It's Always Too Soon To Quit!

In the Apostle's Letter to Timothy he writes: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith."  Getting there was another thing!  In 2 Corinthians 11:25 He explains how he got there. "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep."  So, according to the way I read the Apostle Paul's words, working toward a finished life doesn't necessarily mean the road toward your destination is going to be easy.  Life has a few twists and turns along the way.  Keeping your faith in tact is probably the major key to surviving a ship wreck or two.

       Over the last few years, I have had a few challenges of my own.  On Feb. 3, 2010 my mother died of small cell lung cancer (Never having smoked a day in her life).   She was one of my major supporters.  That same year, my only nephew, Jake Veir was tragically killed in a head on collision by a young girl texting one of her friends.  Then on July 9th, 2011 my father passed away in Fort Myers, Florida leaving me the responsibility of caring for his 85 year old German wife.  All the while, I have been in an intense "Lawsuit" against a predatory mortgage company with our ministry, stood close to a dear ministry friend who's wife ran off with another man, sold a home our family loved but could no longer afford, and coping with major mood swings of grief and depression - and still pastoring a church.  And you know what it's all good!  

My Mother, Ruth L. Berry
May 11, 1935-Feb. 3, 2012

       I haven't been beaten with rods, been ship wrecked  on the Chesapeake Bay, or stoned yet.  Just a few verbal abuses, stealing ideas, and thrown under a bus or two but no stones yet.   To the right you will see my mom holding on to what was my last Christmas gift to her six weeks before her death and she loved it!   We Berry's are very motivated in faith and have always fought to have a positive view of life and the future.  Bishop Fulton J Sheen in his renowned book, Peace Of Soul, wrote: "People would be in a less unhappy state if they realized that conflict, struggle, effort are inescapable in Adam's progeny."

       Job 23:10 gives us a great promise of hope when going through difficult times. "When He has tired me, I shall come forth as gold!"  Galatians 6:9 is a great promise of faith: "Be not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap... IF WE FAINT NOT."   Too often, we are tempted to throw in the towel (so to speak), and quit.  My dear friend, Australian Entrepreneur, Peter Daniels, once asked, "What is the cost of a vision?"  It's not money.  Never is.  Money always follows vision. Mark 8:36-37 Jesus asked, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life? What should a person give in exchange for life?  The real cost of a vision is pain!  Disappointments, rejections, self-inflicted problems, broken promises, and low return on investments were not what you expected. And the rewards, were they worth the risks?  It is very normal and HUMAN to get disappointed.  It's okay to be bummed out... However, succumbing to negative thinking and negative people is a luxury that none of us can afford.  Dr. Robert Schuller once said, in his book, "Don't throw away your tomorrows:"  "Never make an irreversible negative decision in a down time!"  Recently, I've been thinking... "You know what?  I've done a lot of good over the last 20 years of my life, made some really good decisions that have brought thousands to Christ... I just wonder, with all the great knowledge I have gained and life experiences I now have, what damage could I possibly do to the kingdom of darkness with the next 20 years of my life?"  

"Face Your Fears.  Confront Your challenges with a 

stubborn, positive attitude!"  - Dr. Robert Schuller

       One of my favorite authors, Norman Vincent Peale, in his book, "You Can If You Think You Can," wrote, "When you have a problem, one that is especially difficult and baffling, perhaps terribly discouraging, there is one basic principle to apply and keep on applying, it is simply this -never quit.  To give up is to invite complete defeat And not only in connection with the matter at hand. Giving up contributes to an ultimate defeat of personality."  The Apostle Paul, always in the face of difficulty because of his vision wrote in Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  Our journey to finished may not take the exact road we expected to go on but God does ensure everything will work together for our good.  In other words, learning lessons is what failures are- or should be - all about!  Sometimes when we are chasing a dream without taking steps to avoid the twin nightmares of over-estimating our own abilities and leaning too much upon the wrong people can be the very reason God allows us to get ship wrecked.  Out of all such experiences, lessons can be learned.  However, If there is one thing I'm learning about life, it is this: "If you keep making the same mistakes, you will never graduate, because you have not learned your lessons properly."  II Timothy 2:15 exhorts us to, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Rightly dividing the truth, to me, does not mean becoming a great bible expositor, rather it means 'when faced with difficult times, STUDY what the contributing factors were to my bad decisions, learning the lessons from failures or obstacles I face, to enable me to live in (truth vs. delusion) reality. These foundations provide the insights necessary rectify our weaknesses and poor decision making processes. But always remember, Christ strength is made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Cor. 12:9).  Peter Daniels in his book, "How To Reach Your Life Goals," wrote, "Don't let failures crush you- remember, failures are lessons. Document your lessons into life-principles to prevent their recurrence!"

       So in light of my own writing today, I want to share with you what I believe God has called me to do over the next fifteen years in Annapolis, Maryland.  I would like to invoke all of you reading my posts today to pray for me to accomplish this and finish well... and come visit Annapolis someday and see how we are progressing in finishing what my wife, myself and others have pioneered here.  Our vision is to finish building a Quaker Renewal Center which will tell the history of Annapolis, which will continually call for God's people to fulfill Isaiah 58:12 "Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell."  

       We will build a center that includes:  a new meeting house,  a new friends center called 'Harris House' in honor of Quaker missionary Elizabeth Harris, and a beautiful chapel in the woods, called "Fox Chapel" (Named after George Fox, founder of Quakerism) designed by renowned architect, Maurice Jennings.  This center will be rooted in the past and provide guidance into our great future as a nation.  It will be home to the (noted Quaker Historian) Ken Carroll Memorial Library, become a place that remembers the tragedy of Annapolis' slave trading history and call for the end of slavery world wide in our time, and be a ministry dedicated to healing and reconciliation - that values reciprocal liberty as defined by William Penn, who often visited Maryland while establishing his "Holy Experiment" in Pennsylvania with the help with Maryland friends - like my family "The Berry's of Maryland."  This is my vision! Let's pray for your God giving calling... share it with me!  For the scriptures says, Habakkuk 2:2 "Write the vision. Make it clear on tablets so that anyone can read it quickly."

       Just remember, Businesses can be rebuilt, broken bodies can be healed, nothing is final as it seems. Any chain can be broken and any captive can be set free! Even  damaged reputations can be resurrected and financial security can be regained.  There is an abundance of evidence in every city, every town of someone who has overcome the challenges they faced when working toward their finished line!  

Robert Half once said,

“When faced with a mountain, I will not quit! I will keep striving until I climb over,

                                                                                    find a pass through, tunnel underneath or 

                                                                                 simply stay and turn the mountain into a

                                                                               gold mine, with God's help.”