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Archive for the ‘Motivational’ Category

Power Is Available

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on August 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In yesterday’s post I told you about my car troubles on Sunday, and how it took me quite some time to get to church due to the fact that my car thought it was over heating.  Yes, it is a little spooky when a car can think on its own.  But it is down right frustrating when it makes stuff up.  At any rate, that is not where I am going with this post.

The Reduced Engine Power light came on which, as I said yesterday, is a safety feature to prevent any damage to the engine due to over heating.  The result of the reduced power was reduced speed.  Yesterday, I reflected on the fact that even at a reduced speed, as long as we are headed in the right direction, we will eventually get where we are going.

Today I want to think about this power issue.  I experienced first hand what reduced power means.  It was frustrating to try and get where I was going with only a portion of the power that I knew should be available.  It took forever to get where I was going and on more than one occasion, I held others up as they waited for me to pass by or they waited for an opportunity to pass me.

How often do we neglect the power that is available to us through the Holy Spirit?  Francis Chan’s newest book, Forgotten God, deals with this subject (you can read more about the book here).  As believers and followers of Jesus, we are promised by Jesus himself, that we will have the very power of God residing within us.

Do you live your life as if the Spirit of God is alive and present within you?  Today is the day that you must begin living your life boldly as a true child of God.  The world is depending on it!

Be bold!

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Thoughts On Thoughtfulness

Posted in Community, Formation, Motivational on June 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Thoughtfulness requires thinking and thinking requires slowing down long enough to actually think.

There is also an element of planning in thoughtfulness – not to say there is no such thing as spontaneous thoughtfulness, but thoughtfulness should be purposeful.

But at the core of thoughtfulness is the act of putting someone else’s needs above our own and there is something Biblical about that.

Be thoughtful today and touch someone else’s life.

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What Happens When Availability Intersects With God’s Plan

Posted in Community, Missions, Motivational on June 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It is really sad to say, but unfortunately, this occurrence is rare.  Maybe it is timing, maybe it is motivation, I am not sure, but God’s plan and our availability do not always result in great things for God.  But when it does, you cannot contain the results.

So if God has a plan and we make ourselves available to be used by God, why wouldn’t it always result in great things?  I struggle with this issue.  But two things have surfaced for me over the past few years.  One is that we are not God (I know – a real inspirational and deep thought showing my real genius!).  Our job is to maintain a close enough relationship with God that we sense when God is moving in a certain direction and in the lives of people around us.  When we sense it, we must be ready and available to jump in.  Unfortunately, many times, I am not maintaining my relationship with God on a daily basis and thus my heart is not where it needs to be in order to sense God’s prompting.

Another reason for the rarity of seeing great things happen is our motivation.  Perhaps we are poised and ready, we have seen God’s movement around us and we make ourselves available and jump in to be used by God in some situation or effort, but still nothing much seems to come from it.  If our motivation is to receive a blessing or “make something happen,” then we are getting involved for selfish reasons.  God will not be manipulated.

But, when God’s plan intersects with purely motivated availability – the results are hard to explain.  The key is to be sensitive to God’s leading and be willing and available to be used in whatever manner God chooses without concern for outcome.  Ever group I have taken to do mission work has heard me say at least once over the course of the trip, “Be flexible.  It is not about us – it is about being used by God.  We may never see the fruit or the results of our efforts but that is OK.”  When we approach serving God from this understanding – of being available to be used regardless of the outcome – then God can do mighty, life-changing things with us and in us.

I firmly believe that it is impossible for a person to come face to face with God’s love and not be changed.  The results are not up to us, but the choice to be available is.

Make yourself available to God today and don’t worry about the outcome.

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Roofing in the Sun

Posted in Missions, Motivational on May 18, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Monday was a great but tiring day.  It has been a few years since I have torn shingles off of a roof.  We had 9 college students and myself all working on the same project from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm in the El Paso sun and they did awesome.

It was so inspiring to see students who have dedicated a week of their lives to serving Christ and serving others.  The work they did was extremely strenuous but I never heard a single complaint.  I was pleased with their desire to work and serve.  Today we get to put the new shingles on the roof – less strenuous but still very tiring.  I have to say, I am looking forward to spending the day with my new heros.

I have two requests for you.  One is that you pray for these students today – for their safety and for sensitivity to all the opportunities God will provide for them to make a difference in the lives of others.  Second, I encourage you to consider the passion these students are showing this week and let some of that rub off on you – seek out opportunities today to make a difference in the life of someone else.

Be blessed today and be a blessing as well.

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You – – Call 911!

Posted in Community, Leadership, Motivational on May 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Why is it that we can hear something and agree that it is true, but yet not internalize it or do anything with it?  Last night I had the opportunity to share with all the participants of the college mission trip in El Paso.  The primary point of the talk was this:  It is not about you, but it is personal.

Several years ago, I was certified in CPR and one of the things I remember is that once the situation has been assessed, the first thing you do is point to a person specifically and tell them to call 911.  Why is it important to do that you might wonder?  Because if you simply shout out, “Someone call 911!” it will eventually happen, but the indecision of the crowd will cost time and in an emergency, time is the one thing you do not have.  In other words, the natural response of those standing near will be to look around and see if someone else is going to do it.

Is it because no one wants to help?  No.  Is it because they don’t want to get involved?  Most likely not that either.  It is simply natural to hesitate and let someone else do it.

Our Christian walk is often just like that.  We know what we should do but it is just easier to wait and see if someone else will step up and take the lead or get involved.

What we have to remember is that it is not about us – but it has to be personal! We must serve others as if we do not matter, but we must live with the passion as if everything depended on us.

Take the lead and get involved today!

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Leading With Clarity

Posted in Leadership, Motivational on May 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The last couple of days, I have been thinking about clarity – clarity of thoughts, of direction, of calling.  I notice that the busier I get, the more convoluted my thinking can easily become.  I often have a tendency to be pulled into the urgent of the moment.  The constant battle is to keep my eyes on the goal.

I try to make it a practice to begin with the end in mind.  In other words, before I undertake anything, I try and visualize the outcome (at least in general terms).  By beginning with the end in mind, I find it easier to maintain direction and focus along the way.

As a leader, we must keep our focus.  1 Corinthians 14:8 says, “if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”  As the trumpeters, if we are not clear in our direction – in our own calling as followers of the Way – or if we fail to give a clear calling to those who follow us, then how will anyone be able to follow.

Spend some time today doing a little soul-searching and personal evaluation.  Where are you headed?  How does God figure into that picture?

What kind of a trail are you blazing and do those who follow you truly understand where you are leading?

Just food for thought.

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Nothing Is Impossible

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on May 4, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I am here, and last night I had the blessing of sitting in an amazing worship service and hearing Andy Stanley speak on the impact that the reality of life can have on our dreams.  I am not talking about the dreams we have when we are sleeping, I am talking about the dreams we have when we are awake.  Maybe the things we used to have but don’t much take time for any more.

The reality of the world has a tendency to squash our dreams into something manageable.  When it comes to following God’s will for our lives, that is a tragedy!  Why is it that we have allowed our circumstances to affect our ability to dream – to imagine what God could do?

Have we forgotten that God created this world?  Or that Jesus was truly raised from the dead after three days?  If there truly are no limits for God, then why do we insist on trying to limit God’s ability to do mighty things through us?

Stop it!  Stop it today!  Stop it now!

Ephesians 3:20-21 says this:  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

God will surpass anything we can imagine if we do not place limits.  So take some time to dream today.  What does God want to do through you?

It can happen!

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Faded Desire

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational, Uncategorized on April 30, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Shane Hipps, in his book, Flickering Pixels, deals with the role of the heart in spirituality.  He explains that it is the heart – emotions – that drives desire and without desire our spirituality dries up.

. . . the most damaging effect of suppressing the heart is that it deadens desire.  That deep longing for life, love, and God fades.  Instead, we come to expect less from life.  We acquire the bland taste of a domesticated god who resides somewhere in our head.  But our head is not home for the divine.  The head helps us understand the divine from a safe distance.  This is a powerful and valuable enterprise to be sure, but there is a difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

I don’t know about you but I do not care to serve a “domesticated god.”  The God I choose to serve is full of mystery and strength, love and grace, justice and mercy.  There is no domestication of the one true God – and we should rejoice in that fact!

How faded is your desire?  How badly do you want to move beyond knowing about God to a point of truly knowing God?  Do not seek knowledge – seek a relationship.

Father, may you fill us with desire to truly know you today and to grow in our relationship with you!

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Make Today Count

Posted in Hope, Motivational on April 27, 2010| 2 Comments »

Yesterday I attended two different funerals, both of which reminded me that life is too short.  One was the funeral of a 41 year old mother of two and the other, a 26 year old mother of one.  I went to bed last night thinking about the frailty and brevity of our existence here on this planet.

The way I see it, we can approach the reality of death from two angles.  We can come to grips with the startling reality that we are going to die and there is nothing we can do so why try.  Or we can come to grips with this reality and determine within our hearts to make the most of what we have been given.

As  followers of Jesus, we have an added element of hope in knowing that this life is not all there is but rather just the beginning of our true existence.

So given the reality that you are going to die, maybe not today but soon enough, how will you live for the next hour?  The rest of today?  The rest of the week?  The rest of your life?

I have a two-fold prayer for each of us today and it is this:  1) that we choose to make today count for something, and 2) that we continue to make that choice everyday for the remainder of our time on Earth.

Be blessed today and make it count!

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Persistently Consistent

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on April 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have been reminded this week of the joys of getting back into the swing of exercising on a regular basis.  Today marks day three.  I am still in the phase of not being able to walk normally nor straighten my arms.  I told myself I would “ease” back into it slowly.  But as has been my pattern in the past, I worked up the desire to get back into the gym and once there, over did it – now I am paying the price.

However, I know from experience that the answer to my pain is consistency.  Eventually, the pain will subside and over time, the sacrifice of a little sleep will result in more energy and better flexibility.

I have found that my spiritual walk shares many of the same characteristics.  The key to any spiritual practice is consistency.  So often we allow ourselves to relax in our commitment to pray and read the Bible and before we are fully aware of it, we have gone weeks without spending time with God.  So we resolve to jump in and often overdo it – overcommitting ourselves and soon we are burned out and even worse, feeling guilty about it.

But if we can ease into a routine of spending time with God, carving out 20 minutes or so, 3 or 4 times per week and remain consistent, then in a matter of days we will begin to feel more energy, peace and joy in our lives than we have ever experienced.

Spiritual progression comes from God, but we have to persistently do our part.  Commit today to stay consistent in your routine of spiritual practices – your walk in following the Way and then stick with it – don’t let up.

You will never regret time spent with the Creator of the Universe!

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