KNOW WHOSE YOU ARE

"Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that . . . person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this." Luke 6: 22-23 (The Message)

Some might say, "Will you make these points in the meeting? You are so much better at persuasion than I am."

Some people don’t trust their own ideas or speak up for themselves. They are afraid because someone else has not validated them first. Friends, if God has given you a truth, you need no other validation, for the Lord has trusted you to carry the message—the program idea, the creative work, the invention or the manuscript—to the world around you. You need no other permission or support.

I am writing a small book, Promote Yourself, to speak to that very issue. If you know whose you are and that even the small tasks he gives you are mighty blessings in His sight, then promoting yourself and the ideas He has given you is part of the responsibility that accompanies the blessing.

"But, how do I know that the new concepts I think of come from God? What if I sell only five widgets?" If quantity is how you measure your worth, then five sales could represent a business failure. If obedience to God is your goal, then connecting five people with your invention could be the very mission He has called you to. If you know whose you are, the world’s concept of success has no validity in your life.

There is a story of an evangelist who held tent services every evening for a week. Only a handful of people occupied the wooden, stencil-backed chairs each evening. By the arrogant standards of today, the faithful servant of God was a failure. On the last evening, a very young man who had attended every service shook his hand in appreciation for the inspiration the evangelist had been to him. "Thank you pastor. My name is Billy Graham." Was the pastor a failure? He inspired the man who led thousands to the Lord God. Let us pray:

"Father God, who lives in the Holy Kingdom you have established in my heart, I bow before your sacred name. May your indwelling kingdom within me, find room for whomever I am in contact with. May I never keep count or judge those who may live in my circle of love. You keep their names in the Book of Life, releasing me from that detail. For this day, reveal your face before me so clearly that I see you when I present your ideas, when I persuade another about the art, writing or invention you have given me. If I am presenting these ideas to you as a gift, it matters not how many others accept it. Forgive me when I have been afraid to stand behind the blessings you have given me. In so doing, I am showing that I am ashamed of you. Let your love shine through me, that each blessing you give me may be a greater blessing to others. In the name of your son Jesus Christ, your son and our redeemer, I pray. Amen"

Doris
"God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine."
Copyright 2013 Doris Gaines Rapp 
Saturday Sept 14, 2013 1pm - Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Ann Arbor, MI
TBA- Book Signing at Barnes & Noble, Valporaiso, Indiana.

www.dorisgainesrapp.com