POWER FOR LIVING
Power For Living,
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The small blue book "Power for Living", released in November 1983 for the year of the Bible was given freely, never sold, and advertised as such on television stations throughout the United States of America in 1983. It was sometimes shipped with John's Gospel (The Living Bible). Television advertisements for the book were also aired in the USA in 1999. Distribution in other counties were in 2000s. Paper copies are available for purchase (not free) either as used on many online used book outlets and new through The Jamie Buckingham Ministry. |
Written by Jamie Buckingham (1932-1992). |
CONTENTS1. REACHING YOUR GOAL 2. YOU ARE SPECIAL TO GOD 3. HOW TO GET RIGHT WITH GOD 4. HOW TO KEEP GROWING 5. WHAT THE BIBLE IS ALL ABOUT 6. MAKING THE BIBLE A PART OF YOUR LIFE 7. SUMMING IT UP FOR FURTHER READING |
READ THIS FIRSTOne Sunday morning, not too long ago, three men crawled into the cockpit of a strange looking spaceship which was strapped to a giant rocket at Cape Kennedy, Florida. As the entire free world watched in fascination, the countdown for Spaceship Columbia began.Never before had a spaceship taken off from earth, orbited the globe, and returned. It took an awful lot of power to make it happen. The rocket itself was 184 feet tall. It weighed four and one half million pounds. It carried a half million gallons of fuel. It generated five million pounds of thrust-enough power to push the spaceship to the altitude of 23 miles in two minutes. After the initial take-off, Columbia climbed to the altitude of 189 miles and circled the globe at 17,000 miles per hour. Altogether it made 113 orbits in seven days. It was one of the greatest displays of power the world had ever seen. Journalists compared the spaceship to an eagle. But it wasn't an eagle. It was simply a big hunk of metal. And when it ran out of power it fell out of the sky, its belly glowing white hot from re-entry into the atmosphere, and finally glided to a stop on the salt flats in the desert of California. Spaceship Columbia was a magnificent scientific feat. But its power to leave earth, indeed its momentum to stay aloft, was created by man. Eagles, because of their ability to find the thermals- those columns of warm air which rise from the earth- are able to stay aloft indefinitely, often without even moving their great wings. But Columbia was not an eagle. It was a spaceship. As a result, it was destined to fall to earth. The only way it could become an eagle was to be born an eagle-or be re-born as one. That's the problem with most of us- with all of us. We have a certain amount of natural power. But for some reason, we don't have enough to make it all the way to the end. A few seem to get a good start, but even they fall to earth in the long run. And the rest of us never do even get off the launching pad. We just sit there and sputter. Sometimes we don 't even have enough power to do that, and the first little breeze that comes along topples us into the dust where we lay forgotten - as though we never existed in the first place. Recently eight highly successful people, people who have risen to the top of their profession, were asked about their lives. These people are not hunks of metal, destined to come tumbling down sooner or later. They are like true eagles-soaring the heights. When they were asked about the power that keeps them aloft they all gave the same answer. God. That's right, they said their power for living came from a personal relationship with God. Unlike the Spaceship Columbia, which was put aloft by man's efforts, they all said they had tried man's way and found it empty. But when they turned to God, and allowed Him to take control of their lives, they began to soar. "God?" you say. "Well, He might be able to help folks who already have made it. But what about me?" Wait a minute. God is not just for the famous, or the rich, or those nice folks who dress up to go to church or the synagogue. God is for everyone. He loves those who are helpless. He loves the alcoholics, the drug addicts, those who have lost power and are tumbling end over end in space, headed for a sure crack-up (unless they burn out first on re-entry). He loves the fellow who's out of work, the housewife caught in the web of adultery, the lonely teenager, the frustrated businessman. He loves you. And if you will let Him, He will not only direct your path, but will give you power to live. That's what this book is all about. Power for living. A long time ago the prophet Isaiah discovered this. What he wrote has been tested by millions of people from all walks of life, across the years. Now it's your time to test it, too, and let God give you power, not only to live but to live abundantly. Here's what Isaiah said: 'Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" (Isaiah 40:31). Jamie Buckingham Melbourne, Fla. CHAPTER 1 - REACHING YOUR GOALEveryone dreams of success. It is their goal, or destination, in life.Some see success as making a lot of money, living comfortably, and retiring easy. Others dream of becoming proficient in their field, making money, and having folks look up to them as important and wise. Still others see success as the accumulation of material things- without debt. Owning your own house, driving an expensive car, being able to walk into the store and buy anything you want. That's success. Then there are those who equate success with having a happy family: a loving wife or husband and obedient children. To others success is long life, free from disease and heartache. Everyone has a dream of success. The Bible says that if you "delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4). That' s a marvelous promise. The problem, it seems, is that it seldom happens. I mean, if it did it seems many would be healthy wealthy and wise- for that' s what we desire, isn't it? Why then, aren't we successful - if that's the desire of our heart? Could it be that we have a wrong idea of what success is? Is it possible we haven't listened to God's conditions for success? The first condition listed - indeed, the only condition listed-is to "delight yourself in the Lord." In other words, put God first. Jesus said the same thing when He told His disciples that if they would "seek first God's kingdom and God's righteousness," everything else necessary for life would be given them as well. (Matt. 6:33) Our problem is not that we don't have goals. Our problem is having the wrong goals. GETTING OFF AT THE WRONG PLACELast year I boarded a plane in New York to fly to my home in Melbourne, Florida. The plane made one stop enroute at Tampa before flying on to Melbourne. Since we were running behind schedule the stewardess asked all the Melbourne passengers to remain on the plane during the brief stop in Tampa. I was busy reading and didn't pay much attention to what was going on, but I began to realize we had been on the ground in Tampa much longer than usual. I asked one of the flight attendants what was wrong. REACHING YOUR GOAL"We've lost two of our Melbourne passengers," she said. "They accidentally got off here in Tampa and we haven't been able to find them and get them back on the plane." In a few minutes two elderly women came rushing aboard the plane. They were obviously flustered and speaking rapid Italian to each other, complete with hand gestures. The stewardess got them buckled in, and we immediately took off for the short flight across the state to Melbourne. After we were aloft the stewardess stopped by my seat and told me what had happened. The two women were from Italy. They spoke no English. This was their first trip to the United States. They were visiting family members who lived in the Melbourne area- and who were waiting for them at the Melbourne airport. It was the biggest trip of their lives and they were excited- and a little scared. They had boarded in Rome for the long flight to the United States, then changed planes in New York for the flight south to Melbourne. Since they could not understand English they did not realize the domestic flight made a stop in Tampa before flying on to Melbourne. When the plane landed in Tampa and they looked out the window and saw palm trees waving in the Florida sun, they assumed they had reached their destination. They joined the crowd getting off in Tampa and hurried off the plane looking for their loved ones who had promised to meet them at the airport. What they failed to realize was that they were 120 miles short of their goal. They had gotten off in Tampa thinking their dream of a lifetime was at last fulfilled, only to discover they were lost in a huge airport with no loved ones to meet them. The flight attendants finally found them, wandering dazed through the strange terminal. But when they tried to convince them to get back on the plane, they refused. They mistakenly thought they were going to be sent back to their home country. Someone finally found a baggage handler who spoke Italian. He explained they were not where they were supposed to be. Only then did the women rush back on the plane, eager to go on to their final destination. Most of us are like that. For some reason - maybe it's because we don't understand God's language in the Bible- we get off at the wrong destination. We equate money, security, and prestige with success. We don 't understand that true success is found in having our spiritual needs met. Few of us ever arrive at that ultimate success because we are too busy rushing through the airport of material success. What are the things that cause you to get off in Tampa when your real need is to go to Melbourne? There could be a lot of reasons. Maybe you don't understand the language. What you need is an interpreter. Someone to come along and explain God's directions. Or maybe someone gave you bad directions. There are a lot of folks wandering around who seem to delight in misleading people these days. That's one of the reasons we've given you this book - to help you find your way, to encourage you to get on the right plane- the one which will take you to real success. Perhaps you've been blinded by the sight of palm trees. All your life you 've lived in the mountains and just the sight of what seems like success is so good you've decided to stop at the first watering hole, rather than going on to discover God's best. Maybe in your eagerness to find success, you 've listened to someone who's offered you an easy way, and you have settled for some false religion. Maybe you followed the crowd. After all, there are more people getting off in Tampa than Melbourne, so why not go where everyone else seems to be going. Or perhaps you're just afraid. You 've heard all sorts of stories about people who followed God, who put their trust in Him. You don't want to become a fanatic, so you 'll just spend your life in the Tampa airport, riding the escalators and looking out the windows at the waving palm trees. Sound silly? Sound familiar? EIGHT WHO HAVE FOUND SUCCESSMaybe it would help if I introduced you to some folks who didn't allow worldly success to blind them from finding God's goal of success. This kind of success is a lasting success that no one can take away from them. Roger Staubach
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