Jesus and Me

Bible verse for the month

Welcome to jam’s bulletin

board….
Jam is?

History?

Vision
Teaser for February activities
Mission Doing Vs Being
Sked for fellowships

Ad for prayer box

Doing vs. Being

My high school graduating class had its fortieth anniversary reunion some time ago. I’m sure
they had a ball. A blast would better describe it, knowing that crowd. You gotta understand the east side
of Houston back in the 1950’s to have some idea of that explosive student body… a couple of thousand
strong and a lot of ‘em mean as a junkyard dog with a nail in his paw. Knife fights in the boys’ washroom
were almost as commonplace as fireworks in assembly, racial slurs in the hall, and beat-up Harley
Davidson’s in the alley.

Since I wasn’t able to attend the reunion, I decided to blow the dust off my yearbook and stroll
down nostalgia lane. Faces aroused smiles and stories as one memory after another washed over me.
Funny, I remembered a project we seniors were given before the yearbook went to press back in ’52.
We were asked to think about the next twenty years and answer “What do I want to do?” The plan was
to record our dreams and goals in the yearbook, then evaluate them when we met again at each
subsequent reunion... you know some sort of a decade-by-decade check-up. Some of the goals are not
fitting to repeat, but some are both interesting and revealing.

Several said: “make a million bucks.”

Others:

- “Win all-American honours and play professional football.”

-“Be the concertmaster of a symphony orchestra.”

- “Own my own race car and win the Indy 500.”

- “Rob Chase Manhattan Bank and escape to Fiji.”

- “Finish medical school and have a practice in Honolulu.”

- “Marry a rich movie star and live in Beverly Hills.”

- “Become the world heavyweight boxing champion.”

- “Sing at the Metropolitan Opera.”

- “Make a living writing short stories, plays, and novels.”

- “Travel abroad as a news correspondent.”

- “Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse.”

All sorts of goals. Some admirable, some questionable, some crazy, a few stupid.

Without wanting to sound needlessly critical, as I look back over three decades, I think we were
asked to answer the wrong question. What we want to do is not nearly as important as what we want to
be. And the longer I live, the more significant that becomes. It’s possible to do lots of things yet be zilch
as a person.

Doing is usually connected with a vocation or career, how we make a living. Being is much
deeper. It relates to character, who we are, and how we make a life. Doing is tied in closely with activity,
accomplishments, and tangible things --- like salary, prestige, involvement, roles, and trophies. Being, on
the other hand, has more to with the intangibles, the kind of people we become down inside, much of
which cannot be measured by objective yardsticks and impressive awards. But of the two, being will
ultimately outdistance doing every time. It may take half a lifetime to perfect… but hands down, it is far
more valuable. And lasting. And inspiring.

Remember those familiar words from *Colossians 3? Twice we read, “Whatsoever you do…
whatever you do…” (vv. 17, 23). It’s almost as if the Lord is saying, “Makes no difference what it is,
whatever you do…: But then He immediately addresses things that have to do with being. Like being
thankful, being considerate, being obedient, being sincere, being diligent. Same pattern ---- God
emphasizes being more than doing.

So then, are you giving thought these days to things that count? I hope so. Goal-setting and
achieving are important, especially if we are in need of being motivated. Moving in the right direction is
a great way to break the mold of mediocrity. It is helpful to ask, “What do I want to do?”

But while you’re at it, take a deeper look inside. Ask yourself the harder question, “What do I
want to be?” Then listen to your heart… your inner spirit. True treasures will emerge. Pick one or two to
start with. Don’t tell anybody, just concentrate some time and attention on that particular target. Watch
God work. It will amaze you how He arranges circumstances so that the very target you and He decided
on will begin to take shape within you. Sometimes it will be painful; other times, sheer joy. It won’t
happen overnight, but that’s a major difference between doing and being. One may take only twenty
years; the other, the better part of your lifetime.

One can be recorded in a yearbook and is easily forgotten; but the other requires a lifebook,
which is on display forever.

- An excerpt from Charles Swindoll’s

Devotions for Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life

*Colossians 3: 17 Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

*Colossians 3: 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, and not for
men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord
Christ you are serving.
Welcome to JAM’s bulletin board!
We are very excited to share the devotions we will be having every week as well as other
materials that we can find for you.
We aim to provide you fresh eye candies and thought—provoking bits as you wait for
your classes or take a break from your medical readings.
We hope and pray that through these materials, you can gain new insights for your
everyday medical school life.
Let us conquer 2016 together!