Tag Archives: tasks

The Not-So Ultimate Gift

One of my favorite movies of the last decade is The Ultimate Gift based upon Jim Stovall’s best selling book.  Completed in 2006, this movie centers around Jason Stevens, a pampered rich kid who never had to work a day in his life.  When his grandfather, Red Stevens dies, he is left with a series of 12 tasks called gifts.  Thinking riches are attached, Jason slowly begins to develop motivation to complete these assignments.  What Jason doesn’t realize, this wild goose chase ends up transforming his life from a spoiled brat into a responsible, self reliant man.

Unfortunately, I think I am living out this movie without any cameras, riches or progress.  My first assignment is the gift of unemployment which was bestowed upon me last February.  Inspired to complete a movie God placed in my mind, I spent hundreds of hours, often burning the midnight hour to finish a 90 page script.  A few temporary jobs later, rejection letters galore and daily road blocks, I am back where I started, faced with editing my script, redoing my resume and finding a permanent job.  Like the boy that cried wolf, Bill Murray in Groundhog Day and Jim Carrey in The Truman Show, each day I experience is a not so ultimate gift.

The only thought I can grasp is that maybe all the strange circumstances I have encountered will make a great book one day like Bill Murray’s cross country trek in Larger Than Life with an elephant.  Hollywood can’t make up all of my bizarre happenings I have experienced: an undetective defect in my resume, a demon possessed computer, dead cell phones, false prophet encounters, sure thing leads that don’t materialize and following visions from my dreams without any results.  Despite my complaining, its only been 15 months, a far cry from Israel wandering in the wilderness.  If David had to wait for several years to become king of Israel, I guess I can suck it up until my not-so ultimate gift becomes the gift of work.

by Jay Mankus

Let It Flow

As I was attempting to have my morning quiet time with God, I felt rushed.  Instead of naturally engaging God in prayer, listening to words of the Bible and seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit, my intentions became skewed.  Unfortunately, treating God like a daily check list has become the norm in recent weeks.  The emotional connection I long for has been hijacked by a selfish soul desperately wanting to get in the way, Galatians 5:16-18.

This struggle is nothing new as I wrestled with a similar issue during my 10 years as a teacher.  If I am expected to stay on task and fulfill the requirements of my Bible curriculum, when do I make room for God?  What do I cut out, shorten or eliminate if I want to entertain the presence of the Holy Spirit in my classroom?  While my superior’s goals and objectives were met, the connection with God’s power and the spiritual realm gradually lost reception, Galatians 1:10.

Like public schools in America seeking better results, if leaders truly want to see change, you must make room for Jesus.  Political correctness is not the answer nor are years of trying to appease everyone’s feelings.  Rather, if believers want to see a genuine example of Joel 2:28-30 fulfilled today, a switch in priorities is a must.  Americans need to learn to take a back seat to Jesus, allow the Lord to take the wheel and set your GPS to the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:25.  Once God is fully in control, let it flow!

by Jay Mankus