Message From Our Pastor:

" I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me "           Philippians 4:13

What will you do when the going gets rough in your life, as almost inevitably it will? Do you have what it takes to handle the more difficult challenges of human existence? What will you do when the day of good fortune runs out and dark, hard days begin? Sooner or later, everyone has to realize that life is indeed hard; that it is sometimes, almost harder than one can handle. Yet, it has to be handled.

I heard, awhile back, of a business man who had really hit rock bottom, financially speaking.  His business failed and practically everything had gone to pay off all his debts. His home was up for sale, and an assignment was made even for his personal belongings.  Officers came, by order of the court, and took away his car, leaving him without his own transportation.

That evening, bound for home, he was standing on a street corner with the thought of hailing a taxi, but it occurred to him that he was so reduced financially that even this would be extravagant. He was unfamiliar with public transportation, but as he was standing there, in deep discouragement, wondering what to do, a big truck pulled up to the curb, a nice, kind, and friendly truck driver asked him if he would like a lift. (One marvels at the way God works sometimes. This truck driver was exactly what the bankrupt man needed at the moment, but who would have thought it would happen in this way?)

As they drove along, the business man sensed something in this truck driver that aroused his confidence. He opened up and poured out in detail all the difficulties he faced, finding comfort in unburdening his mind in this manner.

The truck driver was, to a degree at least, a philosopher. He said, “Well, my friend, it’s too bad. That’s life, it can treat you real tough.” Then he used an unusual phrase: He said, “Sometimes you’ve got to learn how to keep on keeping on.”

This, indeed, is one of the basic skills of living, knowing how to be persistent, how to keep at it, or in the trucker’s phraseology, how to keep on keeping on. Everyone can learn to do just that. The best way is to discover the truth, that the way to handle some ordeals or difficulties is to keep calm, to think rationally, to meditate, and then to concentrate on the problem. Your mind is a powerful instrument. If it controls you, you’ll not be victorious, but if you control it, victory will be yours.

However, a human being by his own unaided strength cannot accomplish this.  Something else needs to be added. The distressed man mentioned above found a wonderful dynamic phrase that held him steady, and with that thought encouraging him, he again became a succesful businessman. That phrase changed everything. I will guarantee that this phrase, to keep on keeping on, can help anyone under any circumstance. A scriptual equivalent to this phrase is embedded in the Bible, the wisest Book ever written. Everyone would do well to hold it in their consciousness, until it absorbs into their unconsciousness, and then live completely by it. It is found in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Christ will help you keep on keeping on.

Yours in the Ministry of Christ,

Rev. Eddie S. Thornton, Pastor