I have come to believe more heartily than ever before over these last few months that it is absolutely impossible to motivate someone. No motivational speech ever succeeds in motivating someone. Ever.

But they motivate people!
Motivational speeches do not motivate people. They may inspire people. They may provide a call to action. They may unify people. They may encourage people. But they don’t motivate people. Motivation must come from within. I want to focus on the last possibility there: encouragement.

True motivation
True motivation comes from within. False motivation comes from without. The carrot on a stick never fully works. It eventually gets boring. A great example of this is Social Security. True motivation must be cultivated and cared for. This is where encouragement comes in and plays a tremendous and decisive role. I’ll write more on this later, because my running and my updates on Facebook and the support from friends has been a huge eye-opening experience for me. But for now, I’ll leave off there and move back to the point.

Don’t believe in yourself
We’ve all experienced let-down from other people. We get our hopes up and then they turn around and drop the ball or don’t follow through or whatever. We’ve all experienced personal failure. Failure is the springboard for success. Without failure (and the subsequent learning from our mistakes), we will not move forward. When we try to avoid failure, we coincidentally avoid risk. Risk leads to either reward or disappointment. Avoiding risk leads to complacency and stagnation.

But how do we know which risks to take?
There are two ways to know which risks are worth taking. One is by learning from personal experience. This seems to be the most common one for me, and I’d venture it is the most common for most people. The other way is to learn from other people. Figure out what works for them and do the same things. Read books by them. Find out what plan they used and stick to it precisely.

Believing in yourself works marvelously if you have a plan
f you don’t have a plan, then you are wandering. You don’t even know where you’re going, you’re just going.

We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.
C.S. Lewis

If you do rich people stuff, you’ll become rich people
Dave Ramsey tells us that if we want to be rich, do rich people stuff. Poor people aren’t poor because they don’t get the lucky breaks. They are poor because they do the things that poor people do. Fat people aren’t fat because of genetics. They are fat because they do fat people things. If you do rich people stuff, you’ll become rich people. If you do skinny people stuff, you’ll become skinny people. It’s that simple.

Don’t believe in yourself
Next time you are tempted to tell someone to believe in themselves, don’t. Instead, be sure they have a good solid plan, and encourage them to get with the plan and believe in it. Believe in the plan, stick to the plan, and the results will follow. The plan will work, but it’s a crock pot method, not a microwave.

He traded His crown for a crown of thorns,
He picked up His cross and laid down His sword.
He stumbled down the road bruised and beaten for me,
Jesus walked the way of grief Hallelujah!

On the Via Dolorosa,
All my [...]]]> Words by Leeland Mooring
Music by Jack Mooring

He traded His crown for a crown of thorns,
He picked up His cross and laid down His sword.
He stumbled down the road bruised and beaten for me,
Jesus walked the way of grief Hallelujah!

On the Via Dolorosa,
All my sin was carried away!
And the power of hell was broken,
As He gave His life away!

He knew what was to come from the very start,
But his love for the world beat inside his heart.
He climbed the road of suffering to the hill of Calvary,
Where the saints would be redeemed. Hallelujah!

On the Via Dolorosa,
All my sin was carried away!
And the power of hell was broken,
As He gave His life away!

Jesus fixed His eyes upon the new horizon,
Soon He would arise and the world would be forgiven!
Jesus fixed His eyes upon the new horizon,
Soon He would arise and the world would be forgiven!

Hallelujah, Jesus rose again!
On the cross He shed His blood on Calvary!
I’m thankful for the journey of my King,

On the Via Dolorosa,
All my sin was carried away!
And the power of hell was broken
As He gave His life away,
As He gave His life away!

He traded His crown for a crown of thorns.

Performed by Leeland

How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me
Things so undeserved, yet You give to prove Your love for me?
The voice of a million angels could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be, I [...]]]> Words and Music by Andraé Crouch

How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me
Things so undeserved, yet You give to prove Your love for me?
The voice of a million angels could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.

To God be the glory,
To God be the glory!
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

With His blood He has saved me;
With His pow’r He has raised me;
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

Just let me live my life;
Let it be pleasing, Lord, to Thee.
And should I gain any praise,
Let it go to Calvary.

With His blood He has saved me;
With His pow’r He has raised me;
To God be the glory
For the things He has done.

Performed by Andraé Crouch

Holy, Holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their [...]]]> Words by Reginald Heber (1783-1826)
Music by John B. Dykes (1823-1876)

Holy, Holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! all the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! tho’ the darkness hide Thee,
Tho’ the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Performed by the Kurt Carr Singers

Because I have been extremely sick lately, I am not going to begin completely abstaining from food right away, but I have decided that one of the key projects I will accomplish in this 21-day [...]]]> We began “Octoberfast” today in my church. For the next three weeks, we we will be fasting and praying corporately.

Because I have been extremely sick lately, I am not going to begin completely abstaining from food right away, but I have decided that one of the key projects I will accomplish in this 21-day period is to reread the New Testament. I’ve included my reading plan for the next 22 days here. I’m aiming for about 12 chapters a day and will break that up throughout the day. The plan is:

22-Day Bible Reading Plan

October 4
Matthew 1-12

October 5
Matthew 13-24

October 6
Matthew 25-Mark 8

October 7
Mark 9-Luke 4

October 8
Luke 5-16

October 9
Luke 17-John 3

October 10
John 4-9

October 11
John 10-21

October 12
Acts 1-12

October 13
Acts 13-24

October 14
Acts 25-Romans 8

October 15
Romans 9-1 Corinthians 8

October 16
1 Corinthians 9-2 Corinthians 4

October 17
2 Corinthians 5-13

October 18
Galatians 1-Ephesians 6

October 19
Philippians 1-1 Thessalonians 5

October 20
2 Thessalonians 1-2 Timothy 4

October 21
Titus 1-Hebrews 8

October 22
Hebrews 9-1 Peter 5

October 23
2 Peter 1-Jude

October 24
Revelation 1-11

October 25
Revelation 12-22

A quick note that since I am a band director and have marching contests the next two Saturdays, I am making those Saturday readings a little shorter than the other days.

What about you? What cool things are you going to do this month?

I’m fed up with my dumb self.

My desire to know everything, to keep with everything, to have everything, to experience everything. It’s time to call it quits. It’s time to count the cost and pursue holiness anyway.

A year and a half of unfulfilled promises
Looking back at my I’ve had it!

A year and a half of unfulfilled promises
Looking back at my blog post from December 25th, I see that most of my planning and aim to reduce my debt has gone by the wayside. I still weigh as much as I did at the beginning of the year. I don’t spend any more time regularly in prayer or Bible study now than I did back then. I’m not married or even heading in that direction.

Basically, 2009 has been pretty bleak for me in a lot of ways. In fact, it doesn’t only start there. Even in June 2008, I was seeing that things were out of control. I think it goes back even further than that.

Granted, things did change for the positive over the summer as I began to see a glimmer of hope. I began playing piano at a new church where my good friend Greg is the pastor, and that is turning out to be an exciting process. We are starting to see some growth in the church, both in numbers as well as in life within the fellowship.

Sadly, when I survey the state of the American church, comfort and excess have replaced giving and sacrifice as Christian virtues in the 21st century. The mantra of contemporary Christian circles seems to be “Man’s chief end is to get lots of stuff, end enjoy it for ever. And be sure there’s good air conditioning and comfortable seats in church while you’re at it!” The Puritans taught us that “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy Him for ever.” Quite a discrepancy.

Well, I’m tired of the stuff. I’m tired of distractions. I’m tired of clutter in my life – physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually. I grow weary of the undisciplined nature of my current state of existence. It’s time for a change.

This morning, Pastor Greg read a little bit out of E.M. Bounds book The Weapon of Prayer. I’ve read his book Power Through Prayer a few times and every time I read it, I am convicted of my woeful lack of prayer. This week, I will work my way through The Weapon of Prayer. I’ll also focus more of my time on prayer. Real prayer, not the superficial stuff.

My online life takes up too much of my time. My iPhone provides more distractions than I even know what to do with. So it is time to move forward. Instead of feeling like a victim of my circumstances, I’m going to take control. In the next three and a half months, I will regain control and discipline in my life.

Fasting will be a huge part
In the process of regaining control, I must regularly deny the flesh through fasting. For the most part, these will be day-long water/juice fasts, though there may very well be extended fasting happening as well. This past spring, I experienced the power that fasting had in recovering my focus as I went through three 5+ day fasts. Since then, the longest I’ve gone without food has been 12-15 hours.

This is an urgent need
As easy as it would be for me to sit back (like I have for months and years even) and say that I’ll get around to it later, there is no time like the present to begin to see transformative changes in my life. No more of the “just one more time” mentality. That simply delays the inevitible. To quote Professor Harold Hill from The Music Man, “‘Pile up too many tomorrows and you’ll find that you’ve collected nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays.” Do something now!

What you can do

• Pray for your pastor. He needs it!
• I encourage you to commit to make some changes in your life. That one nasty habit you’ve been meaning to overcome. The 10 pounds you’ve gained since college. Or the 50 pounds. Or the 100. You get the picture. Read more. Watch less.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
For God will bring every work into judgment,
Inlcuding every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

• Encourage me. Self sacrifice is never easy. 100 days of it will be greuling for me. If you happen to see me online, encourage me and ask me how things are going. Pray for me. Tell me you are praying for me and I’ll be sure to pray for you as well.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.

He put a new song in my mouth –

I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.

He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.

He put a new song in my mouth –
Praise yo our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.

Psalm 40:1-3

As I look back on my life, I can remember certain events (a car wreck, a tumor, a kidney stone) that were extremely challenging for me, but no period of time can compare with what I have gone through in the last year (and even the last 18 months, really). But beginning in March, things began to slowly get better for me.

The darkness began to disipate and things began looking up.

Some things that really helped this happen included:

• Reawakening some friendships that I had allowed to become dormant, through Twitter/Facebook as well as in real life
• A determination to seek God through fasting and prayer
• Spending more time reading and listening to the Word of God and sermons/podcasts/blogs about Christian topics

Now these may seem pretty basic to all of us (myself included), but it gets so easy to drift away. We get this sense that the little things may not matter so much, or what we aren’t really all that useful or necessary in the kingdom of God.

The thing is, no amount of excuses or justifications or whatever suffice. On the flip side, no amount of determinations to do the right thing suffice either.

But it’s not about doing any one thing or another. It’s about passionately pursuing our Lord. The thing that I have been lacking for the last few years has really been a clearly defined goal.

You are my portion, O LORD;
I have said that I would keep Your words.

I entreated Your favor with my whole heart;
Be merciful to me according to Your word.

I thought about my ways,
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

I made haste, and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.

The cords of the wicked have bound me,
But I have no forgotten Your law.

At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You,
Because of Your righteous judgments.

I am a companion of all who fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.

The earth, O LORD, is full of Your mercy;
Teach me Your statutes.

Psalm 119:57-64

Look at verse 60 again. “I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.” Though I have been keeping God’s commandments lately, I can’t say that I have made haste in doing so. Just because we don’t seem to be living a victorious life doesn’t mean that we are out of the will of God. Through this whole year, that one truth has stuck with me, despite other people telling me otherwise.

“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry,
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
He also has rejected you from being king.”

1 Samuel 15:22,23

Obedience ushers in the blessings of God
My pastor likes to say that “Obedience ushers in the blessings of God.” I often hear that, but it gets so familiar that I overlook it at times. Something else to draw from the above verses: delayed obedience is the same as blatent disobedience.

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seatr of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

Day and night…

He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither,
And whatever he does shall prosper.

Psalm 1:1-3

Whatever he does shall prosper. Who has this guaranteed prosperity? The person who delight to meditate on the law of the LORD day and night.

Brothers and sisters, that is the real prosperity gospel! None of this name-it-claim-it, blab-it-grab-it, bossing God around like a genie in a Bible business. That stuff isn’t scriptural.

It’s exactly the same as what God told Joshua when Israel finally entered the land:

“Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-9

All this to say that I read a couple of blog posts today that really jumped out at me.

• How Can Pain Be Good? (The Blazing Center)
• You Are What Your Tweet (The Blazing Center)