Posted on 11/29/2022 4:21:31 PM PST by Roman_War_Criminal
Comedian Jay Leno unwittingly sent a desperately needed message to every preacher and teacher of the word of God in the days after his accident. I do not know if Jay Leno is saved man, a Google search failed to reveal what church he may attend, and precious little information was forthcoming. I did find an interesting blog post from a Ron Stewart, who had this to say about Leno. “A few years ago, I was watching Jay Leno interview a guest on his show named Howard Stem, a New York radio personality. During the interview, Stem began to make blasphemous remarks about the Bible and God. A typical television host would have laughed and gone along with this form of Christian-bashing, but Leno did a curious and courageous thing for a national celebrity. He defended the Bible. With a smile on his face, he stopped the Christian-bashing in its track and made it clear that he did not approve of the antics of his guest.” Hmm, that’s pretty good. So what does this have to do with Christians in the ministry? Let me show you.
“And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.” Colossians 4:17 (KJB)
Most everyone has heard by this point that Jay Leno was pretty badly burned in a fire at the location where he films his car show entitled ‘Jay Leno’s Garage’, and spent the last two weeks in the hospital having surgery and hyperbaric therapy. Something like that is both physically painful as well as mentally draining, and most people would take some serious time off to recuperate, and deservedly so. But that’s not what Jay Leno did. No, he spent time in the hospital, got healed up, cleaned up, and went right back to work doing stand-up. Why would he do that? He absolutely doesn’t need the money, he has more than he can ever spend. There must be something more going on here.
Maybe Jay Leno knows something that you don’t know, something that will really help you.
Leno went right back to work, because he’s a comedian and comedians do stand-up, that’s his calling and he obviously takes it quite seriously. He has a job, a commission if you will, and when he was burned in the accident, his recovery was geared to getting him back onstage as soon as possible, to continue carrying out that mission. I will tell you one thing, if everyone who says they are a pastor, preacher, Bible teacher or lay worker on any level in the harvest field of the Lord Jesus could grab a piece of that attitude, we’d have revival before you finish reading this article. I don’t even know if Jay Leno is a Christian, but how he handled what he is called to do, secular though it may be, is a much-needed wake up call for all of us on the front lines.
Christian, the word says to ‘take heed’ to the ministry the Lord has given you, fulfill it!
Can you imagine if we had the same attitude about our ministry that Jay Leno has about his, what an incredible difference that would make. No whining, no crying, no self-pity, just dusting yourself off and getting back on the battlefield because we have a mission to complete. That’ll preach, boy will it ever. Whitefield had that attitude, Moody had it, as did many others. Maybe that’s why God used them to such a high degree. So thanks, Jay, and we sincerely do hope you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Because if you thought the burns you sustained in your garage were painful, just imagine what it would be like to burn for all eternity in a place called Hell.
Hell is a choice, and you don’t have to go. Please don’t go.
I remember when Jay had a gospel choir on the show, one Christmas Eve.
Different from Letterman, whose Christmas tradition was throwing a football at a meatball-topped Christmas tree.
“”Howard Stem, a New York radio personality.””
Could that be an error and meant to be Howard Stern?
Stern to Stem would be going backward.
Spurgeon had that attitude.
Leno might be a good man but he’s a terrible comedian.
But if the boat is going the wrong way to begin with...
Jonah
Letterman is just a smug ass, always has been.
He’s alright. I like his Garage series. He had a good sense of humor going into his first routine after his burns and surgeries. Said he had two routines: regular and extra crispy.
I just Googled and there is no Howard STEM,so it had to be Howard Stern!
Another one who defended his Christian beliefs while doing stand-up comedy was Norm MacDonald. RIP.
Nice!
I’ve met Leno, great guy!
“National Inquirer got the story all wrong. They said I was in the hospital because Nancy Pelosi hit me in the head with a hammer. That’s not what happened,” he deadpanned.
I saw him live in 1986. He was great.
Jay Leno is not a victim. He is a victor.
It makes me think of the run I went to on Thanksgiving. I had a goal of four miles, but part of it took me down this road called Jackson Street in West Pensacola. The road has no shoulders, and is fairly dangerous for anybody not actually on the pavement. But I ran it anyway, and I tripped over something and fell. Numerous cuts, numerous bleeds. But guess what?
After I walked about five minutes and determined the wounds were superficial, I resumed running down Jackson and back home, with blood oozing along my fingers and a spiderweb of blood drying on my right calf, until I got home. I made the four miles. Then I cleaned up for Thanksgiving dinner at a neighbor’s house.
Now, I’m not saying what I did even begins to approach what Leno just did. I can only hope that we shared the same mentality there.
He did the best he could do in the moment, given the format of the show and Stern’s irrepressible nature.
Had forgotten about Stern’s lampoon of a run for president in 1995-1996. He had a much more sustainable approach to self promotion during that time compared to the Ye for Prexy campaign of 2022-2024, off to a rather rocky start.
Including, in reverse chronological order, Xavier, Luther, Peter the Hermit, Kirill, Augustine, Ambrose, Justin Martyr, Thomas, and Paul, among a host that no man can number, of all nations and tribes and peoples. May we be counted worthy to be among them on that day.
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