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We
are Human Beings, not Human Doings
An Interview with
Rick Warren by Paul Bradshaw |
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Submitted by Daisy G who
met Rick Warren a few times at his office at the
Saddleback Church, Lake Forest CA. Rick Warren, the
author of the
best selling book Purpose Driven Life, is the founding
and senior pastor of
Saddleback Church.
"He is a very
simple, gentle and inspiring man who, through his
book, Purpose Driven Life, has made a lot of money
for the church. Unlike other pastors/ministers whose
lifestyles change through wealth and now live in
mansions and have become materialistic, Rick and his
wife stayed in their original home where they raised
their children, live humbly ... and to top it all,
stopped accepting a salary from his church. He is an
epitome of God's servant. a true follower of God's
Word, and he lives his life in this manner. His wife
is now suffering from cancer and below is an
interview with him by Paul Bradshaw. I would like to
share this with you all." - Daisy G.
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You will enjoy
the new insights that Rick Warren has, with
his wife now having cancer and him having
'wealth' from the book sales. This is an
absolutely incredible short interview with
Rick Warren, 'Purpose Driven Life ' author and
pastor of Saddleback Church in California.
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick
Warren, Rick said: |
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People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I
respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for
eternity. We were made to last forever, and God
wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will
be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am
going to spend trillions of years in eternity.
This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God
wants us to practice on earth what we will do
forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you
figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in
one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're
getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested
in your character than your comfort.
God is more interested in making your life holy
than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but
that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow
in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my
life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay,
getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys -
you go through a dark time, then you go to the
mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that
anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I
believe that it's kind of like two rails on a
railroad track, and at all times you have
something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there
is always something bad that needs to be worked
on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life,
there is always something good you can thank God
for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus
on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into
self-centeredness, 'which is my problem, my
issues, my pain.' But one of the easiest ways to
get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself
and onto God and others.
We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers
of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not
going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.
It has been very difficult for her, and yet God
has strengthened her character, given her a
ministry of helping other people, given her a
testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.
You have to learn to deal with both the good and
the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good
is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a
sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it
made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had
never had to deal with before. I don't think God
gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or
for you to live a life of ease.
So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with
this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me
two different passages that helped me decide what
to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72
First, in spite
of all the money coming in, we would not change
our lifestyle one bit. We made no major
purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I
stopped taking a salary from the church.
Third, we set up foundations to fund an
initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant
churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care
for the sick, and educate the next generation.
Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid
me in the 24 years since I started the church,
and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be
able to serve God for free.
We need to ask
ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions?
Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt?
Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be
driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of
my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else
done today, I want to know You more and love You
better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill
a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am
than what I do.
That's why we're called human beings, not human
doings.
Happy moments,
PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.
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Elisha
2 Kings 5:1 - 7:20 |
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Introduction |
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Literally
and figuratively, Elisha picks up Elijah's
mantle. He performs a series of
miracles that show to the people that the
spirit of the LORD is with him.
After
Elijah was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind
and a chariot of fire, Elisha strikes the
water of the river Jordan and it divides.
Elisha
also heals the waters in the city by
throwing salt into the spring. Elisha
announces that the LORD, has purified the
water and never again shall death or
miscarriage spring from it.
He also
provides the kings of Judah, Israel and Edom
with water to drink despite the raging
draught. Through him he delivers the enemies
of the kings by making them think
that the
water that flooded from |
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the direction
of Edom is the blood of the kings who are
quarreling with each other.
Elisha also
performs a miracle with the oil to feed the mother
and her two children. He also he prophesies to a Shumenite woman that she
is going to have a son,
and when the son becomes sick and dies, he revives
him.
Through Elisha
the LORD feeds hundreds of people with twenty loaves
of bread.
And after they eat, there is some left over,
as the LORD had said. |
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Naaman,
the Leper
Naaman, the army commander of the king
of Aram, is highly esteemed and
respected by his master, for through him
the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he is, the man is a
leper. |
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In the
meantime the Arameans captures from
the land of Israel in a raid, a
little girl who becomes the servant
of Naaman's wife. The servant girl
tells Naaman’s wife to have Naaman
present himself to the prophet in
Samaria so he would cure him of his
leprosy.
Naaman goes to his king and tells
him what the servant girl said. The
king of Aram tells Naaman to go and
he sends with Naaman a letter to the
king of Israel, ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten
festal garments.
When he reads the letter, the king
of Israel tears his garments. He
exclaims that the king of Aram is
looking for trouble with him since
he knows he has no power over life
and death and yet that this man
sends someone to be cured of
leprosy. |
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When
Elisha hears that the king of Israel had
torn his garments, he sends word to the
king to let the leper come to him. Thus
Naaman comes with his horses and
chariots and stops at the door of
Elisha's house. |
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The
prophet sends him the message to go
and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and his flesh will heal, and he will
be clean.
Expecting the LORD to move his hand
on the spot curing the leprosy,
instead Naaman becomes angry. But
his servants implore him to do as
the prophet had said so Naaman goes
down and plunges into the Jordan
seven times. His flesh becomes again
like the flesh of a little child,
and he is cleaned.
He returns with his whole retinue to
the man of God. On his arrival he
stands before him and says that he
now knows that there is no God in
all the earth, except in Israel.
Naaman offers the gifts to Elisha
but Elisha refuses to accept them. |
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RNaaman
then says that he trust the LORD will
forgive him when his master enters the
temple of immon to worship there, then
he, too, as his adjutant, must bow down
in the temple of Rimmon.
Elisha
sends him away in peace.
Elisha’s Servant
Naaman had gone some distance Gehazi,
the servant of Elisha thinks to himself
that this master was too easy with this
Aramean Naaman. So he runs after Naaman
to get something out of him. Aware that
someone is running after him, Naaman
alights from his chariot to wait for
him. When he catches up with Naaman,
Gehazi tells Naaman that Elisha has sent
him to ask Naaman to give a talent of
silver and two festal garments to two
young men have just come to him, guild
prophets from the hill country of
Ephraim.
Naaman tells him to take two talents and
he does. Later he carries the gifts into
the house but he meets Elisha who asks
him where he went. The servant lies
saying he did not go anywhere. But
Elisha tells him that he was present in
spirit when the man alighted from his
chariot to wait for him. Elisha asks him
if this is the time to take money or to
take garments, olive orchards or
vineyards, sheep or cattle, male or
female servants.
Elisha then says that the leprosy of
Naaman shall cling to him and his
descendants forever. And Gehazi leaves
Elisha, a leper white as snow. |
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Floating the Ax Head
The guild prophets once tell Elisha
that there is not enough room for
them to continue to live here with
him. They ask to go to the Jordan
where they can build a place for
them to live. Elisha tells them to
go but one of them asks Elisha to
accompany them.
So Elisha goes with them, and when
they arrive at the Jordan they begin
to cut down trees. While one of them
is cutting a tree trunk, the iron ax
head slips and falls into the water.
The man cries out to Elisha that the
ax was borrowed.
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Elisha
asks where it fell and the man pointed
out the spot. Elisha cuts off a stick,
throws it into the water, and floats the
iron to the surface. Elisha tells the
man to pick it up.
Elisha’s Fiery Chariots
At this time the king of Aram is waging
war on Israel. He makes plans with his
servants to attack a particular place.
However, Elisha sends word to the king
of Israel not to pass that place. When
the king of Aram learns that his plan
failed, the king of Aram calls together
his officers to ask if there is a spy
among them.
One of the officers answer there is no
spy among them but the Israelite prophet
Elisha can tell the king of Israel the
very words he speaks in his bedroom.
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The
king them orders to have Elisha
captured. When he finds that Elisha
is in Dothan, he sends a strong
force with horses and chariots. They
arrive by night and surround the
city.
Early the next morning, when the
attendant of the man of God arises
and goes out, he sees the force with
its horses and chariots surrounding
the city. Alarmed, he asks Elisha
what to do.
Elisha assures him not to be afraid
for they outnumber the enemy. Then
Elisha prays to the LORD to open his
eyes so that he may see. And the
LORD opens the eyes of the servant,
and he sees the mountainside filled
with horses and fiery chariots
around Elisha.
When the Arameans come down to get
him, Elisha prays to the LORD to
strike them blind. And in
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answer to
the prophet's prayer the LORD strikes
them blind.
Then
Elisha says to them that this is the
wrong road, and this is the wrong city.
He then tells them to follow him so he
will lead them to the man they want. And
he leads them to Samaria.
When they enter Samaria, Elisha prays
for the LORD to open their eyes that
they may see. The LORD opens their eyes,
and they see that they are inside
Samaria. When the king of Israel sees
them, he asks Elisha if he should kill
them.
Elisha tells the king not to kill them
but to serve them bread and water and
afterwards to let them go back to their
master. So the king prepares a great
feast for them and after the feast he
sends them back to their master. From
then on no more Aramean raiders come
into the land of Israel.
Elisha’s Prophecy
After this, Ben-hadad, king of Aram,
musters his whole army and lays siege to
Samaria. Because of the siege the famine
in Samaria is so severe that food is
very expensive. One day, as the king of
Israel is walking on the city wall, a
woman cries out to him for help. The
king finds out the gruesome trouble that
the woman got into that he becomes so
angry that he sends out a man to kill
Elisha that day.
Meanwhile, Elisha is sitting in his
house in conference with the elders.
Elisha then noted to the elders that the
son of a murderer is sending someone to
cut off his head. While Elisha is still
speaking, the king arrives and declares
that this famine is from the LORD, and
the people are suffering especially
since the food is expensive.
Elisha tells the king that the LORD says
that at this time in the next day a seah
of fine flour will sell for a shekel and
two seahs of barley for a shekel, in the
market of Samaria. But the adjutant with
the king answers that this just cannot
happen. Elisha tells him that he shall
see it with his own eyes but he shall
not eat of it. |
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The
Lepers |
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At the
city gate are four lepers
deliberating if they should sit
until the famine will kill them
there, or go to the desert camp of
the Arameans where they might kill
them. At twilight they leave for the
Arameans; but when they reach the
edge of the camp, no one is there.
Earlier the LORD had caused the army
of the Arameans to hear the sound of
chariots and horses, the din of a
large army, that they had reasoned
among themselves that they are being
attacked. Then in the twilight they |
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flee for their
lives, abandoning everything and the whole camp
just as it was.
After the lepers reach the edge of the camp, they
go first into one tent, eat and drink, and take
silver, gold, and clothing from it, and go out and
hide them. Back they come into another tent, take
things from it, and again go out and hide them.
Then they decide to tell the palace about what
they found, otherwise they will be blamed. So they
summon the city gatekeepers and tell them that
they went to the camp of the Arameans and found no
one, except for the animals and the tents. The
gatekeepers then report this to the palace.
With this news,
although it is evening, the king gets up. At fist
he thinks that this is a ploy by the Arameans to
ambush them hoping to take them alive and enter
their city when they leave it. But one of his
servants, convince him to let them take five of
the abandoned horses and send scouts to
investigate. So they go to reconnoiter the Aramean
army.
They follow the Arameans as far as the Jordan, and
the whole route is strewn with garments and other
objects that the Arameans had thrown away in their
haste. The messengers return to report this to the
king.
Then the people go out to plunder the camp of the
Arameans. That day a seah of fine flour sells for
a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel, as
the LORD had said. The king put in charge of the
gate his adjutant; but the people trample him to
death at the gate, just as the man of God had
predicted when the king visited him.
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To be continued... |
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For further
reading on the heroes of the Old Testament: |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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The First Book of Kings (Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the Old Testament) This
volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of the First Book of Kings
follows the pattern of the now well-established series on the Old and New
Testaments. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English
Bible itself, but these are further subdivided for the purposes of the
commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of
the text. |
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Canon Robinson suggests that the editors of I
Kings compiled their history in order to teach
the Hebrews that their existence as Israel, the
covenant people of God, depended upon their
continuing loyalty to their own religious
traditions, and their refusal to exchange them
for the very different traditions of the
Canaanites among whom they lived.
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I & II Samuel: A Commentary (Old Testament
Library)
First sentence in
the book:
""THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL contain that
part of the history of Israel which describes
the foundation of the State, running from the
close of the period of the Judges to the
establishment of the united kingdom." |
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The Sunday Readings |
September 9,
2007:
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
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First Reading From the
Book of Wisdom : |
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Wis 9:13-18b |
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Who can know God’s
counsel, or who can conceive what the LORD
intends?
For the
deliberations of mortals are timid, and unsure are
our plans.
For the corruptible body burdens the soul and the
earthen shelter weighs down the mind that has many
concerns.
And scarce do we
guess the things on earth, and what is within our
grasp we find with difficulty; but when things are
in heaven, who can search them out?
Or who ever knew
your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent
your holy spirit from on high?
And thus were the
paths of those on earth made straight. |
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Responsorial From the Book of Psalms:
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Ps 90:3-4, 5-6,
12-13, 14-17 |
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R. In every
age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return,
O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight are as
yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been
our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing
grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been
our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been
our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all
our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our
God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been
our refuge.
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Second Reading from
the Letter to Philemon |
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Phmn 9-10, 12-17 |
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I, Paul, an old man,
and now also a prisoner for Christ Jesus, urge you
on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I
have become in my imprisonment; I am sending him,
that is, my own heart, back to you.
I should have liked
to retain him for myself, so that he might serve
me on your behalf in my imprisonment for the
gospel, but I did not want to do anything without
your consent, so that the good you do might not be
forced but voluntary.
Perhaps this is
why he was away from you for a while, that you
might have him back forever, no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother, beloved
especially to me, but even more so to you, as a
man and in the Lord.
So if you regard
me as a partner, welcome him as you would me. |
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Reading From
the Gospel of Luke:
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Lk 14:25-33 |
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Great crowds were
traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed
them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father
and mother, wife and children, brothers and
sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my
disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come
after me cannot be my disciple.
Which of you
wishing to construct a tower does not first sit
down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after
laying the foundation and finding himself unable
to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at
him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the
resources to finish.’
Or what king
marching into battle would not first sit down and
decide whether with ten thousand troops he can
successfully oppose another king advancing upon
him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while
he is still far away, he will send a delegation to
ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his
possessions cannot be my disciple.”
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References |
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The Chariot of Israel: Exploits of the Prophet of Elijah
THE CHARIOT OF ISRAEL: When Elijah was caught up
to heaven, his disciple Elisha cried out, "the
chariot of Israel, and its horsemen." Elisha was
referring not to the chariot but to the prophet.
This study of Elijah’s life will captivate you
as it walks you through a pivotal period in
Israel’s history, and illustrative maps will
give you a better picture of the physical
geography of this ancient land. |
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Read more about the Liturgical Year |
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The Origins of the Liturgical Year (Pueblo
Books)
by
Thomas J. Talley (Author) The Rev. Dr.
Thomas J. Talley, Professor of Liturgics
at the General Theological Seminary in New
York, is one of the leading liturgists in
the country. He gives us a fresh
examination of the complex history of the
Liturgical Year. |
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The Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday, Cycle C. (Bestseller! the Cultural World of Jesus: Sunday by Sunday)
by
John J. Pilch (Author)
Reader
Review: The book by Pilch provides
those who not only fill the pulpits across
this country but also all interested in
the cultural world in which Jesus lived
with a lot of pertinent information that
sheds light on a lot of areas that have
been "muddled" in the past. Yes, I highly
recommend this book. - James Mauldin |
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Learn more and read the Old Testament. |
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Preaching from the Old Testament
by Elizabeth Achtemeier (Author) Reader
Review: The author of these
thirty-two short chapters begins and ends
with the assumption that problems we
experience with the Old Testament are our
problem, not the Bible's. This
subordinating of the Bible reader to the
well-weathered book he holds in his hand
opens doors, not to forced harmonisations
of problematic passages, but to fresh
reappraisal of difficult texts on their
own terms. -
David A. Baer |
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The Navarre Bible: Pentateuch (The Navarre Bible: Old Testament)
This volume helps you make the first five
books of the Old Testament a vital part of
your spiritual reading and practical
growth in the Christian life. It contains
the full English and Latin texts of these
books, along with extensive and faithfully
Catholic commentaries. Like other volumes
in the world-renowned Navarre Bible
series, these commentaries draw on Church
documents, the exegesis of Fathers and
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Doctors of the Church, and the works of contemporary
spiritual writers — particularly St. Josemaría
Escrivá, who initiated the Navarre Bible
project. |
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Comments and
Suggestions are Most Welcome.
If you have any
comments or contributions, please
use the form in this link.
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Recipes |
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Yogurt
Cheese in Olive Oil |
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Pansotti with Walnut
Sauce |
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Chilled Chocolate and
Espresso Mousse
(Note: in
the last issue this recipe was linked to the Chocolate Truffles
- this time this is the correct one! My apologies.) |
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Pictures!
with More than a Thousand Words |
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Not Fair! |
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Church Sign: A Warning! |
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Negotiating
Before God. |
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