Leave it to God. Seriously.

We may expect that false reports will circulate about us; but if we follow a straight course, if we remain indifferent to these things, others will also be indifferent. Let us leave to God the care of our reputation...Slander can be lived down by our manner of living; it is not lived down by words of indignation. Let our great anxiety be to act in the fear of God and show by our conduct that these reports are false.

No one can injure our character as much as we ourselves. It is the weak trees and totering houses that need to be constantly propped. When we show ourselves so anxious to protect our repuration against attacks from the outside, we give the impression that it is not blameless before God and that it needs therefore to be continually bolstered up.

MS 24, 1887

Examples of dealing with false reports in this manner: Jesus (Isaiah 53), God the Father, Stephen, Paul, Elijah, etc.

True Prayer

The prayer that does not succeed
in modulating our wishes;
in changing the passionate desire
into still submission;
the anxious tumultuous expectation
into quiet surrender,
is not true prayer.

The life is most holy
in which there is least of petition and desire
and most of waiting on God,
that in which petition
often passes into thanksgiving.

Pray until prayer makes you forget your own wishes
and leaves or merges it into God's will.

The Divine wisdom has given us prayer,
not as a means to obtain the good things of the earth,
bust as a means whereby
we learn to do without them.

Not as a means to escape evil
but as a means whereby
we become strong to meet it.

- Found in EGW's Bible after her death.

Poem: A Christian’s Commitment

I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed

I have stepped over the line.

The decision has been made.

I am a disciple of Christ.

I won’t look back, letup, slow down, back away, or be still

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure.

I’m finished and done with the low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dream, tamed vision, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labour by power.

My face is set, my gate is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear, I cannot be bought, deluded, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, meander in the maize of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me

And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me—my banner will be clear.

Author Unknown

Mary vs Martha: Every Missionary's Battle

As activity increases and men become successful in doing any work for God, there is danger of trusting to human plans and methods. There is a tendency to pray less, and to have less faith. Like the disciples, we are in danger of losing sight of our dependence on God, and seeking to make a savior of our activity. We need to look constantly to Jesus, realizing that it is His power which does the work. While we are to labor earnestly for the salvation of the lost, we must also take time for meditation, for prayer, and for the study of the word of God. Only the work accomplished with much prayer, and sanctified by the merit of Christ, will in the end prove to have been efficient for good. - Desire of Ages,362

But now

Prior to attending Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC) in December 2004, there were many things I had never done:

I had never come forward in response to an appeal. I had never known that women have a special role in ministry. I had never openly sobbed for joy when a best friend accepted the call for re-baptism. I had never realized there were 7,000 other youth (and counting!) which had not bowed their knees to the gods of this world. I had never realized how many ministry opportunities are available for young people. I had never been actively involved at my church. I had never considered what calling God had placed on my life.

But now -

I know what my purpose is in life. I know so many youth and young adults with the same passion for Christ that I have. I know the joy that comes from being active in evangelism and encouraging other people to get involved as well. I know the time is short. I know additional methods for sharing my faith with others. I know the importance of ministry to secular campuses. I know that God has placed a call on my life for full-time ministry. I know that there is nothing worth turning back for. Most importantly, I know whom I have believed in…

If you haven’t gone before (or even if you have), pray about attending GYC 2011in Houston, TX. You will be humbled, challenged, blessed, and inspired – I just know it.

selfLESS service

Tingles of anxiety mixed with annoyance began to wash over me. I could sense someone staring at me - someone very, very close. I refused to open my eyes in hopes that "it" would disappear. Who else could be up at this unearthly hour on the streets of Tijuana, Mexico? I probably didn't want to know.

"Are you sleeping?" inquired an unfamiliar voice with a thick Mexican accent. "Praying," I curtly responded without so much as looking up. "Why are you here?" he asked in a pitiful attempt to engage my interest in this conversation. My reverent prayer time with God quickly turned into a "woe is me" moment. "Father, you know I NEED this time with you. I'm exhausted! I don't want to talk to him. Please, make me nice."

As much as I was enjoying this mission trip, I was running low on steam. Every morning I rose before the sun in a vain attempt to have a quiet worship before the rest of the mob awoke. Then it was off to the construction site where we hammered away until evening. After a quick shower, I jumped into the van every night, hauling my projector and laptop, and headed out to preach the evangelistic series at a local church. Fun? Yes. Spiritually uplifting? Yes. Exhausting? Most definitely. I coveted my morning worship time with God and wasn't thrilled about this random guy taking that away from me...

For the next few minutes, I politely chatted with Manuel, the once stranger, about our purpose for being in Tijuana, Mexico. As I shared about my faith in God and His leading in my life, Manuel began to open up about his own experience. He shared about the mistreatment he suffered at the hands of other Christians, the questions he still has about the character of God, and the dreams he holds of someday living in a safe area with a family who loves him. The sound of our deep conversation and occasional laughs brought several other missionaries out of their warm sleeping bags and into our discussion. Meanwhile, my mind began to wander...

Picture this: Christ, physically drained from yet another day of ministry, hearing the fateful news - John the Baptist was beheaded, his severed head placed upon a platter. Aside from the mother of Christ, no one else understood Jesus' mission as clearly as John did. He was the one who had prepared the way for the Messiah. He was the one who had fearlessly preached God's Word and baptized His beloved Son. And now, he was dead.

Christ departs to a desert place in a vain attempt to have solitude, but it's of no use. The multitude follows Christ. The cries of their ailing children and demon-possessed friends pierce the air. The hideous-looking lepers pitifully moan, "Unclean. Unclean." as they follow the crowd from a distance. If there ever was a time when Christ deserved to be alone, deserved to be refreshed by hallowed time with His Father, this was that time. But how did Christ respond? He was "moved with compassion" and "healed their sick" (Matthew 14:13-14). He lost all remembrance of His own pain, His own exhaustion, and focused solely upon the needs of others. Not only did He minister to their spiritual and emotional needs, He also provided the food they required for their physical needs. Only after they were filled did He depart and enjoy peaceful solitude with His Father.

Oh how much I have to learn! So often our physical exhaustion and/or emotional trauma are used as an excuse to keep us from ministry. Yet these are the very things that should drive us to it! The life of Christ epitomizes this concept. His nourishment, both physical and emotional, was received through devoted service to others, not from the absence of it (See John 4). I nearly missed a Divine appointment because I was focused on my own perceived needs instead of making the service of Christ paramount in my life…

By the grace of God, may we learn to have the same experience that Christ had while on earth, and continues to have as He ministers on our behalf in the Heavenly sanctuary: “My meat[substance] is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34).