I
was going through my emails on Sunday afternoon. I had a boat load of them.
Blog
posts I intend to read, but don’t have time at the moment…these continue to
stay in my inbox until I have a spare moment to skim them for the shards of
wisdom found in each one.
Notes
from a faithful group of fellow writers that I can’t seem to find time to be
part of…these will probably continue to grow until I finally say, “I want to be
part of this group, but I can’t seem to find the time to commit.”
Reminders
from my “personal trainer” of what I need to do on this particular day…these
get moved to the “personal” folder of my email, because someday I will start
with day one (today I filed day 205 away for future reference).
My
recent favorite however, was an email of a blog post written by one of my
favorite authors and speakers, Cindy Dagnan. Since her name caught my
attention, I decided to read it.
It
was about rejection. Rejection from publishers and how it affects us. But then
she said, “As Christian writers, that rejection can be magnified, for if we are
doing this right, our goal is to make His name famous. His alone.”[i]
Yes!
As a Christian writer there is more at stake than just some words on paper. My
message is God’s message. My goal must be to make His name famous.
I
join a loyal group Christian authors from Moses to Max Lucado. From Paul to Priscilla Shirer.
From Luke to C.S. Lewis. From King David to Cindy Dagnan. Everyone who joins
this group has the same goal. For God to be magnified and for ourselves to be
diminished. I cannot and must not take this task lightly.
The
unknown author of 2 Samuel knew how to magnify God above himself. 2 Samuel
22:47 (NIV) says, “The Lord lives! Praise
be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!”
David
knew this skill as well. He exalts God throughout the book of Psalm. Listen to
these select verses.
“But may all who seek you rejoice and
be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, ‘The Lord be
exalted!’” (Psalm
40:16 – NIV)
“Be exalted, O God, above the
heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.” (Psalm 57:5 – NIV)
“Let them praise the name of the
Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the
heavens.” (Psalm
148:13 – NIV)
Isaiah
joined the exaltation parade by raising God above his own agenda. In Isaiah
12:4 (NIV), he says, “Give thanks to the
Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and
proclaim that his name is exalted.”
And
finally, Paul exalted Christ in his ministry. “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will
have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my
body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20 – NIV)
You
may not be an author, but you also are called to magnify Jesus in all that you
do. Others must see this exalted Christ within you. In your speech, in your
actions, in your day-to-day living. May His Name be exalted above all.
I
did find some humor during my email excursion. Some of the emails were very
outdated. Another task for another day. Clearing out those emails that have no
relevance to my life at this moment. I guess my lesson is to read my email when
I receive it!
Grace
and peace be yours in abundance,
Donna
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