AMBITION AND ATTITUDE

Howdy do all of you ambitious people. How's your dream and vision factor going for ya? Are you reaching your goals? Are your plans coming to pass? Is your life turning out like ya dreamed it would be? Did you think that you would be where you are at now...back when you envisioned your life?

Most likely...things have shifted and changed as you walk out your life in this crazy, ever-shifting thing that we call life. Oh...there are AMBITIOUS people who may have come out of the womb with a DayTimer in their hands...and knew exactly what they wanted out of life...and their entire life was on course (by their making...or their parents shaping exactly who they wanted them to be)...but that was not me.

When I was in Guatemala a while back...Bruce Coble and I were teaching at the Open Doors Ministry International (O.D.M.I.) School for pastors/missionaries. We tag team taught during our stay. I taught on the Holy Spirit and Bruce taught on the character of God. NOTE: It is dangerous to be moving in the gifts of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit in your lives (See I Corinthians). The first picture you see is the board when Bruce was teaching...with the bottom line of what we must have when we are "walking by faith" and "being led by the Spirit"...is found in the THEREFORE...at the bottom of the board..."OUR AMBITION IS TO PLEASE HIM." (II Corinthians 5:9)

This thing called ambition can be a good, driving force as you try to accomplish your visions, dreams, plans, and goals...OR...it can be a detriment...as you strive and strive trying to bring to pass things out of your control...or try to push your way to the top as you win the rat race. Of course when you win the RAT RACE...that makes you the #1 Rat.

Rick Nelson (formerly know as Ricky Nelson) at the hit Garden Party when he came to the conclusion that, "ya can't please everyone...so ya got to please yourself." This thing called ambition goes hand in hand with attitude and the combination is usually wrapped up in pleasure. What and who you chose to please will be motivation for what you accomplish.

Check out my doggie Sweetie. She is a Shih Tzu. The Shih Tzu were breed to sit at the feet of emperors/kings...to bring pleasure. Well, she sure has brought pleasure to me, Brenda, and Phillip over the years. It seems as if...her ambition was to bring pleasure to us...but I have a sneaking suspicion that her ambition was to get a dog biscuit. In actuality she has trained me to give her a biscuit as she performs her little dance...or tricks. I do know this...she sure brings me pleasure as she settles down...and either is in my arms or at my feet. Whether she knows it or not...she has it made. We will PROVIDE her everything she needs for shelter, comfort, food, play, etc.

As I am writing this Rambling...I am listening to Phil Keaggy's album THE SONG WITHIN. From talking to Phil...listening to him in interviews...reading articles about him...and listening to his music....the driving force in his music is not JUST the expression of the sounds in his head...but the impression of God on his heart. He has AMBITION... not to become a famous guitarist...but he has the ATTITUDE to please His God. That's why at the peak of success with the group Glass Harp... Phil chose to leave the group and pursue God's desires for him. I like this photo of Phil that I took of him playing with a group called the Faux Brummels. It shows a man enjoying the music...in the groove...but transcending the music into pleasing God. This should be the ATTITUDE of everything we do and say.

"And WHATEVER you do in word or deed, DO ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
(Colossians 3:17)

"WHATEVER you do, do your work heartily/from the soul, AS FOR THE LORD, rather than for men." (Colossians 3:23) Why? "...knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. IT IS THE LORD CHRIST WHOM YOU SERVE." (Colossians 3:24)

When whom you serve...is not yourself...or your boss...or your commander-in chief...or anyone else other than the Lord...your ATTITUDE will change...and your AMBITION will turn into pleasing Him verses pleasing yourself. When your plans blow up in your face...or your visions and dreams fall short of what you expected...your attitude...will be YES LORD. You will be able to GIVE THANKS in everything (the good, the bad, the ugly)...knowing that God is working out ALL THINGS for your good...because you
(1) you love Him (2) you are called (3) your calling is according to HIS PURPOSE...not yours.
(Romans 8:28)

This last picture is a picture of me, Bruce Coble, and Don Richards in Kenya, Africa. Don and His wife Nancy...have followed the Lord...seeking to please Him for many years. Their ambition has led them on an adventure...where many lives have been changed because of that desire to please Him. They have not become rich and famous...but they have pleased God...and He has met their needs over the years. Bruce and I have been able to encourage many over the globe as we desire to please God and go to places such as Peru where Ron and Annette Theisen have laid down their lives to go down the Amazon to share Christ...and Kirk and Diana DeVenny have lived in Guatemala for the past 20 years to go into darkened corners to share His light.

But the neat thing is...that WHEREVER you are...and WHOEVER you work for...or WHATEVER you do...you can be a God Pleaser by having as your AMBITION...to please Him. (II Corinthians 5:9)

"Therefore, whether we are AT HOME [on earth away from Him], or AWAY FROM HOME (and with Him], we are constantly AMBITIOUS and STRIVE EARNESTLY...to be WELL-PLEASING TO HIM."
(II Corinthians 5:9 The Amplified Bible)

And that brings us back to picture #1...to (1) walk by faith (2) led by the Spirit...our AMBITION must be to please Him.

"But without faith it is impossible to PLEASE and BE SATISFACTORY to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)...[not just passively inquire]" Hebrews 11:6 The Amplified Bible (I commented on the passively inquiring part).

FINAL THOUGHTS FINALLY...NO REALLY...FINAL

The only way that you can shift your ambition to Him...is determined by the controlling factor. What drives you...what motivates you...will determine what your ambition will be...which is hinged on your attitude.

"For the LOVE OF CHRIST controls us...having concluded this...that one died for all (Jesus)...therefore, all died (you, me, the world)...and He died (Jesus) for all (us)...that they who live...SHOULD NO LONGER LIVE FOR THEMSELVES (ambition), BUT (in contrast to living for yourself)...for HIM WHO DIED AND ROSE AGAIN ON THEIR BEHALF (aka D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection...nothing more, nothing less)." (II Corinthians 5:14-15 New American Standard Bible...Ruminator Style)

Love and Ambitious Kisses
Rodney "Yes, Lord" Boyd

DESIRES, DREAMS, VISIONS

Greetings loved ones. I LOVE this time of year. There is a shift in the atmospheric condition as the seasons change from summer to fall. Leaves change colors, there is a nip in the air, and there are echos of Thanksgiving leading to Christmas. One of the ripples in the echo pool is the classic movie...IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (IAWL).

IAWL...is a 1946 "slice of Americana" by Frank Capra. The movie is based on a short story called THE GREATEST GIFT by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Stern originally mailed out the story/plot to his friends as a Christmas card. The movie stars Jimmy Stewart/George Bailey (fresh out of the military), Donna Reed/Mary Hatch/Bailey (her first starring role),Lionel Barrymore /Mr. Potter(resident curmudgeon on the silver screen), Ward Bond /Bert the cop(future wagon master on Wagon Train), Frank Faylen/Ernie the taxi driver (future father of Dobie Gillis), Henry Travers/Clarence Oddbody (angel 2nd class/no wings), and Thomas Mitchell /Uncle Billy...and a recurring star in all of Frank Capra's pictures....Jimmy the Raven.

The plot of the movie is a despondent man...who had his DESIRES, DREAMS, and VISIONS...put on perpetual hold...so others can realize their DESIRES, DREAMS and VISIONS. He reaches a breaking point...after years of getting stuck in Bedford Falls...and attempts to commit suicide...that is thwarted by PRAYER...and a gift of seeing how his world would be without him being born. He eventually sees that he really does have a WONDERFUL LIFE... that was manifested in his friends and family. NOTE: The next play for LAMPLIGHTER'S THEATER at our church is a RADIO PRESENTATION (like Old Time Radio). I CAN'T WAIT. What does this have to do with ME...and you. Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to but ME in bold leaders and you in small letters.

God does have DESIRES, DREAMS and VISIONS for us...and sometimes it seems as if we have entered the GEORGE BAILEY ZONE. This is a TWILIGHT ZONE experience of spinning our wheels on this spinning ball called planet Earth. God has a solution for the DELIGHT DESTROYERS in our lives.

What do you do when EVILDOERS and WRONGDOERS...seem to be getting out of BEDFORD FALLS...and experiencing your DESIRES, DREAMS, and VISIONS?

The key is found in Psalm 37...and specifically in Psalm 37:5.

"DELIGHT YOURSELF IN THE LORD AND HE WILL GIVE YOU THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART." (Psalm 37:5)

This verse is in the context of EVILDOERS and WRONGDOERS seemingly getting away with murder...and having the things that you DESIRE. The whole chapter has a plethora of ACTION words....that you can DO while you can't SEE God moving.

NOTE: Take time and circle and underline all of the ACTION WORDS...and the CAUSE & EFFECT of your ACTIONS in the face of your DESIRES, DREAMS, and VISIONS not coming in to instant fruition.

Psalm 37:5...has the solution...(1) DELIGHT yourself (2) in the LORD (3) and HE (the Lord) (4) will GIVE you (5) the DESIRES
(6) of your HEART.

1. DELIGHT: aw-nag'= to be soft, pliable, effeminate, luxurious, delicate. Delighting as a verb is NOT jumping up and down, clapping your hands together and saying..."I'm deeeeeeeeeeeelighted." It is a yielding...being pliable (to the Lord) not the circumstance. It is yielding our will to His will...and not be hardened in our hearts towards circumstances, evil/wrong doers, and God.

2. THE LORD: We are not delighting in the circumstance. The circumstance may seem impossible. The circumstance may not seem fair (at the time). The circumstance is in constant flux...and may seem unchangeable. But the Lord is ROCK SOLID. He never changes. Circumstances must conform to the Lord...not the Lord conforming to the circumstance.

3. HE= The Lord will DO something...IF you DELIGHT yourself in HIM. It's called the FAITH CAUSE AND EFFECT.

"Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title-deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality--faith PERCEIVING as REAL FACT what is NOT REVEALED TO THE SENSES." (Hebrews 11:1 The Amplified Bible).

4. WILL GIVE YOU: Much like Jabez...when He prayed five specific things in his prayer...GOD GRANTED WHAT HE REQUESTED.

"If you live in Me--abide vitally united to Me--and My words remain in you and continue to live in your HEARTS...ASK whatever you will and it shall be done for you." (John 15:7)

"And this is the confidence---the assurance, the [privilege of] boldness--which we have in Him; [we are sure] that if we ASK ANYTHING (make any request) ACCORDING TO HIS WILL (in agreement with His own plane) He LISTENS and HEARS us. And if (since we [positively] know that He listens to us in WHATEVER WE ASK...we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we HAVE [granted us our present possessions] the REQUESTS we made of Him" (I John 5:14,15 The Amplified Bible)

5. THE DESIRES: mish-aw-law'= a request, desire, petition. Good will (1) give in the sense of planting those desires in your heart
(2) and will bring to pass what he planted in you.

6. OF YOUR HEART: labe=the feelings, the will, the intellect, the CENTER of anything. Deep in the core of your being...in your spirit... in your place of intimacy with Him...in your inner man...is where your DESIRES, DREAMS, and VISIONS are BIRTHED...INCUBATED, AND DELIVERED...way before you actually SEE THEM. You see them first within...where your human spirit is intimate with the Holy Spirit.

"So too the (Holy) Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer no how to offer it worthily as we ought, BUT the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groaning to deep for utterance. And He who searches th HEARTS OF MEN...know what is in the MIND OF THE (HOLY) SPIRIT---what His intent is--because the Spirit intercedes and pleads [before God] in behalf of the saints ACCORDING TO AND IN HARMONY WITH GOD'S WILL. We are assured and know that [God being a PARTNER in their labor] ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER AND ARE [FITTING INTO A PLAN] for good to those who love God and are called according to {His] DESIGN and PURPOSE." (Romans 8:28 The Amplified Bible)

NOTE: The design and purpose...are linked with the DESIRES, DREAMS and VISIONS that he GIVES/PLANTS in us.

NOTE TO THE NOTE: There are well orchestrated schemes and attacks against us and the seed of the Word planted within our hearts to STOP production of crops in our lives. (See Mark 4; Ephesians 6; Genesis 2-3)

FINAL THOUGHTS...FINALLY!!!!!

Timing is everything...and eventually...you will experience what God has in store for you...if you become focused...and don't try to escape from what you feel is your prison..either Bedford Falls or your circumstances.

Love and Bedford Falls Kisses
Rodney "Can't Wait For The Lamplighter's Production" Boyd