January 2008 Newsletter
Ron Kervin
Writer/Author, Motivational Speaker
Noteworthy news:
I send thanks and appreciation to those who attended the gathering at the James Cullins Family Center on Dec 6th and were present during my speech. I don’t think I have ever had the honor to speak to a higher caliber group of folks than those who were there. I appreciate all the response to a subject that I hold in high regard as a better way of life for all of us here in this physical world and who contend with this reality on a daily basis. I look forward to having future opportunities in and around this part of the country.
Upcoming events:
A major redesign of our website has just been completed by Cassie Clevenger and we now have new tools to help meet our mission goals. You are invited to become a member of the family at my website.
Quote for the month:
All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.
Scriptures for the month:
For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
For Your Consideration:
When I decided to embark upon my writing career and speaking venue, I could have chosen from a number of platforms from which to work. I could have chosen from the silly and absurd on one end of the spectrum to what I refer to as the warm and fuzzy on the other end.
You probably know the warm and fuzzy platform? It is the one where everything is peaches and cream, where the milk never curdles, everything is good and nothing is bad, everything is positive with nothing negative, there is up but no down, there is a heaven but no hell, God’s character is only love and no wrath or recompense, there is a ying but no yang, A left but no right. No wait, scratch that last item, I believe that is NASCAR where there are lefts but no rights.
At any rate, you know the warm and fuzzy platform. It is like my business card. It has length and width but when you turn it on its side there is no depth. It has no substance. I chose the word of God as my platform because it has the substance I knew I would need to be truly successful.
My target audience is primarily secular, but my tool of choice is the word of God. I wanted to know and needed to know if I had chosen the sharpest tool in the tool chest when I made my choice. I fear that is the problem with most of the failures in our lives today. We choose a tool that is less than the sharpest tool available to us and then we try to get the job done by just hacking our way through it. Eventually we, give out, give up or just get disgusted with all the hacking. If we had chosen the sharpest tool in the toolbox, to begin with we could have just sliced our way through the job and been successful with less effort.
If I were to attempt to convince someone that I had chosen the sharpest tool in the box by choosing the word of God, I would immediately throw out just two verses to prove my point. In Isaiah 40:22 we read these words, “It is he that sits on the circle of the earth.” Here, God tells mankind, decades before man could stop fighting and fussing long enough to understand, that the world was indeed round. Mankind, up until the fifteenth century, believed the world was flat. In Psalms 8:8 we read these words, “Whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea.” Here God tells mankind decades before oceanographers understood that there are indeed permanent currents in the ocean. I would say that just these two verses within the word of God point out just how sharp the tool really is.
I also needed to know if my choice of platform and tool was relevant to my endeavor. In II Timothy 3:16 we read these words, “The word of God is profitable for doctoring, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Of course, we can readily see that the word of God is profitable for our spiritual soul and I am truly grateful for those spiritual leaders who help poor weak pilgrims such as me along the path of righteousness because I am one of those who sometimes shuffles along in darkness and off the path.
I sometimes get afflicted with the Tom Cat syndrome. I have been known to prowl around back alleys, chase wild females, mark my territory and contend with other males who might wander through it. Not that I do that anymore! I have also been known to drive my old Trans Am sports car much too fast. Not that I do that anymore! I have also been known to contend physically with bullies whom I find taking advantage of those who are older, weaker or younger than they are. Now, I still do that some! The point is that I know I need those spiritual leaders such as James Cullins and John David Parker to lead me in the right direction.
I also recognize that I am a spiritual being trapped for now in this physical body and I also need physical leaders as well. About fifteen years ago, my hair began to turn grey. For a few years it bothered me to no end and I fought it tooth and nail. I began to look around at some of the older men in my home congregation and I realized that their hair looked good. So, becoming grey no longer bothered me as much. Seeing John David Parker with his head of hair gives me hope that I might have a few years left with mine. I have hope that I might one day teach a bible class and hold the attention of the students as well as James Cullins, or that I might one day show the determination and perseverance that I see in Andy Graham, or that I might one day wear a suit and it looks as sharp on me as Buddy Cranmer’s does on him, or that I might pay attention to small details and personal aspects like I see Chuck Fuller accomplish, or that I will one day have a marriage in which I find the kind of love that I see in the marriage of James and Loraine Tidwell.
To be really successful, I need to have the spiritual leadership and the physical leadership that the word of God provokes in those who obey his will and that I look up to and follow. When plotting out success, both you and I need to have a platform with substance. We need to have the sharpest tool in the tool chest and we must be certain that both are relevant to our task at hand. Perhaps your desire for success will guide you to choose the word of God as your platform and tool of choice, also.
On the lighter side:
God gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.
Parting Thoughts:
If you know someone who would like to receive my monthly newsletter, please let me know their email address. If they would prefer to view my newsletters online, they may go to my website at (www.RonKervin.com).
If the word be good, then spread it!
I can use all the exposure I can get. I appreciate your telling your friends about my work. I also appreciate your support and encouragement.
Until next month, may God bless your pilgrimage! May you live long and prosper!