Archive for the ‘Priorities’ Category
Thursday, August 19th, 2010
If we are going to get guidance from God, we must ask some significant questions about our own lives. Yesterday, I introduced the first question. Today, I am encouraging a second question I think we need to ask and answer before God gives us guidance in the areas of lives that are not clearly spelled out in Scripture:
2. Am I living a holy and obedient life? Psalm 66:18; 84:11; Ezekiel 20:1ff, 31
God’s moral will is revealed in the Bible through the commandments and other biblical principles: – don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, etc. God’s moral will is connected to his specific guidance for our lives. So, before we ask God who we should marry, where we should live, and how many children we should have, we should ask the question: Is there sin in our lives that would hinder our ability to talk to God and hear his directions for our lives clearly?
Popularity: 13% [?]
Tags: Guidance, Humility, Will of God
Posted in Guidance, Priorities | 2 Comments »
Monday, April 19th, 2010
The one thing I desire in ministry and in life is to give God the best that I’ve. I don’t always succeed, but I aspire to give him my best. How can we be sure that we are giving God the best we’ve got? Here are three very important questions that can help us to achieve maximum effectiveness in ministry and life.
Question #1: What is the motive of your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose the approval of God over the praise of people.
Question #2: How are you mastering your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose excellence over mediocrity.
Question #3: What is the measure of your ministry? Service? Life?
Answer: Always choose the eternal over the temporary.
Which question(s) and answer(s) spoke to you the most? Which will you choose focus on over the next seven days?
Popularity: 5% [?]
Tags: Calling, Priorities, Success
Posted in Calling, Integrity, Leadership, Personal Development_, Priorities, Success, Vocation, Work | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 16th, 2010
My ten year old son asked us if he could have friends over. We usually say yes. But, this time we said no and reminded him that he had not been responsible in the small every day, normal things:
cleaning up his room
separating the recycling
picking up his clothes
helping with other household chores
going to bed on time
Because Micah had been irresponsible in smaller things, what made him think that we could and would trust him to be responsible in greater things. When he showed greater responsibility in smaller things, then we would be more apt to give him greater responsibility in bigger things. I think we miss opportunities of greater things because we cannot be trusted with the smaller things.
However, sometimes I think God gives us greater responsibility, not because we are deserving or even because we are the most responsible people he could have chosen. Sometimes I think he gives us greater responsibility simply because he is a gracious Father and desires to bless us. But, I think he also gives us greater responsibility to expose our inability to handle the greater responsibility without him and to move us to break ourselves on his unconditional grace, creating the habit of humility.
I am readmitting today that, without God, not only can I not do the greater things, but I can do nothing. His help is not just nice, but it is absolutely necessary.
What assignments have you been given? How responsible are you in carrying out those assignments? What do you need to do to be more dependent on God in carrying out those assignments?
Popularity: 7% [?]
Tags: Calling, Future Opportunities, Grace, Humility, Leadership
Posted in Calling, Confession, Dependence, God, Grace, Limits, Priorities, Weaknesses | No Comments »
Saturday, December 26th, 2009
I have been in ministry a number of years, serving in small, midsize, and large churches. There are ministry mine fields all over, and one misstep can ruin your family, ministry and influence that God has allowed you to develop. Here are some DANGERS to ministry leaders that I have observed over the years. Our ministries are in danger when:
1. We love ministry more than we love Jesus and the people to whom we minister.
2. We are busy with busyness than busy enjoying the joy of our salvation.
3. Our spouses and families get our leftover energy instead of our best selves.
4. Our spouses and children see more joy in our faces for ministry than for them.
5. We begin to believe and embrace our own press clippings.
6. Our primary motives for ministry are applause, recognition, and idolization from our peers.
7. We allow our accomplishments to cause us to accept and live with “reasonable” sins in our lives.
8. We allow our abilities and gifting to cause us to become less dependent on God.
9. We allow our addiction to success to cut our appetite for our desire for Jesus.
10 We allow work to replace solitude and activity to replace prayer.
11. We let the addiction to the praises of people to keep us from living the truth and convictions of God.
What other dangers to ministry leaders can you add to this list? With which danger(s) do you most identify? How can you guard yourself against these dangers in ministry?
Popularity: 10% [?]
Tags: Calling, Leadership, Life, Self Reflection, Success
Posted in Change of Value, Dependence, Integrity, Leadership, Personal Development_, Loving God, Priorities, Relationships_, Rest, Self Examination, Self Reflection, Success | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009
As many of you are aware, I have accepted the call to be the Senior Teaching Pastor of Trinity Church in Lansing, Michigan. For those of you who prayed with and for us, we are thankful to God for you, your prayers and encouragement while we went through the lengthy and productive process. Although the process is over, the work is just beginning. We are excited about the adventure, but we know we can do nothing apart from Jesus. Here are some areas for which we ask you to pray:
1. Transition grace and wisdom
2. That we find the right school for our children
3. That our family builds a strong web of relationships
4. That God would increase my Cultural Intelligence Quotient
5. That I would practice good and wise exegesis of Trinity Church
6. That my Life Accounts (Faith, Priorities, Health, Family, Finance, Friends, and Service) will remain full and healthy
7. That we would remain connected to Jesus in the midst of the transition
8. That I would have a strong implementation of my Ideal Work Week
9. That God would lead us to the right house
10. That God would use us to bring many people to Jesus, for his glory
11. That we would laugh a lot and have lots of fun
What transitions are you going through in this season of your life? How can my family and I pray for you during this transition time?
Popularity: 31% [?]
Posted in Calling, Leadership, Personal Development_, Prayer, Priorities, Vocation | 11 Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
I have won a lot of trophies in my lifetime. I have excelled at baseball, bowling, and martial arts. My trophies are visible exhibitions of my achievement and success. As I was de-cluttering our basement a couple of weeks ago, I saw how much dust my “precious” trophies had collected. As my ego and pride took me down memory lane of each achievement, the Spirit said to me: “Throw them away.” My first reaction was: “But, what about all the practices, sweat, injuries, the time, and the money? How will people know that I have achieved and have succeeded?” Then he reminded me, with these words from Philippians, of the one trophy I should be pursuing everyday:
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith,
. . . that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.”
What trophies are you holding on to, that Jesus may be calling you to count as rubbish in order for you to be found in him and know the surpassing worth of him?
Popularity: 10% [?]
Tags: Humility, In Christ, Pride, Priorities, Success
Posted in Alone with Jesus, Change of Value, Discipleship, Distractions, Humility, Priorities | 2 Comments »
Monday, October 19th, 2009
“Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone.” Matthew 17:1
As I read this passage this morning, I sensed that Jesus wants me to climb a mountain with him – the Mountain of Aloneness. I hear him calling me to ascend this mountain with him each day. Here are several observations about this ascent:
1. Jesus desires me to climb this mountain with him each day. He longs for me to say no to my lesser desire of procrastination and say yes to his greater desire of spending quality time with me. I know he wants to spend time with me because he loves me.
2. Every believer is invited to ascend the Mountain of Aloneness with Jesus, but not every believer will make the ascent. The ascent to be alone with Jesus takes work! It takes getting up early, staying up late, turning off the television, blocking time, and making preparations to be alone with him. Are you willing to be the “one” and put in the work to make the climb?
3. I am led up this mountain by Jesus himself. I am not left alone to climb this mountain by myself. I have a guide who leads me up this mountain. He leads me up this mountain because he desires to reveal himself to me.
4. There are times I need to climb this mountain with fellow pilgrims.
5. I must leave distractions behind when I ascend this mountain. I am easily held captive by noise, all kinds. I have to decide to fast and detox from my addiction to the noise of life and let the silent aloneness with Jesus quiet and feed my soul.
6. I see a clearer picture of Jesus when I climb the Mountain of Aloneness with Jesus. I see him more clearly as Messiah and Son. Layers of his person are peeled away, and I see Jesus in his majesty, holiness, and power.
Will you ascend the Mountain of Aloneness with Jesus with me this week. It’s worth the climb and the view is transformational.
Which observation(s) spoke to your heart the most? What keeps you from climbing the Mountain of Aloneness with Jesus? What changes do you need to make in order to make the climb?
Let’s Climb!
Popularity: 37% [?]
Tags: Alone with Jesus, Distractions, Prayer, Procrastination
Posted in Alone with Jesus, Discipleship, Distractions, Growth, Loving God, Prayer, Priorities, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Every so often I wonder about my funeral. (Now, I know this is not a pleasant thought, but it has a significant purpose for me). When I think about that day, I wonder what people will say about me, you know, what kind of person I was and what kind of impact I made on the world. This process is quite humbling and motivating. It’s humbling because I know God is the one who controls life and not me. I know my life will end one day. It’s motivating because it causes me to give my life to the things that really matter – God, eternal values, family and friends.
Therefore, each day I live, I am writing, or at least have opportunity to write the eulogy that I would like read at my own funeral. Here are some questions that have been very helpful to me as I have thought through this process. They may be helpful to you, too, as you write and live your own eulogy
1. How do I want to be remembered?
2. What personal characteristics do I want people to remember me for or by?
3. What do I want to have accomplished?
4. What will have been the most important to me in my life?
5. What will my lasting legacy be?
Have you ever asked yourself these kinds of questions? If so, how did the process make you feel?
If you don’t mind, take a moment to think through one of the questions above and leave your answer here. Grace and peace.
Popularity: 36% [?]
Tags: Death, eternal values, eulogy, Family, Friends, Future Opportunities, Life, Priorities, Self Examination, Self Reflection
Posted in Death, Family, Friendship, Fully Present, God, Humility, Inspiration, Priorities, Relationships_, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009
As I was running the other day, I realized something that really disturbed me - I don’t need God. I mean, I never actually said it with my mouth, nor was this an arrogant declaration; I am way too spiritual and “elder brotherish” for that. lol! But, I say it with my actions all the time. For what I believe determines how I behave and how I behave reveals what I really believe. Here are some I don’t need God indicators that the Holy Spirit revealed to me:
When I fail to pray.
When I depend on my creativity and gifting more than seeking to be empowered and used by the Holy Spirit.
When I secretly take the credit for God’s work through me and fail to thank God for his gifting and use of those gifts to advance his kingdom.
When I consult my mentors before I consult God for personal guidance and important decisions. Or, when I don’t consult God at all.
When I think God’s help and power is nice but not absolutely necessary.
When I am a practical atheist – saying that God exists, but living as if he doesn’t.
When I allow people’s positive or negative opinions of me to define me and my ministry.
When my money, possessions, social media make less and less room for God.
I need God and I know I need God. I just want to make sure I am living like I need God.
What about you? Do you think this list is accurate? What are some other postures that we take that indicate we don’t need God? Please join the conversation and invite others.
Popularity: 48% [?]
Tags: Dependence on God, God, I Don't Need God, Independence, Practical Atheism
Posted in Dependence, God, Humility, Prayer, Priorities, Self Examination | 18 Comments »
Friday, June 19th, 2009
This evening you will be honored as Person of the Year. Thousands of people are gathered in your honor to celebrate your contributions to your family, friends, colleagues, your organization, and your community. Several key people (spouse, children, colleagues, etc) are scheduled to give speeches, using words to highlight how you have added value to the world through your character and performance. What words and phrases would you most like to hear others say about you? How would like to be remembered tonight? What descriptions would make you feel like you’ve lived your life to the fullest. If you could write these tributes about yourself, what would they say? If you have trouble writing your tribute, start answering the following questions (a non-exhaustive list). Answering these questions will help you to clarify your values, understand what you really care about, and develop an ideal image of yourself:
What are you discontent about?
What do you really care about?
What’s grabbed you and won’t let you go?
What are you passionate about?
When you do this (using your gift), God tends to show up in great power?
What do you stand for?
What keeps you awake at night?
What makes you mourn, grieve and weep/cry?
Where and on what do you spend your time? Money?
These words may seem rather ideal and lofty, but the greater the clarity and belief in our values, the greater the probability we’ll act in concert with them.
What other questions you would like to add to this list, that you think would help to clarify our values? What 3-5 words or phrases would you most like to hear others (especially spouse, significant other and children) say about you? Leave your comments here so others can see and be blessed .
Popularity: 24% [?]
Posted in Family, Leadership, Personal Development_, Priorities, Success, Words | 4 Comments »
