Nathan Mellis

I got an email from MAF the other day that had the following contained in it. I thought it was quite good so I thought I’d pass it along. Enjoy!

SEVEN FALSE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WILL KILL YOUR JOY

1. If I go where God leads me, the people will love me
   ‘The servant is not greater than his Lord’ (John 13:16)
   If I do God’s will God will love me, though he loves me even if I do not.

2. I will be useful in every area I will attempt to serve
   ‘God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the things that are despised and the things that are not … so that no one may boast before him’ (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)
   Just because I came here, doesn’t mean every need is my responsibility to meet, nor that I will be able to meet all needs.

3. What I do will make a significant (noticeable, appreciated) difference
   ‘For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18)
   I have to be willing to be faithful to do what God wants me to do, whether it is seen by others or not.

4. I will be adequate for the task
   ‘For when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Corinthians 12:10)
   No matter how much I think I know, I need to know more about brokenness than about ability.

5. I will gain a sense of belonging – fitting in with ease
   ‘He will be despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief’ (Isaiah 53:3)
   While trying to bridge the language and culture barriers, I must still be willing to be rejected, and to love anyway.

6. If none or few of the above are true, I am a failure
   ‘Measuring yourselves by yourselves and comparing yourselves against yourselves, you become unwise’ (2 Corinthians 10:12)
   No one is a failure who seeks the pleasure of God alone.

7. If all or some of the above are true, I am a success
   ‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world’ (Galatians 6:14)
   For whose sake am I trying to succeed? If I win all the cross-cultural crowns and forget the cross, I lose all.

(Written by Anne Stoothoff, MAF US Alumna)

Via Quotes of the Day:

Irv Kupcinet: “What can you say about a society that says that God is dead and Elvis is alive?”

Good question.

Via Dilbert Daily Strip:

This one hit a little too close to home.

My friend Marshall sent me a link to this today and it was too good to pass up posting. I never knew technospeak could sound so scandalous and suggestive. Enjoy!

(Via Edible Apple)

A verb walked up to a noun seated at the bar and said: “Hey! Want to come back to my place and conjugate?” The noun replied, “I’m sorry, but I must decline.”

(Thanks to Brandon for this one)

Via Quotes of the Day:

M. Cartmill: “As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life – so I became a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.”

Via Rands In Repose:

The Words You Wear: In business, words are like fashion. You try a word on because important people around you are saying it and getting results, but you may not actually know what it means.

Another excellent article by Rands. Some of my favorites include:

• Best Practices — A phrase used to convince you to do something different that assumes you don’t actually want to know why it’s a better approach.

Via The Onion:

New Nietzschean Diet Lets You Eat Whatever You Fear Most: NEW YORK—By conquering your Fear and eating it in Heroic Portions, one can avoid the Eternal Occurrence of weight gain.

Excellent.

Via Quotes of the Day:

Tom Stoppard: “It’s not the voting that’s democracy, it’s the counting.”

As evidenced by the recent “election” in Iran.

Via Dilbert Daily Strip:

Another good one I couldn’t pass up linking to. Hopefully my beta tests will fare better than this one.