Gilbert Thurston

Random Thoughts About Life, Ministry and Whatever Else Happens to be on my Mind

Who Gets the Glory

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Do people stand amazed by your life? In other words do people in your life see something supernatural at work?

Often times when it comes to living for and serving God we tend to look at what we’re good at and what we like to do and then serve according to our ability. The result is we tend to not rely on God and the power of his spirit because we think we have everything under control.

The world therefore sees good people doing good things for their God, but they don’t see the power of God working through His people to accomplish what only He can do. The problem with that is if we function according to our ability alone,we get the glory. If however we function according to the power of His Spirit within us then He gets the glory.

So how about it…are you living for your glory or His?

New Levels=New Devils

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The saying “New Levels = New Devils” was a popular phrase that my first pastor used to say a lot and it is so very true.  Satan doesn’t attack as hard those who are not doing anything for God because why would he want to arouse them from their ineffectiveness.

However, when you are making a difference for God, Satan will attack like crazy because he wants to discourage you and get you to quit.  Honestly that’s where we are at right now.  We just completed our highest attended month and quarter ever…people are having their lives changed by the power of God and people are continuing to come into a relationship with Jesus!

The good news/bad news is Satan is on the prowl.  You wouldn’t believe some of the crap he is throwing at us.  Just this week alone has been attack after attack like you could never possibly imagine…I’m talking 3 instances where we are literally talking about matters of life and death and then a barrage of other things as well.

So on the one hand I’m emotionally exhausted and would love your prayers.  On the other hand, I’m jumping up and down on the inside for joy because I know Satan wouldn’t be working this hard if he weren’t really scared about what we’ve already done and what we can and will do in the future.

United and CFCOG…this is the adventure of a lifetime we are getting to participate in.  Stop right now and thank God for the privilege of being able to participate in something so much bigger than ourselves.  Then ask Him to draw you closer to Him because, “New Levels=New Devils”.

Dave, God and Guns-N-Roses

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Today I ate lunch with Aaron and Dave Draper, the President of Winebrenner Seminary, at TGI Fridays.  Dave is an awesome, awesome man of God and any time he is in town I consider it a real honor to be able to spend time with him and soak up any words of wisdom he has to impart.

Let’s just say Aaron and I got fed in more than one way.  Dave was hitting both of us square between the eyes on some pretty heavy stuff.  While he said he was proud of us, he also let us know we were prime candidates for burn-out unless we learn to get some balance in our lives.  He challenged us to make sure we’re getting not only a day off but a Sabbath day as well.  He encouraged us that we’re in this for he long haul so take some time to slow down and enjoy the journey…not to be in such a rush.

As we were finishing up he said he wanted to pray for us.  At first it was hard to hear is prayer because of the loud song in the background.  But less than 15 seconds in, the song switched…to whistling…as Dave continues to pray I realize the song is Patience by Guns-N-Roses.  It was all I could do to keep from busting out laughing…”Ok God I get it!”  I couldn’t help but wonder if Aaron was feeling the same thing…as soon as Dave says amen we look at each other and bust out laughting…he had thought the same thing.

Funny how God will speak to you through a preacher and one of the most profane rock groups of all times.  As I said heading out the door, “Even Elijah was fed by a dirty bird, so why can’t we”…hope Dave didn’t think I meant him :)

Super Bowl Thoughts

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Here are a couple of thoughts on the game and a few spiritual insights gleaned as well:

  • What a great game…maybe one of the best ever.
  • I was surprised the Cardinals did as well as they did.
  • In fact they really dominated the game in many aspects and deserved to win just as much as the Steelers did.
  • However, the final score said Steelers 27- Cardinals 23 and that’s what matters most, so congratulations to them and all you Steelers fans.
  • Which brings me to my first point…it’s all about the final score.  No matter the methods you use or how much the other team may have seemed to dominate it’s what shows up on the scoreboard in the end that matters most.  It’s the same with churches…in the end it won’t be about how we did it, or how much more “spiritual” others may seem to have been, but rather how many people did we help come into a true, life transforming relationship with Jesus.
  • Second lesson learned is that it’s all or nothing…because time is going to run out.  At the end of the first half James Harrison picked off a pass from Kurt Warner and started rumbling towards the end zone.  Time expired and so if he got tackled the half was over.  Instead he determinedly kept going, breaking tackles, giving it his all until he finally just barely fell into the end zone for a touchdown…which as it turned out was greatly needed.  Our lives are the same way…time is running out…we need to give it our all if we want to “score” or as the bible says “produce fruit” with our lives.
  • Last lesson is that the games outcome was determined by a matter of inches.  Both Harrison’s touchdown and Santonio Holmes touchdown with less than a minute to go in the game had to be verified by instant replay because they were that were so close to being ruled the other way.  In both cases instant replay confirmed that they had just barely scored.  In other words, the difference between winning the Super Bowl and losing it was literally a combined 2 or 3 inches.  Two months of training camp, 16 regular season games and 4 play-off games later…a champion was crowned because of…inches.  Life is the same way…all of our hard work will come down to just the little things that we do or don’t do…the difference between ordinary and extraordinary someone once said is that little word “extra”.  So how about it for you?  What’s the little extra you need to do to go from a runner-up whom history will forget, to being a champion?