Welcome to the blog of Pastor Alton Stone, from Simpsonville, SC. Pastor Stone is a retired Ordained Bishop of The Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee with over 45 years of pastoral ministry.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Your Journey (Part 1)

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches."

Your life is a journey whether you know it or not. So how do you get the most out of your journey?

-Don’t settle for being just average in life. 

Find your loves, talents, passions, and embrace them.  Don’t hide behind other people’s decisions.  Don’t let others tell you what you want, but design your journey every step of the way with God's help!  The life you create from doing something for God that moves you is far better than the life you get from sitting around wishing you were doing it.

-The most prolific and beneficial experience in life is not in actually achieving something you want, but in seeking it. 

It’s the journey toward goals, hopes, and dreams that move forward with you as you pursue them.  It’s all about meaningful choices and what you learn along the way.  The most important reason for moving from one place to another is to experience what’s in between.  In between is where passions are realized, love is found, strength is gained, and priceless life-long memories are made.

-One of the most important abilities you can develop in this journey is the willingness to accept and grow through times of difficulty and discomfort. 

Because the best things are often hard to come by if you shy away from difficulty and discomfort. In fact you’ll miss out on them entirely. Realize this today.  If you get good at doing the hard things, you can do almost anything you put your mind to with the help of the Lord.

-Taking your journey one step at a time might seem obvious, but at some point we all find ourselves yearning for instant gratification. 

We want what we want, and we want it now!  This yearning often tricks us into biting off more than we can chew.  So, remind yourself: you can’t lift a thousand pounds all at once, but you can easily lift one pound a thousand times.  Repeated efforts will get you to your destiny eventually. 

-Sometimes you have to move backward to put yourself in a position to win. 

When it feels like you’re running into one dead end after another, it’s actually a sign that you’re not on the right track.  Maybe you were meant to take a left back when you took a right, and that’s perfectly fine.  Life gradually teaches you that U-turns are allowed.  So turn around when you must!  There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction. God can help you know exactly where to start and stop.

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