Start Living It!

As I am taking two chemistry and one biology course this semester, I am focusing on how important it is not to only study the material, but also how important it is to go and have hands-on experience by working in the lab. We learn and then we do. We practice and then we play.

It is the same way in our lives as Christ Followers. It is not enough to only read or even meditate on The Scriptures...we must live them as well. Look how Colossians 2.6-7 says it:

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

So like the chemistry lab where I donn my cool goggles and lab apron, I want to in all of life, Put on The Full Armor of God and start living! "Letting my living spill over into thanksgiving!"

Revealed

You're blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
~ Psalm 119.1 ~

Wandering
Before I started seeking God, I wandered all over the place...I felt like the "blueprint" for Psalm 119.67 which says:

"Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place,
but now I'm in step with your Word.

What I needed was to be in "step with His Word..." What I needed was a Revelation from God. I like how Third Day puts it in their hit song: "Revelation"

"Give me a revelation, Show me what to do, Cause I've been trying to find my way, I haven't got a clue... Tell me should I stay here, Or do I need to move, Give me a revelation I've got nothing without You...I've got nothing without You."

That was my problem...I did not know what to do or where to go because I got caught up following culture and the urgency of life. But once I started seeking God, everything started to flow. In fact, it was the "broken road" of seeking and searching for meaning and purpose that led me to dig into God's Word...another song to illustrate my point, from Jeremy Camp's, "Walk By Faith..."

"Because This Broken Road Prepares Your Will For Me..."

Bottom Line: Are you wandering? Are you traveling a broken road? It does not have to be that way. God wants you living in the Sweet Spot for your life. The reasons are not for selfish motives...you need to be in God's Sweet Spot for you life so that you can be a benefit to others...remember, from John 10.10, Jesus came to give you the abundant life, so if you are wandering, you must seek God...as you do, His Revelation becomes crystal clear...

You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him.

~ From Psalm 119.1-8 ~

Signs:Keep Your Eyes Open

In the last post about signs, we discussed how to go ahead and "jump in" and then signs will follow...now of course we need to make educated decisions and take calculated risks, but we must also understand that we can not always wait to have a sign from God before we take action. As Mark Batterson says, We must embrace "circumstantial uncertainty"...this builds our faith...this builds our relationship and trust in God! Sometimes we will only be 80% sure of anything, maybe only 40-70% certain...but if we wait until 100% certainty, we may miss our opportunity...

I like how Success magazine captures it from an interview with Colin Powell. It reads, "We do not have the luxury of collecting information indefinitely. At some point, before we can have every possible fact in hand, we have to decide," Powell writes, saying that he goes with his gut feeling when he has acquired 40 to 70 percent of the information about a situation."

Great ways to receive God's Confirmation, According to Scripture, will come through the following 3 ways:
1. Take a step
Go forth and seize the day knowing that The Lord is with us, then signs will follow. See Mark 16.20 and Joshua 3.14-17.

2. Keep Our Eyes Open
Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works;
be alert for signs of his presence. ~ Ps 105.1-6~ (emphasis added).

3. Record (post) The Signs We See
I choose the true road to Somewhere,
I post your road signs at every curve and corner. ~ Ps 119.30 ~

“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”– Teddy Roosevelt

Signs

Awesome thought from Mark Batterson... The topic is about signs. We all want signs to help us take action and make decisions. But always having a sign probably means that our faith would not be very strong...there is a circumstantial uncertainty that strengthens our faith...That's what makes life so exciting...remember Hebrews 11:

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

So instead of waiting for a sign to help you make a decision, go ahead and jump in. Batterson mentions the importance of signs after we jump instead of waiting on signs before we take action. Take a look at this account from The Gospel of Mark:

"And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." ~ Mark 16.20 ~ (emphasis added).

Notice when God confirms...He confirms with "signs following."

After we get in the game, the signs will follow. It makes me think of the quote by Wayne Gretzky, which says, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take." We must take the shot!

All we need, as Malcolm Gladwell says, is a "Tipping Point." One move in the right direction can make everything come together...small things make a HUGE difference. But we must take that step.

Joshua had to take the step in the water before the Jordan River would dry up (Joshua 3.14-17). But here is the cool thing...as Christian taught me, They had the Ark of The Covenant (Presence of God) with them...Joshua was not alone...God was with him...but God still wanted Joshua to take the step...once he did, the rest was history!

Take your step. Downlaod your application. Write your manuscript. Ace your test. Make the call. Send the letter. Take your step...

Once you do, then God will confirm your moves with Signs Following!

Leadership vs Management

From time to time, as in the last post, I will be posting some insights from Stephen R. Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." In this current post, I want to mention how Stephen describes the difference between Leadership and Management, and how we can think about them for 2009.

Leadership must come first...Top line focus. "What are the things I want to accomplish?"
Management is second...Bottom line focus. "How can I best accomplish certain things?"

As Peter Drucker and Warren Bennis have said, "Management is doing things right; Leadership is doing the right things."

Where Is Your Ladder?
Have you ever worked and worked yet did not accomplish what you wanted to. It could be because you are "climbing the ladder of success but it's leaning against the wrong wall." So think of Management as "the efficiency in climbing the ladder of success, but Leadership as the determination of whether or not the ladder is leaning against the right wall."

Old Becomes New
Even though setting New Year's Resolutions are a bit cliché, they are still important. Like Mark Batterson says, and I paraphrase, there is a reason why God has blessed us with a new day every 24 hours and a new year every 365 days. It's so we can start over, learn from lessons past, and become new creations for the future.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"- 2 Corinthians 5:17

So as we venture our way into this awesome new year of 2009, lets think about our personal leadership and management.

Here is the game plan:

Personal Leadership = Develop your values first. Make sure your "ladder" is leaning up against the right wall.
Personal Management = Set your goals based on what you value. View your goals as "problems" to solve.

We must have Leadership to determine our vision, this will then allow us to achieve our goals in our families, in our community, professionally, and personally. And here is why:

Efficient management without effective leadership is, as an unknown source has said it, "like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic."

Jesus knew His values. He had His "ladder" leaning against the right wall. He saw the vision...Salvation of the world. Therefore, He knew he could trust the disciples to be His managers. We are His managers now...The time is now...Carpe diem...