YOUR TIME WILL COME

YOUR TIME WILL COME
PROVERBS 22:29

Satchel Paige threw his first major league pitch at the age of 42. Actually, he was good enough to play in the majors at the age of 18, but he couldn't: Satchel Paige was black. Seven years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Paige, an undisputed superstar everywhere but in the major leagues, finally got his chance.

Cleveland owner Bill Veek was criticized for adding such an old man to his roster; some sportswriters and critics called it a publicity stunt. Others said Paige was finally getting the break he had deserved for years, though most doubted his ability to compete effectively at his age.

Paige silenced the critics when he won his first three games as a pro, shutting out Chicago twice in the process.

All along he knew he was good enough to pitch in the major leagues, and when he finally got his chance, he proved it. He went on to win 28 games during his pro career, and even made a brief comeback at the age of 59, pitching three innings for the Kansas City A's.

He approached his major league pitching debut no differently than he approached any of the 2,500 games he pitched during his career. "It was just another game," he said. "And home plate was where it always was."

Though Paige had the ability to make throwing a baseball look effortless, he spent his life perfecting the art. And, eventually, he got his chance to show the world he was capable of competing with the best.

King Solomon said, "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men." (Proverbs 22:29)

Solomon is emphasizing that commitment to quality is more important than self-promotion. Do your job well, he says, and you'll get your chance to serve before the best.

In the work that you do, you may have to wait years before you get your chance to play in the big leagues. And the fact is, the chance may never come in the way you would like. But you can be sure your time will come. Believers can work with the assurance that our jobs -- even the most menial tasks -- are performed before our King. Our efforts do not go unnoticed. All the more reason to pursue excellence in all we do.

Your time will come; never give up on the dream of being the best.

The Difference Between Faith and Hope

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAITH AND HOPE

When the prayer made in faith is not answered, and the healing for which many have sought does not come, we are not to look for someone to accuse of failure in faith. Rather we are to remember that besides faith there is hope. Hope has to do with God's promises that are still future and hidden, just as faith has to do with God's promises that are here and now. To the person who has believed for today but has not seen the answer come today, there comes the call to hope. Hope says, "Tomorrow also is God's. Enough has happened already to assure you that the rest is on the way."

--Thomas Smail

QUOTES ON FAITH

Real works are the natural products of faith taking its next step. -- Paul Goodman

Men with faith can face martyrdom while men without it feel stricken when they are not invited to dinner. -- Walter Lippman

Faith is not being sure where you're going, but going anyway. -- Frederick Buechner

I am one of those who would rather sink with faith than swim without it. --Stanley Baldwin

He does not believe that does not live according to his belief. --Thomas Fuller

Little faith will bring your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul. —Anonymous.

Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. —C.S. Lewis

Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. —St. Augustine

Don't get the idea that if you can only muster up faith, you will be effective in prayer. Faith is not some mysterious commodity to be sought after. You do not need more faith; you need to learn how to appropriate the faith you already have. —John Bisagno

Faith is to believe what we do not see. The reward of faith is to see what we believe. —St. Augustine

I am totally dependent on God for help in everything I do. Otherwise I honestly believe I would start to fall apart in months. —Wallace Johnson, founder of Holiday Inn.

LITTLE SHARKS, BIG JELLY FISH
MATTHEW 25:21

I remember as a child going various swimming holes and the beaches of North Carolina with my dad. My dad, a retired special forces sergeant major, had a strange hobby of finding "buried treasure" with his metal detector. So while my dad went up and down the beaches, banks, and riverbeds of North Carolina, I would always play in the water.

Every time I would go swimming in the ocean, someone inevitably would warn me: Watch out for sharks! Of course, I always do, but I've never did see one. I've never even heard the "bom-bom-bom-bom" music that plays in the background when sharks come near. And it's a good thing, because once you hear the music, it's probably too late.

I've been warned to watch out for sharks, but no one has ever said to me, "Watch out for the jelly fish." So what happens one day while I am training to become the next world champion boogie boarder. I am stung by a jelly fish--on both of my legs, just below my knees. As a seven year old boy, I had never experienced so much pain and agony in my life. What was worse was the two hour ride back home from the ocean.

However,The fact is, jelly fish are far more dangerous. Each year they kill more people than sharks do.

Today, as a grown man with children of my own I take a walk each day outside, and even though I am highly allergic to bee stings no one has ever said to me, "Watch out for the bees." Yet, bees kill more people each year than sharks and jelly fish combined.

We tend to spend our lives worrying about the sharks (whether we ever go near the water or not), because sharks are big and scary. And we tend to ignore real threats because, by themselves, they're not all that intimidating.

Don't let the little things in life fool you. You ignore them at your own peril.

Every good marriage...every good employee...every good business succeeds because they've learned to pay attention to the little things.

Jesus told a story about a servant who was given some money to manage, and because he managed it well, he was rewarded by his master. The master said...

You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. (Matthew 25:21)

Our greatest wins and losses in life result from our ability to master the seemingly minor details of life.

• Reading a few verses of scripture and spending some time in prayer each day may not seem significant to some, but its long-term effect is revolutionary.

• Making the effort to bite your tongue may not seem that important, but in the long run it could save a relationship.

• Giving a customer a little extra attention might not seem like such a big deal, but it could pave the way to your next promotion.

Don't give the sharks more attention than they deserve--especially at the cost of ignoring the jelly fish. It's the little things that hold us back, and the little things that move us forward. They're our greatest danger and our most powerful weapon.